Genocide | Joshler

.:2:.

The truck slowed as we pulled up to two huge wooden slabs that were surrounded by stacks of tires resting on scrap metal. During the trip here I had to be gagged by a man, that I later learned was named Pete, because I couldn't stop crying. He had tied a piece of cloth tightly around my agape mouth so it would muffle my sobs. 

The wooden slabs were on wheels and started to move as the truck approached them. We rode through them and pulled over to the side. I was pulled out of the truck by Dallon and I fell to the ground. I screamed in pain but the makeshift gag muffled most of it. 

"Get up" Dallon demanded. with my hands still zip tied it was hard for me to stand up. I looked like a mess. Gagged, zip tied, shirtless, dirty, sun burnt, and broken. I didn't understand what was going on. Why was I here?

"I said get the fuck up!" Dallon kicked me in the stomach and I curled into myself. I cried out in pain again and I braced myself as the tip of his boot struck my exposed flesh. He painted my skin with blossoms of assorted hues of indigo and violet. None of the men in his pack stopped him they just, watched. They watched me fall apart. 

I was confused as to why the pain stopped so I looked up to see someone dragging Dallon away. He made Josh and Pete hold Dallon back while he came down to my level. I flinched away from him and he lightly put his hand on my arm. He grabbed a knife and cut off the zip tie and then proceeded to take off the gag. My jaw ached, along with the rest of my body. I look at him examining his face. His lips where moving but I couldn't hear what he was saying. His dark hair was slicked back and it was shorter on the sides than at he top. he had hazelnut eyes and a button-like nose. His brows furrowed and he shook my arm lightly, knocking me out of my daze.

"W-what?" I finally spoke. His concerned caramel eyes met mine.

"Are you okay?" he examined my body, his eyes clearly answering the question. He gently helped me stand up and put his arm around me for support. 

"Dallon, meet me in my office. I'm going to take, uh, what's your name?" He asked me.

"T-tyler" I choked out.

"I'm Brendon." he gave a soft smile. "I'm going to take Tyler to medical." He shot a glare to Dallon and his crew consisting of Pete, Josh, and Mikey. He turned away from them and he started walking me through the street. Compared to the intimidating gates to this place, it was quite nice. There was a few building and housing places and, people. Alive people conversing with each other and smiling. There was even children running around with a happy dog. I always dreamed of having children on my own. I admired everything about this place, the perfect landscaping, and the clean streets, it was a little slice of heaven in the midst of the flames.

"T-this place... I-it's lovely" I spoke. Brendon let out a light chuckle. 

"I call this place the Peninsula. I knew at the beginning of this mess people would need somewhere to keep safe. It started with about ten of us. But now, we have over seventy people. It has grown into something special. I'm proud to call it mine." Brendon smiled and waved at a few of the people. We turned into a building and I felt the cool breeze of air conditioning hit my exposed chest.

"Y-you have AC" is all I managed to get out which made him chuckle again.

"Each building has it's own backup generators. we use it for the basic stuff, like lighting at night and AC during the day." We walked down a hallway until he opened a door to his left and lead me through. I heard a squeak and a short woman came up to me.

"Oh my, bring him over to the chair." She patted the seat and Brendon guided me over and let me sit down.

"If I could stay I would, but I really need to take care of the whole cause for this situation. Tyler, this is Melanie, she will take good care of you. You are safe here and you won't have to worry about anything, okay?" his bright smile grew as I nodded my head slightly. 

"Well Tyler, welcome to the Peninsula. I hope you enjoy it here." Brendon smiled one more time and before he left I took a moment to look over his outfit. He looked so professional and well put together. He wore a gray vest with many pockets that went over a faded purple button up. He finally left the room and I was left alone with Melanie who was examining my skin the whole time I stared at Brendon. She probably thought I was weird. 

"Well the good thing is, you don't have any broken bones." She smiled at me, revealing a small gap between her teeth. "You are just badly bruised and severely fatigued. Nothing time and rest can't heal. I can show you to a place where you can stay temporarily, until you have recovered." I nodded my head in acceptance and she helped me up from the chair before guiding me farther down the hall into another room. It was small, but it felt homey. A queen sized bed took up most of the space and it was covered in a dated floral quilt. I walked into the room and immediately got into the bed falling asleep almost immediately. 

When I woke up, there was a pile of folded clothes and a towel in the chair in the corner. on top of the clothes there was a handwritten note:

"Tyler,

I figured you would want to shower when you woke up. Lucky for you, the bathroom is right across from your room. After that, come see me at my place. You can ask Melanie where it is.

Brendon"

I smiled at the note and I picked up the folded pile before making my way to the bathroom to shower the weeks of built up dirt that formed on my flesh.