The encounter (5)

When I looked at the water and saw my reflection, something inside me seemed to break. A naked whore with semen-smeared face—that's what I was. Dirty inside and out, equally repulsive and joyless.

My mother had felt the same way once, but she got used to it over time. After we left the once safe zone, my mother had to lie with all sorts of ugly scum. For food, for temporary protection, and for me. Now I was destined to follow in her footsteps. The thought brought tears to my eyes.

"Hey, why are you frozen? Offended?" Ben's voice snapped me out of my stupor.

I shook my head, scooped water from the tub, and washed up. Thanks to you, you bearded monster, for these valuable lessons! Ask me the same question when I'll chop off your damned member with a rusty blunt knife and throw it at your disgusting face! Sooner or later, it will happen!

"Well, you shouldn't," Ben interpreted my reaction his way and then left the barn.

Rinsing off the foreign secretions, I picked up my clothes and began dressing. Retrieving the revolver that the bearded man once again didn't bother to take, I headed to the woods, hoping to clear my thoughts.

As I approached the lake, I sat down on the ground and began throwing stones into the water. Once my mother recovers, we won't stay here. Ben will leave. And if he doesn't, he'll be worse off. Thoughts of how I'll kick the bearded bear out of his den brightened my mood. But as I heard a crunch nearby, I quickly stood up and grasped the revolver with both hands.

"Ben? Mom?" I asked, stepping back just in case.

A ragged figure emerged from behind a tree. At first, I thought it was a person. But when the uninvited guest looked at me, baring its teeth like a hungry dog, I realized it was a ghoul. In the next moment, the creature rushed towards me.

"Die, you monster!" I yelled, opening fire on the predator.

Of the three shots fired from the revolver, only one hit the mark. The ghoul, once a human, fell lifeless on the ground about five meters away from me. Trying not to dwell on my racing heartbeat, I approached the dead ghoul and kicked it with my foot. No response.

"Ready!" I thought, lowering the gun.

But the joy of killing the carnivorous monster was short-lived as I saw about a dozen more ghouls approaching me. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I turned and ran back to the house. All the ghouls followed suit. Taking quick glances over my shoulder and seeing the rapidly diminishing distance between me and the bloodthirsty creatures, I fired random shots at them while the revolver drum emptied. Realizing that I wouldn't make it back home in time, I spotted a tree ahead, deciding to take refuge from the ghouls there.

Inside the house, they heard the shots and should have figured out something had happened. I just needed to hold on until Ben arrived. Reaching the tree, I jumped up, grabbed a thick branch with both hands, and pulled myself up like on a pull-up bar. Just then, one of the ghouls leaped and grabbed my legs with its hands. Freeing my right leg, I started pounding the ghoul's face, but the monster paid no attention to my feeble attempts to get rid of it and bit into my leg. I screamed in pain and began furiously hitting it even harder, but the ghoul let go only after it was hit by a burst of automatic fire.

Climbing onto the branch, I turned my head and noticed my mother and Ben rushing to help, armed with guns. While my mother fired at the ghouls with the automatic rifle, Ben ran to the tree and finished off the wounded monster with a shotgun.

"Be careful, on your left!" I shouted, noticing too late another monster approaching Ben.

The bearded man I had already marked as dead had an excellent reaction. The ghoul tried to lunge at Ben and knock him to the ground but was shot in mid-air. There were no problems with the rest of the monsters. Within a minute, all the ghouls, including those trying to escape, were dead. I climbed down from the tree and awkwardly made my way to my mother.

"Thank God, you're safe, my little one!" she exclaimed joyfully.

"Not safe," I said in a lifeless voice.

Noticing my wound, my mother turned pale and pressed her hands to her mouth. Ben cursed under his breath, took out a radio, and tried to contact someone, but there was no response.

"Darn it! This son of a bitch is already asleep!" the bearded man said irritably, putting the radio away.

"And what do I do now?" I asked, bewildered.

"You should have thought of that earlier, brainless fool!" Ben barked.

Feeling like I was about to faint, I leaned against a tree. Pressing my back against it, I slowly lowered myself to the ground.

"There's an axe lying in the shed near the bath. Bring it quickly, and I'll watch over your daughter for now," Ben told my mother.

"Why?" I became suspicious.

"I don't have an antidote anyway, so the only way to save you from turning into a ghoul is to cut off your leg slightly above the bite," he replied.

At the sound of the bearded man's answer, I felt my insides go cold. I equally didn't want to die or become a cripple for the rest of my life, however long or short it might be.

"But she still has a whole hour before the transformation!" my mother protested, not rushing to go get the ax.

"What's the use? Maybe my friend has an antidote, but I won't have time to go get it and come back, even if I run without stopping. Unless..."

Not finishing the sentence, the bearded man turned his gaze to me.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

"I can," I replied and, using the tree for support, clumsily got to my feet.

