Crashing Down - A Post-Apocalyptic Novel (The Ravaged Land Series Book 3) (10 page)

Luckily the night went by smoothly. Nothing happened. Sienna hadn’t screamed and her shift went without a hitch. Everything was fine. Well, as fine as it could be considering we were still stuck inside Dominick’s resistance camp.

It was strange that everyone seemed to be in a good mood during breakfast. I wondered if it was because they were still keyed up from yesterday’s hangings.

Sienna and I went outside to use the porta-potties and to soak up some of the sun. Sunlight was rare, it needed to be absorbed when it was available. My body needed it. I could almost feel the difference right away.

Although, the sunlight wasn’t enough to completely change my mood. I wouldn’t feel better until we were miles away from the resistance camp… from Dominick.

“Ros,” Dominick called out the second we stepped back inside. Sienna glanced at me and I waved her ahead. Dean and Penn both stood and watched every step as I approached Dominick.

“Yes?” I asked, looking at my dirty fingernails.

“I’d like it if you came out on a run with me again today.” He said it like he was asking, but I knew better. The tone he used was for the benefit of anyone that might be listening in. Going with Dominick was easily in the top five of things I’d least want to do.

“I can’t today,” I said quickly already trying to come up with a plausible excuse. Really, any excuse that might work.

“And why not?” Dominick asked, as his neutral expression changed to something that looked like a combination of rage and embarrassment.

“I’m not feeling well… I think it was something I ate,” I said with a small frown. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and bent slightly at the waist.

“We all pretty much eat the same things,” he said narrowing his eyes.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe I just have a weak stomach or something… or maybe it was that canned processed meat product,” I said almost ready to pat myself on the back for finding a way to turn the blame on him.

“Hmm… I doubt it,” he said and inhaled sharply. “Tomorrow then. I’m sure you’ll feel better by then.”

I stood there staring at him, waiting for him to dismiss me. The smallest thing could set him off and I was pretty sure I was already on his last nerve. Something as simple as walking away without permission could probably cause him to have a meltdown. Then again standing there when he wanted you out of his hair could probably set him off too.

“What are you waiting for?” he said flapping his hand at me as if I was a small bird that wouldn’t leave his window sill. “Go on.”

I pivoted like an army soldier and shuffled my feet back towards my friend. It seemed as though Dominick believed that part of his mission in life was to try to make people feel stupid. He wanted people to feel inferior to him. Maybe he thought he’d feel better about his own pathetic life, but clearly it wasn’t working. He just appeared to be more of a jerk. At least to people who weren’t part of his cult.

And now tomorrow I’d have to go along on another run with him. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get out of it another day. Not to mention, I was pretty sure the invitation was extended to me and only me. He wasn’t going to let Dean, Penn, or Sienna join us. If only we could think of a way to escape this place before tomorrow morning. But they weren’t going to give us the opportunity, especially after having caught us in the act.

As the day went on I knew Dominick had tasked both Dezzie and Mack on an alternating shift to watch us. One of the two was always in the vicinity and barely hiding the fact that they were looking at us.

We had no choice but to try to fit in. There wasn’t anything we could do but pretend to want to be here.

T
he next morning
after breakfast Dominick came right up to me and asked if I was ready to go. He claimed he needed an early start, and that everyone was waiting on me. But I didn’t see anyone who looked like they were waiting.

“I’m not sure I’m feeling well enough—”

“You’ll be fine. If you start to feel sick, I’ll pull over so you can puke all over the side of the road,” he said looking as though he thought he was funny. But of course none of us found the humor in it.

Dean protectively stepped in front of me and put on a fake smile. He pressed his lips so tightly they barely were able to curl up at the ends. “You know what? I’ll just come with so I can keep an eye on her,” Dean said trying to make his smile more authentic.

“You know, really, I need you to work on something else at the camp today. Everyone is counting on your help,” Dominick said tilting his head to the side. I could tell he was daring Dean to push things further.

“Oh?” Dean said pretending to be curious about what the special task was, but really I knew he was trying to think up a better reason to come along.

“Yeah, that’s right. And you know, I’ll take really good care of her,” Dominick said putting his hand out towards me as if he actually thought I’d take it. I looked at it as if it were covered with leeches.

“Hey Dominick, we have a problem,” Mack interrupted as he barged in between Dominick and I. He’d been so rough he knocked Dominick slightly into Dean.

“What is it?” Dominick growled.

“It’s them,” he said, and as if that was code, Dominick spun on his heel and quickly made his way outside. We followed behind trying to keep up. It must have been something important to pull Dominick away from demonstrating all the power he had over us.

