World of Dead | Vol. 1 | Issue 6

by Johnson, Broderick

  Issue 6

  Cold and dark. That’s all that Wesley could make out about the room that he had been sitting in for hours. His hands and feet were tied to the chair that he had been placed in by the eight men that escorted him to that very room. He would’ve tried to say something if they hadn’t gagged him.

  So he sat there. All night. He didn’t even attempt to get any sleep. Not until he was able to speak with somebody and clear up the mistake that had been made. The only thing that Wesley could think about was what the man in charge had said the night prior. He had mentioned that there was a group of men that were coming by and taking people from the school.

  That wasn’t the concerning thing for Wesley, though. Instead, the comment that concerned him the most was that he was alone this last time. The man in charge had placed him in the same category as these men that were attacking the school. Although Wesley didn’t care about what these men were doing to the school, the fact of the situation was that he was not a part of that group.

  The only reason that Wesley had entered the school in the first place was to find Kyra after he assumed that she had been kidnapped. After being tied to a chair and gagged, however, he was wondering why he had chased after the girl in the first place. He didn’t need her. He definitely didn’t need the two babies that she had.

  It was pointless to think about. Wesley had looked at Kyra while she stood at the center of that gymnasium and she seemed afraid of him. She didn’t seem to be in trouble. She didn’t seem threatened by the group of families that sat in the bleachers. Kyra was afraid oh him. In all fairness, he was pointing an assault rifle at two fourteen year olds.

  Wesley closed his eyes and tried to relax his head as he thought about how bad the improvisation had gone. He really should’ve just kept riding his motorcycle up to Montreal. He could’ve been there by now and his real mission would’ve been completed. Instead, he now sat in a chair, tied down, with nowhere to go and nothing he could do about it.

  There weren’t any windows or clocks so Wesley couldn’t begin to guess how long he had been tied up for, but it felt like an eternity. By the time the door opened, Wesley was so mentally and physically exhausted from waiting that he didn’t even open his eyes to see who was on their way in. He could tell, however, exactly who it was just by the sound of their voice.

  “We’ve decided to leave it up to you,” the man in charge said firmly. Wesley slowly opened his eyes and focused in on the man. The night before, it had been too dark in the gymnasium to really identify any features other than his height. That morning was a different story, though. The man in charge was only a few feet in front of Wesley, making his thick black beard very visible along with his dark beady eyes. He had a strong face, strong nose and cheek bones, and a very toned body. Wesley was right about his height, too, as the man had to have been six feet and a few inches tall. The man continued to explain, “Would you rather die quickly or would you rather be given an attempt to escape and live?”

  Wesley just stared into the man’s eyes. He couldn’t say anything even if he wanted to because he was still gagged, but he wouldn’t have said anything anyway. The man was playing games with him. He knew that. Most likely, the idea was to make Wesley as scared as possible so that when it came down to it, he would share everything he knows.

  Unfortunately for this man and his school, Wesley didn’t know anything about the people that they were fearful of.

  Finally, after allowing what he had said to sit in silence for a few moments, the man reached towards Wesley and pulled the gag down from his mouth. He then took a step back and crossed his arms before saying, “Or you can tell us where your little group is located and we can go take care of this like adults.”

  Wesley smiled and began the chuckle. How in the world was he going to convince this guy that he had nothing to do with it? He had been completely set up and there was nothing he could say or do to make this man believe him. That’s why he found himself laughing. Wesley was really questioning every decision that he had made since getting off of his bike back on the highway.

  “I’m glad you find this amusing,” the man said.

  “Well,” Wesley finally replied. His voice was low and raspy after being dried out from having a gag in it the whole night, “It’s not that amusing for you because you have no idea what’s going on right now.”

  “Oh and you do?”

  Wesley shook his head slowly. He was once again improvising. This time, it was the conversation with this man. Wesley didn’t know what to say so he was just going with it as he said, “I didn’t at first, but after sitting in this room for hours to think about it, now I do.”

  The man stepped forward and leaned in close to Wesley. Wesley was able to smell the man’s breath as he spoke and, surprisingly, it smelled like it had been freshly brushed. Wesley was honestly expecting it to be potent dad breath by the way the man looked. The man said to him, “Enlighten me.”

  “You’re going to kill me no matter what I say,” Wesley responded. He actually believed that, too. Whether he told the truth or lied and gave the man everything that he wanted to hear, Wesley was going to die. So he figured he would give it his best shot. He said, “So, I’m going to choose the option that has to do with escaping.”

  The man smiled, “You friends really have you brainwashed don’t they. You think that the world goes to shit and you can just walk around doing whatever you want? Well, not around here. We are going to make an example of you.”

  The man turned to leave, but then stopped at the door and turned around. He looked Wesley dead in the eye and said, “Your people have done some horrific things in the past month, but you were really going to bring them two baby girls? How sick are you?”

  Wesley rolled his eyes as the man shut the door. Leaving him once again in darkness.

