Dead States | Year Zero | Nebraska

by Marty Brockschmidt

  “I don't care about your excuses woman silence that child now.” Roared Mayhue.

  Carol began to cry in fear and frustration. “Shh Eddie. Hush now.”

  “Mister Smeils show that woman how to quiet that child.” Mayhue commanded.

  Stu Redding watched Smiley slowly walk towards the woman and child, dreading what he knew was coming. In the past he could tell himself what they did kept their country safe, but here this was their country and these people were safe till they came along. Stu's hand slipped to his pistol begging him to take action as Smiley pulled the baby from the woman's arms.

  Smiley cradled Eddie in one arm and roughly tickled under his chin. “Cootchie cooo.”

  Eddie cried even harder with the rough treatment. “Hell that didn't work at all.” Remarked Smiley.

  Carol stepped forward to retrieve her son. “Now hold on there lady, old Smiley's got one more trick, this one always works.”

  Smiley took hold of Eddie's ankles in one hand and placed the other behind Eddie's back and swung the boy up into the air, “One...two..”

  This time, Eddie began to smile at his mother as he enjoyed the ride. Carol began to relax seeing her son having fun with the soldier.

  “Three”. This time as Smiley swung Eddie down he released his hand from Eddie's back and swung Eddie down onto the flagstones of the courtyard, smashing his skull and killing Eddie instantly.

  Carol's look of relief turned to horror as she screamed. “Eddieeee.”

  Smiley grinned, “Quiet as a church mouse, told ya it works every time.”

  Carol let out a scream and rushed at Smiley, several of the men in the crowd also turned to Carol's defense. The soldiers raised their rifles giving caution to the townspeople.

  Smiley caught hold of Carol's wrists and shouted, “Everyone settle down or I'll be tellin these boys to open up on ya, makes no never mind to me.”

  The townsmen stopped their advance towards Smiley, but Carol, still caught in Smiley's grasp kept crying over again and again. “Eddie....Eddie....Eddie.”

  “Guess we'll need to quiet mom here too, come on you two the General's not a patient man.” Smiley directed.

  Two of the soldiers stepped forward and held Carol's arms. Smiley reached out to a third soldier who handed Smiley a drill, “Now hold her mouth shut Ames.” Commanded Smiley.

  With Carol held firmly in place, Smiley stepped forward and stroked his hand up her belly and across her breasts, “Kind of a shame we need to do this boys, she ain't bad lookin.”

  With that Smiley fitted a screw into the drill and ran it up through Carols jaws, he ran three more screws in to make sure her mouth was firmly closed, “Let her go boys.”

  In seconds Carol began to drown, blood squirted from between her clenched teeth and out of her nose. As Carol's life seeped out of her she fell to her knees and crawled to the lifeless Eddie. She pulled his little body to her chest and held his shattered head against her breast and died.

  Mathias Mayhue watched the crowd and reveled in the control he had over them. When Smiley was done, this group of farmers would be pissin all over themselves to do whatever he asked. Mayhue had seen Smiley's potential a long time ago, he knew that Smiley merely needed the proper outlet for his sadistic desires and he was more effective than any weapon.

  Smiley raised his hands to get the crowds attention. “Now hold your horses there folks, you don't get to see this everyday.”

  After a few minutes of waiting, Carol's lifeless body began to twitch and then sat up still holding her dead child. The desire to feed was already in her and she raised the lifeless child to her mouth and attempted to feed, even though her jaw was locked.

  Smiley continued his commentary. “Ain't that sweet? Help her up boys, Ames get the rope on her.”

  The two soldiers that had restrained Carol previously, took hold of her and stood her up. Ames brought out a length of rope and attached it to her like a harness, he then handed Smiley a machete.

  “Stretch out her arm, we don't want her getting touchy with folks.” Smiley instructed.

  With Carol's arms pulled wide, her deceased child once again fell to the ground. Smiley swung the machete twice, severing each arm at the elbow. Smiley handed the bloody machete back to Ames and took hold of the rope tethered to Carol. She stumbled after Smiley with the stumps of her arms reaching out towards him, trying to grasp with fingers that were no longer there.

  As Carol shambled along following Smiley, the crowd parted. Parents, seeing the bloody print of Eddie's head on Carol's blouse, stifled their own children in fear of them ending up like Eddie. Carol, moving through the crowd, would weave back and forth staring at the people with her cold dead eyes and blood soaked face. Eventually, Smiley reached the central tower in the courtyard and tied Carol off to it.

  Smiley gave Mayhue a thumbs up. “All quiet now General.”

  “Thank you Mister Smeils. Let me break down the order of things around here. There is me, then my men, then that creature there and then you. If any of you have a problem with that, you're welcome to join that young woman. Don't pull anything stupid and do as you're told.” General Mayhue paused to gauge the reaction of the crowd, but most were still stunned by the event that had just unfolded before them.

  Mayhue then continued. “McPherson assemble whomever you need, we debrief in thirty minutes. I need to know what supplies you have stored, food, fuel, medicine, you get the idea. I hope you folks ate a big lunch, because there will be no more meals until I can determine what your rations will be.”

