The Oasis (7 page)

* * * * *

Jasper observed his surroundings closely, but couldn’t tell whether Lena was still alive or not. Logically, everything he knew about these people told him to just abandon the whole idea of rescuing her and head to California. She was most likely dead anyways. The old Jasper, the man who had been trained in how to kill a man ten times over, was basing this whole operation on hope. There was something about Lena that woke him up. He yearned for her and wanted to be near her. Everything he had been taught, everything he’d taught himself when everything had gone to hell rebelled against her. She woke in him a whole new man. He wanted a new life with her, something that didn’t involve solely surviving day to day.

Maybe that was why he had taken her with him. He saw something on that farm that he envied. In all the chaos, in this nightmare that they lived, she had created a paradise. She proved that humanity and civility could survive in this living hell.

Growling quietly, he saw the camp ahead of him. Through his training, he knew that the nighttime was when the
others
were most active, sleeping long into the day. It took every ounce of his strength not to run into the camp with guns firing. He suspected they had her in there, but so far he hadn’t heard any cries that sounded like hers. Instead he had seen groups huddling around fires and men fighting other men. Nothing out of the ordinary, if this camp from hell was anything like others he had seen.

Crouching low, he stealthily made his way deeper into the city. Somewhere he was going to find her. Dead or alive. He shook his head; he couldn’t think like that. She was alive and he was going to find her. No matter what. Passing through the streets, he grabbed a coat off the ground that smelled like death. He wrapped it around his shoulders and did his best to imitate the people around him. The one thing he had going for him was that as long as he stayed away from the bigger, more aggressive ones, he wasn’t likely to be noticed.

Shuffling down the street, he saw some of the larger ones in front of an old office building and instantly he knew that was where she was being held. He smiled to himself; he knew she was alive. Unfortunately, though, he also knew that this wasn’t merely some random collection of miscreants; there was something greater at work here and he feared he already knew what her fate was going to be.

* * * * *

“Let me out of here!” Lena shouted, pounding her fists on the walls of her cell. She hadn’t been alone long before she’d heard screaming. The thing that caught her attention was that the screams clearly came from a woman. Her heart ached with the fear of the unknown.

The sun began to rise, warming her cell. She had been in there all night without any interaction with her captor or anyone else. Lying down on a blanket on the floor, she tried to forget how she had gotten into this mess. Jasper’s face flashed before her eyes and she confessed to herself that she missed him.

Hearing the door handle jiggle, she quickly sat up, unsure of what she was about to face. A person wrapped in rags was pushed into the room along with a bottle of water and two small bags of chips. Her stomach growled and she watched the other person closely as the door shut behind her. They both sat, motionless. The other person hunched over and held the rags she wore closer. She was petite and had no shoes on. Her body was filthy, like many of the
others,
and the clothes she wore covered her head. In fact, the woman’s feet were the only thing Lena could make out.

Quietly, Lena stood up and grabbed one of the chip bags and water bottles and handed them to the woman. Flinching away quickly, the girl backed away from Lena.

“It’s okay,” Lena whispered, unsure if the woman could even understand her. “I’m not going to hurt you.” The woman continued to hunch away from her. Lena set the food on the floor in front of her before she sat back on her makeshift mat. She opened her own chips and ate them hungrily. They were already ground to almost a powder, but she was so hungry the cheese-flavored chips tasted better than any steak. When she finished, she looked over at the other woman and noticed that she was watching Lena. Her eyes were clear now. Their gray hue seemed darkened by all the suffering she had been put through.

The woman leaned forward and grabbed the water, gulping it down quietly. As she went to open the chips, the cover fell off her head, revealing what must have once been beautiful red hair. Now, the hue had dimmed to a burnt color that reminded Lena of rust. It was dirty, as was most of the woman’s body, but hung long down her back. She avoided making eye contact with Lena, but Lena was sure the woman watched her when she thought Lena wasn’t looking.

