by Eric Vall
I was going to get those children back if it was the last thing I did.
A few minutes later we pulled into the refinery with Paige behind us. Before we addressed the group, though, I wanted to talk to Renee, so when we hopped out I made eye contact with Anna and gestured for her to bring Bailey, Kimmy, and Renee over with her.
Paige, Tara, and I waited by the jeeps and after a minute or so the other women arrived.
“Is everything okay?” Anna asked.
“Everything is fine,” I said, I didn’t want to panic anyone. “There’s just something that we need to talk about before we address the group.”
“Alright,” Renee said, but her eyebrows were pulled together. “What is it?”
“The two men we took care of,” I said. “Did you notice anything strange about their behavior?”
“Hm,” Renee said, and she thought for a moment. “Their attitudes had gotten worse after we arrived here, but I assumed it was their anger that I was put in charge instead of them. They did keep me up half the damn night sometimes, but again, I didn’t think anything of it. People are weird. Why?”
“They were on drugs,” I said.
“What?” she asked, and she studied my face to see if I was serious or not.
“We assumed you didn’t have much practice in spotting drug addicts,” Paige said.
“Well, no,” Renee said. “I suppose I don’t, but I don’t see how I could have… I mean, how could they have hidden that?”
“They were on drugs?” Bailey asked.
“Yes,” I said. “We found some in their pockets. Apparently, the same stuff that the men here before were using, as well as the men in Lebanon and Burlington.”
“Don’t beat yourself up,” Paige told Renee. “You didn’t know, drug addicts are often pretty good at hiding it.”
“Do you think anyone else here could be on drugs?” she asked.
“I can’t say for sure,” I said. “But I’ll keep an eye on everyone just in case, if you’d like.”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m going to make an example of those idiots. I trust my other people, I’m just being paranoid. We’ll let them know when we tell them what’s going on.”
“Alright,” I agreed. “Let’s go ahead and do that, then.”
“You all eat first,” she said. “Everyone else has already eaten, and I don’t know how long this is going to take. People may have questions.”
“I appreciate that,” I said. Normally I would push my hunger aside and talk to the group first instead, but my stomach growled something fierce. It was already well past dark, and I’d barely eaten since breakfast. I knew Paige and Tara had to be hungry, too. Besides, it was always easier to keep a level head when you had a full stomach.
Renee led us to the fire and handed Paige, Tara, and I bowls of some sort of stew along with large pieces of cornbread. I didn’t even bother to blow on the stuff, I simply took a large spoonful and crammed it into my mouth.
My eyes closed as I savored the flavor. It was some sort of cabbage and potato stew, and I thought I tasted venison in there as well. Whatever it was, it was delicious so I swallowed quickly and picked up another spoonful.
Around the fire, people chatted, but I didn’t pay any attention as I alternated between bites of stew and bites of cornbread until every last bit was gone.
I hadn’t even looked up from my bowl since I got it, but after I had finished I turned to see that Tara and Paige were nearly done as well, and they ate with the same ferocity that I had.
“You want some more?” Renee asked me quietly.
“Not right now, thank you,” I told her with a soft smile.
“Let me know when,” she said, and she took my bowl.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Ready when you are,” she said.
“These are your people,” I whispered. “I’ll let you do most of the talking.”
“I appreciate that,” she said, and she cleared her throat so everyone around the fire went quiet. “First off, thank you to Jemma for making a delicious dinner.”
Everyone began to clap, so I joined in as well, and a small, dirty blonde haired girl smiled and waved.
“What you got for us, Renee?” Conner chuckled. “We know something’s up.”
“You’re right,” the brown haired woman said. “We have something serious we need to discuss.”
The mood had been somewhat playful up until then, but when Renee mentioned the word serious her people settled down and leaned forward to listen. It was clear that they respected the hell out of her, and I admired Renee and her little group.
“What is it?” Jemma asked quietly.
“You might notice that Toby and James aren’t back yet,” Renee said. “They’ve been… taken care of.”
“What do you mean?” someone asked.
“They’ve been killed,” Renee said, and she looked around at her group, face and voice unwavering.
“Why?” Jemma asked. “I mean, they were dicks, but what happened? Was there a fight?”
“No fight,” Renee said. “They were supporters of Brody’s, and more than that they were on drugs.”
“What?” a man with glasses said. “How do you know they were on drugs?”
“We have previous experience with drug addicts,” I spoke up, and Renee gave me a small nod. “We noticed their demeanor and appearance, but we also found drugs and paraphernalia on them.”
“So you found that stuff after you killed them?” Conner asked. “Renee, what’s going on? Tav, we thought you all were our allies… I don’t understand what’s happening.”
Renee and I started to explain the situation and everything that Brody had done including raping the women at the fort, killing his own father, and now kidnapping two small, scared children. We explained that anybody that was a supporter of his couldn’t be trusted, and that we’d made the decision that we felt would keep everyone safe, which was why Toby and James had to die.
After we finished we waited for questions or protests, but the group just sat around the fire, stunned into silence by what we had just said.
The quiet dragged on for a few minutes until one of the civilians, a small, older man with glasses finally spoke up.
