Plagued

by Barnett, Nicola

  “Ladies!” Mitch squeaked, outstretching his arms to the newcomers. “Welcome to Paradise.” He chuckled to himself.

  Emily pointed at a woman who was sweeping—it was one of the Post Office lady’s children, Natalie. Although she was no older than twenty, her haggard, deeply-lined face, complete with a black eye, now made her look at least ten years older. Men were grabbing at her bum as she swept and she winced, wiping tears from her eyes with her arm. She glanced at the newcomers and recognized Sarah, a look of relief washed over her and she smiled pathetically. Sarah returned it, her heart wrenching at the sight.

  Duke stood next to Sarah and lit a cigarette, winking at her as he did it. “Now, you ladies will be sharing with me and my friend Mitch, here. We have the biggest shack. I thought I’d be gracious since you’re both pretty little things and let you bunk with the best looking guys here.” He smiled cockily, blowing smoke in their faces. “And some people think I’m selfish!”

  Mitch laughed loudly in his high pitched voice; it reminded Sarah of a hyena. An urge to punch him in the face rose inside her and she let it go.

  “This is going to be a good day!” he exclaimed.

  “What are you going to do to us?” Emily’s voice was tremulous.

  “Aww, don’t worry yourself, poppet, it won’t be that bad. You just do what I tell you and you’ll be fine. We’re not monsters,” Duke said and let out a gravelly laugh. “Mitch, show them where they’ll be sleeping tonight,” he said as he walked towards the centre of the camp.

  “Follow me ladies!” Mitch said and waved his hand to the caravan extravagantly.

  If I ever get out of this hell-hole, I’m going to kick his testicles so hard only dogs will hear that voice again, Sarah thought to herself and a dark smile crept across her face.

  As they walked to other end of the site where their caravan was, some of the other men noticed the new arrivals and whistled at them. Mitch proudly told them they were his and Duke’s property and they groaned in disappointment.

  “I don’t know what you’re moaning ‘bout, Smithy, you’re a bender!” Mitch shrieked, causing the rest of the men to roar with laughter. The one called Smithy gave Mitch the finger and went back to his can of Fosters.

  Mitch turned to the girls and told them matter-of-factly, “Caught him with Lenny behind one of the six-berths. He said they were checking for bites.” He snorted and shook his head. “Benders.”

  Their caravan was a six berth; the largest on the site. Mitch climbed the small steps and opened the door. He went inside and signalled for them to follow, grinning down at them wickedly. Emily hesitated and shot Sarah a worried glance, so Sarah went inside first. Emily quickly followed, trying to stay as close to Sarah as she could. She wished she had stayed hidden back in the sports hall. Maybe they’d have had a chance.

  Beer cans scattered over the small kitchen counter and filled the sink, fag butts were thrown all over the floor, and the smell of beer and nicotine hung in the air. Photos of the previous owners were still hung on the walls, pictures of holidays and times that were long gone. The site had obviously been occupied before the outbreak.

  “Sarah...” Emily said in a mousy voice.

  “Yes?” Sarah said, turning to her friend.

  “There are only two beds.”

  “Yep, that’s right ladies. You have the absolute honour of lying next to us,” Mitch said, crossing his arms proudly.

  “No, I don’t want to,” Emily whined, burying her head in her hands.

  “Well that’s an insult, blondie, we’re not that bad! I showered just this morning.” He grinned at her and grabbed his own crotch—a suggestion that brought bile to Sarah’s throat.

  Emily made a break for the door, but Mitch jumped in front of it quickly. “Uh uh! Sorry darling, you’re staying here. Try doing that again and it’ll be the handcuffs from now on. We don’t want that, I was saving those for tonight.” He winked.

  Emily burst into tears and ran into Sarah’s arms. Sarah hushed her and looked angrily at Mitch over her shoulder.

  Mitch shrugged, as if they missed the joke, as Duke walked into the caravan.

  “You’ve upset the girls already!” Duke laughed. “You’ve always had a way with women,” he said and they both laughed. “I assume you told them about their new sleeping arrangements?”

  “Yeah, that’s what set her off,” Mitch sniggered.

  “Of course it made her cry, she’s sharing with you, poor girl.” Duke laughed. Mitch looked genuinely hurt.

  “Now you,” Duke said to Sarah, intensely eyeing her body, “I’m saving for myself.”

  He walked around her slowly, as if examining her. Sarah steeled herself against his gaze, trying to hold in her fear. She stood up straight and held her head high, hoping her demeanour would deter him.

  “It’s kinda funny—I get to have Jack’s girl in my bed tonight, bet he never thought that would happen.” Duke was amused. “I thought it was a little strange how he decided to get a girlfriend all of a sudden but now I understand!” He smiled eagerly as he looked at her breasts, flashing his blackened teeth.

  Sarah folded her arms over her chest, mulling over Duke’s words. A thought hit her. “You two knew each other, didn’t you?”

