Thicker than Blood (25 page)

“You hear me, sweetheart?” the same voice
called out. “I’m counting down, starting now!”

“Lei…”

I opened my eyes to see Alex standing in
front of me. Already dressed again, he gazed down at me with dark
eyes full of compassion.

“Lei,” he repeated, his tone gentle. “I’ll be
right there next to you. You don’t have to look at them, you just
look at me, okay?”

Staggered breaths caused my mouth to quiver.
“We don’t need this place,” I whispered. “We don’t need them. We
were fine on our own.”

But even I knew I was lying. We were far from
fine. Daily we had to scavenge, usually finding nothing of use. We
had no safe place, no guarantees, nothing but the clothes on our
backs and one another.

Alex shook his head. “We do. I wish we
didn’t, but we do.” His voice was desperate, his eyes pleading with
me.

He didn’t like it either, and I could tell it
was killing him to admit defeat, especially after making it this
far with just the three of us. But even a king knew he couldn’t
survive without his subjects, and whereas Alex was much like a king
in this new world, powerful yet just, he too knew when he needed
help.

I closed my eyes again, trying to find
someplace inside myself where I could go, where I could hide inside
my own skin in order to get through the next several minutes. I
already had enough shame to last me several lifetimes, and the
thought of adding more to it was sickening.

“One minute!” the voice called out.

“Lei, please.” Alex sounded somewhat
frightened now, whether it was his fear of never finding another
place like this one, or his fear of me being gunned down like an
infected, or maybe both, I didn’t know.

“I can’t lose you,” he whispered
fiercely.

“You barely know me,” I snapped, trying to
pull free of his grasp.

Tightening his hold on me, he bent his
head close to mine, forcing me to look at him. “I do know you,” he
hissed. “I know you hum songs from the sixties and seventies when
you’re bored or sad. I know that most nights you cry yourself to
sleep. I know that you’re usually thinking about Thomas when you
smile. Lei, I know where every bruise and cut on your body is and
what caused them, and I also know Eve is the only person on this
planet who makes you feel safe.
I know you
,
Leisel
.”

Shocked, I stared up at him as my entire body
trembled. “You make me feel safe too,” I whispered as tears pricked
my eyes.

He swallowed. “Don’t take that away from me,”
he whispered back.

“Thirty seconds!” the guard bellowed.

Yanking free of Alex’s hold, I spun away and
marched with purpose over to the gates. Purposely, I avoided
meeting Evelyn’s eyes, part of me hating that she seemed to always
be able to do what I couldn’t.

Keeping my gaze firmly planted on the ground,
I let my belt drop first. Then, reaching around, I began to
struggle with the buttons on the back of my dress. As I continued
to fumble, silently cursing both myself and this awful situation,
Alex appeared at my left and Evelyn to my right. Brushing my hand
away, Evelyn began to work the buttons while Alex kept his eyes
steadily focused on mine. When my dress fell away, leaving me
standing in nothing but a pillaged pair of underwear, I couldn’t
hold back a full-bodied shiver. Keeping my gaze on Alex, trembling
from head to toe, I tucked my thumbs inside my underwear and pushed
them down.

“Turn around and lift your arms,” the soldier
demanded.

Swallowing hard, fighting the urge to cover
my breasts, I turned slowly, giving my back to the gathered crowd.
They weren’t nearly as zealous with me as they’d been with Evelyn,
something I attributed to my scars and numerous bruises. Although
most of them had turned an ugly shade of yellow and purple, they
were still visible. For that, I was grateful. If the crowd had been
nearly as crude to me as they’d been to Evelyn, I might have taken
off running.

“Spread your legs,” the soldier said, “then
bend down and touch your toes.”

I did as he demanded, feeling my cheeks burn
hot from the humiliating position. I stayed that way for several
seconds, my legs spread wide apart, my backside thrust high into
the air while I attempted to reach for my toes.

“Clear!” he called out, and I sprang up,
closing my legs and slapping my hands over my breasts. Alex, still
standing beside me, had already begun helping me back into my
dress.