  Mayhue stopped as Sara Parsons raised her hand and frantically gestured, “Yoo hoo sir, if I may?”

  Mayhue looked at her irritably. “What is it woman?”

  “We've got plenty of food, there is even more stored in the town up the way.” Sara offered.

  “Well there you have it, a little cooperation. Outstanding my dear, would you be so kind as to join me for dinner.” Mayhue replied.

  “Oh my goodness...I would be honored Sir.” Sara gushed.

  “I need anyone housed in the security building to clear out, the rest of you are to return to your rooms and stay there until further orders. My men will be doing a room to room search, looking for contraband.” The General ordered.

  Before Matt could stop him Travis raised his hand.

  “What do you want boy?” Mayhue asked.

  Travis stood tall as he answered the General. “The baby sir, may I bury him?”

  The General turned towards Sergeant Redding. “Sergeant post guards and assemble search details then dismiss these people and requisition the boy a shovel”

  The General spun on his heel and walked back into the house. Mac spread his arms and protectively pulled his wife and daughters close. Sheryl McPherson looked at her boyfriend beaming with pride and admiration as he stripped of his shirt. Shivering a little, whether it was from the cool fall air, or in anticipation of his gruesome task wasn't clear. Travis spread out the shirt and first placed in the remnants of Carol's arms and then picked up Eddie's corpse, he gingerly cradled him in his mother's arms as he wrapped the baby's body in his shirt.

  Mac took Matt, Tobin and Mick with him to meet with Mayhue. Ivy insisted on coming as well to plead for a gentler hand. The McPherson girls went with Crystal to help her pack up and move out of the security building.

  Tobin and Crystal had very little in the line of personal belongings, so it didn't take long to pack. It was tough for her to set aside her pistol, a gift from Sergeant Andrews and her knife which had come from Blade, but the toughest to leave behind was her baton.

  As Crystal lingered over setting the baton aside, Percy knocked at the door. “I think I can be of help my Dear, ve vill hide it in plain sight, may I?”

  Crystal handed the baton to Percy, who pulled a wrench from his pocket and removed the center handle. Percy then placed one end of the baton on the floor. “See just an olt man’s cane. If the young ladies vill help me vith Mr. Canales' belongings, his room is m
ore of a shop than an apartment, ve can finish the disguise.”

  Once all their belongings were packed, they turned in any weapons at the security office and headed out. Sergeant Redding was there with a small detail and insisted their bags be searched for contraband. A paunchy, unkempt and generally disgusting looking soldier began to rifle through their bags.

  Shelly McPherson, carrying Mick's suitcase, was first in line. When the soldier finished with the bag he spun the teen around, placing his hands on her backside. “Let's see what else you're hiding.” He exclaimed.

  The soldier slowly ran his hands over Shelly's hips, but before he could go any further Stu Redding backhanded him upside the head. “You know I don't allow that Beast.”

  “The General don't care Redding, don't know why you're so concerned” Beast whined.

  Stu Redding snarled. “You just earned a week on night watch, you want to go for two?”

  Beast backed down. “No Sir... Sergeant Sir.”

  While Crystal's bags were searched, she mused about their captors. The soldier that killed Carol and Eddie was called Smiley, what did this one to do to earn the name Beast? Also, Crystal recognized that this was the second time today Sergeant Redding came to their defense,what hold could the General have over him that kept Stu Redding with these men?

  Once all the bags had been checked, the soldiers marched the group to the building they would be housed in. None of them paid attention to the hooded soldier that joined the detail.

  “Woman I am not going to debate my methods with you, I am trying to create a world predicated on order and discipline, not one that caters to weaklings and the useless.” General Mayhue spat at Ivy McPherson.

  “Who decides who is useless, poor Eddie never had a chance.” Ivy fired back.

  The General angrily addressed Mac. “McPherson perhaps our little demonstration did not make the proper impression, should I ask Mister Smeils to join us and see what he can think up for your wife?”

  Mac put an arm around Ivy. “General my wife and I just want to save lives, how do we do that?”

  The General smiled at Mac sardonically. “Your a smart man McPherson, not as brave as your wife, but you understand how this works. Right now I need to know about this cache you tried to hide, all the supplies here and who your key personnel are.”

  While they waited for their parents and Tobin to return, Shelly and Sheryl McPherson helped Crystal settle into her unit.

  “What do these men want from us?” Shelly asked.

  Crystal shook her head, the way these men acted was entirely alien to her experiences so far. “I'm sorry I just don't know, but I think they are lazy and find it easier to take what we have.”

  Sheryl, obviously deeply shaken, followed her sister's lead. “Are we going to be okay... I mean my gosh what they did to Carol and little Eddie.”

  Crystal answer was straightforward and confident. “Honey these men need us. They can't raise food or keep this place running. They want us scared, they want to control us. We need to be smarter than them and be ready when they make a mistake.”

