C-Shapes

by Matthew Fish

  “Have you had any Unstables go Aggro?”

  “Nah,” Eli says as he shakes his head. “However they seem to be real interested in checking in on our small population of them.”

  “How many do you have here?”

  “We got about fifty or so—we’re pretty lucky there as we got a population of around six hundred spread out in the area. So there is no good reason for Hunters to even be here—like I said we take care of our own. You wouldn’t know nothing about this would you?”

  “Me?” I ask as I shake my head. “I came out here to get away from this shit.”

  I pick up a few things. I grab a whole bunch of bottled water—the same kind that fits in the car. In the back of my mind I start to realize that we might have to start travelling again. At least Claire is feeling a little better.

  As I return to the checkout a man wearing a camouflaged hat and leather jacket, despite the heat, is talking to Eli. A half smoked cigarette hangs from his mouth as ash carelessly falls down to the floor. He is carrying a handgun.

  I place the items on the counter.

  “This is Benjamin,” Eli says as he introduces to the man. “He and his girlfriend came out here from St. Louis to get away from all the trouble there.”

  “Tom,” the man says as he extends a hand.

  “Good to meet you, Tom,” I say as I shake the man’s hand.

  “There’s one of the bastards now,” Tom says as he rubs his scruffy chin with his thumb. “You in the militia Benjamin…?”

  “I’m joining.”

  “Good,” Tom says as he keeps his eyes fixed upon the man dressed in the black suit. “Aggros might not be the only trouble we’ve got here.”

  I watch as the man lingers around the front of the hotel. He sits upon a bench. I know that I have to go out there—I know stalling will only make me look more suspicious, right now these two are on my side and I have to keep it that way if I have any chance of making it out of here alive.

  I pay Eli and head out the door. Tom puts his hand against my shoulder as I leave. “Be careful with that guy.”

  “Thanks,” I say as I nod.

  I open up the trunk and start to slide the water bottles into the large container. I place the eggs and bread, safely wrapped up in a blanket, in a vacant corner so they will travel safely.

  “Nice car you got there—haven’t seen one of those in forever… Mazda XIII, isn’t it?” A voice speaks from beside the car.

  “Yeah,” I say as I bring my rifle out and point it at the man in the black suit. “That it is…”

  “Calm down there chief…” The man says as he raises his arms. You don’t look like you are from around here, thought I might have an actual civilized chat.”

  “Sorry,” I say, but I refuse to lower my gun. “I came out here from St. Louis. I felt it was getting too dangerous to stay.”

  “Understood,” the man speaks as he nods and continues to keep his hands away from his gun. “I hear they’ve been getting an unusually high amount of Aggro attacks on the east side—you passing through or are you staying?”

  “Depends on how safe I am here.”

  “Just between us,” the man says quietly. “Not very…”

  I slide my finger against the trigger. I know that there are three more in the hotel—however; I also know that there aren’t exactly many ways to get out of this situation. “What’s wrong with this place?”

  “The mayor says this is the last month he’s buying Calm,” the man says as he folds his arms across his chest. “We’re here to talk some sense into him—although he isn’t talking to us. Plus they’ve got all these crazy militia types hanging about—which we won’t deal with. Rumors are we might lose this state… we’re just trying to be diplomatic.”

  “Trouble out here…?” Eli says as he points his rifle at the man from the open door.

  Tom makes his way down the stairs and takes aim as he takes cover behind a tree.

  “We’re just having a discussion,” the man says loudly, then turns his voice to a low whisper. “Isn’t that right… Ethan?”

  “What do you want,” I say as I keep the rifle trained on my target. “You’re not getting her…”

  “We want you to turn yourself in… both of you.” The man whispers—or we’ll turn this town into a ghost town. It’s your choice.”

  “Why aren’t you talking to us?” Tom asks as he peeks around from the tree.

