Without Law 9, page 7
These people obviously knew how to hunt and butcher, so why didn’t they hunt wolves or birds, or anything besides their fellow man. It just didn’t add up.
“I was just thinking about something,” Paige said as we walked.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“There’s an old short story,” Paige said. “It’s about an island where this guy hunts people for sport.”
“The Most Dangerous Game,” Bailey said with a nod.
“You know it?” Paige asked.
“I read it in high school,” Bailey said.
“That’s the whole story?” Tara asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Pretty much,” Bailey said.
“Yeah, but it’s more than that,” Paige said. “I kept trying to figure out why these people would be hunting humans.”
“Ummm, because they’re crazy?” Tara said.
“Obviously you have to be some level of crazy to eat people,” Anna said.
“Or desperate,” I added.
“Right,” Paige said. “But it seems like they know how to hunt.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said. “It doesn’t add up. If they know how to hunt, then there’s no reason why they should be hunting humans.”
“Exactly!” Paige exclaimed. “But what if they’re not only hunting them for food?”
“What do you mean?” Anna asked.
“They could be hunting for sport, too,” I said.
“Right,” Paige said with a wide grin.
“I don’t know,” Bailey said. “Maybe it’s that extra salt in our blood? Maybe they ate someone out of desperation and then they couldn’t get enough of it.”
“That’s possible,” Paige agreed.
“You all are thinking about this way too hard,” Tara said. “They’re crazy and that’s all there is to it. Let’s just kill the fuck out of them and forget about it. Ewww.”
“You’re probably right,” I chuckled. “But it’s human nature to ask why.”
“Is that why Paige knows so much about cannibals in the first place?” Tara asked with a wry smile.
“I read a lot,” the brunette responded.
“About cannibals?” Anna asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Leave Paige alone,” Bailey chuckled. “Her knowledge comes in handy.”
“Yeah,” Paige said, and she stuck her tongue out at Anna and Tara.
“I’m just saying it’s kinda creepy,” Tara laughed.
“No more creepy than Anna’s obsession with horror movies,” Paige said.
“That’s fair,” Tara said. “You guys are both creepy as hell.”
“Hey!” Anna said with a smack on Tara’s arm.
We had made it to the tree line behind the dorms, and I stopped for a moment and turned back to my girls.
“What’s wrong?” Anna asked.
“The Millers are going to be very upset about this,” I said.
“Oh.” Bailey frowned.
“Yeah,” I said. “We need to be delicate in delivering this news.”
“Why are you looking at me?” Tara scoffed.
“Oh, come on,” Anna said.
“You’re not exactly… graceful when you tell people bad news,” Bailey said, and she bit her lip.
“I’m graceful,” Tara said. “I’m graceful as fuck.”
“Ehhh,” Paige said with a grimace.
“Fine,” Tara said, and she crossed her arms above her chest. “You guys can tell them, I’ll just sit quietly.”
“Let’s just try our best to remember that this is their home,” I said.
“Okay,” Anna agreed. “Should we tell them in private?”
“I think so,” I said with a nod. “We can tell the group afterward.”
The girls all nodded, so I led them into the dorm building. The air was hot on my face, and I realized just how cold it had been outside. My hands were freezing, and they tingled as they got used to the warmth around me.
“Hey,” Betty greeted us as we came in and sat down.
“Hey,” I said.
“Things not go well?” Rolly asked.
“Not exactly,” I said. “The farms are still standing, though.”
“Oh, thank God,” Betty said. “But what’s wrong?”
“I need to talk to Marla and Justin,” I said.
“Alright,” Betty agreed. “I’ll go get them.”
“Something isn’t right,” Rolly said as he looked around at the solemn faces of the girls.
Paige avoided eye contact and Bailey sat by Winchester and stroked his head. Anna sat next to me with her Major face on, and Tara sat in a chair with her arms still crossed.
“We have some… disturbing news,” I said.
“Isn’t your news always disturbing?” Rolly chuckled.
“Yeah, but this is extra disturbing,” Tara said.
“What happened?” Rolly asked seriously.
“We’re going to tell the Millers before the rest of the group,” I said. “But we found some cannibals living in their home.”
“I’m sorry,” Rolly said, and he shook his head. “Did you say cannibals?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Shit,” the old man breathed.
“Yeah,” I said.
Rolly was quiet as he sat with a stunned look, and a moment later Betty came down the stairs with Marla and Justin behind her.
“Is something wrong with the house?” Marla asked as she rushed to sit down.
“Betty said you needed to talk to us,” Justin added with a frown.
“I do,” I said. “You might want to do this in private.”
“Whatever it is Betty can hear,” Marla said.
“Alright,” I agreed.
“So what’s the news?” Marla asked with a panicked voice. “Is my farm still there?”
“Your farm is still standing,” Paige said.
“But we found some people in it,” Anna added.
“People are still there?” Justin asked.
“We figured someone would probably stay there on their way down south,” Marla said. “But I can’t believe they’re still there.”
