Man Eaters (Book 3): Mob Rule

by Linda Kay Silva

  ****

  Dallas woke the moment a greasy palm slapped over her mouth. Hands grabbed her flailing arms. She fought for a moment, before she realized the futility of struggling.

  Someone turned her light on and she saw the redheaded guard standing at the end of her bed. “You can ease up on her, fellas. I don’t take her for a screamer, right Dallas?”

  Dallas glared at him. She was held down by two men on either side of her, but the hand was removed from her mouth.

  “If my men release you, will you behave?” JB sat on the stool by the vanity, taser in his lap. “Because I can always find ways of making you behave and this taser ain’t the half of it.”

  Dallas nodded and sat up when the men released her arms. “So much for that shower and gettin’ purdy,” she said. “Is this some kind if cowboy gang bang?”

  JB threw his head back and chuckled. “Don’t flatter yourself, Miss Dallas. I am not interested in procreating with you.”

  “Then what are you interested in?”

  “You mean besides saving the world? I need you to calm your girls down. They’re acting like wild women. Untamed. Rowdy. Crying. Screaming. It’s not good for anyone.”

  Dallas fought to control her emotions when she realized there was a chance she would get to see Roper. “My women are out of control? What are they doing besides showing emotion?”

  “The usual—crying, agitation, acting like banshees. Your sister is likely to hurt herself if she doesn’t stop thrashing about. She’s like a wild animal, that one. I already have a consort for her, but I need her unscathed.”

  Dallas swallowed her ire. “Unscathed? I see. Tonight?”

  “No. Now. I want you to make sure they understand that they are safe, that they’ll be well fed and well cared for. They merely need to be—inconvenienced—for an hour or so a day, or until they find themselves with child. At that time, they will be treated like proverbial princesses, their every need taken care of, their every whim satisfied. They will not need to work or do anything except what they were created for, to bear and raise children.”

  “Wow. Such a deal.”

  JB rose. “They’re your people. If you’d rather they just—”

  “No, I’ll do it.” Dallas rolled out of bed, her shackles jangling against the floor.

  “Let me be clear here,” JB said, tapping the taser with one hand. “Do not take me for a fool. If you step out of line in any way, you’ll find yourself right back here with little chance of seeing them again. Are we clear?”

  Dallas rose and nodded. “Crystal clear. I don’t want my girls to be scared. You won’t have any problems with me…or them after I talk to them.”

  He flicked his wrist at the guards. “Taser her if she gets out of line.”

  Dallas walked between the two guards she knew as Sarge and Clint. As they unlocked her leg iron, they kept their tasers poised.

  “Relax, boys. I’m not going to attack you. I just need to see my people.”

  “Then don’t cause us no problems, Miss Dallas, because you do, and we’ll gladly shock the shit out of you.”

  “Roger that.”

  Ingrid was in the first room they came to. She was sobbing uncontrollably and flew into Dallas’s arms. “Oh my god. Oh my god. Please. No. This can’t be happening.”

  “Shhh.” Dallas rubbed Ingrid’s back and asked the guards, “Some privacy, please?”

  The two men looked at each other before backing out of the room. “No funny business.”

  Dallas waited for the door to close. “Ingrid, listen to me. What happened to the bus?”

  She kept crying and didn’t say anything.

  Dallas grabbed her chin. “Ingrid, there’s not much time. What happened to the bus?” Dallas squeezed her arms. “You can do it. I need to know.”

  “They—they killed them all.”

  Dallas’s heart sank. “Wait. Killed who all?”

  “I… saw them shoot the bus over and over again. They found a bunch of us and killed us. They shot the Chips…and…and…”

  “Zoe? Hunter?”

  Ingrid shook her head. “I don’t…I don’t know. It was dark and there was just so much shooting.”

  “Who else is alive?”

  “Nancy. Oh. And maybe Wendell. I saw him run up a hill, but they, they chased after him. Can you get us out of here? Please get us out of here.”

  “I sure as hell am gonna try, but I need you to be calm, okay? Getting all worked up isn’t going to help anything.”

