To Kill a Cactus - One of Those Days part 4

One of Those Days part 3: HERE

...

Ash's perspective

I was scared, but I didn't want the little one to notice, so I attempted to stay positive throughout our journey all the way to the edge of the water. I tried to read from her face what she was thinking while we were facing the mass of infected people, but it was so difficult to understand her impressions.

I was focused on the mass ahead of us, trying to find a way I could protect her, that I didn't notice how she was snatched right from next to me, I tried to reach for her, but three men were pulling me away, attacking me with weird sharp objects, I could feel the pain, but all I wanted to do was to get to her and get us away, I felt like I was letting her down. Everything was spinning, but right before it all turned black, I could see Paithoon jumping to the water with her attacker, then I fell.

When I opened my eyes again I was in a small room that felt like it was underground. I had been 6 feet under enough times to understand the feeling, however, after a few minutes, I realised I was in fact not dead. There was a strange looking red haired girl sitting on the edge of my bed. She looked serious, her eyes were fixed on something behind me and she clearly didn't understand that I had woken up. I had time to observe the way she looked, her hair as I mentioned was a bright colour of red, it couldn't of have been her natural hair colour, it felt like I was looking straight into the fire. Her eyes were dark brown with a few specks of gold in them. She was slim, but it was obvious that she was very fit, her clothes were plain and grey, it made her hair seem even more flaming.

"You do realise it's not nice to stare at a lady," she finally said turning her eyes at me.

"You do realise it's not nice to attack a man to tie him down in your underground dungeon," I answered, lifting my hands to show the ropes holding me down.

She rolled her eyes and didn't answer me.

Everything that had happened ran through my mind and I could feel a bit of panic starting to set in when I realised that the little one was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Paithoon, the girl who was with me?" I asked her.

"Probably dead, I don't know. When our men went back to look for her there was nobody in sight," she seemed so untouched by everything, including the discussion of death.

"She can't be dead, she's a fighter," I answered, but I could hear my own voice shake as I said that.

"Didn't seem like much of a fighter, she just let that weird guy pick her up like a doll," she said shrugging her shoulders.

"That weird guy? He was not one of you then?" I was even more confused than before.

"One of us," she laughed, "do you even know anything about what is going on?"

"Not really, " I said feeling so incredibly defeated, I had let down Paithoon, nobody knows where she is or if she's even alive. I left my family and what for, to be tied down in an underground prison with a better than average looking redhead girl who seemed to have no emotions nor empathy.

I heard a door open behind me, three men walked in, I could see the girl tense up.

"Prisoners number 19 and 307," I heard one of the men say.

"That's the new one?" another one of them asked, he had a very deep voice

"Yes, found yesterday afternoon, seems healthy and fit, a possible recruit once tamed," the first guy answered again. I didn't like the sound of that at all.

"Ok, we'll put him in training once he has healed up," he said it as if I hadn't been in the room.

The left the room at the girl sat back on the side of my bed.

"So we're both in here together?" I said.

She didn't answer. I had a feeling, that this was going to be a lot of fun.

...

To be continued