Page 60 of Marked for Execution

Well, after what the bloodsucker told us, I should have.

A woman lay on top of a table, her innards spilled over the side from a large open cavity sliced down the middle. All her limbs had been cut off, leaving only her head and torso. The skin on her face had been removed, exposing the muscle underneath. There was a drain beneath her to capture the blood. Looking around, there were axes, saws, and leather gloves hanging on the wall. The body hadn’t started to smell yet, so she must be fresh.

This was a butcher’s room.

“Travis, what you got going for dinner today?” came from the other side of the wall.

“Slim pickings around here Lawrence, so Slim got picked.” The men cackled as the sound of flames roared, right before the sound of sizzling.

“Fucking hell,” Reed whispered.

“Didn’t you just fuck her last week, Travis?”

“Yeah, her used up cunt wasn’t even that good.”

Reed and I both exited the room and moved along the shadows of the wall.Sili, we’re coming for you.Soon enough, another room appeared before us, farther away from the main activity near the soup kitchen.

“Fuck, this is taking too long.”

I agreed with Reed. Straightening up, I exhaled right before I opened the closed door. Lifting my rifle up, I cursed under my breath when all I saw were blood splatters against the wall.

“What the…” Reed started.

“Sili. Are you in here?” There were dead bodies scattered about the room, some with their heads detached. A good number of them were half-naked with their pants undone. I was getting more furious by the minute, until a small body slowly climbed to her feet behind the wooden headboard of a bed frame in the middle of the room.

“Th-they should have listened.”

“Sili? Shit.” Lowering my gun, I ran to her. She was covered in blood from head to toe, but it didn't stop me from pulling her into a tight embrace.

“I didn’t want to go out there. I knew you guys would find me soon enough. I waited. I was supposed to wait, right?”

“Yeah, Fitri. You did good.” Reed’s eyes were still assessing the damage she dealt.

At least she didn’t die this time.

“Come on, let’s grab a vehicle and get out of here!” I pulledSilifrom her hiding spot and all three of us moved.

The smell of cooking flesh and charcoal began to fill the air, a lot of the men moving outside to get closer to the food.

One of the windows along the wall was open, metal crates sat right beside it. I signaled towards the location and pushedSiliforward first. She climbed the crates, slipping every so often but made it out the window. Reed went next as I watched their backs, in case anyone caught us.

The window was almost too small for me. Wriggling a little more, it scraped my skin, and I accidentally kicked something, landing it with a loud crash.

“What the hell was that?”

“It came from that side.”

“Grab the guns.”

Fuck!I landed outside and we all ran towards the parked vehicles. Gunner and Samuel whistled, masks in hand, and waved us over to one of the main bigger cars.

“This shit isn’t going to fit us all.Sili, get in,” I told her.

“What about you?”

“Just get in!”

Shoving her, she fell into the back passenger side. I slammed the door and slapped the top of the hood to tell Samuel and Gunner to go. Tires squealed, throwing dust behind them.