by Eric Vall
“I saved those people!” he roared as loud as he could in his injured state. “They never appreciated what I did for them. I gave them everything, and this is how they repay me? By betraying me to some asshole they barely know? Fuck you, Connor.”
His use of my first name was almost comical at this point. It was funny that he thought he could get to me even though he was bleeding out on the ground. Nothing he could say would make me feel any different about myself. I refused to take criticism from rapist pigs.
He really was delusional and out of his mind, but it didn’t matter at that point, though, since he would be dead soon. At the rate that he was bleeding out of his genitals, he wouldn’t last another minute. I was honestly surprised that he was still able to talk, but I wasn’t about to walk away until he no longer had a pulse. I wouldn’t give him any opportunity to do something stupid like try to crawl toward a weapon or cauterize his own wound, though that would be fun to watch.
“Shouldn’t he be dead by now?” Tara asked. “That’s a lot of blood pouring out of his dick.”
“Soon,” I told her, and I turned to her with a smile. “Are you happy you got what you wanted?”
“It was pretty great, not gonna lie,” Tara replied.
“You fucking planned this?” Brody asked, his voice was strained and all the color was drained from his face except for the parts that were red from his blood. “You’re a fucking... psycho.”
“Takes one to know one, I guess,” I laughed. I was glad this shit was finally over. Dealing with someone like Brody had been a challenge, and one that I would be happy to not have to deal with ever again.
Tara and I stood in silence for a moment until Brody’s chest no longer moved with his breathing, then I checked for a pulse but couldn’t find any. He was gone, and his reign of terror had finally come to an end.
All from a dick wound. What a painful way to go.
“Good job,” I told Tara as I stood up.
“Thanks,” she said with a frown as she looked at my face. “I wish I would have done it sooner, though, I just couldn’t get a shot in. I think you have a black eye.”
“A busted lip, too,” I said with a smile. I had tasted the blood a while ago, and I knew it was busted open, but with all the adrenaline in my system I didn’t feel anything. I remembered my knee then, and I knew it would hurt as soon as the adrenaline rush wore off, along with my face and probably everywhere else, but it was still more than worth it to have been able to cause Brody some serious pain. I’d do it over again in a heartbeat.
“Yeah,” Tara said with a grimace. “I was just gonna focus on one thing at a time.”
“I’m alright,” I laughed. “Come on, let’s go find the kids.”
I led Tara over to the door next to the fireplace that had to be the connection to the other room. Once I opened it, I heard panicked breathing, and I scanned the area and saw a woman to my right.
She faced the corner of the room, so all I could see was brown hair, but she was slightly crouched, and I realized then that the children had to be behind her.
“Hey,” I said softly as I stepped through the doorway. The room was large, and it looked similar to the one we had just come from. It definitely wasn’t a child’s room though. There were no toys, absolutely nothing to play with, and from the still partly full bowls on the table it looked like Brody had fed them the same gruel that he made his own people eat.
I worried for a second that the children wouldn’t recognize us, but I reminded myself that we could always go get Lucy if necessary, and she could explain to this woman what was going on.
This girl was already scared, I didn’t want to scare her any more by trying to force her to let us take the kids back to their rightful home.
“Rosy?” Tara asked as she stepped in behind me. “Donald?”
“It’s Tav and Tara,” I said. “And your name is Mary?”
The woman’s head whipped around then, and she stared at us with large, anxious eyes.
“It’s okay,” I said, and I holstered my pistol. I hadn’t even realized that I had pulled it out, it was such a habit to clear a room that I hadn’t even thought about it. “We’re here to help.”
The kids started to push against the woman then, but she wasn’t sure what to do so she tried to hold them back.
“We know them!” Rosy shouted, and she pushed through and ran right to Tara and jumped into her arms. The strawberry blonde haired little girl cried into Tara’s arms while the platinum blonde stroked her back and shushed her.
Donald ran out then, and he came right over to me and wrapped his small arms around my neck.
“You’re hurt,” he said as he looked at my face.
“Yes,” I told him with a soft smile. “I’m more worried about you. Are you okay?”
“We’re okay,” Rosy said with a sniffle as Tara set her down so she could go to her brother.
I quickly scanned the children for injuries, but found none. They didn’t look like they’d been abused in any way, though I was sure they’d have some mental scars from the whole ordeal.
“That man in there,” Donald said with a point to the door we had just come through, “he hurt our grandpa.”
“I know,” I said. “He’s gone now, though, he can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
“Where’s grandpa?” Rosy asked, her small eyes filled with tears.
“Your grandpa is at our house,” Tara said as she knelt down. “Remember where we live?”
“I remember,” Donald said with a nod. “You live with Uncle Rolly.”
“That’s right,” I said.
“Is grandpa okay?” Rosy asked.
“He looks a little bit like Tav does still,” Tara said with a small smile. “But he’s going to be just fine.”
“When can we see him?” Rosy asked.
“Yeah,” Donald said, and he started to cry then, too. “I miss my grandpa.”
