by Tigris Eden
The floor was soaked with blood from the bodies hanging from metal hooks attached to the ceiling. The theater had been built with a mezzanine, and it was low enough to serve its purpose. A revolving death trap that kept its food alive and struggling on the line. The procession to death was short. The hooks moved along a pulley system that led to an area where the meat was either shocked or stabbed to death. Since electricity was being rationed, it was a quick jab to the back of the skull, usually. Once they were dead, the bodies were moved to a bloodletting station and down the line until they eventually made it to the subdividing and packaging areas. Some of the packages were staying here in the city to be sold to those who thought eating the flesh of humans soaked in chemicals made the flesh clean and immune to the Rage. The rest would be boxed and sold to the fuckers on the Mainland. Kind of a big ‘fuck you very much for leaving us here to die.’ He told the Mainlanders the meat came from horses or deer. They didn’t know the difference.
Diamond would give Clancy credit, the idea—although harsh and inhumane—served its purpose. It was the only way to control population in the city. People oppressed found other ways to make themselves happy. Fucking was one of them, and as a result, there was an influx of bodies. Those who entered into contract with him for the purpose of harvesting their organs came to places like these if Eightball deemed their organs of no use. Only this place wasn’t a sanctioned slaughterhouse.
“What is this place?”
Nadya’s voice was a quiet whisper. Lins looked over and rolled her eyes.
“Little girl, you need to grow the fuck up. Where do you think people go when they die? Don’t tell me you’re one of those religious fanatics and think there is someone up in the heavens watching over us?” Lindy’s laugh was harsh. “Honey, the only God there is, wants no part of the shit that goes down in the city. Trust me, I would know. My family comes from below, and those fanatics pray to Palli, an Earth god who will never respond. You know why that is? ‘Cause there isn’t one out there. We’re all just here because, somehow, biology thought we deserved a chance at life. We fucked it up is all.”
“Lins, shut the fuck up, no one has time for your shit,” Diamond growled.
The nails digging into Diamond’s forearm sunk deeper into his flesh when Clancy floated up the aisle in his hover chair towards them. He was a huge man. Red, oily hair clung to his face and triple chin. Large pus bubbles were embedded around his eyes and lips—a defect from prolonged exposure to the chemicals inside of the slaughterhouse. His belly hung past his knees and rested against his swollen, chaffed legs. Every part of him was exposed. The male couldn’t wear clothing because of the lesions on his skin. It was too painful, and as a result, he smelled worse than the bodies that had soiled themselves as they awaited their deaths.
“Lavarious Diamond, what brings you to the theater? Have you brought me fresh meat?” Clancy eyed Nadya as if she were a prize, his breathing loud and labored as he tried to catch his breath.
“No. When were you going to tell me about the street sweeps with the Ragers? Or better yet, when were you going to tell me you had a slaughterhouse here. Isn’t this building tagged as waste removal?”
Clancy’s good eyebrow spiked with tension and his eyes began to look anywhere but at Diamond. Lip returned with the head of the male who’d broken through the window and tossed it down the aisle at Clancy’s chair.
“There, take that for payment, you sick fuck. He broke the window, and don’t try and send someone to the Quarry asking for repairs. Get it from the Gearheads, or better yet, try collecting it from the Ragers. Lavarious, the Ragers moved on. We’re clear to go whenever you’re ready.”
“We will leave, just as soon as Clancy answers my question.”
The male’s chair hovered back a little, and Diamond knew it was because he was worried. He should be worried. How had no one reported Ragers this close to the Quarry? They had protection, but security wasn’t beefed up to handle the procession that had passed a few moments ago outside. This would be a problem not only for him but also for clients. They wouldn’t venture towards the Quarry if they thought it wasn’t safe.
“Lavarious, you don’t understand. You can leave anytime you want– “
Diamond internally groaned. Why did everyone think he had it so easy? He couldn’t leave whenever he wanted. He was stuck in the city just like the rest of them. Clancy’s immobility was no one’s fault but his own. No one told him to be a gluttonous fuck and over indulge in human flesh as a substitute to food. Anytime Clancy wanted to leave the city, Diamond would gladly open the gates.
