The child scooted farther back into the room, her head tucked behind her knees and her hands waving him away.
Stinky stared at her frail little body. She was practically skin and bones. Most of her hair had fallen out and what little was left reminded him of the pictures he had seen of cancer patients.
He took a deep breath to screw up his courage and placed his finger on the trigger again. He stepped closer and the child peeked over her knee only to duck her head again.
Stinky felt his determination melt away and he lowered the shotgun. He quickly glanced over his shoulder and could hear Simon in the other rooms.
“Dammit to hell.” He marched over and pulled the heavy comforter from the mattress and draped it over her tiny body. He lifted the corner and could just make out her quivering form. In a hoarse whisper he quickly said, “I dunno if you can understand me, but if you want to keep breathing, you’ll stay under here and don’t move!”
He kicked some random items toward the lump in the floor then turned for the door. “I ain’t seeing nothing. How about you?” He stepped into the upstairs hallway and pulled the door shut behind him.
“Come here and check this shit out.”
Stinky swallowed hard and rounded the corner of the landing. Simon stood in the doorway of a bedroom and pointed inside. “You ever see anything like this before?”
Stinky stepped into the room and froze. A grey figure lay on the bed, obviously dead, a bullet wound to the midsection. Beside the bed and quivering in the floor in fear was a female Rager. Like the child, most of her hair was missing and her skin was mottled grey with deep purple lines.
Unlike any of the Ragers he had ever encountered before tonight, she lay hunkered in the corner of the room, her hand up in defense. She was emaciated. Her body looked as if she was about to starve to death and for a brief moment, Stinky felt sorry for the sad creature.
“You ever see anything like that before?” Simon laughed. He teased the creature with his flashlight, forcing the woman to squeeze her eyes shut when he flashed the beam in her face.
“No.” Stinky lied. “Damndest thing I ever seen.”
Simon hunkered low and chuckled. “Well, well, what do we have here?” He poked at the woman with the barrel of his shotgun forcing her to scramble back up against the wall. “She actually looks afraid, don’t she?”
Stinky nodded, suddenly finding his mouth very dry.
“She don’t look like she’s a danger, Simon.” He placed his hand on top of Simon’s shotgun and tried to lower it. “Just let her be.”
Simon turned and gave him a maddened stare. “Are you stupid?”
Stinky shook his head. “No, I just…look at her!” He pointed at the creature quivering in fear. “She ain’t gonna hurt nobody.”
Simon laughed and it sent a cold chill up Stinky’s spine. “No, she ain’t gonna hurt nobody.” He stood up and lifted the barrel of the shotgun, bracing it across his shoulder. “But she might be of some use.”
Stinky turned and gave him a questioning stare. “What do you mean?”
Simon reached behind him and pulled a lamp from the bedside table. He pulled on the cord until it snapped loose then gave Stinky a knowing look. “We’re gonna have some fun.”
Stinky felt his stomach drop and he shook his head as he backed away slowly. “No, Simon, that ain’t right.”
Simon slid the shotgun from his shoulder and leveled it on Stinky. “Tie her up.” He smiled again but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Be careful now, boy. Don’t let her scratch ya.”
Chapter 9
Roger stepped into Hatcher’s office and plopped into the chair across from him. “Wally and Buck found enough blocks to maybe patch one of the holes.” He pulled the leather gloves from his hands and slapped them across his thigh. “Maybe we’ll have better luck tomorrow.”
Hatcher nodded absently. “And the perimeter fence?”
“It looked to be going well.” Roger unscrewed the cap on a bottle of water and took a long drink.
“You know we have running water now, right?”
Roger nodded. “I’ve refilled this one twice already.” He smiled broadly. “Well water is sweeter than city water.”
“That city water has been sitting dormant for months.”
Roger cringed. “Well…better than nothing, I suppose.”
“Barely.”
Roger studied Hatcher staring off at nothing. He waved a hand in front of his face. “What’s up? You’ve got something on your mind.”
Hatcher seemed to snap out of it and shrugged. “I’m just not used to being on the shitty end of my sister’s good graces.”
Roger raised a brow. “Ya don’t say?”
Hatcher sighed and leaned back in the chair. “I made her bring Mike over here.”
Roger nodded. “Well yeah. We moved out of the other place so it only seems the decent thing to do.”
“I know, right? Except she’s giving me grief because it’s ‘too soon.’” He shrugged. “What else could I do?”
Roger groaned. “I would have made the same call.”
“Don’t tell her that.” He slowly stood up and stretched. “We have CCTV.” He pointed to the monitors.
“I heard.” Roger squinted at the black and white pictures. “We should see about moving some to the wall.”
“Cooper and Stanton are on it.” He looked through the plexiglass window at the empty lobby. “I’m guessing everybody is getting settled in?”
Roger nodded then drained the rest of the water. “I think Ida is putting together a little something for chow.”
Hatcher paused and gave him a confused look. “Ida?”
“She’s the main cook. You know, the real tall lady with the mole on her chin. Looks like she spilled chili?”
Hatcher seemed shocked. “I never knew her name.” He slowly shook his head. “You’ve been here a few weeks and you already know more people than I do.”
“I doubt that’s true.” Roger waved him on. “Come on. You’ll feel better after getting some
