Author's note – wow I feel bad about not posting more of this.
Lucy watched worriedly as the leader of the biker gang stepped over to the tree she was tied to. His name was Matt and as near as she had been able to tell, he had been an elementary school teacher before the plague that rode motorcycles as a hobby. In the old world, the world she missed with all of her heart, he would have been laughed at by real bikers as a wanna- be. He wore a leather jacket with patches that listed the various rallies he had attended.
He had been the first to rape her. She had expected that, of course, though expecting it and experiencing it were two very different things. She involuntarily shuddered as he came closer. After almost two days with the group, she didn't think she could take much more. Five of the six had been at her repeatedly. The sixth was dying and had been dying since he'd been shot two days before. Two more of the men were injured, but not so badly that they would leave her alone. If it hadn't been for that hope on her part, and the plain fact that no matter what she did, the sixth man was going to die, she would have volunteered her medical services. She hadn't though, and her mean spirited side was glad. Glad one was going to die, and deep down she wished the rest would too. It wasn't very charitable but then she didn't think God would mind in their case.
None of them would have passed as real bikers in the old world. Besides Matt the ex-school teacher, there was Gerald who had managed a McDonalds and constantly protested the loss of television, and Marty, Kevin and Chris who had all done factory work in a variety of Northeastern cities. They all had the look of ex-couch potatoes, and aside from the occasional speech on how they were heading west, they spoke like couch potatoes. It was the going west issue she was getting more and more frightened of. Matt had briefly explained how he and the others were heading to Flagg's seat of power. More than the rape or the way they all liked to smack her as they walked by, she was deathly frightened by their plan. The fact that they had been having the same dreams, and believed that Flagg was real scared the hell out of her. Perhaps the really scary thing was that she believed them.
Matt leered at her. She drew back, but was careful to not look too repulsed. He got angry when she resisted and she was already covered with bruises. If I'm going to escape, she thought grimly, I have to stay well. I have to stay sharp. It was only a matter of time until they rescued her. She had faith in that. Somehow, despite the fact that she was in one hell of a situation, she was holding on to that hope.
He gently touched her face. " We're gonna stay here another night. If you're good, you can have dinner tonight." He leered at her again. Being good meant being willing to give oral sex. She tried to not flinch. Inside she was more than flinching, she was shaking with internal rage and disgust. Again though, it wasn't smart to snarl in disgust at the leader's touch.
" Fine," she said coldly. She watched warily as he walked back to their fire. They ran a much more disorganized camp. None of them had gotten up until most of the morning was gone. Not that she was really all that upset, it was just a difference. It was the middle of the afternoon and none of them had really roused from their drinking party the night before. Not that she was complaining. The less active they were the better.
" Hey! I heard there was a party!" All of the physically well bikers looked up. So did Lucy. The voice, followed by the cheerful grinning body of Doug Ross was perhaps the last person she expected to see. Then again, he was about the only person she knew that was crazy enough to just waltz into the encampment with nothing but a handful of bottles. His eyes met hers and while his smiling expression didn't change, she caught the warning in his eyes. Don't give me away, that's what he was saying. He held out one of the bottles to Matt. " You guys don't mind one more, do you? I was heading to Vegas, saw you guys... "
Matt took the bottle but eyed Doug warily. " You're going west?" He seemed to doubt it, but Doug smiled again.
" Going west, and I brought my share of the party." Doug set down the rest of the bottles onto the ground. He made an open gesture, obviously encouraging them to drink. While Matt was still eying him, the other four were already picking up the fresh booze. The alcohol supply had been getting low, something she already had learned to fear and the men were clearly pleased that they didn't have to travel for their next fix. Matt looked Doug over and finally seemed to stand down. He picked up one of the remaining bottles and tapped Doug on the chest. Lucy knew it was a challenge. Doug grinned and held his hands up. " Are we cool?"
" You look familiar." Matt said finally. Doug shrugged and took a drink.
" Maybe you met my dad." Doug said after a moment. " He sometimes rode a bike." Lucy realized after a moment that Doug was being very careful to not look in her direction. It made her nervous and she felt her fear increase. Doug seemed drunk, which wasn't unusual but she knew it made him less than thoughtful. He had been under a lot of stress and she had been less than responsive to him. Was it possible that he was there to simply head west? It scared her. It confused her too. If she said anything, especially if she said she knew Doug, that he was from her group, she had no doubt that Matt could and would kill him. The bikers weren't looking for new recruits. On the other hand, as screwed up as Doug was, it was just possible that he was staging some sort of rescue. She wasn't going to take any chance of screwing that up so she kept her head down and waited.
