Live Another Day Page 8

  “I live to serve, and I would like nothing more than to prove my loyalty to you.”

  “Your loyalty, yes.” Ke Tau regarded him before turning to Hiran. “What do you think, my esteemed friend?”

  Hiran shrugged. “It’s your decision, but perhaps he could be given a chance to prove himself.”

  “Perhaps.” Ke Tau played with his knife before snapping his fingers in the air. “A companion for our guest.”

  From the bank of young girls who hovered in the background, one broke free and hurried over. She bowed her head, eyes downcast as she made her way to Michael’s side.

  Michael ran his eyes over her body, noting the thin shoulders and hollow cheeks. In his estimate, she couldn’t have been more than eighteen. His stomach roiled at the thought of what he might have to do to her to prove himself, but he kept a straight face.

  “Like what you see?” Ke Tau asked. “She’s yours for the night.”

  Sensing it was a test, Michael played the part. He looped an arm around her middle and pulled her onto his lap. She didn’t resist as he ran a finger up her sleeve and over her threadbare shirt, sitting still while he fondled her small breasts.

  Around him, the men roared in appreciation while Ke Tau offered a small smile. “I’m glad you like her. Enjoy the rest of the night.”

  “Thank you.” Michael smiled and reached for the food on his plate, anything to give him an excuse not to touch the girl further. He gripped a piece of the meat and placed it in his mouth. It had a strong taste, rich and fatty, and he had the immediate suspicion it wasn’t beef or pork or mutton.

  With care, he chewed and swallowed, going back for more. All while keeping an expression of enjoyment fixed on his face. He interchanged big bites with swallows of the rancid beer and made sure to pay the proper attention to the girl on his lap. All while Ke Tau watched him with hawk-eyed attention.

  After what seemed an eternity, the plate was empty at last. He burped his loud approval and bellowed for another cup of beer. During this time, the party had grown rowdy as the men got drunk. More and more of the girls fell prey to groping hands while the food was removed in favor of more liquor.

  At last, Ke Tau raised a hand for silence, and the effect was immediate. He stood up and pinned each man in turn to his seat with that baleful white eye before saying, “Tomorrow, I’m going on a hunt. Who, I wonder, will go with me?”

  Cheers of approval did the rounds, and eagerness shone on the men’s faces. Michael sat up straight, his gaze trained on the leader. After a suitable pause, Ke Tau continued. “I have chosen the ever faithful Hiran, the brave Boipelo, clever Carlito, strong Mosi…and the newest addition to our ranks, Michael, to join me.”

  Those chosen beamed around the table, chests puffed out with pride while the rest drank to their health. Once the noise died down, Ke Tau took his leave, dragging a girl behind him with each hand.

  “Be ready at dawn,” was his parting words. Words Michael took to heart as he finished his drink and turned to the girl on his lap.

  “Where do I sleep?”

  “I will show you,” she answered in a soft voice.

  She slipped off his legs and led the way on tip-toe, her shoulders hunched against the jeers of those who watched them go. A hand on his shoulders brought him to a halt, however, and he turned to find himself face to face with Hiran.

  “Yes?”

  “I wanted to wish you a good night.” The man’s eyes flickered from him to the girl and back. “I hope you make full use of your master’s gift.”

  “I will be sure to,” Michael replied. “But is he not also your master?”

  Something dangerous flickered in Hiran’s eyes. Something cold and treacherous. “Be careful on the morrow, Michael. It’s a dangerous world out there.”

  “I’ll be sure to watch my back.”

  Hiran offered a half-smile before he turned and disappeared into the crowd. No doubt to plot and scheme.

  “Show me where to sleep,” he once more told the girl, and she hurried to take him to a secluded corner in the back of the house.

  It couldn’t be called a bedroom. It was a tiny nook in a larger room cordoned off by a threadbare curtain and contained nothing more than a thin mattress and even thinner pillow. It was clean, though, and Michael hardly cared about it after being awake for more than twenty-four hours.

  “This is where you sleep?”

  The girl nodded.

  “And here?” he indicated the rest of the room, lined with pallets similar to hers, all cordoned off with makeshift curtains.

  “The other girls sleep here too.”

  He nodded and guessed they’d be along soon when the men grew tired of drinking. It’s like a brothel.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Mpho,” was the soft answer.

  He studied her face, noting the high bone structure and full lips. She was attractive, her skin a soft chocolate matched by her hair. He could not imagine raping her, though, even though he knew he was expected to.

  Delaying the inevitable, he said, “Bring me water to wash.”

  She complied, hurrying off to return with a bucket brimming with water and a cloth. First, he drank his fill of the fresh water. His parched tissues soaked up the liquid like a sponge, bringing immediate relief.

  After washing, he relieved his bladder in a pot before he lay down on the mattress with a groan of relief. Finally.

  With hesitant movements, the girl closed the curtain and joined him on the bed. He watched her through lidded eyes. He knew what he had to do, yet couldn’t bring himself to do it. How can I? She’s just a child.

  Then she startled him by saying in a quiet whisper, “I know.”

  He sat up. “You know what?”

