by Jeff Olah
“That man,” Megan said. “Tobias, he’s going to kill us anyway. As soon as that man in the chair gives him the okay, he’s going to do it. I think he already wants to.”
He again looked toward the parking structure as the engine noise slowly faded. “Yeah, you’re probably right. He’s a psychopath, but he’s also not dumb enough to go against the plan.”
She didn’t know why this man decided to converse with her, what he wanted, or why he appeared to be at odds with the rest of his people, although she wasn’t about to let up. “Plan, what plan?”
“I’m not like those men, although I’m not stupid either. All I can say is that once they bring the doctor back here, it will get much better for everyone.”
“Can you at least help our friends?”
“I was out on that beach when your friend shot Gavin. I saw the look in that man’s eyes. You may not realize it, but your little group is not that much different from mine. Everything has changed. If there’s something in this world you need, you ask first. And if that doesn’t work, you take it. I’m sorry that things are going down the way they are, but Tobias and the others are taking what they need.”
“I don’t understand, what is it that you need?”
“It’s not anything that I need, or even what the other men want. And it’s not even about Tobias.”
“The man in the chair,” Megan said. “It’s about him. He needs my father for something, doesn’t he?”
He pulled his arms away from his gangly legs and stood. Taking three steps toward the building, he stopped and turned. “I’m sorry, but it’ll all be over soon. They know where your dad is and they’re bringing him back now.”
204
Her face appeared much like it had the first time he saw her in Randy’s apartment. Her thick ringlets of red hair stood apart from her face and although a bit tousled, framed her high cheekbones perfectly. Her light green eyes, even partially obscured through the dirty window, spoke to him. They told Mason that she was beyond tired and although not giving in, they begged for a reason to continue living, even for just one more minute.
As Mason stared back into the window and with Randy standing at his side, a silhouetted figure moved in behind Savannah. From the third floor window, she neither smiled nor frowned. Her eyes continued to focus on the individual to her left as she was handed a piece of paper and held it to the glass.
It read. “Suite 326, leave your weapons in the hall.”
As Mason stepped around the white van, Randy let him go. A second piece of paper with more scribbled out text appeared in the window. “No negotiating.”
Mason moved to the ten foot reinforced glass doors and held them out as Randy entered the lobby. Once home to four attorneys, a small escrow office, a dentist, and even a well-respected plastic surgeon, the detailed foyer had seen much better days. Beyond the multiple overturned desk chairs, destroyed marble countertops, and a smashed eighteenth-century sculpture sat the stairwell.
His weapon trained head high, Mason opened the door and held out his hand, allowing Randy to step in. With nothing to light the way, Mason slid over a scrap from the shattered conference table and placed it in front of the self-closing door. With Randy already one flight ahead, Mason jogged to catch up.
As they reached the third floor and Randy stepped out into the hall, Mason pointed at the sign on the wall, indicating their target was ahead to the left. Twenty-four steps to the door and as Randy reached for the handle, Mason grabbed his hand. “Let’s do this right. If they’d wanted to hurt us, they could have. We have to give them a reason to trust us.”
“Do we?”
“Yes,” Mason said. “We don’t know who these people are or what they want; all we know is that they have the upper hand at the moment. Let’s see what they want first.”
“Mason, if these are the people we’re looking for—”
The door opened and two men stood just beyond the threshold. Neither carried a weapon and they stepped aside, allowing Mason and Randy full view of their friends. Savannah still stood near the window, staring out into the city as Dr. Lockwood and his son sat hunched over a coffee table in the center of the room.
Still unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do, Mason looked at Randy and then to the men standing three feet away. The first, a teen that stood as a near double for Sean, smiled and backed away. On the opposite side of the doorway stood another man of similar proportions and bearing an uncanny resemblance to the teen, only twenty-five years older and with a more steadfast demeanor. “Okay boys, time to part with the weapons, and no need to worry, we’re the only living things on this side of town.”
Laying his weapon against the wall, Mason entered. He moved to the center of the suite and while noticing the relaxed nature of the room, began his questions. “What the hell is happening here?” And turning to Savannah he continued. “Can you explain it to me? Who are these people and why are you all sitting here like long lost friends?”
Randy turned to the unknown men and attempted to interject, although Mason wasn’t finished. To the elder man from the door he said, “What is this, who are you people?”
Looking away from the table, Lockwood said, “It not what it looks like. Cedric and his family are trying to help us.”
“Help us?” Mason said. “From where I stood, it looked like this man forced the three of you into his van and only stopped when we were about to catch him. Please tell me what I’ve missed.”
The older man, who Lockwood identified as Cedric, left the door partially open and walked to Mason with his hand held out. “Hello, my name is Cedric and I apologize for all the theatrics.”
“Theatrics? If that’s your only explanation, we’re gonna have a big problem.”
Savannah moved away from the window. “Mason, Cedric and his family are okay. He and his son Patrick saw us go into the garage and came in to help us.”
Turning from Savannah to Cedric, Mason said, “Help us, from what?”
