by Jeff Olah
As Tobias reached the elevator doors, the bell rang and the doors parted. Inside Marvin lay in a pool of his own blood and Cory was being used as cover by a yet unknown assailant. As the silhouetted figure pushed Cory out into the hall, he stepped forward and pointed his weapon at Tobias.
“You changed the rules.” It was Cedric. His once calm demeanor now gone, he stepped to the side and now addressed Goodwin. “These people don’t deserve this; they have done nothing to you. I’m not living in a town where this happens.”
With his free hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out two sets of keys. Turning to Cory he said, “Free them, all of them.”
Tobias started toward him and Cedric fired a warning shot that buried itself in the wall just to the left of the larger man’s head. “Next time I won’t miss.” Back to Cory he said, “Now, release them.”
Cory moved quickly as Tobias stood at the door seething. The younger man made quick work of the three sets of locks. He then cut away the zip ties and stepped back.
Out of the opposite corner of the room, Goodwin moved for the weapon at the edge of his desk as Mason, Randy, and Sean slowly got to their feet. Still fighting the numbness along his left side, Mason hobbled over to the desk and grabbed the pistol away from Goodwin.
“Cory,” Cedric said. “You need to leave, right now.” He turned to Mason. “You okay with that?”
“I don’t know who he is, so I guess I don’t have an issue with it.” Turning to the yet unknown individual, Mason said, “But if you come anywhere near our people, we will kill you on sight.”
Cory quickly drifted toward the door and then out of the room, avoiding eye contact with Tobias as he ran to the stairwell.
Tobias watched as the younger man disappeared and then addressed the room. “You’re gonna have to kill me, there is no way I’m leaving—”
Cedric placed his weapon against Tobias’s head, ending his speech. He then turned to Mason and handed him the first set of keys. “Blue sports car, first level of the garage.”
To Randy, he tossed the second set of keys, “Black SUV, it’s also on the first level and I’ve taken the liberty of throwing your black duffle bag into the back seat.”
Randy leaned in and shook Cedric’s hand. “You saved us. Thank you.” Then turning to Mason he said, “I’m going after the others, no time to explain. We’ll meet at you at Harbor Crest in the next few hours, yes?”
“Yes, go.” And as Randy started toward the hall with Sean close behind, Mason said, “Randy, back in the van, why were you counting?”
Stopping at the door, Randy paused. “I wanted to know how long it would take me to get back to Megan… and to kill Blake.”
238
As Blake and his brother continued to struggle out in the hall, Savannah moved to the far side of the room and leaned into the door. “Locked.” Quickly scanning the area for an alternate plan, she guided the other three women into the corner and watched as three rooms over, the massive rolling door began to climb.
The number of Feeders pouring in from the rear yard doubled with each passing second, until the area beyond the glass enclosure began to fade. Body on body, they pushed and pulled at the transparent barrier until the first few found the opening and moved through the door.
Pulling Elizabeth into her chest, Savannah shielded her from the inevitable demise of her husband only a few feet away. She spoke quietly into her ear as Megan and Eleanor huddled close. “We’re gonna get out of here, just stay with me. I need you to—”
Her words were cut short as the opened door between their room and Jack’s also caught the attention of the masses. Slowly cutting off their escape route, the women had only minutes before the maze would be overrun.
Looking out into the hall, Savannah spotted Blake now standing over his brother. He appeared to be scolding his sibling and before turning and walking away, he kicked the much larger man repeatedly. Striding swiftly in the opposite direction, he made eye contact with the women and smiled.
Megan also spotted the conflict and was the first to put words to his actions. “He just beat one of his own, what’s he want now?”
“He’s only one man and there are four of us. If he enters this room, we fight together. We take that little bastard down.”
With Cedric at door to the stairwell and Tobias seated alongside his uncle, Mason stood in between the two rooms. His legs having acclimated to no longer being zip-tied to the makeshift personal prison, the nagging pain stemming from his left hand again took center stage.
Sliding the nine millimeter into the pit of his arm, Mason offered Cedric his right hand. “I could never hope to repay you for all that you’ve done. You’ve saved my life twice now in the last twenty-four hours. Thank you.”
Cedric simply nodded and opened the door.
“What will you do,” Mason asked. “You and your family?”
“I think we are going to stay put. I don’t suspect we will be having any more problems like this.”
“I don’t suspect you will.”
“You and the others,” Cedric said. “Where will you go?”
“We’re heading north, to the old Harbor Crest Mall. From there it’s anyone’s guess. We’d love for you to follow us out of here.”
“I think we’ll stay put. The children should be safe here, well, as safe as we can make it. And as attached to Sheila as they are, it’s helpful that she’s also staying.”
“Good luck, my friend, this city belongs to you now.”
Cedric stepped into the stairwell. “You too, Mason, you too.” The door closed and his new friend was gone.
Giving pause, Mason stood with his back to the room and spoke to Tobias. “Say goodbye to your uncle, I won’t give you a second chance.”
The garage was dark and moving through the many downed Feeders had Sean a bit out of sorts. He followed closely behind Randy as they made their way into the oversized SUV and then slid into the passenger seat as they drove out into the night. “Randy, what are we doing?”
