by Raymond Lee
Torres had picked up her gun and checked it out before sliding on the safety and shoving it into the back of his jeans. “How’d you get the gun from the man?”
“Kneed the bastard once his pants were down. Knocked his balls up into his tonsils and snatched it before his eyes quit rolling in his head.”
“Did you kill him?”
The woman licked her lips. “I don’t know, but I shot him. I ran right after I pulled the trigger. If you’re expecting me to say I’m sorry you might as well shoot me and put me out of my misery. He deserved what he got. Don’t let the kid shoot me though. Let her keep whatever innocence she has left as long as she can in this shit.”
Torres put his own gun in the back of his pants next to hers and walked over to the woman. “Don’t fucking move,” he warned as he approached her from behind and patted her down, pulling a switchblade out of her back pocket. “Sit down.”
The woman lowered her hands and sat at the closest table. “I didn’t mean to trespass. I can leave. You can just let me go. I promise I won’t come back.”
Torres stared down at her, arms folded, feet apart. “Sky, go get her food and water.”
Sky lowered her gun, relieved to no longer have to point it at the woman. It was the first time she’d had to even though Torres had trained her on what to do, and it made her feel queasy. She rounded the bar and ran up the stairs to the apartment. Unsure what to bring back down, she grabbed a bottled water, a can of Spam and a protein bar.
Torres still stood in the same spot when Sky returned. She looked at him for guidance and he tilted his head toward the woman, giving her permission to approach.
“I wasn’t sure what to grab,” she said, setting the food and drink on the table in front of the woman before quickly withdrawing, half afraid the woman would make a grab for her. She didn’t look particularly dangerous, but she’d been carrying a gun, she’d broken into their shelter, and over the past four weeks the few non-infected people they’d seen hadn’t been prime examples of humanity.
“Go ahead,” Torres said. “Eat.”
The woman twisted the cap off the bottled water first and gulped down the entire thing before devouring the Spam and the protein bar. Sky watched in amazement, not sure the woman even chewed.
“Well, we know she isn’t lying about how long it’s been since she ate or drink,” Torres said as the woman wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her sunken cheeks blushed pink as she averted her gaze.
“Thank you,” she said, voice soft, eyes focused on the empty Spam can on the table before her. “I’ll leave now. I just needed something to eat.”
“You need more than that,” Torres said. “Why are you alone? How did you get this bad off?”
The woman let out a mirthless laugh. “Like this was my choice? The news said to stay inside our homes until the military came for us unless we could get to one of the rescue camps. I don’t have a car so I went with Option A. It’s not my fault the military never fucking came, excuse my language.” She flicked a glance at Sky. “I ran out of food and as you know, the water doesn’t even run anymore. I went out to scavenge for whatever I could find three days ago and ran into a real piece of shit in a store. I barely fought him off, took his gun, and I’ve been on the move ever since. I didn’t bother going back to my apartment because I barely got past my street. The residential areas are swarmed with those monsters. I thought I’d try an area that wouldn’t have been so heavy populated when this all started.”
“In Hollywood?” Torres raised an eyebrow.
“The ridiculousness of my thought process isn’t lost on me,” the woman said. “Still, I was kind of right. Believe me, residential areas are far worse than this spot. I just didn’t think it would be so hard finding food and water in the tourist areas.”
Torres continued staring at the woman. His brow creased but he maintained his posture, arms folded, muscles bulging. He’d maintained his level of fitness despite the limited food and water, eating a lot of beans, rice, and canned meats and vegetables, and Sky lost count on how many pushups he did each morning. “What’s your name?” he asked the woman.
“Sara.”
“What’s your plan?”
She laughed. “If I had a plan I wouldn’t be here right now. I’d be locked away somewhere safe eating a box of Twinkies and chugging a gallon of water.”
“I can help you with the water but I’m not asking the kid to give up her Twinkies. You’ll have to make do with Fudge Rounds. She’s not too crazy about those.”
Sara’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re giving me more food and water? Just like that?”
“You look like hell,” Torres said, unfolding his arms to place his hands on his hips. “You’re clearly dehydrated and half-starved, we didn’t see anyone with you when you came in, and you’re decent enough to show some concern for the kid. Right now I’m thinking you’re not a threat, and I’m definitely not the type of man you had your earlier run-in with. You can stay down here on this floor but there’s something you better know.” He pointed at Sky. “I made a vow to protect that little girl and if any harm comes to her due to anything you say or do, I will kill you. Is that understood?”
Sara gulped, her eyes darting to Sky then narrowing. “I know the light in here is pretty dim, but she doesn’t look like she could be your kid.”
“I feed her, clothe her, protect her and will kill for her. As far as you or anyone else is concerned, she’s my kid. I’ll ask you one more time if you understand.”
“I understand,” she said, looking down at her hands, “and I appreciate you letting me stay here.”
“Consider it a trial run,” Torres said. “If I feel that your staying here endangers Sky in any way you’re back out there on your own, understand?”
She nodded.
“I’ll be back down in a little bit. Your ass better still be in that chair when I return.” He turned to Sky. “Upstairs. Now.”
