Amongst the Dead (14 page)

The few times she was allowed to leave her room, she studied the hallways and exits. Most were chained off; the building’s entranceway the only unchained door, but obviously locked. Sentries were stationed throughout the building on every floor, at each end of the hallways. And because Riley was
special
she always had a guard outside of her door.
 

For the time being, she used her mind to leave her room by staring out of her window and imagining herself walking on the street below and feeling the air against her skin, adding the fresh scent of pine and maple as if she were in the countryside. The mesh grating obscured the view, making it difficult at times to visualize herself outside, but through her vivid imagination, she was able to overcome the annoying obstacle. Her daydreaming was never allowed to stay for long as uninvited images entered her fantasy.
 

Men with guns walked the street, patrolling and checking the wall. She counted three different men each day, walking up to the apartment building before turning around and heading back the way they came. She counted out the seconds, keeping track of each sixty-second interval until the guard returned. It seemed the guards reappeared approximately every twenty to thirty minutes. That gave her a nice size window when the time came for her escape. She observed the guards’ behavior for days until she was sure of the time tables.
 

Scaling the makeshift wall looked easy enough—the barbed wire appearing the most dangerous—but she’d be prepared for that too. Nothing a heavy blanket or jacket couldn’t take care of. It was the undead on the other side of the perimeter that she needed to worry about. She would need a weapon, gun preferably, and that would mean taking out a guard for his weapon. Looking out at the street again, she saw that there were no clear hiding points, no places to wait in ambush. At least none that she could see.
 

She did however have a plus on her side; at least she hoped it to be true. The Hag had said she was special, one of a kind. Riley was to be
the
fresh new starting point for the Earth’s revival. Did that mean she was not to be harmed under any circumstances? If she escaped and an alert went out, would it be to take her alive? Unharmed? She had to believe this to be the case as the Hag had told her over and over how important she was to their survival.
 

Riley had been looking out the window after eating breakfast one morning, pondering her escape, when she felt something tickle the inside of her legs. Lifting her robe, she looked down and saw blood. Panicked, she began searching the area for a wound, finally realizing where the blood was coming from.
 

She knew the Sisters would be arriving at her room shortly after her first meal of the day. Using a towel, she began blotting up the blood from her thighs and cleaned the area well, but a short time later the situation was the same. She thought of herself as a roof with an un-pluggable hole in it during a rain storm. And as long as the downpour continued she would have a leak. She heard the door to her room opening. Heartbeat racing, she slid the blood-stained towel under the bed and sat up straight.
 

As usual, two Sisters entered and Riley was given her usual inspection. There was nothing she could do. No way to hide her becoming a woman. She closed her eyes, feeling the Sisters intruding fingers on her.
 

With a sound of urgency, the Sister said, “Get the Lady.” A few minutes later, the Hag arrived.
 

“To what do I owe this morning’s pleasure of the Lady’s visit?” Riley asked, fighting the butterflies in her gut.
 

The old woman sat down on the bed, facing Riley. “I hear we have great news, my young one.” Riley cringed at the woman’s contact, her hands always icy to the touch. A grin spread across the woman’s face, revealing rotted yellow teeth. “I smelt you from the moment I entered. This is indeed a glorious day.”
 

“Am I ready, my Lady?” Riley asked, trying to sound sincere.
 

“Yes, soon you will be, by week’s end I think.”
 

The witch departed the room along with the two Sisters, leaving Riley a cloth to soak up the blood. A task she found most gruesome and disturbing.
 

Chapter Eleven

Bitten

For five days, Riley bled. She was checked twice a day, the Hag eager to begin the breeding as soon as her period was over.
 

“A woman’s body is prime a day or two after the menstrual cycle. You’ll begin copulation then,” the Hag told Riley.
 

Riley had no idea what to expect, except that a member of the gang would come into one of the breeding rooms and have his way with her.
 