  “I know who you are.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “You’re a spy from the other camp.”

  Ice water flooded his veins, but he remained quiet.

  She peeked through the curtain to make sure they were still alone before saying, “I’m Rebecca’s granddaughter.”

  “You?”

  She nodded and leaned closer. “I have a message for you.”

  He narrowed his eyes as he debated whether to trust her or not. “What message?”

  “My granny says you cannot win Ke Tau’s trust. You cannot do what he does, what he’ll expect you to do.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because you’re a good man. You cannot do such evil.”

  Her words hit him hard, and he wondered if she was right. Can I? Can I torture and kill innocent people? Act like a monster?

  A flash of remembrance hit him. Doe eyes in caramel skin, fading as death stole over them. Death delivered by his hands. Valerie.

  “How do you know I’m not a monster? How does your grandmother know?” He gazed at his hands with revulsion. The very hands that crushed the life out of Valerie’s neck when he found out she’d cheated on him. “I’m a killer.”

  The memory flooded back like a tidal wave. The anger and betrayal. Seeing his wife with another man, and the fear in his eyes when Michael leveled the gun at him and pulled the trigger. Valerie’s screams. Her pleas for mercy. Mercy he hadn’t granted. The life leaching from her eyes.

  He should have gone to jail then. But he didn’t. Saved by the very virus that brought about the end of the world. I’m the devil.

  Mpho reached out and gripped his fingers, startling him from the vision. “Maybe you were once, but you’re not anymore. You can’t go through with this.”

  “I can.”

  “You can’t,” she insisted. “You’ll fail.”

  “Wh
at do you propose I do then?” he demanded in anger. “What does your clever granny suggest?”

  Mpho sat back on her heels. “We’ve been preparing for a while now to overthrow Ke Tau and his men.”

  “We? Who’s we?”

  “The women, the children, the old men.”

  Michael scoffed. “You’ll never win.”

  “Not alone. But if you attacked, we’d have the advantage of surprise.”

  He blew out a breath as he considered her words. “Attacked when?”

  “On the full moon. We’ll make certain the men are drunk, and when you strike, we’ll rise from within. They’ll never expect it.”

  “The full moon?”

  She nodded, her eyes shining with eagerness. “All you have to do is escape tomorrow and take the message to your people. On the full moon…”

  “We attack,” he finished for her.

  “Yes.”

  “How do I know this isn’t a trap?”

  “You don’t know, but you must trust me.” She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her chest, right above her heart. “You must know how I yearn for his death. He killed my father. Feel my hatred.”

  He looked into her eyes and saw the strength of her feelings projected back at him. “I believe you.”

  She sighed and sank back onto the mattress. “Thank you.”

  He lay down next to her and stared at the ceiling, contemplating her words. It made sense. It was a logical plan. It can work.

  Outside, the first of the revelers stumbled into the room, followed by more. The sounds of sex rose around him. The grunts of men and the pained cries of girls being taken against their will. We have to stop this.

  He turned his head toward Mpho and met her soft brown eyes. “I will do it.”

  She nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m glad, but for now, we have to convince the others you are with them.”

  He closed his eyes and gritted out a denial. “I can’t take you. I can’t. You’re a child.”

  “I’m nineteen.”

  “No.”

  “Then pretend.”

  He opened his eyes and stared at her.

  “We can act it out, but we must do it soon.” Her chin nodded toward the curtain, and there he saw a silhouette. A man, watching like a sentinel. Luckily their whispers couldn’t be heard over the din.

  Michael compressed his lips and rolled over onto Mpho with a pig-like grunt. He pinned her to the floor and ran his hands over her sides while she whimpered in fear.

  With one hand, he ripped open her shirt. The sound of tearing cloth was loud in the night. He averted his eyes from her small breasts and made as if to open his fly. She pleaded with him to stop as he shoved his hips between her legs. Their shadows played across the curtain, a horrifying show in black and white.

  Even simulating the act made him feel dirty as he pretended to thrust at the poor girl beneath him. She acted the part well, crying and sobbing with piteous sorrow.

  His heart twisted when he realized that for her, this probably wasn’t an act. How many nights has she suffered like this for real beneath the body of another man? How many?

  When at last he could realistically end the farce, he rolled over and pretended to snore. After several minutes, the sentinel was gone, run back to Ke Tau with the news that his new man was a monster after all.

  A small hand crept onto his shoulder, and Mpho whispered in his ear. “You are a good man, Michael. Now sleep. I will wake you before dawn.”

  Exhaustion crashed over him. Before he knew it, slumber stole over his senses and dragged him to the deep.

  The next day, Mpho kept her word and woke him when the light was still grey and the sun a distant dream. He rolled out of bed and washed again with the bucket of water she brought him and a sliver of soap.

  She took his dirt-streaked clothes and provided him with fresh ones. They were old and stained, but he felt profound gratitude to be clean once more.

  With small scissors, he trimmed his nails and beard before wolfing down a jug of water and a plate of food. It was the same food as the previous night, and this time he thought to ask.

  “What meat is this?”

  She eyed him solemnly. “Dog.”

