Part 29 (2/2)
Before he could respond, Jennifer ran off, headed for the first storage unit in her row.
Price entered Meat's quarters, hoping to find Windows and the girl. Instead, he found Meat lying in a near fetal position on the floor in a pool of blood, naked from the waist down, groaning and holding his groin. When Price walked over, he saw the blood-stained belt tossed to one side and the severed t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e sitting on the cement. He surmised what must have taken place. Price hovered over Meat.
”What happened?” he asked in a voice devoid of sympathy.
Meat rolled onto his back. Fear and relief filled his eyes on seeing Price standing above him. ”The c.u.n.t attacked me. She took that b.i.t.c.h kid and left me here.”
”Where did they go?”
”Ya gotta help me, boss.”
”Where did they go?” Price asked, this time emphasizing each word.
Meat removed his hands and pointed to his groin. ”I'm hurt bad,” he whined.
Price placed the toe of his boot against the wound and pressed. Meat screamed and tried to roll away. Price held him in place with his foot.
”I'm not going to ask again. Where did the b.i.t.c.h go?”
”I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.” Meat's voice trailed off into a m.u.f.fled sob.
Price removed his foot and wiped the sole on the man's pants. Meat reached a hand up to him. ”Ain't ya going to help me?”
Price turned and made his way to the door.
”Boss! Please!”
Ignoring the pitiful calls for help, Price stepped into the compound. Meat had created his own h.e.l.l, and now he could spend the rest of his life in it. Price didn't have time to help those who wallowed in sin. He had to find Windows and that b.i.t.c.h kid, and he had a good idea where they went. Now he could kill two birds with one stone.
Price made his way to the far corner of the compound.
Windows hurried Cindy between the buildings. Every time the girl asked a question, Windows would hush her, partly to keep her quiet, and partly because she needed to concentrate on making certain no one noticed them. The commotion by the main gate made that easy because it kept the camp preoccupied, and she prayed it stayed that way. If Price ever caught them trying to escape... well, she didn't even want to think about that.
They finally reached the kitchen. Windows took one last look around and, certain no one saw them, raised the sliding door halfway up. She ushered Cindy inside and reclosed it. It took her a few minutes of fumbling around in the dark to find the lantern and light it.
”Did I do something wrong?” Cindy asked. ”Why don't you want me to talk to you?”
”Honey, you did nothing wrong.” Windows hugged Cindy, wrapping her arms around the girl and cradling her head. ”We just have to make sure no one sees us or knows what we're doing.”
”What are we doing?”
”We're getting out of here.”
Cindy broke the hug. Windows saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes. ”You mean forever?”
”Yes.”
”And I won't have to watch them hurt you anymore?”
Windows nodded.
”Okay. I'll be quiet.”
”Good girl.” Windows rubbed Cindy's cheek. ”Stay here.”
Crossing over to the empty pallets that once held the compound's food supplies, Windows removed the wire cutters she had hidden there and slipped them into her back pocket. She stepped over to the fifty-five gallon drum and tipped it onto its side, being careful not to drop it, and rolled it over to the sliding door.
”Okay, Cindy. We're going to roll this over to the wall and use it to climb over the top. Are you up for that?”
”Yes.”
”Good. Now stay quiet and do as I tell you, and we'll be fine. Can you do that for me?”
Cindy nodded.
Windows extinguished the lantern and raised the door. The gun battle still raged near the main gate. She rolled the barrel out and steered it toward the end of the building.
Robson made his way down the row of storage units, checking each one and finding them empty except for scattered personal belongings. He marked each one with a chalked X by the door. When he lifted the sliding door to the sixth unit, a female voice asked from inside, ”Kyle, is that you?”
”I'm not Kyle.” Robson scanned the room with the barrel-mounted flashlight until the beam fell on two women huddled in the rear corner. One had long red hair, the other close-cropped blonde hair. Their clothes were threadbare and, like the women themselves, filthy. Both looked emaciated and terrified, especially when they saw Robson's face in the backwash from the flashlight and realized they didn't know him. They wrapped their arms around each other. The redhead begged, ”Don't hurt us!”
”I'm not going to hurt you.” Robson s.h.i.+fted the barrel of the AA-12 away from the women, but still kept them in the beam of light. ”We're getting you out of here.”
The blonde perked up. ”Really?”
”Yes.” Robson moved forward, stopping ten feet away so as not to pose a threat. ”What are your names?”
”I'm Mich.e.l.le,” the blonde answered and pointed to the redhead. ”This is Kay.”
”My name is Mike. Now I need you to do me a favor. Close this door behind me-”
”No!” Mich.e.l.le broke away from the other woman and crawled toward him. ”You can't leave us! What if Kyle comes back?”
Robson held up his hand to calm down and rea.s.sure Mich.e.l.le. ”Do you hear that gunfire? We're taking care of the gang members, so I promise, Kyle is not coming back. I need you to close this door because there are rotters on the compound. You'll be safe here until someone comes and gets you.”
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