by Olah, Jeff
Tobias’s voice coming through the phone matched up with the movement of the larger man’s lips even from this distance. “Mason, where’s your boy? I ain’t gonna wait out here all day. And if you have any plans of taking a shot at me, you’d better tell your sharpshooter to lay his weapon down. Any shots fired and I’ll be sure to return the favor. This little one here wouldn’t be too hard to hit.” He pulled Megan out of the shadows, and held her in front of him.
Mason turned to Jack and Sean, who both had their rifles pulled into their shoulders and held his hand over the mic. “Either of you have a shot?”
“No.”
“Not even close,” Jack said. “But I don’t think we should jump the gun here either. Let’s see how this plays out.”
Back through his binoculars, Mason’s heart began to race as the white SUV came into view. Randy pulled across the street from the parking garage and placed both hands out the driver’s window as instructed.
Through the phone came Randy’s voice and although faint, his words were clear. “Okay, we’re here. Let’s do this.”
Tobias spoke next. “Lockwood comes out first and stands next to the street sign. Once he’s there, we’ll release the women. No games, and if you don’t believe me, just make a move.”
The passenger door opened and Dr. Eugene Lockwood stepped out of the SUV and into the street.
212
He’d seen her less than forty-eight hours before, although she’d appeared to have aged ten years. Bringing up the rear as their small group was led across the street, Megan stared into Randy’s eyes and he stared back. As she moved away from the others and started for the SUV, the tall young man leading the way pointed her back to the middle of the street.
Randy felt the lump growing in his throat as he leaned out the window. Looking past the women, he sensed that the beast of a man standing at the rear was the one they’d been speaking with. “Tobias,” he said under his breath.
Moving his focus back to Lockwood who remained at the corner, Randy nodded. He waited until the doctor was within fifteen feet and through the open window said, “Stop.”
Lockwood turned to Randy and then back to the crowd and said, “Tobias, I assume?”
The large man positioned strategically behind the women said, “Let’s get this over with, I’m not giving you a second chance at this.” He pushed Megan forward and motioned for Lockwood to take her place.
Randy slowly opened his door and stepped out. Keeping one eye on the two men walking backward while leading Lockwood toward the parking structure, he guided the women to the SUV.
Moving to the rear driver’s side door, Randy held it open as the children stepped in first. They moved to the third row as Elizabeth, Sheila, and Eleanor situated themselves along the rear bench seat.
Randy closed the door and pulled Megan into him, hugging her tight. He held her head against his shoulder as a black Humvee rolled out of the shadows of the parking structure and into the street. Lockwood was rushed into the back seat and the two men followed close behind.
Randy rested his head against Megan’s bruised cheek and whispered into her ear. “I love you, let’s go home.”
She slowly pulled away and watched with Randy as the black Humvee turned back into the garage and rolled out of sight. “My father, he’s—”
Randy shook his head. “They not going to hurt him, they need him.”
“But we can’t just leave him here. Those men are monsters.”
“Once you and the others are away from here, I’m coming back for your dad, I promise.”
Randy circled the building twice to assure they hadn’t been followed before rolling up to the front entrance and stopping along the sidewalk near the doors. They waited as Mason and Cedric walked out of the building and into the street. The group of eight exited the SUV and moved quickly into the first floor lobby.
As Cedric relocked the doors behind them, Mason moved to Eleanor and the children. He knelt in front of them and just let them cry. They hadn’t witnessed any of the torturous events that had taken place, although they instinctively knew those men weren’t good people and they were scared.
With the children at his side, Mason turned to Cedric and motioned toward the stairs. “Can we take them up and get everyone together before we head out?”
“Sure, take all the time you need.”
Mason nodded “Yeah, I’m not sure we have much time. I don’t trust that they won’t come after us and now that they have Lockwood, anything’s possible.”
“No worries,” Cedric said. “They aren’t getting in this building if we don’t want them to.”
“Thanks, but I’d rather not take a chance. The sooner we get on the road, the better.”
In through the doors of Suite 326, Patrick and his mother tended to the sleep deprived and hungry group. After hearing the plan laid out by Mason, they ate quickly and forced down as much liquid as they could hold.
Leaning into the wall near the door, Mason nearly came out of his shoes as the walkie in his back pocket buzzed to life.
“Mason, can you hear me?” It was Sean. Through the confusion, Mason had forgotten that he and Jack stayed behind on the roof. Sean wanted to see if he could get an idea of where those men were taking his father.
“Yeah Sean, I’m here, what’s going on? We need to get moving.”
“Mason, we need you up here.”
Through the door to the roof, Mason and Randy came alone. They stayed low and ran the short distance to where Sean and Jack knelt along the roofline peering out into the midday sun. Mason rested his hand on Jack’s shoulder and smiled. “You sure you’re doin’ okay?”
“I’m good. Just being out here in the sun seems to be helping. My head stopped pounding and the elephant on my chest finally moved away.”
“She’s here, go see her. She needs you.”
“You knew?” Jack said.