Two days after the end of her period, she was escorted to a room on the first floor. The place was neat and tidy, like the rest of the complex. Lighted candles were set around the room, releasing an aroma of soothing lavender and sweet honeysuckle. Mirrors were fastened to the ceiling above the bed and headboard. The bed’s frame was made of steel and attached to each bedpost were a pair of handcuffs. Riley swallowed at the sight of them, hoping her acting skills at becoming a Sister would keep the man from using them. The room had two windows and like the others, were covered over with mesh grating. A single, windowless door stood in the room’s far corner.
 

Riley was led to the bed and told to sit and wait.
 

“This is the room of procreation,” one of the Sisters said. “A most holy and sanctified place.”
 

“Thank you, Sister. I’ll take the Sisters’ love and all that I have learned and allow myself to be open to the bearing of a child.”
 

“A bit of advice,” the Sister said. “Go with the man. Let what is to be, be. Naturally, your first time will pain you as you’ve never been with a man before. Some of these men have a rough way about them and it would do you well not to struggle. Binds are provided should your partner see fit to use them.”
 

“That will not be necessary, Sister.”
 

“That may be true,” the Sister responded, but the woman grabbed Riley’s wrist, locking it within one of the cuffs. “While alone and awaiting your suitor, the Hag requested that you be cuffed. Once the man enters, he may unlock you should he see fit to do so.”
 

Riley tugged at the cuff, testing its strength. “But Sister, I have willingly accepted the ways of the Sisterhood. And I’m eager to bring forth the new breed of human as the Lady calls for.” She needed to get out of the cuffs to have a chance at escape. “One pure in spirit and in God’s new light.” Riley had memorized numerous scriptural passages, using them often, giving the Sisters exactly what they wanted to hear.
 

The woman spoke as if she only heard half of what Riley said. “May He that has left us return to us swiftly.”
 

“Yes, Sister.”
 

The maidens departed from the room, the door locking behind them.
 

Riley began working at the cuff, trying to slide her slender wrist from the unyielding steel, but it was no use. She could only wait. Her best chance was to have the man unlock her, then kill him and escape out the door, which appeared to lead directly to the outside. She had no weapon, but it mattered little. She was small in stature, but gigantic in heart and would let no man have his way with her. With nothing left to do, she sat, reserving her strength, waiting for the unlucky bastard who would soon meet his end.
 

A few minutes passed before the doorknob squeaked. Riley’s body tensed as if she had fallen into an icy river. She heard a key entering the lock, then turn. She took deep, relaxing breaths, trying to calm her quickening heart rate. She didn’t want the person suspicious. She needed to appear willing.
 

The door opened gradually, the creaking like a slow, agonizing torture upon her soul. Riley swallowed, feeling her throat tighten. She’d been in these situations before, this would be nothing new and she’d come out victorious again. She began to feel an inner heat build in her veins, starting at the center of her chest, spreading outward, down her limbs. Yes, she could do this. Kill this man and escape, run, find her family and leave this place far behind. Then she saw the face.
 

Riley’s inner warmth vanished like smoke in the wind. Her eyes went wide and she began to shake. The man entering the room was Renny.
 

“Well, hello, darling,” he said, grinning madly.
 

Riley felt her insides churn. She wanted to throw up. This was the man that had ruined not only her life, but her family’s as well. Quickly, she focused on the hate she had for him, quelling her nerves like a match dropped in a bucket of water. She couldn’t let him see the revulsion, the utter disgust, dwelling inside of her. She needed to be even keeled, but it was near impossible, wanting nothing more than to rip off the man’s head and stomp on it until it was a pile of mush.
 

“Hello, sir,” she said pleasantly.
 

Renny paused. He seemed surprised.
 

“You don’t remember me?” he asked, continuing slowly forward like a wary animal.
 

“No, sir. All of my past life is forgotten. I am a Sister now and wish to become impregnated by your seed to carry forth the new will of the Sisterhood.”
 

