“I can’t rely on you forever,” Hope says wiping the remaining tears away from her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Why would you think that?”
Hope doesn’t answer. Her eyes flicker up and down Fanny’s body while she takes in a deep breath, sniffling as she does. Hesitantly she raises her hand and runs it along her friend’s arm stopping at each of her cuts and abrasions, “because you’re going to die soon.”
“What?” Fanny asks stunned backing away from her friend. “How could you even think… wha…? Why would you even say a thing like that?”
“Look at yourself,” Hope says pointing at her most recent battle scars, “you’re one bad judgment call away from just being another body on the ground.”
Fanny’s face turns red with anger, she growls and snorts before letting our several short puffs of breath, her face eventually returning back to its normal pale color. “You’re right. I make bad choices. I’ll try to do better in the future.”
“You’ve also got to stop treating me like a child and sheltering me,” Hope adds.
“Ok. I’ll try,” Fanny sighs.
“Good. Now what happened to Justin?”
Fanny groans, her hands running back through her hair, “When I came in you were already passed out on the floor. Justin was on top of you having some problems that kept his attention as I snuck in beside him. I hit him hard over the back of the head with the butt of my machete. He went down, hard. I dragged him away and covered you with the curtain.”
“So where is he?”
“Oh I’m getting to that,” Fanny says filling her lungs with air. “I managed to get him back into the main locker room where I sat over him, smacking his face until he woke up. He was dazed and confused before he noticed me sitting over him. He flashed me that crooked smile and said that if I wanted him all he had to do was wait and I’d get my turn. That’s when I saw red I reached down and grabbed his slimy manhood, much to my dismay. He cried out in pain but that was nothing compared to the sound I heard when I took the machete and cut into it.”
“Are you telling me you… you,” Hope gasps.
“That’s right, I castrated that son of a bitch. Then I left him there bleeding,” Fanny says with a sense of pride.
“That’s insane,” Hope says turning a pale shade of green.
“He tried to rape you,” Fanny emphasizes.
“I know, but…”
“But what? How many other girls do you think he took advantage of? How many others do you think could have been next?” Fanny stresses, “I didn’t just do it for you I did it for all of us.”
“But what about his mother? What will she say?” Hope asks.
“Hopefully she says he deserved it,” Fanny says picking the lantern back up and walking out of the shower.
Hope stands alone in the darkness for a moment before finally giving in and feeling her way out of the room.
Chapter 15
There is a feeling of judgment as all eyes watch Hope and Fanny walk out of the locker room. Hope’s eyes are still red and puffy as she tries to hide her face from the others. He knees feel weak as they struggle to hold her weight.
“I can’t,” Hope mumbles pulling Fanny close to her as she notices Cynthia sitting alone at a table playing solitaire and not really paying much attention to anything. “I can’t be out here.”
“Why? What’s wrong?” Fanny asks concerned.
“I can’t be near Cynthia right now,” Hope says fighting back tears.
“Ok, ok,” Fanny says trying to comfort her, holding her close as she scans the room looking for anyone to help her out. “Wait here,” she says shuffling her backwards and placing her in a loose chair next to the main door. “I’m going to see what we can do about getting you away for a while.”
Hope nods, her chest flutters as she continues to panic, anxiety getting the best of her. Fanny pats her legs, trying to give her a calming smile to ease the stress with little luck. Hope shudder, pulling her legs away, her eyes closed as she starts to breathe heavily.
“I’m sorry,” Hope says trying to compose herself, “I just can’t stop thinking about his hands all over me.”
“It’s ok. I understand,” Fanny says, walking backward trying to keep a smile on her face.
Fanny turns her back; Hope still rocking slightly trying to pull herself together, as she scans the room looking for help. The Major is off in the corner with Mika whispering, only looking up to point randomly. On the other side of the room Brad is doing pushups. His shirt is off revealing his muscles glistening with sweat, each one dancing in the candlelight. Amanda is sitting in front of him watching him closely; counting each time he pushes himself up.
