Impact (16 page)

“That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” one of the guys shouted.

“Man, you rock!” another shouted.

Kirk held out his hand and smiled as if welcoming me, as if he was happy to welcome me to his club. “You’ve earned a place in my world,” he said. “I’ll keep you safe, give you lodging, food, and water. All I ask for in exchange for my generous hospitality is that you fight twice a week.”

I nodded, unable to speak. He honestly thought he was helping me. Kirk didn’t even see the fights as wrong; in his mind, it was just my way of earning my keep. I wasn’t forced into an arena like at Kingsville, but I was still forced to fight and imprisoned against my will. He just tried to package it more lightly, but it was the same sick thing.

“You might want to pick up your shovel,” he said. “I’ll give you thirty minutes to bury Toby and Lewis.”

The men watched as I grabbed the shovel and began digging near a towering tree, in a place that looked peaceful.

Suddenly, and without saying a word, a man in a black hat walked over and began to help me with a spade of his own. 

“You don’t have to,” I said.

“I know,” he said and kept right on digging.

No one else offered to help. For the most part, they ignored us, except to occasionally yell at us to dig faster because they were freezing.

“I’m Ned,” my helper said.

“Nice to meet you,” I said, shoveling faster.

“Wow, that was some show!” he said.

I threw more dirt over my shoulder. “No show. That was just me trying to survive.”

“Nobody has ever smashed the buried zombies before they fought.”

“Yeah? Well, I needed to fight without any distractions.”

“It was brilliant.”

“Thank you.”

“This is a nice thing you’re doing.”

“Toby and Lewis don’t deserve to be left out here like trash.”

“They were friends, huh?”

“I guess. I’d really just met them.”

“I can’t believe you’ve got any strength to dig after fighting off all those zombies.”

“It’s the right thing to do,” I said, my muscles aching. “I would hope someone would do the same for me.”

“I’m sorry about them, but we can only take the strongest.”

I rammed the shovel into the hard dirt. “I’m not here to question your ways.”

“I was starvin’ out there, ya know, literally a living skeleton. I hadn’t eaten in a week—not even a bug or a leaf or nothing. Then Kirk found me. Without him, I’d be dead.”

“He put you through this test too?”

“Yeah. I love to fight. I guess it’s in my blood. Course, for me, the test wasn’t as elaborate. He gets more creative with every new intake.”

“A zombie minefield. That’s as creative as one can get.”

“I guess. Without all the tests and training, though, I wouldn’t be as strong as I am today. It gives me a sense of pride that I did something many people can’t. I survived the minefield.”

“So what about the people who die in cold blood?” I asked.

He threw a pile of dirt over his shoulder. “They just weren’t cut out for this world.”

“And why does Kirk get to decide that? Why not let fate decide? Many are not willing participants. We were kidnapped, taken against our will. These guys did not want to be here, and now they’re dead.”

“You’re pretty bold, speaking your mind like that.”

“Yeah, I guess. I’m sorry. I tend to overstep my boundaries sometimes. I guess it’s...in my blood,” I said with a coy smile.

“You’re confiding in me, and that means a lot. People stopped volunteering for the fights. That’s why Kirk has to go out and find new warriors.”

I shook my head. “So you’re okay with him resorting to kidnapping?” I asked.

“We only take people who we think will make excellent fighters, and we try to pick those who need us, people who are struggling out there.”

“Is that what they tell you?”

“Whether they realize it themselves at first or not, our community is the very best option. Everyone eventually accepts it. Nobody wants to leave. They grow to love the place, and they think of the people here like family. In some way, I guess that’s what we all are.”

“So why do you need new fighters?” I asked.

“We’ve lost a few. Some went crazy, got knocked in the head one too many times. One died of a heart attack, and another had a stroke.”

“So you need new blood?”

“Look, people around here love the fights. We ain’t got Xboxes no more, can’t exactly go to the movies or bowling or watch the Superbowl. We work hard to keep the zombies out and our world intact, and it’s our only release from stress and tension.”

“What’s your story? Do you still fight? You said he tested you.”

“I used to, but I fell in love with Kirk’s daughter, and her daddy ordered me to stop fighting when she got pregnant. Now I just help patrol the city and do odds and ends, like shoveling these graves.”

