Authors: Armand Rosamilia
His three prisoners looked absolutely terrified, but it didn't mean they would stay that way. Especially if he closed his eyes. They'd try to slither across the floor like damn snakes and kill him in his sleep. Jeff couldn't take the chance.
The small fridge behind the bar had a six pack of Miller Light, usually not his first choice but it would do for now. If he started on the hard stuff he might fall out, so beer it was.
He took a pull from the can and smacked his lips. He looked at the three on the ground and held up the can. "Anyone want a beer? I need to be a more gracious host. Besides, don't only losers and alcoholics drink alone?" Jeff put the beer down on the counter.
Jeff grabbed Taylor by her bound feet. When she struggled, he took the beer and dumped some of it on her. "Stop moving. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to move all three of you where I can see you. I need to sit down for a minute and I don't trust you."
Taylor stopped fighting and was dragged to the center of the open area in front of the bar. Jeff grabbed a handful of blankets he'd hoarded and tossed them on the floor, lifting Taylor and putting her on top. He squeezed her left breast as he did it. He smiled. He couldn't help himself.
"Next," he said but got the blankets and pillows he saw and tossed them on the ground next to Taylor. Scotty went next to her. At first, Jeff was going to keep them separated, but he thought a few more moments together would make their separation even sweeter for him.
Vee was tossed on the other side of Scotty.
Jeff clapped his hands. "Scotty, you are the luckiest bastard around right now. Two hot chicks, one on either side. Dude, if I were in your shoes, I'd have so much wood right now I'd bust through my fucking pants. Luckily, I'm not in your shoes. But don't worry, because sometime soon both of these fine ladies will be naked and doing the dirty... only, with me."
Scotty lifted up off the ground but fell back down when Jeff raised his foot.
"I thought so. No one likes a hero," Jeff said. He took another beer out of the fridge, keeping an eye on the trio, and put it on his card table next to his recliner.
Jeff took a bag of stale pretzels from a pile of snacks and one of the shotguns and sat down on the chair. "I'd offer you one but that would mean I'd have to take the tape off your mouth and one of you would do something retarded like yell for help. No one is coming to help, and it would piss me off." He stuffed a handful of pretzels in his mouth, chewing them before washing the mush down with beer. It was better than nothing. Before he left he'd need to pack a couple of bags with enough food and beer to get him through a couple of weeks.
"I'm going to close my eyes and fake snore for a little bit," Jeff said and smiled. "At some point I might even really fall out, but as soon as I hear a sound I'll wake up shooting. So ask yourself... do you think you can get up, get untied and subdue me before I pull the trigger on this shotgun, or the pistol? Do you really want to find out?"
Chapter Twenty
Darlene was going stir crazy. It felt like days since The Lich Lord had locked her in the room. He said he'd be back shortly, but she was pacing the floor and wondering how pissed he'd be if she kicked the door open and escaped.
Something told her to relax and enjoy the food and water he'd left her. There was also a stack of books on the small table, but when she looked through them she saw they were all zombie books. She had to laugh. Even The Lich Lord had kept his humor.
She sat down on the bed again but didn't lie down. She picked at the fruit on the plate but she wasn't really hungry. She hadn't eaten too much in the last couple of days but she still felt refreshed. There were too many things going around in her head right now to eat or sleep. She was trying to formulate a plan but she was too jumbled.
Darlene thought of Shane and how, in the end, the experiment had failed. From what she understood, it was far from the first time. She didn't know if she could stay around while he continued to use people to find a cure. What if there wasn't one? Darlene thought nature had corrected the balance on Earth. She believed in a Higher Power and supposed it was God, and if she did she had to know this was the plan all along.
Man had run its course, right? In the grand scheme of things the human race was a small blip of history.
There was more history before we came along and they'll be a lot more after we're totally gone
, Darlene thought.
"Enough of the deep thoughts for one day," Darlene said aloud, standing up again. She wanted to do something important. Since she'd been pregnant she'd been a passenger on this ride. Everyone else had taken care of her. First John and then The Lich Lord. She'd been an observer in her own life. And because of her weakness her baby was gone.
No more. Darlene had survived all the way from Maine to Florida because she did what she had to do, and, even when it wasn't pretty, it worked in the end.
She was no longer the plump late twenties chick working behind a makeup counter for shit pay. Going nowhere in life. Letting her dad take care of her. If the zombie apocalypse hadn't happened, would she still be living under his roof and celebrating each lonely birthday and wishing for something big to happen to her?
You didn't get any bigger than what had happened to the world.
"It's time to get back into the game," she said. She began pacing faster and faster, circling the small room as her mind spun with thoughts on how to get back John and her baby and what they needed to do to be safe from there.
She had to admit, after those two tasks were completed, coming back to this compound made the most sense. But she'd do it on her terms. Without Jeff or Doug or any other bastard getting the best of her.
It was all becoming clear now.
Eventually The Lich Lord would lose control of whatever mind he had left. He was holding it together now, but as the power got to him... he'd end up destroying everything he'd built up. It was inevitable. It would be his law and his way, and if you opposed him he could easily destroy you.
