Live Another Day by Baileigh Higgins (finding audrey .txt) 📕

narrowed. Michael threw her a look and said, “They notice. We must act the part.”

She glanced toward the guard and hunched down like a crone. “They mustn't know.”

With casual contempt, Michael tossed the empty cup at the old woman and shouted, “Now get away. Back to your hole, old woman.”

The guard laughed and nodded his approval.

Like a crab, she scurried around and prepared to go. He turned his back on her and looked into the distance before asking one final question. “Rebecca.”

She paused for the briefest of moments.

“How can I get Ke Tau to trust me?”

“Trust you?” She cackled underneath her breath. “If you want Ke Tau to trust you, then you must be like him. You must become him.”

With that cryptic remark, the old woman left, and the hours passed slowly. One after the other until exhaustion dragged at his lids and sleep beckoned with the sweet promise of relief. His thirst, temporarily sated by the mageu, returned with a vengeance as the sun rose. He dared not sit down for too long lest he fell asleep, a sin that carried dire consequences in Ke Tau's eyes.

One by one the other guards were relieved, but never him. He alone remained standing at his post, hour after hour. Behind his back, the other men made bets on how long he'd last. This he knew but cared not. Instead, his mind wandered back over the past month. While Ke Tau had seemed to accept his story of him wanting vengeance against the camp because they destroyed all his hopes for a vaccine, the leader had not entrusted him with anything worthwhile.

Instead, he'd been shunned and assigned to the poorest of jobs. The first week he'd worked like a slave, cleaning toilets and sleeping quarters. The next, he was given the task of shackling zombies to poles and chains. He complied with Ke Tau's orders without complaint, yet this gained him nothing. Once or twice, one of the other gang members took him on, but that stopped when he shoved a plunger down the one's throat. After that, he was treated with wary respect and fear from lesser members.

About two weeks in, he'd been given a gun and a sweat-stained uniform. This caused him to hope for betterment until he was assigned to guard duty, fated to stand outside no matter what the weather. Shunned by the others, he bided his time and waited.

“Maybe now things can get moving,” he growled softly.

He forced his fatigued body to keep going, not allowing himself to falter or fail. Whenever an infected wandered towards him, he dispatched it with prompt efficiency and dragged the body aside. The day wore on, and night fell, bringing with it the return of Rebecca. He watched her approach with eagerness, his parched tissues crying out for moisture.

“Do you have water?” he asked.

“I'm sorry. Ke Tau said no water.” She looked ashamed as she uttered the words, her lips pursed in sympathy. “He is intent on seeing how long you can last. It is a game with him.”

“A game?”

She nodded. “He wants to see how strong you are. Too little and you are useless to him. Too much...”

“And he will kill me,” Michael finished.

“Yes.” She bobbed her head before handing him a cup brimming with Mageu. “He is watching you.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “Because you are different. This disturbs him.”

Michael remained silent, working this information over in his mind while he drank the sour brew in his hand. If Rebecca was correct, Ke Tau was waiting for something. Either a sign of absolute loyalty or disobedience. Either way, he was running out of time. A month had passed since he arrived, a month during which anything could have happened at camp. He hadn't been able to make any headway over here, or contact any of his people. It was time to do something drastic.

“Tell me again, Rebecca. What do I have to do to earn his trust?”

She took his empty cup and once more sneaked him a second after a furtive look around. While he drank, she said, “I already told you. You must become like him.”

Michael tossed her his cup and shoved his bread into his pocket. “What does that even mean? Give me something I can work with. Do you want to live here forever under his rule, watching your son rot away on a pole?”

Rheumy tears welled up in her eyes. This elicited a twinge of sorrow, but Michael had no time to pussyfoot around and stood firm.

She sighed and looked away. “Tomorrow, Ke Tau and a few others are going on a raid. They've seen signs of a small group of survivors on the outskirts of town. You must convince Ke Tau to take you with him.”

“How? I'm not allowed to leave my post.” Michael gestured around him.

Rebecca bit her lip. “I will speak to someone I know. He respects me for my wisdom, though he will not show it in front of the others. I will tell him you wish to go, and that you need to speak to Ke Tau. Perhaps, he can arrange it, though I promise nothing.”

“Say he does manage, what then?”

“Then you must convince Ke Tau to give you a chance.” She sucked in a deep breath. “It is a risk.”

“No more a risk than standing here while he plays his games.” Michael squared his shoulders. “If he does let me go with him tomorrow, then....”

“You will have your chance to prove your loyalty.” Her shoulders bowed to the ground, and her eyes traveled to the thrashing shape of her son tied to his pole in eternal punishment. “Just like my son had. He failed. What about you?”

“I will not fail.”

“So when the time comes, you will kill and torture innocents?” She studied his face. “All to gain his trust?”

Michael felt a cold knot form in his breast when she uttered the words out loud. “Yes.”

“Why?”

It was a simple question, yet one loaded with nuance. Michael knew she was testing him, weighing him,