Down another flight of stairs, the next room opened up into a large holding area.
A holding area with a few cells and two small, windowless rooms, that is.
“Put him in that room, the girl in the other.”
Jude’s concerned eyes met mine and I tried to smile reassuringly, silently willing him not to do anything stupid or rash that would give us away. My heart was beating so fast I thought it would thump right out of my chest, but I tamped down my rising panic.
I didn’t have my gun and I was pretty sure my knife had been taken the second we were pulled into the fenced in area outside. I’d never felt so vulnerable.
Jude was shoved into a room and I heard someone laugh as he presumably landed on the floor. I heard the door swing shut and the squeaky metal hinge of a lock being thrown into place. I swallowed back the fear rising in my throat and only barely kept from freaking out.
The large guy I’d yet to see led me into the room and turned on a light hanging from the ceiling by a cord. The light swayed back and forth, illuminating a room large enough for a single chair but not much else. There was a drain in the floor and a spot on the wall that looked like maybe a sink had once been there.
“This should be interesting,” someone said from the doorway.
I shivered involuntarily and the man behind me stiffened.
“What should be?” he snapped at the two men standing there with their eyes on me.
“Oh, come on, Tex. You’re not going to keep all that to yourself, are you?” The guys leered and I could feel the shame of what they were insinuating wash over me.
“Get the fuck out,” he growled over my shoulder.
I shivered and a tiny sound of fear escaped my lips.
One guy turned and left immediately, but a tall, pale skinned guy with shaggy blond hair curled his lip and stood there a moment longer, staring daggers at us before muttering curses beneath his breath.
The man they’d called Tex let go of my arms and walked over to the door to shut it. He ran a hand through his shaggy, dark brown hair before turning back to me. His crystal blue eyes found mine and they looked somewhat apologetic, but I still didn’t trust him, not even a little.
“Look, I’m sorry about this, but it needs to be done.” The Southern twang, along with his wiry, suntanned frame, made me wonder if he was a farm boy. he was exactly the kind of man I could easily imagine driving a tractor or riding a horse. Muscular, tanned, and tall, topping my five foot six inches by at least six inches. He was large and intimidating. The tiny cleft in his chin, wild hair, and honest eyes softened his look though.
He walked over and stood in front of me. I backed away. He took up too much of the tiny, dank space.
No weapons. And still weak from the fight I’d just been through.
I glanced around the room looking for anything that could have been used as a weapon in a pinch. There was nothing. My heart plummeted.
Tex stiffened and watched me through narrow eyes.
“We’re just here looking for shelter,” I tried, my voice shaking naturally after all I’d just been through.
I tried to appear as helpless as possible, knowing my performance could help us find out what we’d come here for. But more urgently, maybe it could get me out of this small, scary space.
“Can I talk to someone in charge?” I asked. Tex shifted, standing up straighter.
Tex had just opened his mouth to say something when then the door screeched open. A nondescript man of average height, average brown hair, and an average face walked in and nodded to Tex. His stare, however, was anything but average.
It was downright scary.
“Germain sent me,” he said by way of greeting. His cold, eerie gray gaze flitted over me, and then back to Tex.
My mind caught onto the word Germain. My ears perked up.
“Who’s Germain?” I asked. Both men ignored me.
“Germain wants to see you. I’ll finish up with our guests down here.” he said.
I shivered when he said guests. He clearly didn’t feel like we were guests. More like intruders.
Tex glanced over at me but only hesitated a moment before setting his jaw and walking towards the doorway. He glanced back over his shoulder before shutting the door behind him, and I saw just a hint of regret in his gaze when his eyes met mine. His receding steps echoed loudly in the room.
The dead-eyed man approached, and I unwittingly took a step back, running into a dirty, slightly damp brick wall.
He didn’t smile, but he may as well have. This man enjoyed people’s fears.
Suddenly I felt very small and cornered. What was going on here? Why had they helped us just to put us in these little rooms? What was going on with Jude?
“I’d like to see my boyfriend now,” I said softly. “I’m not even sure if he’s okay or not,” I added.
“Arms out,” he said gruffly, his eyes already roaming my body. He ignored my words completely. I shuddered, suddenly certain that I’d have preferred Tex to do this.
I straightened my shoulders and nodded, doing what I was told.
He ran his small, soft palms up and down my gore covered arms and all along my body, lingering in all the places he shouldn’t. I stiffened under his supposed search for weapons and wounds.
I would remember his nondescript face I promised myself.
A moment later, he jerked back when someone opened the door behind him.
“Do I get a turn?” The skinny guy with shaggy blond hair and a decidedly Unabomber quality about him was back. I cracked my neck and turned around slowly. My legs felt weak and I didn’t have a weapon but that didn’t mean I couldn’t put up one hell of a fight.
He leered at me and his tongue snaked out to wet his thin lips. I barely stopped the shudder.
“No time,” Nondescript man commented.
“Fuck that!” Scuzzy Shaggy yelled, spittle flying from his lips.
“There’s always time for that.” He said as he grinned at me.