Dominick climbed up a ladder that led to a well disguised tree house. It was tucked inside the thick branches of the biggest tree in the camp. Even though I wanted to be up there so I could see what they were looking at, I somehow knew it wouldn’t be allowed.

We stood down below and waited for an update. Dean was at my side and Sienna was behind him. Penn was nearby trying to stand up on something so he could look over the fence. I could tell by the look on his face he had no idea what was going on.

I watched Dominick as he appeared to be looking out of a pair of binoculars. He seemed to keep them focused on one particular area. Something was out there, and maybe that something was making its way towards us.

He turned to Mack and spoke with him briefly before he started coming down the ladder. It shook and creaked as they both swiftly descended almost on top of one another. Dominick paused at the bottom looking as though he was considering making some kind of announcement, but something must have changed his mind. He looked down at his feet and walked away leaving everyone there confused and worried.

“Hey!” I said grabbing his swinging arm as he moved past me. If something was going on I felt like we had the right to know about it. “What’s going on out there?”

At first I thought he was going to yell at me for touching him but he didn’t. He looked more concerned with what he’d seen than someone touching him and demanding to know what was going on outside their dinky fence.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head. It’s under control,” he said not sounding at all confident. He tried to move, but I didn’t let go of his arm.

“What is under control?” I asked as I squeezed my hand tighter. I wasn’t going to let go until he gave me an answer. He blinked a few times and put his head down as if he was a method actor changing back into his Dominick character.

He looked out at everyone that had gathered in the area. Then he looked at me. His eyes moved down until he was staring at my hand. I let go of him as if he was suddenly as hot as an oven. Dominick coughed to clear his throat.

“It appears as though we are being watched,” he said and took a deep breath. He was trying to quickly figure out the right order to put his words in before he said anything more. “By my count, there are six uniformed men out there from HOME. They are maybe half a mile away? I’m not sure, but they appear to just be standing there… maybe sizing up the camp. Maybe sending a spy this way,” Dominick said, his voice quieter with each sentence.

I stared at him, my eyes digging into his, hoping to pull out more information. But I could tell he didn’t know anything more than what he had told us. He turned back to Mack and told him to gather more men.

Dominick looked me up and down, and then did the same to Dean. It seemed as though he had considered asking either Dean or I to help, but then decided against it. He shook his head and walked away.

There probably wouldn’t have been anything he could have said to convince me to help. I wouldn’t just jump in with Dominick’s mini army to defend the camp at all costs. If that had even been what he was intending to do. I knew that if it came to that I wasn’t on board. And maybe he knew that too.

A group of his men prepared themselves with guns. A couple of them even got bullet-proof vests, or at least that what I assumed they were. And I knew if they caught up to the men from HOME they wouldn’t hesitate to kill them on the spot. They wouldn’t be bothering to bring them back here for the public hanging show.

None of this was anything I wanted to be a part of. Not the army. Not the hanging. I wouldn’t do it for Dominick. Not for his people. Not for anyone. And not even to rid the world of HOME.

His men filed out of the camp like they were some sort of secret ninja squad. Dominick ordered the gate locked after they were on the other side. He also instructed several other men to not only guard the gate but to stand watch at every corner of the camp. I assumed they’d be watching for HOME trying to climb the fence to get inside.

Then Dominick stiffened his spine and stomped off towards the tree house with Mack following behind. We stood there unsure what to do. It seemed as though we were in danger and I felt helpless.

With HOME wandering around out there, we couldn’t escape. Was it better to take our chances in here, or out there with HOME? Probably in here. At least they were all busy with their jobs and missions, and we were left alone… for now.

The four of us walked around the camp perimeter as if we were just waiting for an attack. We wanted to be prepared should anything happen. But nothing happened and Dominick didn’t keep us updated on what he was seeing.

Around dinner time he left Mack alone up in the tree house and made his way to the main building. He kept his head down as he passed us.

“What going on out there?” I asked him cautiously.

“Nothing,” he said as he yanked open the door. It hit the wall behind so hard I was sure the door was going to snap right off its hinges. Penn waited a few minutes before he opened the door again to let us inside. He wanted to make sure there was enough distance between us and the agitated leader.

Dominick was standing by his private door. The one I assumed led to his bedroom. He paced back and forth while the girl who was passing around the basket of food waited off to the side. It seemed as though this wasn’t the first time she had to wait for him to cool off.

We walked over to our corner, but before we even had a chance to sit down, something crashed into the wall just off to the side of us. Dominick started yelling and swearing. He was grabbing anything he could and throwing it wildly around the room. Dominick took a picture off of the wall and smashed it into the floor. Then he reached for the basket of food and yanked it from the woman. He spilled the contents before spiking the basket like it was a volleyball.

