“Draven’s this guy. Some people believe he’s ex-military. I don’t know what he is, but I know he’s been able to make something out of this shithole. This world isn’t safe for women, but I’ve heard he takes care of men, women, and children.”
“Children? I thought they all died.”
“Not all of them. Whatever the virus was, it preyed on the weak and vulnerable. Some kids, they’re strong. I don’t know what happened, but I know there are children living. Please, let me try to help you.”
“You want to help me?” Ashley asked.
Luanna grabbed her wrist. “This, it makes you invaluable, but it also means that men will fight for you. They’ll fight to keep you, and some may even use you.”
“What makes you think this Draven will be any different?”
“I don’t know, but I have hope. Don’t you have hope?” Luanna asked. “What have you got to lose?”
Ashley rubbed the back of her head, thinking about the men who’d tried to rape her. There really was nothing to fight for anymore. She had no one. Nothing. The life she once knew was a thing of the past.
“Can you at least tell me your name?” Luanna asked.
“Ashley. My name’s Ashley.” She held her arm close to her chest. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Then let’s go together. I don’t know about you, but I’m out of friends right about now. We can take care of each other. It’s better than going alone.”
“You don’t have one of these bands?”
“No. Only fertile women get those. I was tested and thrown out on the same day. Like trash.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I imagine it’s not good for you either.” Luanna held her hand out, and they locked their fingers together. They started to walk.
Ashley had learned that trust had to be earned but, right now, she’d never felt so lost. She was going to take a leap of faith and hope Luanna didn’t turn out like all the others.
It was the best thing she could do right now.
****
Draven drove his blade into the rapist that had tried to attack one of the females under his care. What he’d created wasn’t much yet, but he had vowed to protect anyone within his walls.
He’d managed to create a safe haven within an old mansion estate that spread out across numerous acres of land. The entire property was surrounded by twelve-foot brick walls, a security gate, and the house had at least twenty-five bedrooms that he counted.
The moment the virus was released, he’d set out to make himself a safe place. The world quickly deteriorated to survival of the fittest. He planned to come out on top. This property had been ideal to start his safe haven. It was complete with a wine cellar, storage facility, and fields to grow food, not to mention the surrounding land under his guard.
The house was almost full, and some of the game rooms had been converted into bedrooms.
Most of the people who came to the house were alone. He was shocked when he saw his first woman and child.
He’d vowed to protect them, to keep mankind alive in a world full of death and destruction. Draven had come from a military family. As soon as he was of age, he’d joined. Before the world went to shit, he’d been an active Marine, and he’d seen his friends die. His tours had been in some of the worst war-torn countries, but they didn’t compare with life after the virus.
Draven was particular about who he let in his walls. Trust wasn’t something he gave easily. When he agreed to offer a man protection, they had to agree to look out for every person in their community.
He stood at the gate, staring down at the man whom he’d already injured. He was a traveler, just passing through, and Draven had been foolish enough to let him in.
Draven had been awoken in the middle of the night as this man had wandered into a woman’s room and she’d been screaming for help.
His place was supposed to be safe. He’d promised the women they would be taken care of.
This man had nearly made him break his vow, had put his reputation at stake.
Death was the natural order of life. And he wasn’t afraid to get blood on his hands to support his cause.
For a long time, he had fought for freedom and the chance for people to grow up in a safe place. He’d worn his uniform with pride. That had all changed when the first virus was released. He’d seen the land he loved so much torn apart. People changed, turned wicked in their desperation. The love he had, it was gone. He’d become hard, cruel, determined not to be a victim.
The land was a battleground for the strongest.
Those that couldn’t survive would either die or become slaves to the men and women who captured them. But it didn’t take long for him to realize not every human had turned evil. There were still good people out there, and his focus shifted from blind battle mode to the need to preserve the good left in the world.
Slashing the knife across the man’s throat, he watched him bleed out, waiting until the life completely drained from his body.
“Let it be known now, if any of you think to take what is not freely given, you will face the same punishment. Women are not here for your fucking pleasure. They have a right to survive just like everyone else.” He wiped the blade on the man’s shirt and entered the gates.
He waited as the men who had assisted him stood over the man’s body. Draven’s following was loyal, but he’d never put one hundred percent faith in any man. His strength was only relying on himself.
Slowly, one by one, they entered the gates.
“What are you going to do about repopulation?” Luke asked.
Luke once had a wife and child, whom he’d lost on the same day. They all had a story to tell, and one day Draven intended to hear them all.
“You know the drill. No repopulation without women who are fertile,” Draven said.
“But we know some are,” Benjamin said. “That broadcast. It told us what to do if we find a female wearing a distinctive band.”
Draven laughed. “You think they’re going to allow those women out to anyone? They’re going to be for the rich, the wealthy. The men in high places. They’ll probably be auctioned off to the highest bidder.”
“Money doesn’t buy anything.”
“For us right now, it doesn’t. We don’t know what kind of currency there is. Just be happy that right now you’ve got a safe place to sleep, warm food, and someone to keep you company, which is a damn sight more than I can say for a lot of people.”
With that, he entered the mansion. He didn’t stop to make small talk with any of the women who had been vying for his attention. Everyone was looking for power in one form or another.
He wasn’t interested in sex, or in anything but surviving. Death would come for them all. But he didn’t intend to go easily.
He walked up to the loft, pulled down the stairs, and entered the roof through the small door. He made his way toward the edge and looked all around.
There were a few garden pots lying all around, and he imagined they once belonged to a gardener or maybe a wife in the house, or someone who liked roof gardening.
The plants were all dying anyway.
Running a hand down his face, he took several deep breaths and stared up at the night sky. It had been nearly a year since the virus was unleashed.