Dead Last (Vol. 1): Dead Last

by Quaranta, Marc

  "Here you go," Heather came walking up to me with a mask and a pair of those purple latex gloves.

  "Thanks," I said.

  "Where'd Scott go?" Haylea asked.

  "Uh, I don't know," Heather looked around for him.

  "He said he was going to bring these for us," Haylea was showing attitude.

  "Thanks, Heather. Now get out of sight of these guys," I brushed her away as quick as I could. There were bigger problems at hand and a girl fight was not going to make it any better. I didn't understand what Haylea's problem was. I guess we were all a little on edge, though.

  "Alright. Here goes nothing," I said putting the mask over my head and slipping the gloves on.

  I shot a look around the group to show them that I was confident in what I was doing. I didn't want anyone to look worried, but no matter what I tried, most of them were worried. I think the ones that weren't worried were too naive to be.

  I stepped through door three and kept a couple of feet between door two and myself. They were standing behind the second door like they were invited guests waiting for me to let them in. I wanted to be able to speak to them without a door and wall of glass between us, but I wasn't going to ask them to step outside into the air, again. I would just have to handle the situation as best as I could.

  "Are you guys okay? What do you need?" I shouted.

  "Can you let us in, man? It'll be easier to talk to you without this door in the way," the black guy shouted. Instantly, I could tell that he was the leader of this little group.

  "Sorry, guys, I can't do that. I've got people in here to protect."

  "You can at least let us in through this door. They'll still be on the other side of that wall," he said to me.

  "Sorry. Just tell me what you guys want. Do you need food or water? We can spare some."

  "We need a place to crash, man. Let us in," the black guy said.

  "Fucking let us in, man!" shouted the youngest kid. The one who wasn't wearing a mask. He couldn't have been any older than sixteen.

  The black guy pushed him and told him to be quiet. The kid's aggression did not slip past my attention. The two white guys seemed to be on edge about something. Maybe because they knew he was sick from breathing the air. I don't know, but I definitely wasn't going to let them in.

  "Look, sorry about him. We're all a little on edge. We didn't think anyone else made it. We haven't seen anybody else. Can't you just let us in, man?"

  "I can't. I've got people to protect in here and your boy doesn't have a mask on. He's been breathing the air this whole time."

  "No, man. He's fine. He's been fine for days. Look, I'm Cameron--Cam. My name is Cam. This is Pete and that's Seth," the black male said. Seth was the young one with no mask on. "We're all fine. Seriously, can you just let us inside?"

  "I can't do that, Cam. I'm sorry, but you guys have to move on. There are plenty of other places to take shelter in. I'm sorry," I turned to walk away, but Cam shouted at me. It was aggressive and angry. His voice got deep. It was straight out of a horror movie when the killer yells at the babysitter not to hang up the phone.

  "Look, open this fucking door or things are going to get worse. Things are going to get very, very bad," Cam said.

  "Get out of here. I'm serious," I got closer to the glass and lowered my voice enough to make a serious point, but still loud enough to travel through the glass.

  Then things did get worse.

  Two of the guys, Cam and Pete, pulled handguns out from behind their back. I could feel my heart stop beating, and even noticed that Seth jumped a little bit. I don't think either one of us was expecting them to pull guns out. I took a step back and slowly put my hands in the air.

  "Cam, whatever you're thinking about doing, you need to stop. Why don't you guys just turn around and leave?" I said.

  "Cam, what the hell?" Seth said to him.

  "Shut up, Seth!" he yelled at his friend and then turned back to me, "What's your name?"

  "What?" he was muffled through the glass.

  "I said, what is your name?" he shouted that time.

  "Kurt. My name is Kurt."

  "Kurt, if you don't let us in right now. I'm going to shoot this door," he pointed to the first door. "Then, I'm going to shoot this door and then finally I'm going to shoot that door over there. If you're so worried about the air, you might want to let us in or else all of ya'll are going to be breathing it in."

