by A. M Martin
And it’s her head I imagine whacking with the bat.
“Might be able to find some at Hildreth's’.”
“Leave.” I snarl stepping forward again.
His head leans to the side looking at me, “Friendly isn’t she.”
“Don’t answer him.” I snarl before Tara can utter another damn word.
Aron smiles and backs into the shadows.
I grit my teeth listening to anything. A scuff of shoes or a breath of air and don’t hear a damn thing.
My muscles are tense and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from screaming. I feel like I need a good scream.
“You think he left?”
“No.”
Should we leave? I know we should, but I need a couple more things to survive out here in the wild.
“Lead us to the medicine and stuff,” I mumble watching the dark like a hawk.
It’s not like I can see in the dark but I can sure try like hell anyways.
I jump and turn at every little sound thinking he’s going to jump out at us any minute with his buddies.
I run right into Tara’s back as I was looking behind me. She grunts.
“Sorry,” I mumble, moving around her.
I pause at the mess and shake my head. Honestly, can nothing be kept neat anymore? I start digging through the piles on the floor. When I find things, I hand them off to Tara. Band-Aids. Ace bandage. Hot and cold muscle cream. Neosporin. Tylenol. Ibuprofen. Cold and Sinus pills. I move through the aisle shifting stuff with my feet. I bend down and pick up a bottle of Flintstones vitamins and hand them to Tara. I’m in my own head as I move through this stuff and into the next aisle. I pick up some stuff for bug bites and that pink crap for poison ivy.
“Going camping?”
I jerk backwards, forgetting the mess on the floor and look up and see Aron again. He’s leaning against the shelf with his arms crossed.
“Yeah, it’s a new game show reality. Where it’s life and death. What about you?”
He laughs, and it has me jerking my eyes back down to the floor. His laugh is deep and does something to my insides.
I grab all the tampon boxes and pads. The laughing stops. I look up and see his eyes on the things I have in my hands. His white face turns beat red.
“Seriously?” I roll my eyes and hand the stuff off to Tara. She has one of those baskets that she found along the way.
I keep him in the corner of my vision as I make my way to the next aisle. My eyes light up at all the travel sized products still in their metal baskets. For some odd reason, everyone forgets about the travel size.
I grab shampoo, conditioner, soap, Germ X, toothpaste, I grab them all.
I look up and see Tara and Aron looking at me funny. “What?”
“What are you doing?” Aron asks, his head tilting in that animal way again.
A suspicious feeling nags at me but I ignore it. “Stocking up. What are you doing?”
“Following you.”
I snort again moving up the aisle.
I bite my lip. This is taking too long. We need to be out of here in time to find a place to stay before the sun sets. I am not staying in this building or in this damn town. We need to lose Aron too.
“Tara.”
“Yeah?”
“Crayons. Where’s the crayons at and the hunting section.” I need another knife and could use a thicker sleeping bag.
“You like to color?”
“Why are you still here?” I ask, narrowing my eyes on Aron.
“It’s not like I have anything else to do.”
Tara finds me a box of crayons and I stop walking, spotting the kitchen items.
“Hang on,” I mutter, shining my small light down the aisle.
I grab a knife and some metal skewers.
A howl echoes outside the building. It's not loud, but I hear it all the same. I freeze for a split second then unhook my bag from my waist and start stuffing everything in.
“Tara move.”
She freezes at the worst time. I grab her pack and stuff everything else in it. Emptying out the metal basket of stuff she was carrying.
We’ll have to sort everything out later.
I put my pack back on and help Tara with hers.
“Hey, he's gone.”
I look up and see nothing but darkness. I shrug my shoulders. He’s not my problem now. We have bigger monsters to worry about.
“Let's go.”
We move through the store, running back to the storage room and I stop short, seeing Aron standing there with a pack twice the size of mine on his broad back.
“What are you doing?” I snap.
Another howl, followed by three more eerie howls, stops my heart for a couple of seconds.
I knew we’ve been here too damn long.
I move around Aron, going to the back door and peek outside. My eyes flick to the fenced in garden area and the woods in front of us and the hospital to our left. I don’t know where to go. I bite the inside of my cheek, drawing blood.
Aron shoulders by me, knocking me into the door with Tara on his heels.
She shrugs her small shoulders following behind him.
I bite my cheek harder and follow after them. If this is a trap. If he’s leading me into a trap. I will disembowel him.
21
Aron moves at a fast clip, even I have trouble keeping up with his long strides. We cut across the hospital parking lot and over the steep hill. My breathing deepens and my heart pounds. Is he leading us into a trap? Is this going to be my end? I bite my lip. God, I hope not. I have a promise to keep.
My eyes widen when I see the river cutting through the land at the bottom of the hill. It’s a rushing torment of water, dark and more than likely cold. How are we going to cross that? It’s the width of three cars put together.
I follow uneasily and see that Aron is cutting a path through the ground. I look down and see the ground is worn down and a muddy mess. I bite the inside of my check. That’s something I should have noticed right off the bat. What is wrong with me? Have I gone too soft in the compound? Too stupid to remember what it takes to survive out here?
