Page 63 of Redemption (Devil Dogs of the Apocalypse #4)

The woman before me is trembling, visibly shaking on the table.

She turns her head back over her shoulder to look at me, a single tear trailing down her face as I see the silent plea in her eyes.

Unable to hold myself back, my hand reaches out to catch it, to try and soothe her pain and misery as much as I’m able to during this fucked-up ceremony I refuse to be a part of.

“These will be your wards for the evening. Ladies of Ascension, open yourselves to your Keepers and allow them to gift you the purpose you were born to fulfill. You are the Creators! The blessed ones chosen to craft a new generation! Our new meaning of life! Without you, our existence as a species will perish. It is unto you that we bestow our blessings and our gratitude.” He pauses, turning back to the line of men standing on their painted jail cells.

“Gentlemen, you are the Keepers of Life! Without you, procreation is impossible. Especially in this day and age when the contagion has robbed so many of us the ability to do so. You have each passed your first test, and have been recognized as upstanding members of this community. Dependable. Honest. Trustworthy. It is through your gifts that we shall embark on a new nation, conceived right here under the direction of Phoenix Rising. For it is through the rising of the ashes that we shall prevail! Gentlemen of Ascension, it is your duty to lead the charge and provide the means to do so.”

My heart practically beats out of my chest as I look at the women lined up in front of us. An offering. He expects us to have sex with these women in order to regain what was lost.

I’m going to fucking kill that man if it’s the last thing I do.

A new man enters the room wearing nothing but an orange ski mask.

Tall, muscular, exceedingly intimidating.

Completely naked, he walks around the space as if he doesn’t have a care in the world.

As if he’s done this before. As if this is a regular occurrence and he’s just here to get in and out as fast as possible.

He takes the space marked with the coordinating color and places his hands upon the woman’s hips in front of him.

She startles at the abrupt contact but settles when she sees who’s behind her, silently consenting by tilting her hips slightly for him.

Without a word, he thrusts into her, fucking her for all to see.

She moans as he drives his cock into her, while the men at the back of the room—clad in robes—begin to adjust their clothing, making room for their hands underneath as they watch on.

I’m stunned speechless at the sight, at their mutual groans echoing around the room, surrounding us as they pick up speed and race as one towards the finish line.

The man next to me, however, scoffs and shakes his head at the spectacle.

“You’ve gotta be barking mad if you think I’m going to be pressured into having sex with this woman. ”

“Oh really, Mr. Green?” David takes an amused step towards him, crossing his arms over his chest nonchalantly.

“We might be a little unorthodox, but we’re not crazy.

The world needs to be repopulated. There are only so many women left in the world, and as men, it is our duty to help them create lives to replace those lost.”

The man in green lifts his hand to the woman in front of him, the tips of his fingers vibrating with fury. “Look at her. She doesn’t want this.”

“Of course she does,” David disagrees abruptly. “Go ahead. Ask them.” He turns to the woman in front of the guy in green, smiling down at her as he skates his hand up her bare back until it settles on her shoulder. “Are you here willingly, my cherub?”

She hesitates, looking back at us before returning to David. She licks her lips, obviously distressed, but then whispers, “Yes. I want this.”

“Good girl,” David praises, kissing her forehead briefly before turning back to the line of men.

Just then, the couple in the back reach a crescendo in their thrusts as moans, groans, and boisterous ecstasy ring out loud in the otherwise silent space.

He finishes with a growl and smacks the woman on her ass once before withdrawing and walking away, leaving her with nothing but a reddened handprint as she lies in a slump on the small, forgotten table.

The man doesn’t look back. Doesn’t check on her.

Just exits the way he came just as quickly as he arrived.

The woman, however, curls into herself, wrapping a hand in between her legs as if she’s making sure not a drop of his cum leaves her while she waits patiently.

“You’re fucking crazy,” the man in green continues, undeterred by the woman’s voiced permission.

“None of them actually want this. You’re coercing them.

I saw how they practically fought one another for the bread you threw at them earlier.

Is that how you’re doing this? Fuck for food?

While the community buffets are overflowing with nourishment three fucking times a day?

! You fucking bastards. You and all those people in the back are just sick fucks that need to be—”

*BANG*

A deafening shot rings out as a bullet exits the backside of the man’s head.

His eyes are still wide open as brain matter explodes from the wound cavity before his body falls to the ground midsentence.

The women around us scream but remain in position on the tables, their undiluted terror filling the air around us as the scent of smoke and burnt flesh lingers.

Blood pools at my feet, the gruesome evidence slowly continuing its path down the line until all our boots are marked by this man’s sacrifice.

“Now...,” David starts, walking down the line of us while casually wiping the bloody spray off the barrel of his gun with a handkerchief from his pocket.

“Let me be... very plain. I don’t want anyone else to get any ideas that we mean to degrade these women.

We are the last of the human race. If we do not procreate, we will die out and the virus wins.

To survive, we need to do this. There is no choice.

We live or we die. Whether all together or one at a time.

You want to live? You need to carry on a line.

A lineage. A pedigree of strong, capable, intelligent individuals that can withstand the elements and the virus.

You’ve all been tested. Scientists have confirmed that the virus only affects certain blood types when airborne.

Yours... are immune to such transmission.

And after verifying your sperm counts, you’re as virile as we can hope for.

Because of this, it is your responsibility to produce offspring that can also survive the outbreak.

To allow the human race a chance at survival. It is your duty.”

“No.” A single word of direct opposition interrupts his repugnant speech, but it’s just enough to have every set of eyes turning to meet mine.

David tilts his head in response. “Excuse me?” he asks, the question teeming with vexation. “I tend to try and block out poor manners in my vicinity. What was it that you just so rudely interrupted me with?”

“I said, ‘No.’”

He scoffs at my disobedience, shaking his head as he takes in my unyielding stance.

“We live... or we die, son. While I will always hope for a steady stream of variety to be added to the gene pool, it is not a necessity. A single, honorable man can accomplish the impossible. As such, I will not waste resources on those who refuse to comply.”

“You can fuck right off,” I reply, his threats not worth the scar on my soul. “There’s no way I’m going to be forced into having sex with this woman. No one should have to. This is barbaric.”

David rolls his eyes, not bothered one bit as he waves his gun around amid conversation.

Like it’s a fucking normal thing to do. “Ok... I do love a good old-fashioned debate, but this is getting a tad bit redundant and, frankly, aggravating. What if I give you this retort? If you do not mount this woman and spill your seed inside her... as many times as I deem necessary... I will kill her where she kneels.” I try not to show any outward response, but my eyes widen regardless.

This man is insane.

Certifiably insane.

His hand waving the gun around gets more animated as his frustrations climb.

“Today, tomorrow, next Tuesday, I don’t give a rat’s ass.

She is a fertile woman, but her husband has been plagued with the unfortunate stigma of sterility.

If she is unable to bear children because a man refuses to lie with her, then she has outlived her usefulness.

And if that’s the case....” He aims the gun at her.

A gasp comes from the side as a man I didn’t see comes barreling forward. “No. Please. It’s not her fault. It’s mine. Please. Please don’t do this!”

“Ah, hello, Casper. Your wife looks lovely today, doesn’t she?”

Wife? Oh hell no.

With short gasps of breath, he takes her in.

The woman he chose to marry, on all fours, naked, and spread out to be used.

He lifts a trembling hand to her face and she leans in to the soft touch, closing her eyes upon contact.

Casper smiles softly down at her, his words shuddering as he responds, “She’s always beautiful. ”

“That she is,” David confirms. “Would be a shame if her head were no longer there because one person objected to our regeneration project.”