Catholic Guilt and the Joy of Hating Men - By Regan Wolfrom Page 0,19
said.
“I’m freezing,” Tiara said. “My trousers are wet. I’d be better off just in my knickers.”
“What are you talking about?” Cadance said.
“You know what? I think I’m going to take them off.”
I walked out to see Tiara pulling down her pants.
Naturally Arty didn’t see me coming.
Once I’d stuck him with the cattle prod I dropped it and grabbed the shotgun. I’m not dumb enough to let Tiara take it again.
Cadance and Tiara tied him up with at least a half dozen straps of leather, before tossing him in one of the stalls and closing the padlock behind him.
Cadance picked the cattle prod up off the concrete floor.
“You can’t trust those girls,” he said to me.
“I don’t trust you,” I said. “You’re too nice. It’s kind of suspicious, you know?”
We left him in Stable B and made our way outside.
We headed over to the first stable, where the other girls and I’d been locked away; I made sure to be at the back, just in case one of Fallon Allen’s daughters decided to try anything.
Cadance opened the door, and she and Tiara stepped inside.
“Are they okay?” I asked.
“See for yourself,” Tiara said.
I walked into the stable, trying to hold the shotgun like I knew how to use it.
I pointed it at the two men standing in the aisle in front of us. One of them was Pouchon. The other was fifties, white, and surprisingly fit.
“Put the gun down,” the older man said. “You just look silly holding it like that.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “I’ll still blow your head off.”
“Sure you will.”
Pouchon stepped towards me.
I didn’t know what to do.
I felt the jolt of the cattle prod on my ass.
Cadance laughed as I stumbled forward.
Pouchon took the shotgun out of my hands as he steadied me. “Sorry, Amanda. You’re in over your head.”
“Ya think?”
He smiled. “I still like you.”
“Put them in the stall with the others,” the older man said.
Pouchon looked surprised. “All three of them?”
“Deaf and ugly... wow.”
Pouchon opened the nearest padlocked stall, where I could see Julia and Sayra sitting in the straw. He nodded to me.
“Does he know you eat people?” I asked as I stepped into the stall.
“I’m an open book,” Pouchon said.
I sat down beside Sayra.
She was looking at me. And so was Julia.
“Are you alright, Amanda?” she asked. Her speech was halting and a little slurred, but I had not trouble understanding.
I leaned in and wrapped my arm around her. “Oh, Sayra... I’m so glad you guys are okay.”
“Now you girls get in the stall,” Pouchon said, grabbing onto Cadance’s elbow with one hand. He yanked the yellow cattle prod out of her hands with the other.
“This is a joke,” Cadance said. “Dad... what is going on?”
“Don’t call me that,” the older man said. “You know I don’t like it when you call me that.”
“Then fuck you, Fallon,” Tiara said.
I almost thanked her for not saying “feck”.
“Please get in,” Pouchon said. “Don’t make me bite off another ear.”
The two Allen girls stepped into the stall.
Pouchon closed and locked the gate.
“Now go get a shovel,” Fallon said.
Pouchon started walking towards the tack room.
I stood up and walked over to the locked gate. “How can you do this to your own daughters?” I asked.
“Step-daughters,” Fallon replied. “There’s no blood here. Just two whiny anchors around my neck that I’ll be shaking off momentarily.”
“Congratulations,” I said. “So what about the rest of us? Have you given any thought to letting us go?”
He laughed. “I see why Pouchon keeps talking about you, Amanda, why he almost fucked up the entire plan just because he thinks you’re cute.”
“I was thinking on my feet,” Pouchon called out from down the aisle. “Maybe if you’d been around to help, Captain Alibi.”
“Zombie or no zombie, you were supposed to kill her with the others.”
“Haven’t you noticed? None of these girls are zombies anymore. I’m guessing someone forgot to give them their shots.”
“I missed a couple days,” Cadance said. “It happens.”
“That wasn’t supposed to happen anymore,” Fallon said. “I’m so glad you won’t have another chance to fuck things up.”
“This isn’t fair,” Cadance said.
“I think it is,” Fallon said.
Pouchon walked back down the aisle carrying two shovels.
“Yeah, sure,” Fallon said. “Like I’m going to be shovelling.”
“It’ll take twice as long if it’s just me,” Pouchon said. “That safe is under six feet of clay.”
“Good point, man. We’ve got half a dozen macoutes locked in their cells doing nothing. Let’s go grab them.”
“Let’s hope Cadance has been giving them their shots,” Fallon said.