  His stomach rolled, but he forced it down anyway. He’d need the calories before the day was out. Before he left, he paused. “Thank you, Mpho.”

  She nodded. “Goodbye, Michael.”

  As he picked his way through the sprawling figures of snoring men, he wondered if he’d ever see her again.

  ***

  An hour later, he stood outside a small suburban house with Ke Tau and the others. The gates were chained shut and the windows covered in newspaper. Waist-high grass covered the lawn.

  There had been no opportunity as yet to escape, and he wondered if he’d ever get his chance. That damned son of a whore Hiran is watching me like a spider watches a fly circling his web.

  At a signal from Ke Tau, they jumped over the gate and stormed the house. With a crowbar, they forced open the security gate and crashed inside.

  Startled cries rose into the air as they barged their way through, Ak47’s pointed in front of them. Two men rushed into the hallway from the bedrooms, each brandishing a gun.

  “Drop your weapons,” Michael cried. “Drop them!”

  At the sight of so many guns, the two men tossed their own and raised their hands. The oldest, a middle-aged man with spectacles, pleaded with them. “Don’t shoot. Please, don’t shoot.”

  The other, a youngster of about seventeen, stared at them with wide blue eyes. His coloring and features indicated he was likely the older man’s son.

  “Get everyone out here, and we won’t hurt you,” Hiran ordered as he stepped forward. “Now.”

  “You promise not to hurt us?” the older man asked, his face hopeful. “You won’t hurt my kids?”

  Fuck, it’s a family, Michael realized.

  He looked on in growing horror as the older man called over his shoulder, “Ruby, come out here. Now.”

  A girl, barely fourteen, stepped out from a side door. Her hands were clasped in front of her and visibly trembled. She stared at them with tearful eyes.

  “Is that it? No one else?” Hiran asked. “You’d better not lie to me.”

  “I promise. It’s just us three.”

  Next to Michael, Carlito sidled closer. His eyes shone with excitement above his hooked nose. He licked his lips with the tip of his tongue while he stared at Ruby and grinned.

  “Keys?” Hiran asked.

  “What?”

  “The keys to the gate. Where are they?”

  “O…over there.” The man pointed at a bunch of silver keys on a side stand.

  Ke Tau, who up until now had hung back, stepped forward. He surveyed the three survivors in front of him with a crooked smile. “Mosi, make sure he’s telling the truth. Search the house, and bring in the truck. Lock behind you. This is going to take awhile.”

  Michael sucked in a single breath. The trap was sprung. Both he and the family were now caught in Ke Tau’s web.

  “The rest of you, let’s play a little game,” Ke Tau said with undisguised relish.

  Carlito lowered his gun and slipped his knife from its scabbard. He stepped toward the father who now realized his mistake and stepped back with hands raised. “No, please. Don’t do this. Don’t hurt us.”

  Carlito flashed a wicked grin as Boipelo handed him a roll of duct tape. “Now, now. Don’t fight. You’ll just make it worse for yourself.”

  The man continued to beg. “Please, do what you want with me, but let my children leave.”

&nbs
p; “Now why would we do that?” Ke Tau asked. “Why would we let such sweet young flesh run free?”

  Realization dawned in the father’s eyes. With a cry, he flung himself at Carlito. The two collided, and the older man gasped as Carlito’s thrust his knife between his ribs. He exhaled a slow breath of air, and his mouth worked as Carlito sawed deeper into his chest with the blade. Crimson blood spilled over his lips.

  The boy cried out while the girl screamed, “Daddy, no!”

  She flung herself forward, but Boipelo caught her and held her struggling body against his while her brother looked on in terror.

  “What a pity. We could have had some fun with the father,” Ke Tau shrugged and grinned at the remaining boy and girl. “Oh, well. Guess they’ll have to do, hey Michael?”

  “Guess so,” Michael replied with a shrug.

  “Tie the boy to a chair. Let’s see how tough he is,” Ke Tau said.

  With emotionless eyes, Hiran stripped of the teenager’s clothes until he was left cold and vulnerable in only his socks and boxers. Then he strapped him to a chair with tape while his sister watched on in terror. Their father lay on the floor in a growing pool of blood, his face slack in death.

  “Done,” Hiran said.

  “Carlito, warm up our guest, will you? He looks a bit chilly,” Ke Tau said with a sinister smile.

  “With pleasure,” Carlito replied as he removed a lighter from his pocket. He flicked the top off and rolled his thumb across until a naked flame burned brightly. This he lowered to the boy’s thigh until it touched the skin.

  Hoarse cries tore from the teenage boy’s lips, harsh and unforgiving. The flesh of his leg blistered and rose, turning bright red and angry. Michael blanched but forced himself to watch with an expression of indifference.

  Ruby screamed and struggled against the grasp of Mosi as Carlito tortured her brother. “No, Lonny, no! No!”

  Her struggles earned her nothing more than a slap across the face. Michael wracked his brains for a way out, not only for him but the two youngster’s as well.

  “Aren’t you going to recruit him?” he asked Ke Tau.

  “Sometimes I do, but I know people and this one…” Ke Tau shrugged. “He won’t fight for me.”