Twisted World: A Broken World Novel (11 page)

“You have to stand up for yourself,” Helen said, pausing long enough to elbow me. “That’s all.”

Glitter nodded in agreement. “Most of these guys are just trying to get a reaction out of you. If they really are dangerous, Dragon will take care of it.”

I wasn’t sure how to tell the dangerous men from the ones who were just fooling around, but I took the other two women at their word. From then on out, I worked at shrugging off any comments thrown my way, sometimes shooting out a comeback and other times just telling them they’d have to settle for doing me in their dreams. It helped take the edge off things.

“The fight is going to start in five minutes,” Glitter called over the crowd. “Then we’ll be able to catch our breath.”

I nodded as I poured moonshine into a barely dry glass.

The air that had been humid when I arrived was now practically dripping. Almost as if the building itself had started to sweat. Even in the skimpy dress my skin was moist, and for the first time since walking into the building, I was envious of the strips of fabric covering Glitter’s body. Right now, I would have been happy to serve drinks in the nude.

I shoved a mass of sticky hair out of my face and let out a deep breath when I caught sight of Dragon walking into the ring.

“Good Evening!” His deep voice boomed through the bar less than a minute later, and like magic the crowd in front of me began to thin.

When I glanced toward Glitter, she smiled. “Told you.”

“Thank God. Is it always this crazy?” The roar of voices had been replaced by a low hum as people made final bets while they waited for Dragon to bring the champion out.

“Not always. It depends on who’s fighting.” Glitter ran her hand through her pink hair.

Helen leaned against the counter at her side, lighting a cigarette as she stared across the room at the ring. Her stomach was visible between her crop top and the tight, black skirt she wore. Just like the rest of her, the skin was dark and wrinkled, but her stomach was flat. She didn’t seem to have an ounce of extra fat on her body—other than her breasts, which I suspected weren’t real. The woman must have lived on cigarettes alone.

“Dragon likes to be the one to fight—” Helen took a long drag off her cigarette. “—but people were getting tired of seeing it. That’s why he finally agreed to the release program.” Smoke floated around her head when she talked.

“Needed some new blood,” Glitter said just as Donaghy came out of the back room.

“Exactly,” Helen replied.

Just like last night, the zombies were already chained up inside the cage. From where I stood, I was able to see the two men who were waiting to release them, but only the top of Donaghy’s head was visible as the crowd parted for him. I stood on my tiptoes, hoping to get a better view, but until he stepped into the ring, I couldn’t see more than his dark brown hair. When he climbed into the cage, he turned to face the bar. Last night his eyes had been down. Not focused on anything in particular, and especially not looking at the crowd. Tonight, however, he was looking right at me.

Dragon droned on at Donaghy’s side, talking about his impressive win the night before, and the entire time he spoke the fighter’s blue eyes held mine. They were so focused and captivating that I couldn’t look away. Not when a shiver moved up my spine. Not when my scalp prickled. Not even when Dragon backed out of the cage.

The second the zombies were free Donaghy ripped his gaze from mine. Before I could even blink one of the dead was down. The second one charged the fighter, and a waterfall of black blood sprayed across the ring as he joined his friend. The crowd went wild and my view was cut off when hands flew in the air, waving credits around as the men cheered for more blood.

“What do you think he did?” Glitter said behind me.

I didn’t look away from the ring. “What do you mean?”

“To get sent to DC. What do you think he did?”

“These days—” The sound of Helen sucking chemicals into her lungs momentarily cut off her words. “—it could be anything or nothing.”

I stood on the tips of my toes when the back of a zombie’s head came into view. The other one was nowhere to be seen, but from here I couldn’t tell if he was out or just injured. “He’s alive, so that tells me it wasn’t anything too violent.”

“True.” The shudder in Glitter’s voice made me rip my eyes away from Donaghy.

I turned to find her hugging herself, her skin pale and sweaty. The faraway look in her eyes told me she was remembering something bad. Or trying not to remember it, more likely.

“You okay, sugar?” Helen asked, her tone soft despite her scratchy voice.

Glitter nodded, but her arms tightened. “Yeah.”

The word was nearly drowned out by the cheer that rose up behind me. I turned to find Dragon opening the door to the cage, his grin wider than it had been even after he’d come out of the office earlier today.

He grabbed Donaghy’s arm and lifted it above his head. “The champion!”

Donaghy’s shoulders heaved, but when he looked up, his eyes found mine for the second time. Every hair on my body stood on end and I had to force myself to look away. When he stared at me like this, it felt like he was trying to see inside me.