“You two about done?” Kirk yelled. “Let’s get those stiffs in the ground and get out of here.”

We went about the grim deed of burying the bodies, and I said a quick prayer before I was taken back to my dorm.

* * *

K
irk promised me a visit from Jackie, and I waited around, but she didn’t show up. It irked me that they controlled when I could see her, and I hated the fact that I was locked up in this room. It made me mad enough to punch a hole in the wall.

When someone tapped on the door, I hurried over.

“It’s me, Eva. Please don’t attack me when I unlock the door.”

“I won’t,” I said. “Come on in.”

“Ten minutes,” the guard said when he opened the door to let her in.

“They let you visit?” I said.

“Not exactly. I’m here to explain where Jackie is.”

I swallowed hard. “What’s going on?”

“She was in a fight last night.”

“What!? She isn’t supposed to be fighting already.”

“I know, but she was hurt pretty bad. She’s in no condition to walk over here.”

“But Kirk said I could see her.”

“I don’t think he even knows how bad she is.”

I could feel the anger flooding through me. “I’m going to kill them!” I shouted.

“Dean...”

I knocked my dresser over and punched the wall again. My knuckles began to bleed, but I ignored the pain.

The door opened, due to the commotion, and one of the security guards looked at my hands. “What’s going on in here?” he demanded. “You better not have hurt Eva!” 

“It’s his blood,” she said. “He’s just angry. Everything is fine. Just let me talk to Dean and calm him down.”

“You’ve got some nerve asking me that, buddy,” I spat, unable to maintain my composure. “I don’t hit women, but I just found out my girlfriend is pretty banged up, so you obviously wouldn’t care anyway!”

The guard shrugged and almost laughed. “Ain’t my problem that your old lady can’t fight.”

I wanted to tear him from limb to limb, but Eva pulled me back, imploring with her eyes for me to knock it off. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

The security guard looked me up and down, laughed, and shook his head, then walked out. “You got six more minutes,” he said over his shoulder before he slammed the door.

Eva touched my shoulder. “She’ll be okay,” she said. “She’s supposed to fight again, but Asia is filling in for her.”

“I want to see her.”

“Somehow, I knew you’d say that. I can pull some strings and get you over there.”

My gaze narrowed. “Good, because I wanna see Asia too.”

“Don’t ask too much of me, Dean. If I pull too many strings, they’ll start to suspect...” She shook her head and said, “It’s one or the other, and Jackie’s not feeling too well. I’d suggest sticking with her for now. Asia seems to be doing just fine.”

“Yeah, well, she usually does,” I said. “Now what do I have to do to see Jackie?”

E
va had promised me a short visit with Jackie, and I couldn’t have been more grateful. “Thanks for doing this,” I said.

“You’re welcome, but you’ve got to be...civil. I know it’s gonna tick you off when you see what condition she’s in, but I can’t have you punching somebody out. You’ll stir up a ton of trouble, for yourself as well as me.”

I bit my lip. “It’ll be hard, but I’ll try.”

She peered at me. “Try? Promise me.”

“I promise to stay on my best behavior. Just please take me to see her.”

“I can get you an hour, but that’s it.”

“I’ll take it.”

She blew out a long breath. “All right. Come on.”

I looked at her, and something immediately came to mind.

“What’s going on through that head of yours?” Eva said. “I see a storm brewing.”

“We’ve gotta get outta here. We can’t just sit around doing nothing while they let people beat us half to death just because they get off on it. I swear, I’m gonna bust out of this hellhole tonight.”

“You’ll never make it,” she insisted. “I’m working on a plan. You just have to be patient till I work out the kinks.”

Her words sparked my stubbornness. “You don’t know me very well. I
will
get out of here. I’ll take out every guard, and Jackie, Asia, and I will run without ever looking back.”

“Not without getting yourself or those girls killed.”

“We can take them on.”

She sighed. “You don’t get it. If we get caught, we’re screwed. You heard what Kirk said about body bags. He wasn’t joking. I know. I’ve seen what they do to people who won’t cooperate.”

“So we won’t get caught,” I said.

