When I see the entrance to the first cell my eyes fall on the man standing there. Fucking skinheads. He’s skinny and twitchy and it’s obvious he’s one of the Nazi’s many addicts.
Ignoring him completely, I step aside and let Brutus drag the bag out front and through the door. The twitchy skinhead watches us warily but doesn’t make a move to do anything. I keep my glare on him anyway. Brutus turns his back for a moment before dropping the dead weight and coming back to stand behind me.
Half a dozen men wander in from nearby cells at the loud noise, looking at the bloodied burlap sack we’ve just deposited into their midst. One man steps forward, I don’t know his name, but he’s recognizable and familiar with the giant swastika plastered on his neck.
“What the fuck is this?” he spits, pointing at the ground. Crossing my arms over my chest I smirk.
“Call it a gift,” I say as another man steps forward to open the bag, dropping it immediately and turning to retch in the corner. “Or perhaps a warning.”
The other man goes over to take a look and his face pales when his eyes fall on the state I’ve left John in, but to his credit he doesn’t puke like the other.
“Y-you’re fucking sick,” he hisses, “What the fuck is this?”
“This is fucking justified,” I snarl back, unable to keep my cool anymore, before turning and leaving the cell. Raised voices are behind me, but I leave that to stew for a bit while I go begin step two.
The skinheads will find me again when they are ready.
* * *
“You got everyone?” I ask Theo as I step back into our makeshift conference room. He nods shortly, putting down the half-finished shiv in his hand. Laid out in front of him are as many bits and pieces of weapons as I had. I don’t doubt most of the inmates have their own, but mine are better. I am not stupid enough to think that there won’t be a lot of dead men at the end of this, but if I can pull this off and free them and save Ana? Well, fuck if nothing else at least we’ll go out with a bang.
“As many as I could, anyway,” he replies, and I nod at him in thanks. He was the one who suggested we get some of the invalids or those who wouldn’t fare well in a fight or in the tunnels and get them to a safe corner of the prison.
Even I value human life to some degree. I don’t want men to die needlessly, but I also expect many to earn their freedom as a result of some sacrifices.
“How’d the Nazis like your gift?” Theo asks with a smirk and I chuckle at the old man.
“I suppose we’ll find out soon.”
Twenty Nine
Ana
After Dick takes me back to my cell I am nothing more than pissed. Sammi is still awake, huddled into the corner when I arrive.
“What happened?” she finally asks in a whisper after watching me pace for a good twenty minutes. I shake my head, muttering to myself as I try to think.
Dick and the guards obviously didn’t expect me to be able to take over when that whole mess went down. Apparently, they like what I’ve done. A woman who can control the savages of the Tomb who even the guards had to pull back from. I shudder at the thought of Dick’s touch.
“Ana!” Sammi says sharply, and I turn to her. “Tell me what the fuck is going on,” she hisses, frowning at me.
“Why the hell should I tell you anything?” I reply bitterly, regretting the words almost immediately. Sighing, I rub a hand over my face before going to put my back to the wall, dropping down to a sitting position.
“Sorry, this is so fucked.”
She shuffles over closer to me.
“What did he want?” she asks, seemingly not offended by my outburst. I consider how I can possibly explain it.
“I think he wants me to run The Tomb,” I finally say, not able to think of any other way to put it. Sammi’s brows knit together.
“Isn’t that what you were doing before?”
I nod, “Yes,” I say slowly, “but they want to take it over again, the guards. They want my help and if I won’t, they’ll sell me to the traffickers like you said.”
Sammi considers this a moment. “At least you have options.”
I snort. “Options? Be whore to a bunch of fucking guards or be sold as a whore, what a fucking choice.”