Thicker than Blood (41 page)

Beside him was Jeffers, whose large arm was
held out in front of Alex, refusing to let him any farther than
where he stood. Next to Jeffers stood Liv, and behind the three of
them was a growing mob of people, jumping and shoving as they tried
to see past one another.

“Help…me…” the man called out hoarsely,
looking up to Jeffers with pleading eyes.

It was Liv who answered. Taking a deliberate
step forward, she waved her hand dismissively at my attacker. Then,
not bothering to spare him a second glance, she smirked at me.
“Finish it.” She snarled at me, her tone taunting, her eyebrows
arched with intrigue. “Those are our rules.”

Shivering now, my teeth chattering, I glanced
back toward Alex. Apart from the subtle trembling still racking his
body, he was as still as a statue, his wide, wild eyes on me
now.

“Finish it!” Liv screamed, startling me. Her
tiny features twisted with fury as she thrust her index finger in
my direction. “Kill him, you weak little cunt!”

Still shaking, I refocused on the man. His
hand was raised now, his mumbled words indistinguishable between
his sobs and the pounding of my own heart.

I didn’t want to kill him. I didn’t want his
blood on my hands, but what I wanted and what I felt were two
starkly different things. And all I could feel were his hands on
me, Lawrence’s hands on me, their mouths, their hands, their
penises, taking and taking and taking, uncaring that I wasn’t
willing, that it wasn’t something I was giving to them, but it
never mattered, they took it anyway.

With an ear-splitting scream, I pulled the
trigger, the bullet missing its mark again and sinking into the
man’s stomach instead. He screamed loudly, his scream fading
quickly into a groan, and he slumped even farther to the ground. I
pulled the trigger again, hitting him in the leg, and then again,
hitting him in the stomach. I continued pulling the trigger, unable
to stop, consumed by emotions, even long after the clip was empty
and the man had gone deathly still.

I felt a hand on me, on my arm, and I
flinched, jerking away and turning the gun on whoever had touched
me. It was Alex, I realized belatedly, yet I still couldn’t seem to
lower my weapon, couldn’t seem to stop shaking, couldn’t seem to
feel anything but the deep-rooted cold that had taken hold of
me.

“Lei,” he whispered, wrapping his hand around
the barrel of the gun. “Lei, look at me.”

I did, blinking rapidly, and raised my eyes
to his. Gone was the rage I’d seen in them only moments ago,
replaced by the genuine gentleness I was familiar with.

“It’s me,” he said softly. “It’s Alex.”

I blinked again, trying to see through my
tear-filled eyes.

“You’re alive…” A fresh wave of tears filled
my eyes. “You won the fight.”

“I won the fight,” he said, pulling the gun
free from my hand.

“And your woman just killed one of my men.”
Jeffers stepped forward, his arms folded across his chest and a
calculating smile on his face. “Which means you owe me.”

“I don’t owe you shit,” Alex spat. “I fought
your men, I won your fight.”

“
Let me rephrase,” Liv interjected,
glancing up at Jeffers. “You don’t just owe us,
we fucking own
you
.”

Evelyn

It was dark when I awoke. My eyes opened sluggishly,
trying to make sense of the dark shadows all around me. Gradually,
with the aid of the moonlight streaming in through the windows, my
eyesight adjusted, and with it came the realization of where I was.
I was in our room, and I was alone.

My thoughts muddled, my head pounding, I
tried to push myself upright in bed, but my body protested as aches
and pains flared to life from what seemed like every inch of me. I
blinked slowly, trying to remember, trying to recall.

Bringing a hand to my aching chest, my heart
suddenly hammering like a runaway train, I gasped. My breath was
staggered as I struggled to breathe, to catch a breath without
nearly choking on it.

They’d tried to kill me.

Liv and Jeffers and Misty. They’d all wanted
me dead.

My stomach lurched, bile rising in my throat.
Why were there no good people left in this world? What the hell was
wrong with everyone?

I squeezed my eyes closed, forcing back my
threatening tears while attempting to steady my breathing. It
didn’t matter why. None of this mattered. This place, these people,
the insane way they lived, none of it mattered because we were
leaving. And once we were free of this hell, we would chalk it up
to another lesson learned on the road to somewhere safer.

