Amongst the Dead (12 page)

“Toss the gun away, bitch,” the large man’s voice demanded. She did as told. Four men, including the large one, came bustling out of the house. They all descended the stairs leading from the deck to the yard, guns trained on Riley. They weren’t underestimating her anymore. Eric was being dragged by one of the others now.
 

When they finally reached her, the big man grinned as he approached. Unlike the other men, he had a full set of teeth, yellowed like corn, but still present. “All this death caused by a little child. Amazing.” He seemed genuinely impressed. Riley, hands behind her back, gripped the Glock. The group of men separated, two walking apart to get around her while the big man and another stood in front of her. The big man reached back to slap her, but she ducked, withdrew the Glock and blew a hole in the man’s groin. Pivoting the weapon, she fired at the man holding Eric and put two holes in his chest before something hard cracked her upside the head. She fell, as if in slow motion, and the world around her fell away too.
 

She awoke on the living room couch. Her arms were tied behind her back. Eric was bound and gagged next to her. Looking up, she saw what she needed to see, the fuel that would help her to survive—the face of the man that ruined everything—Renny.
 

“Thanks for that,” he said to Riley. “I hated Tiny, the big guy whose pecker you blew off.” He let out a chuckle. “He was always breaking my balls and you just upped me in the chain of command. Would have killed him myself, but that’s frowned upon these days with numbers so hard to replace.”
 

Riley hardly heard the words that were spoken to her. A rage, like the darkest, nastiest hate, was building inside her. She seethed, trying her best to keep from showing it, but her eyes couldn’t lie.
 

“That’s it, girl. I can see it in your eyes. You’re a little firecracker, a demon of death.” He paced back and forth in front of her like a drill sergeant. “You’re just pissed because I fooled you. All of you. I fed you line after line of bullshit and you ate it up like it was pie.” The man was patting himself on the back, showing off in front of the others. If only Riley had followed him to his car with George and killed him.

“Where’s my mother?” Riley asked.
 

“Don’t worry about her,” Renny said, glancing at the other men. “She’ll be fine. If I was you, I’d worry about yourself.” Riley knew there was no point in talking further. She would need to save her strength. A time would come when escape would present itself and she needed to be as well rested as possible. “We’ll be leaving soon. Going to take you to the compound and introduce you to the Hag.” He started laughing and the others joined in.
 

She didn’t like the sound or the feeling she got from the laughter. And what the hell was the Hag? She kept quiet and turned to look at Eric. The hardness inside her crumbled like a cookie. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and his face was scarlet. She moved closer to him in an attempt to console and comfort him. It was all she could do for now.
 

Chapter Nine

Sisters of Life

Riley and Eric were placed on the back of motorcycles and driven to the gang’s compound in the city of Poughkeepsie. Joanne was still nowhere to be seen when they left the house and Riley could only hope that she was still alive. To her surprise, neither she nor Eric were blindfolded during the ride, allowing her to pay careful attention to the surroundings and a way home.
 

Once inside the city, the streets the gang traveled through were secure, walled in by stacks of old cars and fencing. The wall was clearly makeshift, but it seemed solid and impenetrable for the purpose it served—to keep out the undead. Barbed wire lined the top of the walls, giving the long corridor-like streets a prison feel.
 

A little ways into the city, the bikers pulled into a parking garage. Eric was taken into the accompanying building, leaving Riley with Renny and some others. She’d wanted to lunge for Eric, grab him and stop them from taking him, but she knew it was pointless and would only lead to pain. She had to keep quiet, reveal nothing of her intentions to the enemy, but deep inside her soul she knew she’d find and rescue him. Her exterior may have shown nothing, like a blank painter’s canvas, but inside Riley was wracked with anxiety and finding it difficult to remain stoic. She’d done so for Eric, but now that she was alone she did it for herself, not wanting to give the bastards any satisfaction. But the thought of never seeing Eric again almost caused her to cry out and run after him. To keep harping on such terrible thoughts would only lead to her downfall.
 

After her binds were removed, she was led across the parking garage to a dented and dusty black limousine. Renny was inside, Riley having seen the bastard enter the stretched vehicle.
 

The car’s interior was black as night. “Don’t be afraid little one,” a deep voice said. “Come easily or hard, your choice.” Taking a reassuring breath, she stepped forward and entered the limo.
 

Inside, the air smelled of old cigar smoke. The ceiling cloth was torn in places and the leather seats were inundated with cracks. A burly man, with a neatly trimmed beard and tattoos covering his bald head, sat across from Riley. Renny sat beside the large man, clearly his subordinate. “What happened to Tiny?” the man asked.
 

“Little Miss Killer here blew his dick off,” Renny answered. The man stared at Riley, his eyes penetrating like steel daggers. A chill fell over her. She’d seen eyes like his before. They were the eyes of a maniac. The man was the unpredictable type, a loose cannon. A man that seemed calm on the outside, but at any minute could erupt like a volcano. She readied herself for a blow, but none came. He simply smiled and said loudly to the driver, “Let’s go.” This large man was clearly the leader of this rag-tag group of scum.
 

They drove out of the garage and continued down the street Riley had come in on. She could see small gaps in the crude wall, places where the undead were standing and reaching through to grab a morsel of flesh. She hadn’t expected it and her face must’ve showed a sign of surprise because the big man spoke.
 

“Don’t worry,” he said. “They can’t get through, but in case their numbers grow too large we like to have places to shoot through and thin the herd, lessening their numbers. But like cockroaches and mice, they come back with what seems to be twice the number.”
 

Finally, after a short ride, the limo came to a halt. Riley glanced out of the window. The street dead-ended in front of a large apartment building.
 