“You’re group seems to be fitting in perfectly around here,” Cynthia says startling Fanny.
“I’m sorry?” Fanny asks turning her attention to Cynthia.
Cynthia isn’t far from Fanny, the cards still in her hands as she continues to draw and place cards down in front of her. She never looks up, the light around her brightening up her silver hair. “The rest of your friends. They seem to be finding it easy to fit in here. I know my son has even taken a liking to your friend.”
“Yeah, too much of a liking,” Fanny mumbles under her breath.
“I’m sorry?” Cynthia asks.
“I said ‘and maybe she likes him’”, Fanny lies, her heart skipping a beat as she speaks.
“Oh that would be wonderful,” Cynthia gushes. She drops the cards and stands up. “I know this is hard to believe but my son has always been pretty awkward when it comes to girls.”
“Oh I don’t believe that,” Fanny replies sarcastically, “I would have thought he would have had his way with the ladies.” Her eyes roll.
“Oh no,” Cynthia shakes her head, “his father was a ladies man, but I guess he took after me.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Fanny says almost blowing her off as she looks back and forth trying to find a polite way to leave her.
“Actually now that I think of it I haven’t seen him since last night. Have you?”
“Umm,” Fanny gulps, her heart starting to race, “I… I think I saw him uh…”
“Hey Mrs. B,” Brad says walking up in front of her, blocking her view of Fanny, “did I hear you say you were looking for Justin?”
“Yes Brad,” Cynthia says somewhat befuddled, “I was just asking Fanny if she’d seen him.”
“Oh I saw him earlier,” Brad says with his usual smile, “I think he said he was going to work on his cut outs in the locker room.”
“Well he’ll be in there most of the day,” Cynthia sighs, “well alright I guess I’ll just leave him to his hobby.”
Brad turns around his eyes telling Fanny to go. She scurries back to Hope as Brad continues with Cynthia, eventually freeing himself from her conversation. He walks over to Hope and Fanny sliding a light blue t-shirt over his muscular body.
“Thanks,” Fanny says with a smile, her usually pale cheeks getting a cranberry coloring around her cheeks.
“No problem,” Brad says giving her a wink, “it looked like you needed the help.”
“You have no idea,” Fanny says the blush in her face draining as she watches Amanda walk over.
“So what was going on back there?” Brad asks.
“Actually I was trying to get to you,” Fanny says looking back at Hope who has her legs pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around and her head buried into her knees. “I need a favor.”
“Anything,” Brad says noticing Hope demeanor, “all you have to do is ask.”
“Is everything ok?” Amanda asks.
“No,” Hope mumbles, her words struggling to escape from behind her knees.
“What’s wrong?” Amanda asks.
“We can’t talk here,” Fanny says holding her hand up not wanting to answer any other questions. “What we need is to get out of here for a little bit. Is there any way you can make that happen?”
“Yeah sure,” Brad stam
mers shaking his head as he talks. “I can take you up to the roof. Show you the garden?”
“Yeah, I think that would be fine,” Fanny says checking with Hope, watching as she lifts her head and shows her dry puffy red eyes.
“Would you like to blow off a little steam while we’re up there?” Brad ask kneeling in front of her his hand resting on top of hers, hovering above her knee.
Hope shakes for a moment before pushing his hand away from hers. Brad falls backward as Hope jumps to her feet and backs into a wall.
“I’m sorry,” Brad says from a sitting position, “I didn’t mean…”
“It wasn’t you,” Fanny says with a sigh. “But yeah, I think she is going to need to blow off a lot of steam.”
“Ok,” Brad replies pulling himself back to his feet, “I have everything I need on the roof. Just let me grab my equipment and we can head up there.”
“How bad is it?” Amanda asks in a whisper as Brad walks away.
“Very,” Fanny replies edging towards the door, waiting with Hope for Brad to return.
