The screamin's been goin' on for so long that I panic when it stops. In the darkness, my senses are heightened. I think back to Daryl trainin' me on trackin', to pick up any changes 'round me. The silence is eerie, worst than the screams. I jump when I hear the door open, the lights flash above me.
"Wake up, Peach." Vic swings the door wide, he's covered in fresh blood today. There's a new man with him, shorter, not as wide. He looks at me like I'm a meal. I want to cry. I can only imagine what they were just doin' in the other room, what they plan on doin' with me.
Vic tosses a pan down to the floor, there's some more bread. I hesitate before takin' it. I know they plan on killin' me, why give me food an' water in the meantime? Unfortunately, my hunger wins over an' I pick it up. But the fear of what's to come keeps me from devourin' everything in a few bites. I look into their faces. They both smile at me.
"Afternoon, Peach. You sleep well?" It's a sick question. He has to know I can't sleep with everything goin' on 'round me. The screams come in intervals, they're always different. These men are killers, I can't begin to guess the tally. Every time that light comes on I'm afraid it's my turn to go. But they haven't killed me yet. I don't reply, just set my eyes to the floor. The new man is at my side when I look up, he's speakin' to Vic.
"Peach?"
"Yeah. She's a Georgia girl." Vic's friend looks down to me now. I look away.
"What's the matter? Don't you like the bread?" His voice is cool. I glance up. He has hair as blonde as my own an' green eyes. Like Travis, he also has a tattoo on his arm. This one's a grim reaper, an' that hints to the type of monster it belongs to. I tear off another piece of bread.
"That's a good girl. You gotta eat." He turns to Vic. "You weren't kidding, she's definitely the cutest one we've got." His eyes are back at me. "You sure are a pretty thing, Georgia. No wonder Travis can't shut up about you." They both start laughin'.
"Vic, why don't you leave me and Georgia alone for a little while? We should get to know each other better." His lips twist up, it reminds me of a snarlin' dog. My insides turn to ice. I don't want to be alone with any of them. But Vic just laughs. He's shakin' his head as he turns for the stairs.
Before he's outta earshot he says, "Better hope Trav doesn't find out what you're doing, Mitch. He'll rip your fucking face off and eat it raw." Then he's gone.
Mitch laughs, "Stupid fucking ass. Like I'm afraid of his little brother." His focus is on me again. "What's the matter, Georgia? Are you uncomfortable being alone with me?" He's too close to me, now; right in front of me, both of us on our knees. He sweeps the loose hair behind my ear, his hand lingerin' there. The touch makes my stomach turn. After a moment, his grip tightens 'round the back of my neck. I close my eyes, I can't look at him. I feel his breath in my face, it's warm an' smells like tobacco. The scent reminds me of Daryl an' I feel my eyes water behind my lids. His lips are at my cheek, now, the pressure of that contact holds me in place. A sigh escapes him an' I'm aware of the tears that have finally fallen down my face. His mouth is at my ear, his voice a deadly purr.
"Don't fight this, Georgia. It'll all be over soon." I let out a sob as he brings his other hand to my face, I clench my teeth together an' pray for it to stop. His thumb brushes over my bottom lip, his mouth is at my jaw. When he nips at my skin I don't even think as I push him off me. I can't let him do this. I'd rather he just killed me. He hadn't expected me to react, which explains why he's fallen back on his heel. He lets out a deep laugh, then hits me full force on the side of my head an' I fall over. My ears are ringin' from the trauma, so I don't hear the sounds of the man runnin' into the room. I look up to see Travis.
I watch as he throws the other man to the ground, as his foot connects with ribs, repeatedly. He picks the other guy up an' his fist connects with the jaw. Even through the ringin' in my ears, I can hear the telltale crack. The new guy is on the floor. He isn't movin'. Travis drops to my side.
"Jesus Christ, Beth! Are you alright?" His tattooed arm reaches out to me. I flinch away from him. I don't care what he just saved me from. He's just as bad as the guy unconscious on the ground.
"Hey, remember what I said? You don't have to be afraid of me. I don't want to hurt you." The door flies open an' Vic reappears.
"Travis? What the fuck? What happened to Mitch?" Travis doesn't answer his brother. He gets up an' walks back over to Mitch. I see his foot raise, an' just turn away when I hear the crunchin' of the man's skull. He stomps into him two more times, then shoves past his brother. Vic looks over at Mitch's body. When he looks at me, it's a mixture of fear an' rage.
