The Dead Years (Volumes 4-6)

by Jeff Olah

  The voices coming from the walkie were as clear to him as if he were holding it himself. Completely mesmerized by the events unfolding only yards away, Justin sat on the top step of the dugout searching for a way to get out there without being detected by the behemoth of a man holding his friends. From his vantage, he could see Savannah rocking back and forth. Now quiet, he figured the gunshot must have pushed her over the edge. He needed to get out there to help her, he wanted to. The terror he felt was slowly being pushed to the side by adrenaline; he grabbed the axe and stood.

  “Your friends down there are with Christian, as you already know and this here,” pointing back at Stumpy, “is Samuel. We came together once the infection killed everyone around us, including the people we loved. Samuel was a police officer and Christian down there just happens to be an ex-felon. They each contribute to this group in their own special way even though they came from opposite ends of the crime spectrum.”

  April stood up and began moving though the theater style seats toward Marie. “Why don’t you just let us go? What’s with all this drama? Why are you holding our friends down there, what have they done?”

  “You’re right. You are all free to go. Samuel, please show them to their RV. We’ll get you on the road before sundown,” Marie said.

  Huddled in the corner Karen whispered furiously to William who looked back at the group every few seconds. “Thank you Marie for the offer, although if it’s all the same, I think Karen and I will take our chances out on the road with our friends.”

  “I am sorry William, you don’t seem to understand. We need you here and I’m sorry, that’s not up for debate. I am prepared to show you how serious I can be.”

  Mason now stood to the right of Randy and said, “We’re leaving, let’s go!” He then turned to William. “Let’s do the right thing here so no one gets hurt. We’re coming back for you my friend, I promise you that.”

  “I know you will, be safe,” William said.

  The group started to head for the door when Marie stopped them. “One thing before you depart…We’re going to need your weapons.”

  “What weapons? Your men took them when we got here,” Randy said.

  “My men only found three handguns on the RV and I know there was a hell of a lot more than that.”

  Randy furrowed his brow and glanced back at Mason as they approached the door. “Does she know something we don’t?”

  “Well, let’s just say we’ve listened to EVERY conversation you all had here. We know about the duffle bags. Show us where you’ve hidden them and we’ll part ways.”

  “If they weren’t on the RV then they’re gone, we haven’t been out there since we arrived and you know that. No deal,” Mason said.

  Removing the walkie once again from her pocket Marie walked back over to the window once again as the group watched. “Christian, if you do not hear my voice in the next thirty seconds… kill the boy. If another thirty seconds passes… kill the girl!”

  “Where are the guns?”

  “She’s bluffing,” Randy said.

  Stumpy sidled up between Mason and Randy laying a hand on each of their shoulders. “I wouldn’t test her. This is not her first rodeo, if you know what I mean.”

  “Fifteen seconds…”

  “Mason, just tell her where they are,” April said.

  “They were in the RV on the floor. I’m telling you the truth. CALL HIM OFF!”

  “I’ve been through it personally. You’re lying, you’re ALL lying! They aren’t in there and your time is up. Christian kill him!”

  Silence fell over the room as the last syllable left her lips and all eyes turned to the field.

  Sitting back and grabbing a handful of sweat soaked t-shirt; Christian pulled a resistant Adam to his feet. The combination of foul language and a halfhearted attempted to swing at him made the oversized ex-con laugh. “Boy, I told you this was a bad idea. I’m actually going to enjoy this one.” As Adam stumbled to the side, Christian quickly raised the pistol to eye level and without blinking squeezed the trigger.

  Adam’s lifeless body was catapulted backward before the sound even reached the skybox. An air of disbelief washed over all who witnessed the irrational murder. Karen and April folded into their husband’s arms as Randy shoved his right elbow into Samuel’s ribcage, knocking his gun to the floor. With another blow to the face and a swift push to the ground Randy had his foot on Samuel’s throat and the pistol trained on Marie.

  As calm as she was only minutes before, it was as if she felt a sense of entitlement with the execution of one of her adversaries. Without looking back at the others, Marie spoke into the walkie once again. “Christian, if you don’t hear my voice in the next fifteen seconds… kill the girl!” Turning back to Randy, finally acknowledging his presence and the upper hand he gained on Samuel, she said, “I do not want your cousin to die. Tell me where the weapons are and she walks away.”

  Adam’s death was his fault. He wasn’t going to let any more of his friends be victimized by this woman. Randy had underestimated the lengths she would go to and wasn’t going to let Savannah fall to the same fate. He could kill Marie with one shot right now, although that would surely end any chance he had to save the others. This woman was insane and couldn’t be reasoned with.

  With only seconds left, movement on the field turned April’s attention away from the standoff taking place in the skybox.

  Looking back at Mason, who had also turned to look out the windows, she met his eyes.

