Love and Decay, Volume Seven (Episodes 5-8, Season Three)

by Higginson, Rachel

  “I agree,” I quickly told Hendrix. “But Adela is different. We need her.”

  His eyes flickered behind me and then at his retreating family. With a defeated sigh, he set his jaw and steeled his shoulders. “Fine,” he growled. “We get her and then we’re gone.”

  “Thank you.”

  He stopped looking at me. “We’ll catch up!” he threw over his shoulder.

  “You’ll do what?” Vaughan roared.

  Hendrix ignored his brother and grabbed my bicep. “Where is she?”

  “Toward the house.”

  He let out another frustrated groan when we turned toward the blazing structure. Men shouted at each other in Spanish, their anger accented by the pop of their guns.

  We ran as quickly as we could, dodging other slaves on the run and the captors that chased after them. The bellowing Zombies made me want to shrink into myself. Their screams rang out over the immediate cacophony, witnessing their stark hunger.

  Diego’s car was still on fire by the time we reached the house. He stood in front of it, looking like something straight from hell. The flames behind him cast shadows on his features, causing them to exaggerate. The edges of his body blurred with the orange light and the thick smoke sifted around his limbs.

  He looked like a demon god, brought to life to bring pain and suffering.

  Adela lay twenty feet from him, still unconscious. Diego’s gaze flickered back and forth between her and us.

  “Do not touch her,” he threatened as if he could sense our intention.

  “She’s not yours.” I took a step toward her. He didn’t turn his weapon on me. I noticed now that the gun he held was pointed at Raphael, who was on his knees in front of his house.

  Diego’s men had disappeared, but so had Raphael’s. I had to assume they were off somewhere fighting each other. Only the two territory leaders and Adela remained and only one of them had a gun.

  “She is mine,” he snarled at me. Raphael erupted with furious Spanish. Diego shouted something incomprehensible at him and let off a shot. The bullet zinged right by Raphael’s arm, causing the older man to hiss in fear.

  “I’m taking her,” I retorted. I wasn’t afraid of Diego. I wasn’t sure I was ever afraid of him- only the fate he wanted for me.

  “Don’t take her. Let me take you instead. Work with me.” Diego’s calm confidence reminded me of Hendrix, only Diego had turned his powers to evil. And Hendrix remained good.

  Or mostly good.

  “Your car is destroyed,” I told him. “Your men are at war. How are you going to protect her or me? How are you going to get out of here?”

  “Do not bark questions to me,” Diego growled. “I can protect what is mine.”

  I looked down at Adela and wondered what it was about her that Diego wanted. I barely knew their history and what I knew I questioned. The old woman that had bargained her freedom with us said that Diego kidnapped her, but Adela had said she was sold into slavery. Raphael had clearly treated her differently from the other slaves though. Nothing made sense.

  And yet the need to protect her rose up inside of me and I couldn’t quell the desperation to get her to safety.

  The American man ran toward us, holding another liquid bottle bomb in his hands. I noticed then that he wore a belt that had a few more dangling from his hip. “Grab her,” he ordered us. “And then we leave.”

  “If you take her, I will know where to find you, Old Man!” Diego hollered at us.

  “Then come get her,” the man taunted.

  Raphael used Diego’s distraction to launch himself at Diego. The bodies hit the dirt with a sickening crack. I didn’t hesitate to rush to Adela, hoping Hendrix would follow me.

  In fact, he beat me to her, swooped her up in his arms and led the way after the crazy American bomber.

  “What are those things?” I panted as we raced toward the wilderness.

  He grinned at me over his shoulder. “Molotov cocktails.”

  Oh. I’d heard of those before.

  Huh.

  “How did you get the keys?” I pressed. The rest of the Parkers had come into view. They stood next to an eight passenger van with deeply tinted windows.

  “Oh, that? I threatened to gut his wife.”

  Hendrix and I shared a look.

  “Who are you again?” Hendrix demanded as the sound of fighting behind us crescendoed.