“Good,” he said. “Not only were Toby and James assholes, but they supported Brody, and after what we saw him do at the fort I don’t know how anybody could do that.”
“I agree,” Jemma, the small, dirty blonde haired girl said. “I’m not upset that they’re gone. Brody raped us.”
Some of the other women in the group nodded, then, and I felt my fists clench in response to their torment.
“He’s a sonofabitch, and it’s about time someone gets rid of him,” she continued. “What can we do to help with the children? He still has them, right?”
“As far as we know, yes,” I said, and a small smile came to my lips. I was happy that the civilians understood why we felt the need to take out Toby and James. I had expected some backlash, but there really hadn’t been any. I think part of it was their respect for Renee. She was a straightforward woman and they knew they could trust her.
“Paige and I are going to figure out how to get them into the fort,” Renee said with a gesture at the mousy brunette. “We’ll let everyone know more tomorrow, but if you have any ideas or questions please come to me or anyone in Tav’s group.”
The civilians nodded their agreement, and Tara went to our jeep and retrieved some chocolate and passed it around for everyone. We sat quietly and ate our sweets until Jemma cleared her throat and spoke quietly.
“How are you going to do it?” she asked. She couldn’t have been more than twenty five years old, and her long, dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a low ponytail so I could see all of her serious, piercing blue eyes.
“Do what?” I asked, though I was sure that I knew what she was talking about.
“How are you going to kill Brody?” she asked, louder now, unafraid of her question or how it made ev
eryone feel.
“However we can,” I explained. “I don’t have a specific plan, but I’ll take the first opportunity I get, whether it be by gun, knife, or even my own hands.”
“Okay,” the young girl said with a nod, and she looked down at the fire, then back up at me. “Can I ask a favor?”
“Sure,” I said, curious as to what it might be. Nobody had asked me how I planned to kill somebody before, so I was already intrigued by this young girl.
“Don’t make it too quick,” she said seriously, and her eyes bored into me as she waited for my response.
I was in no way surprised that one of Brody’s victims would think that, but I was slightly shocked to hear it come out of her mouth. I could only imagine the hell that he’d put them through, having never experienced it myself. Only someone who had gone through their struggle could truly relate, but I felt their pain as much as was humanly possible. They not only wanted Brody dead, but they wanted him to suffer. They wanted revenge against the asshole who had taken so much from them. I looked around to the other women in the group and realized that they all had eyes on me, waiting for me to respond.
“I’ll do my best,” I said honestly. If I could give these women some sort of satisfaction in a slow death for Brody, then I most certainly would. The thought had already crossed my own mind, though I, of course, would still take the first opportunity to take out the sonofabitch, but now I’d try my best to give him a vital injury first. Watching him bleed out sounded pretty satisfying when I thought about it.
The civilians headed to the barracks after a while, and Renee told us that we could have the first room to the right, it was plenty big enough for us and we could come to bed whenever. I thanked the woman and promised to put out the fire when we were done.
I looked over to Kimmy to see her staring at the fire with her hands in her lap. She twiddled with her thumbs, and I wondered if something was wrong before I realized that we had yet to set up the radio.
“Kimmy,” I said, “I’m sorry we didn’t get to the radio tonight. I’m sure you’re anxious to hear about Anthony and to make sure he’s okay. We’ll do it first thing in the morning.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s alright,” she said with a small smile. “I just miss him is all. I haven’t really been away from him since the day he was born.”
“That must have been so hard,” Bailey said. “Having a baby with no doctor there.”
“My sister was there,” she said. “But it was hard. No pain medicine, no reassurance if something went wrong. It was scary as hell.”
“Oh, man,” Tara said. “I can’t even imagine that. No, thank you.”
“I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Kimmy said, and I felt a smile come to my face. She was a good mother.
“You’re a strong woman,” the platinum blonde said, and she reached into her backpack and pulled out a small bottle of vodka.
“Tara,” I chastised. “What is that?”
“What?” she asked. “We’re going to be here all day tomorrow. I thought everyone could use a little drink right now, though. It’s been a long day.”
“Naughty,” I teased as I snatched the bottle from her.
“Hey,” she pouted.
I twisted the top off and took a swig, then I passed it to Paige, who sat on my left.
“Thanks,” the brunette said.
“What the hell,” Tara chuckled.
“You weren’t supposed to bring it,” I said with a shrug. “I think the punishment fits the crime.”
“Touché,” she said with a glare.
Anna got the bottle after Paige, and she took a large swig, then passed it to Kimmy.
“What flavor is this?” Kimmy asked as she looked at the bottle.
“Alcohol,” Tara said sarcastically. “Just drink girl, come on.”
Kimmy took a swig and gulped it down, but then she began to cough as she quickly passed the bottle to Bailey.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Kimmy said, though when she looked back up her eyes were watering. “I just don’t normally drink things straight up.”
“Get used to it, girl,” Bailey chuckled and took a swig, then passed the bottle to Tara.
“I don’t know if I could ever get used to that,” Kimmy laughed as Tara took two big gulps of the liquor before she passed it to me.
“I thought I’d seen you have a drink or two,” I said.
