by Josh Vasquez
She smiled and nodded.
“Ok. Let’s find some hose.”
Her saying this only made Lexx and Jeremy take one look at each other and laugh even harder.
“What is so damn funny?” she asked.
“Hey Ben, where da hose at?” Lexx said.
Ben shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows.
“I don’t get it. What do you mean?”
“You know man,” Lexx started. “Where da hose at? Like, ho’s? Pimps and ho’s, man. Tori said we should find some ho’s.”
“You two are idiots,” she said.
Ben still looked lost. Lexx stopped laughing.
“Haha, I don’t think you have to worry about that whole being black-thing, man,” he said to Ben.
Ben gave him a smirk and the finger. Jeremy held up his hand, motioning for everyone to stop. He wiped a few tears from his eyes and got his composure.
“Alright guys. Let’s go find a hose.”
There were a few clicks from behind them.
“Freeze. And drop your weapons,” said a shrill, tiny voice.
They all turned and looked to a group of people pointing several rifles and shotguns in their direction.
Chapter Seventeen
“I said freeze!”
The guy speaking was holding what looked like an AK-47. He looked like a guerilla soldier, as he was wearing a mixture of vintage and grungy-looking clothing. He was short, skinny, and wearing black, thick-framed glasses. His goatee was well manicured. It formed a sinister frame for his crooked smile.
The people behind him were also holding guns. They were a mismatched group. Several were wearing clothes like the little guy, hipsters or art students. Black V-necks and skinny jeans. But two of them were decked out in camo hunting gear. The two of them were holding shotguns and stood on each side of the main guy, like bodyguards. Besides the AK and shotguns, Jeremy counted two hunting rifles, and one rather large handgun. These people were very well armed.
“Hey, hey, we don’t want any trouble,” Jeremy said, holding up both hands in a peace offering.
“Drop the sword then.”
Jeremy was still wearing his machete at the waist. He shook his head at the guy’s wording, but reached for and lowered the machete. Tori began to protest, but Jeremy gave her a reassuring look, and she backed down. He sat the machete on the ground in front of him and looked back at the guy shouting orders.
“Look,” he started again. “We don’t want any trouble. We’re just looking for some gas, or maybe a hose to siphon some gas. We’re not looking for a place to stay or anything else.”
The little guy walked up to Jeremy, giving him the look over. He reeked of clove cigarettes and cheap beer. After circling around Jeremy, he stopped in front of him and looked him in the face.
“My name is Albert. And this is our home.”
The word home caused both him and his friends to giggle. Something was off with them. Jeremy looked back to his friends. Lexx mouthed the word, “Homeless?”
Jeremy shook his head and mouthed back, “Hipsters.”
Lexx grimaced. He hated hipsters.
“We don’t have any gas for you,” Albert continued. “And you can’t siphon any gas. That would be stealing.”
Again the group giggled like school children. If they were trying to make Jeremy feel uneasy, they were succeeding. The whole situation seemed off. Something deeper was going on here.
“We’d like for your friends to give us their weapons now,” Albert said, his voice monotone and calm.
He motioned his rifle towards the others. Tori had her 9mm drawn, finger on the trigger. Lexx was holding the shotgun; Ben his hand on his hatchet.
“We’re not giving you our weapons,” Tori said.
“You don’t really have a choice, do you? We have much more superior firepower than you do. I’m sure your friend’s hatchet there is good for the dead, but it won’t do much against Agatha here.”
Albert held up his AK, bringing it to his lips and planting a kiss on the barrel.
“Agatha? That’s a stupid name,” Lexx mumbled.
“It was my grandmother’s name!” Albert shouted, pointing the gun in Lexx’s direction. His voice changed from shrill shriek to a deep thundering.
“Did I say stupid? I meant that’s a great name. My bad,” Lexx said.
Everyone stood in silence for a moment.
“Look, we’ll just walk right back out, and leave you here to do, well, whatever it is you’re doing here,” Jeremy finally spoke.
