by TW Brown
“Things were good for a while. We had to fight off a few other groups, but most people arriving at our walls were in terrible shape and thankful for a place to call home. Our number continued to swell and we actually had to design a new wall. The immune community stepped forward and basically did the entire construction project. They lost three people building that wall.
“About three weeks after the wall was built, people started getting sick and turning. It was just men, and none of them were on any of the details that went out to forage, so people began to get scared. They were afraid that it might be something in the air.” Denise paused and her eyes seemed to find something interesting to look at in her lap.
“Let me guess,” Catie finally said. “Some girl was going around and having sex with men, exposing them to whatever it is that makes people become a zombie.”
“Her name was Sandy Bennet, and her husband was one of the men working on the wall,” Denise said with a sigh. “She was upset. At the trial, she accused the community of taking advantage of her husband and the other immunes. She said that they were being treated unfairly and that nobody had even made a point to hold some sort of memorial service for the men who had died to build the walls. She also claimed that five men she had sex with did not turn, and that if they did not step forward by the next day of the trial, she would give their names.”
“So?” Catie said with a shrug. “Who cares? Wouldn’t that just bolster the numbers of the immune? I would think that was a good thing. Hell, if I was gonna be infected, I would take a roll in the hay over a hunk of my flesh being ripped from my body any day of the week.”
“And that would probably have been the case,” Denise agreed, “but after the deaths, it was mandated that any who were immune needed to have some sort of permanent identification. At one point, tattoos were even suggested, but we had children who were immune. Nobody would consent to a child being forced to get a tattoo. That is when the bracers were mentioned. It was also when we were all rounded up. It was temporary according to Dean.”
“Tell her what happened to Sandy,” Kalisha urged.
Denise paled just a bit, and it was clear that she was recalling something horrible. At last, she sat up straight and fixed Catie with a somber expression.
“She was supposedly being kept in isolation. It was for her own protection according to Dean. Only, the next morning, she was found in a hallway. Her guard was torn apart and at her side. At some point that night, she had died of some unknown cause and then managed to get out of her cell. The hallway was locked from the outside and the poor guy tasked to supposedly keep an eye on her was attacked and turned as well. Of course that confirmed reports that an immune person would still turn upon their death. Still, nobody could explain how she died, much less how she was let out of her cell.”
“So the secret of who else she slept with that did not turn was never revealed,” Catie finished the predictable ending to the story.
“That was only the start of it. As soon as the council re-convened, it was mandated that all the immune be removed from any supervisory position. They were deemed a risk. Elliot and Dean got into an actual fight in the council chamber, but it was like Dean had been ready for him. A bunch of men jumped in and took Elliot down, tied him up, and then carted him off. A few months passed, and a dozen or so others in the community that were immune just disappeared. That was when the Beastie Boys started making their presence known. That is also when children started coming up missing.”
Catie listened to the recounting of the story with mixed feelings. She knew as well as the woman speaking how those things managed to just happen. That also helped steel her resolve for the plan that she had brewing in her head.
Of course, a lot of things would need to happen for it to work. There was a better chance that it would fail than succeed. Still, she needed to do this; if not for herself, then for the baby. She wanted Kevin’s child to have an honest chance at a good life. That did not include living as a second class citizen.
Catie wanted desperately to honor Kevin’s legacy and make him proud of her. She did not necessarily believe that he was “looking down on her” or anything. It was just something that she felt very strongly about.
Catie was a realist. She had been one before Kevin, and she was certainly even more so now. Her entire being was focused on something long term. Yes, there would be risk involved. That was normal in the world she lived in now. She was more certain than ever that she could not do this on her own. She would not be out in the middle of God-knows-where when this baby came. And she would not be living in some walled community where her status of being immune was a liability.
“So then your dad is one of these Beastie Boys?” Catie turned to Kalisha who nodded. “And he took your brother. So why not you? And why are you afraid of them?”
“We aren’t sure that my dad is still the one in charge. There was rumor that he died. And they take women, but not girls. Supposedly they are using the women like baby mills. One person said that the women are being kept in cells and made to do nothing except give birth, nurse, and care for the babies,” Kalisha said softly. “I can’t believe that my dad would do that. He loved my mom. He treated her good. When she died on a run, he was heartbroken.”
“There are other stories, most of them awful. These Beastie Boys are a scary bunch,” Denise said, reaching across and taking Kalisha’s hand, giving it a pat.
“I still don’t believe any of it,” the girl spat, tears of anger starting to well in her eyes.
Catie considered all that she heard. It was certainly cause for concern. However, that did not change things. She had to at least try.
“You can either be a part of the solution, or you can sit back and let things happen around you,” Catie said to Denise with a tone that was perhaps a bit harsher than she intended. “I can’t promise you that things will work. But I can guaran-damn-tee that sitting back and letting others decide your fate will not be the least bit satisfying.”