  “It’s him…”

  11

  Less than ten seconds divided the two. One lifeless body lie on the grass and another would be added to the total before the sun left this day. It was up to him to determine which it would be. Justin, now in a full sprint toward the man that was double his size, moved quickly and quietly as Savannah was being dragged by the hair toward the corpse of the man she’d begun to fall for less than a few hours before. She didn’t see him coming… neither did Christian.

  Unlike her earlier self, the new Marie had rapidly lost the appearance of calm she portrayed minutes ago. Screaming into the walkie, her world began to quickly unravel. “CHRISTIAN… BEHIND YOU… CHRISTIAN!”

  The chaotic shouting and crying coming from the skybox, combined with the hysterical screams of Savannah, drowned out any chance Marie had of notifying the man on the field of Justin’s approach. The intermittent squawks barely made an impression on him. He figured the ruckus coming from above was simply the two groups fighting over the first of his targets, now directly in front of him. “Goodbye sweetheart,” Christian said as he kissed her forehead, leaned back and held the barrel against her left ear. “Stop fighting, it’s almost over.”

  Pulling her hair tight, Christian wrapped the index finger of his other hand around the trigger and looked to the east. As Savannah went quiet, one final signal from the walkie, in the form of Marie’s voice, was all he heard. “LOOK…”

  With the gap now closed, Justin leapt forward, coming down with everything he had behind the blunt end of the axe. When the weapon made contact, it left a six-inch long jagged part down the back of Christian’s skull, slicing through hair, skin and bone. Fragments of each glanced off Justin’s face as the three bodies rolled together into a twisted mess at midfield.

  Lightheaded and sliding toward unconsciousness, basic movement failed him. Standing and walking were foreign ideas at this point. Christian slid his hand across the back of his head, pulling back a chunk of damp, red hair. He now crawled toward the gun dropped in the collision as Justin desperately urged Savannah to her feet. “LET’S GO! GET UP!”

  While Savannah stood from a kneeling position, Justin calmly walked over to his opponent, turned to the side and kicked him in the face, knocking him flat on his back. Justin grabbed the axe, as Savannah picked up Christian’s gun and stood over Adam’s executioner. She leaned over and set the barrel against his head, as tears began to move down her face once again, this time not for Adam. The emotion
now came from what this world had turned her into.

  As she hesitated, the man beneath her boldly mouthed the words “Do it.” Justin stepped in next to her and hugged her. “Not like this, I have an idea.” He motioned for her to give him the gun and she complied. He set the axe on the grass next to them and slid the gun into his waistband. She looked at him and asked, “Is he dead?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Savannah nudged Justin to the side and picked up the bloody axe. She rained down two blows to each of Christian’s knees, breaking them in multiple places. It was evident that this man was still alive, if not completely coherent. The crushing strikes caused him to writhe from side to side and scream out in sheer agony. Savannah was surprised at how much this bothered her, even though she was prepared to kill him only seconds ago.

  Justin hesitantly gave Savannah back the gun and asked that she not use it just yet. He knelt down picked up the axe once again and clutched a handful of Christian’s left pant leg. “Grab the other one and pull.”

  “Where are we taking him?”

  “Just pull.”

  Slipping in and out of consciousness, they dragged the ex-convict toward the locker room Justin exited only moments before. His head randomly skipped off the uneven areas of the dirt and over the concrete lip at the entrance to the dugout, as the two struggled to keep an even pace. “Why are we doing this? Why not just kill him here? He deserves to die. And I want to do it before I lose my nerve”

  “We will, just keep pulling,” Justin said.

  The steps down into the player area of the locker room proved to be more of a challenge than he imagined. More than once, the pair was impeded by the debris left behind by the things that no longer could be categorized as human and who were now trapped behind a gate just outside this room. Justin’s heart was about to burst out of his chest, only he couldn’t determine whether it was from the exertion of his current situation or the anticipation of what was next. He wanted this and wasn’t going to let this man hurt any more of his friends.

  Continuing backward, now under the bright unforgiving lights of the building’s interior, Savannah studied the man whose fate was still a mystery to her. From the front, his face and head appeared untouched, although the damp red stain he left along the carpet as they pulled him along told a much different story. The mangled mess that his knees had become had her almost feeling sorry for him as his jeans began to tear under the pressure.

  As they reached the entrance to the corridor that led to the rest of the building, Justin stopped pulling and Savannah, unprepared, dropped Christian’s pant leg and stumbled backward. Now in the middle of the hall, she got her first glimpse of the Feeders trapped behind the gate as they started to stir. Savannah froze in place for a brief second before hurrying back to Justin.

  “Stay in here until I call you out,” Justin said as he continued alone to drag their victim into the middle of the hall. Once in place, he dropped the axe on the ground next to the gate and returned to Savannah. “When I tell you, go straight up the hall until you reach the stairs. I’ll meet you there. Don’t stop. We need to find everyone else before we leave.”

  “What are you doing Justin?”

  “Making sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

  “We could have done that already.”

  “Savannah you don’t want to live with that on your conscience. Now go. I’ll be right behind you.”