“Going to get your sister.”
“And the others?”
Randy had yet to put thought into anything beyond getting back to Megan. He ran through the plan in his mind as he and Sean made their way down the stairwell, although as they sat with the engine running and the headlights spilling out onto Sixth Street, time felt as though it was freefalling. “Yes, we’re going back to get everyone. No one gets left behind.”
“What are you doing?” Sean asked as the sunroof slid open.
“Grab a rifle from the bag,” Randy said. “I need you to stand up through the opening and take out anyone or anything that gets in our way.”
“You’re kidding right?”
“No, I need you to clear a path for me. The streets are filling up; we don’t have time to debate. If we get stuck, we’ll lose any chance we have at this, just do it.”
Shaking his head, Sean grabbed a weapon and braced his feet against the back seat. Slowly he maneuvered through the opening and rested his arms on the roof. “Let’s go,” he said. “Just don’t crash into anything, okay?”
Rolling out onto the street, Randy said, “Shoot anything that looks like it’s gonna be a problem. Let me know when you need to reload. I’ll hand you what you need.”
Sean slapped the roof twice and sighted his first three targets. The night vision scope gave him the advantage nearly removed by Randy as he increased the speed of the SUV. Even miniscule imperfections in the road made for wasted shots and missed opportunities. Of the twenty-two rounds fired since leaving the parking garage, only half found their target.
“Ten seconds,” Randy shouted. “Then you’re back in here. The impact isn’t going to be pretty.”
“Impact?”
Less than two hundred yards from the station and with the road ahead clear of Feeders, save for the few still left on the sidewalks, Sean shifted his focus. He sighted the doors to the lobby as Randy called for him.
“Let’s go kid, you�
��re done.”
“Almost, just a few more seconds.”
“No, I need you back inside now.”
“Just give me five seconds.”
“You don’t even have two seconds; I need you back in here, now.”
Sean ignored Randy’s demands as the building grew closer. He squeezed off two shots and then waited. He watched through the scope as Randy’s words were there and then faded quickly. Up over the curb and racing through the empty lot, the twin doors sitting less than thirty yards away, exploded inward. Sean didn’t flinch.
As the SUV banked left and then back to the right, Sean slipped the rifle through the sunroof. “Oh no,” he said.
“Too late kid, just hold on tight.” Although he knew better, Randy locked out his arms and closed his eyes as the SUV sped through the opening and into the rear of the building.
239
Blackmore. That was where he first heard the name Marcus Goodwin. It was also where he’d hoped to forget the man and his infamous legacy. He wanted to once and for all leave behind the pain that man and that location meant to him. To start over, to find something good in this world where there wasn’t any to be found.
The never-ending days that bled into the sleepless nights, having to recall every detail. He’d hoped that version of his life had been filed away, although here now, he wasn’t sure. Mason would never get back the time wasted on the monster sitting behind the table, but today he was intent on stopping the clock.
Marcus Goodwin wouldn’t get another page, not another paragraph, and not one more word in this story. Mason had already written the ending, although through forces he had yet to discover, the book was still open. The pages were worn and creased, but didn’t deserve a second read through. This was it.
Moving purposefully across the room, Mason stood where he once sat bound to the chair. Peering down at his injured hand as it continued to drip, Mason took a deep breath. “Tobias, I need you to move to the side.”
The larger man stood between the table and his uncle, begging Mason to make a move. He didn’t speak, although his intent was clear.
“Okay,” Mason said. “We’ll do this the hard way.” He raised the nine millimeter, took one step closer to the table and fired a single round into the massive sphere that was Tobias’s shoulder.
Back and to the left, Tobias slammed into the wall and slid to the ground. Mason moved in swiftly, spun to the right and kicked the larger man in the back of the neck. Before Mason could come in for another strike, the two-hundred-eighty pound beast crumbled to the floor.
Mason lifted his weapon once again and turned to face Goodwin.
The man who murdered his family rolled forward in his chair. “You’re all already dead.”
“Not yet,” Mason said as he placed the pistol firmly against Marcus Goodwin’s forehead and pulled the trigger.
The SUV took on much less damage than the interior of the police station. Walls of Plexiglas were pushed away from the rolling doors and had trapped at least two dozen Feeders in the room with Jack. Randy shifted the SUV into park and scanned the remaining areas of the maze.
Stretching from side to side, Randy tested his battered body. He pushed his legs into the floorboard and ran his hand along his face and neck—all clear. Other than a few random bruises that were sure to form in the coming hours, he appeared to have escaped any real injury.
Retrieving the rifle Sean dropped into the vehicle as they slammed into the translucent structure, Randy placed it against the passenger door and turned to the boy. Grabbing Sean’s left leg, he knew the answer, but asked anyway. “You okay, buddy?”
Slowly sliding back into the vehicle, Sean sat forward and vomited onto his feet. He held his stomach and peered out into the partially destroyed building. “What the hell did you do?”
“We’re in,” Randy said. “And we have maybe five minutes to get them out. I need you back on that rifle and covering me. I’m going in.”
