I tightened my grip on the gun and continued onward. With each step, I could see the expressions on their faces.
Ella… Noah… Kieran… the new folks, and the others from next door. Another step revealed Gage.
His eyes were wide when he saw me. The large piece of duct tape over his mouth hid much of his expression.
Fear?
Relief?
I couldn’t tell.
I glanced over my shoulder for a brief second. “They’re tied up. Their mouths are taped shut.”
I peered around the corner and saw nothing but an empty room. The quick breath that escaped from my mouth dried my lips.
“Gage,” I said scrambling toward him.
He closed his eyes as I peeled the duct tape off his mouth. Gage’s eyes darted toward the kitchen.
“You have to get out of here,” he said. “They’re in there. Put the tape back on.”
“How many?” I asked.
“Five,” Gage said. “Put the tape back on and go.”
There was a scuffle behind me and I spun, raising my gun. A man with a beard and sunglasses was holding Jake. In his other hand he held Jake’s shotgun and curled his lips into a slimy smirk.
“I think you should put that down, miss,” he said in a deep, raspy voice.
I lowered the gun but kept it in my hand.
“I meant you should put it down on the floor,” Mr. Beard said. “Kick it my way.”
My eyes quickly shifted to Shawn. I couldn’t tell if he’d been disarmed or if he’d managed to hide his gun in time.
Slowly, the other men came into the room. They all stood almost precisely two feet apart from one another. Each one of them gripped their gun and wore nearly the same sickening smirk.
“Tie him up,” Mr. Beard ordered as he pushed Jake toward one of his men.
They worked together. Jake was on the floor next to Gage in a matter of seconds. If I didn’t do something quick, I was going to be down there with them.
“He looks familiar, doesn’t he?” Mr. Beard asked raising a brow at Jake. “Oh, I know! We saw his picture in the house down the road!”
“Guess we did see something move in the distance after all,” one of the men said.
“Yeah, a coward running from his home,” Mr. Beard said. “Not a good quality for someone to have, is it?”
Two men grabbed Shawn and placed a zip tie around his wrists. They shoved him roughly to the ground.
Shawn’s lips were pressed together tightly. I could tell he was in pain not only from the tightened muscles in his neck but also because of the paleness of his skin.
“One more,” Mr. Beard said turning to me.
I looked around the room, trying to figure out what to do. My eyes moving over each person. Most of them refusing to meet my gaze.
One of the men grabbed me and I spun, throwing my first into his face. Someone made a high-pitched noise through their tape.
The man that grabbed me, however, laughed and pulled my arm harder. It felt like my bone was going to pop out of place.
“I like you,” the guy whispered into my ear.
I tried to spit in his face but I missed and it landed on the floor. The guy laughed and pulled me back against him. An icy shiver of disgust ran up my spine as he made kissing noises.
“Dibs,” he said with a laugh as he pushed me to the floor.
I rolled onto my side but I managed to wiggle myself into a seated position quickly. My hands weren’t tied but I kept them back so they wouldn’t realize their mistake.
I looked at each of the men carefully. For as long as I lived, which may not be long, I wouldn’t ever forget any of their ugly faces.
All the men were dressed nearly the same—each wearing their own bulletproof vest.
It wasn’t surprising but there wasn’t a single woman in the group. I remember how quiet Clara was. Looking back, she’d seemed uncomfortable. Docile. Submissive.
“What should we do with these idiots?” one of the men asked.
“Kill them,” another said.
A third man laughed. “Maybe they can be converted. We’ll do as we should and bring them back. Zachary can deal with it.
“How are we going to get them all back?” one of them asked.
“They’ll walk,” Mr. Beard said. “If they can’t keep up, we’ll dispose of them.”
Ella’s eyes were red. She was trying hard to hide the fact she was crying. Iris, the new girl, didn’t care who saw her sobbing.
“I won’t let you get away with this,” I said.
All the men laughed. Mr. Beard leaned forward. “What do you think you can do to stop us, little girl?”
My mouth was dry. I didn’t have a plan but I wouldn’t give up trying to think of one.
“Good amount of women here,” one of the men said. “Zachary will like that. We always need more help and they’re far easier to convert.”
“You won’t convert me to anything,” I said.
“Could someone shut her up?” the big man growled.
A smile grew on Mr. Beard’s face. “Guess we get rid of this one first. Make an example out of her.”
“Zachary won’t want her,” the big man said.
“Let’s do it!” another man said.
The one that made kissing noises at me frowned. “I like her. She’s tough, not like the others.”
“Don’t think you could handle this one, Wade,” Mr. Beard said.
“He can’t handle any of them,” one of the other men joke. “Knowing him, it won’t stop him from trying when she’s dead either.”
Iris tilted her head down and cried.
“Screw you, Dave,” Wade said.
“This is a huge waste of time,” the big man said. “We should just get rid of the lot of them. Save Zach the time and