  Duke laughed; a gravelly sound that bellowed through the room, making Sarah wince. “I didn’t think he’d be very forthcoming with that fact. But yes, let’s just say we are old friends—competitive ones at that, which is why you being here is so important. I won this round. Jack’ll have to find another one to play with.”

  He stroked Sarah’s cheek; his rough hand like sandpaper on her face. She winced and turned away from it. Duke smiled as he walked towards the door, and then muttered to Mitch in a low voice. “We’ve got to work to do. More infected are coming this way—a lot of them. Think our escapees attracted them here, stupid bitches.”

  Mitch nodded. They left the caravan without looking back and Mitch locked the door from the outside. Sarah ran to the window and watched as Duke spoke to two men carrying machetes in their belts and ordered them to watch the caravan. They left the new guards standing outside the caravan and disappeared into the growing darkness.

  Sarah and Emily sat down on one of the beds with their arms around each other for comfort, and they stayed that way until the light began to disappear.

  ~

  Duke and Mitch returned to the caravan much later, when the sunlight had gone completely. Sweat ran down their faces and they had fresh blood stains all over their clothes. Duke opened the caravan door and popped his head in, looking for the girls. They were still sat on the bed, but a single lit candle sat on the kitchen counter, gently illuminating the room. Emily’s eyes were red with tears.

  “Alright ladies, leisure time is over. Now it’s time for you to earn your keep. Outside,” he ordered.

  The girls followed him out, too tired to argue. They held each other’s hands for comfort.

  The fire in the centre of camp was raging; two women were throwing logs onto it to keep it going. The men were gathered around it, drinking cans of lager and conversing happily. Their faces glowed orange in the light of the fire and their voices were loud and uninhibited—the tell-tale sign of intoxication.

  “Okay, now, we’re going to have a little party. Celebrate our victory on the field today,” Duke said to the group.

  He walked to the fire and faced his men, who turned to face him instantly. He now wore just his black vest, showing his heavily built arms and chest. His combats were spotted with fresh blood.

  “Men, we’ve all been terribly upset over losing two of our finest women today...” he began, interrupted by a bout of laughter and some theatrical crying from his men, “but we’ve got a real treat tonight! This here is a present from my old friend, Jack Archer!” He pointed his hands at Sarah, as though unveiling a fine piece of art.

  The men whooped and hollered at her, and someone wolf-whistled in the crowd.

  “I know you’ll all make her and
her friend feel very welcome.” Then he turned to the rest of the women by the fire. “Ladies, I know you’ve all been a bit bored with the lack of work we’ve been giving you lately, so I thought I’d give you the honour of cooking us a mighty feast for our guests tonight—a sort of welcome party before their work starts.”

  The men applauded happily and started throwing their beer cans at the women as they started preparing the tins of hot dogs that were stood by a large barbeque, near the fire.

  Duke sat down on the ground and opened a can of beer. He began a lively conversation with the man next to him, as they watched the tormented women cook their meal.

  Mitch—who was never far from his boss’s side—grabbed Emily’s arms and yanked her down towards the ground. Emily grabbed Sarah instinctively and she followed. Mitch light-heartedly handed them a beer each and they accepted, knowing they had no other choice. “You’re lucky girls tonight. Duke’s in a good mood, he doesn’t usually give our girls a house-warming party. Ain’t you lucky?” Mitch chuckled.

  “Bite me,” Sarah muttered to herself.

  “What was that?” Mitch snapped, his good mood disappearing in a flash.

  “Nothing.”

  “Good.” He opened his can and took a swig of his beer.

  There were around sixteen men gathered around the fire, all in high spirits. Wrestling matches broke out as the onlookers cheered and some of the men burst into football songs. The smell of burning wood hung in the air, sticking to the clothing of those near it. The air was warm and calm and the smoke danced high above the fire, floating in the gentle summer breeze.

  Sarah looked up from her warm beer to see Natalie struggling against a rather overweight man who was trying to dance with her. She screamed at him to stop and let her get on with her sweeping, but he grabbed hold of her long skirt and pulled it up to show her underwear. The men hooted and whistled at her and she turned to run towards Sarah, crying helplessly. The fat man let her go, bored with his own antics. Sarah stood to her feet as Natalie ran into her arms, tears streaming down her face.

  “It’s so good to see a friendly face,” Natalie said, her tears coming to a halt. “How did you get here?”

  “I came back yesterday. He,” she pointed to Duke, “forced us. He threatened to kill the villagers. Is that why you’re here?”

  “I was swapped for food,” she said, wiping her eyes. “That fucking bastar—”

  “Hey! Get the fuck back to work!” Mitch shrieked at her, making her jump.

  “I’m sorry, Sarah, I’ll talk to you later. Please find me, we really need to talk. He’s not who he says h—”

  “NOW!” Mitch shrieked again—louder and squeakier this time—and threw his half full beer can at her.

  It hit her head on and she screamed in pain. Blood poured from her lip. She took one last sorrowful look at Sarah and ran back to the other side of the fire.

  Duke saw the commotion. “Sit back down,” he demanded, and she did so. “You know her, I take it?”