The lesson being we could trust no one. No
one but each other.

Swinging my legs over the side of the
mattress, my body protesting my every movement, I gently touched my
face. Jagged stitches stretched across my left cheek, the skin
around them tender and painful to the touch.

Still, it could have been worse. I could have
been Misty. I could have been dead.

My thoughts stuttered to a stop. I’d killed
her and I didn’t feel bad or guilty; I’d simply done what I had to
do to stay alive. But shame was another story, and I felt it in
spades. The shame of the realization that I was becoming like the
people of Purgatory, by selling my body and then killing a fellow
survivor without remorse. How easy a transformation it had been,
how easy it was to become even more of a monster than I’d already
become.

Standing now, I felt woozy, slightly drugged,
and parched with thirst. I scanned the room searching for anything
edible, my gaze landing on the countertop and all the treasures it
held.

My eyes wide, I lurched forward, reaching for
the edge to steady myself. There was a veritable bounty of supplies
here, and I found myself again searching the room to ensure this
was actually our room, that I hadn’t been brought elsewhere.

Once positive that this was in fact our room,
I turned back to the countertop, perusing the items. There were
several handguns, ammunition, blades of all shapes and sizes, short
stacks of clothing, jars filled with a yellowish liquid, as well as
food, both canned and fresh.

My stomach rumbled and my nostrils flared as
the scent of grilled rat wafted up to greet me.

“Rat,” I said dryly, staring at the meat I
had come to despise so much. “Of course I would get paid in
rats.”

Regardless of my feelings on the vermin, I
grabbed one of the skewers. The meat had grown somewhat cold, yet I
tore into it with gusto, swallowing without even chewing. Finished
with the rat, I tossed the bones aside and reached for one of the
bottles. Unscrewing the cap, I sniffed the contents, and came away
coughing. It was a liquor of some sort, though what it was exactly,
I had no earthly idea.

Tentatively, I took a sip, wincing as it slid
a burning path down my throat. Once I was sure it wouldn’t kill me,
I took another swallow and then another, and then I was gulping it
down with vigor, relishing the burn and the warming sensation
flaring to life in my gut.

I was nearly halfway finished with the bottle
when I heard noise from the hallway, and a rattling on the door.
Reaching for one of the blades on the counter, I gripped it tightly
in my fist and waited. When I saw it was Alex who entered, followed
by Leisel, I tossed the blade back on the countertop with a
relieved sigh.

I rushed toward Leisel, throwing my arms
around her and pulling her against me despite the pain it caused
me. Only she didn’t return the gesture; in fact, she went stiff
against me. I pulled back, searching her face. Her mouth was
downturned and trembling as she attempted a smile.

“What happened?” I asked, glancing to Alex.
Leaning against the closed door, he was looking out across the
room, his gaze unfocused.

“Your fight?” I asked, noting the cuts
covering Alex’s face and fists, and the blood staining nearly every
inch of him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” I stammered, feeling
guilty, wondering if that was why Leisel wouldn’t hug me back. Did
she hate me for this? Was this another item to add to my list?

Without bothering to look at me, Alex merely
nodded. Confused, I looked back at Leisel, but she quickly glanced
away, her face pale.

“Lei, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“Nothing,” she whispered. “Nothing
happened.”

Something was very wrong; I could feel it in
my gut. There were two things that Leisel had never been very good
at—the first was hiding her true feelings, and the second was
lying.

“What happened?” I repeated, my words laced
with worry.

Through her lashes, Leisel glanced up at me.
“Nothing,” she said. “You just focus on getting better.”

I scowled at her, flinching as the movement
pulled painfully on my stitches. “Nothing?”

She nodded. “Yes, Alex fought and—”

“What did they do?” I interrupted, turning to
Alex. “She’s a shitty liar, Alex, so one of you better tell me the
fucking truth before I go find out—”

Placing a hand on my trembling arm, her
features twisted with anxiety, Leisel interrupted me. “A man, he
grabbed me—”

“FUCK!” I screamed, whirling away from her.
My hands clenched into angry fists, I dropped them heavily on the
countertop, making my winnings jump and rattle together. “Fuck them
all!” I continued screaming. “Sick, twisted bastards!”

