Separated

by Michael Blue

  Quickly, Joshua leapt out the car and ran to the other side of the car, opening the passenger's door and the backdoor. Erlina's body would be easier to fit in the passengers while his mother's could be stashed into the back. Picking up the pace, he jogged to the church's front entrance and rested his back on the door, peaking halfway inside. Listening real closely, he heard a lot clattering still coming from the upstairs.

  "Found anything yet?"

  "Nope, keep searching, get the attic next!"

  Josh could almost touch a glimmer of hope thanks to these guys. He scoffed to himself and glared up at the ceiling. They were all so damn stupid. Talk about some "group": One gets himself killed by innocent Mother Teresa while these two speak super loud to one another to show their whereabouts, which was probably an exact factor as to why they hadn't caught Josh yet. Making his way into the church, Joshua ran through the chapel, not having a care in the world if the two men were coming down. It's best said to not think hard on things to get a job well done. First was Erlina, since she was easiest to carry. Before lifting her, he picked up her bow and hung it on his shoulder. Picking up Erlina, he practically cradled her and gave her a kiss on the forehead,

  "We're getting out of here..." he whispered.

  Immediately, he quickly carried her to the car. It'd been a while since he lifted her up. That's when it dawned on him how much of a growing girl and pain she was. Finally reaching outside the church, he quickly sat her upright in the car. She fell over a little, but it was fine. He took off her bow and placed it beside her, closing the door to the passenger's side.

  Next was his mother. Running back inside, he reached her body just in time before anything else could happen. Thinking how this was going to work, Josh attempted to lift her up. Immediately, he felt a sharp pain in his back. Unfortunately, brute strength was something Joshua lacked due to his slim build. Kneeling behind her, he wrapped his arms underneath her armpits and lifted her up. Unfortunately enough, he began to hear the two males make their way out of the upstairs room. Trying to remain calm, Joshua tried getting a good hold on his mother. Meanwhile her feet were still touching the floor; Joshua carefully and hastily dragged his mother's body from the chapel and tried making it down the steps without, in any way, trying to hurt her legs. Joshua began tearing as he neared the car. They could finally escape. Starting with his mother's torso, he placed her on the backseat, pushing in her legs with her. He adjusted her properly and began to reel himself out of the backseat to close it.

  Strangely enough, he couldn't help but feel a presence behind him. Turning around, he turned to see the car door being jammed into his face. Falling backwards, Josh held his head and could feel the blood wanting to escape his nostrils. He tried to get a good look at the figure looking down at him. Within seconds, his blurry vision faded to nothing after another blow was delivered to the side of his head.

  * * *

  Groaning in pain, Joshua had finally woken up, sitting in a chair and facing the wall. He opened his eyes and felt a ringing pain his head had ever felt. He could feel the thin hairs of his mustache being coated with blood that dripped from his nose. He felt uneasy and began sweating due to his nerves. Trying to move, he realized that no matter how hard he tried, he was tied up like an animal. With his lower legs strapped to the legs of the chair, and his arms tied behind, he couldn't move a muscle. He began panicking, and his heart began beating so fast to the point where his breathing was forced to be rushed. Jumping in fright, Joshua saw a much older man appear to his right and walk in front of him.

  "So, I see you've woken up, my friend," he said leaning on a large wooden table.

  "Where am I?" Joshua asked trembling. Before the older man could reply, he shouted, "Erlina!?" he called out.

  She appeared to be in the same room with him, but at a much further end, apparently facing a wall as well. She answered, with her voice full of turmoil and fear. Unable to speak clearly because of her repeated crying, she tried to communicate with him. Her eyes were flooded with tears and her voice was hoarse.

  "T-they g-got Aunty P-pamela," she said stammering. She continued coughing as she let out loud sobs.

  Unable to turn completely around, he looked over his sides to see two other others in the room. The one to his right stood by a small elevation next to a window. She was an unattractive female with short hair and a machete. She wore green cargo pants and a white stained top. The man to his right with an eye patch, and wasn't any better looking. He looked like some musty hobo they just picked up to do the job. His beard was super thick and his hair reach his shoulders. He too wore a white shirt but with brown pants. He had no weapon and was built.

