Flesh Out – Chapter Seven
I have had my share of horrifying moments. One of these was seeing my mom sprawled on the bathroom floor with a weak pulse. Another was when I had seen my so-called best friend (not Tracy, by the way) shot to death as we had stopped to buy some snacks at a local convenient store. But the most terrifying was the moment when I was suspended over a pit full of Witches, their sobs turning my blood into ice and raising goosebumps on my skin.
To see that many Witches in a single place – along with the knowledge that they could look up at any time and see me hanging there – would haunt me for the rest of my life.
And then there was of course the thought that I would never see Nick, Ellis, or Francis ever again. As I hung there above the pit, I prayed that they would survive and reach Utopia.
"Just let them live," I whispered, turning my eyes skyward. "Mom, Dad, if you can hear me, tell Him. Just let them live. Please."
As the crane swung, I used the movement to lift Davey's pocket knife out, flip the sharp blade out, and hack at the ropes that bound me.
I may be ready to die, I thought as I sawed at the ropes. But I am no fucking way going out without a fight.
And then the bomb went off, sending Dave flying straight into the pit. He landed in the middle of the gaggle of Witches, causing them to howl furiously and claw him to pieces. His screams lasted for only a few seconds, and then he was still, his body cavity torn open, his organs decorating the long fingers of the Witches.
I felt the ropes loosen, and I wasted no time freeing my hands and my body from the harness. I then climbed up the steel cable that held the harness, and was surprised when the crane suddenly swung to the side.
It was then when I saw Nick, standing just below me, and I knew everything would be alright.
"How did they get that many Witches in a single place?" I wondered. Nick had a firm grip on my hand, and for the first time I didn't want him to let go.
"Hey Nick remember the time when we went to that sugar mill back in Milltown? Maybe them Witches are attracted to sugar," Ellis called from the back.
Nick nodded. "It's possible. I find it ironic that they're attracted to something sweet; Witches are anything but sweet."
We managed to find our way back to the pit. We could see smoke rising from the distance, and from here we noticed that there was nobody stirring.
The sobs of a Wandering Witch wafted from near the pit, and as we slowly approached, we saw evidence of a bloody massacre. The pit had been destroyed; someone may have startled the Witches, giving them cause to break through the concrete and flow straight into the camp.
The bodies of the hillbillies were still there; I noticed that some of them had bullet holes on their foreheads. I glanced at Ellis, who caught my eye and winked.
"Nice work, Ellis," I said, impressed.
"Thanks Jen," Ellis replied, smiling widely. "Got my own eagle's nest right up there." He pointed towards a tree that was situated a few feet from the pit; it gave him a good view of the area but was still concealed by the surrounding branches and trees.
I could imagine Ellis sitting on a branch, calmly sniping the hillbillies that had survived the initial blast. The rest of the bodies were either charred or ripped open, the latter the work of the escaped Witches. I wondered where the Witches were now, and if we would encounter them on our way out.
Nick led me away from the pit; he seemed concerned that I was going to start quaking with fear. What he didn't understand was that I was no longer afraid, that I even longed to see a Witch and blast her fucking head open.
We left the pit – and the Wandering Witch – behind and went towards the camp. The scene was far more ghastly: blood was everywhere. Bodies were ripped open, intestines and organs strewn on the ground. I saw the woman who had bathed me – her chest had been open, exposing her now-still heart and her lungs.
"Damn," Francis muttered, his eyes taking in the entire scene.
I looked up at Nick, and he gave me a reassuring squeeze. "Search the cabins for supplies."
Ellis managed to find a baseball bat and a bottle of pills, and Francis switched his frying pan for a crowbar. Nick held on to his machete, and pocketed a new pipe bomb and an adrenaline shot. All of us had been stripped of first aid kits, throwables, and primary weapons, leaving us at the mercy of whatever Infected we would encounter.
I went inside one house and found an axe, another pipe bomb, and a bottle of pain pills.
"Anyone find any food?" I asked Nick, who had accompanied me inside the house.
Nick shook his head. "Most likely they'll have something to eat."
We joined Ellis and Francis and entered another house. Ellis quickly went to the kitchen and opened the fridge.
"Holy shit! Them folks were cannibals!" Ellis exclaimed, jumping away from the fridge, his eyes wide.