Spinning back around, I thrust a finger into
Leisel’s face. “Who was it?” I demanded. “You tell me who it was so
I can kill him!” I grabbed a knife from the counter, brandishing it
in the air.

“He’s already dead,” Alex said. It was the
first time he’d spoken since entering, and his voice was strained,
more so than I’d ever heard it before. All at once, some of the
anger fueling my rage began to ebb. He was dead, whoever he was.
That much was good.

“You killed him,” I said, still watching
Alex. “Are you in trouble? Does anyone know?”

“I killed him,” Leisel said softly. “I shot
him. Everyone was there, they all saw.”

I blinked at her, staring blankly into her
big brown eyes that were surprisingly dry. I was still angry, yet
not exactly sure now what to do with my emotions. “Two for two,” I
said callously, angry that she’d been forced to kill two men now.
Men who’d hurt her.

“Yeah,” she mumbled, looking away.

“I’m sorry,” I hurried to say. “I didn’t mean
it like that. I’m just sorry you had to… I’m sorry I wasn’t
there…”

Frustrated, I struggled to find the right
words, feeling awful that once again I hadn’t protected her, and
even worse that someone, another greedy man, had dared hurt her. A
building sob burst free from my lips and I quickly covered my
mouth, squeezing my eyes shut.

Feeling dizzy again, my newly digested food
churning sickly in my stomach, I lurched forward, stumbling my way
across the room and dropping down onto the armchair. Holding my
head in my hands, I looked down at the floor, noticing for the
first time that I was still wearing my sneakers, my blood-stained
sneakers. My stomach churned again and I had to fight not to gag,
not to sob, not to beat my own self bloody from the unfairness of
it all.

“We have bigger problems, Eve,” Leisel said,
kneeling down beside me. “Because of what I did…killing him.”

Lifting my head, I looked her in the eyes.
“What?” I snapped. “What the fuck do we have to do now?”

“Whatever Jeffers and Liv want us to do,”
Alex interjected. He sounded exhausted, but more so, he sounded
defeated.

“They’re making him fight again,” Leisel
said. “Tomorrow night. They’re never going to let us leave here,
Eve. They’re saying we owe them, for killing two of their
people.”

I jumped up from the chair, anger thrumming
through me. “No!” I shouted. “We’re not staying here, we’re not
spending another day here!”

“We don’t have a choice.” Pushing himself
away from the door, Alex shrugged. “Whatever plan you’d worked out,
it’s shit now. I’d pretty sure no one leaves here unless they’re
carried out in body bags. They want us to think we have choices,
when in reality this place is no better than a prison camp.”

Smoke and mirrors, I thought, stewing
silently. It had all been an illusion. There was music here, food,
entertainment, not for the sake of giving people a sense of the
past, but to keep them within the gates, under the control of
Jeffers and Liv.

Without looking at either Leisel or me, Alex
headed for the mattress and dropped down heavily on it. Rolling
onto his side, he faced the wall and his body went utterly still.
Leisel glanced between us, her bottom lip disappearing between her
teeth, her indecision clear.

“Go to him,” I said, grabbing her hand and
squeezing, my thoughts aflutter. “I need to go see someone.”

• • •

The night was still warm, the marketplace empty and
silent as I made my way through it. Metal barrels were lit
throughout, lighting my way to my destination. Though I was alone,
I was armed, a gun tucked into the back of my pants and two blades
secured at my hip. I wasn’t leaving anything to chance anymore. In
fact, I’d never leave anything to chance ever again.

Turning a familiar corner, I found myself
somewhat close to the entrance of the camp, but still far enough
away that the guards on duty wouldn’t notice me. Leaning up against
Dori’s building, I crossed my arms over my chest and waited, ready
to wait all night if I had to.

Time passed slowly, or quickly, I couldn’t be
sure without a watch. There was really no way to tell time in the
dead of night, with everything still and silent, the sky
unchanging. Eventually I heard a shuffle, a strong determined gait
across the pavement, and a moment later E rounded the corner.

Surprised to see me, he widened his eyes and
slowed his steps as a smile curved his lips. “You waiting for me,
Wildcat?” he asked smugly.