  I looked back at the group. A few of them ducked out of the way when they saw the gun, but the rest of them stared in horror. Haylea, Heather, and Dan all looked at me like it was going to be the last time they saw me alive.

  "Just put the guns down, guys. You don't need to do anything stupid."

  "The only stupid thing anyone would be doing is you not letting us in," Cam said.

  "I can't do that," I held my position firmly, but was scared for my life.

  "First warning," Cam said.

  He turned away from me and shot the door behind him. The glass shattered and they were surrounded by the air, breathing it in before I could blink. Seth was, at least, breathing it in. The other two were protected by the masks, but we didn't have enough masks on the other side to protect everyone.

  "Okay, okay!" I shouted. I held my hands up to him and begged him not to shoot anymore. I wanted to look back at Haylea. I wanted her to give me an answer of what to do. I had no idea what to do. I had no answers. I was about to jeopardize everyone by letting these guys in here. It was all my fault.

  I pushed the door open and they came in without missing a beat. Cam grabbed me by the back of the shirt and held the gun up to my head. Pete ran over to the final door and pulled at it.

  "You moron, it's just like the last door. It's not going to open without a card," Cam said to him.

  "You got a card?" Pete asked me.

  "No, I don't. They have to let us in."

  Pete slammed his fist on the glass door demanding that one of the others in the group open the door, but nobody moved.

  "What are they doing?" Pete asked.

  "Do you see this? I will blow this fucker's brains out," Cam screamed to them. He pressed the barrel of the gun against the back of my head. I felt like passing out at that moment.

  I could see everyone was frozen on the other side of the glass. Travis was saying something to Dan, but before Dan could respond, Haylea yelled at them both and ran toward the door. She hesitated one last moment before pushing the door open. I think she was saying the quickest prayer ever said.

  Once the door was open, Haylea ran back to the others and cleared the way for these stragglers and I.

  "Everyone sit by the wall. Everyone! Now! Go!" Cam shouted. I made a move for the wall, but he pulled me back. I guess he wanted to continue to use me as leverage. I was the hostage...well I guess we all were now.

  "What do you want?" asked a hysterical Jenny.

  "Shut up!" Pete yelled at her.

  "Is this everyone? How many more are there?"

  "There are a couple more around the building," Dan answered. He was acting cowardly and was going to give up anyone and everyone if they asked for it.

  "Just kids!" Haylea shouted.

  "What?"

  "There are a couple kids in the back that are stuck in here with us. They are resting in the back. Just kids."

  "Who else? I know there are more!" Cam wasn't fooled.

  "The kids and a female teacher of theirs. That's all. She's harmless. Just let them rest before someone accidentally shoots a kid," Haylea was the calmest of all of us.

  "Shut up! You don't give me orders! Pete, go look around. Hey, you. Girl. Where are the kids?"

  "They are down at the end of the hall in an empty room. It's where they sleep."

  "Okay. Pete, go look around the rest of the building. Poke your head in to make sure she's telling the truth...but don't bother them. Let them rest."

  "Thank you," Haylea said.

  Cam nodded to her. I could see at that moment that he wa
sn't a serial killer or a violent man at heart. He had a heart. He had a soul. He was just scared of what was happening outside like we all were. He was protecting himself and his friends the only way he knew how. At that moment, I didn't think they were capable of shooting someone, but I couldn't be too sure.

  XIII

  Scott Daugherty

  I grabbed the mask and gloves for Kurt and had every intention of giving them over to him, but Heather was tailing me like a cop in a high-speed chase. She was practically walking on my heels the entire way to the closet and for some reason really wanted to give the gloves to Kurt. I had no objection. I was worried about the guys outside, but something else was bothering me to worry about that.