“What happened to her?” I heard someone ask.
Still busy with my underwear, I didn’t turn to answer.

“A man,” I heard Evelyn snap.

“What man?” the voice asked. “That man?”

I spun around then, facing the several
soldiers and the crowd of onlookers behind them. “No,” I said
bitingly. “Another man did this. And I killed him for it.”

Not one person who heard me seemed surprised
by my answer, most of them disinterested in us now that we were
clothed again. Only one soldier, the voice behind the question,
stared back at me. He was young, maybe around my age, with light
brown hair spiked up in all directions, and rather hollow-looking
blue eyes.

“Welcome to Purgatory,” he said flatly.
“Weapons are allowed, but if you kill someone inside these gates,
you’ll answer for it. You got that?”

“Got it,” Alex replied tersely.

“I’m talking to her,” the soldier said, his
eyes still on me. “The self-proclaimed murderess.”

“I got it,” I said evenly.

Lifting up two fingers, the soldier spun an
invisible circle in the air. “Let ’em in!” he shouted, and the gate
began to open, its hinges squealing in protest.

When the gate was fully open and there was no
danger of being electrocuted, we stepped inside as a group. Bryce
and Mike took off together, disappearing into a crowded market
area, while Alex, Evelyn, and I stood in a tight circle, unsure of
what to do or where to go.

“This way.” The soldier who’d welcomed us
inclined his head. “Time to meet the boss man.”

As we followed him down the crowded path, the
throng of people growing thicker and noisier, I couldn’t help but
wonder why they would name a safe haven something as awful as
Purgatory? Because it was the last stop before heaven or hell? A
place of judgment that would test our resolve and strength?

Or was it just as it implied. Purgatory, a
place or state of suffering. For all eternity.

From behind us, the gates closed with a thump
and click, electrical sparks shooting out in all directions.

I turned away, still following our armed
guide. I supposed I’d find out soon enough, one way or the
other.

Evelyn

My heart was beating furiously in my chest, anger
and frustration still burning through me as I gripped Leisel’s
hand, trapping her fingers within my own. Being naked was nothing
to me. Being gawked at, stared at, ogled, and scrutinized, it all
meant nothing…
to me
. Yes, I
hated them all staring, of course I did, but I’d found it more
infuriating than embarrassing. Yet to Leisel, to someone whose own
body had been repeatedly used as a tool to both shame and embarrass
her, it was everything. And after everything that bastard Lawrence
had put her through, her body was finally her own, and I hated that
these men had made her feel anything differently.

Alex walked ahead of us, with Leisel and me
following closely behind, and like a small triangle we trailed
after the guard. I hadn’t even met this supposed boss man, yet I
hated him already, hated him for the uncomfortable welcome his men
had given us. But as I looked around, taking in our new
surroundings, I couldn’t deny that I respected him as well. He’d
accomplished a lot with this place, especially safety, and that was
worth my admiration.

Life literally teemed from every corner of
this place, as if Purgatory were a busy New York City sidewalk, not
an old factory complex stuck in the middle of nowhere. It was both
fascinating and frightening, so much life all in one place, filled
with people who didn’t seem afraid like the citizens in
Fredericksville. In fact, these people seemed the opposite,
laughing and joking as if this were just any other day, not four
years into the crumble of civilization.

Eyes followed us as we passed, dirty faces
assessing us from head to toe. Some people offered us friendly
smiles, others were more apprehensive. But the men all had the same
look in their eyes—greed—evident by their lascivious grins, their
hands rubbing together, knuckles cracking, their appraising eyes
running up and down the length of us.

Jutting my chin out, I ignored the catcalls,
ignored the quivers that ran up Leisel’s arm and into my own.
Picking up our pace, I ensured that we stayed directly behind Alex,
no more than a distance of two steps at all times. Even so, Alex’s
presence didn’t calm me as I’d hoped it would, not when I could
still see all those greedy eyes.

