“Drop the knife!” Jack yelled at the attacker. He lifted the pistol and aimed for the man’s head.
The man ignored Jack. He kept taunting the woman. She cried out and when she did he squeezed her neck and then shoved his knife into the back of her throat. Her mouth filled with blood which soon poured out of her mouth. She made a gurgling sound and then went limp. The crazed man laughed out loud as he threw her lifeless body to the ground.
As soon as the lunatic started laughing Jack pulled the trigger. An explosive emerald liquid with lumps of brain matter sprayed the ground and the attacker fell dead next to his victim. Jack stood there for a couple of minutes in a stunned sorrowful silence for the woman. He wondered what the world had come to. Jack didn’t wake up this morning and expect to have to kill a deranged lunatic in the midst of what seemed to be an apocalypse. He couldn’t dwell though. There would be more horrid and savage killings of even more innocent people just like the children that lay dead in the middle school. Jack went back to Pete’s car. He sat holding the steering wheel absorbing his surroundings and the event that had just transpired. After what Jack had just been a party to he had no way of knowing what lay ahead in the downtown area. The fact still didn’t change that it was the fastest way to the address written on the scrap paper. He stared at the crumpled piece.
162 Cherry Wood Avenue.
He started the car and lined it up right on the road and set off. He tried not travelling too fast to avoid another incident like the last. Some buildings he passed were ransacked and they appeared more frequently as he got closer to the downtown area. Broken window glass lay scattered on sidewalks. Every so often gunshots could be heard and cries of innocent victims from behind the curtain covered windows of houses and apartment buildings. Jack felt more and more at risk the closer he had gotten. Jack knew he was coming up to Main Street. If there was a concentration of carnage it was that street. Most of the town commerce buildings line the sidewalks of the street. There are parks, fast food chains, department stores, grocery stores, and banks clumped together in one small area. Jack figured that would be the focus of much of the looting. What Jack could hear around him was probably nothing compared to downtown. Luckily Jack thought he had gone down a relatively safe street. Not even two streets over the cries of several people could be heard before they were silenced with gunshots. How could things be this crazy? No way that many people could turn that evil overnight? The violence around him just seemed out of placed.
Jack slowed down and stopped at a four-way stop. He was close to Main Street and needed to stop and address his plan. He looked around to make sure no immediate danger was present. He heard all that was going on around him. There was a lot of unseen commotion but Jack knew he had to get to the other side of downtown silently and quickly. It was hard to fathom how quickly everything was happening. He scratched his head. He felt as if he was back in the middle of war. The stress was familiar and the survival instinct had kicked in. He had killed that attacker without a second thought. He knew he had done the right thing but he hadn’t killed a person in a long time and whether or not the killing was justified and righteous, it still weighed heavy on Jack’s mind. He was scared himself with how easily and how fast he had snapped back into that mentality. If Jack encounters what he thinks he will encounter on Main Street then it will be that frame of mind that will pull him through. That mentality will secure his and his family’s survival in many future endeavors. Maybe Michael was onto something.
Jack was ready to proceed regardless of what lay ahead. He decided to gun it through the street. Jack accelerated but had to stop quickly because two men came sprinting across the road. They looked at Jack and stopped dead in their tracks. Damn he hadn’t even moved a full block. They eyeballed the car and switched directions toward Jack. One man was a burly dark skinned man and had a thick black beard. The other was skinny with pasty white skin and had a receding hairline. They seemed out for blood. They were just another set of maniacs looking to take advantage of the times.
Jack slipped the magazine from his pistol and saw that there were six bullets left. That was more than enough. He didn’t see any way around these two aggressors. Jack then stepped out of the car. The two men slowly walked toward him. Their heads were low as if they were bulls getting ready charge.
“Nice car you got there.” The skinny one said with a smile.
Jack knew instantly just by the tone of their voice and their demeanor that they were after the car. He also knew that the skinny man was being sarcastic because the whole car was so paint chipped, rusted, and corroded that Jack couldn’t even make out the make or model.
The larger would-be-attacker advanced toward Jack (who stood next to the driver side door guarding it. Jack raised his gun and pointed it to the large man who had stopped at the sight of the weapon ten feet from his face. The skinny guy quickly drew a small a small gun and pointed it wildly at Jack but the man hardly ever pointed it directly toward. He often stumbled which led Jack to believe the man was either drunk or just crazy or perhaps both. Everybody just seemed to be having a grand ol time looting town.