  "Where the hell is my mom?" Joshua questioned.

  "Your mom? I don't believe I—"

  "YES! MY MOM! WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?!"

  He paused and smirked.

  "She on death row right now..."

  Joshua gulped and nearly lost his sanity. He looked down at the floor, dumbfounded and helpless; unsure of how to react. Those words alone almost did the job of killing him. Tears immediately fell from his lashes.

  "That's right," he continued, "She killed one of my men."

  Joshua looked up at the man and was at loss for words,

  "He deserved it," he spat.

  "Wonderful. We're actually both agreeing on something," he began circling Joshua, "Damn, Hugo. Always doing what he wanted. I warned him to stop that before he got himself killed, and what happened?" he stopped, looking left and right to his minions, "He got himself killed. I'm just relieved that he's out of my hair."

  "What hair?" Joshua remarked at his balding head.

  A smile on the older man's face came clean off and it became smug. He walked towards Joshua's chair and placed both his hands on the arms of the creaking seat,

  "What if I was considering to let you live? Huh? How would that work when you're doing an awful job at letting me release you?"

  Staying quiet, Joshua formed a wad of saliva in his mouth and spat in the elder man's face. Yanking himself back, he placed up both arms telling his side-minions to calm down as they both got prepared to beat the living pulp out of Joshua. He wiped his face and stared at the lazy look in Joshua's face. Wiping his cheeks with his sleeve. He chuckled, and within seconds, the older man delivered a kick to Joshua's chest, throwing him the floor. He walked to Joshua's side and delivered repeated punches to his face, this time, having him spit out blood. Erlina heard the hassle and groaning between the two men behind her and began sobbing and shouting,

  "NOOO-OO! AHHH!"

  Joshua spat out the blood trapped in his mouth once the older man was finished abusing him. He heard the old man's snaps, and immediately the two partners walked to his command to the sit Joshua up. Finally, Erlina's back was in his view. She too was in a chair but only had her arms tied. The biker-man stood in front of her with her bow and arrows equipped. The old man grabbed Josh's jaw, squeezing it harshly,

  "You see that little girl over there?!" he said pointing back at her with one arm "I'm saving her for last, but first, she's going to give me something. Something..." he paused, "Something I haven't gotten in a long time,"

  Joshua turned his head to the side in peril and side-eyed him with a soulless glare. He didn't or want to believe what he was hearing. He prayed that it wasn't what he thought it was. After watching the old man smile and chuckle, Joshua's face immediately cringed up simultaneously with the trembling of his lower lip. He placed his head down and started sobbing silently to himself. He looked up and started whimpering.

  "Please..." he begged.

  "Oh!" he chuckled maliciously, "Now you want to start being cooperative? Too late for that,"

  "Randy bring her down to the boiler room,"

  With the images of the corpses shuffling in his mind all at once, he shouted as he saw Erlina's kicking body get tossed over the biker-man's shoulder and taken downstairs. He skin turned flushed from all the rage.

  "PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!" H
e shouted furiously as his screams echoed out the entire floor.

  Autumn

  * * *

  "You know, we could've avoided all of this if you didn't shoot Hugo back there," the Lumberjack spoke.

  "And risk the chance of him killing my niece?" Pamela spoke back.

  He was walking behind her with an assault rifle pointed to her back. Her hands were tied in front of her and she was blindfolded, and was only given the choice to walk freely. It never dawned on her that he had a gun pointed to her back until she managed to almost trip and bump into the barrel of his gun. Truthfully she was scared for her life. She always told herself to never fear death, and when her time was up, she would welcome it. She just never imagined it this way. She was stripped of all her items: No guns, no cleaver; nothing. She was more defenseless than she had ever been when this whole thing started. Trying to run would've earned a bullet into her back. At this point, it began drizzling rain. She could feel each drop on her exposed forehead.

  "Stand still," the man said stopping behind her.

