Chapter 572 - The Oriole Behind (Part 3)
Despite the reassuring words of the one and only person she had come to trust in the past several years, the girl in the blue-colored tracksuit could not shake off the feeling that something was wrong with this settlement.. A feeling which she could not put into words, but that made her uncomfortable to the bone.
Unfortunately, as she was quite often made aware of, her position within the group of survivors was precarious to a point where most of its members would refuse to lend an ear to begin with. She did not doubt that, had she shared her concerns with any other member of their group, she would have spent the following few minutes bearing that person's sharp insults, and scowling look.
Still concerned, yet with no leg to stand on, the young girl followed the soldier, and together they joined the rest of their group as they were led to the bathrooms, where they were told they could clean up before dinner. While quiet, within the girl's mind formed various plans regarding how she could verify whether this was just a normal settlement, or whether she was up to something.
Twenty minutes later.
While most of the survivors took their time in the bathroom to enjoy a luxury they had not been able to experience in decades, the young girl had not. Last to enter, yet first to finish, the girl had showered in a hurry, put her clothes back on, and left the building in order to investigate the settlement.
The moment she stepped out of the building, she was once again caught unprepared by the odd sight. The farmers and builders had now stopped working, and were now busy carrying large rectangular tables and chairs which they then placed around a large campfire. The reddish hue of its lively flame danced around the large cauldron placed on top of it, and merged with the sky's color, as dusk had fallen.
Most of these people, while clearly tired, appeared to be in high spirits, as if they had been looking forward to dinner for the entire day. Yet, the girl immediately noticed that something was amiss. No children nor women could be seen, just the men and the elderly, who smiled politely at her the moment her eyes met theirs.
Curious about it, the young girl decided to approach a scrawny old man who was sitting next to his elderly wife, and asked, "Excuse me, why are there no women or kids?"
Seemingly at a loss for words, the man looked at his companion with a serious expression, a reaction which the girl found odd.. Yet, before he could say anything, the old lady smiled, and responded in his stead. "We don't usually eat in the yard, just when we have guests for dinner. They are probably playing inside, waiting for the tables to be set." She said while gently nudging her companion, who confirmed her words with a faint nod and a smile.
"Okay, thank you." The girl said before walking off.
For the following few minutes she walked around, offering to help in the preparations of the banquet.. But her offer was firmly refused each time it was extended. This helpful behavior, however, allowed her to explore the compound without being questioned, or at least, until she came upon a wooden door locked by three different locks, and two chains that formed a large x.
What made this door stand out was not the fact that it was locked so tightly, but the faint noises that came from the other side.
With their origin clearly far away from the door, these noises reached the girl in the shape of a muffled sound, whose nature she could not make out. With no other option, she pushed her upper body forward and placed her ear against the wooden door, in an attempt to hear more clearly.. But she was quickly stopped. "What are you doing?" A voice that came from behind her suddenly asked, catching her by surprise.
Feeling a shiver run down her spine, the girl sprung back on her feet, and turned around with as much elegance a mannequin could muster. "Wh-what? Nothing. I was just walking around, and heard a few noises." She said to the person who had just spoken, a person whose appearance she couldn't make out due to the reddish sun's brilliance shining in her eyes.
With a quick motion she raised her hand against her forehead, casting a shadow that stopped the light from blinding her. It was then that she noticed that the person who had just stopped her in her investigation, was the young hero who had saved her and her companions.
Not anymore clad in bike armor, the man now wore a simple shirt and black pants, which gave him a more amiable, and less threatening appearance.
After catching the young woman snooping around, the man's lips pursed, as he struggled to suppress a smile. He then pulled a small key out of his pocket, and without saying a single word, unlocked each of the locks that kept the door closed shut, and pushed it open for her to see.
What appeared on the other side of the door was a thin and long corridor, at the end of which was a relatively big yard where a few pigs rolled around in the mud, and chicken roamed while pecking at the floor. "..'Tis where we keep our livestock." He said as the young girl looked on in amazement. The war that had ended their world had happened more than twenty years back, and she had never left the city. Of pigs and chickens, she had only heard stories.
As she unconsciously walked towards the animals, the young man stopped her, closing the door and locking it once again. "Sorry, they cost us a pretty penny. We only let our farmers handle them." He said before turning towards the middle of the yard, where a pile of plastic chairs was lying about. "If you are looking for something to do, help me out here." As he finished speaking, he grabbed half of the chairs that were stacked on top of one another, and started walking towards the tables, ignoring the young girl who, feeling that she had no other choice, grabbed the remaining chairs and followed suit.
As the young girl helped her rescuer, and the two managed to spend some time together, she quickly came to understand that not only was the man's appearance charming, but his personality as well, as he would answer patiently each of her questions and doubts, only leaving out details which, in case the group of survivors turned out being hostile, would put his settlement in jeopardy.
The two talked through dusk and into the night, when finally, an old woman rang a large bell, calling for everyone to come to dinner.