People would flock to his cause, only seeing a warm meal and a structured society, but Darlene was having second thoughts. Once you were inside these supposedly safe walls, it would be harder to escape. Especially when everything on the outside was gone.
But Darlene didn't know what to do. If she tried to go toe to toe with The Lich Lord she'd lose. He was stronger and smarter. He might not be able to read her mind but he could see intent on her face if she wasn't careful. And his other powers could be used against her.
The world would not be safe long-term if The Lich Lord was ruling it.
Darlene might need to bide her time. Play nice and act like she was firmly on his side. He might even let her go to find John and the baby. She'd come back and take care of him. Make sure everyone in the compound was safe. The Lich Lord had begun a great thing with housing, electricity and supplies. Darlene would make sure no one got out of line and ruined it.
Would she need to lead these people? Did she even want to stay here and try to keep the peace? It was all so much for her right now.
She needed John to talk to and figure it all out. So much to think about.
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Darlene said.
It was The Lich Lord and he was smiling. He glanced at her uneaten food. "Are you feeling alright?"
Darlene put on a fake smile. "I'm fine. Just sick of being trapped in this room."
"Then follow me. I have something for you." He turned and walked away.
Darlene followed, wondering what he was up to now. Maybe he'd taken this time to try another poor bastard and his magic blood serum. Darlene didn't want to go through that again.
She was led back into the main arena area, the only light a lamp sitting on a small end table in the center of the room. The rising bleachers on three sides were open but empty.
The Lich Lord stood behind the lamp and turned to face Darlene.
"What's this about? This seems pretty dramatic, even for you," Darlene said.
The Lich Lord laughed. "I wanted to set a mood, Zombie Killer. I wanted to give you something." He opened the drawer of the end table and pulled out a Desert Eagle, putting the weapon on top of the table.
Darlene reeled. There was no way it was hers. It had been left behind during the battle, and Jeff had taken her from John and her baby.
The Lich Lord smiled. "I'll be right back." He turned and disappeared into the darkness of the large room.
Darlene ran to her Desert Eagle and hefted it in her hand. It was an old friend and felt right back with her. She checked and it was empty, of course. If she needed to, she could use it to bludgeon The Lich Lord and escape. Maybe out there, in the world, she could find ammo for it. But the chance of that was ridiculous.
"Darlene?"
She looked up as John came running to her.
This was not happening.
John grabbed her shoulders and pulled Darlene in, hugging her.
"I've missed you so much," he said into her ear. "When he told me you were alive and safe I cried, baby."
Darlene still couldn't believe it was John. She pushed him away and kissed John, wrapping her arms around his neck. Oh, it was John.
"Where have you been?" she asked when they finally stopped kissing.
"Here and there. I did a little sightseeing."
"Did you buy me a souvenir?"
John shook his head and smiled. "The gift shop was closed. And overrun by zombies, of course."
Darlene laughed. "Of course. They seem to ruin everything." She turned to The Lich Lord. "No offense."
The Lich Lord put up a hand. "Oh, none taken. I'm not a zombie. I'm more vampire at this point."
Darlene held up the Desert Eagle. "Look what I got back."
John smiled. "I know. I'm the one who kept it safe."
Darlene hugged him again. "I don't suppose you have a round I can use to kill this fucker?"
John squeezed her tightly. "We need to get out of this place."
"Agreed." The two kissed again.
The Lich Lord sighed dramatically. "Even in this new world, public displays of affection aren't wanted. Can you two crazy kids keep your shirts on for a few more minutes?"
"What now?" Darlene asked.
The Lich Lord held a single cartridge in his hand and smiled. "This would come in handy right now."
Darlene tried to remain calm. There was no way he could read her mind but The Lich Lord had obviously read John's and figured out they wanted to escape. "If you let me have it I can load it into the Desert Eagle and put it to good use."
Surprisingly to Darlene, The Lich Lord tossed it to her.
"If you're planning to kill me, I'd wait a few moments. I have another fun surprise for you. This night is filled with surprises, don't you think?"
Before Darlene could load the bullet, The Lich Lord was out the door in a flash of movement.
"We need to get out of here," John said.
"Not yet. I need to kill him or he'll just follow us," Darlene said.
"I say we go before he returns."
Darlene shook her head. There was so much catching up she needed to do with John, and find out where her baby was, but first she needed to handle this. "He'll be able to track us. He can read your mind."
John grinned. "Actually... he can't."
Chapter Twenty One
There was another knock at the door.
Jeff jumped up off the recliner with a start, catching the pistol before it hit the floor. It had fallen into his lap when he fell asleep. He was amazed his prisoners hadn't tried to get loose and overpower him. Maybe his threats had been good enough.
Vee was the only one that looked away, staring at Jeff.
Jeff shook his head. "This is unreal. Everyone I hate will wander over tonight. What are the odds? I'm running out of enemies."
Vee closed her eyes.
"I'm running out of bullets," Jeff said. He looked at Vee, tied up and defenseless. "I need to save one for you before I split, though."