THEM (Season 1): Episode 1 Read Free Page B

coming from behind one of the settlement houses. I could hear a man yelling, a kid crying, and a woman’s voice pleading with the man to leave. Now, Donnie Sims was an alright fella to have in a firefight, if that’s what you needed, but unfortunately he was a piss-poor lawman. He tended to take “minding your own business” to its furthest extent, which meant things happened on his watch that I couldn’t abide.
    Most women these days were tough, and you had to be to survive. But lots of women got widowed and left raising kids on their own, which was something I wouldn’t wish on anyone in this world. Combine that with the fact that a lot of able-bodied men got killed in the War or fighting Them after, and the result was some women ended up taking in any man who might help protect and provide for them and their kids.
    But sometimes, the solution ended up being worse than the problem. Hard men roamed these lands, and most weren’t exactly what you’d call savory types. Lots of them were drunks, almost all of them were violent, and quite a few of them had developed some very uncivilized ideas on how to treat a lady. Having a constable that preferred to leave folks to their own designs didn’t help.
    The woman sounded desperate, so I led Donkey around the corner between two houses and tied her off on a low tree branch. Then, I checked my Glocks to make sure I had a round in each chamber, and also loosened them in their holsters. Chances were good that I wouldn’t need to resort to shooting anyone, which was fine by me since that was generally frowned upon in the settlements. However, it didn’t hurt to be prepared.
    As I snuck back around the house and took in the scene, I saw a group of three caravaneers standing in a semicircle around a lone woman and a young girl of maybe five or six. I sized up the threat first; the one in the middle looked like he might be competent, as he had that military or law enforcement look about him and he was in decent shape. The other two looked to be amateurs though, out of shape and unprepared. All three were armed.
    Then I looked over to the victims. The kid was crying, and the woman was shielding her from the men. Her dress was torn, and there was a large red mark on her face. I could also see some blood trickling down her chin.
    That decided it for me; the constable could kiss my ass. Nothing got me hotter than to see my own kind taking advantage of those weaker, when they should be protecting them from the undead instead. I drew both guns and stepped out from behind the house silently, waiting to see what happened when they realized they weren’t alone.
    The larger of the three stood in front of the woman, and I could see him raise his hand at her again as she flinched away. “I don’t give a shit what you thought—me and the boys want what’s coming to us. We paid you for a meal and a place to sleep, and we’ve decided that we’d like some company while we’re here.” He gestured to his left and right without taking his eyes from the woman. “Right, boys?”
    Lackey number one nodded while lackey number two replied with the sick enthusiasm only a true sociopath could muster. “That’s right, Jimmy!” That one reached over to the woman and grabbed her hair to yank her head around roughly as he leered at her. “We gonna be real nice to you—make it last.” He licked his lips in a way that reminded me of a wolf from a Saturday-morning cartoon I’d seen as a kid.
    Jimmy, who I now assumed was the leader, began loosening his belt with a grin that said he was enjoying tormenting this poor woman as much as he was going to enjoy raping her, and his two companions stepped forward to grab her as he began his preparations. Since it seemed they were all too intent on their sick festivities, I cleared my throat loudly to get their attention. At that, one of the lackeys noticed me and tapped the leader on the arm, gesturing with a nod in my direction.
    He turned and looked at