I began to pour the water over his face. I didn’t gush it over him in one big burst. I slowly let it pour over his face, as if I was watering a plant. He began to convulse and Zach and Baby held strong, until I had finished pouring out all the water from the cup, then they moved away from him.
He jerked and pulled himself into a fetal position, rolling over to his side, the cloth fell off of his face and he dry heaved, coughing violently as if he was drowning. I went to the tub and filled up the cup again, pleased to hear the sputtering of Clem had turned to sobs, his mother’s wailing joining with him.
“Leave ‘em alone, you bastards,” she wailed.
“Where’s Alexis?”
I walked over to Clem and Baby grabbed his legs again.
“What did you do with them, Clem?”
“They’ll kill me,” he moaned.
“I’m going to kill you, Clem, torture you and then kill you.” I motioned and Zach held his head again. Clem was now sobbing. I grabbed for the towel and placed it over Clem’s face again, but this time the old woman spoke up.
“We sold them. We sold them to the bikers in Lakeview. We were hungry, we needed food. They told us to bring them women,” she moaned. “Let ‘em go, just let ‘em go.”
“You sold them?” Zach stood to his full height and I grabbed his shoulder before he could do something.
“We were hungry,” Clem whined from the floor. “And now they’re gonna kill us when they find out we told you!”
“Clem, those bikers are going to be the least of your worries,” Baby purred, then stood and kicked him hard in the ribs, drawing the Browning she had at her hip.
“Hannah, stand down,” I ordered and her arm dropped to her side, but her finger was still on the trigger, just as the com clicked on and Martinez’s voice buzzed loud in our ears.
“Um hey kids, we got incoming…”
Twenty-One | No One’s Property
ALEXIS
I awoke to a gentle shaking and sat up fast, my fist flying. The sound of a woman’s curse had me pulling back my fists and looking around the room in a panic. An older woman stood at the side of the bed looking down at me. She looked hard and not at all pleased with me.
“So, you’re Brandon’s property now?” she asked in a dispassionate whisper.
“I’m no one’s property.”
“So you say, girl. C’mon let’s get you cleaned up. He won’t wake up for hours.” She threw some clothes at me and I gratefully took them. It was a tee and some gym shorts. They would do nothing to protect me from the cold, but I think that was the point. Luckily this building seemed to hold the heat.
I slid off the bed, the motion making the old bastard grunt and roll over on his side. My whole body ached from the beating he had given me, especially my ribs. I moved my torso to check if there was more damage, but it seemed I was just achy and bruised. I slipped on the clothes the woman had provided.
She walked to the door and held it open, motioning for me to follow. The place was bright when I walked out of the draped office and I blinked against the stark difference. It must have been early morning because the sun was shining in from the east harshly.
The counter still had piles of white powder all over it, but most of the men had cleared out. Everyone except the VP. He was clear-eyed and was currently just sitting there watching me as I exited the office.
There was a nude woman on her knees at his feet and when he saw my eyes go to her, he smiled and grabbed her by her hair, pulling her head back. When she cried out, his smile widened. He fumbled with his pants and forced her head to his crotch where I assumed she began to service him because her head bobbed up and down over his lap, his own hand forcing her down onto him over and over again.
My hands clenched into fists and my nails dug into my palms. His eyes locked on mine and I recognized pure smug satisfaction there. He liked that it pissed me off, he got off on the sexual gratification and the power he held. Brandon Senior might be a drug-induced lunatic, but his son was a monster. He didn’t even have drugs for an excuse.
“This way,” the woman said as she led me down toward the back of the store. She pushed through two swinging doors into a storeroom. The doors were equipped with a large padlock which I knew wasn’t standard before Z. This is where they locked up the women. The storeroom was darker, with fewer windows than the shopping area and was full of women. There had to be at least thirty in here. A few sofas were scattered here and there and piles of rags were scattered on the floor with a few items positioned around them. Those must be their beds. Racks of clothes lined the side of the room, they seemed to be the cleanest thing in this rank place. From the bright colors and filmy fabrics, nothing looked practical. Rows and rows of slut-attire for women treated like nothing more than tools.
Bile rose in my throat.
There was a large, raised, stainless-steel tub toward the back of the room and a fire burned underneath it. Smoke poured out and filtered to the ceiling which had a makeshift chimney cut out. The smell of wood-smoke and unclean bodies couldn’t be appealing to anyone. I pulled the cloth of tee over my face, but then second guessed myself and pulled it down. I shouldn’t shame these women even more by pointing out the smell.
