Kelly the Hostage

"Okay everyone, just relax," Keith says, his voice even and composed. "We didn't come here for a fight."

"Tell your people to lower their weapons!" Rachel shouts from behind the tree line.

"Hold your horses. I was getting to that," Keith says. "Now, the four of us—Wyatt, Benton, Natalie, and me—we're going to leave your camp. I said my piece to you. No need for bloodshed. Silverthornes, we're out of here."

Everyone follows Keith and crosses camp, following the rest of the Silverthornes as they move to the eastern end of camp. The rest of the group watches, ready to react should anything change.

"Natalie," Keith says, and before anyone else can react, the woman grabs Kelly and places a knife to her neck.

"What the—" Jaime says, cutting himself off.

The hilltop group takes a collective step forward but stops as Keith speaks.

"Everyone, stay back. I'd hate to slit her throat or shoot Jaime through the heart." Keith moves along, and by now, everyone’s at the edge of camp just at the hill. Kelly marches along with Natalie, while Wyatt and Benton keep guard with their weapons raised.

Keith lowers his pistol. "Now, I suggest you go back to your camp, let us leave, and make a decision. We'll be back in a day or so. You join us, or you're against us. Kelly is just our insurance policy. She's innocent in all this—don't do something stupid and force my hand."

---

Kelly woke up with a gasp, body sweaty, panting. A nightmare. It was the event that got her here, lying on a cot in a tent in the Silverthorne’s camp. She still had not gotten her bearings, but Keith’s quarters were meager: his own cot, a footlocker, table and chairs. A tray sat on the table with a metal dome over it and a yellow sticky note. She had slept in her clothes and felt dirty from all that time on the hill and the march through the forest when she was taken from her group.

Are they looking for me? Did they send anyone to find me?

She stood out of bed and took off her tennis shoes. She kept them on all night in case she could make a run for it, but when her head hit the pillow, it was all over. A night full of terrible dreams. Under the dome was a plate of lukewarm scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice. She sniffed all three, which seemed fine. She asked herself,what would Rachel do? Probably not eat the food. She was starving and resisted eating yesterday. If she didn’t maintain her strength, how could she escape? She stood and shoveled the food into her mouth, chewing as quickly as her jaw would allow. As she took the last bite of toast, she heard the tent flap ruffle, and Keith walked in with a mug in each hand.

“Good, you’re eating. I was getting worried. I brought coffee.”

He handed out the cup, and Kelly found herself taking it before she even thought about it. It warmed her hands.

Keith took creamers and packets of sugar from his pants pocket and tossed them on the table. “You seem like a milk and sugar kind of gal.”

“You never answered my question from last night,” she said and took a sip of the coffee. Her hands shook and a shiver spread through her body. It was the first cup she had drank in several days, and prior to the outbreak she finished a pot a day.

“And I said you’re in no danger, and you’ll leave as soon that group of yours comes to their senses and joins us,” Keith says. “Let’s just cut the crap. I realize I put your group in a hard position. Most people don’t respond well to ultimatums, but this outbreak has changed our stance on negotiations. Our leader believes—“

“Wait, you’re not the leader?”

Keith smirked and shook his head. “No, just one of the head grunts. You’ll meet the leader soon enough. I’m going to have someone escort you to the VIP latrines so you can clean yourself up. We have shower stalls in there. You should look nice for Sullivan.” He smiled at her and stepped out of the tent.

Kelly drank the rest of the coffee and saved a little at the end. She stepped over to Keith’s cot and poured the liquid across his bed in a long line. When she heard movement by the front of the tent, she rushed to the table and set the mug down.

Natalie walked in holding a stack of clothes in her arms. Behind her came a short, stubby woman with a narrow face and thick neck. Her arms and legs looked thin in shorts and a T-shirt, while she held weight in her stomach and hips. Natalie dropped the clothes on the bed.

“Sally here is going to take you to the VIP latrines. Get clean and put these on, because—“

“Keith already told me,” Kelly said, interrupting her. “So you can shut your mouth.”

Natalie stepped forward, her nose an inch from Kelly’s. “If you weren’t Keith’s pet, I would make you eat those words.”

Kelly scoffed. “Did you just say that? ‘Eat those words?’ Who talks like that?”

Sally giggled for a moment and then stopped herself. Natalie gave her a hard stare, and Sally took a step backwards.

“Whatever. You get the point,” Natalie said. “I can’t touch you for now, but once he’s done with you, nothing will protect you. For now, go get yourself ready. Sally will take you to the VIP area.” She gave Kelly a shoulder check which sent her tumbling onto the cot. While Kelly scrambled to her feet, Natalie walked out of the tent.

“Sorry about that,” Sally said. She looked at the ground and picked dirt from under her fingernails. “She’s not nice to anyone. Always threatening me too.”

“So you’re one of them? A Silverthorne?” Kelly asked.

