by Bale, Sarah
She nodded. “I did.”
We reached the backyard to find a few people waiting, none of them female. Amos was also missing. In fact, none of these people were from the old group. I didn’t know a single person there.
Daisy said under her breath, “These people look ill.”
That was putting it mildly. These men looked like they were on their deathbeds.
I asked the man closest to me, “Where are the others? Where are the women?”
“There aren’t anymore. We’re it.”
I looked him over. The whites of his eyes were yellow as was the undertone of his skin. He was clearly suffering from some sort of liver condition. A man behind him coughed and spit blood.
I said to Daisy, “It appears he’s sent us the members of his community who are ill.”
The man in front of me wheezed out, “He said you were going to take care of us.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t let you come to my community like this.”
They hadn’t lived there before and it wasn’t fair to ask my people to take them in, especially when they wouldn’t be able to help with chores. Plus, there was no telling if they were contagious.
His eyes widened. “You have to. If you don’t, they’re going to kill us like they did the rest.”
Unease crept up my spine. Had Bobby killed the members of my old community? Is that why no one had come back to the hospital?
Another man nodded. “That’s the way it works here. If you’re sick, you die.”
Daisy tugged on my hand, pulling me aside.
She whispered, “We can’t leave them here, Elijah.”
“I agree, but I need to know where the rest are.”
If they were alive then I had to help them.
She sighed. “I’ll take them to the van. If you’re not out in ten minutes I’m coming after you.”
I kissed her and replied, “Know your enemy. If you go inside, there’s a chance he will hurt you.”
“I’d like to see him try.”
I knew she was serious, so I said, “I’ll hurry.”
She turned to the men as I went up the steps to the building. I prayed I wasn’t making a horrible mistake by going into Bobby’s home. Opening the door, I stepped inside and was met with an eerie silence. Above me, a floorboard creaked. There was a cough down the hall. Since the woman had been upstairs, I decided to go that way first.
I crept up the stairs, praying I didn’t make any noise. The wooden steps were mostly silent, until the last one creaked loudly. Cursing under my breath, I made my way down the hallway. Most of the doors were closed. I went to the one at the end of the hallway, which was the room where the curtain moved. Slowly, I tuned the knob. The door groaned as I opened it. I stepped inside, closing it behind me.
There before me was Marianne and ten other women. They were totally nude and had bruises covering most of their bodies.
Marianne came across the room, throwing herself into my arms. “Thank God! I knew you’d come back for us.”
I whispered, “What happened?”
“Bobby’s lost his mind. After you left he locked us up, saying we weren’t going to leave him. Said it would make you stronger than him.”
One of the other women asked, “Do you know where they’ve taken my husband?”
Marianne said, “She was married to Hardy. He was out there the day you came.”
I vaguely remembered what Hardy looked like, but I had no idea where the men were.
I replied, “I don’t know where they are, but I’m going to find them.” To Marianne I said, “Take these women outside. Daisy is waiting in a silver van. When you get to her, tell her to take you back and find Grey and bring back help. Can you do that?”
She nodded. “I can do that.”
I felt bad that these women had no clothing, but there wasn’t time to find them any. Plus, the longer I spent in the house, the more dangerous it became.
Opening the door, I looked to make sure the coast was clear.
“Take the first door on your right at the bottom of the stairs. Run when you get outside and don’t look back no matter what.”
Marianne grabbed my hand. “If he hasn’t killed the men then they’re either in the basement or in the old jailhouse down the street.”
“Thank you. Now go!”
She nodded and led the women down the stairs. I followed, making sure no one came up from behind. They reached the door and took off running. I went the other way, heading toward Bobby’s office. Gunfire rang out and my blood ran cold. No! I couldn’t think about what was happening out there. I needed to find the men before I was discovered.
The door to Bobby’s office was open, but he wasn’t inside. I went to the desk and opened the drawers. There was a pistol and two magazines with bullets. It was better than nothing. I slipped the weapon in my waistband. There was a set of keys hanging on the wall. My gut said to grab them, just in case.
When I slipped out of the office I heard Bobby’s laugh.
“Good one, boy. You got the bitch right between the eyes.”
I froze. Daisy! But I didn’t know for sure that’s who had been shot. And I needed to free the men while I could.
A younger voice replied, “I want to shoot another one.”
“Looks like they took off. Fucking pussies.”
“Pa, how did they get out?”
Bobby replied, “Huh. Didn’t think about that. Why don’t you go up there and see?”
They were in a room a few feet ahead of me. I ducked into the nearest room, praying it was empty. When I saw where I was, I could have wept in joy. Apparently, Bobby liked to keep his weapons near the door, in case he needed them. I grabbed a backpack lying on the desk and loaded it with as much ammo and as many guns it could hold. Then I slipped another pistol into my waistband.
Pressing my ear against the door, I listened. A door slammed from somewhere in the house, but other than that I didn’t hear anything. The last time I’d been here, I had noticed a door behind the stairs. If I were to guess, that door led to the basement. Slowly, I made my way from the room to the stairway. The door was slightly open, so I slipped through it. I tried to shove my nerves away, but it was hard. I had no good memories associated with this building and being in the pitch dark didn’t help. I couldn’t even see my hand if I waved it in front of my face.
