Mad City: Book One of the Sean Walsh Post Apocalyptic Series

by Patrick O'Donnell

  “Don’t get too excited padre, he can’t be at my house for long. If I get word about any of my boys, I’m out of there. Karl will be on his own again,” I said as I took one of Karl’s arms and Father Tim took the other as we helped him across the street to my house.

  We put Karl in my bedroom upstairs and I started an I.V. and also started antibiotics through his I.V.

  Karl was dozing off and I told him to get some rest. Father Tim looked at me with a sheepish grin and said, “Your pretty handy with medicine. Did you learn that in the service?”

  I told him a good warrior should also be a healer. Anybody can kill, it takes more skill to heal. I was cross trained as a medic and had to put my training to use on more than one occasion.

  Father Tim took out a piece of paper and wrote his and Theresa’s contact information and handed it to me. “Please let me know if you have to leave. Myself or Theresa will come over as soon as we can and help out Karl.”

  Again with Theresa… This has to be his girlfriend. I don’t know why that bothered me. Maybe I’m just old fashioned and thought priests still took a vow of celibacy. It was none of my business and they might help me find my boys. No time to judge anybody.

  Father Tim said his goodbyes and promised to come back tomorrow to check on Karl. He disappeared down my street in his yellow Bug.

  I checked on Karl one more time and told him it was time for the both of us to get some sleep. He was delirious with fever. He kept calling out Mary’s name and mumbled incoherently. I started another I.V. and began another round of antibiotics. I put my hand on Karl’s forehead that was burning with fever and told him he would be fine. He managed a smile and passed out. With that I left the room and made sure my house was secure and went down into my basement.

  I looked over at the picture of me and my boys on my nightstand and dozed off thinking they were probably in danger and there was nothing I could do about it. It was enough to drive a man crazy, but I had to keep my wits about me if I were to help them. I put my head on my pillow and dozed off.

  11 A New Old Friend

  I had a bad night of trying to sleep. My head was filled with thoughts of my boys, Susie, and the old man in my bed. I eventually got up and sat at the end of the mattress. I reluctantly stood up stretching and feeling the pain in my back and joints. I can’t even sleep for more than a couple of hours without feeling pain. I thought to myself as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

  I then remembered what a drill sergeant told us when I was in basic training, “Pain is your friend, it lets you know you’re alive. Don’t fear it, embrace it!”

  Those were wise words indeed, but it still hurt like hell and I felt my age every time I woke up in the morning.

  I grabbed a new bag of saline for Karl and antibiotics and made my way upstairs. I yelled when I made my way to the top, “Come on, old man! Time for you to wake up. I’m going to have you walk around later and try eating some soup.”

  There was no response from my room and I opened the door. Karl laid motionless staring at the ceiling. “Oh shit! Are you dead?” I asked before I got close to him.

  He turned his head towards me with a half-smile and said, “I’m not dead yet. It will take a little more than pneumonia to kill me.”

  I shook my head and chuckled at him. He told me the fever broke in the middle of the night and he was feeling better. I listened to his chest and it did sound a bit clearer. He wasn’t out of the woods yet, but he was doing better. I connected the new bag of saline and hung the antibiotics.

  I told Karl I was going to go to the store and check the message boards and get some supplies. I asked if he wanted anything and he said a couple of blonds with big tits would be nice. I guess he was feeling better, I thought to myself as I fired up my motorcycle.

  It felt good to be on my bike. It had been a while and I missed the feeling of freedom that only comes from going fast on a bike. I made my way to the store and checked the message boards and found nothing new about my boys. Only more missing persons on the board and sad people looking at them.

  I made my way back to my house taking the long way home. It was a treat to drive for a while, but I had to get back to Karl and I had to check emails, that is if my internet was working today.

  I made my way back home and parked my bike in the garage. I gathered some groceries from my saddle bags and went into my house. Karl was sitting at my kitchen table with my notebook computer in front of him. He still looked terrible and had his IV hanging from my mini blinds. At least he got out of bed and was moving, that’s a good sign.

