Chapter 9
Sam sat next to Gregor, both beside the cage. Shelly hadn't looked at him yet, but she was still in there, huddled up against the back bars with Big Mike's woman. She had her arm wrapped around the little girl and was whispering something to her the whole time. Sam didn't know what. He assumed that it had to be some sort of consolation
.
It'll be okay, everything will be all right, we'll get out of here
.
Stuff like that.
He wished he could have said those things to her too, but he wasn't been about to do it in front of Gregor. The man would probably throw him into the cage to be dealt with Big Mike and Rick later. Carl would get in on it somehow as well.
It was better not to say anything.
He couldn't stop thinking of her, though
.
Shell
y
.
He knew that she wasn't the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She was actually a little bit awkward looking. She didn't have much of a body. Just straight lines. Though there was a hint of change in the girl's figure. In the way that she moved. And it would only develop more over time.
The thing that struck him most were her eyes. The way she had looked at him when they had first met. Her, looking out the window. Him, waving up to her. There was also the way she looked at the world. She was innocent. Inquisitive.
Sam felt a chill of excitement run through him. Then he felt a kick on his foot.
Sam looked at Gregor. The man was staring at him.
"Well?" he asked.
"Well?" Sam didn't know what he was talking about. He hadn't been following the conversation.
"I asked what you did in the old world, before everything went to shit."
"What I did?"
"Yeah, what was your job?"
"Oh, shit, sorry. Just got to thinking about something else there." He hoped that Gregor wasn't going to ask him what it had been.
He didn't. Gregor repeated the question.
"I worked in a pizzeria," Sam said. "I made pizzas. The best around!"
"Fuck, no way! I could go for a pizza around now!" He started to laugh.
Sam joined him
.
Hopefully it would move them away from the comment that his mind had been o
n
other thing
s
.
"What kind of pizzas did you make?"
"What kind? Every kind! Pepperoni. Hawaiian. Thick crust, thin crust. You name it!"
"Fuck, man, you're givin' me a hard-on! I'd kill for one!"
The wor
d
kil
l
bothered Sam. Even though he knew that it was just an expression, things had changed. People might actuall
y
kil
l
for those things now. And they might kill for looking at someone else's property
.
Shelly.
"You can't make one now, can you?" Gregor asked.
"Now?"
"Yeah, right now."
Sam shook his head. "I don't have the ingredients. And I couldn't cook it even if I did."
"That sucks. I guess I just have to stick with vodka and whatever food we find. Speaking of that…is there anything left?"
"A few things," Sam explained. "But that's why the others went off."
"Just to find food?"
"And women," Sam added. Carl had said so that morning.
"And women!? That's great! I hope they find a beautiful woman for Gregor!" He laughed once more.
Sam smiled. Then he stole another look at the cage. He didn't care what women the men found, so long as he could have Shelly.
"Look," Gregor said. "Stay here and watch the girls. I'm gonna go take a piss, then get some stuff from the camp. I'm hungry. And I need something to drink. You want something?"
"I'm okay for now."
And he was. In fact, he was better than that. Gregor was going to leave him alone with Shelly.
Chapter 10
Sam smiled and watched as Gregor walked away. When he thought that the other man wouldn't notice, he looked into the cage.
The two were still against the far side of it. They weren't paying him any attention.
Sam wanted to call out to the young girl, to let him know that he was there, but he didn't feel comfortable enough to do that. Although Gregor probably wouldn't notice hi
m
lookin
g
into the cage, he migh
t
hea
r
him. He stole a glance over his shoulder to see where Gregor was. The man was standing in the field, pissing. Not far enough away.
As he sat there, Sam's mind started to pick up speed. He thought about how close he was to Shelly, how close he was to getting her out of the cage. He could do it once Gregor got out of sight. Open the gate, grab her, and make a run for it. Big Mike's woman might cause a bit of a problem, but he was sure that he could stop her quick enough. He wasn't opposed to hitting a woman, especially if she deserved it. Or he could just offer her her freedom. He was sure that she'd take it over the young girl.
His heart started to beat faster. His palms began to sweat.
He looked back at Gregor. The man had zipped himself up and was walking toward the fire.
Now was the time.