“That’s just not going to work for us. You see, you know where we are, and well, you could come back and steal from us. Or hurt us. I won’t allow you to do that. Take their weapons,” Albert answered, motioning for the two camo guys to relieve Jeremy and the others of their weapons.
They didn’t hesitate, like dogs to their master’s bidding. They walked over and took the two guns, the hatchet and Jeremy’s machete. Jeremy wished that they had brought the other two pistols, but they were still in the Jeep. Tori started to put up a fight, but Jeremy again gave her a look that told her to relax. She did, and begrudgingly let the guy take her pistol.
“Good, good,” Albert said. “Now we can be friends. Take the men to the holding room. The girl, she’s a pretty one. Anastasia, why don’t you take her to my room and get her cleaned up. The three of us might have to play later.”
He motioned for the one woman of the group, who was holding the pistol, to go over and get Tori. Her face at first seemed upset by Albert’s new interest in Tori, but she quickly hid it with a smile. She held the gun to Tori’s back and pushed her towards the stairs. Jeremy watched as the woman escorted her upstairs. Tori looked pissed.
“I just want you to know,” Lexx spoke up. “This will go badly for you in the end.”
Albert smiled and walked away.
“Lock them up. The big one especially.”
***
“What the fuck are we going to do?”
Lexx flexed trying to break free of the rope that he was tied up with.
“First, you have to calm down,” Jeremy answered. “You’re not going to be any good to us if you’re too tired to do anything if we do get out.”
They were in some kind of supply room or closet. The walls were lined with shelves, filled with store merchandise, and other supplies. The room was dim, a single light bulb flickered light from the ceiling. Jeremy looked around, his eyes adjusting to the darkness, trying to look for something of use.
“I see some scissors up on one of the shelves, but from where I am, I can’t reach them,” said a voice in the darkness.
“Who is that?” Lexx asked. “Who are you?”
“My name is Avery. These freaks took me captive too.”
“How did you get here Avery?” Jeremy asked.
“I was skating down in the park when things started going bad. I ducked in here to stay safe and these guys jumped me. Started spouting off nonsense about the end of the world and a new world order. Personally, I think they’re all on drugs. Maybe even on alcohol. You guys want some Vienna sausages? I can reach those.”
“No, we don’t want your soggy ass sausages,” Lexx said.
“Your loss,” Avery said.
You could hear the slurping of sausage juices in the dark. Jeremy tugged at his ropes, trying to see if there was some sort of weak spot. He fidgeted for a moment. Nothing.
This is not good, he thought. Not good at all.
He thought about Tori and what Albert meant by “play”. The guy seemed off his rocker and his friends didn’t seem any better. They had to get to her.
“Hey Avery,” Jeremy said.
“Yes,” he answered between sausages.
“There was a woman with us. They took her up to Albert’s room. Do you know where that is?”
“I don’t know man,” Avery said. “I heard the girl, Anastasia, talk about it. She’s the one they send in to check on me. Nice girl, except for the fact she hangs out wit
h these lunatics. Oh, and she’s banging Albert. Not an attractive trait, y’know?”
He paused for a sausage.
“Sweet Jesus man, how many of those things do you have?” Jeremy asked.
“There’s a couple of packs still down here. Not sure what I’m gonna do when I run out, these are the only food I’ve had since I’ve been here. I feel a poop coming on too. That’s gonna be real interesting. Being tied up and all.”
“Did she say anything about the room?” Lexx interrupted.
“No, not really. Except that’s where they have sex. She told me a lot about their sex life. Way too much. She must get bored because she comes in here and tells me stuff. Gross stuff if you ask me. No, she didn’t say much about the room, except that there was an outside balcony. She said they did it there. In front of the zombies. Weird, right?”
“If he touches her…” Lexx said.
“Stay calm, Lexx,” Jeremy said. “Avery, do you know why Albert is the one in charge? He just doesn’t seem to fit the role of leader.”
