by Jeff Olah
“MEGAN!” Eleanor shouted. “DON’T GIVE HIM ANYTHING!”
“Calm down, Eleanor… I’m sorry. I meant calm down, lady. Your names aren’t a secret… at least not to us. We know your names and all the details of your demented little lives. We probably know more about you than you care to—”
“I am calm. And you don’t know the first thing about our family. How could you? You and your friends are animals. You may know our names, but you wouldn’t know the first thing about what our group is or who we really are.”
“I highly doubt that, although there’s really only one thing that we need to know. We just need to know where to hit you so it hurts, and I’m not talking about getting physical. There are a few things that stand out right away, and with Megan here being pregnant, the rest becomes fairly easy.”
“Don’t you touch her,” Eleanor said.
“No need. I already have everything inside that building necessary to make her talk.” He lifted his jacket, removed a walkie-talkie and barked into the microphone. “Bring them to the window.”
As their attention turned to the building, the shades from a first floor window parted. The three children, who’d become their family after being rescued so many months before, now stood emotionless just beyond the glass.
“I no longer have to hurt either of you. Those children are the only negotiation tool I need. I may not have the heart for it, although a few of my friends inside that building have no problem hurting kids. They have a much different outlook on the human race. They do what the rest of us can’t or won’t. I like to think of them as our multi-purpose tools, and bring them out only when necessary. Those children were your responsibility. You have one hour. I hope for their sake you make the right decision.”
“You’re headed straight to hell,” Eleanor said.
The man stood and started back toward the building. “Lady… in case you hadn’t noticed, we’re already there.”
186
The pavement was slick and the patches of collecting rainwater deepened as the minutes passed. Six sets of footfalls moved toward the home that sat at the east end of their community. Through the front yard of both burned out homes, the tortured voices echoing off the shore break continued to intensify.
Grant was the first to hear the calls of distress and was out in front, although his lead was quickly reduced to a few feet as Savannah and Mason sprinted in close behind. Randy brought up the rear, handing Sean a nine millimeter pistol as the pair struggled to keep pace.
Knowing the community like the back of his hand, Sean stopped short and took the first side gate he came to, with Randy on his right shoulder. They moved in and out of the trash cans now overturned and partially melted to the concrete. Reaching the backyard only seconds ahead of the others, Sean stepped onto the wooden deck, raised his weapon, and fired six rounds.
From his vantage, the night sky began drifting into something altogether different, a shade much darker than anything he’d yet seen. The moon hadn’t suddenly disappeared and with morning still more than a few hours off, the answer was all around him. Estimating that more than a dozen Feeders had descended upon him and his friend, he knew those slow-moving creatures were the interruption that blotted out what remained of the moonlight.
As Brian’s shoulder blades sunk deeper into the sand, he pushed his thumb into the eye socket of his attacker, now only inches from his throat. Turning his head to the right, he attempted to avoid the nauseating combination of coagulated blood and infected flesh that had begun to fall from the mouth of the rabid Feeder. As the pieces dropped to his cheek and slowly slid down onto his neck, Brian realized he was quickly reaching his physical limit.
One last push while slowly being buried under the weight of the increasing horde, he turned back to face the beast and focused what little energy he had left. Brian struggled to pull his legs in as far as he could and given the amount of weight he was currently supporting, it wasn’t much. In one hasty movement, he attempted to push upward and to the left. No movement—the downward force was just too great.
His heartrate began to rocket under the intense physical exertion and added weight as he turned one last time to get a glimpse of his friend. Jack was gone, also buried under a mass of clawing hands and hungry mouths. Attempting to vocalize his last words, they came only as a whisper… “Jack, I’m sorry.”
The succession of six explosions came as he began to slip into unconsciousness. His vision hazy and his grip already beginning to loosen, he winced as the scorching heat ran the length of his hand. He’d been shot. Although not directly, he felt the warm blood run from the wound along the top side of his right hand and trickle onto his face. As he started to regain focus, two lifeless bodies dropped to the sand only inches from his face.
Voices and footfalls, then another ear-piercing explosion and then one more. Brian sucked in a long breath and felt the rain dance along his face. The footfalls growing closer, he was again able to move his legs and as he did, the nausea moved from his stomach to his esophagus. Bile filled his mouth as he turned to his side and vomited out onto the beach what little remained in his body.
The wet sand against his face and the warm blood from his hand now running into his eyes, Brian watched as they pulled Jack from the sand. Mason lifted his friend onto his shoulder and moved out of sight.
His vision now crystalized, Brian scanned the beach as Randy and Dr. Lockwood came for him. With the few remaining corpses moved away, Lockwood checked him over and turned back to Randy and Savannah. “He’s okay, get him into the house.”
Onto his feet, Randy slid under his left arm and helped him up onto the deck of the burned out home. “You able to walk?”
The question registered, although since he was already moving his feet, Brian felt no need to answer. “Where’s Jack, is he okay?”
