Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

the meat locker.”
    “Please don’t call it that,” he said, sounding tired again.
    “I call it like I see it. Maybe someday you’ll join us in there, Mengele. Then we’ll see what you think about changing bandages and puttin’ stumps in slings.”
    The sound of the sliding door from the pool house reached my ears again and then LaShay’s voice echoed out across the pool. “Come on, then Mengele. Lock me in like a good nazi.”
    “Screw you, LaShay.”
    “No. Screw you , Mengele.”
    The door slid shut and some chains rattled. Then another door opened - the one leading into the house.
    “Hey, fairy boy!” yelled a voice I didn’t recognize. “Breakfast!”
    “No thanks. I’m not hungry,” said Sean.
    “I got some of those noodles you like.”
    “I’m not eating.”
    “Listen, asshole, I’m not going to make you eat any meat. Just get in here. The rest of the guys wanna have a meeting before we go out hunting again.”
    “I’ll be in, in a minute. I have something to do first. A bandage.”
    “You got two minutes before I send Duke after you.”
    “Keep that fucking dog away from me, Brick. I told you already, if he touches me, I’m done here.”
    “You’re done here when Dave says you’re done here, fruitcake.”
    And then he was gone.
    Okay, so there’s Dave, Sean the fruitcake, Dave’s buddy Brick, and at least a few more guys so far. That’s … six at a minimum. I would have liked to think that based on his comments, Sean could possibly be counted on to not fight us if the time came that the canners actually discovered us here, but there was no guarantee of that.
    Winky looked down at me and shrugged her shoulders. If she were thinking what I was thinking, she was wondering what the heck we were supposed to do now. I was in the middle of processing our options when the back door opened again and the sounds of a struggle reached my ears.
    “Stop moving around, you little fuck!”
    “Let me go , you canner beast!” came a desperate screech.
    My heart froze in my chest as I recognized the voice.
    Peter!
    ***
    “Who the hell is that?” asked Sean.
    “Keep fighting me and see what happens,” threatened Brick. Then I heard, “Ah!! Shit!!”
    “Palm thrust, asshole!” yelled Peter, just before I heard a big slap and the sound of pool chairs falling over.
    “Right hook, dick! Now get the hell up and get into the meat locker.” Dogs were barking and then Brick was yelling at them. “Shut the hell up, Duke! Dracula! Shut up!”
    I swallowed several times quickly in a row, trying to keep from barfing. They have Peter! I wanted to drop down to the ground and go after that evil monster who was beating him up, but one severe look from Winky stopped me in my tracks. She signaled me to stay still and watch, and since my self-preservation instincts seems to have abandoned me temporarily in favor of getting to Peter, I listened to her silent voice of reason. This was exactly the situation I had challenged Fohi about - the ability to walk away instead of saving someone, for the greater good. I wasn’t sure if I had it in me to leave Peter behind.
    “Get this piece of shit up, Sean. Lock him up.”
    “Where’d he come from? Did you go hunting already?”
    “No. Found him and his little dog out front, messing with Duke.”
    “What’d you do with the dog?”
    “He ran off. Got this little turd, though. Doesn’t look like much. Maybe we’ll just let Duke and Dracula practice on him.”
    “You’re fucking sick, you know that? Just go to breakfast. I’ll take care of this idiot.”
    “You better. And hurry up. The meeting’s starting and Dave wants you there.”
    The door shut and Sean said, “Asshole.” I heard more furniture moving and then, “Hey man, get up. I have to lock you inside.”
    “With your other prisoners?” said Peter, sassily.
    “What are you talking about? How do you know we have others here?”
    Oh, shit, Peter, don’t tell him you know about them! Don’t give us away!
    “I heard that guy talking inside. You have other people here. How many of you cannibals are there here, anyway? I saw seven inside. You make eight. Are there any more monsters I should know about?”
    Winky beamed down at me, giving me a thumbs-up sign. I prayed both for Peter’s safety and an answer from this canner doctor.
    “We’ve got nine, actually. Not that it matters. You’re not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere. No one is. We’re all stuck here. Lucky for you,