The second I wasn’t focused on the fighter anymore, my gaze was captured by another familiar face. Luke. Brown eyes held mine as he headed toward me, frowning in a way that made him look exactly like Uncle Al.

“Shit,” I muttered just under my breath.

I crossed my arms and hugged myself as heat flooded my cheeks at the sight of Charlie’s older brother, and I couldn’t stop myself from taking a look around to make sure my uncle wasn’t with him. I could just imagine the two of them coming here together so they could drag me out of the bar like I was a ten-year-old who had gotten caught doing something wrong. Sure, Luke wasn’t my brother biologically, but we’d grown up together, and there had been stages in our childhood when I’d spent more time with him than Charlie, who had been a selfish and moody child at times.

“Megan.” Luke stopped in front of me and I was relieved to find that he was alone. He shuffled his feet, and like me looked around. Almost as if he had the same worries going through his head that I’d had. “What are you doing here?”

“I got a job.”

I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip while I waited for a lecture, but Luke seemed almost relieved when he let out a deep sigh.

“Oh.” The chuckle he let out was nervous. “I saw you here last night with Charlie and Jackson, but ducked out before you could spot me. I wasn’t sure if they’d come back with you. Charlie would tell Mom and Dad for sure.”

“Tell them what?” He couldn’t mean that Charlie would tell her parents about seeing Luke here, because that wouldn’t do much more than get Charlie in trouble. Luke was twenty, only ten months younger than me, and as far as my aunt and uncle were concerned, he was an adult.

“About my apprenticeship,” Luke said.

“You got an apprenticeship?” This was the first I’d heard of it, so I doubted his sister knew. “Wouldn’t that make your parents happy?”

“Not exactly…” He glanced over his shoulder before meeting my gaze again. “I’m working with a zombie slayer. They don’t know yet and they aren’t going to be thrilled about it either. You know how we grew up. Always being told that we were lucky to be here. Hearing that things in New Atlanta weren’t perfect, but that we needed to be grateful. I couldn’t go a week without hearing some story about how awful life after the virus was. Mom and Dad are going to think I’m nuts, but I can’t do this anymore. I’m leaving. I can’t stay in this city. Only, I wanted to be ready for anything that might happen out there. That’s why I got the apprenticeship.”

“Leaving.” I said the word like I’d never heard it before, but I was having a tough time wrapping my brain around it. It felt wrong. Luke had always been a part of my life, and I didn’t like the idea of him not being here anymore.

“You have to know why,” Luke said. “Things were bad enough, but after what’s happened recently, there’s no way in hell I’ll stay here and let this government disappear me the way they have your dad and uncle, or kill me like they did with Joshua.”

“Luke, I—” I wasn’t sure how to respond. He’d never spoken to me like this before, and hearing him say
out loud
that he agreed with my mom made me wonder what he’d seen that I had been missing all these years. “What are you talking about?”

Luke leaned forward and grabbed my hand. “This thing with your dad is just the tip of the iceberg, and I know you have to sense it too. Things are going to get worse before they get better, and I’m not going to stick around for it. I’d ask you to go, but I know you can’t. Not while you don’t know for sure what happened with your dad, but—”

“Did your dad tell you something?” I looked around after the words were out, but no one seemed to be paying attention to us. The bar was still crowded, waiting for the second fight to start, but the men gathered in the room were too busy drinking and gambling to pay attention to what Luke was saying to me.

“No.” Luke shook his head and his hand tightened on my arm. “Why? Does he know something?”

I wasn’t sure if I should tell him about the note or not. On one hand, he was more likely to believe me than anyone else, but I didn’t want to put him in danger.

“No,” I said almost hesitantly. “There’s nothing to know.”

Luke’s frown told me he didn’t believe me, but before he could say anything a man came up to stand beside him. It was obvious just by looking at him that he was a zombie slayer. He was tall and his shaggy hair went down to his shoulders. It was a combination of dark blond and gray that matched his close-clipped beard. I judged him to be close to fifty, possibly a bit younger; although it was hard to tell thanks to the miles he wore on his tan skin. Years of living outside Atlanta had given him the weathered appearance that I was used to seeing on zombie slayers, and the hard, blue eyes that looked at me were filled with death.

“You ready to get the hell out of here?” the zombie slayer asked, obviously talking to Luke, but looking at me.

“Yeah.” Luke nodded, then drummed his fingers on the counter like he was trying to decide what to do. “This is Megan.”