“I guess so. I work for Sullivan. Sort of his head secretary. I was on the road for a few days when Keith found me at a tavern I was squatting in. He told me they had a safe place for me to live during the outbreak. When I got here they told me I needed to work. Ever hear of the law firm of Morgan, Cooper, and Mendoza? I was one of their chief administrative assistants. It turns out the leader here, Mr. Sullivan, used the law firm for some of his dealings, and he was familiar with the lawyers I worked for. It was great because he gave me a job working with him, which got me a VIP tag.” She reached into her shirt and pulled out a laminated badge on a string hanging around her neck.

Kelly took an aggressive step forward and grabbed the tag, which pulled Sally by the neck. “VIP area? What the hell does that mean?”

“You have one too!” Sally shouted, her voice quivering.

Kelly let her go, stepped over to the pile of clothes, and found a tag on top. It had her name and the letters, VIP, in bold green letters. “What did Natalie mean by Keith’s pet?”

Sally stammered and then said, “When you were here yesterday, I mean in this tent, a few of us were at the mess hall, and Keith was talking about you. Wyatt joked about him fancying you. Keith didn’t say no. They teased him for a little while, until he got angry and told them all to shut up.”

“So what do I do now?”

“I’ll take you to the VIP showers, and you can—“

“No, I mean what do I do now?”

Sally stepped over to her and took Kelly by the hands. She lifted and rubbed them. “You do what you have to do.”

---

Kelly took the shower and put on the summer dress Natalie gave her. The water was hot for most of the shower, and the clothes were clean. There was even soap and shampoo. For a minute, when Kelly closed her eyes, she pictured being back in her apartment in Nightfall with Goldrust playing from her speakers, and a glass of Chardonnay sitting on the top of the sink. When the water cut off, the image faded.

When she stepped outside, Sally was waiting for her.

“It was nice, wasn’t it? You’re allowed a shower every three days. It used to be every day and then every other day, but it’s hard to make hot water,” Sally said. “Anyway, I’m taking you to Mr. Sullivan. He asked to meet you personally. Isn’t that exciting?”

Kelly walked with the woman and looked around the camp. Soldiers, armed with automatic rifles, lined the walls. Several jeeps and an armored vehicle sat in an enclosure which reminded her of the Junkyard. A group of mechanics was going vehicle to vehicle to check on them. Dozens of men and women stood in line before a table.

“What’s that line?” Kelly asked.

“If you don’t have a regular work assignment, you go there to pick one up. At the end of the day, if you did a good job, you get a meal ticket for dinner. There are other ways to earn rewards, but everyone works.”

They moved on to a motorcade of five cars. An SUV sat in the fourth position, and Sally escorted Kelly to it. “This is Mr. Sullivan’s personal vehicle. Wait in the back. And please remember what I said.”

Kelly remembered those words very well. She wasn’t willing to do whatever it takes. At the first chance she would find a way to break out of here. They would try to track her, but there’s no way she would be taken again and. If she couldn’t shake them, she would lead them away from the Junkyard.

Only a few seconds passed when the door on the opposite side of the SUV opened. A thin, short man with salt-and-pepper hair and beard stepped into the seat next to her and shut the door. Kelly would describe him as scrawny and severe. She could see thick blood vessels on his wrists where his sleeves were rolled up, and even in the May heat, his shirt was buttoned to the neck with a stiff collar.

“Hello. My name is Ernest Sullivan. Everyone calls me by my last name. I’d like you to do the same.”

Kelly sat there and nodded. She sized him up and believed she could overtake him at any moment. She kept relaxed to wait for the right time.

Sullivan reached up and knocked the hood of the SUV. The engine started, and they were moving. “Kelly, I’m sure your relocation comes as a shock. You’re unsettled and must have many questions. For every question you answer of mine, I will answer one of yours. My first question is a simple one. How did you sleep last night?”

The SUV lurched to the right, swerving, and then settled back into a straight line.

“How I slept? Nightmares. I dreamed of how I was taken by your people.” She slid as far away from him as possible, pushing her left hip against the passenger side door. “I’m not willing to do whatever it takes to live here among the Silverthornes. I mean, I’ll work. But I’m not going to do anything.”

“Was that a question?” Sullivan smiled and shook his head. ”I was married for thirty-two years before the outbreak. My wife had just ended radiation therapy for breast cancer, and we were celebrating at her favorite steakhouse when infected broke inside and attacked. She was killed. Survived breast cancer and killed the day after her final treatment. I have never been with another person. I will never be with another person. You will not be forced or coerced into any type of sex work while part of the Silverthornes. Now onto my next question. This one is a bit harder. I want to know how many members of your group are living on that—“

The SUV swerved, and everything spun. Kelly felt the vehicle tipping over and then she was thrown on her side with Sullivan flying at her.

TO BE CONTINUED