  Elyse was so beautiful. I couldn't get her out of my mind. When she took the blankets over to the rest of the group and shot me that look, my heart dropped. She couldn't have been more obvious. Winking at me or flashing me would have been just as obvious as the look she gave me. Since that moment earlier yesterday, I have been thinking about her nonstop and I could tell she was thinking about me. She and her mom slept outside of Sam's office, while he slept inside. I'm not sure why they did it that way. I was hoping that one of these nights Emily would get lonely and need to sleep in the office with Sam. That way I would be alone with Elyse and we could finally get together. We've been waiting since the first day in this place.

  I walked around the newsroom looking at all the equipment. We had turned most of it off to save power for the rest of the building, but it all worked. We could still turn it all on and broadcast over the air, but the rest of the group was worried that would attract stragglers, even though we already were attracting them.

  I sat at the anchors desk and stared into the camera. I never wanted to be an anchor. I wasn't exactly camera friendly, but at this moment it was fun. Nobody was watching me in their homes so I wasn't worried about messing up or pronouncing a word wrong. It was just me, the camera, and my delusional mind.

  "Good morning, Indiana," I said with a fake smile on my face. I stared directly into the camera and saw, in my mind, the lights on, the cameras on, the tape rolling. "It is approximately five a.m. and we are trapped inside WTIX hoping for someone to come help us. Last word was that the government had no fucking idea what the problem was and a report is coming in to me right now," I put my finger to my ear like I was wearing a communications device and listening to breaking news from my director.

  "Yes, this breaking news just in; nobody is going to save us and this crisis will never end. All of us are fucked and are going to die," I said it, still, with a huge fake smile. "But there is good news in all of this. I, Scott Daugherty, am trapped in this building with a gorgeous, sexy, young girl by the name of Elyse Clark. She is seventeen and in love with me and believe me, Indiana, the second that her and I get a moment alone, I am going to fuck her. I am going to make her mine."

  I would have continued with the report so that the fans of WTIX in Indiana had something more to watch. I'm sure they were all bored at home with nobody broadcasting, but I heard a gunshot.

  It was faint but near. It sounded like it was inside the building. The loud bang knocked sense back into my brain. I crouched down behind the desk and waited for another sound; another gunshot. There wasn't one. I sat behind the desk, covered by the top of the counter, waiting for something. I was waiting for the police to say that it was okay to come out of hiding now because everything was safe.

  More realistically, I was waiting for Kurt or Haylea to come find me. They had to have known I wasn't standing there with them...well what if Kurt got shot? Oh God, what if it was those three stragglers that were waiting outside? I decided that I had to do something. I crawled out from under the desk and looked around. Everything was clear over in the newsroom so I decided to walk around and see if I could find anyone.

  I felt like Martin Sheen's character in Apocalypse Now. He spent so much time in the forest that he began to lose his mind. He drank heavily and forgot who he was. What I wouldn't give for a drink right now. I would love a straight up glass of Bourbon. No ice, either. Straight Bourbon. It wasn't usually my drink. I hated Bourbon, but right now it was my drink. It would taste delicious. I needed to find a glass of Bourbon. I wonder if they brought some back from the gas station.

  I walked down the long hall in the back of the building looking for the group, the source of the gunshot, and a glass of Bourbon. I could feel it on the tip of my tongue but couldn't taste it yet. The only thing I did know, at that moment, was that I needed to take that gun. I knew that someone had my gun. I needed to take it back and then go to the local bar. If I had a gun with me at all times, I knew that I would be able to get my hands on some Bourbon.

  The next moment was so quick. Everything happened too quickly. I had no time to react. One second I was tiptoeing through the hallways trying to help everyone out, and the next moment everything was blurry and the back of my head hurt. I reached to the back of my head and touched the spot that hurt. I couldn't leave my fingers there for long because the pain shot down my neck when I touched it. I looked at my fingers and there was a little bit of blood.

  The next time I realized what it was. Someone had hit me in the back of the head.

  And then again.

  I blacked out.