Pulling back his hand and nodding, Cedric took a step back. “Mason, my family and I have lived in this city since the very beginning. It’s just me, my son Patrick here, and my wife Veronica. She’s in one of the other suites keeping an eye on the crowd outside the parking garage.”
“So you drove into the garage and forced my friends into your van to help them?”
“Yes.”
“But you left the rest of us behind?”
“We didn’t realize there were others and by the time we could explain who we were and get Savannah and Sean to calm down, we’d already made it into the building.”
“Well, we still have two men out there. Brian and Jack are still in the garage. We need to go back for them.”
Shaking his head, Cedric pointed to the window. “We’re gonna have to wait for a bit. That crowd of Feeders followed you into the garage. That’s why my son and I came for you. You two were lucky you followed us out when you did.”
“So,” Mason said, “our friends are stuck down there and there’s nothing we can do, just wait it out?”
“You go back for your friends and you’ll just end up risking more lives, but the call is yours to make. I can get you to the stairwell that leads to the garage, but that’s as far as my family and I go.”
“Listen, I appreciate you getting us out of that mess down there, but from where I stood it looked like we still had another ten minutes before that crowd hit us.”
Cedric nodded. “Yes, the large group coming from the east wasn’t close enough to do you and your friends any harm, although what you failed to see was the second wave coming up Sixth Street. You nearly ran them down as you exited the garage. Another sixty seconds and you’d have all met your maker right there in that empty lot.”
“Again, I appreciate you sticking your neck out for us, but we’re not done here. We still have two men out there and I’m going to get them, with or without your help.”
Lockwood stood and turned away from the table. He was holding a wall
sized map and pointing to an area along the northern end of the city “Mason, there’s something else, something possibly more critical.”
Mason ran his hand through his hair and attempted to focus. “At the moment, our only priority is getting to Brian and Jack.”
Lockwood held the map up to the morning light now slowly filtering in through the window. “We may know where Megan, Eleanor, and the others are.”
205
Even before he realized that driving through the crowd wasn’t going to be a possibility, Brian let off the gas pedal. Jack had yet to respond and banging around in the bed of the truck wasn’t doing his friend any good. At a complete standstill and with the number of Feeders growing faster than the seconds ticked away, Brian shifted into reverse and began backing toward the elevators.
His neck craned to the left, the concrete supports rushed by in a blur as he sped away from the horde and fought to keep the truck moving in a straight line. He covered the distance much quicker than he’d anticipated and slowed to a stop near the two white SUVs.
Judging from the distance of the approaching mob and their lethargic speed, Brian estimated he’d have no more than thirty seconds. This was it; he had one chance to make this right, one shot to save his friend and himself. He was responsible for Jack’s condition and couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t save him. He needed to do this.
Exiting the cab, he focused only on the task of getting to his friend. Brian didn’t look back as he rushed to the rear of the truck and dropped the tailgate. Sliding Jack to the edge, he moved to a squatting position and lifted him onto his shoulder.
“Ugggh.” Air was forced from Jack’s lungs and with it what sounded like a complaint. He wasn’t yet coherent, but he also wasn’t dead. Brian would rejoice in the small victories later. For now, he struggled to stay upright as he ran toward the white SUVs and beyond that, the stairs.
Continuing to focus on his forward movement, Brian could sense their footsteps growing closer as he slipped between the SUVs. Twisting to pass by the extended side view mirrors, Jack’s upper body clipped the vehicle on the right, sending both men to the pavement.
The miscalculation sent Brian forward and onto his stomach. He ended up underneath the front bumper of the SUV to the left as Jack came down on top of legs. Pulling himself away, he was able to look back past the undercarriage and counted no less than six sets of legs stumbling toward him and Jack.
Rolling over onto his back, Brian reached above his head, grabbed ahold of the top of the bumper and pulled himself free. In doing so, Jack’s head slid off his shoe and skipped against the concrete.
As he moved back to his friend, three of the beasts trailing them had already dropped to the ground and were pushing in on Jack. Brian stepped to the side and dispatched the first by stomping on its head. The second one he pulled the short distance to the retaining wall at the edge of the lot and tossed it over.
Rushing back, two more Feeders had stumbled in between the SUVs and joined the one now straddling Jack. Brian stepped forward, planted his left leg just short of Jack’s head, and kicked it backward into the others. The two foot space between the vehicles began to close in around him as another half dozen poured in from behind.
With a fistful of his friend’s shirt in each hand, Brian exaggerated his movements as he powered back toward the stairwell. The volume in his voice matching the mood of the garage, he pled with Jack. “Let’s go buddy, I need your help!”
Eighteen feet from the stairs and he knew they’d at least reach the door. He finally had enough of a lead on those following that with the slightest bit of luck, he and Jack would live long enough to regret traveling to Blackmore and joining the man who’d only minutes before left them for dead.