  “What, what should I do?”

  “Do as you’re told for now. Stay calm and know I am doing everything I can to get us out. Believe that, okay? Your job is to stay alive, and the best way to do that is to do as they ask.”

  Ingrid blinked and nodded.

  “Get some sleep. Be brave.” Dallas tucked her in before knocking on the door. She felt knocking was more prudent than opening the door and getting tasered. “Done here.”

  The next room was Nancy’s. Their conversation was about the same as the one Dallas had with Ingrid, only with fewer tears.

  In the third room, Dallas expected to find Cassie cowering under the covers and crying like the other two.

  But she wasn’t.

  Cassie sat on the edge of the bed, waiting. When the door closed, she stepped into Dallas’s embrace.

  “You okay?”

  Cassie nodded. “I refuse to show them fear, but I’m scared to death. This is a worse nightmare than the damn zombies. Have you heard from Einstein or Churchill?”

  “No, and I doubt I will right now. I’m sure they’re trying to find a way to get to us.”

  “What’s our plan?”

  Dallas smiled at her spunk. She’d always like Cassie ever since they first met. “Stay alive until I can figure a way to escape. Don’t make waves. Don’t lose faith. Know I’ve not forgotten about you, okay? Neither has the kid. As long as you don’t panic, we’ll find a way.”

  Cassie smiled. “I have no doubt.”

  “You know he has a woody for you, right?”

  Her smile grew. “I’ve known that for quite some time. How could I not know? He practically has hearts shooting out of his eyes whenever he looks at me.”

  “And you never, you know, let him know?”

  “Dallas, he’s only seventeen. A baby. It’s not time. I’m not sure there will ever be a right time.”

  Dallas hugged her. “I don’t know when the time would be, but that’s your call, not mine. Do me and the kid a favor and stay safe.” As Dallas turned to go, Cassie reached for her.

  “Does it, will it hurt?”

  Dallas pulled Cassie to her and leaned her forehead against hers. For a moment, they just looked at each other. Finally, Dallas grinned. “How the hell should I know? I’m a purebred lesbian.”

  Hearing Cassie laugh was just what Dallas needed.

  ****

  Zoe

  “Leave it here,” Zoe said, as she pointed to a bare spot behind some rocks. “But don’t just drop it. Set it down easily.”

  “Thank god. This is really heavy.” Eddie set the battery down and rubbed his skinny forearms. “Let’s find a car and get the hell out.”

  Zoe stared at him and then headed in the direction the Fuchs went moving west along the ridgeline until she saw the warehouse district in the distance. It didn’t surprise her that Eddie followed. She wished he hadn’t. Right now, he felt like dead weight.

  “There.”

  “No way. I’m not going down there.”

  “No one asked you to. Why don’t you find a car and let me do the heavy lifting.”

  “By myself? Lady, this here tender flesh is just what those things want most.”

  “Fine. We’ll do it together. We’re gonna need a getaway vehicle, so we need something with four-wheel drive. Something—”

  “That Lexus down there,” Eddie said. “Give me fifteen minutes, and we’ll be riding in style.”

  Less than fifteen minutes later, the Lexus
fired up.

  “Well done,” Zoe said, as the sun peeked over the hills. It would be another hot one.

  “Magic Hands. That’s what I was called in college. By the chicks as well, though for a different reason, if you know what—”

  “Spare me. Keep the windows rolled up and keep your eyes on me. If I put both my arms up, come get me. We may be the only ones who can get Dallas and the others out of this.”

  “This? You keep saying that yet you don’t even know if they’re in trouble.”

  “God you’re getting on my nerves. Nice people don’t do what those men did to the Chips and our bus.” Zoe checked her speed loader with bolts. “If they were okay, Dallas and Roper would have come back for us—come back to make sure we were okay. They would never have left us here. Trust me. They’re in trouble.”

  “Then I’ll stay here and wait until I see your signal.”

