Page 26 of Red Rabbit
“Wolfe,” the man grunted. I started crying again.
“Fuck man, I told him not to come after her,” Cooper said, looking disappointed. “Is he dead?”
“Yeah.”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the blood on my hands and they started to shake.
“No,” I whisper.
“Well, it’s for the best. Now no one will be looking for her.” Cooper sighed and nodded to me. The man yanked me forward and started dragging me towards the gates.
“No,” I said a little louder, trying to yank my arm away. The man pulled me towards him so hard I stumbled into him.
“Knock it off,” he snarled. Cooper turned as we walked through the gates and walking backwards he spread his arms wide.
“Welcome to the Warren my dear!” Cooper said dramatically.
The inner courtyard of the fencing wasn’t anything special. Just a few bunkers built into a large cliff face that rose high above me and disappeared into the rain and mist. When we got to one of the doors, Cooper stepped through into a hallway and turned to his men.
“Process her. She’ll be in the auction tomorrow.”
I didn’t know what that meant but I didn’t like the sound of it. We parted ways from Cooper and they dragged me further into the Warren which I realized extended into the cliff and was mostly underground. I squinted at the sterile lights in the hallway, harsh on my eyes after the dim light of the forest. We reached a door and they pushed me through it into a large spacebuilt into an infirmary where nurses bustled around two rows of hospital beds. The men pushed me down the center aisle and through another door to an exam room with a shower in the corner.
“Strip,” one of them said. “Shower, shave and then put that on when you’re done,” he said and nodded to a folded up piece of clothing. I just stood there and looked at him like he was crazy.
“Absolutely not.”
“You either do it yourself, or we help you,” he said, his eyes glinting maliciously. I frowned, debating the idea of refusing but I didn’t want his hands on me. The shower had a curtain and I stepped inside and pulled it shut. I turned on the water and waited to hear if the men moved or not. When they didn’t, I slowly peeled off my clothes. I stepped under the lukewarm water and watched Graham’s blood wash away down the drain, taking with it any hope of rescue. I sniffed, trying not to break down again. It was my fault he was dead. If I hadn’t left the tent none of this would have happened.
I got Graham killed.
The guilt hit me along with the grief and tears silently ran down my cheeks.
“Hurry up.” The guard's voice brought me back to reality and I hurried through the rest of the shower as my thoughts drifted to what this place was.
I was slowly starting to have an idea but I didn’t like it. Worse, I didn’t have a clue how to get out of here. Even if I did escape, where would I go? With Graham gone, I would be useless out in the forest. I was trapped between two nightmares. When I was done I grabbed the towel, relieved the men hadn’t tried to look or touch me.
The clothing they gave me was only a thin, white t-shirt dress that extended to mid-thigh. There were no undergarments. I stepped out just as another person steppedthrough the door. A severe woman with gray hair pulled into a tight bun at the base of her neck looked me over with an indifferent glance, a clipboard in her hands.
“Restrain her,” she said as she pulled out a syringe gun.
I struggled and shouted in protest as I kicked out at her and tried to pry my arms away from the men. It didn’t work and as she pressed the gun to my forearm, I could only watch as she pressed the trigger and something shot under my skin. Pain ripped through my arm, hot and fast, only for it to vanish just as quickly. The woman stepped away and there was a welt on my forearm.
“Tracker and identifier,” she said simply.
She pulled a small handheld computer from her pocket and scanned the device under my skin, keying in a few details.
“Are you on any type of contraceptive?” She asked me bluntly.
“What?”
“Birth control,” the woman said as though I was dense.
“Yes,” I stuttered.
“What kind?” I just stared at her and when I didn’t answer she looked up from her clipboard and without warning slapped me across the face. “You will answer me.”
“IUD,” I said angrily. I was quickly getting tired of people slapping me.