Nick, Francis, and I walked to the fridge and saw that Ellis was right. Jars of human livers, kidneys, hearts, and other body organs were inside, along with thin Tupperware containers that held bits and pieces of flesh.
I felt bile coming up my throat and I bent over and vomited what remained of my measly dinner.
Nick shut the fridge. "Guess we'll have to find something else to eat."
"Now I'm wishing we brought more burgers," Francis said wistfully. "Damn."
Dave's truck was near the side road, and Ellis quickly made his way to it. I was really hungry, but most of the kitchens probably had human body parts in it. I didn't feel like checking – I had vomited up most of what remained in my stomach.
"Aw hell!" Ellis kicked the wheel of the truck. "The door's closed!"
I sighed. "Is the window partition open?"
"Yeah, it is," Francis replied, going over to the back of the truck.
"Slide it open. I think I can squeeze through."
Ellis and I climbed onto the back of the truck. Ellis pushed the window pane to one side and I handed him my axe and other items. I gripped the metal bar that had been installed above the truck roof (to serve as a handhold, I guess) and slid my lower body in. Once I felt my feet hit the seats, I slowly wriggled inside the truck. Reaching over, I pulled the lock up and got out.
"Jenny…damn," Nick said, grinning.
I just smiled and winked at him.
"We're in business!" Francis announced, pumping his fist.
Ellis made short work of the truck's ignition, and the vehicle was soon running. I slid into the passenger seat and Ellis gunned the engine. Nick and Francis climbed into the back of the truck, and Nick directed Ellis down the path.
"Sure glad Nick didn't get knocked out," Ellis said once we were back on the main road. "If he had we'd probably be all dead by now."
"Yes," I said, smiling. "He saved all of us."
I reached up and rubbed Nick's ring. I lifted it slightly and studied the design more carefully. I had no idea what the symbols on the ring meant, but from that moment on, skulls and the sun's rays would always remind me of Nick.
The drive was uneventful. While the group spotted several Infected, these were too far to pose a real threat to them. Jenny had transferred to the back of the truck to sit beside Francis (Nick was the one driving).
"Man I am so starved!" Francis moaned, clutching his stomach.
"Me too," Jenny said. The dried squid and beef jerky seemed like ages ago. "I hope there's a safe room up ahead."
"Doesn't look like it. I don't think I'll ever be able to eat beef jerky again!" Francis grumbled for a few moments before turning his head to look at Jenny. "You and Nick."
Jenny raised her eyebrows. "Oh Francis, not this again."
"No, no," Francis said quickly, raising his hands. "He's really really into you, Jenny. You should've seen him back there. It was like… like he was gonna die if he didn't save you. Nick may have been a complete asshole in the past, with him being a ladies' man and all, but you've changed him. Jesus I don't even know why I'm even saying this, but it's like he isn't Nick anymore."
"Well I certainly wouldn't want to change him," Jenny replied, a smile forming on her lips.
Francis looked at her curiously. "Why?"
"Because I like him just the way he is. Except for the ladies' man part, of course." Jenny stared at Francis for a few seconds before laughing softly.
Francis guffawed. "Yeah. What are you going to do if he becomes a player again?"
"Throw Boomer bile all over his suit."
"Damn. Just make sure I'm not nearby, okay?" Francis laughed. "Nick wouldn't like having his suit ruined."
"Exactly."
Inside the truck, Nick listened to Jenny and Francis's conversation. He smiled slightly as he heard Jenny laugh. He was extremely grateful that he was able to save her. Francis was right – if Jenny had died, he'd probably have been too shocked to function.
Beside him Ellis was snoring – not as loud as Francis though – and Nick glanced at the rearview mirror to see another vehicle bearing down on them.
At the same time Jenny cried out: "Nick, we have a tail!"
"I see it!" Nick called back. If they hadn't had encountered the cannibals earlier, he would've thought that those in the vehicle were other Survivors.
Someone in the vehicle must have raised a gun, because Nick heard Francis yell at Jenny to drop. A hail of bullets pelted the back of the truck, narrowly missing Nick.
"Jesus!" Nick exclaimed. Beside him Ellis woke with a start, asking what was happening.
"Just get down!" Nick shouted, as he started swerving the truck to give the shooters a difficult time to aim properly.