“Totally. Yeah, Albert wasn’t originally the one in charge. It was some guy named Richie. He was one of the hunters, who shacked up here in the building. I’m sure you’ve met his two lackeys, Hank and Clay? Well, according to Anastasia, Richie thought he’d be the one in charge, so he was bossing everybody around, and just being a real dick about everything. When Albert and Anastasia joined the group, Richie took a liking to Anastasia. He tried to rape her. So, Albert cut his head off. Ever since then, he’s been the one in charge.”
“That’s crazy,” Jeremy said, his mouth hanging open.
“Yeah,” Avery continued. “He doesn’t seem like an alpha male, but when I voiced concern about his methods of offing Richie, he locked me in here. Which, I guess, is a lot better than getting my head cut off.”
Lexx was still squirming in his ropes.
“I’m fucking serious! If that psychopath touches one hair on her head…”
“Don’t worry man; I’ll have you out of here in a jiffy.”
“What?” Lexx said, surprised to see Ben standing in front of him. He had the scissors in hand and began to cut Lexx loose.
“How did you get out?” Lexx and Jeremy both asked at nearly the same time.
“Eh, old magician’s trick. I studied a little magic when I was younger. Went through this whole faze where I wanted to be a magician. If you tense up real tight when someone ties you up and then later relax, the ropes should be loose enough for you to escape. Houdini did it all the time.”
“Harry fucking Houdini!” Lexx said.
Jeremy started laughing.
“You’ve got a few tricks up your sleeves don’t you, Ben?” Jeremy asked.
Ben smiled.
“Now, let’s get you out of here.”
Chapter Eighteen
Tori was seething as she squirmed to free herself from the ropes around her ankles and wrists. Anastasia had tied her to an antique chair and left her alone in the large room. There were several couches, chairs, and a single mattress lying on the floor; the room had been made into a living area. To her right, Tori could see a glass door leading to a balcony. If she could get free, maybe she could get out there, and climb down the side of the building. She thought of the pistols in the Jeep, but the tightness of the ropes rubbing against her bare skin brought her thoughts back to the present.
That girl Anastasia may be dumb as a bag of bricks, she thought, but she sure can tie her knots. I’ll give her that much.
As if hearing her name, Anastasia walked back into the room, holding a towel draped over her arm and a smile on her face. Her smiling only made Tori more enraged. Anastasia did not seem to notice or care, as she kneeled down in front of Tori.
“Sorry, we don’t have any warm water. This will just have to do,” she said, as she began to wipe dirt and grime from Tori’s face.
“Why are you doing this?” Tori asked. “I mean, what’s in this for you? Obviously, the two of you are together. It doesn’t bother you he wants me now too? That you’re not enough?”
Anastasia stopped for a few seconds to ponder Tori’s words, but then resumed her cleaning. She began to whistle.
“I think it’s pretty fucked up,” Tori continued. “You saw the way he looked at me. You’re not enough for him. What do you even see in that guy anyway? He seems like a total dork, much less a leader.”
“He is a dork. But he’s my dork,” Anastasia said calmly.
“Why do you even stay here? For protection? Help us, and we can protect you, Anastasia,” Tori tried to persuade.
“How will you protect me? You don’t have anywhere safe to live. You’re just wandering around in a silly, old Jeep with no gas,” she said, continuing to clean.
The girl’s voice was dull, emotionless. Tori’s words seemed to go in one ear and right out the other. She had to argue facts.
“We’re heading west. Less people, less zombies. Think about it. It’ll be safe there. You’re just a piece of meat to these guys. When Albert’s done with you, who knows what these other guys will do with you.”
“He told me he loved me.”
“Of course he said that!” Tori yelled, rolling her eyes. “You’re the only girl here! Think honey, the second I showed up or another girl shows up, you’re history.”
Anastasia stood up and turned her back to Tori.
“Don’t say that.”
“You have to know it’s true,” Tori continued to press. “But you can help us. You can make a difference. You can help us get out of here.”