  “I hope you don’t mind me touching your computer. It was making some kind of alert noise so I thought I would check it out.” Karl said looking nervously.

  I looked at him with an approving smile and said, “As long as you’re not surfing Asian porn. That could ruin my computer.”

  I sat at the table next to Karl and saw a new message on my emails. It was from Susie. My heart started pounding and I was genuinely excited. Then it became awkward. I didn’t want Karl to know what she had written. I just didn’t want him to think I was a dirty old man.

  Karl picked up on the vibe, grabbed his IV and told me he was tired and was going to take a nap. He shuffled off down the short hallway to my bedroom.

  I quickly opened the email and it read, “My dearest Sean, I can’t stop thinking about you and the time we spent together. I know it was brief, but it meant the world to me. I was always attracted to you but I could never build up the nerve to tell you how I felt. A couple of days before your visit, I told Roxy I no longer wanted to be with her. She didn’t take the news very well, especially when I told her I was attracted to a man. She did move out and is now living somewhere in Madison. Roxy has a bad drinking problem and at night when she’s drunk she is constantly calling and emailing me. Some of the messages are sweet, but most are hateful and scary. I would like to see you again in person. Do you think you could take another trip up here? I miss you. I want to know how you feel about this. One more thing, a guy named Nick was knocking on Collin’s door yesterday. I talked to him for a little bit and he said he knew you. I gave him your contact information and he said he would be back in a couple of days to try to contact you. I hope you can make it up here, Susie.”

  I sat back in my chair and let out a big sigh. I then reread the entire email to make sure I didn’t miss anything. My dearest Sean? I think I know how she feels about me now. I reread the email for the third time out loud. I had so many questions. Is this my Madison police friend, Nick? Does he have some information about Colin? Is Susie in love with me? I was saying most of this out loud and I’m sure Karl could hear it. I started pacing in my small kitchen and scratched my head in disbelief. I sat back down and I could hear Karl shuffling as way back to the kitchen.

  I sat back down and Karl went to the refrigerator and grabbed two beers. He sat down next to me and put the can of beer in front of me saying, “I think you need one of these.”

  I nodded at him and we both touched beer cans in the air and said, “Cheers!”

  I told Karl he probably shouldn’t be drinking alcohol because of the antibiotics but he smiled and said, “Life’s too short not to have a little celebration every now and then.”

  Karl was right, you do have to celebrate the little victories and this was one. I explained what was in the email to Karl and he smiled and slapped me on the back.

  “That’s the first real lead you had about Colin isn’t it?” Karl said with a big grin on his face. “So you have a girl in your life now?” Karl said looking at me with a smirk on his old face.

  “I don’t know about in my life. But there is a spark there,” I said with a slight degree of hesitation. Karl and I sat at the table for hours and knocked back a few beers while he reminisced about him and Mary. I could tell he was heartbroken. They must have had some kind of love for each other. He just looked lost without her, I thought to myself. His eyes lit up every time he sai
d her name out loud.

  “How about I disconnect you from this IV Karl?” I asked as I got up to get my med kit.

  “You don’t have to ask me twice,” He replied putting his left arm on the table smiling. I got some gauze and disinfectant and just like that it was out. Karl let out a sigh of relief and thanked me.

  “You know I’m going to have to leave in the morning for Madison,” I told him as I got up and started putting my stuff together for the trip.

  “Of course I do. I would expect nothing less of you,” he said with a sad face. I could tell he was excited for me, but sad that I would be leaving. “I guess I’ll get my stuff and head back to my castle,” he said turning away from me.

  “No, you’re not! Not tonight, anyway. I want you to have one more night here to make sure you’re healthy enough to be on your own.”

  He turned back at me with a smile on his face. A long afternoon together and a couple of beers and we became quick friends. Here is a guy I lived by for years that I barely knew, now he and I formed a bond. This was not what I was looking for or needed, but it did feel good to have the old guy around.