Eventually, at the far end of the open area,
we turned down a quiet corner and entered a tall building. On
either side of us, the walls were crudely painted with names and
dates, images of both the past and the present. The hallways were
lined with large metal drums, men filling them with some sort of
yellowish liquid, as if preparing for something.

The entire place was surprisingly cleaner
than I’d thought it would be, the floors swept free of debris,
items piled up and organized on shelves or neatly stacked in
containers. Amazed, I continued to stare, wondering how many
different supplies they must have in a place this size, and how
they’d obtained it all.

Finally we approached a set of concrete steps
that led to a heavy steel door, two armed guards stationed at the
bottom.

“He up there?” our escort asked the guards,
jerking his chin in the direction of the door.

One of the guards answered, a short, stocky
man with shockingly red hair. “Yeah, you know the drill, knock and
wait before you go in.”

We started up the stairs, only to be stopped
by one of the guards placing a firm hand on Alex’s chest. “What do
you need?” This guard was taller than the other and lankier, but
his gaze was hard and forbidding.

Cocking his head to one side, Alex eyed the
man disdainfully. “Everything,” he bit out.

The soldier’s gaze slid away from Alex,
landing on me. Seeing him, the look in his eyes, I knew what was
about to happen, and a shiver of anxiety slid up my spine.

“I can get you anything you want for a night
with that one.” Biting down on his bottom lip, the guard switched
his appreciation toward Leisel. “Or that one,” he continued. “We
haven’t had fresh pussy here in months, and I’d like a workout with
’em before they end up in the Cave.” He looked back at Alex, his
brow arched in question.

“They’re not for sale,” Alex answered, the
muscles in his back tensing.

“You’re tapping both?” The soldier laughed
once before looking back at me. “He satisfying you?” His gaze
shifted between Leisel and me. “Both of you?”

It was Alex who answered. “I am,” he
practically growled.

The guard let out an unsatisfied breath of
air, yet his smile remained. Stepping aside, he gestured to the
door, allowing us access.

One by one, we climbed the stairs, and for
reasons unknown to me, I chanced a glance back down. Both guards
were still watching us, smiling widely, and I couldn’t help but
think that maybe we’d made a huge mistake, that maybe we shouldn’t
want to find out what was behind that door.

When we were through the door, we were
faced with yet another set of stairs that led to a corridor, then
two more sets of stairs. Finally we came to a long dark hall lined
with broken windows. A lone door was at the end, painted a bright
red. As we trudged down the hallway, we couldn’t help but peek out
the windows. From our vantage point here, high above the camp, we
were able see a great deal of the entire spread, and even I had to
admit that I was slightly awed by it all. This place was huge, much
bigger than Fredericksville, and a lot less
Truman Show
, with more of a
Mad Max
vibe.

We came to a stop in front of the opulent red
door where our escort raised his fist and knocked twice. Several
heartbeats passed, during which my apprehension mounted, and then a
gruff, inaudible reply sounded from within.

I gave Leisel’s hand another squeeze; she
looked like she needed it. In fact, she looked downright petrified,
and knowing that was all the incentive I needed to swallow my own
fears and reservations.

“We’ll be okay,” I told her quietly, and
breathed a sigh of relief when she nodded in response. “Together,
okay?” I smiled at her. “Always together, I promise.”

The room we entered was a huge open expanse,
large concrete pillars standing from floor to ceiling and spaced
evenly throughout. Sections of the space had been cordoned off to
create the ambience of an actual home, and it was just
that—homelike, yet in a fucked-up sort of way.

There was a living area consisting of three
sofas, none of them matching, all of them with an insane array of
colorful throws and mismatched cushions. The bedroom area was
covered in mirrors—the walls, the ceiling, even the headboard. Near
a row of partially boarded-up windows, I saw a bathroom area with a
large claw-foot tub, which caused me to cringe in sympathy for
whoever had been responsible for lugging it up all those
stairs.

Like the rest of the building, the place was
clean yet eclectic, with colors splashed over walls, and a variety
of throw rugs of different sizes and shades scattered over the
floor. It was visually jarring and oddly welcoming at the same
time.