The zombie slayer’s eyebrows lifted as he looked me over a second time. “James?”

Great. Even the crazy zombie slayers who lived outside the city knew who I was.

“That’s right,” I said, trying to sound casual about it even though I was already gearing up to tell this asshole to keep his intrusive comments to himself.

“I knew your parents.” The zombie slayer nodded slowly. “Long time ago.”

I blinked and studied him more closely. Nothing about him was familiar, so I knew I’d never met him, but something in his expression told me he was telling the truth.

“You did?”

“Jon was a real good man.” His mouth scrunched up and he tore his gaze away from me so he could look around the room. “Died coming to this shit hole. We would have all been better off if we’d stayed where we were. Me especially.”

“This is Jim.” Luke’s tone indicated that the name should mean something to me, but it didn’t. I’d never heard of a man named Jim, and I had no idea how he knew my biological parents who had never even made it all the way to Atlanta to begin with. In Colorado, I’m assuming, but still… This man was a stranger to me.

“Need to go,” Jim said.

He didn’t look at me again, and I got the impression that something about seeing me brought back bad memories. A lot of zombie slayers were running from things, so maybe thinking about my parents brought back the memories of whatever this man was trying to forget.

Luke nodded and took a step away from the bar. “Yeah. We’re heading out in an hour.”

“You’re staying out there overnight?” A shiver ran down my spine. I’d never even set foot outside the city, and Luke was planning on spending the whole night out there. Among the zombies and marauders.

“Need to get his feet wet.” Jim slapped Luke on the back but still never looked my way.

“It’ll be fine.” Luke grinned like it was a game, not a matter of life and death.

I had the urge to reach out and grab his hand, but stopped myself. I didn’t know this zombie slayer, and I didn’t want to make Luke look weak in front of the man.

“Be careful,” I said instead, trying to sound strong.

Jim turned away, heading for the front door as Luke nodded. I watched from behind the bar as he followed the other man to the door. He would be okay. He was tough and resourceful—like his dad—and I had no doubt in my mind that he’d make it out there. Still, I didn’t like knowing that I was about to lose one more person I cared about.

T
he crowd was still cheering
when the men rushed into the ring after the second fight. The excitement surging through the air wasn’t real, though, and it sure as hell wasn’t for me. The people were just bored, possibly a little pissed off, and seeing me beat the shit out of a couple zoms was a good way to kill some time. They knew it wasn’t difficult, and I knew they didn’t give a shit about me. If one of the zombies had managed to sink his teeth into me, the crowd would have reacted the exact same way they were right now.

People moved aside as I headed for the bar. They slapped me on the back and told me I’d done a good job. Women rubbed their tits against my arm when I went by. I didn’t look at any of them, though. Now that both fights were over, I just wanted a drink. Hopefully, people would get the hell out of here and give me some room to think, too.

“Drink?” Meg asked when I finally stopped in front of her.

“Moonshine.”

She nodded and grabbed a glass that was still smudged with other people’s filthy fingerprints. Her eyes were so glued to mine while she poured it that I half expected the liquid to end up all over the counter. Instead, she managed to stop it at exactly the right spot. Three quarters of the way full, just like Dragon had told her.

When she slid the glass my way, there were so many questions hanging over her head that I could practically hear the gears in her brain turning.

“What do you want to know?” I asked before taking a sip.

“Excuse me?” Meg’s eyebrows shot up and she leaned closer.

I tried not to focus on the curve of her breasts as she leaned against the bar, but it was impossible. The V was so deep that it left little to the imagination, and the fabric was thin. Thin enough that I could make out the hard points of her nipples.

“I can tell you’re dying to ask me something. So just do it.” I dragged my gaze up her body and a flush spread across her already red cheeks. Her dark hair was sweaty and matted to the sides of her face and neck, and for a brief second all I could think about was what she would look like spread out underneath me. Her skin glistening with sweat and her hair plastered to her face as I worked her over.

I cleared my throat and focused on my drink.

“What makes you think I want to ask you something?” she asked.

I looked up. “Because you do.”

“Why were sent to DC?” She took a small step back like she was afraid I was going to hit her.

Did I look that scary?

My gaze moved from the girl in front of me and down over myself. Black zombie blood was splattered across my arms and chest, and there were scars on my knuckles from fighting. I was sure the expression on my face didn’t help give off a warm fuzzy feeling either. I typically tried to keep it somewhere between bulldog and pissed off teenager. It made me less approachable.