“I had a hunch,” Mason said. “Elizabeth’s name came up too many times on our trip for me not to. She’s okay, but you need to go to her.”
Jack set his rifle alongside Sean’s, but hesitated to move away. He looked back at Mason. “She’s actually my wife. We didn’t want anyone to know and have been trying to keep it a secret, but I don’t care anymore.”
“Not even Brian knew?”
“We didn’t tell anyone,” Jack said. “It’s kind of a long story, but we quickly realized that in this new world, people use your loved ones for leverage. If they wanted something from you, they’d know where to push. I never wanted someone to use her to get me to do something. We decided to act as if we were strangers for a while and it just kind of stuck. Brian never questioned it, but I think he may have known.”
Jack smiled as he continued. “We even approached the group alone. I went out first and made sure Brian and the others were okay, and had her wait a mile down the road. She acted lost and we never let on as to who we were. We’re just lucky no one ever asked for our last names, we hadn’t thought that far ahead—”
Mason held his hand up. “I get it; you acted like strangers to protect her, pretty smart.” He motioned toward the door to the stairs as Megan, Eleanor, and Elizabeth walked out into the sun. “No need to pretend anymore, go to her.”
213
“Mason,” Sean said holding out a pair of binoculars, “You need to see this.” Sean placed the second pair over his eyes and watched as Tobias paced the top level of the parking structure nearly a half mile away. The man who now held his father captive walked to the edge of the retaining wall on the sixth level and held his sat phone to the sky.
As their own phone, now resting along the edge of the concrete barrier overlooking the city, began to ring, Sean stared at it and then back at Mason. “I think you should answer it.”
“Okay,” Mason said. “Let’s see what he wants.”
As the women gathered near the door to greet Jack, Sean dropped his binoculars and shouldered his rifle. Through the scope, his nightmare began to e
scalate. “Dad?”
As Lockwood came into view, Mason hit the talk button and set the phone on the ledge in front of him. “Tobias, what do you want?”
“Well, as much as I’d like to say that I masterminded this whole plot to destroy what was left of your pitiful little life, sadly I only helped in its execution. The man I work for was a very powerful person before this whole world went to hell. He did things for me when no one else would and I owe him my life. Anyhow, he put a few of his thoughts down in writing, things you need to know. Maybe, just maybe then you’ll understand why it is we needed the doctor, and more importantly, why it needed to be you.”
“Tobias,” Mason said, pulling the phone close to his face. “Anything you have to say from this point forward won’t make a bit of difference, I’m still coming back to kill you.”
As Randy moved in between Mason and Sean, the trio could hear Tobias laughing on the other end of the line. Grabbing Sean’s binoculars, he pulled them to his eyes and tightened his jaw as the men on the opposite end came into focus. Tobias handed the phone and a package to Lockwood and then stood near the man in a wheelchair.
“Mason,” Sean said. “If I get a clear shot, am I good to take it?”
“Let’s see what this is. Randy told me how good you were, but a shot at this distance may be tough.”
Dr. Lockwood’s voice came through the phone’s speaker. “Mason, are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here, Doc. What do they want?”
“Please get Sean and Megan out of the city, now.” His voice began to break as he continued. “Sean knows where to go, and promise me you’ll never return here. Don’t ever bring them back to this place, I mean it, never.”
“Doc, what do they want? Who are they?”
“Mason, they’ve asked me to read something to you. It’s from the man who had me brought here. When I’ve finished reading it, you are to leave the city immediately. Do you understand?”
“Yeah sure, but what—”
“Just do as they ask,” Lockwood said. “They won’t come looking for you.”
Mason paused and looked around at the others who crowded in behind him.
Lockwood’s voice again came through the phone, although this time coated in static. “Sean?”
Without moving from his scope, Sean shouted. “Dad?”
“You need to take Mason and the others to your new home. As soon as I hang up, you go and you don’t look back. You have what you need. Just go.”
“But—”
Mason, Sean, and Randy focused in on Lockwood as he held the phone to his ear and a few sheets of paper out away from his face. “This document is addressed to Mason Thomas.”
The father of two and creator of the virus that unintentionally ended the world, Dr. Eugene Lockwood turned to the man in the chair. He looked over the handwritten notes and took in a long deep breath before beginning to read. The severely distorted letters and misspelled words were thrown together over the three sheets of paper and much of the dried black ink had run through the first and second pages.
Lockwood stared back at his captors as he began. “Mason, this originated well before you or I ever encountered one another. While it’s quite unfortunate that the burden was laid upon you, there’s little doubt that you now own it. I’ve come to know you as the man that could not finish the job, even when it was so easy for you to do so. I put to rest nearly every single person you cared for and still you failed to relieve me of this world.”