When I reached the last step, I heard a deep groan.
“Amos. Are you down here?”
“Boss? Is that you?”
I replied, “Keep talking so I can find you.”
“You shouldn’t be down here. There’s no telling what Bobby will do if he finds you.”
I reached a cell, touching the bars until I felt the door. “You in here?”
By the shuffling inside, there was more than one person there.
Amos replied, “Yes. There should be a flashlight on the ground. Might help you see better.”
Squatting, I felt around until I found the light. Flipping it on, I saw Amos smiling back at me. Behind him stood twenty men. They were crammed in the cell so tight that they couldn’t even sit. Judging by the smell, they’d been in the cell for a while, forced to shit and piss themselves.
Pulling the keys from my pocked, I unlocked the door. It squeaked loudly as it swung opened.
“Fuck.” Amos said, “We should get out of here. Now.”
“Is there another way out?”
“No.”
I handed the bag of weapons to him. “Everyone gets a gun. We’re going to have to fight our way out of here.”
I’d made a mistake by underestimating Bobby. I wouldn’t make it again.
Amos handed everyone a weapon and said, “We’re ready.”
“Get to the road. If you make it that far, run.” I looked at each man. “Help is on the way, but it might not get here in time.”
I hated that I’d let these men down for a second time, but I was going to do everything in my power to make sure they got out.
&nb
sp; “On my count. Three. Two. Go!”
We ran up the stairs. Somehow, I ended up in the middle of the group. When the door opened the first two men were shot on the spot. We fired back as all hell broke loose. This was it. One way or another, this ended today.
12
Daisy
My mouth fell open as a group of naked women ran toward the van, Marianne leading the way.
“Boss said to go. Now!”
Something in her tone told me she wasn’t lying. I got into the car, starting it. The women piled in next to the men as gunfire rang out. One of the women cried out, falling backward.
“Tanya!” Marianne yelled. “No!”
“Marianne, we don’t have time!”
She glanced at me before closing her door. I took off, praying Elijah was okay.
“What happened in there?”
Some of the women sniffled, but Marianne met my gaze straight on.
“Bobby has lost his mind. He thinks your group is out to get him.”
“That makes no sense. We haven’t done anything to make him think that.”
Marianne huffed. “He’s related to Wyatt. Doesn’t really need a reason to be crazy, now does he?”
She had a point.
“Why did Elijah stay behind?”
“Boss was going to try to find the men. Said to have Grey bring back-up.”
I pressed the gas pedal in until we were speeding down the road. Everyone was silent as we made our way back. I honked the horn as I got close. The gates opened and I was relieved to see Grey with a group of men. I stopped the van and got out.
“Saw your dust cloud a mile away. What happened?”
“Elijah’s in trouble. He said to send help.”
Grey nodded. “Don’t tell Kat where I’ve gone.”
I grabbed his hand. “I’m coming, too, Grey.”
He stared at me, sighing loudly. “Let’s go. I’m driving, though.”
I nodded and went to the passenger side of his jeep.
Marianne asked, “What do we do?”
“Go to the housing addition. Andrews and his wife, Nancy, will be able to show you where you’ll be staying.”
Marianne said, “I’m sorry this happened.”
I gave her a weak smile. “Don’t be. It was our choice to come back for y’all.”
She smiled back.
Grey cleared his throat. “Daisy, we need to go.”
We were soon speeding down the road, headed back to Bobby’s place. Luckily, my honking hadn’t drawn the attention of the Dead.
As we drove I filled Grey in.
“Wonder if someone got inside Bobby’s head? Seems like a leap for him to go from trusting you to wanting to kill you.”
I replied, “Seems like he was twisted and we didn’t know it. Did you see the women? Those bruises were fresh.”
Grey nodded. “I’m glad you decided to let them come here. No one deserves to live like that.”
I didn’t want to tell him that I was still uneasy about Marianne being back. What if she causes trouble again?
Grey cleared his throat. “I didn’t mention this earlier, but Kat hasn’t been feeling well today. Keeps having contractions.”
I could tell by his tone that he was worried.
“It’s probably Braxton Hicks.”
“That’s what she said, but I think she’s hurting more than she’s letting on. She tries to put on a strong face, but I can tell.”
If my calculations were right, it was too early for contractions, even if they were Braxton Hicks. I kept that bit of information to myself.
Instead I said, “We’ll have Elijah check her out when we get back.”
As we turned the corner, Grey cursed. I echoed his thoughts. In the short amount of time we’d been gone all hell had broken loose. We parked and got out. Bodies were scattered in the yard, thankfully none that I recognized.
Grey said. “Fuck. They’re starting to turn.”
Which would only slow us down when we left.
I said, “I’ll take care of the Dead. Find Elijah and make sure he’s okay.”
I could see the debate in Grey’s eyes. And then gunfire rang out from the house followed by answering shots.