  This kid was much older than his years. Savannah kissed him on the forehead and turned to walk away. She had seen enough and just wanted to be alone with her thoughts as she made her way up the hall.

  “Savannah, you may want to hurry,” was the last thing he said to her before he turned back to Christian. “Wake up,” Justin said as he slapped this man in the face, hoping for just a few minutes of lucidity. Slapping him harder still he said, “Come on you idiot, wake up!”

  Christian slowly opened his eyes and Justin moved off him and back to the gate, picking up the axe as he did. Scanning the rotting mass, he located the giant he was hoping for and to his delight it turned to face him once again, pushing others aside to get closer. Justin wasted no time in finishing what he came here to do. Raising the axe as the monster made his way through the crowd, it only took two quick swings to disintegrate the lock and free the horde.

  The gate exploding under the pressure sent Justin reeling backwards, and stumbling into the opposite wall. Christian regained just enough sense to understand his current situation and cursed the boy for bringing him here. As the crowd began pulling him apart, his defiance continued. “You and your friends are going to hell. I promise you.” As death pulled Christian down, Justin responded, “We’re already there.”

  Turning to reunite with Savannah, he realized the crowd pouring out had also turned their attention to him.

  It was too late; as he turned to run they were already on him.

  12

  Witnessing a boy not yet able to drive take down a man most everyone in the room feared left the group in silence. April was inconsolable as Mason held her tight and watched the standoff between his once reclusive neighbor and a woman who had only moments before ordered the execution of one of his own. Randy pulled the short man to his feet and struck him repeatedly with that same weapon used on him as he followed Marie to the door.

  “YOU ARE NOT TAKING THEM!” Randy said, as William unwillingly opened the door open for Marie who was pulling Karen along as a human shield, gun held to her head.

  “Randy, let us go. Please don’t pull the trigger. We can figure this out later,” William said as the three exited the room and closed the door.”

  “DAMNIT!” Randy said as he struck Samuel once again.

  With April still a mess, Mason leapt to his feet then over the last row of chairs meeting Randy near the bar. “Let’s go! We need to get to Justin and Savannah.”

  “Mason, you and April go after the kids. I’m gonna find out where she’s taking Will and Karen. We need them back.”

  “What about him?” Mason asked pointing to Samuel lying on the floor.

  “I’m taking him… for insurance.”

  “For insurance?”

  “Yep… let’s meet downstairs in the hall near the rooms,” Randy said as he pulled Samuel to his feet once again and headed for the door.

  . . .

  Hitting every stair on the way down and bypassing the first floor in favor of the basement, Marie directed William to open the door once again. “Where are you taking us?” he asked.

  “Don’t worry about it; keep moving. I’ll tell you when we get there. No more questions!”

  “Haven’t we earned a right to know?”

  “You haven’t earned anything yet. Open the door.”

  The sign just to the left read “B1”. Hundreds of empty vehicles sat in quiet desperation waiting for their owners to return. They never would. Marie shoved Karen forward and into William. The two walked as their nemesis hastily guided their route.

  There were large white pick-up trucks with equipment racks alongside big black SUVs with headlights that stared off into the grey dullness of the surrounding basement walls, yet not a vehicle in sight seemed to interest Marie. “Where is it? Where on earth did you park?”

  In and out, back and forth through the rows, Marie pointed the way with the end of her nine millimeter pistol. The three hurried along like rats in an elaborate maze. “What are we looking for? Maybe we can help find it,” Karen said as they continued walking through the massive underground parking garage.

  “Stop!” Marie quietly ordered as they reached the halfway point and she held a hand in the air clutching an alarm remote. A distant chirp came from the far end of the garage near the stairwell that led to the player areas. “Of course, I should have guessed.” Marie cursed under her breath and pointed, once again nudging William in the back. “Let’s go, we need to hurry.

  William stood and turned to face Marie, placing himself between the two women. Karen leaned to the si
de to watch the conversation as her husband defiantly objected. “Hey, you just murdered one of our friends and we have been very cooperative. How about you fill us in on what the hell is going on and what the plan is. I realize you’re the one with a gun, although how do we know you’re not going to get where you need to go and then just kill us both?”

  “Well, I haven’t yet. You’re just going to have to trust your gut instinct and hopefully it’s telling you that…”

  The interruption initially came from every corner of the garage as the sound of snarls and groans wrapped in death was all too familiar. William swallowed hard and smacked his hands together as he knew what would follow. Turning side to side, finally pinpointing the source, he grabbed Karen’s hand looking for an escape. The door to the third stairwell, only thirty feet behind burst open as the horde Justin had released minutes before flooded through in search of anything that still had a heartbeat.

  “RUN!” Marie said as she pushed passed the couple and headed in the direction of the car her husband had parked here just before this nightmare began. She still remembered the cheap biting cologne he smelled of as he dropped her off in front of the building and kissed her goodbye only to return four hours later for their special lunch and tour. He must have reapplied the cologne just before they met as she could still smell his presence long after he was chased down the hall by those things.