Lena laughed quietly. “You know, you’re the first woman I’ve seen in a while and I don’t even know if you can understand me.” Sighing, she brought her knees to her chest and watched the light bounce off the glass window. It was no doubt going to be a long day. She resigned herself to rest, thinking that the likelihood of being disturbed further seemed low. She didn’t know a lot about being kidnapped or about survival tactics, but it seemed like a good idea to rest now while she had the chance.

Her eyelids were already heavy when she lay down. “Please don’t attack me in my sleep,” she whispered to the other woman who was still staring at Lena. Lena laughed a little as she saw the woman’s eyes widen in shock. Lena didn’t know whether she was surprised that she was going to sleep or that she had made such a humane request of her. It didn’t matter. Lena’s thoughts returned to Jasper as she slipped out of consciousness.

Chapter Seven

The door to Lena’s cell came crashing open. Her eyes opened as more water was thrown into the room along with some other prepackaged food. Her stomach growled as she dove for the food. The other woman ate hers silently, although now she openly stared at Lena.

Licking her fingers clean, Lena noticed that the sun was already close to setting. She had been asleep most of the day. To her comfort the woman had neither attacked her nor moved from her position. They continued to stare at each other until Lena couldn’t help but break the silence.

“I’m Lena,” she sighed. She didn’t expect the woman to answer. Most of the
others
didn’t seem to talk much, if at all.

The woman looked at her, almost as if she was afraid to answer. After a few moments of silence, she looked behind her, as if checking whether anyone was coming. “My name is Rachel.” Her voice was harsh but clearer than Lena had expected.

“You’re n-normal,” Lena observed, shaken. Rachel didn’t answer. Her face looked as though she’d expected Lena to have noticed that already. “I’m sorry, I mean you’re not infected.”

“Neither are you,” Rachel said, attempting a weak smile. Lena thought that under the hideous clothes she wore and the years’ worth of grime that covered her body, Rachel at one time had been a beautiful woman. Now, her face had been battered enough that it seemed she wore a permanent scowl on her face. Her eyes had lost their passion; Lena didn’t need to have known her before she was captured to know that when she was younger she’d had brilliant eyes. Now that Rachel looked directly at her, Lena was able to examine her face. She had scars running across her lips and a deep gash running from her temple down to her neck. Rachel’s ears were covered by her long hair, but Lena saw glimpses of the damage that had been done to them from prolonged beatings. The most damaged thing seemed to be her spirit. Rachel’s candid response to Lena’s observations had shown that at one point Rachel had been a coy and humorous woman, but now her spunk was missing. The laugh lines around her eyes had been traded in for bruises.

Both women sat in silence, letting the impact of what they had just discovered sink in. Lena hadn’t seen another woman in so long, not to mention someone who wasn’t infected. She had never expected to find someone like Rachel in a place like this. It only confirmed her worst fears.

Lena cleared her throat. She wanted to know so much more. “How long have you been here?”

Rachel finished the water in her bottle and stood. As she crossed the room, her limp was clearly evident. Her feet were bare and covered with blood, dirt and God only knew what else. She stood silently a few moments, watching the sunset, before she responded. “I don’t know.” Placing her hand on the window she sighed. “Longer than I want remember.”

Lena cringed. “How did you get here?”

“I was captured. I was heading west when they attacked me.” Rachel hesitated before she continued. “After they caught me, they brought me here.”

Lena was instantly fascinated with the idea of other survivors. Since the world had ended, she hadn’t seen any other normal people. Jasper was the first of them who had made contact with her. It was too dangerous to assume that because someone
looked
normal that they were. The idea that this woman had survived was mind-boggling.

A bigger question plagued Lena as she listened to Rachel and she couldn’t help but ask. “Is there no way to escape?”

Rachel’s face paled and she started laughing. Her laugh was hysterical and ethereal. Lena knew what this laugh meant. They had broken her. Rachel would never be the same again. Nothing would ever be the same for her. God only knew how long she had been trapped in this tower. No one should ever be tortured the way that Rachel had been. Months, maybe even years, of rape, beatings and living in near starvation. There was no telling how much sanity she had left.

Allowing her laughter to die down, Rachel sat down directly in front of Lena. That haunted look came into her eyes again as she grabbed Lena’s hand into her own. “Beware of the free man,” Rachel whispered. Lena gasped. She had been warned of him by that man in the hall.