“I still say it’s a waste to let this one go,” Renny said, eyeing Riley with contempt.
 

“It’s what the Hag wants,” the large man said. “We keep our end of the bargain, they keep theirs and everyone wins.”
 

“Still…” Renny began, but was cut off by the large man’s upraised hand.
 

The limousine’s door opened. “After you,” the large man said to Riley, motioning politely with his thick arm.
 

She exited the vehicle, the driver eyeing her suspiciously as he held the door open. Looking around, she noticed how incredibly clean the building appeared. When compared to the rest of the city, it almost seemed to sparkle with purity. The sidewalk in front lay unblemished and without trash or debris, unlike the rest of the city.
 

A woman was sweeping the steps in front of the building. Riley gasped at the sight of her. She had no eyes, only blackened and hollowed-out holes. But even more shocking was how the woman moved, as if she did have eyes to see.
 

“Move it,” Renny ordered her.
 

Riley walked up the stairs, the blind woman moving aside to let her pass.
 

Inside, the entrance hall was a large empty space with no tables or chairs. No decorations on the walls. “This way, girly,” Renny barked, walking her to a room just on the right. “Think you got off easy, do you?” He laughed. “Well, we’ll see about that.” He went to leave and Riley spoke.
 

“I’m going to kill you,” she told him. For a moment the man looked startled, then said, “Sweetie, you wont even remember who I am soon.” With that he exited the room, shutting the door behind him.
 

The room had a soft, plush sofa seemingly in decent shape. A candle burned on an elegant looking metal table next to the far wall. The air had the pleasant scent of lilacs and honey. The room had a single window covered with mesh grating, making any thought of escaping out of it futile. Riley checked the door and found it locked. With nothing left to do but wait, she sat down on the sofa and began cataloging everything she’d seen so far, making sure to remember the smallest details for they may aid in her escape.
 

The doorknob squeaked, startling her from deep inner thought. The door opened slowly as if by a gentle wind. Her pulse quickened. She swallowed, feeling a lump in her throat, and clenched the fabric of the sofa to keep from shaking.
 

An elderly woman entered the room, trailed by two younger women—both having large, protruding stomachs making their skinny frames seem even frailer. Riley gasped aloud when she focused on their heads. All three women were eyeless. Ugly, gaping black holes where eyes should have been, like the woman Riley saw outside sweeping. The old woman’s face was badly wrinkled, prune-like. She wore a shawl over her head, white hair showing from either side of her neck. The other women wore white, hooded robes tied at the waist with a purple sash.
 

“Welcome to the Sisterhood of Life,” the old woman said. “Come to me, child.” Her tone was tender, but filled with a hidden menace that made the woman appear affectionate and dangerous at the same time. Riley didn’t move. “Don’t be frightened child. Come here.”
 

What madness had she been thrust into? Not wanting the situation turning hostile, Riley realized she’d have to be pliable. She got up from the couch and approached the three women.
 

“You smell wonderful,” the old woman said almost gleefully. “Almost ripe and ready.”
 

Riley cringed at the words
ripe
and
ready
. What the hell did that mean? The old woman reached out to grab her, but she quickly backed away. “Help our friend out, ladies,” the woman said.
 

The two young women stepped forward with lightning speed and grasped Riley by the wrists. She struggled to get away, but each woman’s grip held firm as if they were made of iron. The women were strong, their size misleading.
 

The old woman shot out her arm and grabbed Riley by the throat. “That’s better, dear. You’ll have to learn our ways, that’s all.” The old woman released her hold and let her fingers trace the contours of Riley’s face.
 

Riley grimaced, wanting to let out a cry of disgust as the woman’s cold, bony fingers caressed her skin, but held it in. When the woman was done seeing Riley’s face, she used both hands and squeezed her arms and shoulders as if testing for freshness. Like a young school girl, the old woman giggled. “You are perfect. We’ve been waiting for one like you for some time.”
 

“Like me?” Riley asked, taken aback.
 

“A new breed of human. You’re not like the rest of us.” The woman was crazy. “You’re pure and redesigned. Death has taken you and spit you back. This world doesn’t apply to you like the rest of us.” The woman paused. She reached down, lifted Riley’s shirt and put a hand across her stomach. Again, Riley fought the urge to cringe. “Soon, you’ll be ready. You’re of adolescence still.”
 

“I’m a child.”
 

“Yes, but soon you’ll be of age and serve our community well, adding powerful new life.”
 

Riley’s brain wrapped itself around the woman’s words. What did she mean? Glancing down, she saw the women’s extended bellies and then she knew. They wanted her for breeding purposes. The two blind women were pregnant and the old woman wanted Riley to become like them.
 

“Wait, what’s going on here?” Riley asked, but it was for naught, because she already knew. Joanne had explained the birds and the bees to her, as did her father before he died.
 

“Take her to her room,” the old woman said.
 

“Wait,” Riley said, beginning to resist the ladies’ pull. “What’s going on and where’s my brother?”
 

No one answered her questions and the two young women dragged Riley out of the room. Deciding to go along, fighting proving to be useless, she went willingly with them.
 

They took her up two flights of stairs before traveling down a hallway with numerous closed doors on either side.
 

As she passed the third door, a female voice cried out, followed by screams. Passing the next room, she heard a woman moaning, but the sound wasn’t filled with hurt, but pleasure.
 

Riley was amazed at how well the women leading her moved. They neither hesitated nor stumbled around objects or up the stairs. It was as if they truly did have eyes to see with. This only added to her growing sense of uneasiness. She would need to find a way out of this freakville, and fast.