"Interesting," Sam said. "I must admit, I like your enthusiasm. I'm just not so sure you've completely thought this through."
<<<>>>
Veronica was feeling a little overwhelmed. Between getting used to her new partners and the trauma from the last few days, she needed a break. When she had a chance to get away from everyone, she took it. She'd made her way to the smaller pool area that they'd seen when they'd entered the building. It was the one with the special gear and apparatus for helping people who weren't strong swimmers or had disabilities.
Veronica had never seen a place like this before, but somehow it made her feel good. It reminded her that there were places for people that needed extra help. Places that were designed by others who looked out for the less fortunate. The kind of people that needed a little extra boost to get by in the world. It reminded Veronica of the kind of work she did. Back home at the hospital, some of her most memorable moments were helping those less fortunate.
Sure, she treated everybody the same and with as much professionalism as she could muster. Still, there was something special about helping someone who was not only sick but had extra challenges to overcome. She saw a lot of average people who came in sick or injured, and it was surprising how poorly many of them were able to deal with it.
The special needs people though, they were used to hardships. Seeing a doctor or the inside of a hospital wasn't something new for them. Many of them had spent more than their fair share of time with doctors and nurses.
They had a toughness and a resilience about them that helped them cope with the little things better. They were used to fighting; things weren't just handed to them easily. Every day of their life, they battled just to get by. Some more so than others. She admired that about them, and this small pool area brought those feelings back to her. The special gear, the low lights and the gentle lapping of the pool as she hung her feet over the side were calming.
There's always something about water that’s so relaxing, she thought. It made her feel like a child again. This was one of the most serene moments she'd had in days. Maybe, she thought, things were going to turn out alright.
Unfortunately, that moment didn't last for long. The sound of crashing glass and pounding steel resonated through the hallways. It sounded like a construction crew was demolishing the place. The sound was slightly muffled by the pool area, but having been in such a serene moment, the abruptness of it startled her.
Her life was about to change once more, and not for the better. She was about to find out just how much of a fighter she was.
Chapter 17 ~ Attacked
The attack came suddenly, without warning. It was almost as if there were hordes of people attacking every entrance of the facility. Which in fact there were. The invading mob seemed to value speed of attack over stealth. Gary hadn't yet gotten around to securing the entrances, not that it would have made much of a difference with this many attackers. Certainly not when you bring battering rams and heavy equipment to smash the windows and doors. It was like they were in a zombie movie, with the creatures pouring in through every possible opening. It totally caught everyone by surprise and, being separated in different parts of the building, they couldn't rely on each other for help.
Holly and Garrett turned to look at one another as they heard the crashing and rumbling from down below. They could hear shouting mixed in with the other destructive sounds.
"What the hell is that?" Holly asked, looking in the direction of the noise.
"I have no idea, but I'm pretty sure it's not good. Something tells me our short vacation time is about to come to an end."
They both started making their way back towards the stairs that led down to the main atrium. They didn't get too far before they stopped suddenly in their tracks. There was a rush of people coming up the stairs towards them. Fortunately for Holly and Garrett, they hadn't been spotted yet in the dark hallway
They quickly backpedaled and started looking for other avenues of escape.
"Thank God for the dark," Holly whispered. "We would've been spotted for sure. Did you recognize any of them?"
Garrett shook his head. "No, but I have a bad feeling they know some of our prior friends. Or at least friends of friends."
"Why would they all of a sudden come in here?"
"I hate to be the negative one in the group, but I'm pretty sure it's not coincidental. Those guys looked like they were looking for something, or for someone. This place has been sitting here untouched since the catastrophe and now in the twenty-four hours or less since we've been here these clowns come charging in."
They came to the end of one hallway and turned left, looking for another way out.
"There were some people in that group of vigilantes who were giving us some funny looks the other day. You think any of them might have followed us?"
Garrett nodded. "I noticed that as well but didn't want to say anything. That could be what's happening here. Given how they treat animal abusers, I'd rather not see how they deal with trespassers."
"Agreed. This place must have an emergency fire exit even up here, right?"
The hallway was dark, but they could hear the sounds of their pursuers going in the opposite direction, so Garrett took a chance and pulled the lit glow stick out of his pocket. As they moved down the hall, they thought they could see one of those fire exit signs.
"Lucky us," Garrett said.
The sound of footsteps changed direction again and started getting louder, mixed in with angry voices. That didn't give them time to pause and celebrate their current discovery. The end of the hall had a door that led to the outer stairwell.
"If we can find the exit, it won't take them long to find it either," Garrett said.
"I'm right behind you."
<<<>>>
"Jesus, what the hell was that?" Sam said in response to the loud ruckus coming from the main doorway.
"I don't exactly know, but it sounds like a lot of uninvited company. You don't suppose there are any weapons here in this maze of cubicles, do you?"