Before she could ask any more questions the door opened again. The sun had fully set and activity had started up outside. She could hear the sounds of the people in the streets as they began what seemed to be their typical fights and shouting.

The man who stepped into the room was her captor. Lena recognized him: short hair, chiseled features and muscular body. Something about this man seemed familiar but she couldn’t remember why. He grabbed her arm aggressively and yanked her off the floor away from Rachel. Rachel remained still, emotionless. She let go of Lena’s hand and turned back towards the window. The way she stroked it made Lena feel as if she would do anything to be free again. No matter what happened, she would never forget the look on Rachel’s face. She looked so lost.

As she was pulled out of the room, Lena looked back at Rachel one last time. Praying silently, she hoped to see her again.

Her captor didn’t pause as he dragged her out the door. Lena couldn’t help but see the sneer he gave to Rachel as he shut the door behind them.

He grabbed Lena’s hair and pulled when she hesitated. Screaming in pain, she kicked her legs out as he dragged her through the corridor. She tried to get her feet under her, but his strength and speed didn’t give her a chance to put herself right. Since the setting of the sun, the rooms were as dark as they’d been the night before. He dragged her up another flight of stairs and onto a floor that appeared almost empty. All of the old cubicles had been pulled out and the desks, chairs and anything else that had once been in the office were now gone.

At the far end of the room, surrounded by people, was a man. At first, Lena suspected that it was a pile of dead bodies surrounding him, but then she realized they were alive but engaged in some form of worship. Three women were tied to the walls and their eyes followed her. Their motionlessness encouraged Lena to think that, like Rachel, they were unaffected by whatever virus had affected the
others
.

Lena’s eyes focused on the man at the front of the room. He stared at her, seemingly mesmerized. His face was cleanly shaven and he wore few clothes. His chest was bare and whenever one of the worshippers got close to him they reached out to touch him. Lena gagged. He was some kind of god to them.

He wore a pair of jeans and sat on an old love seat that was stained and soiled from what looked like years of horrible acts. She didn’t move, only studied his actions. He drank what looked like a beer and ate something that had apparently been laid out for him. When one of the worshippers got too close to him, he kicked them. Lena noted that his face didn’t change. She could see no compassion for these people. He was in complete control over what he was doing.

“Welcome,” he said loudly as she looked around wondering who he was talking to. It felt ridiculous that he should welcome her into such a scene. Some of his worshippers turned towards her and sneered.

“Uck!” She retched unintentionally when one of them began to masturbate as he looked at her.

Looking back to the door she had been brought through, she saw her captor among a small group of men standing against the walls. They were equally as big as her captor, and had that familiar blank stare. They sneered when she made eye contact with them, pleading quietly for some glimmer of sanity. This whole situation seemed almost impossible. She had never imagined anything like this could have happened to her, let alone meeting someone like this. Suddenly, the leader stood and everyone got quiet in the room.

“You think they don’t know better than to even consider helping you?” he shouted down to her. Stepping over the worshippers, he made his way towards her. Passing the women tied against the wall, he stroked the cheek of a younger woman who whimpered when he touched her. He nodded so slightly that if Lena wasn’t studying him so intensely she would have missed the action. His nod brought forth one of the warriors against the wall.

“No, no! Please, no!” The woman he had touched began screaming. The warrior picked her up by the ropes that trapped her hands and dragged her from the room. Lena wanted to call out to her, do something to protect her, but as the leader approached her she found herself screaming on the inside only. He got within a few feet of her and crouched down to her level. She could smell some kind of strong cologne coming off him and wondered why he would wear it at all.

His face came within inches of hers and she struggled to keep eye contact with him. Her heart raced as he reached out to touch her hair. It was still caked in blood and he placed his hand against her temple where she had been tossed onto the bathroom sink.

“I know you heard me,” he said, pressing his finger into the cut, making her head start to pound. “I said ‘Welcome.’” He gave a final thrust before removing his hand and stepping away.