“I have,” Kimmy agreed. “And I don’t mind a straight whiskey or bourbon, but straight vodka? No, thank you.”
“Girl has a point,” Tara said. “It is the worst to drink alone. It’s not exactly made to be a sipping drink.”
“Right,” Kimmy said. “Vodka’s meant to be a screwdriver.”
“Screwdriver?” Bailey asked.
“Vodka and orange juice,” Kimmy explained.
“Ew,” Bailey said, and she wrinkled her nose. “Gross.”
“It’s actually pretty good,” Tara said. “But mimosas are better.”
“Mimosas are better for day drinking,” Kimmy said. “Screwdrivers are good after a long day, though.”
“Hm,” Tara said, and she looked at Kimmy curiously. “I like your style.”
“Thanks,” Kimmy chuckled.
“A girl who knows a thing or two about drinks,” I laughed. “Of course Tara loves you.”
“I have other reasons, too,” the platinum blonde said, and she wriggled her eyebrows at me.
“I’m sure you do,” I said with a chuckle and a shake of my head.
I took another swig from the bottle and passed it to Paige once more before I leaned back in the lawn chair and kicked my feet out toward the fire. It really had been a long day, and as much as I wanted to scold Tara for bringing alcohol, I was also glad that she had. It took the edge off and allowed me to think about something other than the kids and how I was going to decapitate Brody when I saw him again.
I looked around the fire and caught Kimmy’s eye, but she quickly looked away. She had to have been staring at me, and I smiled to myself and stared back at her until she looked up again and met my gaze.
“We should probably get to bed,” Paige said as she stood up and yawned. “We have a long day tomorrow.”
“I’m right behind you,” Kimmy said as she hurried from her chair.
“You can stay if you want,” Tara said as she moved to follow Paige, Bailey, and Anna. “I think Tav is going to stay up for a while, right, Tav?”
“No,” I chuckled. “I’m coming to. I’ll be right there after I put the fire out.”
The girls headed toward the barracks, and I heard Tara saying something to Kimmy about how she really should just go for it. I shook my head, sometimes that girl was too much. She was going to scare Kimmy off for sure.
After I put out the fire, I headed to the barracks as well and found the room that Renee had said we could use for the time being. It was fairly large, and there were six cots in it, with some freshly washed blankets and pillows it looked like.
“It’s going to be weird sleeping alone,” Bailey said. “I’m so used to you guys keeping me warm.”
“So you’re the one who steals all my body heat in the night,” Tara teased.
“Guilty,” Bailey laughed.
“I call this bed,” Tara said as she tossed her backpack onto one of the cots.
“Tara, wait,” Anna said. “I think we should give Kimmy first pick.”
“Why?” the platinum blonde asked. “Every woman for themselves.”
“Kimmy might not feel as comfortable with our sleeping arrangement as everyone else,” Anna explained.
“Fine,” Tara said with an eye roll. “Who do you want to sleep with, Kimmy?”
“By,” Paige corrected. “Who do you want to sleep by?”
“That’s what I said,” Tara replied with a grin that said that she knew exactly what she had done.
“I’m going to take the corner,” Kimmy said confidently. “And I’d like to in
vite Paige and Bailey to sleep by me if they want to.”
“Sure,” Bailey said.
“Of course,” Paige answered.
“You guys are so unfun,” Tara said with a small chuckle, and she started to take off her jeans to put on some shorts to sleep in, but as she did Kimmy looked around in a panic.
“I think I’ll excuse myself to the hallway while you ladies get ready for bed,” I said, and I stepped out of the door before any of them could respond.
I didn’t want to make Kimmy feel more uncomfortable than she already was. It was clear that there was chemistry between us, and she may even like me, but she was obviously quite shy, and I wasn’t about to push her beyond her limits. I needed to be respectful of her wishes, even if they differed from our normal routine.
And as much as I’d like to see what was under her clothes… well, I wasn’t going to be a pervert about it. She would show me one day if she wanted to.
After a few minutes, I knocked on the door, and Anna called for me to come in.
“Everyone decent?” I asked as I opened the door.
“You know we aren’t,” Tara teased.
“Oh, shut up,” Anna said, and she tossed a pillow at the platinum blonde. “You’re going to scare Kimmy.”
“I’m fine,” Kimmy said. She had taken the cot in the far corner of the room, and after the rest of the girls claimed theirs it ended up that I had the one closest to the door, which also happened to be the one furthest from Kimmy. I knew the girls had done it purposefully to make her feel more comfortable, and I appreciated the effort from all of them. Except for Tara, I imagine that wasn’t the first pillow Anna had thrown at her. I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if the platinum blonde had tried to push Kimmy and I together.
“Great,” I said, and I sat down on my designated cot and took my shoes off. I had on boxers, but I didn’t want to just pull my pants down, so I covered up with my blanket, then slid my pants off so that Kimmy wouldn’t have to see anything indecent.
I flipped the light off and laid back with my arms behind my head. I could feel some tension in the room like I was being stared at, but I ignored it and tried not to look over at Kimmy. She had been embarrassed last time I caught her looking at me, and I couldn’t imagine it would be any different now.