  She stopped in her tracks and listened closely. She didn't know if he was going to shoot her on the spot, so she tried stalling in order to avoid it, even if it meant talking her way out and trying to gain his trust.

  "So you're just going to do what the old man tells you and kill me right?" she asked pitifully.

  The man didn't answer. From behind, he used both hands and untied the blindfold from her head. Instead of him being quick and ready to get it over with, it felt more like an unsure hesitant feeling. Pamela couldn't describe it. Finally, Pamela's sense of vision was unrestrained. She looked around and realized that she was in an empty, yet beautiful, forest. Considering it was autumn, most plants was dying. The leaves all around had an orange and brown tint to them. Sooner or later, every plant in the forest will surely die and when spring arrives, they'll all bloom back beautifully. Pamela put her head down, quietly.

  "I'm sorry ma'am," The man spoke.

  "Just get it over with..." Pamela replied.

  "I-I meant your kids," He said, scratching his head nervously.

  She turned around in complete loss for words. Her sinuses burned as her eyes began tearing up. The thought of her loved ones being alone with those culprits just confused her. It made her underestimate their bravery, and it was something she didn't want to do. Pamela wanted to believe that her son and niece were going to make it out alive, but she couldn't even guarantee herself that. This was a dog eat dog world, and people were merciless. Knowing her son and niece, the odds of them killing someone on a regular basis weren't very high.

  "Then why are you doing this?!" she whispered sharply with a tremble deep in her voice.

  She could tell there was a bit of disappointment in him and a lot of guilt, but why choose to talk to her about it? She would've probably gutted him if she got the chance just like anyone else would.

  "The boss runs a camp not too far off from here. We think you might've actually ridden past it on your way to that small town and that's what he's most thankful for."

  He paused for a while,

  "I have family...and the boss is a relentless leader. If I were to do anything to endanger him or his camp, he'd kill me and my family. I've seen him do it before."

  He paused.

  "See, because you shot that guy back there, that's why he wants you and your family dead. Not to mention, your son was caught with some stolen food in his bags."

  "Then that isn't a leader. That's a beast shaped by what this ugly world has become! He's no better than those Infected running amok out there!" she said turning back around. Personally, she thought it was a load of bullshit, and if it was true, then this big guy needed a backbone.

  "Get on your knees ma'am," The Lumberjack ordered.

  * * *

  In the grotesque-smelling boiler room, sitting down on the butcher's table was Erlina. Her legs were dangling off, barely touching the ground. The knife on the butcher table was removed earlier from the time they walked in because the old man noticed that Erlina's eyes took far too much of an interest in it. From the first time she stepped foot in the room, she covered her mouth to prevent throwing up. However, staying in the room for a while made the stench tolerable. There were about five candles lighting up the dark room. Terrified to even look at the man, Erlina stared down at every dark corner she could find. She was shaking and had not one idea what to expect, she knew of multiple things that could happen, but honestly, she'd rather be shot in the head than anything else.

  The elder man paced around the table, noticing Erlina's discomfort. Eventually he stopped,

  "Let me tell you a little bit about myself," he said leaning on a nearby counter top.

  "Before this world, you know, went to hell and all, I was a very happy and well-off man. I was a happy Juan, born in Colombia. I moved to America to attend college and did all I could. I got an education, met the love of my life and had a beautiful baby girl," He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small crinkled photograph which appeared to be him and his family. Strangely enough: his face was torn out.

  Erlina glanced up at the picture, curious to see where he was going with this. She examined the picture as best as she could in the dark. His wife looked really happy as well as his daughter, who looked around five to six years old.

  "Now, let me tell you something. When this all happened, I lost the both of them..." he continued while doing hand gestures.

  "I watched by wife turn into those—those things! And eat our very own baby right in front of me. Now, you see, the reason that happened was because I couldn't kill her. I drowned myself in my own self-pity while she ate our little girl as if she were a piece of steak. That's when she came after me. Hell, I couldn't even kill her myself,"

  He paused and chuckled maniacally.

  "I had to try... and outrun my own wife. Now, knowing that my wife is possibly still alive out there kills me..."

