Redaction: The Meltdown Part II (37 page)

The man raised his bat again.

“Don’t!” Audra begged. “He’ll behave.”

Spittle dripped from his open mouth before Eddie dragged in a deep breath. His gaze locked with hers.

Please, she mouthed.
Please
.

Rage flared in his eyes. Nodding, he sucked down another lungful.

The man with the bat lowered it to his muscular shoulder. Biceps and triceps played under the tight long sleeved tee-shirt. “Don’t play hero again, boy.”

Thank God. Audra sank onto her heels. Sleet pattered around her. The snow melted under her knees.

The man with the bat hauled back his leg and kicked Eddie in the side. Bone crunched upon impact. “I can’t hear you, boy.”

The attack pushed Eddie to his side. He coughed again and clutched his ribs.

Oh God, Eddie! Audra’s nails burrowed into her palms.

“Stop it!” She rose up on her knees. “You don’t have to hurt him. You don’t have to hurt anyone. We’re cooperating.”

Despite the hand holding her, she jerked her chin toward the emptying buses. Her friends and family were at risk all because of her. She should have been paying better attention. She should have seen the spikes on the road.

Stuart flattened his hand against his stomach and tried to straighten. “That’s right. We’re doing as you ask.”

The thug with the bat raised it until it shoved up Stuart’s chin. “You gonna be a hero too?”

Stuart swallowed hard then let loose of his bowels. The dark stain oozed down his slacks and crept out his shoes.

The thug burst out laughing. “You’re smarter than your girlfriend there,” he pointed to Eddie, “to be scared shitless of me. Now sit on the bitch and shit again.”

“W-what?” Stuart stumbled backward.

The leader swept Stuart’s legs out from under him. Stuart landed half on Eddie, half on the ground. Eddie coughed again.

Audra bit her lip. Why were they doing this? Hadn’t they done as they’d been ordered?

“That’s it, pretty boy.” The leader goaded. “Now sit on your girlfriend.”

Stuart squeezed his eyes closed and gripped his stomach.

“Move your ass, or I’ll have my men shoot off your balls.”

Stuart shifted until he sat on Eddie’s behind.

The thug leader hefted the bat on his shoulder and swaggered forward. “Watch this.” He circled the pair once then shoved his face into Stuart’s. “Boo!”

Stuart evacuated his bowels. Eddie’s lips thinned.

The man’s party of thugs hooted. One clapped. In the distance, two children cried.

When the grip on her hair loosened, Audra jerked her head free but didn’t crawl forward. She shoved aside the pain. So what if she got a few bald patches. She had to get her people out of this mess. “He’s sick, you idiots. He has anthrax. They all do.”

She pointed to the Flatulent Fifteen, each wrapped up in their own pain and humiliation of disobedient bowels. Mrs. Rodriquez knelt about ten feet away from them, unable to help.

The leader with the bat stomped closer. “I’m getting a little sick of hearing your mouth, girlie.”

Audra glared at him. “Do you want to be like them? Do you want to catch the anthrax?”

“We heard that woman’s warning.” He thumped the bat against his palm. Her image cowered in his mirrored lenses. “Anthrax isn’t contagious.”

“That’s the inhalation kind. This is the gastrointestinal kind. We started out with only one sick this morning and now we have fifteen.” She lied. Maybe if the jerk thought they were contagious they’d be able to go on their way.

The leader tapped the bat against the asphalt and squatted in front of her. His fingers dug into her cheek when he gripped her jaw. “I’m gonna enjoy showing you other things to do with your mouth.”

“You most certainly—” She ended in a whimper of pain.

He clamped down pushing soft tissue against jagged teeth, cutting off her words. “Shut up, bitch.”

Over the thug leader’s shoulder, she watched Eddie half rise from the road.
Stay still. Please.
She pleaded with her eyes.

“That’s better.” He threw off his grip.

The quick jerk to the side heated her neck and base of her skull. She worked her jaw to check for any permanent damage. Thank God he hadn’t dislocated it. She swallowed the metallic taste of blood.

Eddie focused on her.

“I’ve found my bitch.” The thug smacked her cheek then fisted her jacket front and pulled her to her feet.

She gasped for air as her toes brushed the ground and his knuckles pressed against her throat.

“Pick your women, men.” Metal jingled then cold steel encircled her wrist.