Another howl echoes out around the hills. The fine hairs on my body stand at attention like soldiers and I book it double time down the hill. Slipping and sliding in the wet mud as I rush down the small path to catch up with Aron and Tara.
The last few steps I jump landing with an echoing thud on the small metal bridge connecting this side of the hill to the double lined road on the other side. I hustle across, pushing Tara and Aron to move faster. Quicker.
I cringe at the neighborhood on the other side of the road. What is he thinking, staying in a place like this? Any of these houses could hold a disaster just waiting to jump at us.
I cringe and keep up as we cut across yards and side roads. He leads us up another hill and to a blue house.
“Latch the gate.”
I roll my eyes at Aron but latch the metal gate. Like a small chain link gate is going to stop anyone from coming in. He’s delusional or stupid. It’s crazy. Yep, he is one hundred percent nuts so.
We go through the front door and enter a small living space. I look around seeing an old dusty coach with what looks like blood stains. My heart clenches remembering Cora on a similar couch, bleeding to death.
I bite the inside of my cheek hard enough to bring blood and move through a dining area and a very tiny kitchen that smells like rotten milk and potatoes.
I lean against the dirty counter catching my breath, “Now what?”
There’s nowhere to go here. No doors anywhere. Hell, it’s hardly big enough for the three of us to be standing here.
He looks over his shoulder and winks at me. Winks and starts shoving on a black double door fringe up against the right wall in a corner. My eye pops out when I see a door.
Damn, I never thought that would be there.
“Careful.” Aron mumbles, looking out of the small kitchen window above
the sink.
Tara slips through first and I go next. God, this better not be his serial killer lair.
I slowly walk down the creaking steps and into a cold basement the size of the upstairs house.
“You’ve been here since the beginning.” I state when Aron comes down the stairs.
“Yeah.”
There’s a futon bed pushed up against the far wall on the left. More food than I’ve seen in a long time up against the right wall. He has a milk crate as a stand table and two huge car batteries set beside it with what looks to be a portable DVD player.
I look behind me and see a shower with a bucket hanging from hooks above it.
My head tilts to the side, “You have a shower?”
I stiffen at the jealousy rolling throughout my body. It’s been a long time since I had a shower or even a bath for that matter.
Sure, I’ve washed the stink off me whenever I had a free chance but those are few and fewer.
“Yeah, would you like one?”
My stomach rolls and the smirk he’s sending my way makes me a little dizzy. The boy is too cute for his own good. Black hair, messy laying across his forehead. Dark eyes that have a sheen to them. A cut jawline with a few days of a beard.
"How does it work?”
Tara’s voice pulls me away from Aron’s face and the butterflies in my belly.
I grunt. She’s already made herself at home. Her bag is beside her and she’s working on laying out her sleeping bag. What is the girl thinking? We can’t stay here! We don’t know him.
“I have a plastic drum sitting outside, to catch the rain water. See that tubing?” He points to a black tubing coming out of the wall.
“Yeah,” Tara mumbles.
“Well, that tube is hooked up to the bottom of the drum and the tube runs to the bucket above the shower. The bucket has small holes drilled into the bottom. When you’re ready to shower, you unhook the clip on the tubing above the bucket.” He drops his pack.
The thud has me jumping and my hands gripping the straps of my bag.
Nifty idea. It must be nice to have a place to call home and be able to set something like this up.
I grind my teeth together as the jealous bug bites me in the ass again.
“You’re here alone?” I question watching him like a hawk.
He pauses taking items out of his bag. He clears his throat and without looking up, “Yeah.”
He wasn’t. Not in the beginning. His tone says otherwise. He’s lost people. But haven’t we all. I lost my mom. My baby sister Amy, Cora, Dad and Dallas. We’ve all lost someone in this hellish world we live in. We’ve even lost ourselves.
“Tara can go first.” I mumble leaning up against the wall.
She squeals and grabs her clothes and Aron laughs. It hits something deep in my body that I don’t even want to think about.
He pauses as he passes by me, “You’re safe here.” He whispers in my ear.
My body stiffens as he moves away, showing Tara how to work the shower system he has.
I’m safe here. I wish I could believe that I truly do. But nowhere is safe now.
22
I pause just outside of the makeshift bathroom. My filthy clothes in my hands. Tara is asleep. My eyes narrow and my heart beats dangerously in my chest.
"She just fell asleep."
I twist to the side looking at Aron. He's stretched out on the futon bed without a shirt. I roll my eyes and walk over to Tara.
Her bear snores filling the silence. My head leans to the side. Did he do something to her?
"I didn't do anything, if that's what you're thinking." He says.
"I hope not."
When I get to the right wall where I left my things I sit down and make sure my feet are completely dry. After that's done, I dig around in my bag for a fresh pair of socks.
"What are you doing?" Aaron asks.
"Did you have to open your mouth?" I mumble sliding on a pair of grey knee-high socks.
"It's nice to talk. It's been a while."
I look up at Arons whispered words.
"How long?" I ask, putting my other sock on.
"Huh?"
I shake my head slipping on my converse shoes. "How long is a while?"
"It's been a couple of months."