  “The missionary,” he said.

  And in the crazy world that I lived in, that somehow made sense.

  Chapter Three

  The drive away from Raphael’s plantation was as silent and still as could be. Nobody said anything. Nobody moved or fidgeted or did anything but turn to stone.

  We had escaped another death-defying situation, but barely. And at what cost?

  We could not keep doing this. We could not move from one threatening situation to another and still hope to stay alive.

  Granted, this was the Zombie Apocalypse and we would always be in danger. But at least back in the former United States we had some opportunity to regroup.

  Our short time in Mexico reminded me a lot of the years before Haley and I met the Parkers. We lived day-to-day by the skin of our teeth. We seemed to be constantly in danger. By the time we met up with the Parkers, we had been practically starved and almost out of ammo.

  It was a miracle we survived.

  And that was how I felt every single day in Mexico, only there were more of us now… more people to love and worry about.

  “Where is my brother?” Tyler croaked once we were immersed in the lonely darkness of the desert and far enough from Raphael’s house of horrors to breathe more easily.

  “With Haley,” Nelson announced. “He’s safe.”

  Tyler’s entire body slumped with relief. Her head dropped into her hands and her shoulders started shaking. Vaughan threw his arm around her and tucked her into his side.

  “Is Page there too?” Harrison asked. My stomach knotted at the sound of confidence in his tone. He had no doubt that Page would be anywhere else.

  “We’re going to go back to the house.” Nelson’s voice was rough with exhaustion. “We’ll figure out how to get her back there.”

  “Get her back?” Harrison shouted. “Where the hell is she?” When Nelson didn’t immediately offer an explanation, Hendrix slid forward and smacked the vinyl seat in front of him. “Do you even know where she is, Nelson? Is there even a chance that we’ll see her again?”

  “Settle down!” Vaughan barked at him. “You’re not helping.”

  “I’m not helping?” Harrison laughed derisively. “Oh, excuse me for being concerned about our little sister. I mean she is nine. I’m sure she’s just fine wherever she is in this goddamn circle of hell!”

  “I know where she is!” Nelson spun around in the front passenger’s seat and shouted at his brother. “We’re going to get her. Goddamn it, Harrison. We’re going to find her! But we need more weapons. We need some food and water. We need to formulate a plan or we’re never going to see her again. So just calm the hell down and let me handle this.”

  “Fine,” Harrison sneered. “Handle it. You’re obviously doing a bang-up job.”

  “Harrison, if you don’t shut up, I’m going to make you shut up,” Hendrix bit out with more restraint than any of his brothers had. “Nelson got your sorry ass out of there. He somehow managed to keep Haley and Miller alive. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’ll clue you in. Trust your brother. Trust that he did every goddamn thing to keep Page safe that he could. And trust that not one of us here will let her stay gone. Get your shit together and back the hell off.”

  I pressed my lips together and shared a wide-eyed look with Tyler. We had heard the brothers bicker before. Sometimes the level of testosterone between them could be suffocating. But I had never witnessed this kind of hostility. I had never seen them go right for the throat.

  Then again, this was about Page.

  I felt outrageously violent too.

/>   Harrison could not let it drop. “Get my shit together? That’s hilarious. You’re in pieces, asshole. Take your own advice.”

  I boldly grabbed Hendrix’s hand and closed my eyes in preparation for the aftermath. I pulled his hand into my lap and intertwined our fingers. Taking a deep breath, I squeezed gently and then brought his knuckles up to my mouth for a quick kiss.

  When I opened my eyes he was staring at me, silent and restrained once again.

  “Enough,” Vaughan boomed. “That is enough out of all of you. I’m sick of listening to it.”

  Harrison finally shut up and Hendrix seemed too stunned to be capable of speech. I swallowed the large lump in my throat and tried not to word vomit on him. I felt like I should explain.

  I felt like I should explain a lot of things.

  But now wasn’t the right time.

  After several more minutes of silence, Vaughan spoke up. “You mentioned a house. Who’s house?”