  “Because your mayor isn’t talking to us,” the Hunter says as he continues to keep his arms folded. “I thought maybe an educated person could talk some sense into him before this town ends up in some real trouble.”

  “We ain’t stupid!” Eli shouts. “Our business is our business.”

  “So what’s it going to be,” the Hunter says softly. “You think you can even kill with that thing? Last hunter you ran into is doing just fine—you couldn’t kill him, could you? We know you were a Sitter for a reason, not everyone has the balls to kill.”

  “What’s going on there Ben?” Tom asks as he keeps his handgun fixed on the man.

  I know that I do not have the fortitude myself to kill… but I will not let them harm Claire—not anymore than they already have. There is no surrender. I have to survive. Claire and I have to keep on surviving… “These hunters are here to destroy the town if the mayor continues with his plan to stop paying for Calm.”

  “You stupid sun of a bitch,” the Hunter says as he reaches for his gun.

  I pull the trigger a second later, managing to blast him at short range right in the arm. It nearly explodes from the close impact. He falls to the ground.

  Another man in a black suit rushes out of the hotel and Tom takes him out with a single shot to the head. The Hunter collapses against the ground in a jumbled heap.

  “Get behind the car!” I shout as I gesture for Eli and Tom to come over. They begin to run over, taking cover.

  “The car is bullet proof,” I say—a statement which is made quite clear as a few shots are fired from the hotel window and bounce off the far side of the red Mazda. “St Louis streets were pretty rough…”

  “I’d guess so,” Tom says as he fires a shot blindly into the window.

  At least the odds are in our favor. A shot comes from beneath the car and bounces off one of the tires. Despite the shock, I’m a little in awe that they are also bulletproof.

  “Fucker’s still alive,” Eli says as he drops to the ground and fires a single shot from his rifle into the man’s side. The blood sprays across the bottom of the car as the Hunter violently begins to shake for a few moments and then dies.

  “Now we just have to deal with them assholes in the building,” Tom says as he shakes his head and reaches into his leather jacket. “Hate to do this, I always loved that hotel… lot of good hour long memories there…”

  “Just blow the damn thing up,” Eli says as he takes cover as another barrage of shots is fired from the hotel.

  “Cover me….”

  Both Eli and I fire into the windows. As Tom pulls the pin he tosses the grenade and manages to get it right into one of the broken windows.

  “I’d say that’s a three-pointer,” Tom says as we all duck behind the car. A large explosion fills the air, for a moment all I can hear is a loud ringing in my ears. I peer up and from all the dust and debris I can make out pieces of a body. Another man, covered in blood and seriously injured begins to stagger from the remains of the front of the hotel.

  “You are all going to die now,” the man shouts as he attempts to limp across the street. “Every last one of you…”

  “Well,” Eli says as he takes aim and fires a shot into the man’s head. “…you first then, asshole…”

  Tom and Eli get up and survey the area.

  “That should be all of them,” Tom says as he reaches a hand down and helps me up. I’m a little bit shaken, but I am rather grateful for still being alive.

  “Looks like ya picked the wrong town to get away from your troubles,” Eli
says as he dusts off his trousers. “So our mayor is refusing to pay for Calm… so they sent them out here to make sure he would—or else?”

  “That’s the general idea,” I say. I know it is somewhat a lie. They were here for me. “He told me I had picked the wrong town, that I should either help them or keep moving on.”

  “Instead you helped us,” Tom says as he smacks me on the back. “Wasn’t your business, I appreciate it.”

  “I don’t know how much help that was,” I say as I shake my head. It feels wrong to accept any kind of gratitude… if I could be honest, it should be the other way around.

  “Why’s that?” Tom asks.

  “They may send more,” I reply. Or worse… I think to myself, dreading the thoughts that fill my mind.

  “I reckon they will,” Eli says as he shoulders his rifle. “I’ll let the militia know.”

  “Quite a racket they have going on,” I say as though this is the first time I’m hearing of it. “Pay for the Calm, or else they’ll come and muscle you into doing it.”

