William started the car and finished his smoke tossing the thing out the window. Cooled down and focused, he set off for his destination. He was tired but he can sleep when he is dead. William won't miss this for the end of the world. He thumbs the switch and the radios erupts with an ear startling and splitting Def Leppard guitar solo, causing him to jerk his wheel involuntarily and nearly collided with an oncoming car. He had forgotten to turn the damn thing down the last time he had gotten out. He broke a sweat on that one. Turning down and switching the stations popped up the world news which always depressed him. Some global threat is always around every corner. Most music on the radio just wasn't worth listening to. Finally he found a rock station that was bearable. He got comfortable and the drive was smooth. After about an hour, the sun had risen high and the highway was alive with people off and running to work for the morning. He approached a small little town. Just passing by he seen a couple gas stations, a couple schools, and a small strip mall here or there. Just on the outskirt of the town, on your way to Louisville, was a nice sized prison. William couldn't see much of the town seeing as he was fifteen over the speed limit and more than halfway to his destination and no distraction was worth losing a second of time.
About a half mile further on, the Louisville bound man felt something. Like a small aftershock from an earthquake that never was. He couldn't quite pin it but... off in the distance was a piercing white light cutting off his one track mind. The earth gave a grave rumble, an orange, white, and red stalk of cauliflower-like pillows of smoke rose high above the trees on the horizon. Will's heart started pumping fast and he couldn't comprehend what he was staring into. He pulled to the shoulder as was everyone else on the road. Many got out of their cars and stared at the huge lingering, sky touching, cloud of horror in question. Some people fraught with terror jumped back into their vehicles. Some turned around and headed home while others speed off in the direction they were going. His gears started working and the dots connected. The math added up, the distance from himself to his destination matches with the distance between himself and the cloud. The city couldn't be gone. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. His buzz had immediately vanished. A grave fear of the unknown set in upon the man. That had to be Louisville. His partner was there. His friend. Maybe the CDC wasn't in the middle of the city. It could be on the outskirts and maybe Julie was still alive. Maybe his math was off. Maybe that wasn't Louisville at all.
William broke his stare from the death cloud and ran back to his car glancing back over his shoulder to see a flurry of movement. Many people were rushing to their cars now. One woman collapses in the road. She wails uncontrollably. Maybe she lost someone in that cloud. Maybe it's too soon to assume such grave thoughts. He hops in the car and watches the woman's husband pull on her arm trying to will her into their car all the while every other vehicle swarms around them going to and fro. William shoves the disturbing scene from his mind and slams the vehicle into reverse and backs up. He spins the wheel and shifts the rusty Toyota into gear. He nearly misses two cars erratically weaving in and out of parked onlookers. He continues on. The people on the road are mesmerized. Their faces show a mixture of emotions. Some look excited as if it was a small tornado full wonder and worry. Others fall to their knees with horror slapped across every feature. Like William, some travel. He knew there was a gas station a couple miles back, just a little ways past the small state park sign. With many people now passing him and much further down the road he decides to slow a little more. Most cars familiar to the area take small side roads. They are smart to do so. Those cars will stay away from the large groups and get to their destination much quicker. William had nowhere to go. Louisville was it. Home was several miles away at this point.
Most of the cars on the road have thinned now. William needed to know what was going on. He needed to get to a t.v. and absorb any information. He accelerated a little more trying to close the gap between him and the gas station. His tank was low anyway so maybe they will still be open for business. About fifteen minutes of driving he passes the state park sign. A few minutes later he skids to a stop after a bend in the road. In front of him was a horrible wreck. A station wagon sits overturned in a ditch. William can see from his vantage point that one of the occupants didn't make it. The person's face looked garbled and unrecognizable. William didn't bother to get out to look at the other person. William could see the cloud, although smaller, still lingering in the distance. They must have all been awe struck by the mushroom cloud. The Oldsmobile sits slightly askew with a front end that has been shredded. The doors were ajar. The occupants must be on foot. Smoke rose from the hood of the vehicle making the smell of the air harsh. The occupants may be close. It has been a little while since the bomb hit. He needed to be cautious because you never know who might try to take advantage of times like this.
Further down the road William has seen no one and the gas station is within sight. Off in the distance there are tiny break lights and a sharp turn. More people going home to hunker down. The gas station parking lot is empty and that receding car may have been the last customer. Will pulled up to a pump and got out closing his car door with a thud. He strode up to the front door in a hurry to find a television. The door was locked. William sighed with frustration. He started back to his car when he seen that the window was open. He quickly shoved his broad body in through the moderate sized window. He landed with his knee taking most of his weight as it smashed to the floor. He felt a cracking sensation ripple throughout his leg. It wasn't the worst wound but it would take hours to to stop aching. William put his hand around the impacted knee and he could already feel the swelling. He slowly got up and tried to put weight on his wounded knee but once applied it he let out a monstrous groan of agony. Holding onto the shelves he slowly limped toward a table next to a doorway. It had a television. William turned it on. The screen flicked on showing an emergency signal. A ticker tape rolled across the bottom of the screen.