The large man got a second breath of confidence once he seen that his friend had pulled his pistol out. He continued to advance. Jack quickly braced himself and dodged to the left to avoid a punch. The large man had to weigh almost three hundred pounds. Jack knew this because when Jack hit the man in the throat he went limp over top of Jack and the pressure was immense. Jack fell to a knee but then dropped the sleeping man off his shoulders and onto the ground. The skinny man began to shoot his small pistol wildly once he seen how quickly Jack had taken down the gargantuan man. Jack dropped belly down and crawled next to the large heap lying on the ground for cover. The skinny man went into a rage trying to kill Jack and continuously shot into his former partner until the magazine was empty. Jack heard the gun click… click… click. Jack raised up and fired two rounds in the man’s chest. The man fell dead. He couldn’t tell if the large man was dead or alive but he certainly was bleeding out. So the man didn’t suffer any further he put a bullet in the man’s head just in case. Jack felt himself getting too used to killing. He just told himself it is what he had to do. Them or him.
Jack got back into Pete’s car. He figured attacks like the last were common all over the town now. It could only be worse once he got on Main Street. He had killed so many people in such a short time he couldn’t wrap his head around how fast he has had to transform himself. Main Street was only a couple of blocks away now and already he had two encounters that were unpleasant to say the least. He wasn’t sure how to brace himself for what he didn’t even know was ahead of him. He was already so close to his destination that it wouldn’t make any sense to turn back now.
He started the engine and rolled on. He passed two streets and turned right. Intact were the usual fast food chains, Judicial buildings, the high school, the library, the electrical company, department stores, outlet malls, and the hospital all lined the six lane road. It was the heart and lifeblood of their town. The state of the many buildings was like nothing Jack could have imagined. The landscape was almost unrecognizable. Burger restaurants were set aflame, buildings were ransacked, windows were shattered, furniture was thrown from windows, cars were turned over, lamp posts were lying in the street, gas station pumps were pushed over, vehicles were on fire, and the hospital seemed as though it was ripped from the inside out. Smoke from several fires wafted over the heart of own. All but one of the ambulances had been stolen and the one that was left had to flat tires. The fire department was trashed and all the fire engines were dispatched to put out fires but never made it back. The stench of burnt rubber, trash, and buildings stung the nostrils. A real fear set in on Jack's heart. He was looking at doomsday. The end of his town. All the life and happiness that was once in the tiny metropolis had been sucked out and what was left was a raw barren wasteland.
Jack felt and ominous aura in the atmosphere. It was odd that the closer he got to downtown t
he louder the rioting was but after a couple of street the noise all but died out almost as if all the looters packed up and went home. He felt almost depressed. He noticed that there was someone moving in a nearby building. The street must have been still crawling with looters trying to not be seen by one another to avoid a fight and obtain their plunder with the least amount of difficulty possible. Jack advanced slowly trying not to alert anyone. He looked into the windows of shops and seen several people grabbing what was left of the items off the shelf. There weren’t many people on the street to his surprise. He didn’t feel the immediate pressure to get out of the area. People with loot in their arms would occasionally run back and forth. Off in the distance there was a small huddle of people surrounding two others. The tiny group of people cheered on the two men fighting. There seemed to be a lot of commotion for so few people on the street. There had to be more people somewhere. He knew it was dangerous but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. Jack kept on slowly twisting around overturned cars and trying not to run over dead bodies. The looters inside of the stores and buildings didn’t seem to pay any attention to Jack passing through. They didn’t so much as look his way. He continued and left them to their looting. He didn’t want to press the issue. He came to a four way stop but kept going. He passed a street. He looked right just as he passed the street and then left and out of his peripheral vision he seen a large group of people and they were coming towards his car very quickly.
There looked to be almost a hundred people. That must have been where the noise had gone to. These fuckers are coordinated and hiding together to ambush people. He began to speed up but he had run over a two by four that had nails driven through the entire surface of the board. Jack wasn’t too sure what he had run over until he looked in the rear view mirror. The board was most likely placed on the ground by the mob in hiding just to trip up travelers like himself. His wheel was making a horrible thumping noise as the board rotated and continuously slapping against the ground. Thump, thump, thump. The crowd of people was almost to his bumper from what he could see through the rear view mirror. They wielded steel bars, police batons, and two by fours. What was most curious and interesting about the angry mob was that a group people were hanging back from the advancing mob. A few of the people wore jumpsuits of various colors but there were five men who wore regular ripped and dirty clothes just like the rest of the mob but the group seemed to be engaged in conversation as if they were watching a show of Jack’s car being preyed upon. That tiny group, from the few seconds that Jack could see, seemed to be hanging back from the crowd almost coordinating the attack. One had a radio he was shouting into. No doubt he was giving instructions. No one else was being attacked. Everyone must be in on this. This is a well organized hunt and Jack is the prey.
