The Last Woman (All That Remains #1) (21 page)

“Just quit feeding her and
leave her locked up there to rot.”

I shake my head at Airen as he
joins us on the sofa. “Are you sure she isn’t blood related to you?” He flashes
a wide, beautiful smile and puts his arm around her. “You two are so much
alike.”

“Thanks,” they reply in
unison, making me laugh.

Troy

This place is a nightmare. I
have no idea how long we’ve been here. “Here” is a horse stable with cots and a
few bean bag chairs. It’s warm and dry, but we’re locked inside and at the
mercy of maniacs who think we need to be saved.

Religion and I have never
gotten along, for obvious reasons, and now we’re being held by a group of
overzealous Jesus Freaks. There’s a woman here named Jennifer. She seems nice
enough, but she’s as terrified as us.

“You have to follow their
rules,” she mumbles to Micah.

“Fuck their rules.”

“You don’t know what they’re
capable of,” she whispers, turning to me. “He’s going to get you both hurt.”

She should be a fortune
teller.

A week later, Abraham comes to
visit. “It’s come to my attention that Micah refuses to kneel when he’s told,”
he says.

It’s one of their rules. We
must kneel before them whenever we’re in their presence.

“I’m not kneeling before
anyone, you psychotic little shit.” Micah glares at him.

Abraham’s smile is cruel. “I
believe a demonstration is in order. You don’t seem to understand how things
work around here. You
will
obey.”

“Go fuck yourself,” Micah growls.

“Micah,” I hiss, but he
ignores me.

Cole and Steve tie his hands
to a beam along the wall. They take off his jeans, leaving him in only boxers,
and force him to his knees. Cole places a piece of wood in front of him and
pours a pile of dry rice on top, spreading it out. Cole and Steve then force
him onto the board so he’s kneeling on the rice with his arms extended above
him, tied tightly. They wrap a thick rope around each of his knees and stake
the ropes to the floor, keeping him in place.

“If you don’t wish to kneel
when it’s proper, then you can kneel here.” Abraham grins wickedly. “We’ll see
if you reconsider after about twenty-four hours.” Abraham turns to Cole. “Him
too,” he orders, gesturing to me.

“Troy always kneels!” Micah
objects, seething.

“Then he has you to thank for
this, doesn’t he? Besides, I think Troy has a far worse sin to consider.” I
don’t even want to try to figure out what he meant by that. He walks out of the
stable, and I’m trussed up next to Micah, kneeling on rice.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles.

“Hey, I had nothing better to
do. Want to play twenty questions?”

“Is the answer
rice
?”

“Got it in one.”

It’s going to be a long night.
Cole and Steve take turns ensuring we don’t work our way out of the ropes. It’s
amazing how painful rice can become after so short a time. I know it has to be
worse on Micah since he outweighs me by a good fifty pounds. I quickly learn
that moving or shifting my weight from side to side doesn’t help, but it’s hard
to remain still.

After a few hours the pain in
my knees has some competition with the deep ache spreading throughout my
shoulders and back. I can’t feel my hands at all anymore.

“How much longer?” I ask
Steve.

“Shut up.”

“Always a pleasure to talk to
you.” I turn to Micah. His teeth are gritted, and he hisses as he shifts his
weight. Tiny drops of blood mix with his rice. “Maybe you’ll bleed enough to
soften it up.”

“Or I could piss on it.”

“Always an option,” I reply
agreeably.

“My hands are numb.”

“Mine too. If I could jack
off, it would totally feel like someone else was doing it.” He shakes his head,
but I get the laugh I tried for. “Why did you have to mention pissing?” I moan.

Abraham shows up after twelve
hours. We’re both in agony and trying not to show it. Our knees are a raw mess,
and our backs and shoulders are screaming. After a quick conversation with
Steve, Abraham approaches us.

“Well, it seems you two aren’t
taking this seriously,” he remarks.

Thank you, Steve the
tattletale.

“How are you enjoying the
rice?”

“I prefer mine au gratin,”
Micah replies.

Abraham ignores him and turns
to me. “Do you have anything you’d like to say?”

“I really need to pee,” I
state matter-of-factly.

Abraham turns to Cole and
Steve. “Untie them, let them use the toilets and bring them back to me.”

Once I’m untied, the pins and
needles in my arms make me want to scream, but I force myself to walk to the
toilet. When we’re in front of Abraham again he nods to the boards in front of
us. They no longer contain rice, but rock salt.