  I finished getting all my gear ready for the morning and made sure Karl was in bed and doing okay. I made my way down the stairs to my dungeon. I laid in bed trying to get some sleep. You have to get some sleep, who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. You have to have your wits about you, I told myself. Of course, all I could think about were my boys and Susie. Now Karl found his way into my thoughts. I was worried about the old guy and didn’t know if I should let him stay at my house, on a temporary basis. At least that’s what I told myself.

  It was 0600 and I did my usual stretching and moaning routine as I got up. I hated the morning. This morning was different though. This morning I had hope.

  I made my way up the stairs two at a time and I called out to Karl, “Come on, old man! Let’s have some tea and then you can help me load up my truck.” There was nothing.

  I slowed down and made my way down the short hallway and opened up my bedroom door. Karl was on his back with his eyes and mouth wide open. He was ash grey and had some purple in his skin from the lividity. I’ve seen this too many times at work and when I was in the service. He had passed overnight.

  I sat next to him on the edge of the bed, feeling like somebody kicked me in the gut. I closed his eyes and gave him a light slap on his cold cheek. “Why did you have to die on me, Karl? I thought you were doing much better.” I closed the door behind me.

  I knew in my heart that sometimes people just die. I think Karl didn’t have much in his tank after Mary left. It was what he wanted, at least that’s what I told myself to feel better.

  “Okay. Now I have a dead guy in my bed! This is why you can’t get close to anybody right now, Sean! Keep it together asshole! You have a lot to do today,” I said as I paced around the kitchen table that Karl and I bonded over last night.

  I sat down on my chair and kept looking to see if Karl would suddenly appear from the hallway into the kitchen. No such luck for me. I called Father Tim and he was at my house with Theresa in 30 minutes.

  “I’m sorry Sean. He was a good guy,” said Father Tim with Theresa standing behind him nodding. “Where is he?” I led the way to my bedroom and we all filed in the small bedroom. Father Tim put on his purple stole and anointed Karl and we all said a couple of prayers. When Father Tim was done we all stepped out and went into the kitchen.

  Father Tim looked at my gear by the door and said, “Are you going on a trip?”

  I filled him and Theresa in on my plans to go to Madison. They both smiled at me approvingly and Father Tim told me not to worry about Karl. He would stay with him until the collection unit came.

  “Go on, get going. You have a long trip ahead of you,” Father Tim said as he gave me a hug. Theresa came over and kissed me on the cheek and also gave me a hug and told me, “Good luck.” She had a genuine look of concern and Father Tim had a genuine look of jealousy.

  I nodded and thanked the both of them as I grabbed my gear and loaded up my truck. Theresa abruptly grabbed some of my bags and went into the garage with me. She put them in my truck and we both just stared at each other awkwardly, “Good bye, Sean, and God bless you.” She said and gave me another hug and a kiss on the cheek that was longer in duration than the last one. Father Tim was out of our sight and it felt weird.

  I jumped into my truck and made my way down my street. I have to clear my head and keep focused. I got on the highway. I had too many emotions running through me, I felt sad about Karl, confused about Theresa, concerned about Collin and excited to see Susie.

  That is way too much shit for one guy. I put in some Jimmy Buffet to soothe my nerves. I buzzed down the highway listening to, “A Pirate looks at Forty” It turned out Karl was a Jimmy Buffet fan also. Music was one of the many topics we covered the night before.

  That song was for Karl…

  12 Job Offer

  Cambridge loomed on the horizon and the familiar checkpoint to get into the city. There was something different about it this time though. Yup, just what I thought, a camouflage VW Thing was next to the guard shack. It was Ben and his regular guard. I stopped my truck and hopped out.

  “Good to see you, old boy!” Ben said shaking my hand. “I thought I would give you an escort to the other side of town. I know you’re in a hurry.”

  I called Ben on my way and explained the situation to him. He would have offered to have me stay overnight, but he knew I had to get to Madison in a hurry.