Her stomach emptied into her throat as the handcuffs joined both hands. She swallowed the dregs of her breakfast. The jerk deserved to be vomited on, but somehow she knew Eddie would suffer for it.

“Missus S!” Oscar called out in a reedy voice.

Audra step forward. Her arms were pulled back and aches radiated from her sockets. “It’s okay Oscar. I’m okay.”

Jerking her hard against his wide chest, the head thug turned toward the boy. “My you have a lot of friends.”

Oscar skidded on the snow but caught himself before he fell. “Don’t take her.”

Faye Eichmann jogged behind Oscar. Ropes of pearls and chunks of diamonds glistened in her hand. “We can pay. Take it. All of it. Just let us pass in peace. All of us.”

The head thug shoved Audra’s shoulders.

Her knee twisted from the torque. Joints popped and her leg collapsed. She tried to catch herself, but the handcuffs hampered her movement. Rocks scraped her palms as they rolled out from under her. She landed on her elbow then her shoulder. The impact rattled out her head. She closed her eyes least they popped out.

“I don’t want your jewelry, you stupid bitch.”

Something hit the ground near her head. The jewelry most likely. God bless Faye for trying.

“Now get back or I’ll kill you.”

“Take me instead of her.”

Audra’s eyes popped open. Mom! “No!”

Jacqueline Silvestre planted herself in front of Oscar and Faye.

“I don’t want an old, worn out hag.” The man reached down and grabbed Audra by the hair. “I want someone young enough to train but old enough to have a couple of bad habits I can enjoy breaking.”

Her neck arched, crackled down her vertebrae. Bitterness coated her tongue. “It’s alright.” Audra caught her mother’s pale eyes. “I’ll go with them.”

He bent down and shoved his face in hers. “You think you have a choice?”

No. She knew the status quo. But eventually it would change and she would take advantage of it. Instead of answering she raised her chin.

“I’m gonna have a lot of fun with you.” Without releasing her hair, he glanced up. “Men take your women and line ‘em up. As soon as we take care of this, the sooner we can party.”

Feminine cries rippled through the group. Tina the Teacher’s Assistant was shoved to the ground next to her. Becky the high school student joined her. Two more girls that Audra didn’t know followed. Fear widened their eyes. They all looked to her, begged her to do something. Anything.

Helplessness welled up from the pads of her feet. She sought out Eddie. Two men jerked him to his feet then slammed him against the bus. His head bounced off the metal then lolled back.

Loss fisted her heart.
Oh Eddie. Please be alive.

The men tossed him aside like garbage.

“This is the way it works in my kingdom.” The leader released her hair. “We take what we want and we want these prime bits of cattle.” He ran a knuckle down her cheek.

She jerked away.

“The rest of you will board your bus and get the hell off my land.”

Audra’s mother opened her mouth.

“But if any of you says a word, we’ll shoot one of our prime breeding stock.” He smacked Audra across the face. “Cover ‘em up.”

Tingles raced across her skin. Her breath locked in her throat as someone produced pillowcases. One by one, the women next to her had their faces covered. She heard them sob, felt an answering one in her chest. A blue and green striped one flapped open next to her.

“No.” The leader pushed the pillow case away. “The bitch needs to see what happens to the disobedient.”

Oh God.

“Round up the rejects.”

His men forced her people to their feet. Her mother glanced back over at her as the thugs pushed and shoved her people toward the working buses.

“Don’t think about coming back because if you do, they’ll be the first to die.”

Mrs. Rodriquez helped Eddie to his feet. He staggered a few paces to the left then the right.

The constriction in her chest eased. Thank God he was still alive. He would get everyone to safety.

Holding his messed up pants away from his bottom, Stuart tip-toed after them. “I’ll look after them Audra.”

“Now see what you’ve done.” The leader jerked on her upper arm.

She leapt to her feet.

“Everyone stop!”

His thugs cocked their weapons and aimed randomly at people’s head. None of her people moved.

“He didn’t mean it. Please.”

“Get used to begging.” He wrapped his arm around her neck, making her stoop. “Cole, which one of the bitches is yours?”

A man in black jeans and leather jacket pointed to Tina.

Audra shook her head. “Please. Please, I’ll do anything, just don’t hurt her.”

“You’ll do anything I say anyway.” He petted her like she was a dog. “Ralph. You know what to do.”

