The Days Are Tired (Book #1 of the Dark Skies series) - A Zombie story

Chapter 39: Salvage

Another full day had passed, and we were still stuck in the stuffy wooden room. Our captors hadn't visited us in that time. Not to feed or to kill us. Which allowed our hunger to grow as big as our anxiety. My swollen lips grew dry and my body clammy from the lack of water.

It was hard to sleep knowing that at any second some large dude could just walk in and chop you up. At least with the Reds, you could try to run away, chained as we were, limited our options.

I was mostly quiet in the hours following Flin and Ava's deaths while Leo rambled on enough for the both of us. He was the type that disliked the quiet, always needing noise to fill up the void. But oddly, that made me feel less alone. So I resisted the urge to tell him to shut up and left him to his own devices.

Also, in that time, I stood to stretch my legs and to see how far I could walk in my chains (which wasn't far). I felt around the ground and reached out towards the metal table. Even though I knew it was too far away, I tried.

It gave me something to do and a piece of me hoped that by some miracle my arms would magically stretch out and lasso one of the many tools over to us. There was no guarantee they would help get the chains off, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"You know Will's full name is William. But he doesn't like being called that because he thinks it makes him sound stuffy. Which he technically is," Leo whispered. "Every time I call him William, his face turns so red and he gets all mopey. He gives me the silent treatment until I apologize."

"The grump and his trusty golden retriever," I said. I tried to make my voice cheery, but it fell flat. "Sounds like you guys balance each other out."

"Yeah. He's my best friend." Leo turned his head thoughtfully. "And between me and you, I think he likes you. That might be the last thing you want to hear right now. But just in case we don't -" he sighed. "I just thought you should know."

I knew what he was going to say. Just in case we don't make it out alive.

I scoffed. "I think I annoy Will more than anything else."

Leo just grunted in response. He didn't deny it.

The sound of feet walking up to the door stalled our conversation. My breath slowed and the wounds on my face seemed to ache more. Leo and I avoided talking about anything that had to do with Jo or her sons like it was the plague.

In the back of our minds, we knew that they'd eventually come back for us. We just didn't know that it would be so soon.

Rob came into the dusty room, much like the way he came in before. His demeanor was unapologetic and calm. He seemed to enjoy the power he knew he had over us at that moment.

Rob went through the motions, turning to the metal table and rummaging through the many tools there. He toyed with knives and saws, inspecting them like a scientist might inspect a sample. He did all that only for his weapon of choice to be the axe again.

Rob pointed the axe at me. "Me and you have unfinished business from last time before we were rudely interrupted." He walked towards me with his awkward gait and beady, black eyes. Eyes that were soulless and devoid of all warmth.

"Get away from her!" Leo shouted, trying his best to steal the giant man's attention.

"Please don't hurt me," I pleaded. I was begging for my life like some cowering dog. But the need to survive controlled my tongue. "You have no reason to do this. Just let us go, tell your mother we got away somehow. You're a vet, right? I'm sure you're not this type of person." I tried to draw compassion from him.

"Believe me, this is for the greater good. Think of it as...charity. Yeah, charity! You are helping someone in need right now." He gave me an icy smile that sent my guts shriveling up.