“You will if you don’t do it my way. We have to have a clear-cut plan. Going rogue isn’t gonna help. Too many hotheads have tried that, and they’re dead because of it.” She sighed. “I know you want out of here, and we can go. We just have to wait a little longer, plan a feasible escape. There are some guards who will help us, but I need a few more days to work it all out.”

“All right,” I said halfheartedly, then nodded.

“Good. Just hang on. I’ll be right back. She then walked outside and said a few words to some security guards.

The next thing I knew, I was being led to the girls’ dorms. Inside that part of the complex, they took me straight to Jackie’s room. Eva and the guards left to give us some time alone.

“Jackie...” I said, aghast at how horrible she looked.

“Dean? I-is that you?”

I gripped her hand. “It’s me. What happened?”

“I got my butt kicked. That girl was so fast, with reflexes like lightning. I can still fight tonight. I’m just a little sore. I’ll be okay.”

“Asia is taking your place,” I said.

“No! I can’t let her do that.”

“It’s a done deal. Just get some rest.” I glanced down at the sheet and saw some dried blood. “What’s this?”

She just looked at me, and her eyes gave away the painful secrets she was trying to hide from me.

“What are you not telling me?” I asked.

Jackie slowly pulled down the sheet. “I got stabbed. She sneaked a knife in, used lethal force.”

A wave of anger washed over me, and I suddenly felt homicidal. I wanted to kill every last one of them. “Why would you hide that from me?” I asked.

“I didn’t wanna worry you. You have enough to deal with. It’s just a flesh wound, no biggie. It’ll heal up in no time.”

“No biggie? Look, we’ve gotta get out of here right now. I’ll carry you if I have to.”

“You can’t take on dozens of armed guards while carrying your wounded girlfriend. Give me some time to get better, and give Eva time to pull a plan together.”

“No! I don’t want you fighting again. We leave now.”

“No, Dean,” she said, shaking her head and wincing in pain. “We have to be smart about this. I won’t be able to live without you. I can’t go back to your brother and sister and tell them we didn’t really think the plan through and you got killed because of it. Just give it another week. I’ll be better, and we’ll know the place better.”

“You’re asking too much.”

“I’m trying to keep us both alive!” she said. “Leaving unprepared won’t get us anywhere. There’s a whole army of those men out there, all blindly dedicated to Kirk, buying into all his bull about community. They’re ready to kill anyone who wants to escape.” She sighed. “He’s nuts, and so are his followers. I heard about that test Kirk put you through. I also know that two other guys didn’t survive it.”

I swallowed hard. “Yeah. We buried them.” I gripped her hands. “Did Kirk put you through any of his zombie tests?”

She shook her head. “They don’t make the girls do it.”

“Thank God.”

“We’re not the stars, just wrestling divas. Even if it is cutthroat, I think we’re more for show, to please the guys.” She sighed. “We’re just an escape from reality.”

“This whole thing is crazy.”

“One minute we’re in a gun fight, and in the next, we’re bound and gagged, in the back of a speeding van.” I let out a long breath. “Have you seen Asia?”

“She’s fine, holding her own. Already won a fight.”

“What dorm room is she in?” I asked.

“She’s on the other side of the building.”

“They’re separating us on purpose, you know,” I said, “just like any proper maximum security prison.” 

“We won’t have a life sentence. We’ll get out. Just take it one day at a time and cooperate with them. Don’t make threats or challenge them. We need to blend in, show them we are worthy of respect. We need to become friends and build a rapport with them, get them to let down their guard. Then we’ll make a run for it.”

“Right. Then we’ll go back to Fairport, grab Nick, Val, and the others, and leave and never come back.”

“In the glass house, you told me about the island. It sounds like the perfect hiding place.”

I pondered back to that first meeting. “I remember how bad I wanted you to come with us. I’m glad you did.”

She bit her lip. “Can you believe I wanted to stay there at that glass house? I know I’ve said it before but I was a complete idiot.”

“Nah. You were just...a newbie, and you’d been pretty sheltered up to that point. When this all started, nobody knew what they were doing.”

“Claire and I definitely didn’t. I can’t believe you stuck it out with us.”

“You’ve grown so much. You’ve learned to fight for your life, and I couldn’t be more proud of you.”