Only, I wasn’t sure if I wanted this girl to stay away. Ever since I’d come across her in the bathroom and she’d stuck up for me the way she did, I’d found it more and more difficult to maintain an air of indifference.

I smoothed out my features, which took a hell of a lot more effort than it should. “I stood up for someone I loved.”

Meg’s expression waivered and she blinked. “How?”

“Doesn’t matter.” My hand tightened on my glass.

I expected her to argue, but she just nodded before saying, “Where are you from? Before DC, I mean.”

“Dayton.” My grip loosened on the glass. “I was born in Ohio. The virus killed my dad, but Mom and I made it. When things got bad, after the dead came back, she took us to Wright-Patt. They’d already started to fortify the area, and by the time they made contact with Atlanta, the walls were secure. We were pretty happy there. As happy as people can be, I guess.”

“Your mom is still there?”

I should have anticipated that question, but it caught me off-guard. It had been so long since I’d told anyone a damn thing about myself that I’d forgotten the natural progression of conversations. Someone asked a question and you answered, which led to more questions. It should have occurred to me that Meg would want to know where Mom was now.

“No.” The word came out firm and final.

Even though Meg lifted her eyebrows, she didn’t seem offended. “You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to.”

I didn’t want to. Did I? I hadn’t had a real conversation with anyone since I got sent to DC, but something about this girl made me want to keep it going.

I was still trying to decide when Meg said, “How was your night at Jackson’s?”

Just like that, the walls inside me that had started to crumble went back up. This girl might have been struggling, but I couldn’t forget who her friends were. I was almost certain that sooner or later she’d give in and marry that asshole, if for no other reason than so she didn’t have to slum in places like this. I couldn’t even blame her. With the way the world was, you had to do whatever you could.

“Like a dream.” My voice had returned to its normal tone, coated in indifference. “Haven’t slept in a bed in a year, and never one that soft. If I’d gotten some food it would have made the place better than heaven.”

Meg frowned. “Jackson didn’t feed you?”

“It was late when I got up. He left me a plate of food, but my guards ate it.” I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Dragon gave me a prepackaged meal.”

Meg shook her head a few times. “Speaking of Jackson….” She gnawed on her lower lip like she wasn’t sure what to say. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention that I got a job here.”

My shoulders stiffened. “What do you think happens when I’m at his house? You think I hang out in his room, gossiping about the settlement or some dumb shit like that?” My words were laced with more vengeance than this girl deserved, but I couldn’t stop it from spewing out. The idea that the Regulator’s prick son would ever stoop to having a conversation with me was the most absurd thing I’d ever heard.

“Of course not.” Meg glared at me, all the uncertainty of a moment ago gone in the blink of an eye. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t accidentally mention it in passing. Where I work is none of Jackson’s business, but he wouldn’t see it that way.”

“I guess he wouldn’t like the idea of his future wife slumming it, would he?” I held her gaze while I took a drink, so I didn’t miss the fire that blazed in her eyes.

“I’m not going to marry Jackson.”

I set my glass down, still watching her. “Why not?”

“Because we’re just friends. Which I already told you.”

“You have to admit it would make your life easier.” I lifted my eyebrows, challenging her to argue with me.

“Comparatively, yes. But I don’t love him, and I’m not dumb enough to think that marrying someone you’re not in love with wouldn’t bring on a whole new list of problems.”

“So you’re waiting for the fairy tale?” I almost rolled my eyes. Every time I thought I had a little bit of this girl figured out, she threw me for a loop. If she thought she—or anyone else for that matter—was going to find some magical happy ending, she was delusional.

Meg looked down, frowning at the marked-up bar top in front of her. “There’s no such thing as fairy tales.”

“No shit.” I snorted before finishing off my drink, then slid the empty glass over. I’d reached my limit of free drinks for the night, but she refilled it anyway.

“Don’t tell Dragon,” she said, looking around.

The bar had emptied out, most of the patrons having moved on to strip joints or pool halls now that the fights were over, and it made it easier for me to think. Plus, it gave me more time to study the girl in front of me.

Meg turned to help Glitter clean the glasses while Helen gathered the ones that had been left around the room. I sipped my drink, knowing I couldn’t take another free one from Meg, and watched as she learned her new duties. On first glimpse, the dress she wore wasn’t as revealing as Glitter’s, but now that I’d gotten a better look at it, I noticed that every time she stopped under one of the lights the fabric became almost transparent. I was sure she didn’t have a clue that the thing was as see through as it was, but I wasn’t about to tell her. The swell of her breasts and the curve of her ass were about the best things I’d seen in a year, and I was going to soak up every second of it while I could. The next dump these assholes dragged me off to probably wouldn’t have waitresses nearly as young or attractive as this one did.