He reached for his duffle bag and looked for some sort of automatic weapon but all of his mini submachine guns were all disassembled. A panic set over Jack. He frantically searched his bag for something. They popped his tires and now the mob's ambush is complete. Only one rifle was partly put together so Jack began to search for its magazine. He figured the mob must have been to the car by this point. He found the magazine but it had no bullets. The mob began pounding on the back of the car. The thundering thuds moved further along the car. Finding the bullets for the gun was difficult; it was box after box but not the right kind. There was one ammunition box for just about each weapon in the bag. The only problem is the guns were just thrown about with the bullet boxes. He had hurriedly thrown them in the bag two years back and then locked them away in his safe. After searching and digging deep he finally pulled out the right box of ammunition. The horde had surrounded the car. Windows were cracking and the car was shaking. Jack began to sweat. One person had smashed in the back window showering glass all over Jack. One man was climbing the trunk coming for the window. They were angry and savage but all too happy to be a part of the setup. The magazine was now full and Jack reached for the rifle but dropped the magazine. He struggled to get a grasp on that damn mag but reached and got a finger on it. Sitting up Jack finally snapped the magazine in the gun and began a spray of bullets. He first shot out of the back window just as the intruder came crawling through to take Jack for all he was worth but what he met was a wall of body piercing shots. The way they kept coming from all sides led Jack to believe that he wasn’t the first person they had jumped like this. His front windshield was shattered. He covered his face. He sprayed bullets blindly and took most of the relentless savages out. The mass of attackers fell in a heap on top of and around the hood of the car. Half of the people hadn’t even been taken out yet. Jack switched the mini machine gun with a pistol then grabbed the duffel bag and as the door windows were smashed in he leaped through the front window frame and. He ran and glanced over his shoulder. The mob looked about fifty people short of their previous mass. Forty or fifty people ran after Jack. Over his shoulder he seen and huge mack truck come roaring out of the alley and smashed into pete’s car. Jack guessed that who was being radioed earlier. The truck plowed into the car and showered debris all over everyone the truck didn’t run over. The few dozen people paid no attention to the thundering crash behind them because they knew it was coming, there job was to not let the victim escape.
Jack stopped turned and fired until his magazine was empty. A few people ran out of the way but every bullet that Jack shot met its target. The mass had mostly departed. A few still advanced, most had ran out of the way, and twelve that he could see lie dead. He wasn’t going to stick around to see what would become of that truck driver. If Jack hadn’t gotten his hand around that rifle in time to blow those fuckers away he would still be in the thick of it, fighting off those lunatics and that truck would have smeared them all right into the pavement. All that for some loot.
Jack easily outran the remaining attackers. Sweat poured from every part of his body. He ran into any alley and then in between two buildings and he arrived onto the street he was supposed to be. Still, he wasn’t far away enough to feel comfortable. He stepped out onto the sidewalk and looked from left to the right. He noticed the street lights weren’t on. Power was cut from the entire town which made it hard to read they addresses on the house. He walked up to a house mailbox and read the address. He had to walk up the street.
Walking away from Main Street was a good thing but he didn’t know what was in the streets around Main Street. He had to stay hidden because he had thirty plus people looking for him. He had hardly put a block between himself and the mob. He killed all those people. A lot of them will just lay there and rot in the sun the day after. This whole day has weighed Jack down mentally. His conscience ached but he promised Marilyn he would return safely. He would hold true to that promise which dictates new rules. It was either Jack or them. Sometime you may have to abandon civilized customs and laws if it is necessary to survive. Michael does hold a strong virtue but Jack knows there is still a place for trust, community, and civilized life in this crazed world and Jack won't give up on being able to live without all of this bloodshed.
Jack had been through a lot and his body felt the workout. Nevertheless he walked on determined to carry out Pete's last wish. It was so hard to shake the image of the poor old gas station attendant sprawled on the oil stained concrete with intestines hanging out gasping for a breath. It was horrifying and despite Michael's mentality Jack was doing the right thing. He was getting close. Breathing heavily he adjusted the heavy bag of guns on his shoulder. Pete's family deserved to know what happened. If they need refuge Jack will offer it.
He decided on better cover. He hopped a fence and traveled behind a house. He dropped the bag and took a quick rest. The drain was dripping one tiny drop every few seconds. Tilting his head underneath Jack received a paltry amount of dirty water. He was parched and his thirst was not quenched. He tried the back door and to his amazement it was open. Jack picked up his bag and quietly walked into a kitchen. Jack shut the door with a feather's touch and dropped the cumbersome bag
once more. He left a few amount of guns back at the house to save these for whomever he may encounter and as the bag slid off his shoulder he felt the relief of sixty pounds hitting the floor, burdened no more. He stood and listened intently. He didn't hear a sound. No sound was a good sign but it didn't mean a thing. Anyone could have heard him walking around outside. Everything in the house seemed hardly used. There was no electricity on this side of town so Jack would figure there would be burnt candles of some kind if someone were still here. He decided to take a look around before he started pilfering drinks.
No Time To Mourn Page 15
