Badlands: Next Generation Collection, page 28
I rolled my eyes and stepped out of his embrace, washing the rest of the suds from my body. “Don’t push it.”
He laughed under his breath but I swore I heard him say, “It’s already too late.”
Once we were both squeaky clean, we dressed in silence and he waited while I plaited my hair into a fishtail.
“So, this meat farm,” I began, lacing up my boots, going back to our discussion of Stiles Farm from before we got in the shower. “Do you guys know anything about it?”
“Nope, we’ve never been this far in yet. It being only forty-five minutes away is telling, though.”
He took hold of my hand as we exited the room, and I took it upon myself to thread our fingers together. Just so bitches knew.
If he could write his full name in come across my stomach, then I could let people know this man was mine now. He didn’t outright react aside from tightening his grip, but I’m positive I saw his lips twitch.
The party that I had thought was in full swing seemed to be getting rowdier by the hour. By the time sundown came, I was glad I’d be nowhere to be found.
Maliki kept firm hold of my hand, carrying our bags in his other, pulling me closer to him as we made our way down the back hall we had entered the building from. Exiting from the back, the SUV was idling and the last few things we needed were being freshly loaded.
Maliki handed our bags off to Greer and accepted a small black case from him in return. When his blue eyes fell to our intertwined hands, a huge smile spread across his face. “Bout time you two stopped hiding.”
“The sounds coming from that room assured everyone that they were done hiding,” Addy piped up, rounding the front of the truck. She was freshly showered herself and looking a bit happier. “You will be spilling so many things to me when we get girl time.”
“Funny, I was just going to say that to you.”
“Do I also get to be included in this girl time? I’m an excellent amigo,” Greer joked.
“Get in the damn truck,” Zane barked, slamming down the back hatch. “Get in front, princess,” he added in a softer tone.
“Where’s Trix?” I asked, getting into the back with Maliki.
“Right here, girl.” She came shuffling out of the nursing home wearing the most colorful outfit I had ever seen.
“What the hell do you have on? Looks like a bunch of color swatches having an orgy.”
She flipped Greer off and pulled herself into the third row to sit beside him. Before she was even settled, Zane hit the gas, laughing when she damn near fell off the seat.
“You keep it up, Z, and you’re gonna find my foot up yo ass.”
I sighed and got comfortable my damn self. This forty-five minutes was not going to go fast enough.
By the time we reached the old meat farm, the sun was nearly set, leaving a grayish tint to the sky. The woodland directly on our right made it seem darker than it was.
There was a giant building on one side of the property—the abattoir—and a depleted one-level on the other. Not a pig or cow was in sight, naturally. Had this place really had meat, we all would have known what it was.
It took resources to keep livestock thriving, and a pig was almost enough to wage war over these days. The Savages were more than blessed when they took over a city capable of caring for such beasts.
“So what’s the plan?” Addy asked, eyeing the wooden sign that read Stile’s Farm.
“Well, we don’t want to walk right up that long ass driveway. There’s no way of knowing what’s at the top,” Greer replied.
“We could circle around the abattoir and loop up,” I suggested.
“That’s our best option,” Zane agreed.
“Trix, hop up here. You’re our getaway and lookout. If something comes, honk. Leave the engine running but the lights off; there’s fresh diesel in it.” He opened the driver door and we followed his lead.
Once we were all out, the five of us headed for the far end of the property line, each keeping a watchful eye for anything and anyone. There was nothing around, just this one stretch of road and the meat farm.
Old fencing had fallen down and the fields were so overgrown, the weeds reached my hip.
“It doesn’t feel as hot as it should right now,” I pointed out.
“That’s like the universal warning for turn the fuck around,” Greer replied.
He was probably right. The more isolated a place was in the Badlands, the more fucked up shit happened.
We laughed softly and continued on our way nonetheless.
“It’s muddy,” Addy noted when we reached where we needed to cross over.
“This is more like brown slush,” Maliki remarked, making sure I was steady on my feet as we headed up the far pathway.
It was at the halfway point that the smell became noticeable, as did screaming in the far distance. We immediately slowed our pace, going on high-alert.
“That isn’t the scream of someone dying,” Addy was the first to point out.
“No, but someone is in a lot of fucking pain,” Zane replied.
Rounding around the side of the building, we came upon rows of blue barrels. I took a glance inside one that was missing a lid and found it full of old blood.
The smell grew increasingly worse, emanating across the property as a whole. The screaming was coming from the house.
We moved silently, edging around old animal remains and litter. Greer was the first to speak up again when we neared the end of the abattoir. “So are we rolling up like, surprise, hijo de puta, or are we doing this stealthily.”
“Where did you guys find him?” I asked.
“He was one of our first initiations. He’s much brighter than before, though,” Maliki answered.
“We stay together. We’ve got no idea what we’re walking into, and the backyard is fenced in,” Zane said, adding a second later, “Watch where you step and watch one another’s backs.”
That last part was a given.