“Need to come up with a side business.” Dragon’s voice boomed through the bar and I tore my gaze off Meg to find his dark eyes focused on Glitter. “How do you feel about stripping?”

The girl narrowed her eyes at him. “You know exactly how I feel about it.”

“Just asking.” Dragon winked as he shot her a toothless grin. “I thought you might have come to your senses.”

Glitter just snorted.

My back stiffened when the man’s gaze moved to Meg. It was ridiculous how protective I felt toward her. Insane. We barely knew each other, and here I was ready to jump up and snap that asshole’s neck the second he stepped out of line.

“Don’t even think about it,” Meg barked as she rinsed glasses in a bin of murky water.

Dragon let out a loud chuckle and turned his focus on Helen, who was leaning against the bar at his side.

The older waitress ran her fingers up his arm, grinning past the cigarette perched between her lips. “You know I’m up for anything.”

“Darling,” Dragon said, grabbing her hips so he could pull her against him. “If I thought the assholes who came into this place would be smart enough to appreciate you, I’d say go for it.”

“Men never know a good thing until it grabs them by the balls,” she said, emphasizing her point by grabbing Dragon’s crotch.

The man growled, and I turned away when he started dragging Helen across the room.

Glitter slid over to stand next to Meg, who had her tips from the night spread out in front of her. Seemed like a decent amount.

“You do okay tonight?” The girl with the pink hair nodded toward the stack of credits in Meg’s hand.

“I think so.”

She counted the bills while I took another sip of my drink. She’d done well, which wasn’t a surprise. She may not have the charm that Helen seemed to be an expert at turning on and off, or the dress that was barely a dress like Glitter, but Meg was sexy without even trying. Just standing there, gnawing on her lip while she stared at the stack of credits in her hand caused nasty thoughts to flip through my head.

It would be a bad idea, though. Me and her.

“I’m leaving in a week.”

It wasn’t until Meg looked up, her eyes full of questions, that I realized I’d said it out loud.

“What?”

“Shit,” I chuckled to myself while I downed the rest of my drink. “The alcohol must have pickled my brain. It’s been too long since I drank.”

Meg smiled, but she still looked confused.

“Where do you go after this?” Glitter asked, leaning her hip against the counter.

“Key West. It’ll be the first time I’ve ever seen the ocean.”

A smile lit up the young waitress’s face. “I’ve always wanted to see the ocean. Do you think it’s as blue as it is in pictures?”

“Can’t be.” I shook my head. “Nothing’s that clean-looking these days.”

Meg exhaled as she mimicked the other waitress’s stance, only she looked more exhausted. Like she needed the counter to hold her up while Glitter was just trying to relax.

“My mom grew up in California,” Meg said.

“California?” The name was distantly familiar, like a place I had once heard existed but had forgotten all about. “No settlements there, right?”

“No.”

“Let’s see,” Glitter lifted a few fingers. “There are settlements in Oklahoma, Texas, Key West, Dayton, Baltimore, Colorado, Minnesota, South Carolina, and here. Right?”

“Sounds about right,” I muttered.

She was forgetting the prison settlement in DC. It was a cesspool, and as far as I was concerned, we’d all be better off if everyone forgot it.

“I read an article in the
National Newspaper
last week about how they’re going to be building trains soon.” Glitter turned her eyes on Meg. “Has Jackson’s dad mentioned that?”

“I don’t talk to the Regulator.” The tone of her voice made me look up. Meg was frowning, and there was something that looked a little bit like disgust in her eyes.

“Oh.” Glitter pressed her lips into a pout. “Dragon said it’s bullshit, but I don’t know. Wouldn’t it make everything easier if there were trains? We could move supplies more quickly, which would mean expanding the walls or making better living quarters.”

“Dragon’s right,” I said, pushing the stool back so I could stand. “It’s bullshit. But even if by some miracle they do end up building these trains, they sure as hell aren’t going to use them to make our lives better.”

Meg nodded like she agreed, but Glitter just frowned. The more I talked to the girl, the younger she seemed. Naïve too. It was as if someone had tried to protect her from everything in this world, or like she’d been hidden away for a lot of her life and hadn’t experienced much. It didn’t make sense though, not with the track marks on her arms.

“I’m beat,” I said, turning to face the door. “I hope those dumb ass guards of mine get here soon so I can hit the sack.”