Nondescript guy pushed Skuzzy Shaggy out the door and slammed it shut behind him. The yellowish bulb above my head blinked in and out and I panicked hoping it wouldn’t stay out.
I flung myself across the room and grabbed the knob, yanking the door with all my strength. It was solid and there was no way for me to get out. No windows. Nothing except a single wobbly chair. I banged on the door with my blood covered fists.
“What the hell?” I shouted.
“Are you guys seriously going to leave us here? We’re just trying to find shelter!”
No one answered but my banging made the dim bulb flicker again. Out of fear it would wink out completely, I stopped my banging.
“Jude?” I yelled loudly, going against everything I’d learned about how staying quiet meant staying alive. I shouted a second time.
No answer. Either he couldn’t hear me, or they’d moved him. I sighed in frustration.
What the fuck is going on here?
I thought we’d seen the worst of our trip as we fought our way to the toy factory. But now we were being held captive without so much as a word or a cup of water.
I glanced down at myself.
God.
I was covered in blood, rank zombie fluids, and all kinds of other bits and pieces beginning to dry into my skin, hair, and clothes.
This was going to fucking suck.
I slid down one of the cement walls and sat on the dirty, damp floor.
All things considered it is actually cleaner than I am, I thought with a shrug. Maybe they will just leave us here to make sure we don’t turn. It was possible.
I shivered. Coming down off of that recent adrenaline rush, soaked through in rancid fluids, and sitting in a tiny, chilly room I began to feel the effects of the day. I was hungry and exhausted. I let my head fall back to rest on the wall behind me.
Someone would come soon and then I’d be able to see Jude again.
I needed to know he was okay.
That way I could
be okay.
*****
It was hard to tell how much time had passed, but enough time to allow a legitimate amount of fear to worm its way into my heart. My best guess was that hours had passed. At minimum. And that would make it, what? Dark outside? Six or seven in the evening? I hadn’t eaten, had anything to drink, or gone to the bathroom in a very long time. My clothing and hair had already stiffened into a nasty, thick stiffness until I could barely stand to feel or smell myself.
Much to my shame, I had to relieve myself in the drain in the center of the room, hoping to God no one happened to walk in at that exact moment.
They hadn’t.
Talk about getting caught with your pants down.
Several more hours must have passed when I heard the lock on the screech in protest when someone yanked it free to open the door.
Thank God.
I wondered if I’d get to see Jude right away. But Jude didn’t walk in. Three guys came in instead and I knew from the way they held themselves and the way they looked at me that they weren’t here to free me.
I stood up slowly, flexing my stiff hands and stretching my numb legs.
“Sit down.” A guy I hadn’t seen before ordered. From what I could see, he was Hispanic, or maybe Italian. Tattoos covered most of both of his arms as well as his neck, making him look like he was wearing a turtleneck made of ink.
I smirked at the picture, my mind a bit fuzzy from hunger and exhaustion.
Turtleneck Dude didn’t like my smirk.
His open hand caught me across the cheek.
Skuzzy Shaggy laughed.
I think I was more surprised than hurt. But after the initial surprise wore off, I was most definitely pissed.
They shoved me into the chair in the center of the room and zip tied my hands behind my back.
“Who are you and the other guy?”
Oh goody. Nondescript Guy again.
“Why did you both come here?” he added.
“Who the fuck are you?” I asked instead.
This time when Turtleneck Dude slapped me, I saw it coming.
I spit out blood and probed my split lip with my tongue. I narrowed my eyes at the three men in the room.
Okay. So that’s how this is going to go down, I thought.
But for all my bravado, I was seriously scared for Jude and myself. We’d both come here expecting resistance and for no one to trust us, but I don’t think either of us anticipated this kind of reception.
They didn’t even pretend to be hospitable.
“Again, who are you and why are you here?”
Keep to the truth as much as possible, I reminded myself.
“For shelter.” I said. “We were looking for shelter. Saw the high fences and thought it would be safe inside.” He seemed to consider this.
“And your fighting skills? Where did you learn them?”
“My dad was military. He taught me well,” I said after a moment.
He nodded his head, accepting that. It was the truth after all.
“And your friend out there?” He asked. My heart sped up.
Jude.
Nondescript Dude leaned in closer to my face, his eyes assessing and searching the truth in my words.
“Jude? He was Army for two years before the outbreak,” I answered with a shrug.
That was the story we had come up with. It was believable; saying Jude wasn’t military at all simply wouldn’t fly. He was a soldier, and anyone would be able to see that. We only had to make them think he had nothing to do with any military anymore.
“Who’s in charge here?” I asked. I shouldn’t have.
The next smack was mostly definitely going to leave a mark.
The three men cut me loose and left after that without a backwards glance.
I was relieved.
“Where are you, Jude?” I whispered into the semi-dark room. Eventually, exhaustion got the best of me and I curled up in a ball on the cold, hard floor and fell asleep.
I’m not sure how long I slept, but I woke to a large woman who reminded me of the Trunchbull manhandling me into another room, stripping me out of my clothing, and spraying me down with a harsh spray of cold water. Eventually I was so numb, the water began to feel good.