As they reached the destroyed rear door, Lockwood moved past them and into the living room. The doctor stood over Jack and turned to Mason as Brian, Randy, and Savannah approached. “They’ll both be alright. Somehow neither was bitten nor do they look to be too seriously injured.”
Mason moved to the center of the room and began to pace. “Brian…what the hell were you thinking? You never leave the group unarmed. You should’ve know that.”
Brian didn’t respond. Instead, after assuring Jack was out of harm’s way, he turned and limped out onto the deck.
The others looked on as Mason shook his head and trailed Brian back out into the rain. “I need to know that you understand me.”
Again, no response.
“Brian, I understand what you just went through. We’ve all been there, although you can’t just shut down. This world no longer allows us to take a day off, a minute or even a second. If we’re going to survive for any length of time, we have to follow the rules and communicate with one another. You get where I’m—”
Brian finally turned to face Mason and although not addressing his tirade, finally spoke. “Mason, are you surprised by the new and improved Sean?”
Although not necessarily amused, a smirk slid across Mason’s face. “You mean the fact that he took out eleven Feeders before the rest of us even stepped off the deck, or that not one round was wasted?”
Brian’s attention back to the shore and looking on as Sean stood facing the ocean, he said, “You know that’s all Randy…the two have been working together since the day you all left.”
“How is that even possible? Sean was scared to death of weapons. He’d be the last person—”
“He wanted to be able to protect his father’s lab after you all left. He took it over and treated it like his own. He’s really serious about it and even started going through Lockwood’s old research. The kid is some kind of a genius.”
Mason laughed. “He became that good with a weapon in only a month? That’s ridiculous.”
“It was actually only half that amount of time really. At first all he wanted to do was learn about how to secure the lab. Although as time wen
t on, he asked about the weapons Randy had locked up.”
“And?” Mason said.
“And Randy started taking him out a few times a day and practicing. From what Randy told everyone, the kid was a natural. He was as accurate as anyone in our community, even with a rifle.”
“You think he’d give Jack a run for his money?”
“Don’t let him know I said this, although the kid is probably even more accurate than him at two hundred yards. It’s kinda scary how good he is.”
Mason shook his head and motioned toward the water. “Let’s get Sean back inside. I think we need to discuss what we’re doing next.”
“I’ll go get him,” Brian said. “I owe the kid my life and should probably go thank him.”
As the men stepped away in different directions, Mason was nearly knocked off his feet. The eruption and subsequent reverberations rocked the entire community.
Brian paused and turned back to Mason. “It’s Grant.”
187
On his feet and moving out of the house, Jack’s legs had yet to reconnect with the rest of his body. The flow of blood obviously still infiltrating his lower extremities, the man who’d given up hope of ever seeing these people again joined them on the rear deck.
Dragging his right leg and wiping the filth from his face, Jack shouldered up to Brian and focused his attention in the direction of the front yard. He turned back to the beach, shook his head at the gruesome scene, and spit the gritty remains of his battle out onto the redwood decking.
“What was that?” Jack asked.
Brian leaned in. “Looks like Grant finally cracked.”
“Cracked?” Mason asked.
Brian stepped forward and moved off the deck and started for the street as the group followed. “The guy has been on a downward spiral for a few weeks. I’m not sure what it was, although he’d come to me more than once saying that we were being watched from beyond the walls and that we needed to leave.”
Mason stopped at the gate as the others moved into the front yard. “It looks like he may have been on to something. Do you think whoever came through last night knew where and when to hit us?”
Brian didn’t respond. He led the way into the street and noticed the breach only moments before the others. Beginning to jog as he moved toward the entrance to the community, he called out. “Randy, I’m gonna need some help.”
The group stopped at the sight of the demolished front gates. It became apparent to all what had taken place minutes ago and where the deafening crash had come from. Not only was their little community once again exposed, but now the gates had been completely torn from their foundation.
Motioning toward the driveway alongside Randy’s home, Brian said, “Grant took the truck… and it looks like he may also be dragging what remained of our gates. We need to get this place secured, and quick.”
Mason shook his head. “Brian… it’s over, we just need to go.”
The group went silent and with Brian standing directly across from Mason, the others waited for someone to speak.
Over his shoulder, Brian looked back at the two smoldering homes and then scanned the rest of the community. “We won’t survive until morning out there. We’ve got only one vehicle, very limited supplies, and absolutely no plan. I say we lock ourselves in one of these homes, get some rest, and put together a plan in the morning.”
Mason began to counter, although he was cut short by Randy. “Brian, I’m leaving tonight… right now. I’m going after Megan and the others. I’ve already waited too long.” He turned and walked toward his home, keys in hand and heading for the SUV. “I’ll take what fuel I can from the generators and I’m going to get our family back. You can come or you can stay, but I’m leaving.”
Turning to Mason, Brian’s eyes widened. “You gonna do something about this?”
“What’s there to do? Randy’s right; we need to go get our people back and I see no reason to wait.”