Pausing for a moment, Lockwood took two steps toward the man in the chair and continued reading. “You dumped my body along that desolate stretch of highway, assuming that I’d be taken away by the infected creatures I helped conceive. I can’t tell you if it was a blessing or a curse. Although the men that picked my near lifeless body off the road, moments before I was over run, gave me another chance. It hasn’t been easy, although after nearly a year I have the full use of my hands and am now able to see and hear what’s left of the world around me. I’ve commissioned Mr. Lockwood to assist me in what’s left of my recovery. What I could not do on my own, he will help me with. You and your people will get him back when and if I deem his services are no longer necessary. The rest is simple, if you come for him before that time, I will end his life and all who challenge me. You are free to leave the city, although you should not mistake my kindness for weakness, it won’t end well for any of you.”
The signature near the bottom of the final page was the only part of the note that appeared to be written with a steady hand. Lockwood read it without fear. “Marcus Goodwin.”
Lockwood stopped reading. He dropped his hand to his side and with that, the three sheets of paper slowly drifted to the ground. Speaking into the phone he addressed his son first. “Sean, I can’t remember the last time I told you this, but I love you and have faith in you. If Megan is there, tell her that I’m proud of how strong she is and love her more than she will ever realize. And although I wasn’t around as much as I should have been, you two are forever in my heart and the only reason for my existence.”
Moving around Tobias, he continued. “Mason, leave right this minute. Get my family out of this city and as I’ve said before, do not ever bring them back. I want you and the others within our little family to know that I am truly sorry for what my creation has done to this world. I could never begin to make up for all the loss that I have caused, although I do accept the responsibility.”
Turning from the men holding him captive and back toward the building his family was watching from, he voiced his final declaration. “I have absolutely no intention of helping this man or having any more of you suffer for my sins. Goodbye…”
With the rifle scope pulled into his right eye; Sean continued to watch as his father dropped the phone and walked past Marcus Goodwin’s wheelchair.
Before Tobias or any of the others could react, Dr. Eugene Lockwood climbed atop the three-foot retaining wall and jumped from the six story parking structure.
End of Book Seven
The Dead Years
Book Eight
ABSOLUTION
214
It was guilt.
Not anger, not sorrow and sure as hell not fear. His chest tightened and his heart rate doubled in the span of only a few seconds. His knees instinctively buckled as his attention shifted away from Dr. Lockwood and to the group of people standing less than twenty feet away. More specifically, the woman he had saved less than two days earlier. As the scorching midday sun exploded against the back of his neck, Mason dropped the binoculars and thought through his next move.
Turning away from the man who’d just jumped to his death and looking into her eyes, she had no idea what had just taken place. No one did, although within a mere fraction of a second, that would all change.
The first round left Sean’s rifle before his father’s body slammed into the sidewalk below. Mason turned back to the boy who fired off a second and then a third shot and reached for his weapon. If his estimations were correct, the group a half mile away would return fire and in a big way. He needed to get his people inside.
His experiences over the last twelve months told him they had maybe six seconds before the rooftop became a war zone. While the six individuals were frozen in place, they had yet to understand that the odds of everyone getting to safety plummeted by the second.
Mason shouted above the gunfire that came out of the west. “Everyone back inside!” He looked back through the binoculars and quickly scanned the parking structure where Lockwood had leapt from. “Sean, get down!”
Sliding down below the parapet, Sean looked up at Mason while fumbling through his jacket for another magazine. Pulling it free, he tossed the first over his head and cursed. The boy’s eyes were glazed over. Without any particular emotion, he blinked twice and wiped a single tear. “Mason, we have to kill them.”
Into a kneeling position and reaching out for Sean’s arm, Mason needed to keep the boy from doing something stupid, from acting
too quickly out of grief or anger and getting himself killed. Sliding Sean’s hand away from the weapon, Mason motioned toward the door. “There is nothing we can do from here. They know we’re up here and will pick us off one by one.”
“I don’t care,” Sean said. “They need to die.”
Releasing Sean’s arm, Mason laid a hand on each of the boy’s shoulders, attempting to get him to focus. The gunfire from somewhere off in the distance continued and sounded as if it were intensifying. Looking back, he watched as Randy pushed Eleanor through the door and began to turn. A large explosion just above Randy’s head sent him to the ground and as he rolled to the right, he slammed the door closed.
Seated with his back to the building and within reach of the door, Randy shouted, “Toss me a gun; I’ll lay down some cover. You two just get the hell over here.”
Still squared up and looking into Sean’s eyes, Mason only caught every fourth word of Randy’s pitch. “Listen, I can’t pretend to know what you’re thinking right now, but your dad wanted you to get somewhere safe. Don’t do this for me, or even yourself. Do this for him.”
“My dad just jumped, didn’t you see that?” Sean’s erratic breathing was obvious as he pushed backward into the wall. The rise and fall of his chest more rapid than it was only seconds before, he broke eye contact with Mason. “Whatever he had to say is completely invalid at this point. He gave up on us; he gave up on the world.”
Looking back toward the door, Randy waved frantically. As the tide of gunfire slowed, Mason was now able to hear his friend. “Gun now. We gotta go.”
Pulling the handgun from his waistband, Mason slid it across the gap to Randy and leaned into Sean as three rounds tore into the concrete block just above their heads. “Sean, let’s get inside. We can talk about this once we’re both safe.”
