Beth turned away from Hammer's lusty grin as she tried to process his words.
Had he offered her to Leo?
Like spoils of war to be claimed by the victor?
Leo's gaze moved from Beth to Burt and back to Hammer. "I'm not in the mood. And I have to go get Doc Faith," he said.
"You're sure about that?" Hammer grabbed Beth's upper arm and turned her to face Leo. His fingers dug into her flesh. "She's all yours. You deserve a little fun. You did well today."
Leo shook his head. "No, thanks. Another time, maybe."
Hammer turned Beth back to face him and studied her. His gaze sought out her face and then moved down along her body. "Hmm, she's young. But not too young. And the stuff she's wearing..." He snickered and looked at Leo. "She's begging for it. If you don't want her, I'll have her."
Beth tried to pull away from the man, but his grip held firm.
"Wait." Leo looked at her and then at Hammer. "You're right. I should take her. After all, it was her people who killed my wife and..." He bit his lips and studied the pistol he held in his hands.
Still stunned by the way these brutes discussed who'd get her, Beth balled her fists, but words failed her.
Hammer huffed. "Just when things get interesting, you're changing your mind. And what about you going to fetch Doc Faith?"
Leo shrugged. "It's... The acts of her people do call for revenge. And Spike can get Doc Faith for Flora. Won't you, Spike?"
"Sure, I can leave right away. I'll run all the way to that big house of hers."
Hammer held his palms outward as if in defeat. "As you wish. I said she's all yours if you want her. Just don't kill her. We'll want to return her and Lily to their folks."
"Return 'em?" the greasy-haired villager asked. "They're a pack of water stealers and killers, the lot of them. I say we kill 'em."
"Yeah," another one added.
Hammer shook his head. "They're more valuable alive, for now. Because I want to trade them. Trade them for weapons. As you've seen, they've got working ammunition up there in their gated village, and guns. And once we're tooled up, we'll raid their place and kill them. And we'll also go for the other gangs."
He held up a fist. "We're the Baseballers!"
"We're the Baseballers!" The people echoed.
Beth shook her head. It was all so bizarre, beyond words.
Hammer seized the rope that Spike held, the one tied to Beth's hands, and handed it to Leo. "There you go."
"You sonofabitch," Burt moved towards Hammer, but Rock stopped him.
Hammer stood before Burt, facing him. "Who did you call a son of a bitch, Lily?"
"You're the son of a bitch, you primitive ape. Baseballer, you say? I'm sure you don't even know—"
His words were cut short by Hammer's fist entering his stomach. He doubled over.
Beth pulled at her rope, trying to get to Burt, but Leo held it taut.
"Enough," Hammer said. "Take Lily to the locker room. The rest of you, do as you please." He leered at Leo, and then he turned away and entered the building behind him.
The long-haired villager slapped Leo on the shoulder. "Have fun," he said and joined the rest of the people heading back to their dwellings.
Rock took Burt by the scruff of his neck and pulled him up. "Move."
Burt got up, cursing. Rock motioned him back along the stands towards the tunnel they had come from.
Pained by her friend's plight, Beth turned to face Leo, drawing on her anger. "You are naught but brutes. Savages without learning or morals."
He shrugged. "Whatever." His Asian features were unreadable as he gestured towards the stairs next to them, leading up the stands. "This way."
Unwilling to be dragged along, she walked next to him, keeping her eyes on the ground. The steps were ancient concrete, marred by cracks and rusty spots. Like everything out here, they were decaying—not only the buildings but also the scruples and integrity of their inhabitants.
And the decay was intent on bringing her down, too, on making her part of the detritus of humanity.
"Decency, nobility, integrity." She spat the concepts at the ground, one with each step she took. "Have you even heard about them?"
"Brutes don't use such words."
Was he mocking her?
He looked straight ahead, not a trace of emotion on his face.
She wouldn't go down without a fight. If he tried to touch her, she'd fight. She'd lash out at him. That was the common language out here—violence and survival of the fittest.
"It's time to learn them, then." She couldn't stop the flood of anger seeking escape through speech. "They're values of old. They're the spark that used to set humanity above mere animals."
What had been good and noble had been wounded in the wars, and it had died in the droughts. Seeped into the ground or evaporated into the atmosphere, like the water. The little that remained was barren.
He said nothing as they reached the topmost terrace and turned left, following it. On their right side, a series of dusty windows failed to reveal what was beyond. On the left, the former seating area fell away towards the greenery in the center.
This place was like a Roman amphitheater, just larger—and more barbaric.
Her leash went tight.
"Here." Leo stopped at a door, opened it, and motioned her to enter.
Inside, they followed a corridor, dimly lit by a window at its far end, until they reached another door, which Leo told her to open.
It led to a spacious room. Windows on the left offered a view of the city outside. They must be in the stadium's outer wall.
The room was bare but for a long table at the window, an unmade bed on the right side, and a wardrobe or cabinet on the wall opposite, next to yet another door.
Beth almost jumped at the sight of a brown-furred animal sitting on the bed.
It took her a moment to realize it was nothing but a stuffed creature. The thing looked like a tech age toy, as large as a kid. One of its glassy eyes was missing, and a seam on its belly was coming apart. Beth had seen its kind before, but it took her a moment to remember the word.
It was a teddy bear sitting on the rumpled bedsheet.
The man about to violate her had a teddy in his bed.
Leo let go of the rope tied to her hands. "You wait here." With that, he went to the door opposite, entered it, and closed it behind him.
This was her chance to escape.
Beth strode back to the door they had come through. She still had her hands tied behind her back, but she could reach the knob by approaching it backward.
She pulled and turned, but the thing didn't budge.
Leo must have locked it.
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves and suppressing the thought of escape through the door, she went to the windows. Set into the stadium's outer wall, they faced the square their party had come from.
The ground was at least five yards below her. She pressed her forehand against the glass, and she peeked downward, but she found no balconies, stairs, or handholds. Even with her hands untied, she'd not be able to climb down here.
She walked over to the wardrobe and opened one of its two doors. Clothes were neatly stacked on the shelves within.
The other half of the cabinet held more shelves. Shoes, most of them looking ancient and brittle, occupied the lower ones. Above them, a large bag held potatoes, maybe from the garden she had seen. The rest of the shelves was cluttered with old machinery, some toys, and a shallow basket.
The basket was at the height of her head, and something metallic gleamed within. She had to stand on her toes to see what it was.
Cutlery.
Including some knives.
Unable to reach it with her hands, she approached it with her head, bit into its rim, and pulled.
It slid off the shelf.
The cutlery hit the floor with the shrill ringing of metal on concrete. One knife landed at the foot of the table.
For a moment, Beth held her breath.
Beth went down on her knees close to it. Then she twisted and sat, stretching her arms behind her, groping.
A voice came from next door, then footfalls.
The tips of her fingers touched the hard metal of the knife. She clasped it, feeling its toothed edge against her palm.