"Not long enough. People are no good." I say, lacing my boot up tight.
"Are you good people?" He asks sitting up.
"No." I look him in the eyes.
He laughs and I smile.
I'm not good people. I look at Tara and shake my head.
I pull on my other boot and lace it up. All the while feeling Aron’s eyes on my every move.
"Do you want something to eat?" He asks, standing up.
"No."
I lean back on the cool wall with my pack on my lap. My legs are stretched out in front of me and my head rests against the wall. I close my eyes and open my ears. Listening to Aron.
"Are you sure?"
"Yep." I answer, without opening my eyes.
It’s all quiet for some time. Only Tara’s snores breaking the silence every so often. My heart beat is an even drum in my ears and I feel myself on the verge of sleep.
"What about something to drink?"
My peaceful bubble pops and my eyes snap open, "What is your deal?" I snarl, suspension clouding my eyes.
"What? What do you mean?" Aaron shifts on his feet. I can see his pulse beating wildly in his neck.
"You." I pause and just stare at him. A red flush creeps up his face the longer I go without speaking. "I don't need anything else from you. The only reason I followed you is because of her." I nod my head in Tara’s direction.
"You wouldn't have came with me if you were alone?" A boyish smirk twisting his lips.
"No." I tilt my head to the side. "I would have killed you."
His mouth drops open and closes. He's lost for words and I lean back and close my eyes.
It might be harsh but nothing good comes from anybody. I look at Tara. Well maybe some good is still left in the world. I close my eyes once more listening to her snoring and Aron sitting back down. I tried to stay awake but nothing ever happens as you plan it.
◆◆◆
My eyes snap open and I keep still. Something is not right. I look to where Aron was last and see him missing. My heart beats furiously in my chest and I look at Tarra. She's still sleeping in the same place. Her snoring comes every other second.
I tilt my head up, looking at the floorboards above me. Something woke me up. What the hell is it?
Minutes went by when I finally hear the first whispers of sound.
I move quickly over to Tara. I shake her shoulder, watching as someone moves above us. Dust and dirt falling from the room above.
"Tara." I whisper urgently, shaking her. She's not waking up. What did that fuck wad Aron do!
I rush back to my spot by the wall and shoulder on my bag. I grip my bow and have an arrow knocked. My breathing is slow and steady as I stand in front of Tara and watch the steps.
He did something to her. He had too. I knew this setup was too good to be true. I should have listened to my damn gut. People, humans are bad news. They always are.
The creak of the door opening has my hand pulling the bow string back.
“No, she wouldn’t eat or drink anything.” Aron’s hushed voice floats down to me.
“Why is that?” Someone asks.
“I don’t know. But I really like this one, can I keep her?” Aron mumbles.
There's a grunt and nothing. Keep me? He’s out of his fucking mind.
Two muddy boots are in my crosshairs and I smile. As soon as I see the knee, I let the arrow fly true. The man screams and comes rolling down the steps. I have another one knocked in a matter of seconds.
“Guess she’s not asleep anymore.” Aron mutters.
“You fucking think!” I hollor.
No one else comes down the steps and I aim my bow at the man gripping his leg. Tears fall
down his red face. “Not so tough now?” I smirk.
“You little bitch.” The man on the ground snarls.
“You have no idea.”
“I’m going to put an arrow in your buddies fucking head if you don’t come down here!” I shout watching the steps out of the corner of my eye.
A minute too long passes and I start to count, “3, 2.”
“Alright! Alright.” Someone says and the sounds of feet on the steps can be heard.
A man in all black stops at the last step with Aron hovering behind him. My eyes narrow as he smiles.
“This isn’t going to go the way you think it is.” The man says.
“Yeah?” I smile, “You a mind reader.”
“No. But you’re not the first and you won’t be the last.”
My eyes flick to Aron and he flinches.
“What did you do to Tara?” I snarl at Aron, aiming at his head.
His hands go up in the air. “Just a sedative. She’ll be fine.”
“I have six more men waiting outside.” The guy said, and I look at him.
“This can be easy or hard. Your choice.”
I don’t say a damn thing. Can I shoot them both and somehow get Tara out of here? No, I don’t think that’s possible. Should I try? It’d be stupid of me too.
“What’s taking so long?” My eyes flick to his belt. He has a walkie talkie. Shit, he wasn’t bluffing.
“What’s it going to be girl?”
I look over my shoulder really fast and back at him, “How about I put an arrow in all of your heads?” I ask.
“Sure, you could do that. Or I could just take you and leave her.” He says, nodding towards Tara.
“Boss. We’re coming in hot.” A voice blares from the walkie.
I lowered my bow.
“Good choice.” He smirks. “Drop it.”
It falls out of my hands and bangs into the floor. Rage floods my body.
He walks towards me and zip ties my hands together. “Sit.”
I sit, like a good dog and watch. He moves over to the man on the ground and looks him over. There are heated whispers.
“Boss!”
“Yeah. Come on down. Ken got shot.” He yells.
“Oh, shit really man?” Comes voices and feet moving fast down the steps. Six men in all black gather at the bottom of the stairs.