No one seemed to be outside and, as we crept closer to the house, the sound of people talking carried from one spot in particular. Every window was open, so it was easy to pick which room it stemmed from.
The screaming had died down some, sounding hoarse now but still just as anguished.
“All I see is a front door, and there’s no way we’re sneaking on that porch without making noise. Piece of shit doesn’t look like it could even hold all of us,” Maliki said.
“Let’s try around back. There has to be a reason for the fence—and probably another door, too,” I suggested.
Flattening ourselves against the chipped exterior, we started edging towards the back. When reaching the window, Zane moved across first, followed by Addy. It was my turn next. Wisps of a tattered white curtain were the only thing blocking us from view.
Doing this when it was dark had been a decidedly smart move. There wasn’t anywhere to hide out here.
I prepared to move next, but one look inside the room had me freezing in place.
Addy hadn’t taken the time to see what inside, but my expression had her doing the same.
“No one is paying any mind to this window,” I mumbled, not taking my eyes off the bed situated against the far wall. Zane, Maliki, and Greer all moved closer to see what had captured mine and Addie’s full attention.
“That’s fucked up,” Zane said softly.
Coming from him, that was a testament of just how screwed up the scene was.
A woman was tied to a bed, rope wrapped around her legs and her wrists so tightly it was cutting into flesh leaking pus from an infection.
She was filthy and completely naked, covered in old mud and sweat. What looked like vomit was on her chest; it was that which drew me to the Anubis tattoo.
Taking a closer look, I knew just who she was. The brown hair and fact that she was giving birth were confirmation enough,
Her sister had said she would have had her baby or been on the verge of it. That was too many coincidences for her to be anyone else.
Three men stood around her, one in a filthy pair of overalls and tall rain boots. The others were dressed casually in plaid shirts and jeans.
A woman with graying hair and another who looked about my age were also in the room, each on one side of Izzy.
“You’re close,” the older lady rasped, pressing down on Izzy’s womb.
The brunette’s head fell back to the pillow and another anguished yell tore through the air, rope going taut as she struggled.
My stomach turned in complete disgust. Sometimes even I had to ask what the fuck was wrong with people.
“We need to move while they’re distracted,” Zane said, pushing away from the window.
Knowing he was right, I reluctantly allowed Maliki to nudge me forward. We had to be smart about this. As long as she was still laboring, she was okay; they wanted the baby.
The house was mid-sized and shaped like a square, placing the backyard a few cautious steps away. Zane carefully pushed open the piece of plywood that had been rigged as a gate.
Greer made his way past us and entered first without having to be told, protecting his Venomous prince.
“It’s safe,” he said less than a minute later. “But…uh…I don’t know how to explain this. There’s a…pot?”
We shared a glance amongst each other and then entered the yard one at a time.
“What the fuck?” I muttered.
Sure enough, there was some type of round metal contraption sitting on top of a makeshift rack. The fire lit beneath it licked up the sides.
From where we were standing, you could hear the bubbling of water inside of it and clearly see the form that had been submerged. Upside down and body bent at an awkward angle, dangling from a thick chain, the heated water covered someone’s entire upper torso.
“Is this some new age torture method?” Addy asked.
“No, just not used for your dietary needs. They can cook the organs to perfection this way,” Maliki explained.
“How do you know this?”
“I had a thing with a cannibal.”
Addy and I both turned to look at him. That didn’t bother me as much as the fact that I was under the impression that he and Gwen had been together since he was a teen.
“One of the last things I expected you to say,” Addy quipped, speaking low.
“There’s a door,” Zane interjected, gesturing to the right back side of the house.
“You think they’re keeping them inside?” Addy asked him.
Something pinged from the far end of the backyard, cutting off his response. There was so much random bullshit scattered about and laundry hanging to dry that it wasn’t possible to tell exactly where the sound had come from.
“There’s something back there,” Greer stated the obvious.
“Take your gun out and keep it ready. Watch the gate and the door,” Zane ordered him. Then to us, “Stay close and be careful.”
“Let’s go.” Maliki placed his hands on my hips and made sure I walked in front of him, staying behind Addy.
“You know, you don’t always have to take the rear.”
“Yes I do. You never need to worry about what’s behind you.”
I weaved around a bent metal lawn chair. “What about what’s in front of me?”
“We’ll handle that together.”
I’d actually been joking, but his response couldn’t have been any more serious.
“You’re kinda sweet, you know that?” I said softly, taking a quick peek over my shoulder.
Zane laughed quietly, apparently not agreeing with my analysis. “Maliki isn’t sweet. He’s one of the meanest motherfuckers you’re ever going to meet. He’s in love with your pussy. And you…I guess.”
When my newly acquired boyfriend didn’t dispute either claim, I found myself glaring at the back of Zane’s head. It made so much sense why these assholes were so close.
We ducked beneath a few dingy sheets strung up on a clothes line, coming to a pause when we emerged at the very back of the yard.
“It’s like a kennel,” Addy said, gesturing to a long, fenced enclosure.
