“I’m glad to hear it.”
“I just hope this works.”
“It will. Have faith,” Ethan said, walking toward the door and knocking. The guard opened up, and after a brief conversation, allowed the doctor to leave.
While Ethan was gone, Tara examined the infirmary. Tucked away in a cupboard, she found a pair of scissors and a scalpel. She pocketed both. Not long after that, Ethan returned.
“And?” Tara asked, her stomach a bundle of nerves.
“It’s done.”
“What do we do now?”
“Now we wait.”
Chapter 20 - Mara
Mara stood in a darkened corner, watching as the group prepared for the events of the night. A crude ring was set up on the far side of the assembly hall, ringed with plastic chairs. It was made up of old beams held together by rusted nails and wire. Dried blood lay in splotches on the floor, ignored by everyone. Tonight, fresh blood would splatter the tiles, much to the crowd’s amusement.
Lila’s dogs, a trio of dogs lay slumbering in their cages. They were healthy specimens with bulging muscles and shiny coats. They were also brutal killers who answered only to one master: Lila.
Mara searched the crowd until her eyes found the woman in question. Lila was laughing at something Seth had said, her head tipped back with abandon. Her ebony hair cascaded down her back, and her teeth gleamed in the low light cast by the numerous lamps on the walls. She was a beautiful woman, but hard. Deep lines marred her full mouth, and her glittering eyes missed nothing.
A surge of hatred swelled up within Mara’s chest. It swirled through her veins until she wanted to scream with rage until her throat bled. Her mind was filled with visions of the night she first met Lila, each moment etched in her memories with awful clarity. One hand lifted to feel her face, and her fingertips lingered on the raised scar tissue that marred one-half of her features.
The skin felt alien to the touch. Thick and rubbery. The corner of her mouth twisted downward, leaking droplets of spit. She dabbed at it with the handkerchief she never went without. It had become a habit. Just like she’d grown used to seeing with only one eye. But she’d never grow used to what she saw every time she looked in a mirror. Half-woman, half-monster. Unable to resist, she gave in and allowed the past enfold her in its chilly embrace.
***
Seth found her scrounging for food in a nearby supermarket. His eyes had lit up at the sight of her rich auburn hair, green eyes, and lithe figure. Barely twenty-one, she was a looker despite not having had a bath for several days. He wasted no time trying to convince her to join his group.
She should’ve listened to her instincts, to the jangling alarm that went off in her head despite his wide smile and smooth words. His fellow raiders didn’t inspire much confidence either. They looked cruel and heartless. The strong preying on the weak. But she dismissed her fears, seduced by the thought of not being alone anymore. On her own, she wouldn’t last very long. That much she knew for sure.
Shouldering her bag of meager supplies, she followed them back to their base at the school. Along the way, Seth never left her side, and she soon relaxed in his company. Her worries faded into the background as she basked in the warmth of his gaze. He was a handsome man, and it’d had been a long time since she felt desired. And he wanted her. That much was clear in the way his eyes lingered on her full figure and bottom lip. In the way his hands lingered on the small of her back when he guided her across a patch of strewn rubble.
When they reached the school, she hesitated. “Are you sure your people will accept me?”
“Of course, I am,” he said. “I’m their leader, after all.”
She nodded but didn’t move.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said, coaxing her into the yard. “You’ll love it here. I’m sure of it.”
Mara smiled at him, reassured by his words. Maybe this was a new beginning for her. A fresh start after all the horrors of the apocalypse. “Thanks for bringing me here.”
He winked at her. “It’s my pleasure.”
Seth led the way through the entrance and to the assembly hall where a party was in full swing. There was upwards of fifty people, more than she’d seen together in a long time unless they were dead.
She gawked at the speakers that blared music, and the lights that flashed overhead. “Aren’t you scared of drawing zombies?”
Seth sneered. “Scared of rotters? Never.”
“But, they’re everywhere, and they’re drawn to noise,” Mara protested.
He glanced at her. “Look, sweetheart. You don’t have to be scared anymore. I promise.”
Mara drank in his words. As hard as it was, she desperately needed to believe in something other than death again. “Are you sure?”
“Of course, I am. Now, stop worrying and come meet my friends,” he said, guiding her into the hall.
The crowd roared with approval when they saw Seth, and a bottle of beer was shoved into his hands. He passed it to Mara who took a tentative sip, amazed at the cold brew. She hadn’t had a drink in weeks, especially not a frosty one. Alcohol was the last thing you worried about with the dead beating down your door. Unable to help herself, she tipped her head back and swallowed the entire beer in a few gulps.
Seth whistled. “Thirsty, are we?”
Mara blushed. “A little.”
He tossed her empty bottle into a flaming drum before handing her another. “There’s more where that came from. Have fun.”
“Thanks,” she said, accepting her second drink.
“Who is this?” a strange man asked, eyeing Mara with a look of open appreciation.
“This is Mara. She’s joining our group,” Seth answered, one hand lingering on her back as if to claim her for his own.
The stranger nodded. “She’s