...Everyone remain calm. Seek shelter immediately. Stay in your homes with your doors and windows locked. Store your water and food. You will receive evacuation information soon. Military personnel will accompany you to your assigned evacuation destination. Please comply with all orders. Take one suitcase only. Local Evacuation Destinations: Evansville Indiana(unstable), Owensboro Kentucky (uninhabitable), Lexington Kentucky (uninhabitable), Frankfort Kentucky(stable)...
William had to hurry. Limping across the store he unlocked the glass door and winced has he hurried across the lot. His leg is on fire. Searing pain shoots through his knee. He needs to get into this town. Maybe they are being evacuated. He reaches the car and gave a huge sigh when he was able to sit and relieve his knee of the weight. Breathing heavily he starts the engine and pulls out of the parking lot. Maybe he can use his status at the CDC and this little vial in his pocket to evacuate and be prioritized or deemed essential. The bombs are what is important now but maybe this mysterious vial can grant him protection. He zooms down the road and makes a sharp turn into suburban life.
It soon becomes evident that the military is prioritizing. The low income parts of town remain filled and swarming with people either getting in their cars and heading in every direction or running inside to reinforce the fort. Another part of town littered with prominent three story, Victorian style homes were all vacant. Some items are left lying around as if they were in a hurry to leave. All the cars stay in their original spots with no one at home. William knew he was getting close. They were evacuating around here just moments earlier. It looks as if they went house to house. Over the course of about ten minutes of zigzagging in and out of roads he sees the military convoy up ahead. Six large trucks with pea soup colored tarpaulins stretched over the top housed hundreds of townspeople. Two tan Humvees with turrets mounted on the top took up the lead and the rear. William swallowed a lump in his throat. He needed to get their attention and ask to go along. Some cars were following them but maybe that may be a little dangerous if they only
wanted certain people. He accelerated trying to close the gap. They were traveling fast maybe in the direction of Frankfort? He was deep in concentration and eager to go along when his car gave a hissing sound and suddenly became lifeless. His car was slowing down. What the hell was going on. He could see the convoy leaving in the distance. He looked at his dash and seen the gas hand below the red empty indicator. He pulled to the side and honked the horn frantically. The large military group was proceeding and was too far to hear his effortless attempts to gain their attention. He couldn’t believe he had forgotten to get gas! Sweat poured from his brow as Will ferociously beat his dashboard. Anger and fear of the unknown flooded his veins. He was aimless. With a limp and without a car he set out underneath a little sign that read: Downtown This Way.
Chapter Five
No Time To Mourn
"Look, if you don't hold still i'm going to poke your eye out by accident." Rachel struggled to hold the man's head still as she sutured his wound with needle and thread.
The prisoner named Jesse flinched as the golden haired nurse, in a white coat and scrubs, pushed the needle through his chin in an effort to close the small gash. He cursed as she snipped the thread with scissors. She stuck a band-aid on the stitched area and then proceeded across the tiny white tiled floor. A metal locker with a connecting cabinet housed most of the medical supplies for the prison. She pulled on a drawer exposing random medical implements and utensils. A bottle of generic pain relievers was her target, Rachel unscrewed the cap and handed two little white pills to the man. She handed him a cup of water from the faucet and watched as he swallowed the pills.
"You're all good now. Try to stay out of trouble."
"I ain't been in no trouble," The man snapped at her with missing teeth and a bruise eye. "And don't you telling any of them guards that either."
She rolled her eyes, "A swinging cell door didn't do that much damage."
"You got you an attitude," The man sneered." And you got an ass too." He grinned wide.
"Get out of this medical station," She ended the interaction by turned her back on the man and started cleaning up her supplies. She heard the door click shut."Pig." She stated flatly assuming her comment went unheard. She had prided herself on how much she had toughened herself up since she had come to this prison. After all, dealing with roughnecks day in and day out forces you to be hardened.
She gathered the bloody gauze that she used to treat the prisoner with and threw them in the trash bin. Suddenly two hands grabbed her from behind. One at the hip and the other covering her mouth. She lost her breath with fear rushing over her. Trying to stay calm she breathed through her nose with rhythmic focus which consequently caused her to have to inhale the sweaty stench that radiated from his arms and body. She closed her eyes hoping the guard would walk by soon. She needed to rid herself of this putrid monstrosity.
"Yeah, you got a nice ass." Jesse grabbed the woman's buttocks and squeezed making the meek nurse whine and tremble.
Rachel could feel the bulge against her backside. He was forcing her over the counter. She fought him. She pushed back from the counter has hard as she could but the man held tight. He squeezed her mouth as he forced her head against the table. She smacked her temple on the surface. She let out a cry as she felt blood run down her cheek. He was trying to rape her. Where was that damn guard who was supposed to be stationed at her door? She didn't have time to think of these things because the prisoner was trying to pull her scrubs down. She fought against the man. She wasn't going to let this happen easily. He forced his hand between her legs and at that point his hand wasn't holding her back. She shoved her elbow deep into the man's rib cage.