  “How can we do that? They have all our weapons.” Responded Shelly.

  Crystals reply confused the girls. “Not all of them, not the ones that really count.”

  Their conversation drifted as they each focused on their own thoughts. They listened in silence to the soldiers, as they went from room to room to search for weapons. As they entered each unit the people inside reacted with fear, or anger and always with the same question. “What do you want?”

  The sounds of the approaching soldiers got closer and closer and Crystal apprehensively waited for them to knock on her door. Crystal heard the footsteps outside of the door, but the knock never came. Eventually, curiosity drove her to spy through the peephole to see what was going on. No one was visible in the hallway. As Crystal craned her head around to see more of the hall, the door was suddenly kicked in sending Crystal flying into the room.

  With a laugh Zephram Nordstrom entered the room with two soldiers and announced. “Hey there Blondie, did you miss me?”

  After a lengthy discussion, the General called an end to the meeting. “I believe we are done for now, I'll call for you again if I need anything. Go back to your rooms and I'd advise getting a good night's sleep, work details will start in the morning.”

  The General turned to Tobin. “So you're the cook...I have a guest for supper and my men will need to be fed, you have one hour. Impress me and I may be generous with the breakfast rations for you people.”

  “I'll need some of my staff.” Tobin replied.

  The General made a dismissive movement with his hand. “Whatever, just let the Sergeant know and he'll round them up for you.”

  Zephram strode into the room grabbed a handful of Crystal's hair and with a punch sent her flying to the wall. “That's for taking my daughter from me.”

  Stunned from the blows, Crystal was quickly losing consciousness and struggled to fight back. Zephram gave her no chance to recover, rushing in and pinning her to the wall. Raising her hands above her head, Zephram held them there with one hand while tearing open her blouse with the other. “I spent weeks in that wilderness thinking about what I was going to do to you.”

  Shelly and Sheryl screamed at him to stop and tried to come to Crystal's assistance, but the other two soldiers restrained them.

  “Keep those two quiet, can’t you see we're havin a moment here?” Zephram ordered.

  Zephram returned his attention to Crystal. “I do have to thank you though, I probably wouldn't have survived if I hadn’t been dreamin about our little reunion.”

  He ran his hand up Crystal's body and tore off her bra. “Oh yeah, this is looking way better than I imagined.”

  As he ground his hips into her, Crystal could feel how excited he was and the revulsion that washed over her gave her the strength to act. “I should have killed you back then, I won't make that mistake again.”

  Crystal tore a hand free from his grasp and raked her fingernails down his cheek, opening long bloody trails.

  “Bitch!” Zephram howled in pain, before punching her hard as he could in the face, breaking Crystal's nose and knocking her out.

  When Crystal came to, the first thing she felt was the warm blood streaming from her nose. As clarity returned, she realized her jeans had been taken off and Zephram was kneeling between her legs, pinning her arms above her head with one hand and hiking down his own trousers with the other.

  Crystal looked back to see the young girls looking on in horror, struggling to free themselves. Crystal pleaded. “Oh my God they can't see this, please let them leave.”

  Zephram laughed. “Sorry darlin, they're learnin what's in store for them. If them fellers don't get busy soon, I guess I'll just have to take care of them girls myself.”

  Coming at a run, Mac was the first to enter the room. Seeing his daughters struggling in the soldier's grasp, a cold rage came over him. “Let my girls go”.

  Not allowing the soldiers to answer Mac, fueled by the events of the day, grabbed each by the scruff of the neck and bashed their heads together until they went limp. Ivy wasn't far behind her husband. Seeing Zephram kneeling over the beaten, bloody and nearly naked Crystal, Ivy plowed her petite frame straight into him knocking him over.

  Crystal, taking the opportunity, flipped around and wrapped her legs around Zephram's neck. Applying pressure with her knees, Crystal twisted her hips until she heard the gratifying sound of Zephram's neck breaking.

  As Crystal kicked his lifeless body away, she noticed Ivy’s face, her concern obvious. “Oh honey my God are you alright... did he?”

  Crystal, seeing Mac averting his eyes from her, realized that only the tatters of her blouse covered her. She pulled the shirt closed, before responding to Ivy. “No you got here in time, I'm sure it looks worse than it is. My jeans are across the room there, could you hand them too me before anyone else happens by?”

  Mac, keeping his eyes fixed on his
daughters, spoke up “Girls help your mother with Crystal, I'll see what I can find to pike these three before they turn.”

  While Mac was checking the soldiers for a knife, three more soldiers came responding to the commotion. One of the soldiers, seeing Mac leaning over the bodies, slammed Mac in the back of the head with the butt of his rifle, causing Mac to collapse.

  The soldier that struck Mac took charge, “Ames you and Hulbert get the big guy out of here, I'll have the Sarge meet us outside, we'll let him sort this out and report to the General.”

  The soldiers totally ignored the women in the room, with the exception of Crystal, who did not have a chance to get dressed. While the two struggled with the unconscious Mac, Ivy shouted out. “You bastards he was just protecting his daughters.”