There were enough women in this group to come together and take out the bikers. They would only have to combine and join forces. The bikers didn’t have that good of a defense in place to keep a group like this cowed.
I looked around the room and that quick flare of hope was extinguished. Each face that looked back at me was broken. Eyes were glazed. Faces were slack. These women were broken. Some had the telltale look of addicts, others just looked like beaten dogs. No one met my eyes, no one look offended at my obviously pummeled face. No one stepped up when the old woman pushed me forward toward the tub and I stumbled.
No one except one girl.
She was cleaner than the rest. A new addition, maybe? She was half-naked and cleaning herself around the tub. She grabbed my elbow to steady me as the hag pushed me again. I would have fallen into the water if she hadn’t stopped me.
I smiled in thanks, but her face remained stoic, no emotions showing.
“Did he fuck you, girl?” the old woman asked me. She grabbed a washcloth off of a shelf nearby and handed it to me, motioning that I was supposed to clean myself with it.
“He couldn’t get it up,” I said quietly, not knowing if my confession would anger her or make her happy. Her reaction surprised me. She laughed maniacally and a genuine grin crossed her face. Happy it was.
“Well, then you don’t have to clean that pussy.” Her laughter cut off abruptly and she walked off, with one final parting shot over her shoulder, “Get clean, pick out something to wear and we’ll get you back to Brandon when he’s ready. Better hope he’s loaded, it’ll keep his prick soft, but he’ll take it out on your ass in some way.” She laughed again as she pushed through the doors. “Better you than me.”
Twenty-Two | MJ Services
ZACH
I made my way to the front of the house where Martinez was stationed. We were a fucking beacon in the night, the house blazed with lantern light, anyone could have spotted us a mile away.
Three vehicles were coming up the highway, their bright headlights ominous in the darkness. Three vehicles meant there were at least three of them, probably a lot more. I couldn’t be sure from this distance, but they looked large, SUVs or vans. We couldn’t keep our hostages in line and defend ourselves from the unknown. This wasn’t going to be good. I should probably just shoot all the hostages. Take them out quickly so we could face this new threat without any extra baggage. We knew where they took Lex, we didn’t need them anymore. It was more than they deserved, a quick death.
“They might keep going, just pass us by,” I said as I watched the vehicles get closer. I doubted it, but it could happen.
“Blake, put our slavers in a back room, out of sight. Shoot them if they act up,” I ordered and he grabbed Clem from the floor and
began forcing him down the hallway. Baby grabbed the old woman by the arm and she went with little resistance. When the other two were locked away in another room, I focused my attention back on the approaching vehicles.
They had slowed and stopped on the road about a click from us. They had spotted the light. They would either push on and ignore us, or pay a visit.
“Should we try and encourage them to move along?” Martinez asked. “Warning shot?”
“We don’t know who’s in those cars. They could be just civvies trying to find somewhere to hole up. I don’t want to do anything drastic.”
“What if they’re not friendly?” Blake asked, coming up behind me.
“We’ll deal with it,” I said flatly.
The cars had begun moving again and when they got to the turn-off to the camp, they slowed and turned in. Visitors, great.
“Show of force. I want you, Blake, Martinez and me on the ground. Hannah, cover us from above. Ito, keep an eye on our slavers in the back.” We descended the steps quickly, rifles at the ready. This night couldn’t get any more eventful.
It was two black government SUVs, obvious from the numbers on the front, and one State Trooper SUV that pulled into the drive. The vehicles fanned out in front of us, imposing and going for intimidation. We must have looked like some scene out of a movie. The three of us at attention, standing in front of the encroaching Feds. Or people that were trying to look like Feds. Doors popped open and a man stepped out, he was older, and dressed in military fatigues. He raised his hands in a “we come in peace” gesture.
“Ho! No reason for the armed greeting, we’re just passing through, saw your lights.”
“Better safe than sorry,” Blake spoke up, taking a step forward. “Where’d you get the gear?” He gestured to the SUVs and the man’s clothes.
“Standard issue, Major Napier, 199th, where’d you get your gear?”
“eBay,” Blake said flatly.
“Heard the 199th had hightailed it out of here when the twin-span was overrun,” I spoke up.
“We’re what’s left. I got ten under my command and a few troopers.” He glanced up and clocked Hannah on the porch. “Y’all seem like you got your shit together and not just from internet shopping.”
“Why’d you stop?” I was done with small talk, I wanted to know this guy’s intentions.
“Curiosity and we’re looking for a group in this area, thought you could point us in the right direction.”