  I pulled him in and gave him a hug and said, “What would I do without you Ben? You’re a life saver. Hopefully on my way back I can spend time with you and the Mrs.”

  We said our goodbyes and we both jumped into our vehicles and made our way through town quickly. Ben had the lights and siren going, it felt more like a parade than an escort. We made our way through the city in record time and Ben got me through the checkpoint on the other side of town. As I drove off I looked in the rearview mirror and saw Ben and his faithful “Thing” disappearing into the landscape.

  It was pretty clear on the road and I approached the valley that I had my run-in with the land pirates. I didn’t stop this time but approached with caution. I had my AR-15 next to me on the passenger seat ready for action. I made it through without incident and sped on towards Madison.

  I parked my truck in my usual place in front of the police sub-station and proceeded on foot with my gear. I didn’t bother checking in with the desk officer since I didn’t get a warm welcome last time and didn’t want any questions. I made my way to the familiar green building with the red door.

  I made a left turn when I got inside the front door. My heart was beating hard and wished Collin would pop his head out and greet me with a familiar, “Hey Pop! What’s up?” Not today though. I picked the lock and checked out his apartment. Nothing was disturbed inside and it felt so empty. I was getting choked up and had to compose myself. I sat on the armrest of the couch and buried my head in my hands.

  I was so busy feeling sorry for myself and lost in depression I didn’t notice the door opening behind me. I felt a hand on my left shoulder and I instinctively pulled out my Ka-Bar and spun around towards whomever was there.

  “Easy Sean, easy!” it was Susie looking shocked and scared at my knife and I. I got up and she wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed tightly.

  “I’m so sorry, Susie. You startled me.” I wrapped my arms around her waist. She smelt so good. Nothing fake about her, no fancy overpowering perfume, just a hint of something that smelled good. This hug lasted long and neither of us wanted to let go. She buried her face in my chest and it felt natural.

  Susie broke the long silence looked up at me and said, “Sean, Nick is in my apartment and he wants to talk to you.” I broke our embrace and thought to myself, I have to get my head in the game of finding Collin.

  Susie grabbed my hand and led me to her apartment. It feels
so good to hold a girl’s hand. I miss the touch of a female, I thought to myself as we crossed the hall into her apartment. I felt guilty though, like I shouldn’t feel pleasure if my boys were in pain.

  Nick sprang up from his seat at a small kitchen table and ran over to me, “Sean, you old bastard! It’s so good to see you!” He looked down at my hand that was still clasped in Susie’s and smiled. I reluctantly broke Susie’s grasp and shook his hand and pulled him in for a hug.

  “It’s goddamn good to see you, old friend,” I said as I looked at Susie smiling in approval.

  Nick and I took seats at the kitchen table and Susie made us tea. Nick and I talked about the old days and exchanged police “war” stories.

  We talked for hours about how we survived the early days of this war. Nick was with the Madison P.D. and explained how he and his guys survived underground in a bunker for the police. They were in direct contact with Alpha and the military requested their help as soon as it was safe to go above ground.

  I told him about my shooting and retiring early from the police department. It stung a bit to talk about it, but it also felt good to talk to somebody that understood.

  “So you have the day off? I thought they restricted days off for you guys,” I said half wanting to be working and being in the thick of things.

  “Nope. I don’t work for the police anymore,” Nick said with a half grin. “Somebody else noticed my talents and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

  “So you are going to fulfill your lifetime dream of being a drag queen?” I asked, slapping Nick on the knee. I looked over at Susie and she almost let out a stream of tea out of her nose she was laughing so hard. Was that insensitive of me to say that in front of Susie? She is bi-sexual. Would that offend her? Judging by her laughter, I didn’t have much to worry about. I was overanalyzing the situation.

  “No smart-ass, I’m working for Alpha now in intelligence,” Nick said with an air of superiority in his voice. “You know, they’re looking for folks that have certain ‘talents’ like you.”