With the sky nearly pitch black, it was hard to see all the darkened corners of the cage. What was visible were rusted chains drilled into some type of heavy metal object and a thick padlock securing the gate.
“There’s someone in the back,” Maliki stated quietly.
Another ping sounded from that general direction as if to confirm his words.
“How did you know that?”
“I can see her outline.”
Her?
“Rin?” Zane called quietly.
There was a sharp intake of breath followed by the scraping of a chain, and then the redhead came into view.
“Zane? Maliki?” she practically cried their names. “Get me out of here!” The demand was drenched in pure desperation.
She looped her fingers through the fencing, revealing nail beds with no fingernails. Her only clothing was a dirty bra and pair of underwear—no shoes. She was covered in dirt and severely underweight. I could count her ribs.
All of that aside, she was alive, and that was more than enough reason to make the other things seem trivial.
She couldn’t have been with these people long, either; they’d have eaten her long ago.
“The padlock,” Addy said. “How do we get past that?”
“Sue has the key. She keeps it in her front pocket,” Darrian helpfully supplied. “It will open the lock around my ankle, too.”
“Which one is she?” Zane questioned without missing a beat.
“She’s an older woman with gray hair. We need to hurry before the bu—”
I cut her off as I realized she was in the kennel alone. “Where’s Ace? The panhandler said he was with you.”
“Gone. They took him last night.”
From Zane, “Took him where?”
“The pot.”
Elongated silence.
“The one in the center of the yard?” Maliki asked.
“They keep them there for forty-eight hours. It cooks the organs how they like them,” she replied quietly, repeating what Maliki had already told us.
With no time to get emotional, Zane turned towards us. “This bitch is in the house. We have to go in.”
“No, Z! Don’t leave me here,” Rin begged, shaking the fence.
He walked over and spoke softly to her. “Calm down. I’m not leaving, but I have to get the key.”
Addy eyed them with an unreadable expression on her face. Blinking after a few seconds, she cleared her throat and reached behind her, hand coming back with the Glock Zane had taken from her when they first met.
Honestly, I thought she was going to shoot his ex fling and be done with it, but that idea seemed to be solely my own.
“We can get the key. You stay with her.”
An immediate, “Fuck no.”
Zane whipped his head around and glared at her as if she’d just suggested something abhorrent.
“We’ll be quick,” Addy replied, already backing up. “Remember, I did things like this long before you came along, pretty prince.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing at her taunt. That would only antagonize him, and we really didn’t have time for angry Zane.
He stepped away from the fence just as she hurriedly ducked beneath one of the sheets.
Paying no mind to the pissed-off muscle-head, I naturally followed her. No way in hell was she going in that house without me.
“I got em, Z,” Maliki assured, appearing at my back a second later.
We re-weaved around the debris in the yard, readying ourselves to enter a den of flesh-eating carnivores.
Passing by the pot, I glanced over at Maliki to make sure he was okay.
I hadn’t known Ace well—or at all, really. From our short time together, he seemed like the kind of person you’d want to have on your side. He didn’t deserve to be cooked up for some weak asshole’s dinner.
And weak was exactly what cannibals were. They didn’t have the means, be it mental or physical, to provide for themselves or their families like hundreds of other people in the Badlands had to do, so they resorted to this. It may have been hard to get your hands on a cow, pig, or chicken, but there was never a shortage of human.
“We lose some of the newer recruits from time to time, but this shouldn’t have happened to him. He was supposed to be safe with us.”
“This wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known someone would take him.”
He slightly raised his brows. “Where in there did you hear me blame myself?”
Of course, he would never do such a thing. Asshole.
“How many rounds do you have?” he asked after a beat, nodding to the gun now in my hand.
“I’m full. You?”
“Minus one, thanks to Buddy’s skull.”
“I’m good, too,” Addy stated, flicking off her safety.
Greer saw us approaching vigilante style and was instantly tuned in to what we were doing.
“Do you want me to come in with you?”
“No. Zane and Darrian are still at the back of the yard; make sure nothing heads that way,” Maliki replied. To us, “If we go in quiet, we may be able to catch them off guard.”
“So in other words, don’t kick the door down?”
“Satanas, Addy, no. Try the knob first.”
I gently shoved her out of my way and twisted the rotting handle. With a tiny squeak, it popped right open and gave us entry to a kitchen—a surprisingly clean kitchen. But even with all its cleanliness, the peculiar smell coming from an old cook-top could not be masked.
I stepped in first, the Glock secured in my hands and slightly raised. Addy and Maliki were like extra layers of skin following right behind me. He shut the door and we stood for a few seconds, trying to get a better idea of the house’s layout.
“Dining room,” Maliki said, pointing his Springfield’s barrel to the doorway off the right of the kitchen. “Living room.” To the obscured doorway ahead of us. “Bedrooms and a bathroom are going to be on the left side of a hall.”
I nodded and began to creep forward, remaining in the lead. “She isn’t screaming anymore. When did she stop?” I whispered.