“This will be upsetting for you,” I said. “But the people in your home are hunting and eating people.”
Marla and Justin were quiet for a moment as they stared at me.
“I’m sorry,” Marla said. “Can you repeat that?”
“Cannibals are living in your house,” Tara said dryly.
“Tara!” Anna hissed.
“Cannibals?” Marla asked incredulously. “I don’t… I mean… How can this be?”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “We’re going to take care of it.”
“That house has been in my family for generations,” Marla said, and she began to cry. “Those bastards have been murdering and eating people in my family home.”
“We are going to eliminate them first thing in the morning,” Anna assured her, and she reached over to place her hand on Marla’s.
“I think I need a moment,” Marla said.
“Take your time,” I told her.
Justin gave me a nod, then led his sobbing wife upstairs.
“I can’t believe this,” Betty sighed.
“I have some news about your place as well,” I said.
“What is it?” Betty asked quickly.
“It’s nowhere near as bad as cannibals,” I said. “But it looks like people have definitely been there.”
“Is anything destroyed?” Rolly asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “But the place is a bit of a mess. Whoever was there had looked through everything.”
“I see,” Betty said, and I saw her clench her fists.
“I know you’re upset,” I said gently. “But this is why we wanted you all here for the winter. If you had been there when those people showed up it could have been ugly.”
“I know,” Betty sighed, and I saw her fists unclench slightly. “It just pisses me off that someone would disrespect my home like that.”
“This is your home now, too,” Bailey said with a soft smile.
“I know, dear,” Betty said with a smile of her own.
“So what’s the plan for these cannibals?” Rolly asked.
“Cannibals?” Kimmy asked, and I turned to see her and baby Anthony standing at the bottom of the stairs.
“Uh,” Rolly said, and he rubbed his neck.
“It’s alright,” I said, and I turned to Kimmy. “There are some cannibals around here right now it seems.”
“You know the first example of human cannibalism dates back over eight hundred thousand years,” Kimmy said as she moved to take a seat next to me on the couch.
“That’s what I said earlier,” Paige chuckled.
“Back to the plan,” I said.
“Right,” Anna agreed. “What are we doing?”
“We’re going to play a waiting game,” I said.
“What do you mean?” Betty asked.
“Two of them came outside earlier to chop wood,” I explained.
“Okay.” Betty nodded.
“But they didn’t chop enough for long,” I said. “They’ll have to come back out tomorrow.”
“So we wait and take them down when they come outside,” Anna said.
“Yes,” I agreed. “Bailey will be where we watched them from earlier today. Anna and I will take the right side of the house, and Tara and Paige will take the left side.”
“Sounds good to me,” Paige said with a nod.
“Aren’t these people more dangerous than most you deal with though?” Betty asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “A bad person is a bad person, and these guys may know how to hunt, but they’re not expecting anyone to come up on them.”
“Besides,” Bailey said. “They aren’t well armed.”
“Well, alright,” Betty said. “Whatever I can do to help, I will.”
“I know,” I said with a warm smile. “But it would be the biggest help if you would stay with Marla tomorrow.”
“She must have been devastated,” Kimmy said.
“Wouldn’t you be?” Betty asked quietly.
“Of course,” Kimmy said with a nod. “She has every reason to be upset.”
“I think I’ll go check in on her,” Betty said, and she stood up and headed toward the stairs.
“I don’t know about you all,” Rolly said. “But I could use a drink.”
“Or five,” Tara said with a sideways look.
“Yes, please,” Anna sighed.
“I’ll be right back,” Rolly said, and he stood up and headed to the supply closet to retrieve a bottle of gin.
He poured each of us a tall glass and passed them out. The pine taste hit my tongue and lit my belly on fire as I took a large gulp.
“You seem upset,” Kimmy said to me.
“I am,” I chuckled. “It’s never a good feeling to deliver bad news to someone, but especially to the Millers.”
“They’re good people,” Rolly said. “They don’t deserve this.”
“They don’t,” I agreed and took another sip of my gin.
“If there’s anything I can do to help,” Kimmy offered.
“I appreciate that,” I said. “But there’s not much you can do right now.”
“Wait,” Tara said. “Remember that dish you made for New Years?”
“My grandmother's pot pie.” Kimmy nodded.
“Right,” the platinum blonde said. “Marla loved that. I saw her go back for thirds.”
“I’ll get right on it,” Kimmy said with a smile, and she stood up and headed to the laundry room.
“I’ll help,” Tara said as she followed the dark complexioned woman.
“So how did you all figure out they were cannibals?” Rolly asked.
“They had a pile of bones,” Paige said. “And they were definitely human.”
“One of them even had some meat on it,” Bailey added. “It looked like it had been eaten off of.”
“And the marks on the bones suggested they were butchered,” I said.
“Not everyone knows how to butcher,” Rolly said. “Do you think that could have been one of their professions before all this?”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” I said. “But it’s definitely possible.”
“Don’t you get sick from eating human meat?” Rolly asked.