Whoever was driving certainly was a risk taker, for he continued firing until the clip ran empty. Nick took the opportunity and suddenly slammed on the brakes; as he expected, the driver sped forward before he realized that Nick and the others were behind him.
Nick stepped on the accelerator and rammed into the other vehicle. Whatever the driver was doing, whether in the midst of reloading the gun or something else, it caused him to lose control of the vehicle. It swerved, spun two times, and promptly crashed into a tree.
Nick stopped the truck, took out his machete, and got out. He walked to the remains of the vehicle, which was a smaller pickup truck. The driver's door opened and the driver stepped out.
It was Davey.
He was bleeding from the side of the head – ironically the very spot where Dave had hit Nick last night – and was holding an assault rifle. The clip was missing.
"You…killed my brother," Davey gasped, raising the assault rifle.
Nick slapped the assault rifle to the side using the machete and lifted the blade to the boy's throat. "You tried to kill my girlfriend, you son of a bitch."
"Yeah? You people think you're all high and mighty with your big buildings, but does that mean anythin' now? The world's comin' to an end! We were just tryin' ter teach yer kind a lesson! YOU KILLED MY PA!" Davey screamed, ignoring the blade that was held against his throat.
By then Jenny, Ellis, and Francis had hurried to Nick's side. Jenny looked at Davey. "We didn't kill your dad, Davey."
"You did! You did! You shot him! My Pa wasn't Infected, he wasn't!" Davey sounded hysterical now, and Nick knew the boy was probably not in his right mind anymore.
When Nick raised the machete however, Jenny placed a hand on his arm. "No, Nick. Let him go."
Nick looked at her in disbelief. "Sweetheart, he tried killing us. If we let him go he'll just go after us again! Look at him! He's out of his mind!"
"I know, Nick. But I don't…want you to become a murderer." Jenny looked at Nick, pleading with her eyes.
Nick paused and then lowered the machete. "But if he comes after us again, I am killing him."
Jenny nodded.
Nick turned back towards Davey, who was now sobbing on the ground. "She just saved your life."
"She saved NOTHING!" Davey lifted a small revolver that he had hidden at the back of his jeans, pointed it at the side of his head, and fired. His lifeless body flopped to the ground, the eyes staring up at Nick accusingly.
Jenny had clapped her hands over her mouth. "No."
Francis grunted. "Best thing for the guy."
Ellis looked solemn as they went back to the truck. When Nick tried the ignition however, the truck stalled. "Fuck!"
Ellis checked under the hood. "Man, this truck ain't going anywhere. Nick banged the engine pretty hard."
"And we're walking," Francis said moodily.
"Yep," Ellis replied, taking his baseball out of the truck. "Man if we only had something to eat…"
"Don't remind us." Francis was looking a bit pale.
"Let's just keep going," Jenny said. The four started walking down the road, switching to the right side of the road as noon approached.
After an hour of walking, the four sat down on the roadside, exhausted. "What I wouldn't give for a bottle of water right now," Francis moaned.
"Well look who's complaining now." Nick looked at Francis. The conman was referring to the time when Francis compared him to a Witch back in Rayford, on account of Nick's constant complaining. The reference wasn't lost on the biker, who scowled in Nick's direction.
"I'll go find some food," Jenny said, standing up. "Like those berries and stuff."
"I'll come with you," Nick said automatically.
Ellis looked at Nick and Jenny as the two walked away, and then rounded on Francis. "Hey Francis, d'you think something's going on between Nick and Jen?"
"You're joking." Francis couldn't believe that Ellis had failed to notice the blossoming – or, in Nick's case, exploding – romance between the two. "You got your head stuck too far up your ass, boy."
"What? I didn't think Nick would get a girlfriend," Ellis said in a hushed voice. "I thought he was too much of an asshole."
"Ellis, I can't believe I'm giving you love advice, but if you find the girl for you, nothing else is going to matter," Francis said. "Besides, Jenny doesn't seem to mind that Nick's an asshole."
"Well Nick's okay, I just didn't expect them to fall in love this fast," Ellis admitted.
Francis laughed. "Hah! Look who's talking. Didn't you fall in love with Zoey the instant you saw her in Rayford?"
"But.. that was different! This is Nick we're talking about, man!" Ellis spluttered. "You liked Ro immediately too, in case you've forgotten!"
"Well Ro's hot, what's not to like?" Francis replied, as if that settled the matter.