Dead Days: Season 8 Part 4

And the closer he listened, he thought he could hear the cries of the undead echoing, getting gradually closer.

Was this his punishment?

Was this what he deserved for what he'd done?

He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard a different kind of cry.

Right beside him.

"Oh, darling," he said, walking over to the cot right by the window.

He lifted Kesha out of her cot, patted her back. She was crying.

"Ssh, now," he said. "Ssh. I'm here. I've got you. You don't have to worry about a thing."

He held on to Kesha-precious Kesha, who meant the world to him-and her crying eased.

He'd do anything to hold on to her.

He'd do anything to protect her.

And Riley wasn't going to stop that.

Because she was his now.

Chapter Five.

When Kane heard the door sliding open and saw the light peeking through, he couldn't help smiling.

Today was going to be a beautiful day.

He saw the figure walking towards him and gosh did she look beautiful. Melissa, she was called. She was young, probably early twenties. And despite all the trials and tribulations of this awful world, she still maintained that beauty about her, that grace.

He would very much love to stick his knife into her body and see what she looked like inside out.

Alas, Kane had bigger, bolder ideas.

Melissa walked up to him and crouched opposite him. She didn't look into his eyes. She didn't interact with him. She never did. "Open up."

Kane chuckled, his back sore from all this time tied up in here, all this time propped up against this G.o.dforsaken wall in this G.o.dforsaken cell. "Now, now. Don't you think we should at least go on a date first?"

Melissa didn't look impressed.

Kane sighed. "Don't you trust me to feed myself by now?"

"I won't ask you again," Melissa said, swirling the bowl of awful porridge around with a rusty metal spoon. "Open up, or I'll force it down you."

"A girl with fight. I like that."

She slapped Kane across the face then stuffed the porridge into his mouth, almost touching his tonsils with the spoon.

He coughed, choking up a little of that porridge, but did his best to keep it down him. After all, they treated him even worse when he didn't eat his food. They said it was wasteful, and that they'd leave him to starve.

And Kane didn't want to starve. In the early days of being captive here, he'd thought about starving. Dying seemed like a good option.

And when the agony of his right hand, which was nothing more than a stump now after Riley had sliced half of it away after it'd been bitten... when the agony of his hand got too much after the hours of cauterisation, of disinfecting, of st.i.tching, he'd wanted to die then, too.

At least he was still here. At least he hadn't turned at the mercy of the infection after all.

Not yet.

In a sense, Riley had saved his life.

p.r.i.c.k.

That said, the more time that pa.s.sed, the more certain Kane was that there were better options than dying.

Much better options.

"Melissa, a question, if you'll allow me that much."

She didn't show any reaction. That was a start.

"Before all this. Before you started firing arrows and fending off the deceased. What did you do?"

Melissa glanced into Kane's eyes and in that instant-in that beautiful instant-Kane knew he had her.

"I'm not supposed to talk with you," she said.

"But we're not talking. I'm just eating my porridge. You're just feeding me. n.o.body has to know."

Melissa sighed then lowered the bowl to her right, holding the spoon a fair distance from Kane's mouth now.

"I've seen the look on your face," Kane said.

Melissa narrowed her eyes. Rule number one: do not engage. She'd engaged. He had her. "What look?"

"The look like you don't belong."

"I do belong. I-"

"Don't fool yourself, Melissa. You're an intelligent young woman. There's no reason to play games here. I've seen the way you sigh when you're out of their company. The way you change. And hey. You visit me on a daily basis, feed me. You must enjoy a little time away from all that bow and arrow fantasy nonsense out there. Right?"

Melissa looked over her shoulder and she let out a breath. "It's good. What we've got. But it's-"

"Good to get away every now and then. Right."

Melissa's eyes met Kane's.

For a moment, a spark of connection.

Then it was gone and Melissa was forcing the spoon into Kane's mouth again. "Eat."

Kane coughed back the porridge and then made himself swallow it. His eyes were streaming, his gag reflex triggered. "No need to be so rough."

"What do you want from me?"

Kane smiled. "Melissa, I don't want a thing. And I find it insulting that you'd think I was after anything more than what you want."

"And what is it I want?"

"Someone to talk to. Someone outside your usual circle."

Again, Kane saw Melissa's defences dropping. This was all happening too easy for him. Soon, he'd find the right moment. The perfect opportunity to draw Melissa in close.

It might take a few more days, but she'd give him a moment to stretch his legs. He was sure of it.

When she did, poor Melissa wouldn't be around for much longer.

And Kane would be out of this place.

But not before he could finally take out his long-standing revenge on Riley.

"Now I don't mean to intrude," Kane said, "but something tells me you hardly have a boyfriend around here, do you?"

Melissa smiled a little. "Very observant."

Kane smiled back. He took deep breaths, keeping his cool. The smell of a kill was taking over his body, the imminence of it exciting him profusely. "Now as much as I'd love to volunteer, I just... I don't know. I see how well you ladies are doing on your own, and I wonder what use for men you have at all in this place."

That spark again. That connection. That understanding.

"You're talking about Riley?" Melissa said.

"Riley's dangerous," Kane said. "He's a loose cannon. I heard how he treated that chap next door earlier."

"He's angry."

"And he has every right to be after what happened to those poor souls. But please. You have to see I'm not the villain here. I'm not the enemy he makes me out to be. He took off my hand, for Christ's sakes."

Melissa put the porridge bowl to one side. She put her hands on both of Kane's knees, leaned in further. "So I'll ask again. And this time, you'll answer. What is it you want?"

He smelled the sweetness of her breath and felt her hands on his knees. That electricity, that urge, was at breaking point.

The urge to kill...

He had her.

"I just want to speak with Riley. Man to man. See if we can work our differences out. Surely there's a way."

Melissa's eyes twitched from side to side as she moved closer to Kane. So close that if his hand weren't tied up, he'd be bas.h.i.+ng her skull to a nice b.l.o.o.d.y pulp right about now. "You know what I like about you?"

"Enlighten me."

She got right up to Kane's ear, her body hanging over his, her hands moving down his thighs.

"How f.u.c.king pathetic and desperate you're growing every single day."

She punched the back of his mangled hand. She punched it so hard that he felt agony shoot right down it, even in the parts of the hand that weren't present anymore.

Then she slammed his head back against the wall and looked right into his eyes.

"So I'll tell you how it's going to work. I come in here. I feed you your f.u.c.king porridge. And you eat it, like a good f.u.c.king dog. Understand?"

Kane's teeth chattered together. "b.i.t.c.h."

"c.u.n.t."

She smacked his head against the wall again and walked away, porridge bowl in hand.

"I will kill you," Kane said. "One day, when you're least expecting it, I will get out of here and I will kill you. You understand that. Right?"

Melissa turned around and smiled. "Not if I kill you first. Goodbye, Kane."

She left the cell and left Kane all alone.

And when the darkness filled the cell, Kane couldn't escape all the thoughts about what he was going to do to these people.

To Riley.

But more importantly, how he was going to snuff out Kesha's life if she even still existed at all.

He wanted to take the final bit of hope from Riley before finis.h.i.+ng him for good, just like Riley had taken everything from him.

Kane lay back against the wall, his back in agony, and he smiled.

He hadn't seen the arrow just feet away that Melissa had dropped on her way out.

Not yet.