In just a minute, a hundred people poured out of the buildings, among them women, children, and the sick, whom the young man had claimed were in no condition to work. Alongside these people were the group of survivors, who, at some point, had merged into the settlers. Of their rough and anxious appearance nothing remained, but a relaxed and jovial expression.
Among the crowd a few words were exchanged while the new arrivals took their seats at the tables, which were placed in an almost full circle around the fire. In the middle of this semi-circle, was the seat of the young hero, whose name the girl found out was Elijah. "Sit here, Brie." he said to the young girl, whose suspicions had been replaced by admiration.
As everyone took their seat, Elijah stood up, and by raising his hand he asked for a moment of silence. "It is always a cause for celebration to find good souls.. Especially in these dark times. I cannot express how happy I am to see that humanity has not lost their hope for survival, and that even outside of our home, good people live on. But enough of me ruining the mood, let's eat!" He said before raising his cup, and downing his drink, which contained nothing but water, as alcohol they had none.
In response to this toast, the entire crowd raised their cups, and like the young man, downed their drinks. To the young woman and her companions, it was clear that this toast was not made as an excuse to drink, but in hope to cheer the spirits of the settlers-an action that raised Brie's opinion of Elijah.
After the toast, an old lady walked out of one of the buildings, and headed for the tables. Instead of taking a seat, however, she walked past the openings between tables, and towards the large cauldron. With her mitt-covered hand she removed the cover, revealing a vegetable soup with large chunks of meat, which she immediately began to stir with vigorous strokes of her wooden ladle.
As the smell of the soup drifted towards the guests, causing their mouths to water, the old lady grabbed one plate after another, filling them with soup and placing them in front of each person. Once everyone got a serving, the group started digging in.
For several minutes the crowd became quiet, as each person was more interested in the delicious food on their plate, rather than talking. The same went for the guests, who had spent too long eating expired canned meat, or the tough and toxic flesh of the fauna that, years ago, had started to pour into the city.
The only ones who had yet to start eating were Brie and Elijah.
While Brie was eager to dig in as much as her cubby companion, who was scooping and swallowing as if there was no tomorrow, she was stopped by the sight of Elijah, who, instead of eating, looked at the crowd with a content expression. "Why aren't you eating? It will get cold." Brie asked.
Her words seemed to miss the man's ear, as he appeared entranced by the view in front of him, which he enjoyed with eyes gleaming of a golden hue. "Beautiful." Elijah muttered as his body began to tremble in what looked like excitement. "Do you, too, find it beautiful?" He then inquired.
"What is?" Brie asked, unsure of what the man could be referring to. To her eyes, the man was staring at a group of people eating to their heart's content. His reaction, however, made her uncomfortable.
Earing her words, Elijah's satisfied expression morphed into an ecstatic grin, which he showed her by turning his head almost mechanically.. "If you could see it with my eyes, you would find this beautiful too, I am sure." He said while reaching for the girl's chin with his hand.
Brie, now alerted, immediately tried to move away, but she soon found her body to be stuck in place. Her voice refused to come out, as she tried to call for her group in desperation.
Elijah's hand landed gently on the girl's chin, which he moved to the left, right, then up. With eyes filled with lust, he looked at the girl's body, which he moved and touched however he wanted. Before he could go too far, Elijah let go of the girl.
"I am getting ahead of myself.. There will be time for that later.. But first, I'll let you take a gander at this beautiful spectacle." He said before moving his face up to the girl's, who could do nothing to fight back as the man's tongue emerged from his mouth, and stroked against her cheekbones, eyeballs, and up to her eyebrows. Frozen in fear Brie began crying, but just as she thought things couldn't be any worse, as Elijah's face moved away, she noticed that her surroundings had changed.
While the compound was the same, that was not the case for everything else. The women, healthy men, children and elderly had disappeared, and in their place were now deformed and dirty men, who chewed eagerly on their food, which, to her, appeared different. No bowl of warm soup could be seen on the table, just plates stuffed with chunks of odd looking meat.
With her body still locked in space, she pointed her eyes down at her plate, and what she saw terrified her to the bones. On her plate was what looked like a portion of a child's head, split diagonally, with his eyeball still hanging out of its socket, and his tongue laying onto a barely cooked hand.
Filled with horror, Brie looked at her companions who, inexplicably, dived into their 'food' with relish. "AAAAHH!" She screamed as her body regained the ability to move. She sprung up on her feet, and backed away from the table, landing against the door Elijah had opened for her a couple hours before. This door too had changed, as no locks were present, nor chains.
As Brie's back landed against the door, the door opened, revealing what was hidden inside.. A group of dirty women and children, beaten, abused, and mutilated, all cramped into a corner with empty expressions and eyes devoid of emotions.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Said Elijah, whose voice sounded like that of a demon. He stood right behind Brie, whom she looked down at with lustful eyes, unbothered by the horrific sounds of teeth crunching human bones that came from behind him. "I quite like you.. I might keep you for a while, and have some fun." He said right before reaching for her with his blood-soaked hands.
"So it is depravation..." A disembodied voice said to Elijah's ear, as an overwhelming feeling of doom washed through his body.