Day 3: Beauty and the Beasts IV

—The woman is injured... she has several bruises on her body. A large bruise around her eye stands out and the civilian has a sprained ankle... although that doesn't explain a strange mark around it that is not typical of this kind of condition... —Lilly showed them a log with the woman's name and her most notable characteristics.

—Dehydration? —Jason frowned at Christensen's notes. —Well... we saw on the cameras that her father hit her ankle with a shotgun.

—This woman is dehydrated to the point where... no wonder she passed out. I don't understand how someone could have done this to her... if you guys hadn't found her, she probably...

—Can we go see her? —Jason asked.

—You can. The woman is a little drowsy, we had to give her some saline.

Lilly let Nikolai, Clark and Jason enter the infirmary area. Clark was surprised to see three other men in other beds... one of them was missing an arm while the other was defecating on a metal tray and there was another man helping him.

—What the fuck happened to them? —Clark couldn't have been more stunned when he saw the man without his left arm.

—These are the kind of people we fight for... they were civilians we found in the butcher shop. Danny, the man with no arm, told me that day and night men and boys were coming in to be tortured and raped to death... we don't know exactly, but maybe thirty people or more may have died. Only the three of them are left. —Lilly answered.

—All right, Rob. I'll proceed to clean you up. I have to be very careful with the wounds around you, so I'll proceed to clean the area and disinfect it. -George took the silver tray and put the excrement in a yellow bag.

—Where does it all go? —Clark asked.

—We can't leave the waste in the shelter, so we have to leave the garbage and waste in a specific area. Since we can't use the water in the toilets to save water, people relieve themselves in soda bottles and defecate in bags. When the toilet paper runs out, we will probably have to clean ourselves with our hands and wash them with water from the river —George replied. —Otherwise... the bags are thrown outside the mall, in a specific place.

—Interesting...

—Ah... ah... where am I...? —Stacy was hurt by the overhead light and tried to cover herself, realizing that her right arm had a plastic duct leading to a bag.

—Welcome to the shelter! I'm Lilly Christensen, the group nurse. You've probably already met Jason Slater, Nikolai Kalinic and Clark....

—Kennedy...

—Kennedy. Tell us, Stacy... How are you feeling? —Lilly sat down next to Stacy and put her hand on Stacy's wrist, caressing it.

—The last thing I remember is seeing Rocky and... Matt....

—Who were Rocky and Matt? If we can find them and... —Lilly asked.

Stacy grimaced in disgust and crossed her arms.

—My asshole father and brother. The reason I'm dressed like this is to symbolize "purity"... Those pigs said that as soon as we found a safe place we'd be the new Adam and Eve... How awful! To think that they told me that the people they killed were "demons", "people sent by the "Evil One" to try to corrupt me... I'm glad my family is dead! —Stacy's smile was so genuine that her eyes were shining with emotion.

—How is this woman so happy to lose her family when everyone is terrified at the thought of...?

—Clark, shut the fuck up. We all have a different way of processing things. If this woman found peace... let her. We saw what those men were doing to her, we can't blame her for being happy... —Nikolai interrupted.

—If you hadn't come... I probably would have waited for the right moment to kill them, or kill myself before being raped. I wanted my freedom! They... they beat me for contradicting them... they told me I had to "sacrifice" something when I told them I don't believe in their stupid god. That "sacrifice" was my thirst and hunger, which is why I was feeding on leftovers. If this is the kind of followers God has... then I'll happily declare myself as an atheist.

—It's a shame you've been through so many horrible things, Stacy. If it's any consolation... no one will ever hurt you again. We're a close-knit group here and we see a lot for each other. For the time being it would be best for you to rest. Are you hungry? I'll ask Holly to fix you something —Lilly smiled at Clinton and Stacy nodded in response.

—Thank you! I'm starving... I haven't eaten properly for two days. By the way... Thank you so much for your help, everyone! My heroes! I would be dead right now if it weren't for you... I know I can barely hold on right now... but somehow I will repay you for the kindness you have shown me. When I can walk I'll definitely find an activity to be a part of.

Stacy took from her small pink handbag a bunch of keys.

—I know it might be a stupid thing to say but...we were in the parking lot area for a long time. My family and I were in the parking lot offices for a while, hiding from the dead. We planned to take shelter there but Pink Flamingo Plaza caught us when the gates connecting the park came down, that's why you found me in W is for Women, otherwise I would be in those offices. For what it's worth... Matt and Rocky had guns in one of the rooms of the Parking Lot Offices, these keys give access to those rooms.

Stacy held out a bunch of keys with a pink teddy bear on them.

—How did you get the keys? —Nikolai asked, doubtfully.

—One of the Security Mall Officers tried to protect us... but eventually Matt killed him and... well... His name was Damien Daniels, he was a good guy... I couldn't do anything and then I heard the shots and... happened what happens to people nowadays. I still remember how he got beaten and my brother dragged me and... and... —Stacy looked down at the floor, staring at the wall.

—You have nothing to apologize for, miss. We hope your stay at the Refuge is to your liking. If you need anything, we'll be there for you —Clark nodded and hugged Stacy, which she accepted.

—All right... We should go to Ashley's list of "important things". We'll probably find other civilians that will be helpful or, if anything, something to use our time on.

And so the group of missionaries left the infirmary.

## Next Chapter

Day 3: Pretty Girls Leave Beautiful Corpses