“No, please.” I look him in
the eye. “I’ll kneel, I promise.” They’re already tying Micah’s hands to the
beam.

“Kneel,” Abraham thunders. He
bends to whisper in my ear while my hands are being retied. “You know why you
deserve this, Troy. I’ll bet you enjoy being this close to Micah while he’s
undressed, don’t you?”

“What? No!” I stare at him in
horror as I realize why I’m truly being punished.

“God sees all, Troy. Twelve
more hours.” Rising gracefully, he nods at Cole and walks away.

The pain from the rice was
nothing compared to the salt. It’s like kneeling on ground glass while the salt
burns through any attempt to block out the pain. Minutes turn to hours, and all
I can think about is the pain. Fuck, it hurts.

If this is really about my
sexuality, something I have no control over, what chance do I have? Cold
tendrils of fear creep around my heart. What else is this monster going to do
to me? When tears start rolling down my face, Micah speaks my name softly. I
shake my head. I can’t. I can’t.

“Hold on, we’ll make it,” he
whispers, and I notice I’m not the only one crying.

Abraham

They will learn one way or
another to obey me. Some just have to learn the hard way. Refusing to kneel! He’ll
be sorry he ever resisted. My father often made me kneel on rice as a
punishment. My knees still bear the scars, but I learned my lessons. The rock
salt was Steve’s idea. When we were discussing punishments, he suggested we
literally pour salt on the wound.

We have many methods to choose
from to force these sinners to see the light. We can withhold food or water,
make them hold heavy bricks above their heads or possibly whip them. Steve
brought me a slight wooden implement called a cane, which he assures me hurts
far worse than it looks. I believe I’ll test it on the homosexual.

The bible does say “spare the
rod and spoil the child” after all. We’ll get them in line, Lord.

They will obey.

We have a few days of much
needed peace and quiet. Airen and Joseph begin to work on installing the solar
panels in our house. They decide to finish the neighboring house afterward. Perhaps
the kids will live in it when they’re grown. It’s just after lunch when I hear
a motor, and Walker bursts through the door covered in dirt from playing
outside.

“People! Mom! There are
people!” he shouts. Before I can make it to the door, Airen is inside, tucking
a pistol in his waistband and handing me a rifle. It’s an RV and it appears to
be full of passengers.

“Stay in the house and keep
the kids in too,” Airen orders. He and Joseph dart outside, both armed, to see
what kind of people we’re dealing with this time. I watch out the window as an
RV towing a car with a storage container on top pulls up and stops in front of
our house. How many of them are in there? Joseph and Airen walk apprehensively
toward a short chubby man and eventually shake his hand. They talk for a few
minutes, and the man gestures toward the RV. Airen nods and the others pour
out.

Christ! It’s more people than
I’ve seen since the plague. Three men, three women, and two children stand in
the yard, talking animatedly. I’m done watching from the damn window.

When I come out the door,
Airen meets me. “They seem all right, but don’t let your guard down. They
outnumber us,” he mumbles under his breath. His face is tense as he slips his
arm around my waist and introduces me to the group.

“This is my girl, Abby.” Oh,
his girl. I love the sound of that.

They all introduce themselves.
The short chubby man is Jim, and he shakes my hand with a grin. A skinny guy
with glasses introduces himself as Danny. The last guy is a big African
American man, standing at least six foot four and heavily muscled with a chest
like a barrel.

“Pleased to meet you,” he says
in a rich deep voice, showing a mouthful of amazingly white teeth as he smiles.
“I’m Gary.”

Danny puts his arm around a
petite, dark haired lady. “This is my girlfriend, Hope, and our boy, Tommy,” he
says. An adorable little boy peeks out from behind his leg. “He’s three,” he
adds.

“I’m Lacey,” the little girl
pipes up, tired of waiting to be introduced. “I’m eight.”

“Monica,” volunteers a blond,
blue-eyed woman holding Lacey’s hand. She’s very pretty. Finally, an older
lady, maybe forty-five or fifty, steps up and introduces herself as Julie. Gary
explains they have been traveling and picking up people as they go along.

“We’re headed for Owensboro
next. I have, or had, some family up there. I realize the odds aren’t good
they’ll be alive, but...” He shrugs.

“You never know. There has to
be some genetic link when it comes to being immune. My son survived, and so did
Joseph’s.” His wide, beaming smile is contagious.

 We invite them to stay for a
few days and camp out in the yard. We just don’t have room for all of them to
sleep in the house. Walker is thrilled to have another child near his age to
play with, even if she is a girl. Jayla, Carson, and Sara are polite but
distant, even standoffish. After their experience with Mandy, it’s hard to
trust anyone. We warn them not to tell these people about Mandy, not to mention
her at all.

