“She didn’t lie.”
Mary’s mouth went dry. Jake leaned forward on the table. Mary caught herself staring at Jake’s hands. The only bits of blood that remained covered the rings he wore.
Jake twisted one of the rings off his hand and extended it to Mary.
“I was going to clean them off, but I liked the new color to much. What do you think?” Jake asked.
“You’re a coward.”
Jake slid the ring back on his finger. He formed his hand into a fist, his joints cracking the harder he squeezed.
“A coward is afraid. I’m not afraid, and that’s what makes it so bad for you. I’m not afraid to hit a woman. I’m not afraid to make a little girl cry. I’m not afraid to hear them scream.”
Mary felt Frankie place his hands on her shoulders. She could feel the calluses on his hands running up along the side of her neck.
“Did you kill any of my men before today?” Jake asked.
“No.”
Frankie grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head back, exposing her neck. He brought the edge of a blade to her flesh.
“Did you kill any of men before today?” Jake repeated.
“No,” Mary answered.
Frankie slammed her head down on the table. She was able to brace herself with her hands, but she felt the trickle of blood run from her nose over her lips.
“Two days ago one of my men was killed. Who did it?” Jake asked.
Mary wiped her hand under her nose. A streak of blood smeared across her finger.
“I don’t know,” Mary answered.
“The cabin you’re staying at. Where is it?”
Her sisters. She couldn’t give them up. She wasn’t going to give them anything.
“I know you’re staying with a family. I know someone helped you escape. I will find it eventually. The only difference you can make now is how I treat your sisters when I find them.”
They’re bluffing. They couldn’t know where the cabin was.
Jake rose from the table at her silence. He kicked her chair leg, knocking her over and sending her to the floor. He grabbed her arm and flung her against the wall. He slapped her across the face.
When his hand made contact with her cheek, it was like a being dumped in cold water. The pain was overwhelming and shocking all at once.
Jake’s hand came across the other side of her face, harder than the before. Mary could feel her face reddening. The stings from each hit lingered, then swelled.
“Where’s the cabin?” Jake asked.
His voice was calm. Mary felt his hand closing around her windpipe. The grip tightened. She gasped for breath. She tried to peel his hand off her but struggled against his size and strength.
Life was being choked from her. Mary started to panic. Her head felt light. Her vision started to blur. Just before she thought she’d pass out, he let go.
Mary dropped to the floor, coughing, hacking, and gasping for air. Jake kicked her stomach. The shot sent pain rippling through her body.
“Give me the knife,” Jake said.
Frankie handed him the blade. He grabbed Mary’s hand, stepping on her wrist to keep her arm pinned down. He dug the tip of the blade into the flesh of her exposed palm, slowly.
Mary screamed. She reached for the knife with her free hand, but Frankie held her down. She writhed and twisted on the ground, crying and screaming as Jake dug the blade’s tip deeper into her hand, cutting away flesh, scraping against the bones.
“Where’s the cabin?” Jake shouted.
“Stop! P-p-please stop!” Mary cried.
Jake pulled the knife out and lifted his boot off Mary’s wrist. Each time she tried to move a finger a sharp pain shot up through her arm.
“Stand her up,” Jake said.
Mary pulled the injured hand to her, pressing it against her chest to stop the bleeding. Frankie lifted her from the ground.
“You wanted to see your mom? Let’s go see her,” Jake said.
Frankie pulled her through the sheriff’s office. She looked back at Kalen still lying on the floor of her cell, passed out. Maybe she was dead. No one could take that kind of pain. They had to have killed her. That’s why Kalen never screamed.
Now, they were going to kill her, probably in front of her mother. More torture. Or maybe they’d rape her in front of her mom, make the both of them suffer more before she died.
They were closer to the motel now. The pain in Mary’s hand was replaced by the adrenaline coursing through her veins.
When they turned the corner, Mary’s stomach started to sink. They weren’t leading her to one of the rooms. They were taking her to the center of the courtyard. They were taking her to the burnt bodies.
“No,” Mary said.
She didn’t want to see them. She didn’t want to hear the truth that was sinking in right now.
“God, no, please don’t, no,” Mary said.
Mary pushed and pulled against Frankie’s grip but she couldn’t break free.
“You wanted to see her?” Jake asked.
Frankie tossed her to the ground in front of the charred bodies, which formed an altar of death. Mary could smell the remnants of flesh no longer covering their bones.
“There she is,” Jake said.
Mary looked up at the corpse, shriveled and still tied with her hands behind her back to the pole. Her mother’s body was rigid, holding her in place.