Tara looked over at me with pleading eyes, and a serious frown on her face. I had originally planned on staying the night and getting things prepared to leave in the morning when Anna showed up with the civilians from the refinery, but I realized then that we needed to get these kids back to their grandpa as soon as possible. Neither of them would care if it was the middle of the night or not, they needed to be together. Henry needed to know that his grandbabies were alive and well.
“Don’t worry,” I said softly, and I wiped a tear from the boy’s cheek. “We’re going to take you back to your grandpa.”
“What’s going on?” Mary, the brown haired woman from the corner, asked.
“I’m sorry,” I said as I stood up and put my hand out. “I’m Tav, this is Tara.”
“Right,” the woman said, and she eyed my hand cautiously. I looked down and remembered that it was covered with blood and that my knuckles were busted open, so I quickly pulled it back.
“Sorry about that,” I said.
“Did you say that Brody’s gone?” the woman asked, and her brown eyes searched my face for a shred of hope.
“Yes,” I agreed. “His body is in the other room. You can see for yourself if you’d like, but it’s not a pretty sight.”
“And his guards?” she asked.
“They’re gone, too,” Tara assured her.
“Why would you do this?” the woman asked, and she eyed us warily. “Are you trying to take over the fort?”
“No,” I said. “Nothing like that. We just needed to get these kids back to their rightful home. Brody started this, but it needed to be finished.”
Okay,” she said with a nod. It looked like she was in a state of shock almost, and I wasn’t quite sure what to say to her. She was the only one of the civilians who hadn’t been warned prior to nightfall, and that was only because she had been locked away with the kids.
Even though she was wary of us, which I couldn’t blame her for, I still appreciated everything that she had done for Donald and Rosy. She had literally protected them with her own body when we came through the
door, and these were children that she’d only known for a couple of days. She’d put her life on the line for them, and I respected the hell out of her for that.
“Mary,” I said, and the woman looked at me. “I just want to say thank you.”
“For what?” she asked, and her head cocked to the side in confusion. She really was in some state of shock, she didn’t even know what I was thanking her for.
“For protecting Rosy and Donald,” I said.
“Thanks, Miss Mary,” Rosy said, and she hugged the woman’s leg.
“Yeah, we love you, Miss Mary,” Donald said, and he hugged her other leg.
“Come here,” Mary said, her voice choked with emotion, as she squatted down and pulled both of the children into herself. Tears streamed down her face as she kissed the tops of their heads and stroked their hair.
I looked over at Tara and we both smiled at each other, but the platinum blonde looked like she was about to cry, too. It was a sweet moment, and I stepped back and let Mary be with the kids for as long as she needed. She hadn’t known them long, but it was obvious that she cared for them deeply. I wondered then if she had any children of her own. She was probably in her mid forties, and the way she acted with the children made me think that she might be a mom herself.
“Their grandfather,” she said after she stood up and wiped her face. “Henry, he’s going to be alright?”
“Yes,” I said with a smile. “He’s going to be just fine.”
“Alright,” she said, and she sniffled slightly as she looked down at the children. “Please tell him that they’re great kids.”
“He knows,” I said. “But I’ll tell him.”
“And we’ll tell him how you protected them,” Tara said softly. “Thank you again for that.”
“I had to,” she said.
“No, you didn’t,” I said softly. “You chose to.”
“Do you have kids?” Tara asked, vocalizing my thought from just a moment ago.
“I, uh,” the woman started, then her eyes filled with tears again. “I did. I had a little boy, but… he’s not here anymore.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
“It was a long time ago,” she said, and she wiped a tear from her eye. “Before all this. He was about their age when he died of cancer. Leukemia.”
“No wonder you took such good care of them,” Tara said with a soft smile, and the woman’s eyes filled with tears all over again.
“It’s a mother's duty to take care of her children,” Mary whispered as she looked down at the kids. “Even if they’re only hers for a couple of days.”
“You did an amazing thing,” I said.
The woman nodded, so I dropped down to my knee and addressed the kids. I didn’t want to make her cry anymore.
“Let’s go find grandpa, yeah?” I asked.
“Yeah,” they sang in unison.
I led everyone out of the rooms and down the hallway, but when we got to the exposed portion of the wall I looked down to the courtyard to see that there were quite a few people in it already, with more coming down it looked like.
“What’s going on?” Tara asked.
“I’m not sure,” I said, my eyebrows pinched together in confusion. I figured it was probably them wanting to see if the mission had been accomplished. They had to have heard the gunshot that Brody had managed to get off. I’d be curious who would walk out as well.
By the time we got down to the courtyard it looked like everyone from the fort was there as well.
“Tav,” Lucy said, and she stepped forward out of the group.
“It’s done,” I said, and the reaction from the crowd was not what I had expected. Some people, mostly women, began to sob, some literally cheered, and others just stood in place in total shock.
“You’re sure?” Lucy asked, her eyes full of tears.
“I’m sure,” I said with a nod.
“Thank you,” she said.
“We’ll be back tomorrow to help you all get everything cleaned up,” I said. “But for now we should get these kids back to their grandfather.”
“Of course,” Lucy said.
“Can we borrow one of your vehicles?” I asked. “We’ll bring it right back tomorrow.”