Sky started for the stairs, Torres close behind her.
“What’s your name?” Sara called out after them.
“Torres,” he answered, continuing up the stairs. Once they entered the apartment he grabbed a plastic bag and started picking through their food supply, selecting items to place in the bag.
“I would have brought down more for her,” Sky said. “I wasn’t sure how much you wanted to give her.”
“Neither was I. You did good. It wasn’t until I saw her devour what you brought that I could tell just how starved she is.”
“I thought she looked hungry. Her face is sunken in and she’s really skinny.”
“This is Hollywood, honey. There are women here that look like that by choice.” He grabbed a gallon jug of water and turned for the door. “Keep that gun in your hands and if anyone other than me pokes their head through this door, shoot them.”
Sky went back to the windowsill to observe the street but kept her body directed toward the apartment door, the gun in her hands, index finger close but not on the trigger. Five infected people in ragged clothes moved jerkily past the Mustang, their shoulders knocking together as they swayed with each step. Over the past week Sky had noticed more and more of them moving along the street. They hadn’t gone on a supply run in two weeks, having netted a decent haul of nonperishables their last trip out. They’d given up the search for Raven about the same time. Sky didn’t put up a fight. She didn’t want to tell Torres but she’d started fearing that they would find her, but she’d have white eyes and rotting skin. She’d made Torres go back to the hotel. The rotted remains of the dead girl’s body were still there. If Raven had believed the girl was her, she wouldn’t have left her body there like that. The only reason Sky could think that she would was if she hadn’t been able to get back to her and she didn’t think any amount of infected would be enough to prevent her from making it back. Turning into one would.
Her arms raised when the apartment door opened fifteen minutes later, and Torres stepped inside, shaking his head as he
closed and locked the door behind him. “Your hands are shaking, but at least you have it pointed in the right direction. I’m going to have to take you hunting and get you more confident with your weapon.”
“I’m not hunting,” Sky said, placing the gun next to her on the windowsill. “I can’t kill animals. The zombies probably got them all anyway.”
“I hope not,” Torres said, placing his gun and the two weapons he’d gotten off of Sara on the dining table, “and once you go long enough without meat you’ll probably be glad to hunt down an animal and turn it into food.”
“What took you so long?” she asked, changing the topic. “Were you looking at her boobs?”
Torres’s mouth dropped open and hung there for a moment, his eyes wide. “What? No! Why would you even ask me that?”
“Raven said boobs make men really stupid. I thought that might be why you let Sara stay, and why you were down there so long.”
He stared at her a minute, blinking, then barked out a laugh before scrubbing a hand down his face. “Boobs aren’t the part that make men stupid, and no, I wasn’t doing anything remotely close to looking at Sara’s. And I didn’t decide to let her stay because of boobs. I can’t even tell what she has under those loose clothes. Like you said, she’s really skinny. Not that it matters.”
“You don’t like women?”
He blinked at her again. “Seriously? You and these questions. You’re killing me. I love women, maybe too much sometimes, but I’m not thinking about women right now.”
Sky folded her arms and fixed him with a stare. “Raven said men are always thinking about women and always trying to—”
“Enough, kid.” He shook his head and laughed. “I really hope I get to meet Raven and see what other words of wisdom she has.”
Sky’s heart plummeted as she analyzed Torres’s choice of words. He didn’t seem to think he’d really meet Raven, at least not one hundred percent. He’d never tell her that though. He was her protector.
“What’s wrong?” He crossed over to her, setting her gun on the end table next to the pull-out sofa before he took a seat beside her on the windowsill. “Why these questions? You know I’ll keep you safe, right? If that woman downstairs becomes even the slightest risk she is out of here. You’re my number one priority. You’re always going to be my number one priority. You’re stuck with me until this apocalypse or whatever it is blows over.”
“You told her I was your kid.”
He lowered his gaze. “I did. I’m not trying to take the place of your parents, or even your sister, but as far as I’m concerned you’re mine to protect as long as we’re together, as long as this world looks the way it does.”
Sky studied him, the way his eyes softened and got a little shiny whenever he talked about protecting her. Sometimes she caught him absently rubbing his pectoral where the skull tattoo was etched into his skin while watching over her. They slept in shifts so that one of them was always awake and alert for danger. He slept fitfully and never at night, always during the day. Sometimes he talked in his sleep, when he was having nightmares. Sometimes he called a girl’s name, once he called her pequenuela. She’d asked him once what he dreamed of, after he’d yelled out in his sleep and awakened shaking. He’d told her it was just a nightmare and not to worry about it. He never told her much about himself, but questioned her a lot.
“What if this lasts forever?” she asked. “What if the military never comes, the virus is never cured, and this is life now?”
“Then you’re stuck with me forever.”
“So eventually you will trust me?”
“I already trust you.” He frowned. “Why would you even think that I don’t?”
“I know your name, that you’re twenty-nine years old and lived in Venezuela and Santa Rosa. I know you worked at that store and you did stunt work and a little acting, that you were a boxer and you’re obsessed with having muscles.”
