"The boss? Is he the boss?"
They were all walking back to the Lecturer's Lodge when Gracie asked. Everyone's faces were darkened, but Ethan still found it in him to respond.
"There's no way he's The Boss. He can't be," Ethan said. "I think someone else is commanding them."
"I really don't care who The Boss turns out to be. One thing is certain. I'm getting to their base, and I'm wiping out each and every one of them," Nina bellowed angrily as she hastened her steps and entered the building ahead of the rest of the group.
Both Helen and Gracie were stunned by her harsh words, but they understood it would not be as easy as she made it sound.
As for Ethan, his thoughts were not much different from Nina's. The fact that there were women being held under these people's control meant his goal was at stake.
If anything ugly happened to any of the women there, he knew exactly what would happen to him.
If anyone needed to save those women, it was Ethan, and he knew that painfully well.
But now, he also knew he needed a plan. Charging in without preparation could get them captured, or worse, killed.
He did not want that to happen.
When they returned to the refuge, Nina was far from settled. Not even in the slightest.
She paced around restlessly, moving from one spot to another, her face dark and tense. No explanation was needed to understand what she was feeling.
Rage. Impatience. An almost uncontrollable urge for retaliation.
Anna was the first to approach when they got in.
"What happened? Why is Nina..."
She paused and turned to Ethan. "Ethan? Did anything go wrong? The supplies?"
Her face tightened before she asked her final question.
"What happened to the supplies?"
Ethan could not bring himself to answer immediately, so Eva stepped in.
"Actually, we were still getting them when we found a woman in the library. She was helpless," Eva explained. "She said she escaped from a group where the women were being harassed. We were about to help her when that same group of lunatics showed up."
"To make it short," Eva added with a bitter smirk, "they were armed, so she was taken. Unfortunately, we could not help her."
Eva then glanced at Nina.
"They took Nina's rifle too."
Anna's eyes widened as she turned to Ethan. "Ethan... what do we do?" she asked.
Once again, Ethan did not reply, and the silence only confused Anna further.
"I think we should back off. Maybe it is not our business," Helen cut in.
"What do you mean?" Mella objected. "They took Nina's rifle. They are preying on innocent people. We cannot just leave them like that."
"Mella is right," Anna agreed. "If we let this slide, we might be their next target."
Nina and Ethan remained silent throughout the discussion. It was only after everyone had spoken that Ethan finally decided to say something.
All that time, he had been listening, weighing their words carefully. He was the crucial factor in this situation, especially considering the condition tied to saving those women.
He was relieved that most of them were leaning toward helping the captives.
"Tomorrow, we find out more about The Boss and his group," Ethan said firmly. "Then we decide what to do next."
With that, he walked away.
Nina watched him leave, a frown etched deeply on her face. Even then, she said nothing. Seconds later, she went her own way, ignoring the others who tried to get her attention.
******
"Please... please don't hurt me!"
"I beg you!"
POW!
"Shut up, bitch!"
"Argh!"
Dragged off the bike, Miss Audrey was forced toward the Physical Health Centre building. It was a glass built two storey structure, most of its windows shattered by the disaster.
However, one part of the building stood out.
The top floor.
They dragged Miss Audrey upstairs, straight into the gymnasium. There were six girls and five boys present, excluding The Boss's men.
Three of the girls surrounded a man lying on a weight bench, massaging and caressing him as he grinned in pleasure.
The dark expressions on the girls' faces were impossible to miss, but the fear in their eyes was even more obvious.
They dared not refuse him, knowing what refusal would cost them.
Karen, the one who led the search, stepped forward.
"Lance. We found her," he said.
The man on the bench sat up immediately, and the moment he saw Miss Audrey, a wild smirk spread across his face.
"What do we have here?" he said. "The runaway has been found."
He stood and approached her, his gaze locked onto her trembling form.
Miss Audrey sobbed uncontrollably, shaking with fear, but it did nothing to move him.
Not Karen. And certainly not Lance.
"Please don't hurt me," she cried. "I just want to go home. I want to see my family."
Lance chuckled coldly.
"Your family is dead, Miss Audrey. I told you that already," he said. "They are all dead. Just like the monsters outside."
"No! That cannot be true," she sobbed as she fell to her knees. "Please, just let me go."
Her resistance only angered him further as Lance clenched his jaw, his expression turning vicious.
"Since you insist on being stubborn, I will show you how stubborn bitches are treated."
He turned to one of the men.
"Neil. Tie her up. She is mine tonight. After that, feed her to the big boys outside."
Neil stepped forward, grabbing Miss Audrey as she screamed. She was dragged through a side door into another room.
Lance was about to walk away when Karen called out.
"Lance!"
"What?" Lance snapped. "Do not tell me you want another girl tonight."
"No, not that," Karen shook his head.
"Then what?"
"I saw Gracie."
Lance froze at once.
"Gracie?" he repeated sharply. "Just Gracie? Did you see Anna?"
"No," Karen replied. "Only Gracie. I think they scattered when the monsters attacked. Or maybe..."
"No."
Lance cut him off, his interest clearly piqued.
"Why did you not bring her?" Lance asked.
"She was with a group. I did not want to cause trouble, so we took Miss Audrey instead."
"Were they armed?" He asked again.
Karen hesitated for a moment, then answered.
"No. Just one of them. But I got her rifle."
POW!
Lance's fist slammed into Karen's face, sending him staggering backward.
"You idiot!" Lance roared. "You had the chance to bring more people and you let them go?"
Karen clutched his jaw, blood on his lips.
"But you said we have nothing to do with the people of this world anymore," Karen muttered.
"Exactly," Lance snarled. "We take them, use them, break them, and feed them to the big boys."
He leaned closer, his voice cold.
"Now you will do one thing right. Go out there and find her. Bring her here before nightfall."
He smiled darkly.
"Or you will be the one feeding the big boys."
Karen rushed out immediately.
Karen quickly set up, not wanting to face the trademark punishment of The Boss.
Getting fed to the Big Boys... The zombies.