"Come on. This is America, the land of guns and ammo. Everybody's got a loaded weapon somewhere. I'm just not sure we have time for a proper search."
Neither one of them had found so much as an empty beer can or spent ammo casing during their friendly competition, but that didn't stop them from rapidly tearing the closest cabinets and drawers apart in the hope of finding something useful to defend themselves.
"Did you by chance lock the office door after you broke in?" Gary asked.
"No, why would I do that? It's not like there's a security guard or we're waiting for the other owners to show up. Besides, I'd need electricity to engage the locking mechanism."
"Who do you think they are?"
"I don't know and I don't care," Sam said. "But if I have a choice, I'd much prefer that I find them before they find me. I've had enough surprises over the last few days to fill my quota for a lifetime. Any luck finding a gun or some weapon?"
"How about this really big three-hole punch?" Gary said with a grin. Sam didn't find it all that amusing. "Alright, alright. I'll keep looking."
After a few minutes of noisily searching through the offices, with little care for whether they were heard or not, they finally gave up.
"The best I could find was some rather dull letter openers and safety scissors."
"What kind of fucking pussies work in this place?" Gary said.
"I don't see you carrying any sidearms that would be helpful." Sam gave him a look as if he'd had enough of his bullshit.
"I did try and smuggle one aboard the cruise ship, but those security pricks are pretty serious. They know all the good tricks for hiding stuff. They even found the extra booze I tried to stash in shampoo bottles. Kinda sucks, having to pay full price for drinks." Sam resisted the urge to slap Gary and stop his rambling and soon regretted the decision. Gary kept talking. "I suppose I'll never be charged for them now unless they can figure out a way to get my bills from a su
nken ship. Should have ordered more drinks when I had the chance."
"You think that's funny? There were a lot of other passengers on that ship besides just us."
"Yeah, whatever. Maybe we should find an escape hatch before this ship sinks."
They looked around the place, but the maze of walkways around the cubicles all led back to the main door they'd used to come in. That was the door where most of the noise and commotion was coming from. Neither one of them wanted to go that way.
"Ever seen the movie where the Wall Street broker up on the fiftieth floor throws his chair through the window, then commits suicide because his stocks have all gone in the toilet?" Gary asked.
"I'm not much of a movie person."
"Well, I always wondered if that really works. I'm thinking that big chair over there is likely our best chance." Gary motioned towards the biggest window he could see. They both shrugged their shoulders as Sam reached for the chair.
<<<>>>
Veronica froze and held her breath. She hadn't signed up for this and had no desire to be any part of it. She didn't know what all the noise and banging was, but from the sound of the voices, she knew it couldn't be good. It crossed her mind to wonder where the others were. She seemed to remember that Holly and Garrett were together and that Sam had snuck off somewhere else. She wasn't sure about Gary, but she had a sneaky feeling he wasn't coming back to rescue her.
That was if rescuing was what she needed. She thought she heard gunshots, but couldn't be sure. There were a lot of voices, and they were all shouting orders and talking over one another. Clearly they were looking for something or someone. Why would they come looking for us? she wondered. It wouldn't be long before she'd find out, as the entrance of the pool was suddenly filled with the profile of half a dozen intruders.
Part of Veronica just wanted to run. Run as fast as her legs would go and never stop. Out of the building, out of the city and out of the state. She was already tired of running though and couldn't decide what to do next.
She knew she couldn't get away from the intruders at the door: they were too close, and there were too many of them. They'd be on her in seconds. She looked into the pool. The water was so peaceful and cool on her legs. Her heart was racing, but her lower extremities were relaxed and enjoyed the sensation of the water passing over her.
She thought about just dropping into the pool, covering her entire body in the same cooling sensation. She could sink to the bottom and just stay there if they hadn't noticed her yet. Did they see her? No big waves, just silently slip into the water. That's all it would take. Maybe, she thought, I could just go down and not come back. That would be far simpler and less scary than running around the building, the city and the state. It was a braver choice.
Chapter 18 ~ Decisions
The parking garage was dimly lit and stank of oil and gasoline. Not to mention the urine in the corners from the vagrants who had frequented the place in the past and for all they knew, could still be frequenting the place. If you lived on the streets and didn't have a home or regular supply of food and water or even a job to go to for that matter, would you notice an apocalypse? Or would life just continue on as normal? Maybe there'd be a little more unrest in the general population, but would a homeless person even care?
Garrett was aggravated to all hell and Holly could tell. This wasn't the time to try and talk sense into the man. He'd given up a whole lot. Not actually given it up, more like had it forcibly taken away.
Garrett couldn't believe his bad luck. Just when they'd finally settled into a place that was the ultimate refuge stocked full of supplies, they were driven out of it.
The YMCA had everything they could've wanted. Accommodations, shelter, food, water and enough supplies to get them geared up to make the trek to find Becky. Unfortunately, it seemed that either somebody in the city had a grudge against them, or Garrett really did have the worst luck imaginable.
