Blood dripped down the man's chin as he lay on the floor. Still tied to the wooden chair in the basement of the armory, the nameless man couldn't move. He spit a broken tooth covered in blood out of his mouth and let out a laugh.
"That all you got, kid?" he asked the young soldier. The soldier grabbed the chair and lifted the man up as Col. Schwartz, Daryl and Rick entered the adjoining room, watching through a two-way mirror.
"Where is your base camp?" the soldier yelled.
"Suck my dick." Another punch assailed the man's face. His eye was swelling and blood trickled from a cut above his eyebrow.
"This is going well," Rick murmured sarcastically.
Col. Schwartz entered the room, motioning for the soldier to leave. Rick and Daryl watched as the colonel pulled a chair next to the man and sat down. The man's left eye was swollen shut now, forcing him to turn his torso awkwardly to see the colonel.
"Who the hell are you?" the man asked. His short-cropped brown hair was crusted with dirt and blood and his clothes were torn and dirty.
Col. Schwartz leaned close to the man, placing his elbows on his knees. "I'm not gonna waste my time beating you up," he said. "You're gonna tell me what the hell you were doin' here and where you took that girl and you'll live."
"And if I don't you're gonna kill me?" the man asked mockingly.
"If you don't, I'm gonna starve ya, then sit ya outside our walls tied to this same chair and give the dead an easy meal." The colonel's voice was stern and brutal. Daryl and Rick exchanged an uneasy glance. "Starvin' is a painful thing. I'm guessin' gettin' eatin' alive is even worse."
Worry flashed across the man's face, but he recovered quickly. "Thought you guys cleared this place out of biters? Yer bluffin'."
"Holder, bring 'em in," Col. Schwartz shouted. Daryl and Rick immediately looked at the door through the two-way mirror. It opened quickly and the decomposing body of a walker lunged in, being led by an animal control stick.
A horrified yell leapt out of the man's throat as the colonel turned him toward the starving walker. He lifted his legs in an attempt to push the walker away from him. "No, get away. You can't do this!" the man yelled, trying desperately to scoot away, only to be pushed forward by Col. Schwartz. The walker snarled and bit the air at the man, waving its arms in mad movements to get to him.
"Man, he's hungry, ain't he?" Col. Schwartz said, knocking the chair to the ground.
The man struggled as the walker was allowed to get closer by the soldier wielding it. Tears were streaming down his face and he finally yelled, "Alright, I'll tell ya whatever ya wanna know!"
The colonel nodded and the soldier stabbed the walker in the back of the head, dragging its limp body out of the room.
"Jesus," Daryl said. "The military sure is different now."
Rick knocked on the window and the colonel motioned for them to come in. Daryl leaned against the wall, staring at the man with his arms crossed, while Rick pulled up the only empty chair and sat next to Col. Schwartz.
"We'll start with your name," Col. Schwartz said.
The man looked from Daryl to Rick and back to the colonel before answering. "Stan," he mumbled through chapped and bloodied lips.
"Stan, how 'bout you tell us where your group is?" Col. Schwartz asked.
"And why the hell they took a teenage girl," Daryl spat.
Stan looked at Daryl, "Rafe likes 'em young," he said.
"The fuck's Rafe?" Daryl asked, leaning off the wall in anger at his disturbing answer.
"He's our leader. Brought us all together. At first we were just survivin', but the bigger our group grew, the nastier it got. It was all men, mostly from this bar crew that I was a part of. We looted and hurt outsiders to get what we needed – food, water, booze, medicine – but then some of the guys started doin' other things…" Stan trailed off.
"Like what?" Rick asked calmly.
"We came across this small group stayin' in a church. It was just an old man, his wife and their daughter and granddaughter. Rafe made the old man watch while he killed his wife and raped his daughter," Stan responded. "After that, he gave the guys the OK to scout out women as long as they brought them back to him first. He wouldn't rape all of them, he has his type, but he'd let the others do what they wanted."
Daryl let out a growl. "What the fuck!" he yelled. "Where the hell are they? Where did they take Beth?"
The colonel lifted his hand to quiet Daryl. Daryl swiped at the air near the colonel's hand, cussing under his breath.
"That what this is about? They took one of yours?" Stan asked.
"Fuck yeah it is, now tell us where they're at so we can kill 'em all," Daryl responded.
Stan shook his head. "There's too many. No way you can do that. Your girl is as good as dead."
This time Rick lost his temper. He grabbed Stan by the collar, pulling him within centimeters of his face. "You're gonna tell us everything about your camp and those men and you're gonna do it now," he spat. Rick let go of the man, the sound of the chair hitting the cement floor echoing through the small room.
"I think it'd be best for you to do as these men say, or your biter food," Col. Schwartz said.
The air was damp and musky. Beth shivered, pulling her arms closer to her chest. Her stomach ached as her muscles tensed. The only light that could be seen was from the crack under the door. She held her breath every time footsteps stomped passed. The zip ties around her wrists and ankles chafed her skin as she struggled to move. A single tear fell down her cheek as she thought about her dad and Maggie. She heard footsteps coming down the hall and lifted her head off the cold wall. The heavy steps stopped outside the door and it opened quickly. The light blasted the large man from behind, making him just a silhouette.
"It's your lucky day," the man, whose name she learned was Duke, said. "Time to meet the boss." He lifted her up by her good arm and cut her ankle tie, leading her out of the dark room and into the hallway.
Beth squinted her eyes from the light and allowed Duke to lead her down the dirty hallway. A narrow set of stairs led up to a thick wood door. Duke opened it into a large open living room and connected kitchen. A few men sat around the table, eating what looked to be soup. They grinned and pointed at the blond when Duke pushed her into the room.
"Takin' her to see Rafe?" a bearded man asked as soup dribbled down his chin.
Duke nodded, letting out a low laugh. "She's just his type, ain't she?"
"Ten bucks says she's a virgin," another man hooted.
"Get ready, babe. Boss is gonna have fun with you," said Lou, one of the men who abducted her.
Duke pushed her toward another set of stairs. Beth looked over her shoulder at the group of men who were now taking bets on whether she'd be a screamer. She tripped on the first stair, catching herself with her bonded her wrists. "Come on, bitch. Pick up your feet," Duke said, lifting her off the stairs easily and shoving her upstairs. The door at the top of the stairs was ajar and Duke lightly knocked before being called in.
Beth was pushed over the threshold. Candles illuminated the room and a medium-sized, beefy man stood by the window. His brown hair grazed his shoulders, which were wrapped in a red flannel shirt he was almost bursting out of. He turned at the sound of their entry and smiled, holding a glass of red wine in his left hand.
"Ahh, Beth," he said. "Well, aren't you beautiful."
Beth let out a soft sob as the door closed behind her and the man stepped toward her.