"Good. My friend lives about five kilometers from here. If we hurry, we can get to him before you start convulsing and try to bite my throat."

The idea of going for the antidote God knows where, especially at night, didn't appeal to me. But understanding that refusing would result in amputation, I hurriedly agreed.

Reloading his shotgun, Ben ordered my mother to return home, lock the door, and keep a close eye on the street from the second floor. As for me, he instructed me to follow him and not fall behind. My mother went one way, and I followed Ben in the opposite direction.

While we circled the lake, I feared another pack of ghouls might attack us again, but that didn't happen. Apparently, I had stumbled upon the only pack, and there was no one else left. Exiting the forest without any hindrance, we reached a flat area.

Ben walked very quickly, practically running. I struggled to keep up with him, realizing that asking for a break wouldn't be in my best interest. Feeling weak, I first fell far behind and then collapsed to the ground. Ben wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't called out to him.

"You'll end up in the grave! Get up quickly!" the irritated bearded man yelled.

"I can't. My leg is completely numb," I replied, feeling pathetic and helpless.

"You should've had your leg cut off right away, or better yet, your head!" Ben grumbled and crouched down.

Leaning against him, the bearded man helped me up and then sat on his haunches.

"Climb on. Before I change my mind!" he snapped.

I didn't need to be asked twice. Clambering onto Ben's back, I gripped his shoulders tightly.

"Let me know in advance if you get the urge to sink your teeth into my neck," Ben said before moving forward.

For the first time, I became curious about how old this bear really was, whether he was truly old, or if it was just my imagination. I could hear Ben's breathing, and I knew he was tired too, but his speed didn't seem to be affected. My own condition worsened with each passing minute. I completely lost feeling in both legs, and shivers ran through me. My thoughts were muddled. It seemed that in just a little while, I would forget my own name.

"Are we still far?" I asked solely to break the prolonged silence and to force my fading brain to work.

"No. Do you see that hill ahead?"

"Yes," I replied, although in reality, I couldn't see anything as my vision had become blurred.

"After that, it's just another 500 meters, and we'll be there. Don't worry; we have plenty of time."

It was hard to believe what I heard. For a moment, it seemed that if Ben let go of me, I would shatter into countless pieces upon hitting the ground. When I voiced this out loud, the bearded man chuckled.

"After a ghoul bite, it's always like that. You feel weak, as if your bones become brittle. After a while, you might even experience hallucinations."

"How do you know?" I asked in surprise.

"I know because I've been through it myself. So endure it and think of something pleasant."

The problem was that I couldn't endure it, let alone think. I felt as though I was trapped in a thick fog with no way out. My eyes saw nothing, and my ears heard nothing. In the end, my strength left me, and I lost consciousness.

I woke up when something sharp pierced my neck. Opening my eyes abruptly, I found myself in a room. Standing next to me was a short, bald man in a dirty white coat, holding a syringe. Behind the bald man stood Ben, looking less than pleased.

"Am I going to die?" I asked without thinking.

"Naturally. We all die someday," the guy in the coat replied and straightened up.

From his words, it seemed that the danger to my life had passed. When he offered for me to stay here for the night, I didn't notice any hidden agenda in his question and was about to agree. However, Ben cut in, saying that we needed to return immediately. I didn't want to argue with the man who had recently been my enemy but had saved me.

After Ben quickly bandaged my leg where the bite was, we bid farewell to the homeowner and stepped outside. The place we found ourselves in resembled not so much a city as a small fort. When we reached the gate, I saw two armed thugs with blatantly criminal faces.

"Hey, Ben. Let the girl stay with us. I'll give you a couple of dry rations, some beer, and a box of 12-gauge shells in return," one of the thugs said.

I was almost dumbfounded by this turn of events.

"Another time. She'll be useful to me today. Open the gates," Ben didn't haggle with the thug.

"Come on, stop being so greedy! I'm not asking for her permanently, just for an hour," the sturdy guy insisted more persistently.

"I'll lend her to you permanently, but only after you pay for the 'souvenir'," Ben replied without bargaining.

"What souvenir?" I wondered.

The thug's friend asked the same question aloud. The bully seemed noticeably embarrassed and stopped haggling, apparently fearing that Ben might say too much. That's where the impending conflict ended, and we were allowed to leave the fort. As soon as we moved away from the gate, I asked about the "souvenir" they mentioned.

"It's a severed part of a dead ghoul," the bearded man answered with a smile.

"Another part of its body? A finger?" I inquired.

"Something thicker and longer."

Realizing what body part they were referring to, I grimaced, regretting that I had brought up the subject. I didn't bother to ask why such a thug would need a severed ghoul's member, understanding that a mad world was inhabited by insane people. The rest of the way, we walked in silence, not saying a word to each other.