“That’s a common misconception,” Paige said. “Only the brain is dangerous to eat.”
Rolly shivered.
“I can’t imagine doing that,” he said. “Those people must have been desperate as hell.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But they’ll be dealt with soon enough.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Rolly said, and he brought his gin to his lips once more.
“Do you think Marla is going to be okay?” Bailey asked with a frown.
“She isn’t happy right now,” Rolly sighed. “But after it’s all dealt with, I’ll go over and clean up the place so she doesn’t have to see it like that.”
“That’s very sweet, Rolly,” Paige said. “But we’ll help too.”
“That’s a deal,” the old man said with a smile.
“Should we tell the rest of the group?” Anna asked.
“Let’s give Marla some time to cope first,” I said.
“Right,” the redhead agreed, and she pushed her empty glass toward Rolly. “Hit me.”
Rolly poured Anna and himself another drink and they clinked glasses before they took a long swig.
This cannibal thing seemed to have everyone really worked up. I couldn’t blame them, it was a distressing situation to think that just a few miles away there was a group of people out hunting for more human flesh.
I polished off my gin, and Rolly poured me another.
“Okay,” Tara announced as she and Kimmy came out of the laundry room. “Dinner is in the oven.”
“Thank you both for doing that,” I said.
“It’s the least you could do,” Anna told the platinum blonde with a deep glare.
“What did I do?” Tara scoffed.
“Really?” Paige asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You’re right,” Tara sighed. “I was a bit crass.”
“I was going to talk to you about it in private later,” I chuckled. “But yes, that was the opposite of delicate.”
“I’m sorry,” Tara said. “I just hate beating around the bush.”
“You can be direct and also nice,” Bailey said with a soft smile.
“I’ll have to work on that,” Tara said, and she smiled at the blonde hippie.
“On a positive note,” Kimmy said. “It seems like Winchester is feeling better.”
The black headed dog sat with his head in Bailey’s lap as he chewed on a deer bone.
“It does,” Bailey said while she petted Winchester’s head.
“A lot has happened in the past few days,” Rolly laughed. “It seems like things are getting back to normal around here.”
“Wolves and cannibals is normal?” Kimmy asked with a raised brow.
“I’d say it’s pretty close,” I chuckled.
“I’m glad I got here in winter,” Kimmy said.
“We’re happy you’re here, too,” Bailey said. “I’m sure you miss your sister, though.”
“I do,” Kimmy said softly. “But I’ll see her again.”
“Well, we’re kind of like your sisters now,” Bailey said with a smile.
“Yes, you are,” Kimmy laughed.
“Hey,” Betty said as she came down the stairs with Justin and Marla behind her.
“Hi,” I said gently. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m better,” Marla answered and she took the gin that Rolly offered.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” I said.
“It was a lot to take in,” Marla sighed. “But things can be rebuilt, I’m just glad my boys are okay.”
“We were talking about that,” Rolly said. “We’re going to get the place cleaned up for you so you don’t have to see it like that.”
“That would be greatly appreciated,” Marla said.
“Thank you, sweetie,” Betty told Rolly, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“And we’re cooking you something special,” Tara announced.
“What’s that?” Marla asked with amusement.
“My grandmother’s pot pie that I made for New Years,” Kimmy said.
“I do love that stuff,” Marla laughed.
“I hope you made two,” Justin teased. “Last time I swear she had five helpings.”
“I made one for us and another one just for Marla,” Kimmy said proudly.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Marla said softly. “But thank you.”
“Also,” Tara said, and she bit her lip. “I wasn’t very graceful earlier when we were telling you the news. I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright, dear,” Marla said, and she put her hand on Tara’s leg. “I know you weren’t trying to be mean.”
“Thanks,” Tara said with a small smile.
“Can I get one of those gins?” Justin asked.
“Oh, sorry,” Rolly said, and he quickly poured Justin a glass.
“To killing cannibals,” Justin laughed, and he held up his gin.
“Justin,” Marla said with a pop on his chest.
“You know it was funny,” the black haired man said, and his wife chuckled and gave him a kiss.
“To killing cannibals,” I repeated and I clinked my glass against Justin’s.
“Well,” Marla said after the toast was over. “If we’re going to tell the others we should probably do it before dinner so they don’t lose their appetite.”
“Good thinking,” I chuckled and called everyone down.
We told the civilians the news, and there was an uproar of protests and sadness. The men all shook their heads in disgust, and the women reached over to comfort Marla.
“How can we help?” Cathy asked.
“The girls and I are going to take care of it tomorrow,” I said.
“But we’re going to clean the place up for Marla,” Rolly said. “You all could help with that.”
“Of course,” Jenny said, and she turned to Marla. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, dear,” Marla said with a wave of her hand. “It’s not anybody’s fault. Those people are just monsters.”
“If they’re hunting people, then that means there are other people around here,” Merideth said.
“Yes.” I nodded. “We’ll continue to survey the area after this threat has been eliminated.”