“No, and whoever told you that is a bold face liar. I can’t go back, and neither can anyone else who came from the Mainland during the Rage Wars.”
Clancy’s eyes drifted briefly towards Lindy.
“Why are you looking at her? She can’t help you. Now answer the fucking question. I’m tired of standing around in this house of horrors.”
“Marius came to me and we worked out a deal. I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but it was either that or they were going to take over our harvesting operation.”
“Why didn’t you come to me? Why are you just now telling me this shit? How long has this been going on?”
Lindy cleared her throat before stepping forward.
“Lavarious, we have other things we need to tend to, and I think it’s safe to say that Clancy here knows he fucked up. I can have Emerald or Lip look into everything once we return.”
“Who died and made you the boss of my decisions? I’ll be the one to decide who looks into what. Things aren’t looking too good for you, Lins. You think because I let you ride my cock it earns you some sort of privilege? It earns you jack shit. Did you sleep in my bed last night? Do you ever get to rest your head on my pillow?” Lindy shook her head, her eyes glaring with anger. Diamond could see he’d embarrassed her. Whatever point she had been trying to make wasn’t going to cut it. “Exactly, here’s a clue, Lindy…you had a shot at that, and I’m happy as fuck I didn’t go through with it. No bitch of mine is going to try and lead behind the scenes without consulting me first.”
Diamond turned harsh eyes on Nadya. He didn’t know why, but being out here on the streets only served to piss him off more. Things were getting out of hand. Lip should have told him, hell, even Emerald should have come forward with all the fucked up shit going on outside the walls of the Quarry. Maybe they didn’t care because he acted like he didn’t care. In a way, some of this may even be his fault. The people looked to him, and he knew shit was nowhere near what it used to be or what it could be. Otherwise, Clancy wouldn’t feel the need to make deals with Marius. It cut deep, knowing he had no clue what was taking place outside the Quarry walls. And it pissed him off that a woman who wasn’t particularly endearing on the asset side—save for her virginity—was the reason it was all being shown to him now.
“Clancy, I want you in my office in three days. If you don’t show up, I’ll send Phyr looking for you, and you and I both know you don’t want that.”
“A to the fucking men,” Lip chimed in, a wide smile on his face.
Diamond’s head snapped Lip’s direction. “What the fuck are you smiling about? I have a bone to pick with you, too. I ask you for daily reports, and it looks like either you’re not doing your job, or you are straight up lying to me. Either way. Neither scenario looks good for you, brother.”
“Is anyone here going to even address the fact that your meat factory is filled with dead humans?” Nadya cut in.
Diamond turned to the naïve female. Nadya had to know things were like this. Hell, she was from Inwood.
“Are you seriously asking me this shit? Now? You do know what type of business I run, don’t you? I sell flesh, dead or alive.”
Her head dropped and her hair fell forward to cover her face. Her shoulders slumped as resignation settled around her in what he assumed was her bubble of misinformation. When her head finally rose, she didn’t say a word.
&nbs
p; “Three days, Clancy. I’ll expect to see you at the Quarry, or I’ll make sure your pus-infested body never takes another breath again.”
Chapter 7
Nadya knew better than anyone how bad things were in the city. How Diamond wasn’t aware or assumed the information he received was all true, amazed her. Power did something to people. Made them feel invincible inside of a make-believe world they’d created. Her first impression of him had her thinking he was in control of all things. Maybe he wasn’t. If he weren’t, could Anna and her daughter truly be safe within the walls of the Quarry?