  Erlina was making eye contact with him by now and was startled shitless. She didn't know whether to run or not. Either way if she did, there was no way she was going to escape. She knew that the biker guy was guarding the doorway from the outside.

  "Just thinking that I could've been happy with my daughter if I would've just done what I was supposed to do changes everything. I let them both down...and most of all, I let myself down."

  Erlina fought to speak her words, but eventually got her message across,

  "Would you like it if any other man was doing this to your daughter?"

  The boss readjusted himself, as if he was disrespected in a whole new inventive way and Erlina's goose bumps raised at the surface of her skin when she saw the grim look appear across his miserable face.

  "But you're not my daughter, and I'm not happy," he paused, fixing the waistline of his pants, "Take your clothes off..."

  Erlina placed her arms across her chest and slouched as her eyes quickly filled up with tears,

  "What...?"

  "I SAID TAKE YOUR CLOTHES OFF!" he said banging the counter top with all his might.

  Erlina jumped with so much fright she nearly fell off the table. She didn't want to do it. She was only twelve and this was the last thing she'd ever expect to happen to her, especially from a grown man. She knew about these kind of things, but wanted to be the last person this would ever happen to. What killed her even more was what he was going to do with her body afterwards.

  "If you don't do what I tell you to do, I'm going to order my men to place an axe right in your cousin's head," he leaned towards her, "That is, after we cut his arms and legs off first."

  Erlina closed her eyes and whimpered. She felt as though she was teetering on options she didn't even want to make. However, if she were to make it out alive of this, her cousin is the last person she'd ever want to lose, and she knew that he valued her the same way. At this point she was sweating and trembling. She was terrified for her dear life. Desperate, she climbed off the butcher's table and stood in front of him with her h
ead down. Using his aged, mediocre arms, Juan placed his hand on the zipper of her coat and began unzipping it. With the movements of his arms, he unintentionally revealed a small handgun stuffed into the waistline of his pants.

  "Can I take my shoes off...?" she said looking up at him innocently.

  He stopped and examined her face. He placed his devilish palms on her face and smirked after a delicate nod.

  "Sure..."

  She immediately pulled away from his wrinkled hands and turned away. She kneeled down and reached for her shoelaces, giving the impression that she was untying them, but what she was really reaching for appeared to be her brass knuckle switchblade stuffed in the side of her socks. Quickly pulling it out, she flipped out her blade and did the swiftest spin, driving the blade into the older man's leg, stabbing through the side and the front of his kneecap. He yelped in pain, and once he went reaching for his gun, Erlina flawlessly yanked out the blade and drove straight for his gut next. Juan was breathing heavily in pain and was faltering back at this point. He turned around to escape, but that's when Erlina had and opening chance to grab his hand gun, as she grabbed it with her empty hand, he turned to grab her wrist, and she immediately drove her knife through his forearm, causing him to let out a shout. Her hands were covered in his blood, and she had too much adrenaline to be stunned.

  To the sounds of his shouts, his biker buddy barged in. Thankfully, the fool didn't have a fire arm. Erlina jumped back to the other end of the small room and examined him some more. She noticed that he was armed with her bow and arrows, and without hesitation aimed the gun at him while Juan bled out in the corner.

  "You fucking fool, I thought you searched her! She had a blade on her!" Juan shouted angrily.

  Shocked, the biker looked at Erlina with the most surprise and placed his arms up, showing that he surrendered. Honest or not, chances couldn't be taken or else what caused her to get in this situation could happen again. Pulling the trigger the first time, Erlina shot the man in his left shoulder. The recoil of the gun astonished her. Shouting in pain, the biker made a full charge at Erlina, having a hammer in his dominant hand. She fired three times, shooting him in the stomach. He collapsed as he nearly made it over the butcher table and rolled off unto the ground beside her. She jumped back a little to avoid his large body falling unto hers by any chance, and no matter how inactive he seemed, she kept the trembling gun pointed to his back. She kicked his body with her foot, and he didn't seem to move a muscle. Trembling, numerous tears rolled down her cheeks, Erlina aimed the gun at Juan next.