Tori waited to see if Anastasia would respond. There was no way she could just ignore common sense. She didn’t look that naïve. She looked to be around the same age as Tori. She was too old to be hung up on a guy like that. Anastasia began to snivel.
Hopefully she’s getting it and thinking it over, Tori thought.
Anastasia turned back around. She was smiling.
“Nice try bitch. Did you really think I’m that big of a twit?” Anastasia said.
Tori was shocked at the sudden change in the girl’s demeanor.
“What?” Tori asked. “So, you’re going to help us?”
“Help you?” Anastasia laughed. “Hell no! I’m not sure what I want to do with you yet, but I’m sure I’ll figure out a good use for all of you! I especially know what I want to do with that bigger fellow with you. He looked rather tasty.”
Tori was confused.
“What do you mean that you’ll figure out something to do?”
Anastasia laughed again.
“Well, you had one thing right blondie, Albert is no leader.”
She walked away from Tori and the chair over to a bag sitting near the mattress.
“You see, before you got here, there was another guy who thought he’d be king of this castle. Well, he got a little rambunctious. And that is never a good thing. Well, when Albert and myself got here, this guy wanted to repopulate the planet. With me. I, of course, kindly declined his offer. He didn’t like that.”
She pauses in her searching for a moment, as if to think about what to say next.
“He,” she continued. “He took us up to this room and tied Albert to that chair you’re sitting in. He was going to make Albert watch as he raped me.”
Tori’s stomach turned.
“But that didn’t happen.”
She stood up and was holding something in front of her. Tori couldn’t see what it was from where she was sitting. Anastasia slowly turned around. Tori gasped.
“It didn’t happen, because I CUT HIS FUCKING HEAD OFF!”
Held in her right hand by the hair was the decapitated head of the man she was talking about. Its eyes were rolled back up into its skull and slack jawed mouth agape. The blood had dried around the neck, but the occasional drip of dark red liquid fell to the floor.
“You’re out of your fucking mind!” Tori yelled.
Anastasia took the head and reared back like a bowler. She sent the head rolling across th
e floor, all the way out onto the balcony. She smiled.
“Maybe,” she said. “Anyways, I knew that if the other’s found out I cut off poor little Richie’s head, they’d kill me. But, if they found out it was Albert, they’d be afraid. You see, my brother may not be many things, but he can be a very convincing actor.”
“Why keep us here then?” Tori again asked, trying to get the conversation back.
“Isn’t it obvious? Both Albert and myself were hoping another girl would come along. He’s not the only one wanting fresh meat. I like girls too. Especially the way they taste. And well, that turns him on.”
Tori rolled her eyes. This girl was completely psycho.
“You’re pathetic,” she said. “And just know that when you let me out of these ropes to play, the only thing you’ll be tasting is blood from when I punch you in your pretty little mouth.”
“Ooh. Feisty. I like that,” Anastasia responded.
Anastasia planted a kiss on the top of Tori’s head and just continued to smile. She walked over to a table in the corner of the room and sifted through what looked to be a suitcase.
“Let’s see,” she said. “We’re going to have to dress you up a bit. I notice you’re not wearing a bra. Not a problem. One of mine should fit you just fine. We’re going to have to boost the girls up just a bit for Albert. He like’s ‘em plump.”
“How you going to get my shirt off without untying me?” Tori asked. “Cause I can promise you, the second these ropes come off, you’re dead.”
Anastasia giggled to herself. She walked back over to Tori. She was holding the towel, a pink push-up bra and a large kitchen knife. The blade was stained in dried blood. She took the towel and gagged Tori with it, leaning in real close to her ear.
“Well,” she giggled. “We’re just going to have to cut that shirt off then, aren’t we?”
***
“Alright Avery, where are we going?”
Jeremy turned back to look at Avery. He was around Jeremy’s age, maybe a year younger. He was wearing a striped tank top and some cargo shorts. He looked like he was headed to the beach rather than skateboarding.