“Through where?”
With the narrow passage to his friends no longer accessible, Randy scanned the building for an alternate route. “I don’t know, but I’m going.”
Smoke rising from the far side of the building told him there’d be company soon. Blake and his followers had yet to show themselves, although they were here, most likely hidden and waiting to strike, but here nonetheless. And although he currently had two priorities, the most pressing was the woman he’d just spotted. “Megan.”
“Where?” Sean asked.
Randy retrieved a pair of handguns from the black duffle bag and opened the door. “If you see Blake or any of his men, shoot them. Not in the chest or the legs or the arms. Head shots only, shoot to kill. Can you do that?”
Sean didn’t blink. He swallowed the bile at the back of his throat and grabbed the rifle from the front seat. “Yes, go get my sister.”
Closing the door and heading for the left side of the maze, Randy kept his head down. Having a better vantage once inside the building, another route revealed itself. Not only had the SUV partially destroyed the maze, it also pushed in the wall leading to the north hallway.
Before sliding through the opening, Randy fired on three Feeders from less than two feet away. They fell one on top of the other, creating a small obstacle for the others pushing in from behind. This gave him a few seconds to put some space between himself and the larger group of Feeders now headed his way.
Down the hall and to the right, Randy spotted three of Blake’s men. The former dispatch office turned bedroom housed six beds and a portable refrigerator. Two of the men were still lying in their beds when they were overrun by a pack of eight Feeders. The third made it as far as the door before being dragged back into the room and being devoured by the hungry crowd. As two of the beasts noticed Randy out in the hall, he simply reached in and closed the door.
Moving further into the smoke filled building, Randy came to the lobby. Two men stood at the door looking out into the night and trying to make sense of the destroyed entrance. As they turned and noticed Randy, both men moved for their weapons. Neither was successful.
Randy only fired two shots, each terminating its intended target.
Again to the right, Randy turned and started up the hall that led to the entrance to the maze. The smoke now much less prevalent than in other areas of the building, he came upon another member of Blake’s clan. Face down and bleeding, Randy looked down and saw the rise and fall of his chest. This was not the man he was here to see and at the moment posed no threat.
“Sleep it off,” Randy said as the space three rooms over erupted in gunfire.
A quick sprint to the next door found him face to face with Blake. The man who’d taken pleasure in torturing the people he loved now had them cowering in the corner and held his weapon to Megan’s head.
Randy raised his gun. “Let them go, and I might just let you live.”
“I don’t think you’re seeing the big picture here,” Blake said. “You could kill me, but how many of your friends do you think I will take out before I hit the ground?”
“You’re done, Blake; all of your men are dead. You’re out of options, so just let them go and save yourself.”
Blake drew a line from Megan’s forehead to the corner of her lips. He pressed down on the barrel until she opened her mouth and took it in. “I bet if I pull the trigger, we end up with a few less—”
In the doorway behind Randy, there was movement, and then a single gunshot. As Blake turned toward the gunfire, Randy moved in. He caught the madman just below the armpit driving both he and Blake into the wall. As Randy leaned back onto his knees and cocked back his right arm, he was caught off guard by the lack of resistance the man below was offering.
Taking the first swing, his fist met a limp target as Blake’s head folded back in the direction of the blow. He came again, this time with only half the fury of the first strike. Again no response, no struggle and no life.
Blake was gone. He was dead before his body slamme
d to the ground. And as Randy pulled himself off the blood stained concrete, Sean appeared at the door. With one shot, the boy had ended the confrontation and saved the lives of six people. He saved his family, but he also saved himself.
240
Before Goodwin flopped backward and crashed onto the cheap carpeting, Mason turned his weapon on the much larger man. Tobias moved quickly for a man of his size and also for someone who’d just taken a severe blow to the back of the neck. Mason stepped to the side and Tobias collided with his uncle’s chair, sending him sideways into the table and then to the ground at Mason’s feet.
Lining up a shot, Mason fired once again. Tobias growled as the bullet tore through his left hand, giving it much the same look Mason already sported.
“Hurts worse than it looks, don’t it?”
Tobias pushed away from the floor. He didn’t speak, although his response was clear. Raising his injured hand, he stared into Mason’s eyes. Without flinching, he slammed what was left of his fist down onto the table, obliterating the right corner.
Backing further into the room, Mason felt nauseous and the beads of sweat running along his upper back turned to ice. He realized that his initial plan to make this man feel the same pain he and his uncle had inflicted on humanity and more importantly Mason’s family, may not have been the right decision.
The beast standing before him appeared to enjoy this back and forth, almost wanting it to continue. Snarling, he started toward Mason, moving with a purpose, as if he was asked to come forward. Quicker with each step, Tobias nodded as Mason backed toward the hall. “Why don’t you put that gun down and let’s settle this like real men?”
The thought of going hand-to-hand with Tobias was nearly comical. Even at his best and with the bigger man injured, he knew he wouldn’t last more than thirty seconds. Tobias outweighed him by at least sixty pounds, and the disparity in their strength to weight ratio would certainly also fall in favor of the muscled freak.