  “She is a friend, yes,” Sarah said coolly, watching the fire.

  “And how long have you lived in that shithole, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “All of my life,” she said, anger rising. “Those women you have over there, they’re my friends. They’re my neighbours. What gives you the right to treat them like that?” She turned to face him and looked him dead in the eyes.

  Duke laughed, surprised at her outburst. “You have balls. I’ll give you that,” he said and he leaned in closer to her. His breath was horrid and smelled like stale cigarettes. “I took them, and you, in perfect trade. We get you and he gets food. It’s just business.”

  Sarah frowned. “You make it sound like he had a choice.”

  Duke’s amusement left his face and he looked at her square in the eyes. “Honey, it was his idea. Maybe not you, but the others—the blonde one he was pretty adamant to give up.”

  Sarah looked at Emily, who was sat next to her, expressionlessly listening to their conversation.

  “I don’t believe you,” she said, returning Duke’s gaze.

  In that second, a car pulled up next to the parked Land Rover, the sound of tyres rolling over dirt alerting them to its presence. Duke turned to look at it with amusement. He looked down at Sarah. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

  Sarah stood up. It was too dark to see the figure getting out of the car, but it was a man. He walked towards them and Duke opened up his arms and laughed.

  “Well, well, well. I wondered if you’d make an appearance tonight!” Duke chuckled.

  “I came to see her,” the man said, his voice husky and deep.

  Sarah recognised him instantly. As he walked towards the fire, his face lit up in the orange glow and Sarah’s heart sank. Where had he been hiding that car?

  “That fucking bastard!” Emily shouted and ran at him.

  Mitch grabbed her leg from the ground and pulled it. Emily fell flat on her face, blowing dust and dirt into the air.

  “Uh uh! No you fucking don’t!” he said, and pulled her to him.

  Sarah stood there, in shock. She dropped her beer on the ground and it soaked into the dirt, leaving foam on her boots. Jack walked confidently towards her, unsmiling, and turned his attention straight to Duke.

  “Have a beer, man,” Duke said and threw one at him. Jack caught it effortlessly and they both sat down together. “We’ve been looking after your lady friend real well, haven’t we?” Duke looked at Sarah and sneered.

  “Thanks for the bitches, Archie!” someone yelled to Jack.

  Jack nodded solemnly and waved at them. Then he turned to Duke. “I need to have a word with Sarah for a minute, man. That okay?”

  Duke gave him a ‘thumbs up’ and got to his feet. He motioned for Mitch to follow him. Mitch stood up and dragged an angry Emily with them.

  “What is going on here, Jack?” Sarah asked aggressively. He reached out to touch her but she evaded it quickly.

  “Let me explain,” he pleaded. His face was sincere.

  Sarah looked at his face, feeling nothing but contempt for the man she once loved. But a small part of her hoped that there was still a reasonable explanation for it, so she waited.

  He led her to Duke’s caravan and they went inside, closing the door behind them. Jack sat down on the bed and waited for Sarah to follow, but she could hold it in no longer.

  “How can you possibly explain this? You traded us!”

  “Yes, I did but it’s not what you think it is!” Jack said in desperation. “I had to, Sarah! We ran out of food months ago, I’ve been looking for it everywhere but it’s all rotten. You don’t know how hard it’s been trying to keep them calm.”

  “That doesn’t give you the right to give those women to that bastard! And now Emily?” Sarah yelled at him, her face reddening with anger.

  “I know, I know! But what else could I do, I didn’t know you were going to offer yourself on a plate to him! And the only reason we are still alive now is because he gave us food and water. We were starving, Sarah. Your parents were starving. I did what I thought was right!”

  “There must have been others ways,” Sarah said, her anger fading into exasperation. “How are my parents?”

  “If there was, I would have done it, baby. Believe me,” he said, his voice softening. “They’re as good as they can be, not a fan of me at the moment. Don’t worry about them. I’ll get you out of here as soon as I can.” He reached out for her hand. She turned away from him and squinted her eyes to stop the tears from rolling.

  “Listen to me, I wouldn’t have let you go if I had the option. I knew he wouldn’t hurt you. That’s part of the deal. He doesn’t hurt any of the women I tra—”

  “Are you blind or just stupid?!” Sarah spat, a fresh wave of anger burst through her. “Have you seen them out there? I heard Mitch talking about what they do to those women, when we were in Winding. What did he do with the women that tried to run away, Jack? Where are they now? And don’
t you think it’s strange that they have enough food to keep giving it away? What are they eating?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Sarah. You must have misheard him.”

  “I didn’t. Mark was there too! Those poor women, Jack. What kind of man would do that!?”

  Jack’s upper lip twitched. He jumped up off the bed and stood an inch away from Sarah’s face, breathing heavily. “What do you want me to do, Sarah?” he growled. “Do you think they won’t just take whatever the hell they want if I object? They do what they want to do and nothing I say can stop them. At least this way, we all get food in our bellies and I didn’t see your fucking family complaining when I brought it home! ”