As she pondered that, they made their way out the back exit of the theater. Darkness began to settle fast. She followed closely behind Diamond and Lip as they talked about their next move. Every time Diamond’s hazel eyes fell on her, she felt he was blaming her for the entire ordeal back at the theater. It was Lindy who had alerted the Gearheads to their position and had gotten them attacked. Although, now that Nadya thought about it, maybe they’d known all along and were just waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Her gut told her Lindy was somehow the cause of everything. The way the male Clancy’s eyes had moved to her, seeking clarity, meant something. Ragers were organized, their group more alert. She may not remember where she came from or who her real parents were, but she remembered being trained.
“We’re going to stop off at the house, spend the night there. We’ll slip through the back. You can alert the security detail we’ve arrived,” Nadya heard Diamond say to Lip, who wasn’t at all happy they were stopping at the house.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Lip shot back.
“Why not?”
“Because too many variables are in play. Nadya may look stupid, but the girl is far from it. Have you seen the way she catalogues everything? Right down to the very last detail. If I didn’t know any better, I would think she was a Bionic or worse, a Splice.”
She wasn’t either of those things. She did check her surroundings. It was the only way she was assured she had all her bases covered. If she didn’t, she’d end up dead or far worse. She wasn’t about to let her life end due to a clumsy mishap. Not if she could help it.
“I also have excellent hearing. It’s a trait developed for those of us with really small ears.”
Lip turned back and glared at her.
“You shouldn’t be nosy.”
“Wouldn’t have to be, but Diamond wants me on his ass at all times.”
“Now is not one of those times.”
“If it makes you feel any better, Lip, I’d rather keep moving. I want to get to Inwood as much as you do, and get back so I can get on with my life.”
“Don’t we all, sweetheart,” Lindy chimed in a few seconds later, reminding everyone she’d gone absolutely nowhere.
“We’re staying at the house and that’s final. If you have a problem with it, I invite you all to keep shoving forward. Me, I’d like to wash the stink of the theater off my skin, get a good night’s rest, and be ready for anything come morning. If I die, I’d like to do so knowing I didn’t fail when I fought because my ass was too tired to lift a fucking weapon.”
Diamond was angry, and Nadya knew it had nothing to do with the stink of death and everything to do with his current failure. The sooner they got to Inwood, the better. Anna and Dominika may already be gone. Attia was probably searching for them even now as a way to get Nadya to cooperate.
They passed buildings that had once been in their prime. Covered now by mutated wisteria, the blooms purple, blue, and black, the plant itself having a voracious appetite for all things bleeding. She’d once seen a young woman and her child walking down a block covered with them, the warning signs clear. Everyone knew about the vines. One moment, her child was holding her hand. The next, the little girl wasn’t. Her screams had echoed into the distance as the flowering plant devoured her. Nadya shook the memory loose and flashed back to the present. As they walked, the vines constricted, loosening their grip on the building’s walls, their limbs seeking fresh meat.
“Stay close, and don’t get near the vines,” Diamond warned.
Like she needed the reminder.
There was an opening near the south entrance of what used to be a park. The Den of Thieves was home to one of Diamond’s team members, Amethyst. Everyone knew her as Thys. She was tough and sharp. She could get in and out of the trickiest of places. They walked and walked until they came to stand in front of concrete steps covered in moss. It took them to a large building with vegetation growing on its sides and covering the windows. Anna had taken her and Dominika to this place once. A two-day adventure. Anna thought what was inside the building would trigger some sort of memory for her. It hadn’t. Carts were turned on their sides and rusted out. The doors to the building were covered in thick roots. A tall tree, larger than the statue it grew around, tipped dangerously to falling and speared through the building’s once beautiful roof.
Nadya assumed this was the house, it wasn’t. Diamond walked across the street, his entire body hidden in the shadows as he made his way to the side of a building. Lip tugged her forward with Lindy following closely behind. They went in through an entrance covered by an oversized bin rusted out and filled with trash. The dumpster was occupied by mutated roaches that not only flew but packed one nasty bite, complete with neuro-toxin. She made sure to steer clear of them when Diamond and Lip stood on either side of the bin and moved it from the door it was blocking. The roaches scattered, flying towards them. Everyone pulled their hoods closed until the swarm of bugs flew off or crawled away.