"When you're gone, this place might be able to go back to fucking normal." His voice is a low growl, but the threat is there. He charges after Travis an' I hear the door slam. My head is throbbin' an' everything in the room is fuzzy. I try to stay awake, but I finally succumb to darkness.
The cigarette cherry glows brightly, I can feel it illuminating my face. I run my fingers over my knuckles. They're beaten to shit, skin torn and bloodied up. The memory of breaking his jaw comes back to me, I can still hear the crack. It was satisfying. I'm leaned back against the side of the armory now, eyes focused on the approaching figure. This should come as no surprise to me. I know what he wants.
"Trav, what the fuck was that all about?" Vic's eyes are reduced to slits, his glare pure venom. I can't help but let the little laugh escape my throat. Big ass fucking Vic, always trying to intimidate me. He gets in my face now. "I asked you a fucking question! What the fuck were you thinking back there?" My brother's such a fucking prick. I savor the look he gives me when I blow a smoke ring in his face. I don't have to answer him. He knows damn well that anything goes out here, what I did tonight wasn't exactly out of the ordinary given our current global situation.
"Alright, jackass. But if you won't explain that shit to me, you sure as hell better come up with a good reason when Mark gets back. I'm not covering for your ass this time." He spits on the ground at my feet and storms back off to patrol the fences. I tip the cigarette between my teeth. I know what I did would have consequences. I know there's a process that Mark likes to take with this shit. I just snapped, complete blackout. And for what? Over some little girl that won't be around much longer, anyways. But watching Mitch hit her like that was all it took to flip my switch.
I think about how that girl's made it this far. And she's fucking tough. She took that swing like a man, quite surprising since she's so fucking small. I hear the jeep pull up to the gate, Mark's back already. He's parked over by the entrance when he sees me. He comes up to me.
"There ain't shit out there, man. I looked all fucking day and couldn't find anything." He's pissed off, but what does he expect? We've scoured the same ten mile radius for weeks now. We're lucky to have gotten as much as we did. I take another drag of my cigarette as he speaks again. "You guys think about going back to the area where you found those two girls? Maybe there's more out there." He must be desperate. I can't imagine what the big deal is. We've got plenty.
"Vic went back that way yesterday. He didn't find shit out there. If we want more, we're gonna have to extend our perimeter." There's a gleam in his eye, he knows I'm fucking right.
"You know what? I'm fucking starving. Let's head over to the cafeteria. We can discuss shit there." I know I could eat something, too. All I had today was half a loaf of bread. I take one last, satisfying inhale of my smoke and flick it to the ground, grinding it into the dirt with the toe of my boot.
"Let's go."
When we get into the cafeteria, the smell of meat hits us as soon as we open the door, my mouth waters. We get up to Diana and she hands us both plates. I smile at the lady, she's got that maternal thing going on with all us guys. Always feeding us, washing our clothes and shit. It's nice to have her here. She returns my smile.
"Travis, you're all skin and bones, honey. Take another piece." She drops more on my plate and hands me a glass of water. "Thanks, Diana. You're too much." Mark grabs a bottle of wine and turns to her.
"So, was it a good haul? Do you think we have enough to last at least until we can regroup and find new places to search?" She looks right into his eyes, her face is warm and caring.
"I think you boys can all take a breather for at least a few days. We have plenty here. And those new people that came today will add more. The Asian man and his group of eight was quite a surprise walking in here. But they got a warm welcome and they're camped out in the shelter, now." I had nearly forgotten about that group. They seemed pretty fucking relieved to make it here. It's always the desperate ones that come to us.
"I will say one thing, Mark. If you all can find somebody with a little more meat on their bones, we wouldn't have to keep these people around for days on end to feed them. The little girl on your plate right now was hardly enough to go around. I had to dig in the freezer and pull out that gentleman from last week just to add to the mix. I can't have my boys withering away in front of my eyes!" She gives us both a warm smile before heading back to the kitchen. Mark laughs and we make our way over to one of the little wooden tables. This place reminds me of my high school cafeteria: shitty wooden tables, cheap linoleum, cheaper wallpaper. Fucking nostalgia.
"Hey, good thing we've got that little blonde girl eating, right? I heard Vic calls her Peach. I sure as shit hope she's sweet as a peach." He winks at me and my insides feel like there's a snake slithering around. I can't meet his gaze.
"So, where the fuck is Mitch? Usually he's out by the gate keeping patrol."
Fuck.