  “If you see me with any of the others making our way back, you get your ass and this oversized vehicle to us as fast as you can drive. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “If the ghouls surround you, don’t panic. Just drive away. You’ll be safe in the car as long as the windows are up. Just don’t stay still or you won’t be able to move forward.”

  Eddie nodded. “Gotcha. Good luck down there.”

  Zoe slung her crossbow over her shoulder and headed for the warehouse district across cracked, sun hardened ground filled with cactus and dirty, unused roads hiding beneath layers of dust and sand. Since the warehouses were about a mile away, she veered off the road at the railroad tracks and climbed the slight hill to the tracks and turned to see if Eddie and the Lexus were still there.

  They were.

  She waved and waited for him to wave back. He did. She could see some eaters limping toward him and hoped he didn’t panic. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and panic would get him killed.

  She followed the tracks to close to the warehouses and saw the fenced in area and a lot of well-armed guards patrolling the periphery. Zoe backed away and looked around for the crow’s nests, where, with the right scope or binoculars, the guards might see her.

  Zoe pressed her back to a tree and took a few deep breaths before turning to study the warehouses. A glint from binocular glass would be the telltale sign. Somehow, they had seen the Fuchs coming from a distance. She would have to be careful to avoid being detected.

  She knelt and made sure her bolts were in order and her knives were at the ready. After a few moments, she looked around the tree and saw six men making their way toward her.

  She’d been made.

  “Shit.”

  Zoe moved back to what she hoped was out of sight and considered her limited options. She shouldered her crossbow but she wasn’t sure shooting was the right option. When she looked again, she was certain it wasn’t.

  The six men had split up. Now she only had three of them in her sights. Three were better than none, and if she was going to go down, she was might as well take some assholes with her.

  Bringing the pink crossbow to her face, she shot the first man in the throat. The other two didn’t look down or break stride as they started shooting in her direction.

  She ducked behind the rocks and raised her hands to Eddie. The Lexus started toward her but a lot slower than made her comfortable. She whipped around the rock and took the second shooter out with a bolt in the belly.

  It wouldn’t be enough. She had no idea where the other three were, and if they surrounded her, she was toast.

  Back behind the rock, she watched in silent desperation as Eddie drove away from her instead of toward her, the car engulfed in a shroud of dust as it beat a hasty retreat.

  “Fucker,” she muttered. “I should have known.”

  Just as she swung the crossbow in front of her again, three men came around the other side, rifles pointed at her.

  “Hold up. It’s a female,” one of them said. “Don’t shoot.”

  Zoe did not miss his choice of words.

  “Drop it,” the thin one said, touching her crossbow with the tip of his rifle.

  Zoe looked back and forth at the men and gently laid the crossbow on the ground. She rose and raised her hands, silently cursing Eddie for abandoning her.

  “Hands on your head.”

  Zoe did as she was told, averting her gaze from the tall, chubby man who leered at her.

  “Can’t we just, you know, meet our own needs out here? JB don’t need to know,” the leerer said, licking the sweat from above his fat lips.

  The one in charge, a pasty-faced man with a crooked nose, considered it a moment. “We’d have to kill her after. You know how women can’t keep no secrets.”

  “Look you fucking rat turds,” Zoe said, as she lowered her hands. She knew killing three men with three throwing daggers was most likely impossible, but she’d rather be shot than gang raped. “That little road you’re thinking of going down won’t be painful to just me.”

  “I don’t suppose a little fun with her is outta line. I ain’t got that kinda cash anyways, and what JB don’t know won’t hurt us.”

  “Lemme go first. I ain’t had me a woman since this thing started. I think this one’ll like my—” Before he could finish, an arrow went through his cheek.

  Before the others could get their rifles pointed in the direction the arrows came from, more arrows thwuped into the forehead of one, the neck of the second, and the chest of the third. She took care of the fourth one by chucking two knives into his chest. They were all dead before they hit the ground.

  Zoe grabbed her crossbow and scanned the horizon. Only one man could shoot like that, and he was coming down the ridge with Wendell in tow.

  Hunter.

