The Ravaging

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Slowly, the weeks have gone by. Winter has changed into spring, which means we have been spending more time out and about, getting to know some of the locals. This place isn't that big, maybe a little over a hundred people. Most of the houses are unoccupied, making some parts of the town lonelier.

Luckily, our house sits right on the beach, the sand greeting your feet one you clamber down the stairs. Remy's new favorite thing to do is run out there when I leave the room for a second, giving me a heart attack when I come back to an empty room and a swinging back door.

Viola has gone from a little baby to someone who is almost crawling. Usually, she is a happy little girl, content to play with Remy or hold her self up on all fours as she tries to crawl. But lately, she has has been pretty clingy. Anna told me that she is probably teething, and she won't stop being fussy until the tooth breaks through.

Suffice to say, Finn and I have not had the room to ourselves for the past week. Viola refuses to sleep in her crib, only sleeping the whole night when she is in bed with us. By morning, she either has half the bed to herself or is lying across me or Finn.

It is this lack of quality sleep that I blame for not paying attention to my surroundings. But, I honestly wasn't expecting for two of the guards to jump me.

The hostility in the town has been growing. All of the residents here are tired of the asshole guards. Half of the guards are either great people or neutral, seeing as they have families of their own to care for. It is only the younger ones, the ones who obviously were not on base for long, who have no respect for anyone.

The women here are terrified of those guards, having been threatened, either sexually or physically, by them. My sister and her friends refuse to walk by themselves, and Mary has not left the house in weeks. The fact that she is five months pregnant does not see to dismay them, either. But they have never outright attacked someone, and that is the only reason Derek and the other guards have not thrown them out.

But, I never thought they would overtly attack me. That is the only excuse I have- along with not getting a good night's sleep due to a squirmy baby- for not noticing the two assholes following me.

Remy is holding my hand, babbling about how much fun he had with his friends at the park. It has become a bit of a ritual, the moms bringing the little ones to the park every other morning. Viola is whining in her stroller, not liking that she is not in my arms, but I needed a break from carrying her around.

"Hey faggot," someone yells from behind me.

Instantly, I freeze, my hand tightening on Remy's as footsteps approach. Turning, I see two of the overly buff guards who like to torture us, snide smiles on their faces as they close the distance between me and my children. Adrenaline rushes through me, and all I want to do is run. There is no way I could outpace them. Not with a three-year-old and a stroller.

Remy instantly curls closer to me as the guys approach, hiding behind my legs.

"What are doing out without your body guard?" the other guy asks, his mouth curling up in a smirk. "Must be real sure of himself, that you're really homo for him."

"Oh, but don't worry, we'll fix that for you."

Before I have a chance to react, they lunge for me, ripping me away from Remy, the stroller falling over in the hassle. Both of my babies are screaming, Remy trying to chase after me and Viola wailing as her stroller lays sideways on the ground.

"Let me go, assholes," I yell, kicking any part of them I can. They just grip me tighter, punching me in the stomach when I manage to land a kick to one of their shins. Remy is still running after us, and I manage to choke out a brief, "Remy, run!" before the bigger guy backhands me.