The attacker reeled back and groaned as he clasped his ribs and winced with pain. Rachael was breathing hard now but free. She looked around for anything she could use to defend herself. The chair she sits in when she examines patients was just to her left. Jesse has recovered now and he is seething with rage. Rachel quickly makes a mad dash to the chair and she can hear the man rushing up behind her. She grabs the chair by its top and swings the piece of metal furniture as hard as she can. She swings using all the momentum she can muster. Jesse throws his hands up and takes a hard whack against his forearms but he still manages to catches the chair and tosses it aside. It clattered to the floor while the prisoner rubs his arms and smiles at the little nurse.
Rachel backs against the wall desperately trying to put distance between herself and this monster. She sees a flash of movement out of her peripheral vision. Through the glass window next to the entrance was the bald and tightly toned Sam. One of ten guards in this prison block, Sam came careening around the corner of the doorframe with astonishment riddle upon his face.
Before the guard's eyes was the prisoner named Jesse with his back arched, a grimace slapped upon his features, while licking his lips as if his prey was cornered and ready for the kill. If Sam hadn't returned from the restroom and turned the corner at that specific time he wouldn't have been able to act and anything could have happened to that nurse. There the woman stood with nothing but the wall to keep her trembling body up and the salivating prisoner never took his eyes off of her. Sam drew his weapon, armed with rubber bullets he took aim.
"Prisoner! Take a step back." Sam waited for a second and Jesse didn't move. The convict's short red hair glistened with sweat. What muscles were beneath the orange jumpsuit were pulsating with anticipating of the pounce. The grimy orange arm hair was standing on end as he rocked back and forth nervously as if he were in a line up, ready sack the quarterback.
"Jesse, get on the ground or I will shoot!" The guard shouted a second time in an effort to convince the enraged prisoner to end the fiasco.
In that instant the bloodthirsty criminal attacked. In a fit of rage he leapt for the woman clawing at every part of her body. Rachel let out a scream as the man forcefully assaulted her. Sam fired four times. Four loud bangs rang out. Four hits to the ribs and the attacker doubled in pain. Jesse let out a loud and prolonged moan of sheer agony as he clutched his side and writhed upon the floor. Rachel sank to the floor in distraught relief.
Sam jumped on the downed perpetrator and yanked a zip-tie from his belt and secured the man. By this time other guards have arrived; curious of the commotion. Two of Sam's fellow jailers took Jesse away to await his punishment in the hole if it wasn’t already full. Sam kneeled beside Rachel and helped her to her feet. The girl was sobbing and the guard's heart ached for her. Her head lolled into his shoulder as her tears fell. Sam put his arm around her. "I'm sorry, it's over now."
"I don't think I can do this anymore," The blonde said through her tears. She sobbed while wiping her sodden face. "I don't think I can volunteer here. This program isn't for me." The poor woman sniffed back her previous distress with her mind made up. She separated from the man, then proceed back across the room carefully walking around the debris from her earlier encounter, to the mirror just above the sink. Rachel stared into her reflection. Other women may see a bruised, battered, and beaten woman but not her. The blonde trauma nurse looked into the reflection and what she saw looking back at her was a woman who had finally had enough. This makes the third time she has been assaulted in the last year. She learned to defend herself quickly after joining the program. Rachel had even started practicing at a gun range even though she wasn't licensed to carry. She thought the prison nursing program may have been easier, a little less stressful than helping surgeons and watching patients die. Death was the reason she had volunteered. She was sick and tired of watching people pass on while on an operating table. One person can only witness so much death before it starts to warp the brain. But this place, the inmates here are just so…
"Hey, Nurse Rachel," Sam approached and put his large hand on her shoulder. "No one can blame you. This place isn't a normal jail. A lot of sick perverts are housed here. I just want you to know that you have been the best nurse we have had."
Rachel pulled her hair back and knotted it into
a bun. She turned with a clean face and a bright smile. "Sam, You're so sweet."
"I am serious though," Sam responded as he rolled up his sleeve to expose his toned shoulder with a healed scar. "Last year when that one fucker jumped out and got me with a shank? You remember? That blade went two inches in. You fixed me up so good I didn't need to go to the hospital even though you insisted. I guess i'm just trying to say thanks."
To Rachel, Sam looked sheepish. A boy with a high school crush. "Thanks Sam, you are a sweetheart."
With that said Rachel stood on her toes and gave a quick platonic kiss to Sam's cheek. She turned on a heel and walked to her purse sitting on the counter. Sam watched as she strolled to the doorway of the nurse's station. She turned with a wave of yellow hair and confidence, "Tell the Warden I left. There is a chart on the wall of which inmate gets what medication. The keys to the medication locker are in the top drawer. Sam, my card is on the bulletin board." She disappeared with a wink.
No Time To Mourn Page 5