  “Not like they’d need the money either…” Tom says as he shakes his head. “Then again, the whole country is going to hell.”

  “I have to get home, check on my girlfriend—she’s been sick,” I say as I shake both Tom and Eli’s hand.

  “You hanging around, are you with us?” Eli asks before I begin to leave.

  “Yeah, I’m with you,” I say as I get into the car. “I’m in the last farmhouse on West 196 Street—if you need anything come and find me.”

  “We’ll have a meeting in town tomorrow, can you make it? People will be interested in hearing from you,” Tom asks as he places a hand on my door.

  “I’ll be there,” I say as I nod.

  “See you then,” He says as he shuts the door for me. I put the car into drive and make my way back to the farmhouse. I feel terrible, once again, because I know that I have lied. Things have become much worse… there is no way that Claire and I can remain here. I am thankful for their kindness, and will never be able to repay their help.

  As I reach the house, I pull around to the back. I glance over to the back door and notice that it has been broken down. I rush out the car. “Claire!” I shout as I run into the kitchen. The house has been trashed. I make my way up the stairs. My heart is pounding in my chest. I round the top.

  To my relief I spot Claire sitting.

  “Are you alright?” I ask as I cautiously enter the room of the old farmhouse. The floor creaks beneath each slow step I take. I see her there—the sun glowing against her shoulder length bleached blonde hair and her hazel eyes are illuminated like glowing gems. She is sitting motionless. Her eyes are fixed to the view of the window. She does not reply. She does not even acknowledge my presence.

  There is a gun in her hand. The faint smell of smoke hangs in the air. Spent bullet casings line the hardwood floor around her. As I slowly enter the room, I spot a trail of blood that leads to a large, heavy set man. He is shirtless, wearing a pair of overalls. A large red axe with a wooden handle rests against the floor beside him. What remains of his head is a sight that I will never forget as very little of it is there, save for a mess of blood and scattered brain matter.

  This is when I realize that things are actually getting a lot worse than I could have ever expected. Every moment, everything I have gone through—does not compare to this. I am in no way prepared for this. It is out of pure necessity and care for Claire that I can even continue. It all seems so pointless, however I am so relieved to see that she is still alive—after all, I would not have made it this far, nor would I make it any further, without her.

  “Claire…” I whisper as approach her.

  She continues to stare vacantly out of the window. I take the handgun from her. Her hands begin to tremble. Tears stream down from her eyes.

  “Claire…” I say softly as I wipe away her tears. “Are you alright?”

  Claire finally snaps out if it, as though she was trapped in some kind of terrible nightmare. She begins to cry once more. “He was… so angry.”

  “Are you hurt in any way,” I say as I check her arms for any kind of cuts.

  “He was just… uncontrollably angry. He knew I was here… I knew he was coming. I could feel it. We’re all kind of… connected. He wouldn’t calm down.”

  “He was in that state of mind, the one I told you about,” I say as I place my arms tightly around her. “Thank god you’re still alive. You could have been killed.”

  “He was after you,” Claire says as she runs her hands through my hair. “He wanted to kill you. He was so angry with you for no reason at all—he would not even listen to me when I said that you were not here.”

  “How do you know he was after me?”

  “I could feel it,” Claire says. “I don’t think he was going to hurt me… but I couldn’t let him hurt you.”

  “Thank you, Claire,” I say as I hold onto her tightly and bury my head against her shoulder.

  “…I’m… your caregiver.”

  “That’s pretty accurate,” I say as I place the gun into my pocket. “Are more around?”

  “I don’t feel any around,” Claire says as she looks out the window once more.

  “We need to leave,” I say as I begin to grab a few things from the dresser. The metal case, some of the things I’ve brought in from the car—I open up one of the boxes of ammo and refill the clip. “We’re not safe here anymore.”

  “Where will we go?”