It doesn’t take him long to come back. He has put on a faded brown windbreaker, a pistol imprint sticking out underneath it. He tosses each of the girl’s a similar windbreakers, each the same brown color with the gym logo unstitching on the back.
“I’m sorry if I bothered you,” Brad says approaching Hope, “but I thought you’d like to keep this on you just in case.” He holds his hands out presenting her sword to her.
“It wasn’t you,” Hope says taking the sword, her hands holding it unsteadily as it rocks back and forth, “but thank you.”
“Anytime,” Brad says going back to his signature smile.
“So what are we going to do to blow off steam?” Hope asks trying to smile back.
“It’s a surprise,” Brad winks before waving at them to join him at the door.
Brad slides the big wooden block away from the door before drawing his gun and cracking the door a bit. Sunlight streams through the crack blinding them all. The wind swirls and whistles as the door opens wider. One by one they step outside following Brad as he walks to the side of the building. He pulls the ladder down and guides each of them up. He follows behind, once again pulling the ladder up keeping them safe and protected.
“Whoa,” Hope and Fanny murmur as they look around.
“Yep, my little piece of heaven in an otherwise disastrous world,” Brad gloats.
“This is just what I needed,” Hope says a smile starting to reappear on her face, “it’s so nice up here.” She stops at the first pot with several purple and blue flowers growing out of it. She inhales deeply, taking in as much as she can before continuing to observe the rest of the roof.
“Alright we got you up here, now tell us what happened,” Amanda says.
“You tell them,” Hope says walking away, “I don’t even want to think about it.”
Fanny watches her friend as she heads over to the side of the building, her arms folded up and resting on the ledge as she stares intensely at the running river.
“Hope woke up early this morning and explored the gym,” Fanny starts, “Justin followed her as she checked out the locker room. When I noticed she had been gone a long time I went to go check on her and I found Justin…”
“…Trying to take advantage of her?” Brad asks, his nostrils flaring up as he talks.
“Yeah, how did you know?” Fanny asks.
“Not the first time this has happened,” Brad growls, “actually I hate to admit it, but when I go out he would tell me to search for girls. For a while I was oblivious to what was happening and then a couple of months ago I found these two girls, Faith and Katlyn. I brought them back; Cynthia mended and healed them. Actually, one of them was pretty close to death. Almost like you Fanny. A few days past when I was asked to come up here and tend to the garden and to collect a few herbs and plants. When I got back downstairs the two girls were huddled in a corner, both crying. They begged me to help them, told me that Justin was violating them. I didn’t believe them. I mean Justin and Cynthia took me in and treated me like a member of the family I couldn’t cross them. But then the next morning I found both girls dead. Cynthia said it must have been something inside of them. But I knew the truth. I let them down and Justin finished them off.”
“Well that won’t be happening this time,” Fanny chuckles, a crooked smile forming as she does.
“Don’t be so sure, he may not look strong but he’s cunning,” Brad says, “he will find a way.”
“Yeah, if he’s still alive that is,” Fanny scoffs.
“What do you mean?” Brad asks.
“What did you do?” Amanda asks concerned.
“I found him on top of Hope so I took care of him… in the most humane way I could think of,” Fanny replies.
“Fanny what did you do?” Amanda asks the concern growing more and more.
“I beat his fucking head in and cut off his manhood,” Fanny responds.
“You didn’t,” Amanda squeals, her hands running uneasily through her hair.
“Hey I did what I had to do,” Fanny snaps back, “someone had to teach that asshole a lesson. Might as well have been me.”
“Oh no, no, no, no,” Brad rambles, “Cynthia isn’t going to like this. Where is he?”
“I left him in the locker room. I figured her could suffer more there,” Fanny answers. “You don’t honestly think I was wrong do you?”
“No,” Brad says after a quick pause, “you did what you had to do to protect yourself and your friend. I just don’t know what’s going to happen when Cynthia finds out.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t worry about that. Not up here and especially not while,” Fanny nods in Hope’s direction.
