Free Badlands Trilogy (Book 2): Beyond the Badlands by Brian J. Jarrett Page A

woods. “Move and I empty your head of its brains.”
    “Okay,” the woman responded, thrusting her hands to the sky.
    “Are you alone?” Richard asked.
    “Yes.”
    “I don’t believe you.”
    “I’m alone, I swear. My husband is dead. I haven’t eaten in a week.”
    “I don’t have any food,” Richard lied.
    “Please. Just a bite. Anything. I’ll take anything.” She paused. “I’ll do anything.”
    Though not a proponent of rape (he’d also leave that to the psychos), he did like the idea of satisfying a need. If the woman was agreeable then all the better. In the end it was just another form of payment, nature making good on her deal. It wouldn’t sway his judgement, of course. Of that, he must be steadfast.
    Though he couldn’t see her face in the glare from the campfire, he could see she had one hell of a body. A stripper’s body. He liked them young. Back in the old days, with the old bullshit laws in place, he had to avoid the young ones. Although not a pre-teen, this woman looked like one. He felt a stirring in his crotch.
    Richard rose to his feet and took a step toward the campfire and the woman. She jumped as she caught sight of him approaching out of the shadows. He smiled to himself. Definitely weak. “You can put your hands down now,” he said. He gestured toward his backpack, lying near the fire. “Have a seat.”
    The woman nodded and sat down. “Thank you.”
    “Sure.” Richard took a seat beside her. “I’m Richard.”
    “Beth.”
    “You said your husband was killed?”
    Beth nodded. “Carriers. He didn’t stand a chance.”
    “I’ll bet,” Richard replied. Catching himself, he offered a more appropriate response. “Sorry for your loss.”
    “He was a good man, you know?”
    “You’re hungry, right?”
    “I am.”
    “I have some extra food here. I can’t afford much though.”
    “Thank you. I’ve been lost without Ryan around.”
    “That was your husband? Ryan?”
    “Yes,” Beth replied.
    Richard reached into his backpack, retrieving two sticks of beef jerky. He opened one, peeling the wrapper off. He tossed the package down before breaking the stick in half. He placed one of the halves between his lips like a cigarette before handing the other half to Beth.
    Beth took the beef jerky, examining it in the light of the fire. “This is it? This is all you’re going to give me?”
    Richard furrowed his brow. “Seriously?” he said, the beef jerky dangling from his lip.
    Beth shook her head. “You greedy fucking pig.”
    Richard reached for his gun. “You little bitch, I’ll-”
    Beth lunged forward, plunging a knife deep into Richard’s throat. He froze, eyes wide as blood seeped from the wound. The jerky dropped from his lips as he clawed at the knife. He opened and closed his mouth, bubbles forming in the blood. Moments later he went limp and fell to the forest floor.
    Beth stared at the corpse. “Greedy, greedy, greedy.”
    A man’s voice called out from the dark forest. “Quick on the draw, eh?”
    “I had to be,” Beth replied. “It was taking you two fucking forever to get here. Where were you, Ryan?”
    The man stepped into the light of the fire. “Sorry, babe.”
    A second man fell in behind him. “What did we get?”
    “You mean what did I get, don’t you Danny? I’m the one that stuck him.”
    “Sure,” Danny replied, shrugging. He stayed behind Ryan.
    Beth shook her head, sighing. “He’s got a backpack here. Looks pretty full.”
    “And he built us a fire,” Ryan added, grinning.
    Beth knelt and retrieved her knife from Richard’s throat, wiping it on the dead man’s shirt. “At least he was good for something.”

Chapter Nineteen

    As the hand reached in through the doorway of the train car, Zach stood, frozen. Beside him, Jeremy tugged at his brother’s sleeve. “Zach! Get the gun!”
    The pistol was still in the pack strapped to his back. Frantic, Zach struggled to remove the pack as a woman peeked in.
    “Are you boys