  The driver glanced over his shoulder before returning his gaze to the darkened road lit up by only the starlight above and the bright glow of the headlights. “My house,” he said. “We’re going back to my house.”

  “And who are you again?” Vaughan pressed.

  “A friend,” Nelson offered immediately. “He saved us earlier.”

  “But not Page?” Harrison grumbled.

  Nelson’s steely gaze seared over all of us. “This morning we were at a slave auction,” Nelson explained. “They lined us up and tried to sell us to the highest bidder. They tried to separate us. Haley went into labor.” I choked on air and tried to breathe through my panic. “She’s fine now,” Nelson quickly added. “She… Andy rescued us. Haley collapsed on the platform and a riot started soon after. Page was already on the platform but Haley couldn’t do anything to help her. There was chaos. Miller and I were lucky to get out of there alive. I tried to find Page, but… I had to help Haley. I had to save the baby.”

  Nobody said anything.

  What was there to say?

  How could any of us judge such an impossible choice?

  Andy glanced at Nelson when it was apparent none of us could speak, “You did the right thing, Son. We know where your sister is. We can go after her. If Haley would have had to wait any longer, she wouldn’t have made it.”

  Well, that was a cold dose of reality if I’d ever had one. The silence from the rest of us was humble and ashamed. Nelson had every right to protect his child and the woman he loved. Any of us would have done the same thing.

  “You’re Andy?” Vaughan addressed the driver.

  Andy shot another grin over his shoulder. “At your service. I know you’re all worried about Haley and the baby, but just know she’s in good hands. My wife is a seasoned midwife. She’s delivered her share of infants. She knows the ins and outs, er, as it were.”

  I felt my lips turn up in a faint smile at Andy’s flustered words. “How did you come to be down here? Diego knew you.”

  “Joy and I have lived here for fifteen or so years. Our son Luke was born and raised down here. We came to be medical missionaries and were in the process of building a hospital when the world fell apart. After that, we were more or less… stuck here.”

  “Why didn’t they make you slaves?” King asked bluntly.

  Andy’s head tossed back as he let out a bark of laughter. “I’m a doctor and Joy’s a midwife. We have just the right kind of value to stay relative… even during these trying times. They need our knowledge more than they need slaves.”

  “That’s how you know Diego?” I was a little transfixed on this one concept, but I needed to know how likely it was that Diego could find us.

  Because even if I felt safe now or safer than I had felt in a long time, it wouldn’t last if I stayed on Diego’s radar.

  I had to get away from him.

  I had to get the people I loved away from him.

  “That’s how I know Diego,” Andy confirmed. “He’s been running these parts for as long as I’ve been down here. The Dead didn’t change anything other than give him more reasons to kill. He’s a very dangerous man.”

  “He’s going to come after us.” A fresh sweat broke out across my hairline. I wasn’t ready to fight Diego again. Or anyone.

  I needed a few minutes of rest.

  “We’ll figure it out,” Andy assured me. “I don’t think he intends to kill you.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at where Adela lay across the bench seat. She looked out of place in her peaceful slumber. Her body had been battered and bruised, but she was angelic in her sleep… beautiful despite the cruelty she’d endured. Sometimes death is easier than what these evil men plan.

  Vaughan picked up the conversation with Andy and I sunk down in my seat. The day, the week, the year, the past several years had finally caught up with me. I felt intense exhaustion darken the edges of my consciousness. I tilted my head back and struggled to keep my eyes open.

  We were safe for now, but I was smart enough to know this wouldn’t last.

  I needed to stay alert. Awake. Forever at my best.

  Hendrix scooted closer to me, stretching out our entwined hands so that they covered my lap completely. His body heat pressed into my side and his lips spoke against my hair.

  “Sleep, Reagan.” His voice rumbled through me, coating my skin with warmth and my bones with peace. “I’ll keep you safe.”