Seven feet from the stairs and Brian watched his lead on the horde grow, if only incrementally. The bottleneck between the SUVs had proven to work in his favor. The Feeders coming in from behind took the same path as those that moved ahead of them and as confusion set in, the numbers of those finding another way around only slightly grew.
At the stairwell, Brian pulled Jack the final few feet and propped him against the wall. He turned to the door, gripped the handle and in an instant knew that this was where he and his friend would die.
The railing skipped against his right hand as he led the way down the three flights of stairs. Only using it to keep his balance as he raced Randy to the bottom, Mason tried to put the warnings from Cedric out of his mind. He knew the garage would be filled with Feeders. He knew his friends had probably reached the door to the stairs by now. Although he also knew that he still had two men down there and with the door locked from the inside, there was no room for second guessing the plan.
Reaching the landing for the first floor, the voices from above faded as the door closed. Cedric and his son Patrick waited just inside the lobby that served the third floor and if Mason and Randy were successful in getting back, they’d be ready to help.
Cedric’s last statement pushed Mason to skip the last four steps and make the leap to the concrete pad just inside the door to the garage. “Do not come back through that door if there is even the slightest chance of you not sealing it off. My family and I have followed a strict set of rules for the past year and that’s why we’re still here. If even one of those beasts follows you back through the door, you deal with it right there and then.”
As Randy joined him outside the door, Mason leaned in, put his ear to the door and closed his eyes. Randy began to ask him about the chances of hearing through at least two layers of hardened steel, although Mason simply held his index finger over his lips. “Shhhh.”
Fifteen solid seconds of nothing but his own heart pounding in his ears and Mason pulled away. “Yeah, nothing.”
“Just open it,” Randy said. “There’s no way to know. If there’s trouble, we’ll close it and turn back.”
“I’m going through first,” Mason said. “Follow me to those white SUVs and from there we’ll see if we can spot them. I’m just hoping what Cedric said wasn’t true.”
“You mean about that other group of Feeders; I don’t even remember seeing a second group, do you?”
“No, but he doesn’t seem like he’s lying. I mean, he has no reason to and if he’s right, there isn’t much chance Brian and Jack would have even made it out.”
“Let’s do this then. We go get our boys to safety and then use that map that Lockwood has. I’m going to get Megan back today.”
“And the others.”
“Yes,” Randy said. “And the others.”
Mason drew the pistol from his waistband and stepped forward. Placing his left hand on the panic bar, he looked back at Randy. “Okay?”
Pulling his rifle into his shoulder, Randy stood back against the wall and watched as Mason pushed open the door.
206
His footsteps were slow, almost as if he was asking to be called back. The tall man with the doe-eyed expression could prove to be her only way back to the man she’d grown to love. Her head throbbed at the thought of Randy somewhere out there looking for her and what he must be thinking, the emotions he must be going through. She’d made many mistakes over the last few hours and although her hope of ever seeing her family again was beginning to fade, Megan was far from giving up.
As the sun reached out and touched the city, she asked Eleanor to watch and listen for the other men. Megan again pulled herself up close to the front of her cage and watched as the tall younger man stopped at the door to the building. “HEY!”
He didn’t turn, although he slid his hand away from the door knob and slumped his shoulders.
Megan could only watch as the tall man stood unmoving, staring back at the door that he obviously wanted nothing more than to walk through. A lump rose in her throat as she turned to Eleanor and furrowed her brow. Back to the tall man, she demanded his attention yet again. “I know who you are. You are the one who talked to Sean, my brother. He told me about you and I know you’re no
t like the others.”
Another five seconds and he turned and started back toward her. Shaking his head, he moved in a straight line to her cage and gripped the corner as he squatted only inches from her. “You don’t know me. You couldn’t, no one does.”
“I know you aren’t like the others, but that’s not all. You don’t belong here. These people aren’t your family. I can tell.”
“Listen lady,” he said. “I can tell when someone is trying to play me. You have no idea who I was before the world went to hell. For all you know, I could have been a psychologist and all these head games could be working against you. How do you know I’m not actually turning this around on you and using what I know to break you down?”
“I guess you’re right and I’m sorry. You’ve been the only one who’s shown us any compassion and I should be thanking you.”
“You’re doing it again; you’re trying to find out what makes me human so you can use it against me.”
“Wow,” Megan said. “You’re good, and since we’re not holding anything back, I’ll be honest with you.”
“Okay?”
“I don’t trust any of you. Not you, not Tobias, and especially not that wretched thing stuck in the wheelchair. We don’t know why you’re holding us here and just want to be let go. We need to help our friends and we want to get the children back.”
“Listen Megan, I am the last guy here that you’d want on your side. I have no authority to do anything. These men saved my life and I owe them. I can’t cross them. And if I did, they’d kill me.”
“What’s your name?”
“Why on earth would I tell—”
“I already know that animal’s name and if Tobias doesn’t care, why should you? It isn’t like just because I know your name that we’ll automatically become best friends. I’d just like to know who it is that’s holding me captive. Also, when our friends come for us, I’ll be able to let them know who to spare.”