“I’m not obsessed.”
“You do like a thousand sit-ups and pushups a day. Anyway, my point is I know all that, but that’s it. You don’t talk about your family and you don’t answer any questions.”
“I answer questions.”
“Really?” She crossed her arms. “What are your nightmares about?”
“I don’t remember what I dream, Sky, but they’re probably about zombies. Look at our view.” He gestured toward the street below them where a couple infected people ambled by. “I see this all night long so when I go to bed it makes sense I’d take it with me. You’ve had bad dreams too.”
“About my sister.”
“Yeah.”
“Who is Daniela?”
Torres whipped his head around to face her. “What? Where did you hear that name?”
“From you,” Sky answered. “You talk in your sleep sometimes. You’ve said her name, called out to her while tossing and turning.”
Torres quickly stood and walked across the room where he remained, his back to her. She couldn’t see his face but the tense set of his shoulders showed she’d struck a nerve.
“If you trust me why are you keeping secrets? Why can’t you just tell me who she is?”
“She was my sister,” he said, turning. He raked a hand through his hair and took a seat at the table. Bending forward, he rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together, stared at them a moment as he gathered his thoughts. “She was my little sister. She was killed eleven years ago and I’ve never really gotten over it. Neither have my parents. They will never say it but they blame me, as they should. It was my fault.”
“What happened?”
“You asked me about this stupid thing once.” He tapped his chest over the tattoo. “The skull with the scorpion coming out its mouth is the symbol of a gang, the gang I was in. My father had a good job but he got sick and had to cut his hours way back, then he lost the job completely. We’d been here long enough by that point for them to be legal citizens, but he was too sick to work and my mother didn’t speak enough English or have enough education to find a good job. I was sixteen so the best job I could find was flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant for minimum wage and part time hours. My dad had medical bills. We had utilities and rent to pay. I was already into boxing but not old enough to go pro so I did a few underground fights for cash when the opportunity came up. The gangs took notice and I was recruited into one. I didn’t want to tell you that and scare you. I’m not that person anymore.”
Sky’s hands had started sweating. She wiped her palms on her pant legs. All she’d ever heard about gangs were reports on the news about drive-bys and murders. “Did you hurt people?”
He looked up and held her gaze for a moment, pain and regret coating his eyes before he looked back down at his hands. “I had to rough some people up, especially during my initiation, but they were all punks from a rival gang so I told myself I was doing what I had to do to get money for my family. My mom found out what I was doing and told me it was wrong but she still took the money for the two years I was in. We needed it. I was a boxer and I know I’m not the tallest guy but I’m no lightweight so I was the muscle when the gang hit a house or business. We robbed pawn shops, liquor stores, convenience stores, whatever looked like a quick in and out hit. I told myself it was all right because those places had insurance. Even the houses we hit were all right because they were really rich people. I actually convinced myself it was like they were donating to the less fortunate without having to spend a cent because they got the insurance money later. But then we hit a store where a young girl was working.” Torres lowered his head into his hands and sat there, his shoulders sagging.
“What happened, Torres? It’s OK.”
“No, sweetie, it’ll never be OK.” He sat up straight and tears wet his eyes but didn’t fall. “One of my crew went too far. He was going to do something awful to the girl, something that would have ruined her life forever. I never signed on for that. I couldn’t allow it.”
“So you stopped him?
” Sky breathed out a sigh of relief. She knew in her heart Torres was a good guy.
“I stopped him. We fought. I hit him and he went down like a bag of bricks. The police sirens wailed up the block and we all left him there and ran but I got caught. Later I found out that he’d died before he hit the floor. I’d delivered a deadly blow right to his temple. I hadn’t meant to kill him, I just wanted to stop him, to protect the girl. The gang didn’t see it as an innocent mistake, especially his brothers who were in the gang too. The only way they saw it was I’d turned on them. His brothers decided that since I’d taken their brother from them, the way to make me pay was to take my sister.”
Sky gasped, her hand automatically covering her mouth as her stomach grew queasy.
“I couldn’t even protect her because I was in a jail cell. She was only eleven years old. She’d just celebrated her birthday the week before. I loved her with all my heart and she was shot in the heart because of me. She was killed in her own home after witnessing those murdering bastards beat my mother and father.”
“That’s not your fault,” Sky told him. “You didn’t even mean to kill their brother, and he was going to hurt an innocent girl.”
“The gang didn’t think that way. I went against the brotherhood. My parents didn’t think that way either. I went to prison for what I did at the store that night and the other robberies they linked me to. I would have served a lot longer of a sentence if the cashier hadn’t testified on my behalf that I’d been protecting her. That, and I gave the police a lot of information on the gang, helped them bring a lot in. I didn’t care if it put a target on my head. I wanted them to pay for what they did to my sister. A lot of them were imprisoned because of information I gave but my parents still never came to see me, and never wrote. I’m not even mad at them. I understand it.”
“What about after you got out?’ Sky asked, trying to wrap her mind around how parents could turn their backs on a child. All she’d ever felt from her parents was love. “Did your parents forgive you then?”