Renny’s eyes widened. Riley couldn’t tell if the man believed her or not. Then he began laughing. “Well, shit,” he said, loudly, his voice echoing off the walls. “I’ve seen these Sisters do some amazing things with you girls, but this is a hoot.”
 

After locking the door from the inside, he came over to the bed and stood over Riley. “I was hoping you’d remember me. Would’ve made this a little more interesting.”
 

“No offense, sir, but I’m here to take your seed. That’s all I care about.”
 

“Is that so?” the man asked. He grabbed Riley by the cheeks, pulling her face upward to look him in the eyes. The stench of unwashed flesh and cigarette smoke assaulted her nostrils. She fought within herself to keep from gagging. Even without eyes, Riley wondered how any woman could lay with such a man. Her tongue felt heavy with his scent and she feared swallowing her saliva would cause her to vomit. His touch was revolting and not just because she hated him. He was like a slimy reptile, his eyes beady and malevolent. His teeth, the few he had left, resembled dried-up kernels of corn and looked as if he hadn’t brushed them in years. The smell of his breath was as if he shit from his mouth.
 

Renny let go of Riley’s face. He removed the sheathed knife from his belt. She shivered at its wickedness, like the tooth of some vicious predator. Women weren’t supposed to be harmed, especially her. She told herself over and over that she had nothing to fear from the weapon. It was a ploy to frighten her. Renny stared at the blade, turning it over in his hands. “I could cut you, you know. Slice off little pieces of your pretty face.” Riley bit her lip to avoid showing how frightened she was.
 

“Please, sir,” she said, placing her right hand to his, and stopping him from flipping the weapon. He glanced at her, his face ridged with anger. Like herself, she knew he was trying hard to restrain himself. “I’m here for you to do as you want with as long as little or no violence occurs. Those are the rules.”
 

The man laughed.
 

Finally, he turned and walked toward the table against the wall, placing the knife down. With his back to her, he spoke. “You’re right. But a little violence is okay and those are the rules. I maybe can’t cut you, but I can slap you around, even beat you if I want.”
 

Riley felt a bitter taste enter her mouth. She didn’t know where it came from, figuring it was the manifestation of hate—her body preparing itself.
 

The man walked to her, stopping a few inches from her legs. “Do you know what that is?” he asked, pointing to a spot on the wall. Riley turned her head and felt the stinging pain of Renny’s slap.
 

Her body flew to the side, banging her head into the metal frame. She groaned, sitting up swiftly. Keeping her anger hidden, she looked with doe-like eyes at Renny. “I’m here to serve you, to take your seed, and make a child.”
 

“Jeez,” he said in disgust. “I can’t hear any more of that crap. You’re not making this any fun and it’s turning me the fuck off.”
 

She wanted to smile, having to bite her tongue to keep from doing so. “As you wish.”
 

“You really are like one of them, aren’t you?” he asked, a defeated tone to his voice.
 

“I am a Sister, sir.”
 

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, wiping a hand over his sweaty face. “I guess we won’t be needing these.” He removed a key from his front pocket and unlocked the handcuff.
 

“Thank you, sir. I will be a willing participant.”
 

The man grinned. “We’ll see about how willing you are when I tear open that tight twat of yours.” He seemed to be getting himself back on track. “That’s more like it,” he told himself, rubbing his groin. “Just ’cause you’re dead inside, don’t mean I can’t bring you back to life.” He grabbed Riley by her hair, yanking her up and off the bed. He brought her head to his face and began sniffing her hair like a dog. Riley held her breath for fear of vomiting. “I know you’re a virgin. And I’m going to enjoy being your first. They say you never forget your first and I’m going to make certain you never forget.” His grip tightened on her arms and they were shaking as if ready to explode. Riley was shoved backward, falling onto the bed. The man’s eyes were closed, his lips a thin line. His nostrils flared as he let out a slow breath, clearly trying to calm himself. She needed to change the situation before things got out of hand.