The woman knelt down and gingerly started picking everything up while Dominick’s tantrum continued around her. She didn’t seem at all concerned that she might be hit with flying debris or that Dominick could just start wailing on her to satisfy his rage.

I couldn’t make out much of what he was screaming about, but I did pick up that he thought the men he sent out were all dead. I didn’t know if he had seen it happen or if he was just assuming it since they hadn’t returned yet.

After a few more minutes, he put his hand down on his knees and leaned forward taking several deep breaths. He stood up and brushed his hair back.

“Enjoy your fucking dinner!” he screamed, slapping the wall with his open hand. He stepped inside his room and slammed the door behind him.

I didn’t know if I should help the woman pick up, or just stand there staring at his closed door. Most everyone else seemed unaffected. They were all used to his excessive emotional outbursts. But I was still standing there with my mouth hanging open. I wasn’t completely sure if what I had seen had actually happened.

A few other women stepped up and started helping the woman who had been holding the basket. They had brooms and swept up the broken glass and wooden shards that had been left behind.

I couldn’t understand exactly why they were cleaning up his mess. I almost had it in my mind to knock on his door and demand he clean up his own mess. He was acting like a child while these women who were all old enough to have been his mother cleaned up after him.

I must have moved towards the door ever so slightly because Dean’s hand was suddenly gripping my arm. The look on his face was clear, he wasn’t going to let me leave his sight. If I kept feeling like I had to fix Dominick or challenge him, whatever it was I was doing, I was going to end up dead.

* * *

T
he next day
when the men weren’t back, no one said anything but everyone assumed the worst. Something had gone wrong. Dominick had lost six of his men, probably his best men, and I could tell that made him nervous. Not to mention even more agitated and miserable than before.

After breakfast he promoted six new people to whatever positions the previous men had held. I almost worried that he would consider putting one of us into the positions he was trying to fill, but thankfully he hadn’t.

We were probably far too new and he wouldn’t have trusted us. Which was fine by me. I wouldn’t have fought to defend this camp the same way one of his followers would have. The only way I would ever fight to protect it was if Dean, Penn and Sienna were inside and it was the only way to keep them safe.

Some of the people here seemed genuinely kind. Completely off their rockers, but nice enough. But was I willing to risk my life for theirs? No. I was surprised many of them had survived this long. Perhaps that’s why they were so loyal to Dominick.

A few hours later when I went to use the porta-potty, I heard hushed voices. I recognized Dominick’s voice instantly, but I couldn’t recognize the other.

“I think we have to move the camp,” Dominick said his voice so low I could barely make out the words.

“God! Again? Why now?” the voice whined, maybe it was Mack. I didn’t think anyone else in the camp would talk to Dominick in such a way, other than maybe Dezzie.

“Think about it,” he said, and I heard a thud. It almost sounded like Dominick had cracked him one on the head. “Our men are gone. Who knows what happened to them. Maybe they killed them on sight… but does that seem like something HOME would do? No. They probably took them somewhere and tortured them.”

“Why would they torture them?” the one I assumed was Mack asked.

“For information, stupid. Like, how many camps are there, and how many people are inside each of them. All sorts of things. I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe for a second any of those men would keep their mouths shut. In fact, I’m certain they’d blurt out whatever they could at the sound of the first bone breaking.”

At least Dominick knew his men well enough to know they couldn’t be trusted. But the whole moving the camp thing made me nervous. The fact that they had been off watching the camp was bad enough, but Dominick’s men hadn’t been able to stop them. They could attack any minute. We were all sitting ducks. They could be waiting outside of the fence right now.

I didn’t stick around to hear more. It was as if I had almost forgotten that I needed to use the bathroom. I pulled open the main door and went straight to my friends. They could tell by the look on my face that something was wrong.

“What’s going on?” Penn asked as he moved me into the corner and blocked my view of the room. I think it was his way of finding us privacy in a place where privacy didn’t exist.

I told them what I had heard in one giant run-on sentence. My voice got higher and squeaked as the reality of the situation seeped deeper into my mind.

“We have to get out of here,” I whispered in a weird screeching voice. I rubbed my hands together nervously. “I think we should get out of here before there is an entire HOME army flooding through the gates. They’ll kill everyone. We have to take our chances and sneak out of here!”

“Let’s go,” Penn said putting his hand near his gun. We followed him towards the main door. I was trying to keep myself calm even though I just wanted to run for it. It seemed as though every eye in the place was on me and could tell something was wrong.