“There ain’t nothing out here,” Blake said.
“That’s not what we’ve been hearing.” He made a motion with his hand and someone got out of the second SUV. The person came forward to stand next to Napier dressed in the typical Army digital camouflage uniform, just like the Major, but much slighter. I couldn’t see with the glare of the headlights but I was pretty sure it was a female. She said something inaudible to the Major.
“We were told there was a well-equipped group of survivors out here, most of which were former military, and I’m thinking we found them. Y’all wouldn’t happen to be MJ Services?”
Twenty-Three | Murphey’s Law
BLAKE
“Murphey, is that you?” I looked up at Baby who was leaning over the railing like she had just spotted her long lost cousin.
“Hannah Klink, I knew you’d survive this shit.” Baby shouldered her rifle and made her way down the stairs.
“I did Ranger school with Murphey, we were the only females in that class,” she whispered in the com. “She’s legit. Helo Pilot from SOAR. She went guard after her last tour. Last time I checked in she was doing a stint as a helo instructor up at Bragg.”
“We’re what’s left of MJ Services,” I spoke up, hopefully ending this tension. We had other things to worry about than this stand-off. “I’m Captain Blake Miller, 2nd Marine Raider Battalion.”
“A Devil Dog, damn.” He stuck out his hand and walked with purpose toward me. I took his hand and shook it after shouldering my rifle. He put a little extra bite into the shake to try and put me in my place. When I bit back, he winced, but his face broke out into a smile as if I passed some test. “We didn’t know what hell we would find out here.”
“Who else you got in the vehicles?” I asked.
He motioned and doors popped open. I counted five in total, two dressed in civilian clothes, another one in fatigues and two others in the polyester uniforms of the Louisiana State Troopers.
“Why are you looking for us?” Zach asked.
“This one here,” he motioned to Murphey, “Ran into a group coming from the east, said they had run into a group acting like a military unit, and mentioned a female named Hannah that took down more of the infected than the men and was mean as hell.”
“I knew Klink had been working for MJ Services before the shit and y’all had some kind of operational base down here. Figured we would come and see if you were willing to get Uncle Sam back in working order,” Heather Murphey added.
“There’s an operating government?” Zach asked.
“Yes, nothing like before, but there is a body in place in the central part of the country. We’re intermittently receiving orders from Fort Bragg. Our current orders are to establish control in the city and hold tight. We’re scheduled for reinforcements at the end of the month.”
“Not much as far as orders,” I scoffed.
“We were doing that anyway,” he shrugged. “And if they can get reinforcements, we’ll be even better.”
“Where in New Orleans? Heard the FEMA camp the Guard was manning got overrun and is now being held by a gang of bikers.” I played dumb.
“That was the 139th, poor bastards, they were set-up for disasters, not defending against the living.” The Major shook his head in frustration. “We’re outgunned and outnumbered, Miller. Can I call you Miller?” He looked up and I nodded.
“I’m just trying to get things right for my men. When I heard there was a group of ex-SOFs hiding out in the swamp out here, I just had to see for myself. Not to mention, they got that manufacturing warehouse out here which is stock full of vehicles and weaponry, thought we could use a bit of gear upgrade. We want to take back the Lakeview base. It’s tactically and strategically optimal and we can’t let a bunch of leather-clad fuck-wits get away with killing our Army brothers. We want to take them out ASAP.”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. Long and loud. I had forgotten completely about Textron, the manufacturer he mentioned. Zach and I had even provided them with tactical support when they got in a few black list shipments. They had marine and land vehicles in the hundreds, equipped with the latest and best shit, not to mention the combat gear. Holy fuck. You could supply an Army with what Textron had in its warehouses.
“Did I say something funny, Captain?” The Major was looking at me sternly.
“You need help taking down Lakeview? You stumbled down the right path. If you want, we can leave now.”
Twenty-Four | You Say Tomato
ALEXIS
I sidled up to the tub of water. It was cleaner than I expected, but that wasn’t saying much. The water was lukewarm and I felt like I was putting more stink on than I was washing away as I rubbed at the grit, but it would do. The women washing with me ranged in age from the very young teen to the middle aged. They all looked haggard. The woman that had helped me earlier shot a quick look at me and pushed a bit closer.
“Brandon Senior really claimed you as his property?” the woman whispered, handing me a bar of soap that was barely a sliver.
“Yes,” I whispered back. I didn’t know why we were whispering. There was no one around us but other women. Would they rat us out to the men?
Live (NOLA Zombie Book 3) Page 9