  A knock at the door alerted Kyra that somebody was about to enter the room. She had been feeding Kassidy and Sara as she waited for instructions on what to do next. As new and fresh as it was, Kyra didn’t think it would be that difficult to adjust to this new lifestyle with this little community that had found her. More importantly, she was thankful for Tom being able to save her from Wesley.

  It still shocked her, honestly. Kyra was such a trusting person that she never stopped to think about what kind of people might be out there. She would have never known that a group of dangerous men were lurking around Albany waiting to take women as victims. The important thing was that the babies were now safe - that was Kyra’s only goal at this point.

  Tom entered the room and closed the door. Upon arriving at Central Colonie the day prior, Tom had introduced Kyra to Truex, the man in charge. Truex was very understanding of the situation and said that they are welcoming to anybody that is looking for help during this tragic time. After that, Tom introduced Kyra to his wife Cathy and offered for Kyra to stay in the classroom that they had been staying in.

  It had really been a welcoming experience for Kyra so far. For once, she didn’t feel like she had to have everything resting on her shoulders. These people were nice enough to provide protection and food for her and hundreds of others from the area that were looking for help. Kyra found that extremely humbling and didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it.

  Later that night, Kyra was brought to the gymnasium where Truex had called a meeting with all of the people. He was explaining to his people how Tom had found Kyra and saved her and how Kyra would be staying with them from then on. He was beginning to ask everyone to give her a warm welcome when Wesley arrived holding two young boys at gunpoint.

  That moment, for Kyra, just solidified what Tom had said about Wesley and his people. They really were cruel and didn’t car
e who they hurt or how they hurt them. It also scared Kyra a bit because for whatever reason, Wesley thought she was important enough to come charging into the school single-handedly like that.

  “How was your first night?” Tom asked Kyra. She didn’t respond at first as she was still getting used to being around other people for the first time in three months. Tom continued, “Cathy and I went to get some breakfast this morning. You and the babies were still sleeping so we thought we’d leave you alone.”

  “Thank you,” Kyra responded. She asked Tom, “Why do you think he did that last night?”

  “Did what?” Tom replied, confused by Kyra’s question.

  “Why did he come in after me without any back up?” Kyra wondered. It didn’t make much sense to her. Wouldn’t he have gone to get help?

  “Cathy and I were thinking about that as well,” Tom admitted, “It is very odd for one of them to come here alone. They know how many weapons we have because they left us with the eight pistols and took the other weapons that we had. He had to have known he was outnumbered.”

  “Maybe he thought he would catch everybody by surprise?” Kyra thought, but even then it didn’t make sense.

  Tom approached Kyra and placed his hand on her shoulder. He said, “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Truex is taking care of him today. He won’t be a problem from now on. All we have to do is keep you hidden whenever they decide to come back around as a group.”

  Kyra was extremely nervous about that part. What was it going to be like to see this group for the first time. They’ve been described like demons up to that point. Taking whatever they want, whenever they want, and not caring who is hurt in the process. As safe as this new place was, Kyra wasn’t entirely sure it was the absolute safest after all.

  “We brought you some breakfast,” Tom explained, “Cathy has it covered in the classroom whenever you’re ready for it.”

  “I’m not very hungry,” Kyra replied and Tom frowned at her response.

  “Still?” he asked, “You barely touched your dinner last night as well.”

  Kyra shrugged as she began to change the babies. In her mind, she was too busy and focused on taking care of the babies to worry about eating. Not to mention that she was probably suffering from PTSD after everything that she had experienced.

  Tom took a seat beside her and tried to get her attention, but Kyra continued to do what she was doing like she didn’t care. He didn’t want to be pushy, but he had an idea about what Kyra was going through. It’s hard to be okay.

  “I haven’t been able to share this with you,” Tom explained, “but I lost my kids when this whole thing began.”

  Kyra stopped what she was doing and looked up at Tom. He had a look of concern on his face as if he was trying to tell her something without actually telling her. She had a feeling that she knew what it was, but she had heard it enough already.

  “I’m not grieving anymore,” Kyra said, “I’m just trying to take care of them. That’s all I care about at this point.”

  “Why?” Tom asked her.

  “I don’t want to sound unappreciative because I am very grateful for what you’ve done for me so far,” Kyra began to explain. She was already getting emotional after only a few words but she continued, “I’m just not ready to get back to a normal life yet.”

  “I understand,” Tom responded. He did, too. That wasn’t something that he was just saying to make her feel better. It is hard to go from complete survival mode to relaxing and letting other people take care of you. That made sense. Tom allowed Kyra to let a few tears out before saying, “The food will be there whenever you’re ready for it. Just don’t starve yourself, alright?”

  Just then, the door opened and Truex entered the room. He seemed frustrated about something, but kept his composure as he began to speak to both Tom and Kyra.

  “The kid has made his decision,” Truex explained. Tom seemed to know what that meant, but Kyra didn’t. She turned her head and narrowed her eyes in confusion.

  “And? What did he choose?” Tom asked.

  “Well,” Truex said as he leaned against the wall, “I offered him the chance to tell us where his friends are hiding at, but he insisted that we would kill him no matter what he told me. Which, gotta give it to the kid, he’s right.”