  “I don’t know,” I say as I shake my head. “I guess we should just keep heading west.”

  “I used to live… west,” Claire says as she takes a moment to pause. “California? That’s a place?”

  “That it is,” I say.

  “We used to have a mansion—very safe,” Claire adds. “Only we could get in… they used me to get my… parents out…”

  “Don’t think right now, Claire,” I say as I notice she is becoming deeply saddened once more. “I need you with me. We’ll head to California—I need you to concentrate for now though. I need you present.”

  “Right,” Claire says as she wipes away a tear from her eye. “You aren’t safe here.”

  We load up the car as evening approaches. I take a lot of the canned goods from the basement. I plan on staying in any vacant houses we can find along the way—but who knows if we will ever find a place that is even remotely as well stockpiled.

  As Claire and I are making one last run through of the house, I hear an urgent knock upon the door. Claire backs away and heads into the bedroom. Another loud knock sends her to the floor as she begins to rock back and forth. “I don’t like that noise…”

  “Stay here,” I say as I ready my rifle and head down the stairs. I open the door just as one of the larger men is about to attempt to break through. He rushes in and falls to the floor.

  “Dammit William,” Eli says as he steps over the large man and enters into the living room. “I told you to give it a few more minutes.”

  “Well we don’t exactly got a few more minutes do we?” The large man named William says as he slowly gets up from the floor.

  “S’pose not,” Eli says as he reaches over and grabs my shoulder. “Benjamin, the town… we’ve lost the town.”

  “What happened?” I ask as I look at the small group of seven men. I recognize Tom from earlier. The others are all dressed in army style jackets and are heavily armed.

  “These men… are all that remains of the militia,” Eli says as he points to the others—this is John, other Tom, Nicholas…”

  “We don’t really have time for this,” Tom from earlier says as he pushes his way into the living room. “Almost all of the Unstables went Aggro—all at once. Didn’t even know that was possible… We managed to take about half of them down, but they’re still out there. We tried to run, but they seem like they’re following our tracks.”

  “They’re on their way here?” I ask, “Is this because of earlier?”

  “Seems
like it… to both questions,” Tom answers as he nods. “You and your girlfriend should both get out of here—they can’t be more than half an hour behind us.”

  “I say we make a stand,” Eli says as he nervously eyes the view of the driveway from the door.

  “Don’t be a fool, old man,” Tom says as he shakes his head. “We run.”

  “William,” Eli says as he pats the large man on the back. “You got all your construction shit in the back of your truck?”

  “Yeah…” William says as he shrugs his large shoulders.

  “Go get as many boards, nails, and hammers as you can—we’ll lock this place up tight and take them out one at a time if they try and break through,” Eli says as he nods. “The problem we had in town is that we were fighting out in the open. Here we’ll have the advantage.”

  “I’m in,” John says as he checks the clip on his assault rifle.

  “We take care of our own…” Another man says.

  “Fuck,” Tom says as he kicks at the ground. “Get your shit William, other Tom, give his fat ass a hand.”

  I help them put up the back door, William and John nail it down with as many two by fours as it can accommodate. I go down into the basement and lock up the cellar door. I begin to place a board up on the door to the basement, however Tom stops me.

  “It might make a good trap. Get a few down there and toss a grenade down—will save us on ammo. “

  I nod and place the board back down. I watch as they board up the front door. Then we go around systematically covering all the windows as swiftly as we can.

  “Alright…” Tom says—content that we have done enough in twenty minutes. “William and John—you take the living room. You have short range assault rifles, so make your shots count… aim for the head, don’t let any through. Nicholas and Eric, you guys watch the back door… same deal, assault weapons when necessary. If you hear noises in the basement—blow those fuckers up, but don’t do it too many times, we don’t want the foundation collapsing on us. Eli, myself, Benjamin and other Tom, will cover upstairs with our rifles and guns. We’ll try and snipe them off before they reach the house… we’ll each take a different window.”