“Agreed,” Brad and Amanda say in unison.
“Now how about we blow off some steam like I promised?” Brad asks a twinkle in his eye with every word.
“That sounds like fun,” Hope says coming over.
Brad heads over to a small shed, the girls each following hesitantly behind, eager to find out what he has in store.
“Here,” Brad says pulling out a bow and handing it to Hope, “take this.”
“What am I supposed to do with this?” Hope asks examining the wooden bow, pulling back the tight black string and letting it go, listening to it make a twanging sound.
“Blow off steam,” Brad says removing a quiver full of arrows.
“This is pointless,” Fanny says snatching the bow out of Hope’s hand, “arrows only penetrate Zombies, they don’t kill them.”
“No they don’t,” Brad says holding his hand out, waiting for Fanny to hand him back the bow. “But fire makes it fun.”
He pulls out one of the arrows out of the quiver. The green and red veins stand out brightly against the thin, long black shaft. The tip is triple bladed, glistening against the sun. There is a thin strip of blue cloth wrapped around the bottom of the shaft. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a silver lighter, flicking the top open and sparking a flame. He holds the fire under the cloth, steadily moving it back and forth until the fire catches. He walks over toward the edge, facing the grocery store where they all met. The arrow rests gently against the bow waiting as he loads it and draws back the string. His eyes focus on a loan Zombie wandering back and forth, grunting and growling as it searches for food. He takes a short breath as he aims, taking his time to aim as the fire grows in intensity. He lets go of the string and stands proud as he watches the arrow fly, just missing the zombie, the fire going out as the arrow hits the building.
“Damn,” He groans.
“This looks like fun,” Hope says taking the bow from him, “what do I do?”
“Well first you need an arrow,” He says sliding another one out of the quiver and loading it for her. He lights the cloth for her before standing behind her. “Now just load the arrow onto the string, pull it back, aim and let it fly.”
“Ok sounds easy enough,” Hope says as she tries to follow Brad
’s instruction.
The arrow flies out of her bow, missing the stray Zombie wildly. The arrow sticks inside a tree, the fire slowly starts to consume it.
“That’s the problem with fire,” Fanny says disapprovingly, “it consumes everything it touches.”
“What’s it matter?” Brad asks with a smug look on his face, “it’s all the way down there and it will burn out before it ever reaches us.”
“If you underestimate fire, you are going to get burned,” Fanny remarks.
“You’re one to talk about underestimating your opponent,” Brad mocks, “or don’t you remember what that Zombie did to you?”
Fanny’s face scrunches up in rage before she seizes the bow from Hope’s hand and whips out an arrow, “light it up.”
Brad does as he’s told, stepping back as she draws it back an unnerving look on her face as she aims. She lets the arrow go watching with an intense gaze as the arrow pierces through the Zombie’s gut. The fire catches the dry rotted skin and slowly envelopes its body before finally covering it from head to toe with fire.
“Nice shot,” Brad admits somewhat stunned.
“Told you I knew what I was doing,” She replies pushing the bow into him, knocking the air out of his lungs as he fumbles to reach for it.
She walks away, to the backside of the roof watching the river flow. Brad, Hope and Amanda watch her almost sympathetically.
“Is she going to be ok?” Amanda asks looking at Hope.
“Yeah,” Hope smiles, “She’s just like fire, wild and untamed. But no one should ever underestimate her.”
Chapter 16
The sun starts to set before the group agrees that they should get back inside. Small fires off in the distance dance, their lights getting brighter as the sky gets darker. They shimmy down the ladder one at a time before heading back for the door.
“Thanks,” Hope says to Brad before he knocks on the door. “Today was just what I needed after… you know, this morning.”
“Hey, if there is one thing I know, it’s how to have fun,” Brad laughs before knocking on the door again.
Omega Virus (Book 2): Revisited Page 15