A beefy man stood behind Tina. The small Asian girl straightened. He pulled a gun and aimed it at her chest.

Audra willed her eyes to shut. They refused to obey. She needed to see this, needed to bear witness to the cost of her failure.

Powder exploded from the barrel. Tina jerked forward then fell. Ralph raised his arms above his head and planted one foot on Tina’s chest.

The teacher’s assistant wiggled. Her people gasped. A few of the older folks stepped forward. Guns pushed them back.

“She’s still alive.” Audra tried to reach Tina, help her. The leader’s arm cut off her air.

“Damn Ralph. Next time, take the head shot.” The leader chuckled. “Now, they’ll watch her die as they leave.”

Audra began to sink to her knees. Poor Tina. She’d been so kind and gentle. “Please let me…”

A cloth was yanked over her head.

She recognized the green and blue stripes from the pillowcase. Light filtered in through the cotton; it tightened around her throat.

“Now that I’ve made my position clear. Get the hell out of here!”

She flinched as more shots rang out. Oh God, please don’t let them have killed anyone else. Before she heard the thud of any more bodies, engines started. The deep rumble of the buses. She heard the belch of brakes then the crunch of slow moving tires.

Her heart ripped in half.
Don’t leave me. Be safe. Don’t leave me
.
Be safe.
Blackness crowded her vision as her lungs sawed for air.

A cold wind shoved through her clothes as she stood there.

First the tires fell silent, then she couldn’t hear the engines anymore.

“Ralph, make sure they’re good and gone.” The leader loosened the noose around her neck. “Okay, men, let’s get the ladies to their new home.”

A firm hand gripped her elbow and dragged her forward.

She stumbled along, dragging her feet over the dirt. Her twisted knee throbbed. She swallowed the whimper clawing her insides.

“Don’t worry, Audra, isn’t it?” His hot breath invaded her pillowcase, filled it with the scent of stale coffee. His fingers bit into her upper arm. “You’re Audra, aren’t you?”

She loved to remain silent but not if it cost her another life. She’d already lost Tina. A hot tear trailed down her cheek. “Yes.”

“You’ll need that fire to get you through what’s to come. It’s why I picked you.”

Fuck you, she fumed inside her head. Despite his grip, she slipped down the incline. She felt every beat of her heart through her knee. Mud squelched beneath her boots. A wash, maybe. Why did she bother memorizing the route?

Because she planned to escape.

How? Oh for pity’s sake! The ying and yang inside her head needed to be quiet for a moment. Or a hundred. Eddie and her mother, Oscar and Faye, Mrs Rodriquez, the principal and deputy were safe. What happened to her no longer mattered. She’d done her duty.

Around her, the men fell quiet.

Even the wind seemed to still. She drowned in the rise and fall of her own breathing. Sweat trickled down her temple despite the chill creeping into her toes. Don’t think about what’s up ahead. Don’t think about the raping or… She truncated the thought.

Trees stirred the air around her and the light seeping through her hood dimmed. They walked farther on pavement then her boots clomped on wood. Her thighs burned from the trek. Her knee nearly buckled each time she put weight on it.

“Alright boys.” The leader pulled her to a stop.

Hinges creaked. A puff of warm air brushed her shoulder. Callused fingers slid over her hands, tugging on her handcuffs.

“We’ll let the ladies rest up before resuming their new duties.”

The bracelets fell away from her wrists. She ignored the throbbing in her joints as she moved her hands in front and rubbed the abraded skin.

His hand returned to her elbow then he steered her forward again. “Step up.”

She automatically obeyed. The toe of her boot knocked something before she found the step.

A hand swatted her bottom and thrust her forward. She stumbled then crashed into flesh and bone. Arms caught her as she fell and hands helped her stand on her own.

“Five minutes, ladies. I suggest you prepare yourself for your new role.”

She’d like to prepare him for a head chopping.

A door slammed shut. A key turned in the lock.

Audra whipped off her pillow case. If those thugs thought she’d submit, they were sadly mistaken. By the light of the single bulb overhead, she took in her surroundings. A scream bubbled up her throat.

Chapter Thirty-One

Rage boiled under Papa Rose’s skin as he sprinted over open ground. Mud sucked at his boots, water dropped on his bald head. His senses expanded and he raised his gun. Pulled the trigger. In a puff of leaves, a white spot on the hedge to the left of the mobile home exploded.