  Zoe wrapped her arms around Hunter’s neck, her body trembling with fear she hadn’t allowed herself to feel. “God damn am I glad to see you.”

  Hunter lifted her petite frame off the ground. “Was almost late to the party. Sorry.”

  “No apologies. I thought I was the only one left.” Zoe turned and hugged Wendell even though she knew it would make him uncomfortable. “Wendell. Good to see you.”

  Wendell pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and blushed and nodded. “We almost didn’t make it in time.”

  Hunter straightened Zoe’s vest. “We spent the night as high up the ridge as we could. We actually managed to get a few hours of sleep. Are you alone?”

  “I am now. That fucker Eddie bailed on me.”

  “The Lexus?”

  She nodded. She hesitated a moment before she asked the most important question. “It pains me to ask this, Hunter, but, your dad?”

  Hunter looked down. “Dad hid Wendell and then took off so the zombies would follow him. When I reached the ridge—”

  “He saved my life,” Wendell said. “Both of them did.” Wendell’s glasses were chipped and he had a scratch on his forehead that kept dripping blood.

  “The scratch?” Zoe asked.

  “Tree branch.”

  Hunter nodded. “He had it when I got to him. He’s fine.”

  Wendell’s light blue eyes filled with tears. “Zoe, you have to believe I wouldn’t put you two at risk if I had been scratched.”

  Zoe studied Wendell’s face. She knew she could trust him with her life. Turning back to Hunter, she asked, “Then you don’t know if your dad made it or not?”

  Hunter shook his head. “I have to believe he did. I just can’t let myself think any other way.” His eyes scanned the area around them before landing on the six dead bodies. “We have to get out of here.” He pulled his arrows from the dead men and then stabbed each of them in the head to make sure they were dead. “Others will be coming to look for their friends.” He hefted his bag over his shoulder and started walking the opposite direction from the warehouse district.

  Zoe didn’t move. “Where are you going? Our people are in there. We can’t just leave them. We have to go after them.”

  Hunter spun around. “And we
will, but not alone. Not just the three of us. Those men have a Goddamned tank, Zoe. They are well armed and they outnumber us. We won’t do Dallas any good dead or captured.”

  “Wait. Captured? Go—”

  “They wanted more than the Fuchs, but I don’t know what it is. Killing the Chips that way? Blasting the bus to pieces? They were trying to keep us from leaving. They could have just driven away in the Fuchs, but they didn’t. They wanted our people, too.”

  Wendell nodded. “We know they’ve not let them loose or Dallas would have gotten back to the bus, back to us. Since she hasn’t, we have to assume she’s either dead or can’t get free.”

  Zoe nodded, a lump in her throat. “Okay. I can see that, but then why—”

  “Look at their weapons, Zoe. Their gear. Look at their vehicles.”

  “Their weight,” Wendell added. “Look at their weight.”

  Zoe and Hunter looked at him.

  “Well-fed. They’ve chosen their spot well. Think of the food they have in there. It’s well-guarded and they have the best equipment. These aren’t like the penny ante marauders we’ve faced before. These people came to win. They didn’t happen upon this scenario. It was carefully calculated long before the epidemic.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “There’s probably a lot more where that came from.” Wendell knelt down and pulled back the sleeve of one of the dead men, revealing the yellow and black fallout tattoo.

  “What the fuck is that?”

  Wendell pushed his glasses up. “Survivalists. Judging by their weight, their weapons, and their attitude, these guys have an agenda they planned a long time ago, Since they’re so organized, they’re far more dangerous than anyone we’ve met before.”

  “Oh shit.”

  He nodded. “Hunter’s right. We can’t do this alone. It would be too risky. We need to return to Angola. We need the big guns. Let’s see how these bastards fare against our weapons and our people.”

  Zoe looked at Hunter, who was also nodding. “If they’re dead, there’s nothing we can do for them. If they’re not, we have a chance to get them out of there, but we sure as shit won’t be able to do it by playing hero. We need help.”

  Zoe grabbed her gear. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get going.”