Locked Away [10k Z Nation]

12

I was shaken awake after what felt like a short while later.

"We're here," Murphy muttered to me, lifting himself out of the car. The men stood haughty around him. I shot a dirty look to both of them and crossed my arms over my chest.

Their leader gracefully swung himself out of the car and slammed the door closed. I winced at the noise it made. Wouldn't that attract zombies? Was I going to die out here?

I scrambled out of the car behind Murphy and looked around. We had entered a small area surrounded by a barbed wire fence. After the fence, the horizon just seemed to go on forever. We were in the middle of nowhere.

"Daniel, take that one to WH." The leader said, reaching up to tie his hair back. The beefier of the two, Daniel I presume, moved towards me.

"Kye, you're coming with me to take the Zombie Whisperer to Headquarters." He grabbed Murphy roughly and tied his hands together with a rope I didn't know he had.

I laughed at the absurdity of it all.
I mean 'Take him to Headquarters' sounded like something a cartoon villain said when he finally captured the hero towards the end of the movie.

I got a sharp jab in the side from Daniel, which nearly knocked me completely over. I clutched at my side, which felt like it had a dent in it.

"Hey!" The unnamed man cut, "Don't damage the merchandise. The last thing we need is for her to get a bruise."
His eyes met mine coldly, showing me that he didn't really care about me, just what I could bring him.

"She disrespected you, Brett!" Daniel exclaimed

"She'll learn in time." He winked at me, and then him and Kye lead Murphy away, who looked just as confused as I felt.

Once they were out of earshot I turned to Daniel.

"What did he mean, I'll learn in time? What's going to happen to me?" I crossed my arms and tilted my head back to look up at him. I wasn't short, I was around 5'5, but this guy was like a skyscraper, and maybe the shortest of all his buddies, so that really puts things into perspective.

"Just walk," I felt a numbness in my stomach. My legs shakily moved me forward. We were heading down a dirt path and around a corner. There was a green pasture surrounding the dirt road, and a huge brick wall surrounding the area, it stretched back as far as my eyes could see. It was about 15 feet tall, I noticed that there were men sitting on top every 50 feet. One of them hollered down to us as we passed.

"Think this one will last Danny?" He shouted down to Daniel. I lowered my head, as I felt my cheeks heat up. I didn't want anyone here to notice me.

I wanted my Dad.

I hadn't let myself think about him up in the treehouse. But now with everything crashing down on me at once, I just wanted to hug him. I wanted to feel my sister's sweet embrace, I wanted to cry and have my mom pet my hair and tell me it would be alright.

"Hard to say man, depends on what she looks like under the clothes." He laughed up to the other guy.

I felt my blood run cold in my veins. I dug my heels into the ground to slow us down, but Daniel persistently moved on down the path.

"What's going on? What did you mean by that?" I demanded, struggling to remain calm. I pulled on his jacket and he pushed me away like I was a nothing but a doll.

"The girls will tell you." Was all he said.

Girls? My heart did a flip in my chest. I wasn't going to be alone here. There we girls who could help me, maybe we could break out...

The idea sounded incredibly stupid, but it gave me just a slimmer of hope. I quickened my pace so that I was walking right in time with Daniel, not cowering behind him.

We passed a few small houses. The grass was green and cut nearly around the houses. I wondered who else lived here, besides the three kidnappers and alleged "girls".

We approached a small, sturdy looking house. It wasn't the smallest of the lot, but definitely not the largest. The bricks were white, and the windows were framed with a light blue border. A small flower bed was planted on either side of the front door. It was definitely the most feminine looking of all the houses we had passed.

I let Daniel push in front of me to knock on the door. A million thoughts raced their way through my mind all at a different speed. I felt my hands clam up as I waited anxiously for the door to be opened.

A few seconds later a tall brunette girl opened the door. She was dressed in a simple black shirt and shorts. Her legs were a mile long and her lips were extremely pink. She smiled at me, and looked to Daniel.

"I've got her. You go on ahead." She reached for my hand, an expectant smile on her face. I looked at Daniel, then at the woman, then back at Daniel, unsure of what to do.

Before I knew it, the woman had taken my hand and pulled me inside the house.
The door was immediately shut behind me and I took in my surroundings. The floor was a shiny hardwood floor, and the walls were papered with a pink floral design.

"I'm Katie. You must be wondering what's going on." She gave me an apologetic smile.

She didn't seem all that horrible. And I'll admit, now that I was away from Daniel and those other goons, I was feeling a whole lot better. But still, I didn't know what this woman- Katie, was up to.

"I'll bring you up to speed." She nodded her head and made her way across to a small living room area. It had a three pastel yellow couches crammed around a coffee table. I took a seat on the lumpy sofa and Katie sat across from me.

"Would you like some apple juice? A muffin maybe?" She asked politely

My eyebrows shot up. Where did they get such luxuries in the midst of the apocalypse?

"Okay, I can see you're very confused so I'll get on with it," she folded her hands into her lap and paused.

"This place, this lifestyle," she gestured her arms around the room,

"Is all temporary, and you could be taken somewhere much better, or much worse-"

"What exactly do you mean "taken somewhere"? I don't mean to be rude, but am I getting kidnapped again?" I interrupted, getting fed up. Why couldn't I just stay in one damn place for more than 5 minutes?

"In about one month, you will be sold. If you are not sold," she paused

"You're done. Dead."

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