“Mason, that’s our only vehicle. If he leaves and takes all the weapons, we’ll be left unprotected. That doesn’t concern you?”
Turning to each of the others individually, Mason asked for their opinion. He already knew that Lockwood and Sean would agree with Randy, although with Jack voting alongside Brian, the decision to leave before sunrise wasn’t going to be unanimous.
Without asking, Savannah stepped forward. “Mason has kept me safe for over a year and actually saved my life on more than one occasion. Brian, I love you like a brother, but I gotta side with them. We have to go get them… tonight.”
“This is ridiculous; your plan is to just leave Jack and me here to die?”
Mason turned and motioned toward the house as the first few Feeders moved in through the entrance to the community. “Let’s get inside; there isn’t much we’re going to solve out here in the rain.”
The group hurried across the dampened street and into the home as Randy backed the SUV into the garage and began loading the supplies. They sat in the dark with only candles to illuminate the room as Mason passed along towels for everyone to dry off. Randy continued to move in and out of the garage as the others huddled in the living room.
Addressing Brian specifically, Mason said, “We’ve got a problem. If you think staying here one more minute is going to make us any safer, well then I’m sorry. I apologize, for being so direct, but you are wrong. Our people need us and after what happened here, there’s no reason to stay.”
“No reason?” Brian asked. He stood and moved across the room, now only feet from Mason. “How about the fact that I lost every single one of my men. They died in that house attempting to save your family, does that reason count?”
“Brian, you know damn well that isn’t what I meant. These are no longer your people or my people. Every one of the residents that lived here are our family. Your family and my family, I don’t differentiate between the two and neither should you.”
“Thanks for the pep talk,” Brian said. “But whichever way you look at it, not a single person that lived with you at Blackmore lost their lives here. Every person that perished behind these walls had been my responsibility for the last year. Not yours, mine. I’d appreciate if you at least acknowledging the distinction.”
On his third trip through the room, Randy paused. “Twenty minutes, you two need to wrap this up, and soon. I’m backing down that driveway and leaving for the city before this area is too crowded with Feeders to drive out. You’re in or you’re out. Either way the bus leaves in twenty.”
Dr. Lockwood tossed his towel to the ground and along with Sean and Savannah, moved into the garage. They began assisting Randy in loading the supplies and discussing plans for fueling the SUV and leaving the community.
Jack eyed Brian and then Mason before placing his towel over his shoulder and leaning into the wall. “Listen Brian, I’m not saying I agree with Mason and I certainly won’t make the mistake of choosing sides, although we can’t stay here. You and I won’t survive another day on our own and you know that. We also have four of our own women unaccounted for. Let’s go with Mason and find them.”
Brian paused for a long moment before turning and walking toward the garage. “This is a mistake Mason, I can feel it. We’ll go with you into the city, but this is just wrong.”
188
The already cramped cage began to close in around her. It had little to do with the fact that she’d shared the small space with another person for most of the night, and even less to do with the men who continued to monitor them from the video camera mounted just above her new home. Eleanor battled this case of claustrophobia with only one thing on her mind, the children.
She’d repositioned herself at least thirty times in the last few hours and as the early morning sky fought with the ceasing rain, Eleanor slid again into a seated position. She watched the door and waited with Megan as the voices inside the building began to intensify once again. Unable to make out the exact dialogue, they sat staring at the building until the shouting
dropped off all at once.
Eleanor held her breath as the door opened for the first time in more than an hour. The first man to exit the building turned right and jogged toward the six story parking structure that sat looming over the main building. The next three followed a few seconds behind and readied their weapons as they moved out of sight. By her estimation, the only one left in the building was the disfigured man in the wheelchair. Within seconds, he showed himself.
Megan slid back against the wall and now sat shoulder to shoulder with Eleanor as the wheelchair moved out of the shadows and stopped in the doorway. They watched as the mystery man awkwardly gripped a dry erase marker and scratched away at a small whiteboard resting on his lap. More than sixty seconds had passed before he dropped the marker and struggled to raise the board.
Squinting through the light that filtered down from just above the door, Eleanor was the first to realize what the badly formed letters spelled out. She turned to Megan in confusion and whispered the four illegible words.
“We’ve got your doctor.”
The chair-bound man dropped the whiteboard into his lap. And although his face and neck were covered with some sort of makeshift bandana, the cut of his eyes told them that the message being delivered wasn’t an olive branch. He then rolled slowly backward into the building and out of sight.
Eleanor moved to her knees and crawled to the front of the cage, peering out along the walkway. “They can’t have… there’s no way they could have found them this quickly. Not with Mason and Jack guarding him with their lives. There’s just no way.”
“The kids,” Megan said.
“What?”
“The kids, they never came back and they were only giving us an hour. If that clock on the wall is still right, it’s been more than two.”
Eleanor shook her head. “I think something else is going on. They were in there arguing about something since they left us. I can’t help but think that our side has struck back somehow. You said just before they hit us that you were talking to Savannah.”