At least I was cleaner, if not a bit raw and missing a layer of skin from the force of the water.
I’d noticed soft light filtering through a small window on our way to this room, so I knew I’d been held overnight, I was just unsure how late into the day it was. My stomach said it had to have been a good twenty-four hours since the last time I’d eaten.
Trunchbull threw a set of clothes at me and exited the room, muttering under her breath.
With a shaking hand, I yanked on the white tank top, white tee shirt and tan drawstring jogging pants. They were big, but clean. Anything was an upgrade from the clothing I’d stewed in for far too long.
I left on my old undergarments and pulled on my socks and shoes, wiping away as much of the gunk from my shoes as possible. The puddle of water still draining from the shower stall I’d been shoved into helped with that.
Trunchbull was ready for me when I was done. She grunted for me to follow her, so I did.
I just hoped she didn’t put me in the chokey.
I’d had enough tight, dank spaces for one night.
Germain! Germain! Germain!
When I saw Jude, my entire body sagged in relief. I wasn’t exaggerating when I told them that I didn’t even know how Jude was. My memory of those last few moments of fighting off the zombie horde before being yanked inside the fenced perimeter were fuzzy at best.
My eyes searched his, noting the same relief showing there. I turned my face away, not wanting him to see something on my face I couldn’t even bring myself to acknowledge.
When I got a bit closer, I noticed that Jude was wearing the same shirt and pants I was, though his fit him better. He strode to my side, his eyes paying particular attention to my lip, cheek, and right eye area. I must have been quite a sight.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. His eyes had that look of rage I’d caught a glimpse of in Gastonia. I dropped my gaze to the floor quickly.
“You okay?” he asked harshly.
I nodded and moved closer to him. I couldn’t help myself. I put a hand on Jude’s arm and squeezed.
“I’m fine, Jude. These will heal,” I whispered.
His arm stiffened beneath my touch and then his entire body relaxed, but just barely.
“If you’re ready now?” Trunchbull snapped.
Jude reached an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to his side.
“We need to talk,” he whispered next to my ear and I nodded. Even though I knew we were only playing the part of lovers, I still couldn’t squelch the thrill that raced up my spine when I was curved into Jude’s hard abs, his arm encasing me protectively.
That kiss from Belmont rose up quick and fresh in my mind as I stared at the stubble of Jude’s jaw wondering how it would feel against my cheek. I shook my head, dislodging those dangerous thoughts.
I still didn’t even understand that kiss from Belmont.
Did it mean Jude had feelings for me? Or did he just kiss me on a whim just in case he never got another chance and I happened to be handy.
More importantly . . . what did I mean by kissing him back?
We trailed behind Trunchbull’s lookalike further into the compound, walking through a series of corridors with metal, industrial-looking doors until we came up to a large door that she had to open with a series of numbers entered into a keypad, much like the smaller, underground base we’d come from.
The door opened and I was once again bombarded by the beautiful sound of living, breathing humans instead of death gurgles.
We entered standing on a small metal platform above a large, open room filled with people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities. There were tables set up in the room which seemed to serve as a wreck room. People played board games, chatted, an
d just all around hung out. Two guys without their shirts off were wrestling in the middle of the room with spectators shouting out encouragement all around.
The metal staircase led down into the room.
Jude stepped forward, a look of surprise on his face, reflecting my own. There had to be close to fifty people in this room alone. How many did the compound hold then?
A hundred? More? How many prisoners did they hold and where?
My mind spun in twenty different directions at once.
Tex appeared before us just as we stepped off the staircase. His eyes scanned my face and I saw a shadow pass over his eyes before he looked away.
“Well, how about we get you folks a little food?” Tex drawled.
I eyed him warily as did Jude. He was the only person I’d come in contact so far that had been even a little accommodation, but him being part of the group that had clearly taken over the Charlotte base made him an enemy not a friend. In retrospect, and after all I had been through, his friendliness with his comrades in arms made me wonder if had some kind of good cop schtick going on. I narrowed my eyes.
Jude’s arm squeezed my shoulder in warning. I relaxed my stance.
We noted how everyone got quiet as we passed. They must not have had many newcomers. Where they were located, I wasn’t surprised one little bit. I also wasn’t surprised by the hostility I found in their faces. If they took a base by force, they wouldn’t be apt to want to share what they’d rightfully taken.
We followed Tex across the now nearly silent and down a narrow, dimly lit hall to enter another large room. I shuddered when a bulb overhead flickered. Jude glanced over at me in concern.
We entered their mess hall after a tense and silent walk.
Another thirty or so people were in the mess hall eating and joking around when we entered, it didn’t take me long to realize how few women or children were living in the compound. I’d noticed five or six in the common area, two eating lunch, and four more were working in the kitchen area.
Silence descended upon the room much like it had done in the rec room when we’d entered. Damn. Not a single smiling face.
Not a person looked glad that more survivors had been found and joined their group. I had no doubt at all that these were all Germain’s people.
State of (Book 1): State of Decay Page 17