We grill and eat dinner
outdoors. Airen and Joseph agree to sacrifice a few chickens, and the smell of
barbecue is mouth watering. Everyone is in good spirits, happy to get together
with new people and swap stories.

Carson and Joseph set up
additional chairs around the bonfire pit as it gets dark, and we build a huge
fire. I get out a pack of glow in the dark necklaces I keep for Walker. They’re
a big hit with the younger kids, and we can see exactly where they are in the
dark. It’s country dark tonight with no moon, which makes the scattering of
stars seem brighter.

Someone starts a bottle of
whiskey going around, and there is such a lighthearted party atmosphere, I
can’t help but smile and relax. Airen seems to be enjoying himself as well,
although I notice he passes on the whiskey. He’s absorbed in a conversation
with the blonde, Monica.  I try to suppress the jealousy that surges through me
when I see her laugh and touch his arm. I know it’s irrational and childish,
but I can’t help it.

“Hey, girl.” Gary approaches
me and pulls up a chair.

“Hi.”

“We appreciate the way you all
have welcomed us here. We’ve met some...well...let’s just say not so nice
people in the past year. It’s great to know there are still normal people
around.”

“I don’t know how normal we
are.”

He laughs a deep booming
laugh, and I notice Airen staring at us with interest.

“I noticed your son was
practicing some katas earlier. What type of martial arts training has he had?”

“Six years of Shotokan
Karate,” I reply, surprised he’d recognized it. “Do you know karate?”

“I hold a black belt in karate
and jujitsu. What belt is he?”

“He was months away from
testing for black.” I sigh. “He knows everything he needs to know, but he was
too young. His karate teacher didn’t believe in awarding a black belt until her
students were at least thirteen.”

“He still practices?”

“Karate is his thing, and he
loves it.”

“I taught karate and some
mixed martial arts for years. I’ve awarded a few black belts. Would you mind if
I worked with him tomorrow? If he wants to show me what he can do, maybe he can
still get his black belt.”

“That would be fantastic!” I
cry happily. “He’ll jump at the opportunity. Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure. It’s an art
form I’d hate to see die out.”

The kids are all in bed when
Danny pulls something out of his pocket and lights it. I assume it’s a
cigarette until the smell hits me. He sees the expression on my face and offers
me the joint. It’s been so long since I’ve smoked weed. It was never a habit,
but I enjoyed burning one occasionally. I grin at him and take a draw.

“It’s kind. Be careful, it
doesn’t take much,” he warns, smiling.

Joseph and Airen are staring
at me, awestruck. “What?” I demand.

“Your girlfriend is a
pothead.” Joseph laughs, shaking his head.

Airen gazes at me expectantly,
as if I owe him an explanation. Everyone gets quiet, watching to see my
reaction. My eyes never leave his as I take another slow draw before handing it
back to Danny, who passes it to Hope.

“I take it you don’t smoke
pot?” I ask sarcastically, as everyone resumes their conversations and pretends
not to listen to us. He takes a seat beside me.

“Actually, I did from time to
time. I just didn’t expect it from you, I guess.”

“I’m full of surprises.” I
smile, already feeling the effects. Sliding his arm around my shoulders, he
gives me an amused look.

“I’ll leave you some,” Danny
offers. “I have plenty.”

“Some seeds would be great if
you can spare them.”

“Sure, I’ll sort you some
out.”

I smile as Airen and Joseph
shake their heads at each other. It’s after two in the morning when Airen and I
finally drag ourselves to bed.

“Gary was a karate teacher,
and he’s going to work with Carson tomorrow. Maybe he can still get his black
belt.” I yawn.

“That’s nice of him,” Airen
replies stiffly.

Did I miss something? “You
don’t like him?”

“I don’t know him.”

“Well, I thought it was nice,
and it’ll make Carson happy.”

“I’m not saying he shouldn’t
do it.”

“You’re saying something,” I
accuse.

“Are we arguing?” He sighs.
“I’m really tired.”

“I don’t want to argue. It
just seems like you have something you want to say.”

Sighing again, he pushes my
hair out of my face. “He really seemed to like you,” he murmurs.

I have to laugh. “Airen, have
you seen the girls he’s traveling with? He was just being nice. Besides, I
noticed you and Camper Barbie hit it off,” I pout.