  My eyes closed as if the soothing tone to his voice had commanded them. I felt sleep crash over me, as potent as an ocean wave or a blast of a bomb. I slipped into unconsciousness just as Hendrix’s lips brushed my forehead with a feather-light kiss.

  ----

  I came awake with a start. The van bounced around on uneven terrain and I nearly flew out of my seat. I gasped awake, as if I expected to face an army of Feeders or of men with guns or cannibals with gleaming teeth.

  There was nothing like that waiting for me.

  Just a van full of sleeping Parkers and the females they had collected along the way.

  Hendrix was wide awake next to me, sitting on the edge of the seat, but I thought he might have been jolted awake too. His blue eyes were wide, but they bugged with confusion. I realized I was clenching his fist to the point of pain, so I let go of his hand and flexed my fingers, trying to regain feeling in my fingers.

  He cast me a sidelong glance before retracting his hand to his chest. Now that he wasn’t cuddling or sleeping, I felt a wave of fresh embarrassment wash over me.

  What did he think of me?

  I pushed him away and then pulled him close, only to push him away again.

  I was kind of a bitch if I were honest.

  And just because I’d made up my mind once and for all about how I felt about him, that didn’t mean he also felt the same way.

  He might want nothing to do with me.

  What then?

  I cleared my throat and focused on a Spanish style bungalow coming into view. Low lights shone in the windows and a small fire burned around the side of the house.

  The house reminded me a little of Raphael’s with its red-tiled roof and creamy stucco siding, only it was substantially smaller and had a more archaic feel to it.

  Andy parked the van next to the house and the silence became a palpable barrier, keeping us from the outside world. We all sat there, listening to the unwinding of the engine as it clicked slowly to a stop. I felt like I had forgotten how to move. I didn’t know whether to rush into the house and greet my best friend or stay in the cocoon of the van and hope that all of my other problems simply disappeared.

  The front door opened and a tall, thin woman stepped into the doorway. Her lacy apron was at major odds with the combat style of her clothes. A scarf covered her head and made her look older than she actually was.

  “Home sweet home,” Andy announced happily. With a softer tone, he said, “For now.”

  I recognized the reluctant acceptance to his words. For now meant that eventually this world would creep into this beautiful
place too.

  And destroy it.

  Miller’s head popped out in front of the woman and his fierce intensity surprised me. He didn’t look like the twelve-year-old child he should be.

  He looked like a hardened man.

  His resemblance to Kane was startling.

  Tyler squeaked in front of me. Her hand fanned her face quickly as she tried to quell fresh tears.

  “Come on,” Andy called to us once his door was opened. “Let me show you around.”

  The other doors opened and Parkers started exiting the van. I threw my arms around Tyler’s shoulders at the last minute. I knew she wanted to go reunite with Miller, but we hadn’t had a moment yet. I wouldn’t want to interrupt her later as she caught up with Miller.

  “How are you doing?” I asked quietly against her temple.

  “Alive,” she answered on a broken whisper, still watching Miller as he stood there waiting patiently for her. “I’m alive.”

  “You are.” My voice caught in my throat and hot tears pooled in my lashes. “I hope you’re more than alive though.”

  Her head cocked in my direction. “What do you mean?”

  “The cages,” I whispered so that the boys wouldn’t hear. “Did they… Did they hurt you in there?”

  She didn’t say anything for a long time and when she finally spoke, her voice was so carefully restrained that I immediately felt sick to my stomach. “Did they hurt you, Reagan?”

  I shook my head slowly, knowing that I was nearly frozen from the horrific memory. “They tried.”

  “They tried with me too,” she whispered.

  I squeezed her tighter, wishing I could take away those awful memories for her… wishing I could go back to Raphael’s and stab each and every male there through the scrotum.

  I felt her tears drip onto my forearms. “They didn’t though,” she whispered. “This world has taken a lot from me, but they didn’t take that. I didn’t let them.”

  The steel in her voice… the gritty bitterness she spit with each word… I had to close my eyes from the force of my empathy. “Do you want to talk about it?”