Zompoc Survivor: Odyssey by Ben Reeder Page B

head at the litany. He’d turned on his parents before we even got them into the house, and told us about Lena, his older half-sister who had been locked in the basement since she was a little girl. An embarrassment to her mother because she was born out of wedlock, she’d been hidden away all her life. If he’d been hoping for some mercy from me by betraying his parents though, he’d been disappointed.
    “You didn’t do anything,” I said. He nodded quickly, looking up at me with a hopeful smile. “That’s your crime. You let your brother and your sisters suffer while you enjoyed a normal life.” His face fell at that, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t disappointed in himself. Still, if there was hope for any of them, it was with him. I took a deep breath, then pulled the key to his handcuffs from my pocket. “Finish your food, then go and unlock your parents. Meet us out front.” I walked out and went down the steps. Amy waited for me with a bowl of the same stew the other kids had been eating.
    “No thanks,” I said. “I don’t have much of an appetite right now.” She nodded.
    “Me, either,” she said as she turned and took it into the dining room. The other three kids were sitting in the front room, huddled on the couch and looking worried. I walked past them and out to the front porch.  The morning sun was casting long shadows across the fields, and mist was rising in long, narrow patches from the ground. It should have been beautiful. Amy led the three kids out onto the porch, and for a moment, I got to see them smile like normal kids. Then the front door opened and Del walked across the porch, his head down. Penny followed him, and as soon as she saw the girls, she moved toward them.
    “You worthless little-” was all she got out before I punched her. She staggered back and fell off the porch.
    “You will never lay a hand on those kids again,” I said. She got up and stared daggers at me.
    “You won’t always be around, you self-righteous son of a bitch,” Del said. I came off the porch and shoved him against the side of the truck with my forearm across his neck.
    “But I will be back,” I said as he struggled. “And if either of you so much as touches one of these children in anger, I swear to you. I. Will. Bury. You.” His face went pale at that, and he stopped fighting against me. I stepped back and let him fall to the ground, then turned to Tad, who had been the last one out. He was ashen faced and stood stock still.
    “You,” I said sternly. His eyes locked on me. “You didn’t do anything. That ends now. If they’re not treated the same way you used to be, you speak up. You do everything you can to stop it. Do you understand?” He nodded quickly. Finally I turned back to Del.
    “You have one week, maybe two before I come check on you,” I said, my voice trembling as I fought to keep from hitting him again. “If these children aren’t all alive, healthy and on the mend when I come back, I’m going to chain the two of you to the floor in one of those rooms and leave you there to die. Am I understood?” His eyes narrowed, but he nodded slowly. I stepped back, and felt a creeping sensation up the back of my neck. Amy stood, and I turned to look over my shoulder. She trotted to the edge of the hilltop and looked down, then turned back to me.
    “Ghouls!” she called out. I ran to the truck and pulled the Deuce and Amy’s sword belt from the cab. “You read my mind,” she said as she buckled it on.
    “I need to leave them with an example they won’t forget,” I sad as I drew my blade. “But I need you to stay out of this fight and keep an eye on the Manson family here.” Her jaw clenched as she frowned at me. She nodded and stepped back a couple of paces with an expression on her face like she’d just eaten a raw lemon. I moved forward and looked down the hill at the trio of ghouls that were racing up the slope toward us. Two wore t-shirts and jeans, and one was clad