“Borrow whatever you need,” Lucy chuckled.
“Just a jeep will do,” I said with a smile.
The kids gave Mary one last hug, then Tara grabbed Rosy’s hand and I grabbed Donald’s, and we led them to one of the jeeps that sat on the far side of the courtyard. A couple of guys ran up to the gate and opened it for us, and I waved at them as we left the fort.
It was still dark as hell outside, but the moon above the water was gorgeous, and its silver beam lit up Tara’s hair in the passenger seat beautifully.
The first thing we had to do was get Bailey, so I headed over to the king’s garden and stopped the jeep, then I whistled loudly, and a second later Bailey came running toward us.
“Hey!” she called as she approached the jeep.
The blonde opened the back door and Rosy and Donald greeted her with hugs, then she took the middle seat and leaned forward to talk to Tara and I as we drove. It felt good to have Bailey with us again, it had been fun but strange with just Tara and I, and I couldn’t wait until the whole group was reunited again.
“I’m guessing everything went well?” Bailey asked as I hit the highway.
“We got it taken care of,” I assured her.
“You look like shit,” she breathed when she saw my face in the rearview mirror.
“Damn,” Tara chuckled.
“Sorry,” Bailey said, and she covered her mouth with her hand. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“You should see the other guy,” I laughed.
“I don’t think I want to,” Bailey chuckled. “I’m glad you’re okay, though. You know Paige is going to want to look you over, though.”
“I know,” I said. “I’m fine, though, just some bumps and bruises.”
“Guess what,” Tara said.
“What?” Bailey asked.
“I got to stab Brody in the dick,” the platinum blonde said with a grin.
“Really?” Bailey asked. “I kinda figured you wouldn’t get the opportunity.”
“I saw it, and I took it,” the platinum blonde said. “Veni, vidi, dickie.”
“Oh, my god,” I laughed.
“The women at the refinery did ask that his death be slow and painful,” Bailey giggled. “I can’t think of a much more painful death than that.”
“Neither can I,” I said, and a shiver ran down my spine at the thought of it. That would normally be a punishment that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy, but in this case I thought Brody deserved nothing less.
We drove on in silence for a while, the only thing in front of me was what my headlights lit up on the road. The trees and fields around us seemed to whiz by as I focused on the road and the thought of reuniting Henry with his grandkids.
At one point I checked my rearview mirror and saw that not only had the kids fallen asleep leaned up against Bailey, but the blonde was asleep as well.
“It’s times like these I wish I still had my phone,” Tara whispered, and she flashed me a soft smile.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“A picture, duh,” the platinum blonde chuckled. “Look how frickin’ cute they are.”
“It is pretty adorable,” I agreed.
After the long, crazy day we had, it was nice to know that we’d done what we had set out to do. Brody was dead, and Henry’s grandchildren were safe and sound. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to the day. I was still partially amazed that Brody had managed to talk such shit while he faced death, but I didn’t want to dwell on it too long. What he said was downright crazy, and it was incredibly clear that he was far beyond any sort of help.
He actually thought that he had been good to the people at the fort, that they should have been grateful for anything that they received, even t
hough they worked their asses off day in and day out, and for what? Brody made them eat potato soup while they prepared his feasts. I felt sick that I had ever taken part in that ritual, but I couldn’t go back and change it, I could only move forward and do my best to make it up to the people that lived there.
It was their fort now, and we’d finally have an ally that we could really trust and count on. We’d have plenty of fuel for the harvest, too, and we’d be able to trade with Renee any time we wanted.
Right then, though, all we had to do was get Rosy and Donald back to their grandfather.
Chapter 29
I turned into the familiar driveway and took it slow so the bumps wouldn’t wake the children.
“Hey,” Bailey said softly, and she poked her head up by Tara and I.
“Hey sleepy head,” I chuckled.
“Are the kids awake?” Tara asked.
“No,” Bailey replied. “They’re still out like a light.”
“They probably didn’t sleep very well while they were there,” Tara said with a frown.
“I’m sure you’re right,” I agreed. “They’ll be back with their grandfather soon enough, though.”
“Yeah,” Tara said with a nod. “I wonder if Donna would give them an exam.”
“I’m sure she would,” Bailey said. Donna was our resident psychologist, though she didn’t often get to use her skills. “Do you really think they need one, though?”
“I don’t think it’s a bad idea,” I said. “Being kidnapped like that had to have been extremely traumatic. Actually, I bet a lot of the women at the fort could use a psychologist as well. We’ll talk to her about it tomorrow.”
“She’ll probably be happy to be doing what she loves again,” Bailey said with a smile.
“Remember how weird she was when she found out about all of us?” Tara laughed.
“She stared at us for days,” Bailey added.
“I think she only stopped once she and Jeff started hanging out,” Tara said. “They were trying to be so discreet, it was cute.”
“She didn’t mean any harm by it,” I said. “It was a little strange, though.”
“We’re fascinating, that’s all,” Tara said with a shrug.
Just then Winchester appeared in my headlights. He ran back and forth as we came up the driveway, and he barked at the vehicle, probably unsure if it was us or not.