The woman she knew was gone. She was always told by people that she looked like her mother. They had the same hair, the same eyes. She always wore that compliment like a badge of pride.
Those similarities were gone now. Mary couldn’t prove that she was the daughter of the woman on the pole. She was gone. Completely wiped clean by fire.
Mary fell to her side, sobbing hysterically.
“Mom,” Mary said.
She mouthed the words more than she said them. The spit and tears coming from her face mixed together. Whatever pain they caused her before, whatever pain they would bring her next wouldn’t hurt like this. This was the type of pain that you never came back from. It was the type of pain that you carried forever.
***
The room was spinning. Kalen’s vision was blurred. The concrete floor felt cool against her skin. She lay there, motionless.
Kalen gently lifted her shirt up. Black and blue bruises were blotched along her rib cage. She managed to roll onto her back. Her hands found her face and she ran her fingertips across the lumps and welts, wincing with each touch.
The last thing she remembered before she blacked out was a fist slamming into her cheek and her body hitting the ground. She lasted a long time, and she didn’t break. She didn’t give them anything.
It was hard though. The hardest thing she’d ever done. There were times where she wanted to give them all the answers to the questions they asked.
When she raised her head from the ground to get a better look at her surroundings, she saw the door to the interrogation room was open and the room empty. The only thing in there was her blood staining the floor.
Kalen flipped to her belly and crawled to the front of the cell. Her neck strained as she looked down the halls, trying to see where they took Mary.
“Mary?” Kalen said.
Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper. The exertion of speaking was painful. Her ribs felt razor sharp, stabbing her insides with each breath, word, and movement. She squinted her eyes shut, trying to block the pain out.
Kalen focused on figuring out where she saw Mary last. Did she see her when she came out? No. Her last memories before her blackout were still in the room.
The hardware store? No, they were dragged to the sheriff’s office together. The cells. She remembered Mary being thrown into one of the cells as she was taken to the interrogation room.
“Mary?” Kalen repeated.
Another shot of pain went through Kalen’s stomach; guilt. She was the one who convinced Mary to come. She was the one who gave her the gun. Wh
atever fate Mary had run into was because of her actions.
Kalen rested her back against the wall. She placed her right hand on the cell bars and gripped the metal tight. Her arm started to shake.
Don’t break. Don’t give in. Fight it. Fight it!
She held the tears back. She wasn’t going to cry. She wasn’t going to show weakness. If the bikers came back in they wouldn’t find a self-pitying girl wallowing in tears. All they would see was her resolve and the lumps across her face.
Chapter 6: Night of Day 13 (the Cabin)
Nelson pulled the sheets over Sean. He bent down to kiss his forehead, brushing the hair out of his eyes. He dimmed the candlelight in the lantern and shut the door.
He walked down the hall quietly. When he reached the living room, Ray was on the couch, his leg propped up on a few pillows as he flipped through the pages of a hunting magazine Freddy had brought up for him from the basement.
Nelson leaned back in the armchair across from the couch slowly and let out a sigh. He closed his eyes and rested his head back on the cushion behind him.
“Crazy day,” Ray said.
“Yeah,” Nelson answered.
“Any reason you didn’t go with Mike?”
Nelson opened his eyes. Ray had set the magazine down and was looking at him.
“What are you getting at?” Nelson asked.
“Well, I know why I didn’t go,” Ray said, gesturing to his leg.
“We couldn’t send everyone,” Nelson answered.
Ray turned back to his magazine.
“I’m not a coward, Ray.”
The magazine fell to Ray’s lap. He turned on his side, making sure he was looking Nelson full in the face.
“No, I know you’re not a coward, Nelson. But you’re also not a man of action. You let things happen to you. You let things happen to your family. You’re no better than the people who burned down Mike’s house in our neighborhood.”
Nelson shot up out of his chair. He marched over to Ray, his temper rising.
“I don’t know where you were when Mike’s house was getting burned to the ground, but I’m the one who pulled him out of the fire. If I hadn’t been there to pull him out, he would have died.”
The words came out in stinging, harsh whispers. Nelson was right in Ray’s face, and Ray grabbed hold of his collar.
“The only reason you were able to pull him out was because you were tucked away in your house. I saw you out there on the lawn. I saw you walk away,” Ray said.
Nelson grabbed hold of Ray’s shirt. The two men locked together. Ray’s body hit the floor as Nelson pulled him from the couch. The commotion caused Anne to run from the hall into the living room.
“Enough! Stop it, you two!” Anne said.
She peeled them off each other. Ray sat propped up against the couch, his leg lying at an awkward angle.