“I’m going,” Kalisha said. “Whatever you have in mind, I bet it will be better than this. And I want to see for myself if my dad is doing these things. If he is…” Her voice trailed off and the tears that had threatened finally spilled down her cheeks.
“So, what is your plan?” Denise asked.
“Not now. I will fill you in once we are out of here.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“It’s not that,” Catie said, although that was not entirely true. The reality was that she wanted to trust this woman, but trust was something earned, not given. “I need to work it out in my head. If I tell you now, it is likely things will change by the time we leave. I have a few more things I need to know before I can be certain of what I am going to do.”
“You aren’t inspiring a lot of confidence right now,” Denise quipped.
“Just hang tight,” Catie said, getting up and excusing herself.
She walked back to her dorm. Both Denise and Kalisha offered to walk with her, but she refused, saying that she needed some time to think. As she did, she paid close attention to those that she saw wearing the bracers. She needed to lay some groundwork for her full plan to have a chance. That meant talking to a few more citizens. The hard part was deciding which ones. One mistake would end things in a hurry. If her plan was discovered, it was likely that she would end up dead…or worse.
***
“Get your hand offa me!” the man snapped, shoving the two burly guards away and snatching up a small mallet that looked like it could do some wicked damage.
Catie stepped out of the dorm. She had heard what sounded like a scuffle outside and had gone to see partially due to curiosity, but mostly out of boredom. It had been three days since her little deal with Dean Stockton. He claimed the title of the administrator, but Catie saw him more as a dictator. There was a council, but it was handpicked and seemed to consist of nothing more than a few yes men.
Twice she had gone to see him and both times she was turned
away. She was beginning to wonder if the man had not been able to round up enough of his men to make the trip. After all, the Beastie Boys were rumored to be a nasty bunch. Over the past few days, Catie had made it a point to go into public places and drop casual inquiries about them to the residents of this community. It was as if she had mentioned honest to goodness boogeymen.
“You need to put that down, Marty,” one of the men warned.
“You ain’t taking me no place,” the man, Marty apparently, said with a snarl. “If the administrator wants to talk to me, he can come down here his own damn self. And if you think that the two of you have what it takes to bring me in…” The man began to laugh, and it wasn’t pleasant sounding at all. There was serious menace and derision in that little outburst.
“This doesn’t have to be like this,” said one of the two men dressed in the black Catie had seen on the roving security that wandered the confines of the community.
In her own wanderings, Catie had discovered something rather curious. There was actually more security on the ground than up on the walls. No surprise, none of them wore the bracers of the immune. It began to remind Catie of a prison camp in many ways. She saw those wearing the bracers make way any time that the roving goons passed.
“All I am saying is that the first one of you that puts hands on me goes to the morgue.”
Catie leaned against the doorframe and watched the ordeal with growing interest. She appraised the situation and felt that it was very likely that this Marty would be more than capable of following up on his threat.
He was a massive man. His head was clean shaven and seemed to attach directly to his shoulders with no trace of a neck. He stood at least a foot taller than the tallest of his two antagonists. His arms were easily the size of a normal man’s legs and his legs were tree trunks. His torso was tapered from amazingly broad shoulders down to a surprisingly trim waist. In her experience, most men she met with that much size had either a solid but pronounced gut, or were just plain sloppy looking.
“Marty, what seems to be the problem?” another voice called out.
Catie glanced left to the voice and saw a man that was either Marty’s twin, or a clone. Catie blinked to be sure that she was not imagining things. She also noticed the two security personnel take a step back.
“Nothing, little brother,” Marty grumbled. “At least nothing I can’t handle.”
Little? Catie thought. There was absolutely nothing little about this man.
“We have been requested to escort Mister Sabonis to the administrator’s office,” one of the men managed, his voice squeaking and cracking like a pubescent young man.
“Just one of us?” the second behemoth asked with a surprising amount of mirth in his voice. He seemed more amused than anything else. “Now you guys know that we are a package deal. If Marty goes, I go.”
“We were only told to bring in Marty,” the security guard insisted.
“Tell ya what,” Marty’s twin said as he stepped up beside his brother, “I will accompany my brother. That way, you guys don’t get hurt and my brother doesn’t end up in the clink.”
“But—” one of the guards began, but his partner silenced him with an elbow.
“That would be fine.”
Catie watched the foursome head towards the chapel. That must mean that Dean was at the office. He had all but vanished since their initial meeting. She was sick of waiting. It couldn’t hurt to tag along. If nothing else, she could simply camp out across the street and wait for him to leave.
Catie was closing the door to the dorm when another pair of security guards arrived; this pair was making a beeline for her. Perhaps she would not have to wait outside after all.
“Missus Dreon?” one of the pair called out. This one was a woman and sounded like she was a two-pack a day chain smoker.
“Yeah?” Catie stepped back into the alcove of the entrance out of habit. She liked to have her back covered whenever possible. It wasn’t that she expected trouble, it was just her custom.
“We have been sent to escort you to the administrator’s office.” The woman took a few steps ahead of her partner.