When her vision cleared she noticed that the worshippers were watching his every move. Every eye in the room had been on her, waiting for her response. When her vision cleared she wiped away the tears that ran down her face. “Hello,” she whispered. The leader’s back was to her, but she saw his shoulder drop. He walked back towards the worshippers and picked one of them up by the arm. The man was scrawny and young. He quivered when the leader touched him. The leader whispered something to him that Lena couldn’t hear. The
other
turned towards her and began circling her. He looked at her body and smelled her hair. She saw his eyes twitching back and forth as he examined her. His body twitched and he blinked rapidly when their eyes met.

The
other
laughed before he turned to the group and started to speak. “It is clear that this woman…” He trailed off as his head tilted to one side and he started seizing slightly. No one seemed to take notice of this and Lena remained quiet. “This woman was sent here to try to kill the free man.” Lena’s head shot up. The room was filled with gasps and screams. The free man. Was their leader the free man she was warned about? She looked towards him and he smiled as if he knew what she was thinking already.

The room was in chaos as the leader approached her and lifted her off the ground, bringing her face close to his. “Is that true? What has brought you here?” he asked, hushing every else in the room.

She swallowed as he let go of her arm and walked back towards his place in the center of his worshippers.

She followed his movement with her eyes, not sure what kind of answer he wanted from her. Nodding behind her, she motioned towards her captor. “
He
brought me here.” She stood tall as she spoke, unsure of what kind of response he would have for her. Some of his followers hissed in her direction as another one stepped towards her. He slapped her across the face so quickly she didn’t have time to react. The cackling of laughter followed from the
other
men in the room.

She spit out the blood that now trickled into her mouth. Straightening up, Lena stood at her tallest, hopefully displaying fearlessness. Although she was unsure what was going to happen to her, she wasn’t going to allow these men to put her down any further than she already was. She had survived this long, had remained untouched. The only hope she had was that the leader would save her for himself. She knew she had no chance with the thugs he kept around him, but alone she could perhaps outwit or escape him.

“Who are you?” she asked, hoping to find out exactly what she was dealing with.

The same man who had hit her initially stepped forwards as if he was going to hit her again. When she didn’t cower, he hesitated. “That’s enough,” the leader said. His voice was so low she barely heard him. The
other’s
hand hesitated and she defiantly raised her chin.

“Master?” the
other
asked. Lena could see the sickness in his eyes. His eyes were clouded over as if he was so consumed by hate that the only thing holding him back was his master standing behind him.

When the
other
backed up, Lena watched his master. He was a tall man. His skin and hair were clean and his pants were well kept. Not only did he not seem like a member of this group of people, he seemed to be normal. Suddenly Lena’s eyes widened. This man had some kind of control over these people. If she was right in her thinking, the free man was just that, a free man. The virus didn’t infect him. How he had managed to live among these people was a feat in itself, but to have made himself some kind of deity to them… Lena’s stomach roiled.

Although the
others
had never given her much reason to like them, she had never considered taking advantage of them. This man’s ability—and willingness—to control these people was appalling. Lena sympathized the most with Rachel, and the other women who he had trapped in some kind of prison. Only someone who had become consumed with power could treat these people this way.

The leader stepped close to her, examining her eyes, her posture, everything about her. Although she was afraid, she tried not to show it. He circled behind her, then placed his hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly, unsure what was going to happen next. He turned her to face him and she looked in his eyes. He stood very close to her.

“I am the free man,” he confirmed, smiling as his eyes wandered up and down her body. She felt repulsed. Not because he was unattractive; in fact, unlike his followers, he was clean and well dressed. His ugliness and darkness came from his desire for power, not from a disease that consumed him, as it did his followers.

“Who are you?” he asked, leaning in as if he was smelling her. He ran his fingers through her blonde tresses and stroked them. Although her hair was crusted with blood, he looked at her as if she were dressed to impress.

“Lena,” she whispered, unable to move. Her fear and anxiety had peaked as he stepped closer to her. “How could you do this to them?” she whispered.

He stepped back quickly, releasing her hair. His face changed, his eyes growing darker. Lena thought he was as crazy as the
others
, even if he didn’t share their disease. “They don’t deserve this,” she whispered.