Stung (Zombie Gentlemen) by K.A. Merikan Read Free Book Online Page B

up!”
    “Quick, or there’ll be no breakfast, you lazy
fuckers!”
    Victor froze, recognizing the last one as Crunch,
but was knocked down by the man he slept with. The poor bugger was alarmed and
ready, as if the guards were the only people he was conditioned to respond to.
Victor didn’t even know his name. He followed him though, quickly strapping his
sandals. He tried not to look at Crunch, but his eyes instinctively gazed to
where his voice came from.
    Crunch didn’t seem to pay him any mind, walking
back and forth through the barrack with a bared machete in hand. He was
approached by another guard, tall and bulky, with a bush of blonde hair.
Whatever it was he wanted to say, Crunch dismissed him with an impatient
gesture, striding towards the door.
    “That’s Sharpe,” Jacob whispered to Victor from
the side. Victor let out a sharp breath, straightening up as soon as he was
done with his shoes, eager to look at the man who served his sentence in
Honeyhill and stayed. But it wasn’t the image he had hoped to see. Sharpe’s
skin was in horrible state, with deep pox scars. Their eyes met for a brief
moment and before Victor willed himself to look away, the man raced toward him.
    “The fuck ya lookin’ at!” Victor tried not to
stare, but the dark, metallic spots between the white of Sharpe’s teeth scared
the hell out of him.
    “I’m... sorry, mister...”
    “For fuck’s sake, Sharpe...” Crunch followed with
no hurry. “Can’t ya see the boy looks as dumb as a sack of potatoes?”
    It was almost physically hard for Victor to keep
his calm and not give his saviour a disapproving glance. In the end, he just
hung his head down, hoping he wouldn’t lose his teeth yet. Sharpe exhaled,
moving about restlessly.
    “He’ll learn soon enough not to fuck with me !”
he growled like a rabid dog and shoved Victor back, knocking the air out of his
chest. Victor fell down with a yelp, and it was only thanks to his quick
reflexes that he didn't bang his head into the wall. His lungs filled in relief
when he looked up straight at Crunch, who laughed, presenting the gap between
his front teeth.
    “I know! I’ll take him to the pig house
today," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. Back at the exit,
prisoners seeped out of the building, guided by three other guards.
    Sharpe grinned, tonguing his ugly teeth as if he
was proud enough of them to show them off. Much to Victor’s discomfort. “A lil’
toffer shoveling pig shit? Sounds good t’me!”
    Victor swallowed and bit his lip, trusting it was
just Crunch’s way to keep him close and out of trouble. He could appreciate
that.
    “Who do ya wanna take? This barrack only?” Sharpe
spit on the ground, too close to Victor’s feet to his liking but he forced
himself not to flinch.
    “Up, boy!” Crunch's yell was enough to urge
Victor's heart into a gallop. The guard grinned at Sharpe and elbowed him in
the ribs. “Told ya he’s dumb. Nah, I’ll take ten of the fresh new daisies.”
    “All yours.” Sharpe shook his head and went deeper
into the building. Victor stole a moment to look into Crunch’s face. Was he supposed
to go outside and wait there? Stay here?
    Crunch furrowed his eyebrows, leaned down and
pulled Victor up by the arm in one abrupt move. His grip was so strong Victor
imagined it could in fact ‘crunch’ his bones. It made him breathless, and he
swallowed, lowering his gaze to the ground, or rather to Crunch’s dirty leather
boots. “Sorry.”
    “Should I send ya yar daisies, or will ya move yar
arse and do it yarself?” shouted Sharpe who stood several cots away from them.
All the prisoners who hadn’t been called out yet stood in neat rows by their
beds, with eyes submissively cast down.
    “I’m comin’ for fuck’s sake!” Crunch snarled back
and pulled Victor along with him as he made his way to the exit on the other
side of the building. As they went, he tapped nine other new men on the chest.
The morning chill was a