  XIV

  Haylea Meyers

  I try to be brave. I was never looked at as the girly-girl of the group. I wasn't the princess, I wasn't daddy's favorite girl, or any of those other stereotypical girly types. I was a lady, but I tried to show courage and bravery and prove that I could hang with anyone. I could play sports with the boys and work as hard as any of the guys at the office. I never wanted people to know that I was afraid.

  That is why I didn't hesitate when talking back to these guys. They had guns, sure, but I wasn't entirely sure that they were going to use them. Even with the barrel pointed to the head of my fiancé, I was confident. I was confident in my ability, in his willingness, and in the fact that these guys were chicken shit.

  Everyone was in the lounge area with us being held hostage, except for a couple. Scott was gone, Molly was sleeping with the four kids in the back, and Jack was gone. The rest were all here huddled together against the wall. They were all scared. Sam kneeled with Emily and Elyse with his arms around them trying to protect them. Janet and Barry sat close behind me.

  "I found one," I heard one of the stragglers say. It was the one that went to search the building. I think his name was Pete. He came walking back up to the group pushing Scott in front of him. It looked like Scott was hit hard. His eyes were groggy and there was blood on the tip of his fingers. I couldn't see where the blood came from but I was guessing Pete hit him.

  "No one else but the kids, huh?" the black guy mocked me.

  "I guess I lied," I said.

  "Do you realize that I will shoot everyone? I will make you watch as I kill each and every one of them and I'll start with the God damn kids."

  "Look, you don't have to do this," Kurt said to him. Kurt wasn't a coward. I'd never seen him beg and I don't think he'd beg for his life if he had to, but he was smart. He knew how to talk to people and would probably be able to talk a man with a gun down.

  The problem was I didn't think these guys wanted to be talked down. I think they had plenty of materials for themselves, plenty of supplies; they just wanted to do this. I think they were here just to mess with us.

  "Did you check on the kids?" the guy holding Kurt asked Pete.

  "Yea, they're all sleeping. This is everyone."

  I looked over at the youngest of the three guys. He was wearing a blue sweatshirt and had to be just a teenager. He didn't have a mask over his face when he came into the building. He was breathing the air outside and was looking a little wobbly.

  "Are you okay?" Emily asked him. I guess she noticed that he didn't look good either. Sam pulled Emily back, but she fought off. She was going to go stand by him, but stopped on account of the guns being pointed.

  "D
on't talk to him," the leader said.

  "He was outside without a mask. He's not okay. He's sick," I said to everyone.

  "He ain't sick, bitch," the black guy yelled at me.

  Kurt went to make a move to defend my honor, but he had no chance with his back to the guy. The guy hit him with the butt of his gun. Kurt had turned slightly, so the gun hit him on the side of the head, around the temple. Kurt dropped down to the ground holding his face.

  I jerked forward to see him, but had to stop myself. I knew that if they saw me cuddle him, they would use that as leverage to get what they wanted. If I were thinking like Kurt would, he'd want me to pretend like we never met. I knew that is what he would want.

  "Look, would you please just take whatever you want and leave? Your guy is sick and he is going to get us all sick, if he already hasn't," I said to them.

  "We just brought back food. Take it," Dan spoke up again. He was such an idiot. They didn't know we had extra food and nobody had to tell them. Dan needed to shut his mouth and just sit there. He was panicking like a little girl and someone needed to slap him.

  I looked over at Emily again. She didn't take her eyes off of the young boy that looked sick, and that is when I noticed Sam. Sam looked as sick as the boy. His face was sweating, his eyes were dark, and he looked wobbly. If a rough breeze came through the window, it would probably knock him on his ass. He was fighting it so that he could protect his family, but Emily had to be the stronger one in the family at that point.

  "Where is it? Where's the food?" asked Pete. He threw Scott down in front of us and walked toward the kitchen before anyone answered. The bags were emptied now, and all of the food was lying in the kitchen. The drinks were in the refrigerator and the food was on the counter tops.

  "You find it?" asked the black guy. He had picked Kurt back up to his knees and had the gun back on his head. "Pete! Did you find it?"