Apocalypsis 03 - Exodus

upstairs room picked a few of them off before Kiersten and her crew came in and nabbed me and Bodo.”
    “Sounds confusing.”
    “It was. Serious shit was going down, and there was fire and yelling and shots going off. I couldn’t tell if they were from a person shooting or their arsenal exploding. Some of those assholes got away, though, I know that. Kiersten’s group didn’t get them all.”
    “I thought she was friends with them,” I said, noticing she had left her sister and was headed our way. I was freaking out, thinking he wouldn’t answer me before she got there. I needed to know the answer to this question.
    “Nah. She used them for sex and information. They had a truce, mainly because those guys were tired of raping boys, I think. They appreciated getting a fresh piece once in a while, if you know what I mean.”
    “That’s just sick,” I said. “And I thought they couldn’t stoop any lower than they did.”
    “Oh, trust me. They stooped as low as a person possibly can.”
    I swallowed hard, realizing that Bodo had been with these girls and Alejandro the entire time I’d been back in Kahayatle - almost a week. I’d been trying to convince myself that he’d been hiding out, looking for Nina. But now I knew he’d been a prisoner of a houseful of horny Amazon women. What has he been doing here all this time? I looked at him and then at Alejandro’s smiling face. I wasn’t sure I was going to be happy with the answer, but I had to ask anyway.
    “Did you guys … you know … like, have orgies and stuff while you were here?”
    Alejandro laughed, “No, man, I wish. They’ve been feeding us and getting us ready for the ceremony. They want to keep it all, I don’t know, legit with the moon and nature and shit.”
    “Say what, now?”
    “I don’t know. They’re doing some kind of earth religion thing. They’re worshipping the moon and the elements and all kinds of stuff. I just go with the flow, dude. So long as they don’t eat me, I’m all for it.”
    “So, Bodo’s just been hanging out?”
    “Nah. He’s been trying to get out. Escape. If he’s not trying to climb a wall, he stands outside and just looks up in the sky half the day, like he’s wishin’ he could fly. They’ve had guards on him the whole time, but no one was allowed to touch us until tonight.”
    I smiled, picturing my stubborn German boyfriend, giving these Amazons a hard time. “I guess he wasn’t all that crazy about being man meat.”
    “Yeah. Whatever. Just keep me away from the crazy lunatics. That’s all I care about.”
    “I hope you’re not talking about my girls,” said Kiersten, arriving at the top of the stairs.
    “Heck no, Kiers. We’re talking about the crazies down the street,” said Alejandro, stepping over to be next to her.
    She barely spared him a glance.
    I stared at her, picturing her as the youngest girl on a college campus, working in a science lab, coming up with all kinds of brews and cures and things. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. But anyone could say crap like that these days and we’d all just have to believe it. I could tell them I was an Olympic-hopeful track star and they’d have to believe me.
    “What?” she said, looking at me in challenge.
    “What, what?” I said back, trying to look innocent.
    “Why are you looking at me like that?” She turned to Alejandro. “What’d you tell her?”
    He shrugged. “Nothing secret. Just that you’re a scientist with some mad skills.” He turned his attention to me. “You should have her tell you about the virus that killed our parents and stuff. Pretty crazy shit.”
    My mouth dropped open. For a second I couldn’t speak.
    “Maybe another time,” she said, gesturing over Alejandro’s head, motioning for a girl to come join us. “Take him to the fire, would you? We’re going to do the cleansing ritual.”
    Alejandro raised his eyebrows a few times at me suggestively. “See you ‘round, Bryn.” And then he jumped down the stairs, two at a time.
    I couldn’t help but laugh. “He seems pretty enthusiastic.”
    She smiled absently. “Yeah. We do prefer them that way. Bodo gave us some trouble.” She looked at him, pushing up his chin with her finger. “I did so want him to come around, though. He would have been worth it.”
    I reached up and took her by the wrist, gently but firmly moving her hand away from him. “Hands off, Kiersten. We have a deal. Bodo is mine.”
    “Man meat,” he