The air was stale as they walked down a dark hall just inside the door. A light was switched on, and Nadya couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The inside of the house looked untouched by anything. The comet, dust, wear and tear. Nothing. It looked like a home she’d seen in an old magazine she’d found once. Wood floors, white walls, gold accents, and hanging glass chandeliers were in flawless form.
“How is any of this even possible?” The cleanliness made her eyes hurt.
“Five years of hard work and Amethyst bringing in things still in good condition from bunkers. Lip and I did the rest.”
Even Lindy was shocked.
“I thought you said this place was a dump?”
Diamond looked to Lindy and grinned. “It is a dump, sweetheart. But it’s an immaculate one. I don’t get to come out here as was intended. The plan was to get the city under control and then go back to the Mainland. When that wasn’t an option, I decided to make a home for myself and the person I wanted to share it with here.”
Nadya would have never pegged Lavarious Diamond as someone who wanted to share anything with anyone.
“You never said anything to me.” Lindy looked hurt. Nadya knew there was something between them. She didn’t know how strong that something was. Not that she cared. But she could see it, there on the edge. Somewhere along the way, maybe the two of them had lost their way. Are we playing matchmaker now? Nope. Diamond was her meal ticket to a better life for Anna and Dominika, and her in to gaining access to the Towers. Who better to get information from than the Sovereign himself. She could see the beauty in what he wanted to create, could see how he’d believe this place was a dump. It stood for everything he didn’t stand for anymore. He wasn’t clean like this house. Somehow, she knew the house represented everything he’d once thought himself to be. Now it was something tarnished by what he’d become, what he now stood for.
Nadya turned her attention to Diamond. “Things look ugly now, but inside the ugly, I promise there is always something beautiful that comes of it. Even if it’s not the beauty you’re looking for.”
“You spouting poetry now, Nadya?”
It was the first time he’d said her name without a terse tone. Her name rolled off his tongue like silk sliding down the curve of a woman’s hip.
“No, it’s truth. Death, life, destruction, and chaos all bleed beauty. You just have to wait for it. Look for it. It happens. We may not like the j
ourney that has been given us, or even the way we go about getting to our destination, but there is something prepossessing in dark places.”
“Really, what did you find beautiful about the slaughterhouse? Or about the man who was about to kill you until the Ragers came? Tell me where the beauty was in all of that?”
Nadya tilted her head to the side and studied him. She knew his kind. Harsh, cruel, and unforgiving. He couldn’t separate the good from the bad. Wouldn’t. Not if it smacked him against the head and yelled in his face. He only saw the black and white. Diamond couldn’t see the silver lining as it broke free of its counterparts and took a little piece of each hue, making it its own. That piece, being the beauty.
“I’m alive, aren’t I? That to me is beautiful.”
“You’re naïve,” Lindy retorted.
“You’re clumsy,” Lip shot back. “If it wasn’t for you, we’d still be moving forward. Not spending the night in a house too clean for the likes of you.” Lip didn’t like Lindy. It was evident. Nadya could see it on his face and hear it in his words. His eyes said he wanted to strangle Lindy. Or worse.
“What the hell is your problem, Lip? I tripped. It wasn’t my fault.”
“If you hadn’t worn those ridiculous fuck-me shoes, seeking Diamond’s attention like some love-sick girl, we’d be fine. You think he is going to have another go at you while we’re out here? You’re a fucking joke, and if I had a say–"
“Good thing you don’t,” Diamond cut in. “The two of you need to get your shit together. Neither of you is better than the other. You’re like two siblings fighting for their father’s attention. Only, I’m not your dad.” He pointed in the direction of a winding staircase carved into the wall. The stairs went up, and there, directly behind a gold and black railing, were stairs going down. “You and Lindy take the basement. Nadya and I will be on the second floor. Make sure you put the call in to let the crew know we’re here. I don’t want to alarm anyone.”