“Grey, go! The sooner we have Elijah the sooner we can get back to Kat!”
I pulled my knife from my belt and went to the first body, sliding the blade into its skull.
Grey called out to his men. “We need to find Boss and get the fuck out of here. If you see a biter, take it down, but don’t waste your time on helping the injured.” To me, he said, “We’ll hurry.”
They disappeared from sight, splitting into two groups. It always amazed me how well Grey’s men worked together. They’d been in a biker gang before the apocalypse and somehow that made them even stronger now.
I moved onto the next body. It was the little boy who had been with Grey the first day we’d come to their home. I took care of him, trying not to dwell on it. Soon, I’d slipped the blade in over twenty skulls.
There was yelling from the building and then Elijah, Grey, and several men came running out. Blood splattered Elijah’s clothes, but he appeared to be okay.
Elijah called out, “Get to the jeep, Daisy.”
I did as he said, and started the engine. The men piled into the backseat, but Elijah stood next to Grey.
“What is he doing?” I asked.
Why wasn’t he coming?
A man replied, “He’s waiting on what’s left of Bobby’s men to come outside.”
What was left? Good god!
About fifteen men and a few women came outside, all looking terrified. Elijah held up his hand, motioning for them to stop.
He said, “Who’s in charge now?”
No one moved. I couldn’t really blame them.
Finally, a short man with red hair stepped forward. “If these people will have me, I’ll be in charge.”
“What’s your name?”
“It’s Marshall.”
“Nice to meet you, Marshall. Can you tell me something? Do you think Bobby was running this place as it should be?”
Marshall shook his head. “No, sir, I don’t.”
“What will you do differently?”
Marshall replied, “The women who want to stay will no longer be treated as objects. Anyone who doesn’t agree with me can leave or will pay the price of death.”
Elijah asked, “Does anyone object to this new rule?”
The people shook their heads.
A woman asked, “What if we don’t want to stay here?”
“You can come with me to our home or you can seek shelter elsewhere. No one will stop you.”
She replied, “May I take a bag of food with me?”
“Marshall?”
Marshall replied, “That will be fine.”
The woman nodded, looking relieved.
Elijah said, “I want each and every one of you to know that I didn’t ask for the fight today. It was Bobby who decided my group was the enemy.”
Marshall nodded. “We know that. I can vouch for the people standing behind me. None of us thought what Bobby did was right. In fact, we tried to stop him.”
Several people chimed in, confirming what Marshall’s words.
Elijah said, “My offer still stands. Anyone who lived under my protection can come back.” He looked around. “But it also looks like things are changing here, too. I’ll give you a moment to decide.”
He came over to the car. Only then did I notice that his hand was shaking. I got out and threw myself into his arms.
“Damn you! You’ve got to stop scaring me like that!”
Elijah hugged me close to his body and kissed the top of my head. “Sorry. Didn’t expect things to go down like this today.”
“Is Bobby dead?”
His chest rumbled. “Fucking prick took his own life when we cornered him. Didn’t even give me a chance to talk to him.”
I replied, “I’m glad he’s gone. We won’
t have to worry about him coming after us later down the line.”
Elijah glanced over his shoulder. “I thought the same thing.”
“Do you think someone from his group will want to seek revenge?”
“Depends on how well they thrive here. If they do well, then no. If not, then yes.”
My chest felt tight. Before I could reply, Grey came over.
“I hate to be that guy, but can we get the fuck out of here? I want you to look at Kat.”
Elijah cleared his throat. “Has everyone had a chance to think it over?”
Amos said, “We’re coming.”
About eight men stepped forward.
Marshall nodded. “Hate to see you go, but know you can always come back.”
“Anyone else want to come?” When no one responded, Elijah said, “Then let’s go.”
Marshall said, “They can take one of the old trucks. Someone can bring it back later.”
He and Marshall shook hands before Elijah turned, coming back to the car.
“Let’s go home.”
The drive back was silent. I don’t think anyone knew what to say to each other. When we got back to the hospital Elijah went with Grey to check on Kat. I made my way to the kitchen to see if Coop needed help. When I was almost there, the first tears fell from my eyes.
Glancing around, I slipped into the laundry room. For the first time in a very long time I allowed myself to cry. I cried for the fear I’d felt today. I could have lost Elijah! He was my first and only love. What would I do without him? I couldn’t even bring myself to think about it. Next, I thought about Faith. I know she said it wasn’t my fault that she was bit, but what if it was? And what about the ones I’d left behind in Texas? My Mom. Theo. What had happened to them?
There was a knock on the door and I tried in vain to wipe my tears away. The door opened and Jo came into the room.
“Did something happen?”
I shook my head, sniffling.
“Just feeling sorry for myself, I guess.” I paused. “Do you think it’s my fault that Faith died?”
“No! Why would you even think that?”
I answered, “Because I didn’t kill the biter who bit her. If I’d just shot it-”
Jo put her arms around me, hugging me. “Daisy, you can’t think like that. Thoughts like that will eat you alive.”