“Now is not the time to start this. Am I clear?” Anne said.
The two men nodded, looking at one another, each breathing heavily.
“Sorry,” Ray said.
“It’s all right,” Nelson answered.
Then when the door to the cabin opened and Nelson looked up, he didn’t think it was real.
Katie’s face was smeared with dirt, and her tattered business clothes were filthy. She almost looked like a stranger, but her green eyes staring back at him were familiar territory.
“Katie?” Nelson asked.
Her name left his lips like a whisper. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there before he jumped to his feet and rushed to her. He held her, kissed her, afraid letting go would stop making the moment real, as if she would dissipate into the night air like she had in so many of his dreams.
“Sean? Is he okay?” Katie asked.
“Yes, he’s fine. I just put him to bed.”
Nelson noticed Sam standing there in the doorway behind her, looking unsure of whether he should say anything.
“Sam?” Nelson asked.
“Hi, Nelson,” Sam answered.
“He helped get me out. I wouldn’t have made it without him,” Katie said.
Sam extended his hand, but Nelson embraced him in a hug.
“Thank you,” Nelson said.
Sam patted him on the back.
“Can I see him?” Katie asked.
“Of course.”
Nelson led her to the bedroom where Sean was sleeping. When he opened the door to let her in, she took a moment just watching him sleep. He was still, peaceful.
She walked to him and knelt down by his side. She ran her hands softly along the length of his small arms and legs—a feather’s touch.
Nelson saw the smile spread across Sean’s face when he opened his eyes. Sean jumped up and threw his arms around Katie.
“Mom!”
“Hey, baby,” Katie said.
Nelson left them alone. There would be time for words later. For now, seeing his wife with his son was all that he needed.
***
Sean fell asleep in Katie’s lap in the living room. She didn’t want to move him; she just let him sleep and brushed his hair with her fingers.
Jung had joined Anne, Ray, Sam, Nelson, and Katie in the living room. The six of them were sitting around, trying not to speak too loudly to wake Sean.
“We thought the relief center would be safe, but it didn’t last very long. All of the hospitals, Red Cross locations, or public welfare stations giving out food rations were looted. It was chaos everywhere,” Sam said.
“Did you guys hear anything about the rest of the country? Is there any spot that’s safe?” Anne asked.
“No, none of the authorities we spoke with had any information,” Katie answered.
“Nobody mentioned anything about Cincinnati?” Jung asked.
“Cincinnati?” Katie asked.
“We have a radio. It works and we heard a broadcast come through,” Anne said.
“It said that Cincinnati was the rallying point for the power coming back on in Ohio. A woman’s voice came through and said that there was food, shelter, protection,” Nelson said.
“Sounds too good to be true,” Sam said.
“That’s what I said,” Ray said.
“I don’t think they’d be able to set something up that fast. And even if they did, there’s no way of knowing if the place is already overrun. I’m sure whatever was set up had good intentions, but people are desperate now. Good intentions will get you killed,” Sam said.
“Where’s Mike? What did he say about all this?” Katie asked.
Katie watched everyone’s eyes shift around awkwardly. Everyone seemed to look at Anne, but Anne focused on Katie.
“Kalen disappeared this morning. Mike went to go find her,” Anne said.
“Oh my God. Anne, I’m sorry,” Katie said.
“Mike wanted us to stay put. We have enough supplies to last us a while, and we just set up an agreement with a local hunter for fresh game. Leaving now would be too much of a risk. We’d lose more than we’d gain,” Anne said.
Jung stormed out of the living room, heading to his room at the end of the hallway.
“It’s a bit of a sore subject with him,” Ray said.
“His wife was shot on the way here. The antibiotics we have aren’t helping with her infection. She’s not doing very well,” Anne explained.
Anne got up from the chair she brought in from the kitchen.
“I’ll sleep in Kalen’s room. You and Nelson should take my and Mike’s room,” Anne said.
“No, Anne, we can’t do that,” Katie said.
“It’s fine. It’s going to be a long night for me anyway, and I probably won’t get much sleep. You two take it. You need the time alone,” Anne said.
“Thanks, Anne,” Nelson said.
The rest of the group headed to bed as Katie scooped Sean up in her arms and let him down in Freddy’s room. She kissed him on the forehead and slowly shut the door behind her.
Nelson took Katie’s hand and they walked side by side
down the hall into Mike and Anne’s room.
There was a small glow of a candle lighting the bedroom. Katie walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. Nelson hung back at the door.
No Power: EMP Post Apocalyptic Fiction Thriller Super Boxset Page 126