Sam tuned back toward the cage and grabbed at the latch. He hadn't noticed it before, but there was a lock on it.
A lock
!
And he didn't have the key
.
Gregor must have it. Unless he left it lying around.
Sam started to search. He looked where Gregor had been sitting. Nothing. He looked in a few other places. Nothing.
He stopped. He could see the two girls in the cage watching him now, wondering what he was doing.
He looked back at them. At Shelly. At her beautiful eyes.
"Shelly," he said. "Do you remember me?"
She didn't reply.
"I'm going to get you out of here," he continued. "Take you away. Just you and me." He smiled at her in what he thought was his most charming grin. "We need to finish what you and I had started. Remember?"
Shelly still didn't say anything. She didn't look away from him, either.
Those beautiful eyes.
Sam opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off. Big Mike's woman had started to scream at him.
"Fuck you! You're not going to touch this girl, you sick piece-of-shit! Just try it and I'll rip your fuckin' balls off!"
Sam was taken back by the woman's words, and the force with which she said them. Although he knew that he could overpower her, no matter what she said.
"Shut up!" he hissed. "This has nothing to do with you! I'll get her out and you can be on your way. Got it?"
"I'm not leaving her with you! Never!"
Sam started to feel nervous. Big Mike's woman was going to be a bigger problem than he had expected. He also knew that he screaming was going to bring Gregor back any moment. He tried to ignore her and look for a way to break the lock.
He saw a few rocks that he could use. But, as with the shouting, that would make too much noise as well.
He should keep looking for the key. He could…
"What's happening?" Gregor called to him. He came around from the side of the house and was walking toward him, quickly.
Sam knew that there was nothing he could do. He had lost his opportunity. Gregor came up to him.
"I don't know," Sam said. "I just wanted to see in the cage and this one started shouting at me." He pointed at Big Mike's woman.
Gregor looked at her and then back to Sam. "Her? Oh, she's a live one, that's for sure!"
"
A
liv
e
one?" she shouted. "Come in here and I'll show you a live one! I'll show that fuckin' pervert ho
w
liv
e
I can be. I'll rip his fuckin' head off!"
Gregor laughed. "See?"
"I don't know," Sam said. "Maybe it's the heat. I think she's lost her mind."
"I think that's why Big Mike likes her." He laughed again.
Sam was starting to feel a little bit better. No matter what the woman said, he didn't think that Gregor was going to believe her. He looked back at her. She had stopped shouting, but she still looked vicious.
"How about I get you some food?" Sam asked Gregor. He noticed that the man hadn't gotten any yet. It would also give him a chance to get out of there.
"Yeah, that's a good idea."
"I might even walk around for a bit, see what I can find. Might even come across another bottle of vodka for you."
"Fuck, yeah! I'd love that!"
"Will do." Sam turned to leave.
But before he did, he took one more look into the cage. Shelly and Big Mike's woman hadn't moved. They were still sitting up against the back, the grown woman's arms wrapped around the younger one.
Shelly continued to look at him. Though, this time, her gaze looked slightly more angry than frightened.
That didn't matter. Sam didn't care how she looked at him. He only cared that sh
e
di
d
. That he could see her eyes
.
Those beautiful eyes.
Chapter 11
Jane stared out of the living room window. Robert and Charles were upstairs in the little boy's bedroom. He was reading the child a story. Charles was good with the boy. They seemed to get along the instant they had met.
Unfortunately, she wasn't so sure about her own relationship with him. He seemed afraid of her sometimes. Or worried. And it bothered her.
She didn't know what his life had been like before. Maybe his parents had been overly strict on him. She still found it strange that they had left him at home to be taken care of by a ten year old.
Or maybe there was just something abou
t
he
r
.
Regardless, she didn't want to frighten the little child. She wanted him to feel secure, to feel happy, to feel love.
Jane lowered her eyes. Her thoughts shifted to her own daughter. Becky hadn't been old enough to speak, but she could tell through the little girl's actions that she had been happy. She had loved her mother. Jane had love
d
he
r
.
Then her thoughts shifted to the change that had happened in the little girl, of how she had started to scream and hit and bite. After which her husband had come in and killed her…
Jane felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around. Charles was standing there.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to let you know that Robert was asleep."
