‘Kate do this,’ she paces back and forth her arms flailing. ‘Bitch get me that.’ She stops directly in front of me. Her height makes her at eye level. ‘I’m not here to baby a bunch of grown fucking men! Before the virus, I was a doctor, a well-respected fucking scientist! And I’ve been turned into a fucking babysitter, and I’ve had enough. Enough of it all. Enough of men taking what they want, what they think they are entitled to! And it starts with you.’
I’m met with a lethal-looking scalpel as she waves it a rather uncomfortable distance from my face.
Ahh fuck, not the eyes. Seriously, anything but my eyes.
Isla will never forgive me if I come back unable to see her beauty.
My heart sinks.
How long have I been down here?
I try to look around for any semblance of light but there’s absolutely nothing but that coming from the subway cart behind me.
I clear my throat, trying to put as much kindness into my voice. ‘How long have I been down here?’
‘Why?’
‘Well I have something I needed to do so—‘
She cuts me off. ‘You are not going back to torture those poor women. I will castrate you and hang your balls from the stadium gates if I have to.’ I should really introduce her to Luna. ‘Were you never taught right from wrong? Because raping women is wrong. Forcing them to have babies is wrong. Being a nasty fucking person is wrong.’
‘I agree.’ I nod, not thinking better of it.
‘Oh, you agree, do you? And why were you here getting birthing supplies then!’
My ass cheeks clench in fear as she points the shiny metal scalpel an inch from my eye.
‘You and your masks don’t fool me.’ She uses the scalpel to flick the fabric of my mask. ‘I know what you are and I’m sick of it. Sick of it all.’
Slow clapping sounds from behind me accompanied by two sets of footsteps. ‘Tell us how you really feel, sister.’
So I didn’t kill the fucker when I knocked him out. How unfortunate.
‘You,’ Kate glares at her brother. ‘Should fuck off.’
‘Or what?’ Malcolm's tone has a pout to it and I wouldn’t be surprised to find his bottom lip sticking out.
‘You really think I’m scared of a pathetic piece of shit like you? You were always the disappointment of the family, Malcolm. And you’ve never made up for it.’
‘You bitch,’ he spits. His steps sound uneven, almost like he’s stumbling. ‘What the…’
‘I’m not stupid. I know you’re stronger than me but you always forget that I’m the smarter one. The one who has kept us alive.’
‘I kept us alive,’ he seethes.
Kate tips her head back, the motion similar to an annoyed child’s. ‘No, you kept up the story of big scary subway dwellers. That was the only thing you were good for, and I thought I could do it if it meant the rest of us would be safe, but you kept taking and taking. Nothing is ever good enough for you. Then you had to go and make a deal with these monsters.’ She points my way. ‘You’ve been obsessed with them for years.’
Obsessed with us? Now that’s a little pathetic. I almost feel sorry for the guy. But he is a piece of shit who clearly got off on the idea of us breeding women, so I’ll save my sympathy for another.
‘I’m not obsessed!’
‘Kind of are,’ mutters the annoying shit who is Malcolm's shadow.
‘Fuck off.’
A rustling sound of clothes comes from him. Is that some trouble in paradise I hear?
‘Look, this all seems like a personal family matter. Don’t mind me, I’ll be going now.’ I offer as I work at the ropes behind my back.
