Wild For You

Chapter 6

Hot electricity danced on my skin, sending a shiver through me that the whole world could have felt. I sat upright quickly, greeted by Tyler's heavy arm around my waist, the rest of him pressing as close as it could get. I gently pushed him off and stood, stomach growling.

Silhouettes moved outside of the small tent, putting things in bags and stacking cans of food into boxes. No one said anything, but Lui was humming to himself and swaying a bit as he worked. I unzipped the entrance. Luke smiled, but there was a hint of terror behind his mask.

"Hey, Jon!" Craig said, "You missed the excitement earlier. Lui woke up to a zombie in his tent and we had to kill it."

I nodded, looking towards where she motioned to. There was no longer a tent, just a few shredded pieces of cloth and the metal skeleton. Lui's stuff was scattered.

"Is everyone okay? Oh my God, that sucks." I whimpered. "No bites or-"

"Yes!" Lui exclaimed, "Everyone is okay!"

Luke and I raised an eyebrow at each other and packed things into bags quicker. Tyler emerged from his sleeping bag, refusing to meet my gaze. His hair was a wreck. It was flung in all directions with a cowlick on the side of his head. A callused hand rose up to brush it down but was unsuccessful. Tyler packed up his things. I took his jacket from his bag, stuffing it into mine when I was sure nobody saw. I pressed the sleeve of it to my nose. It smelled like cologne. It smelled like Tyler.

...Calming.

"Is everyone ready to head out?" Luke asked.

We all nodded, Tyler went behind a tree to piss and pull on some pants.

An engine suddenly roared; a group of men on ATVs began tearing through the woods. A shotgun blast went off at point blank as they circled our camp. It would have hit Luke if he hadn't fallen to his knees in shock. The men had been watching us all morning. They had been hiding in the bushes just beyond our sight.

I grabbed my bag and ran. The engines got louder as two of them gained on me, chasing me back towards the city we had just left. Craig let out a blood-curdling scream.

Two more gunshots.

I ducked into a denser part of the woods where the ATVs wouldn't be able to fit. They shot one more time, the hot, angry metal pellets almost hitting my feet. I coughed at the dust they kicked up, crawling away as fast as I could. My blood was pumping and my heart was racing; my jaw clenched so hard that if it was any harder my teeth would crack! I kept crawling until the pain of the rocks and thorns on my body was too much.

An engine stopped. The driver dismounted and ran after me. He got to me quickly, grabbing me and flipping me over. I screamed and kicked but was unable to escape his strong grip. He put a hand around my neck, squeezing like I was a stress ball.

"Y'all are gonna turn around and go right back into that city," He spat. "No one is leaving, ever. We'll kill you if you try."

He reeled back to punch me in the face. I tried to dodge the blow but it landed hard anyway and shattered my nose. I faded in and out of consciousness, trying to pull away as he picked me up and carried me to his vehicle.

----

I woke up tied to a wooden pole with Craig and Tyler. Luke, David, and Lui were somewhere in the darkness around us, I could hear them shuffling and whispering nervously to each other.

A shadow moved in front of the light coming from the door. The hard wooden floor creaked loudly. A tall, fat man in a wife beater and jean shorts stepped out in front of us. Disgusting pit stains oozed down his sides.

"Tryin' to escape?"

His voice was high pitched for someone his size, raspy and southern.

No one answered. The man kicked my leg.

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you, guy."

I looked at my friends. They were gagged, I was not. Lui coughed from somewhere in the abyss ahead. It was thick and gross. I gagged.

"Y-yessir. We were." I answered. "Tr-tryin' to get away from all the zombies."

The stranger crouched down in front of me, getting close. He had stubble and bloodshot eyes, plus a double chin that made me wonder if he knew what a vegetable was. His breath was sour with tobacco.

"Well, you ain't doin' that no more. Y'all are stayin' right here in this town, dead or alive. Me and my buddies, we run this place now." He said.

I nodded. "Yessir."

He narrowed his eyes but seemed pleased with my answer. "I like you, ain't got a smart mouth on ya like the big guy next to ya."

Goddamnit, Tyler, what did you say to him?

"Sorry, sir," I said. "He doesn't mean anything by it."

The stranger got up and left.

Tyler shifted, making my back rub against the pole and get torn at by splinters.

"Ow! Tyler!" I yelled.

He nudged me hard to shut me up but then rubbed my leg with his thumb because that was all he could reach. Luke laughed triumphantly; his switchblade flicked open. The smooth metal blade glinted in the light. He cut himself free and came over to us.