Jane caught her breath. "It's okay," she said. "I was just thinking."
"About the boy?"
"Yes…and about my girl." Jane had already told him a little bit about her family. "We're taking him with us," she added.
"Of course."
"It won't be easy. We'll need more supplies. There wasn't much left in the kitchen. I'll have to find some."
Jane turned to look back out of the window. Charles followed her gaze. There was the store on the corner of the street.
"You want us to go there, don't you?" His voice sounded worried.
"No, no
t
u
s
. Me. I'm going to go on my own."
"What? You can't go on your own. It's too dangerous."
"It doesn't matter," Jane argued. "You have to stay with the boy. You need to protect him."
"But..."
"I can do this.
I
hav
e
to. We don't have a choice."
Charles didn't know what to say. He knew that she was right. "What should I do then?" he asked.
"Look around the house for anything that we can take. Find things that will help us."
"Okay, I will."
"And look for a wagon."
"A wagon?"
"Yes. We can't expect the boy to walk all of the way with us. We'll need to pull him."
Charles nodded. It was a good idea.
A
lou
d
idea. But good, nonetheless.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, getting back to the store.
"No. But I have to. Just make sure that you keep the boy safe."
"I will. Make sure that you kee
p
yoursel
f
safe too."
Jane forced a smile. "I'll try." There wasn't much else that she could say.
Chapter 12
Jane walked out of the house with her backpack strapped over her shoulder. She had emptied it out so that she could get as many things from the store as possible. Charles stood behind her.
She looked around expecting someone - som
e
thin
g
- to jump out and grab her. She cocked her head and listened for any sign of an attack.
Nothing.
She took a few more steps and turned back to look at the house. Charles was still there, standing in the doorway. He looked as scared as she felt. Though he looked guilty as well.
He wanted to come with her, but they both knew it wasn't a good idea. He couldn't move as quickly as needed if they had to hurry back to the house. And he wasn't strong enough to put up much of a fight.
Though, come to think of it, although she was a lot younger, Jane didn't think that she'd be able to do much against them, either.
Except ther
e
ha
d
been her teenage neighbour, Harold
.
She had put him down, smashed his head in with a shovel.
She tried to push that image out of her mind.
The real reason she didn't want Charles to come was the boy. She didn't want Robert to be left alone. If he woke up and wondered where they had gone, he'd probably look around the house and maybe go outside. Who knew what would happen then? She couldn't risk it.
Plus, if they were both attacked and killed, what would happen to him? He'd be left alone to fend for himself. She couldn't have tha
t
.
Jane smiled at the old man. It was a weak smile, but she did it to comfort him. Charles smiled back with about the same amount of conviction.
She turned her head and began to walk.
Once she was further away, Jane heard the door close behind her. The sound startled her. It made her feel alone, scared. But she pushed on.
She passed the bodies in the garden. She still wasn't sure if one of them was Robert's brother, but she didn't intend to find out. It didn't matter if he was one of them. There was nothing she could do to help him now.
She came to the edge of the walkway and stopped at the curb to look both ways. She felt as though she was back at home, looking out for traffic. She knew that there weren't any cars passing by to be afraid of. There were thos
e
thing
s.
That'
s
what she had to look out for.
Everything looked fine. Well, safe. Nothing looke
d
fin
e
.
Jane took a deep breath, stepped down from the curb and hurried to the store.
The front door's window was smashed. Though she wasn't sure if it had been someone breaking into the place or out. There was glass on both sides of the door.
She approached it cautiously and put her hands on the door frame. Shards of glass stuck out at her. She paid attention not to touch them.
She took a step closer to the door and her feet crackled on the broken glass. She took a moment to convince herself that everything was okay.
Then she stuck her head into the store.
Everything was a mess. Things had been knocked down from all of the shelves. Boxes had been stepped on. Items broken.
It looked like there had been some type of fight. Surprisingly, she couldn't see any bodies.
She listened, but couldn't hear anything.
She entered the store.
As she made her way along the aisles, Jane filled her bag with things that she thought they'd need. She took into account the little boy also and put in a few little goodies for him.
The pack was beginning to fill
.
She only needed a little bit more.
She stopped once she reached the end of the last aisle.
