Page 101 of Close Quarters

Everything, from his position to the action, had been what I’d done. Or, more accurately, Keith had forced my arms into that position. The motions had all been done perfectly, by accident, but perfectly, when I brought that huge stone down on his head. Now I was free. I had killed someone, but I was free.

A voice spoke up from the darkness, and I shoved my fist against my mouth to muffle my scream. “Boss? We made it back in one piece. Well, I’m in one piece, Pey is still moaning.”

Edgar’s voice rose from the dark as well. “Get him fixed up. Keith and the whimpering one are on their way back. Keep your eye on them. You know why.”

My heart thumped when, in the background, I heard a familiar growl. “What does that…” But the voice cut off. After a few seconds of confusion, I realized the voices had come from Keith. Oh God, I didn’t want to get anywhere near him, but I knew I had to…oh, but I didn’t want to.

With a soft moan, I slid forward to crouch next to him. I picked up the knife he’d dropped, finding the sheath on a belt loop, which I removed carefully to loop through mine and slide the knife in. The voices had come from the radio on the other hip, which I also took, careful to turn it down as far as I dared and still be able to hear just in case. I took his holster and gun, neither of which I ever wanted to use, but…well, desperate times. The last was the handful of ties he had in his pockets, shoving them into mine.

The final step was the one I dreaded the most. There was no way I would be able to move him, but I had to know…I had to check. I reached out, fingers trembling dangerously as I made sure to stare at his chest and neck, avoiding his face and head. It took me a couple of tries with my shaking fingers and the low light, but I managed to stick my fingers into his neck at the right spot. After several heartbeats of my own, I felt not one pulse of his.

Dead.

My stomach won the war I hadn’t known it was fighting, and I twisted around, falling to my hands and knees. The previously delicious dinner came up in a flow of acid and sour, rank chunks. My stomach curled up on itself as it expelled every last bit of food and water I’d had onto the rock beside me, hitting with wet splatters.

A sob followed the last heave, snot dripping from my nose, saliva from my mouth as I gasped for air. It felt like I’d tried to throw up everything I’d eaten in the past five years, and my stomach was still twisting in knots. My throat felt raw, and for a moment, I was afraid I’d started screaming without realizing, only to get the strong whiff of my stomach acid on the ground in front of me to be reminded what it really was.

“Aw God,” I groaned, staggering to my feet.

I had been doing my best to act as scared as possible in front of those guys. In my assessment, the more scared I acted, the less likely they would treat us like a threat. Even if it didn’t save us from them trying to kill us, it might make them let their guard down and give us a chance to do something.

I hadn’t known it would result in us being separated. I hadn’t known I would be pulled away and left in the hands of some sick bastard who was going to try to…my stomach rolled again. It had been brief, only a moment of his hands and…lips on me, but it would stay with me forever. The sheer terror of what was going to come, the horror that someone thought they could?—

I wasn’t going to sit around and mourn the twisted bastard who was more than happy to rape me and probably kill me. The only thing I could well and truly mourn was whatever I’d just lost, making sure he didn’t get what he wanted. I would forever see the moment the stone met the top of his skull and the way the latter …gave. The sound would haunt my dreams, and I didn’t think I would ever?—

“Hey, Keith?” a voice whispered beside me, sending me scrambling along the rocks until I realized it was the radio again. “You there?”

I picked it up with a shaking hand and realized it was coming through a different channel that blinked on the display. Holding it, I twisted a dial until it showed the same channel and hit the button to respond. Only to realize…I had no idea what I was supposed to be saying and could only stare at the display with a blank expression.

“Mmm,” was all I managed to pitifully whimper before releasing the button.

“Jesus Christ,” the voice hissed. “Ed’s gonna be pissed if he knows you’re over there diddling that fucking idiot instead of doing what he told you. You better nut fast and get back here. Jesus, you play with your food too much.” I could only stare at the screen, pressing the button again but letting it go a few seconds later. “Yeah, fuck you too. Hurry up.”

I turned the volume down even further and stared at the device. The nausea and horror were leaving me as I looked up at the sky. It wasn’t like I hadn’t already known what kind of fucked up bastards we were dealing with, but…that was something else. I’d thought Keith had gone out of his way to hide what he was trying to do to me because the rest of his crew would string him up for touching another guy like that.

But no, everyone was probably aware of what Keith did when he was allowed to ‘play.’ And it wasn’t that they hated him doing it. They would just be pissed that he was wasting time and not following orders. Anything went as far as these guys were concerned. It didn’t matter how screwed up or wrong.

I glanced at Keith’s body and then looked away, glad I didn’t feel the urge to throw up again. That shit would haunt my nightmares for years to come if I got through this, but there were other things to be worried about. Turning my back on his body, I looked at the rocks behind me. After a moment, I found what I needed and began to climb. From there, leading back the way I’d been brought, I could keep my footing and go upward.

Or I could turn around and head back the way we’d come, steadily working my way down toward the plains. By the time I reached that point, the sun would probably be rising, and it would be a good measure of what direction I needed to take. Of course, that wouldn’t matter much since I had no supplies to keep me cool or alive, but I could theoretically make it if I were careful.

That would mean leaving Reno behind, however. Back with the leaders of these assholes who were willing to either rape or ignore rape happening and do plenty of killing, of that I was sure. Two of them were already back at their camp, wherever that was, and were awaiting not just Keith and I’s arrival but orders from this Edgar guy. They'd snap to attention once he gave the orders and do what they were told. It didn’t matter what I did, either running to get help or going back to see if I could help Reno. After enough time passed, they’d find Keith’s corpse, and the jig would be up.

They were separated into groups of two, and if I went back…it would be two against two. That was if I ignored the fact that Reno was under guard, zip-tied, and I wasn’t exactly excited at the idea of killing…again. The very thought sent another wave of nausea through me as I realized that going back would mean potentially needing to do it again.

But it was Reno. The guy was a grumpy jerk who didn’t deal with people well, but he was my grumpy jerk who dealt with me pretty damn well. And while plenty of people wouldn’t believe me, I wholeheartedly believed he would do what it took to save me. I would never be able to live with myself if something happened to him when I might have been able to help.

So that’s what I was going to do, even if it meant chipping away another piece of myself to do it.

Er..but how?

“You know,” Edgar said after almost twenty minutes of complete silence, turning to watch me. “I feel like you are much better company than your friend would have been.”

I glared at him. “First off, fuck you. Secondly, what did that fucking mean?”

His brow raised. “What did what mean?”

“Why your little demon needs to be watched around Elliot,” I growled.

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