After about an hour or so of revelry, she could tell the party was dying down. Three of the men, men whose names she still wasn't sure of, were sitting near the remains of the evening fire of the night before. Matt was drinking, as was Doug and she felt her worry crank up several notches as Doug stood up and pointed at her. " I see you guys have some roadside entertainment." Again he gave her a look that begged her not to say a word, and she felt a rush of hope.
Matt shrugged at his words. " We picked her up a few days ago. A bunch of them got away. Too bad really, there was a couple more women. We go through them pretty quick."
" I bet." Doug chuckled a little. " Listen, its been a while... You guys mind if I take a turn?"
Again, she felt more than a little fear. Deep down, she knew Doug wouldn't lay a hand on her if she didn't want him to. She knew that. Even if Doug was a drunk, he was still essentially a decent man. A womanizer that feared commitment, that was Doug. The only people he ever even raised his hand to were abusive parents. The idea that a pediatrician of all things would be asking permission from the bikers leader to have sex with her was simply impossible. Yet there he was, grinning and holding a bottle.
Matt, if along with being a bastard and a rapist, was evidently nothing if not a generous host. He waved dismissively at her. " You want it, go ahead. Careful though. She might bite. I think I beat that out of her, but watch yourself."
" Can I have a tent?" Doug smiled a little. The other men laughed and even Matt chuckled. He pointed to the small tent that was the only one that looked like it might stand.
" If you're that dick shy then take my tent." Matt said with a laugh. Doug merely grinned even more. He walked over to the tree and cut the rope, taking care to grab her by the scruff of her shirt.
" Just do what I tell you," he whispered softly as he leaned in. Then he dragged her forward and tossed her into the tent. It hurt. It hurt a lot, especially when he literally jumped on top of her and put his hand over her mouth. She started to struggle, more out of reflex. He shook her. " Lucy dammit, I'm not going to hurt you. We both have to stay down and this was the only way we could think of to get you out of the firing zone. Now starting screaming like I'm hurting you." He took his hand off of her mouth.
" What?" she asked.
" I'm supposed to be raping you." Doug whispered. " You're not going to make me look bad in front of all of the other guys are you?" Before she had a chance to respond, shots began to ring out.
" Have you ever done something like before?" Dave asked as he loaded his rifle.
" No. Hunting human beings hasn't been one of my hobbies." Kerry carefully sighted the rifle on the small encampment. It was a stupid question, she thought. " I'm a doctor, not a soldier."
Dave snorted. " That's pretty funny, chief."
" What?" she asked quizzically. She hadn't meant to be funny and she eyed the younger man suspiciously. She didn't like to be made fun of, and Dave hardly knew her. Still, it hadn't seemed like he meant to insult her.
" Never mind," he said, a smile on his face. " I'll explain the joke later. " He tapped the rifle he was holding. " How long are we going to wait?"
She sighed. " Until Doug gets her away, we wait. I don't want to take any chances. I'm not that good of a shot. You need to keep your voice down. We're only 300 feet away." She looked through the rifle scope again. Doug was still chatting with one of the bikers. She had serious misgivings about the plan and felt as though they were all starting to come true. There was something inside Doug that was broken and he wasn't trying to fix it. She suspected he was suicidal and had almost refused to go along with his idea. If it hadn't been for the fact that the bikers had definitely seen Dave, and the fortunate fact that the younger man was fairly good with a rifle, she would have suggested that he be the one to try waltzing into the camp. Part of her was glad she hadn't had the option. She had a funny sort of affection for him. " Remember, when you fire... Breathe, relax, aim then shoot."
" Breathe, relax, aim, shoot." Dave repeated. He grinned again. " That spells bras, chief. I feel a little sexually harassed."
" Stop being an ass, and keep watch," she warned. She waited until he looked away to let her expression twitch into a smile.
" I see that, chief," he said softly, his grin still in place. He continued scanning the encampment.
" Keep your eyes on the camp, or you'll really know what it's like to be sexually harassed." Before he could come back with a retort, she held up her hand. " Quiet. Doug's taking Lucy to a tent. This is our chance."
They both got ready. They had been lying on the ground, carefully concealed, using a fallen log for maximum support. Kerry placed the sights of her rifle squarely on the leader's chest. She looked up, to make sure Doug was heading where he'd planned and then resumed her position. Her finger caressed the trigger. " One... two..."
Shots rang out, and Dave and Kerry looked at each other in surprise. It wasn't them shooting.