  “You’re going to kill him?” Kyra asked. She didn’t know why that made her heart skip a beat, but it did. Even though he was planning on bringing her back to his friends, Kyra didn’t believe that Wesley should die for it.

  “Unfortunately, we need to make an example of him,” Truex tried to explain, “We’ve lost too many people and resources to his friends in the last month. They run around like there is no law to be enforced and I don’t plan on letting that stand.”

  Kyra wanted to argue, but then she thought about the babies. Once again, she had to remind herself not to put this security at risk. It wasn’t worth fighting for someone that she didn’t even know anyway.

  “What was the decision?” Tom asked.

  Truex was hesitant to respond. He looked at Kyra with concern and replied, “I’m not sure we should discuss that here.”

  Kyra wasn’t afraid of knowing the decision. She had seen so much in the last couple of days that her entire view on life was swayed. She could tell that Truex was worried about her opinion of things.

  “I won’t say anything,” she said, “but I do want to know what’s going to happen to him.”

  Tom looked at Kyra to confirm that that is indeed what she wanted and Kyra nodded to him. He turned and looked at Truex before saying, “So what is it?”

  “Escape,” Truex explained. Tom immediately looked concerned and started to shake his head but Truex stepped in before he could complain, “Look, Tom, I know that you don’t like the idea of it…”

  “It’s absolutely medieval,” Tom argued.

  “What is medieval?” Kyra asked, “I don’t get it. What do you mean escape?”

  Truex opened his mouth to explain, but Tom didn’t allow him to, “He has this idea where you give someone a hammer and then you put them in an enclosed area with a bunch of the zombies coming after them. If they are able to survive then they get to leave freely.”

  “Zombies?” Kyra asked.

  “That’s what we used to call them back when I was growing up,” Truex explained, “The way I see it, it’s only fair to give them an opportunity to live. We’re not going to keep him here forever.”

  “What if he survives and is able to go tell his little friends about what we did?” Tom argued, “Then what?”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Truex argued.

  Kyra didn’t know what came upon her, but as Truex and Tom were arguing she began to feel an anger building in her. She remembered how manipulative Wesley was to her when he saved her. He made her believe that he cared about her and wanted to help her, Kassidy, and Sara when he really didn’t. After everything that she had been through, Kyra felt like she had had enough of it. She interrupted the two of them and said, “I think you should do it.”

  Tom immediately turned his head to look at Kyra. The look that he was giving her was one of confusion and disbelief. Truex, on the other hand, was pleased to hear that Kyra liked the idea. He crossed his arms and stared at Tom as if to tell him, I told you so.

  Feeling like an explanation was needed, Kyra said, “Normally, I don’t think I would condone such a thing, but we don’t live in normal times anymore. Wesley… I mean, that man in there manipulated me and was going to take me back to his sick friends to allow whatever to happen to me or these babies. I think that he should be punished for that.”

  “Kyra, you don’t mean that,” Tom argued.

  “I’m sorry,” Kyra immediately responded, “You don’t know me as well as you think you do. After everything that I have been through I do mean that.”

  “So it’s settled, then,” Truex concluded, “I’ll get it set up for tonight and we’ll see what happens.”

  “I want t
o watch,” Kyra blurted out. It wasn’t something that she even thought about saying, but it came out of her mouth so fluently and it felt right. There was no question in her mind that Wesley deserved this. Maybe it was because of everything that she had witnessed with her father, Jason and his wife, and then her mother. Kyra had no way of letting out the anger and frustration that she had after losing everybody close to her.

  Tom’s mouth absolutely dropped upon the words leaving Kyra’s mouth. She was right. He had no idea who she was and she definitely was not who he thought she would be. Tom shook his head, disappointingly, and stood to leave the room. As he opened the door, he turned quickly and managed to say, “It’s not going to make you feel better. I hope you know that.”

  Kyra ignored him as the door closed. She looked at Truex, who seemed a little upset that Tom was so infuriated by everything, but he didn’t say anything else. Instead it was Kyra who said, “So, where do we do this?”

  When the door opened again, Wesley was unprepared for what was about to happen. He had been left there, by the leader, to sit in the dark for hours. He could’ve screamed and hollered until somebody came in to shut him up, but he kept asking himself what the point of that would even be.

  This time two men entered the room. Wesley was able to recognize them as two of the eight men that had held him at gunpoint when he surrendered his weapon. They were the same two men that escorted him to that very room and tied him to that very chair. What were they going to do with him now, though?

  The two men were big and fit. It made sense to Wesley why the leader would’ve chosen them to be enforcers of his little community. They were capable of handling any regular man or woman who was trying to cause trouble. That’s all the leader would need to maintain order within the walls of the school.

  Wesley smirked and quietly said, “It’s nice to see you two again.”

  He received a punch to his left cheek bone by one of the men. For a moment Wesley saw stars in his gaze, but he shook them off pretty quickly. He had gotten used to being punched in the face. Granted, the man that had just punched him was a little larger than your average man so Wesley definitely felt that one.