Two people were lying on the ground. They were covered in blood, their faces and necks torn open.
She took a step closer.
Jane could see that they were young. Teenagers. One a boy. The other a girl. She had long blonde hair that was tossed in every direction.
"What happened?" Jane asked. She wasn't talking abou
t
her
e
, this situation. She was talking about it all. She and Charles had talked about it a lot, but they had never been able to come up with any solution
.
What had caused people to change? What had made her husband kill their daughter? What had made Charles' wife attack him?
She lowered her head. It was all too much to bear. She felt a tear build in her eye.
But, before it ran down her cheek, she heard a noise.
Jane lifted her head. Her breathing all but stopped.
It was a banging. Someone - or som
e
thin
g
- was in the back.
Jane's first instinct was to run, but she got a hold of herself
.
What if it was someone who needed help?
She looked around until her eyes came upon the door leading to the back room. The sound was coming from there.
Jane took a few steps toward it, trying her best to remain quiet.
The banging continued.
As soon she reached the door, she put her hand to the door knob. But she didn't turn it. She simply placed her ear against the door to get a better idea of what to expect.
She couldn't make out what it was.
She grabbed the door handle a little bit tighter and decided that she'd just take a peek. She was sure that she could turn the knob and open the door without attracting any attention. Look inside. Close it if she needed to. Or so she hoped.
Jane turned the knob. It moved easily underneath her grasp and opened.
She pulled the door toward her. Only a crack. But enough to see inside.
Lying on the floor was another young boy - younger than the ones out here. At least, that's what Jane thought. He was smaller, in any case. She still hadn't seen his face.
In his hand was a hammer and he was hitting it upon the floor. Over and over. Jane didn't know why
.
Was he trying to get someone's attention?
She opened the door a little bit more. It creaked.
Jane stopped. So did the hammering.
The boy on the floor turned to look at the sound. He stared directly at Jane.
She froze.
There was something about him
.
He looked like Robert
!
He had the same features, the same eyes.
Jane knew right away that this was Robert's brother, Petey.
The boy's eyes opened wide and he began to scream.
Jane continued to watch.
She had expected the boy to charge at her. Yet, he stayed where he was. She could see that there was something wrong with his legs. She thought they might be broken.
Petey slammed the hammer on the ground and began pulling himself toward her. He continued to scream.
Jane couldn't get herself to move. She knew that she should, but something in her wouldn't let her. She stayed planted as the boy approached.
It took a while for Petey to get to her. She could see that he was weak. He probably hadn't eaten anything in a while. And, as he pulled himself along the floor, the boy left a trail of blood behind him. Jane didn't know where the injury stemmed from. But it looked bad. He was losing a lot of blood.
His mouth opened wide and he screamed again. He was getting closer. Though he was also getting more and more exhausted.
Jane wanted to reach out and help him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and squeeze. She wanted to cure the young boy, free him from his misery. But she couldn't do anything other than watch.
The hammer slammed down each time he pulled himself closer toward her.
Jane could feel tears building in her eyes.
This wasn't right. He was just a boy.
She knelt down as the boy approached. Closer. And closer.
When he reached out his hand to grab her, she didn't pull away.
This wasn't fair!
His hand fell short and plopped onto the ground.
He tried again, but still couldn't reach her.
As he tried to pull himself closer, he looked up at Jane. She stared back. Then his head dropped and cracked against the floor and he didn't move any further. She could hear him gasping softly. He gurgled a few times as well.
Jane knew that he didn't have much life left in him. He had been dying, was almost dead.
She watched his back lift and fall a few times as he tried to breathe.
Then she put out her hand and rested it on his back. It was covered in sweat.
The boy tried to scream again. This time it sounding like nothing more than a baby crying for its mother.
Jane lowered her head and started to cry.
Only a few moments passed before the boy stopped breathing and his body lay calm.
Jane kept her hand on the boy's back for a while longer as thoughts raced through her mind. She needed to keep strong. She had to make it through this. There were two people who depended on her.
She gathered herself and stood up.
"I'm sorry," she said to the dead boy. She knew that she had no reason to apologize. She hadn't caused any of this. But she felt the need to anyway.
Jane threw her backpack over her shoulders and walked away.