Holly wanted to try and tell him that their luck hadn't been all that bad. Just think of how much worse off they could've been if they'd gotten onto the wrong life raft, or for that matter never made it to a life raft at all. That would've been even worse. They'd be lying at the bottom of the Gulf Stream, cold and lifeless, nothing but fodder for the fish. Holly thought they were pretty lucky just to be where they were, in spite of the circumstances.
"We'll have to go and find the others," Holly said.
"What the hell is the point of all that? It's not like I ever trusted them all that much anyway."
"Trust them?" Holly said, doing her best to hide her agitation. "Nobody asked you to trust them. We were just getting to know them, and I'm worried about them. Veronica especially. I think she'd gone off on her own to get a little bit of quiet time. Whoever those guys are who broke in and came after us were brutal. There's no telling what they'll do to her."
"Those guys? Those guys are that gang. That same gang of thugs that executed people in the streets for God knows what. That same gang that will likely do the same to us just for breaking into that place and taking things.
"Taking things? We never actually took anything, and it didn't look like anybody had even been there."
"Yeah, don't remind me that we didn't take anything. That place was a damn gold mine, and we should've gotten out with a ton of stuff. That gang probably considers this entire city their turf. Anybody who tries and takes anything, especially newcomers like us, will have a target on their back with those thugs. We should've just gotten in, taken what we needed and left."
Holly took a look at his leg. The new splint that Veronica had managed to cobble together from the supplies she found in the YMCA was working well. Garrett could walk almost normally now, albeit with a slight limp. Far better than he was doing before. Garrett saw her looking down at the leg.
"I know, I know. She made it a lot better, it probably won't get infected now and it'll probably heal back to a hundred percent, all thanks to her. I get it. You feel like you owe her something, but I'm telling you, that's not the way the world works anymore."
They both flinched as they heard what sounded like a door slamming at the far end of the parking garage.
"Probably just the wind," Holly said.
"Yeah, right, either that or a bunch of bloodthirsty, crazy thugs thinking that somehow we've invaded their private domain of antique vehicles."
Holly wasn't so sure that it was just the wind either. Although it could've been just a breeze blowing the door shut. Not everything had to be a conspiracy or the end of the world, or somebody coming to ruin their day. It could have just been the wind. Nonetheless, for the next five silent minutes, they had their eyes peeled in the direction of the noise.
"I almost wish a damn car alarm or something would go off. At least that way I'd know for sure there was somebody in here," Holly said.
"There won't be any car alarms going off today and not for a long time from now. Not with the way the world is."
Chapter 19 ~ Chased
Sam and Gary were running their asses off down the street just as quickly as they could. There's nothing quite like being chased by an angry mob armed with baseball bats, a machete and assorted firearms to get you motivated. They were both panting hard, trying to catch their breath and grateful that they had a tailwind. The bad news was that the guys chasing them also had a tailwind.
Gasping in between breaths, Sam said, "I thought you said they wouldn't even notice one more broken window smashed amongst all the other noises going on. Looks like you're as full of shit as I thought."
"Hey, it's my first time being chased by an angry mob," Gary responded, equally out of breath.
"Somehow, I'm not so sure I believe you."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Let's just say you seem to have a talent for annoying people."
"Annoying people? I don't know what the hell you're talking about. I haven't annoyed anybody since we've been together. Why would you say something like that?"
"App
arently, being observant of how others see you is not one of your people skills."
Gary wanted to respond but nearly tripped over a curb as he turned and ducked down an alleyway. He saved himself by bumping into an empty garbage dumpster as Sam quickly took the lead and moved well ahead of him.
"Hey," Gary called out. "Wait for me."
The old joke about being chased by a bear suddenly occurred to Sam. You don't have to be faster than the bear, you just have to be faster than your buddy who's also being chased by the bear. He looked back and could see the mob closing in. Sam was clearly in better shape than Gary was and if he wanted to, he could put some distance between him and Gary. It seemed the logical thing to do at the moment, maybe a little self-serving, but then he wondered what Gary would do in the same situation.
"Hurry up, asshole," Sam called back to Gary. "They're gaining on you. If you don't get it in gear, they're gonna catch you.
Sam slowed slightly to encourage Gary into catching up. Gary just didn't have it in him; he was starting to hit a wall. The mob behind him, however, wasn't. Whatever their motivation was, it was stronger than both Gary's endurance and his will to survive.
"I'll meet you back at the boat," Sam yelled back to Gary. Gary shook his head as if sensing that Sam was about to take off. He was right. "If we split up," Sam called back, "it'll make it harder for them to find us and catch us."
In theory that was true, but it only worked if both of them were quick enough to stay ahead of their pursuers.
Sam knew he was, but was pretty sure Gary wasn't. At first, Sam felt guilty about leaving him like that. He tried, he thought. He tried to get him to come back, to pick up his pace, but the man just couldn't do it.
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