Rolling his eyes, he wraps his
arm around me. “Fine. Truce, let’s go to sleep.”

“I love you,” I murmur,
settling against his warm body.

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

 Airen and I pick up arguing
when we wake in the morning, although the topic has changed. Someone has to
take food and water to Mandy, and it has to be done surreptitiously since we
don’t want the others to find out about her.

“I can do it, Air. She’s
locked up. She can’t touch me.”

“No.”

“That’s all you’re going to
say?”

“I believe that covers it,” he
replies.

Sometimes I could choke the
arrogance out of him. “Fine. Let me go with you. We can act like we want some
time alone.”

“Why do you want to go so
badly?”

“Why are you so determined to
keep me away?”

“Abby! She tried to kill you!”

“Are you really feeding her?”
I ask, catching him off guard with my blunt suspicion.

“That’s your issue? You think
I’m starving her to death?”

I shrug. “She tried to kill
me.”

“All right,” he capitulates,
exasperated. “Come with me so you can see she’s alive.”

I wave at Carson and Gary as
we pull out of the driveway. They’re doing kicks across the front yard. Airen
is quiet most of the way to the jail.

“Are you pissed at me?” I
finally ask.

“No, I’m just thinking. I
don’t know what we’re going to do with her. We can’t keep her locked up
forever.”

“I know.” We arrive at the
jail, and Airen pulls two large jugs of water from the truck bed. I carry the
box of food and follow him inside. The box is heavy, we really loaded it down. She
has enough food for a week at least. It stinks of piss inside. Mandy jumps up
from the cot as soon as she sees us.

“Aw, the love birds come for a
visit,” she mocks.

She looks terrible. Her
clothes are dirty, her hair is a mess, and her voice is hoarse from calling for
help. “There are clean clothes in here, and Airen will bring you a couple of
buckets from the creek across the street so you can wash up and flush the
toilet,” I inform her calmly.

“Ya come with him this time to
make sure he ain’t cheatin’ on ya?” She cackles. “Don’t worry, I ain’t fucked
him yet. Just gave him a blow job last time.”

Airen looks at her in disgust
and starts to say something.

“Don’t engage her. It’s what
she wants,” I advise. He agrees, glaring at her. “Will you get the water,
please?” He looks anxious about leaving me alone with her, but finally nods,
cautioning me to stay well back from the cell. She starts ranting as soon as
he’s gone.

“Ya think this is over? Ya
just get to live happily ever after with your Prince Charmin’? Ya ain’t that
stupid, are ya? Even if I never get outta here, another woman will find y’all. Someone
better’n you. Ain’t like that’s hard to be, though, is it?” She throws her head
back, cackling.

“Shut the fuck up!” Airen barks
as he returns.

She laughs and ignores him.
“Oh come on, Abby! Admit it! The plague was the best thing that ever happened
to you. Ya went from bein’ an ugly bitch that guys wouldn’t touch with a ten
foot pole to fuckin’ a gorgeous model. Well, ya just get all you can while the
gettin’s good, bitch. Ya know it’s a matter of time until he wises up and finds
a woman he can fuck without closin’ his eyes and picturin’ me. Even you ain’t
dumb enough ta think he loves ya. I know that. It’s all over your face,” she
rails hatefully.

“I’m going back to my family
now and have a nice lunch. Maybe take a nap in my soft bed with my gorgeous
model boyfriend,” I brag. “He kept me up too late, fucking like a champ all
night long.” Hate glints in her eyes as I return her words about Airen. “You
enjoy those cheese crackers, and you may want to make them last. We won’t be
back for a while.”

Airen takes my hand as we walk
out into the fresh air. “You’re shaking. I knew you shouldn’t have come.”

“I’m fine,” I lie.

“Sit with me. We have plenty
of time.” He leads me to a bench in the small park across the street where we
watch the creek gurgle pleasantly.

After a few moments of silence,
I whisper, “She’s not completely wrong.”

“What?” I can feel his glare.

“You’re the best thing to ever
happen to me, other than Carson. You, Joseph, Jayla, and Sara, you’re all the
best I could ever hope for, but the whole world had to die for me to get it,” I
declare in dismay.

“Sweetheart…” he begins.

“I think that’s why Mandy is
so fucked up, Airen. Things are so completely opposite right now. She’s always
been able to count on her good looks, and she can’t accept they may not be as
important any longer. Now we’re living in a new world where we have to be able
to count on each other to survive. Smart people, people who are willing to work
hard and stick together are more valuable. It’s not just a fucking beauty
contest anymore.”