“You guys must have won the coin toss,” Catie muttered.
“Excuse me?” the woman asked.
“Nothing,” Catie replied with a wave of her hand. “Let’s go.”
She walked the few blocks to the chapel, a sense of excitement building. Could this finally be it? And if so, were those two mountains of manflesh going to be accompanying her? If that was the case, it was almost too perfect.
She entered the chapel and was only a little surprised to discover Denise, Kalisha, and a dozen or so other people she did not recognize all seated in the pews. She did not need to see bracers to know that those seated on the left were part of the so-called unknown. Kalisha, Denise, Marty and his twin were seated on the right.
“Missus Dreon, you leave tonight,” Dean announced.
6
Superstitious Nonsense
“Why did she do it, Jim?” I sat by the fire, staring into it as my stomach churned.
The anger had not receded as the day drew on and we started up into the hills to the east of what had once been La Grande. If anything, it only intensified as we passed the still smoldering ruins of Island City. This was all Suzi’s doing. She and her people had come into our little valley and just decided to take it.
I thought all day about what Billy might be able to do against these people, but the more I really sorted things out, the more that I came to realize that we were helpless. This was an army. They took what they wanted because they could. Certainly the people of Platypus Creek were no match.
The more it sunk in, the more hurt, angry, and miserable I became. By the time we stopped for the night, I was desperate for somebody to tell me something good. And if that could not be the case, then at least perhaps I could gain some sort of understanding.
“I got no idea, cupcake,” Jim said with a lack of his usual optimism. “What I do know is that that Suzi broad is wackier than a football bat. Nothing good can come from having anything to do with her.”
“So you think Billy will have a way to deal with this?” I tried not to sound like a scared little girl pinning her hopes on some big, strong man to save the day, but damn if that was not exactly how I felt.
“Not likely.”
I turned to Jim with my mouth open in disbelief. He had never encountered a situation that he couldn’t handle or see a rosy side to—at least that I knew of anyway. Yet, there was no mistaking the sound of…defeat?
I felt my shoulders slump, and I returned my attention to the fire. Meanwhile, our so-called escorts were having a great time toying with Hunter’s still-animated head. They were playing a game of chicken where one of them would put his or her hand up to the mouth and yank it away just as the teeth clicked shut.
I watched for a while and eventually found myself getting up and wandering closer. They were so engrossed that they did not even notice once I stood right there in their midst. They were laughing and having a great time oblivious to anything so unimportant like their prisoner wandering around.
“Thalia!” I heard Jim hiss, but I pretended that I was too engrossed in what was going on.
My hand slipped down to my belt. We were not given anything really powerful like a crossbow, but we at least got to carry a belt knife and a machete. I slipped my knife free, trying my best not to draw any attention. I felt more than heard it slide from its sheath in a rasp of metal on leather. I also heard Jim growling my name. Just as the blade came free, one of the goons turned to regard me with a big, stupid grin on his face. I smiled sweetly.
Then I plunged my knife into the eye socket of Hunter’s head. It was over just that quick; at least for Hunter. From the look on the faces that turned my direction, it might just be starting for me.
“You stupid little cunt!” one of the men snarled and sent me flying backwards with a hard backhand. I think I landed right in front of
where Jim sat.
“Hey!” Jim barked, jumping to his feet, but I couldn’t tell much through my blurred vision and ringing ears.
Somebody yelped, and it took me a second to clear my head enough and see that one of the women in our escort was standing over the man who had hit me. She had her fists balled up, and the man was actually on his back with his hands up in surrender.
“What have I told you about that word, Chick?” the woman spat, drawing one fist back for emphasis.
“Sorry, Maddy, it just slipped out,” Chick practically pleaded. Something told me that this Maddy could beat his ass, and he knew it.
“Next time it just slips out, I am gonna cut off those tiny things you try to pass off as your balls. We clear?” Maddy gave Chick a foot to the ribs for good measure and turned away.
I could already see what was going to happen. Part of me wanted to yell a warning. After all, even though I know she was not actually defending or protecting me, this Maddy had given that Chick guy a little bit of his own medicine. Still, I was also having fantasies about these people all turning on each other in a frenzy and killing one another in a quick but ferocious bloodbath, allowing me and Jim to escape to Platypus Creek and warn everybody.
Chick was coming up to a crouch, but he was not so much getting up as he was obviously getting ready to launch himself at Maddy’s back. I did not move for fear that anything I did might actually bring the attention my direction. Sure enough, Chick sprung, launching himself at Maddy’s exposed back.
There was a nasty crack and almost a yelp. Only, Chick was out cold before he landed, so he didn’t actually get the chance to finish that noise after Maddy’s elbow came back hard and smashed him in the jaw.
The rest of the camp was practically frozen in place. I waited, hoping that there would be this moment of silence, and then a massive brawl would erupt. No such luck. There was that moment of quiet; but then everybody started laughing. Well, almost everybody. Jim and I did not join in, and I doubted that Chick would be laughing for quite some time.
