Z-Railed

by Holcomb, Joshua

  Pacing back and forth, he whispered forcefully, "What if it was Jackie? I can't let this happen! I can't.” He took a deep breath, controlled himself, and then walked quietly into the room.

  "I'm going first," said a man with long greasy black hair, eagerly undoing his belt and jeans.

  "No one's going anywhere," Franklin said sternly in a low voice, still standing in the door way. The men jumped and scrambled around for a second before turning to look at him.

  "Who are you?! Get out of here!" said the man with the shaved head.

  "Ever hear the song, 'The Coward of the County'?" said Franklin as he stepped inside, shutting the door and locking it. He crossed his arms and stood with his feet about shoulder width apart.

  "Look, crazy guy!" said the man with black hair with a tinge of fear in his voice. "I don't know what song you're talking about, and I don't care, but if you don't get out of here, I'm going to--"

  "You're going to what?" Franklin sneered. He uncrossed his arms and clenched his fists at his side. "Neither of you are going to touch that woman."

  The two men looked at each other and then rushed Franklin. Franklin caught the bald man in the jaw with his right hand but the long haired man hit him in the midsection with a flying tackle, sharply knocking the air out of him in a low hiss. The man drove him straight to the floor and then tried to stand up. Struggling to suck in even a tiny bit of oxygen, Franklin managed to grab him by the hair as he was still bent over and drove his right knee hard into his face, hearing a satisfying crack as his hard knee destroyed the cartilage in his nose. Franklin sneered again as he shoved the man away with disgust, but then caught a boot to the side of the head from the baldy. He rolled over instinctually, and tried to stand but the kick muddled his senses and ruined his balance, dropping him back to his knees. Baldy kicked him again in the ribs, driving the air out of Franklin once again and dropping him to the floor.

  "You never should have tried to stop us," Baldy said gruffly, bending down and putting Franklin in a headlock. Franklin's eyes felt like they were going to burst out of his head as Baldy bore down, tightening his arm around Franklin's neck.

  "Go to sleep now," he heard in the distance as the room spun and faded to black. Baldy dropped Franklin's head unceremoniously to the concrete floor with a clunk and stood up. He rubbed his jaw where Franklin had caught him with the right hook.

  "He must have had a brick in his hand. Jeff, you ok?"

  The long haired man held a paper towel to his nose with his right hand. "He broke it!"

  "Well, you sit down there and recover. You might like to watch anyway," Baldy said chuckling as he walked back towards the woman. He undid his belt and began talking to the woman.

  "That man made it worse for you, little lady. Now I'm all worked up and need some real fun." He shoved a gag in her mouth and laughed at the fear in her eyes.

  "Don't worry, little lady, I'm going to take good care of you. Jeffy over there is going to watch and if he feels up to it, take his turn after I'm done," Baldy said, continuing his monologue. He got up really close to her face, and she could smell tuna on his breath from lunch. She turned her head away, but he grabbed her hair and yanked it back.

  "Don't try to hide from me. We're going slow now, because of your little friend on the floor over there." He glanced over at Franklin still lying on the floor and drooling a little puddle on the dusty concrete. "I'll take care of him later. Wouldn't you like that? Huh?"

  He turned his attention back to the woman. "Jeffy, you'll enjoy this." Jeff laughed, and then cried out in pain as he still held the towel to his face.

  Franklin slowly returned to consciousness. Not moving at first, he just laid there. His first thought was that he was still on the train, waking up from his nap, but the headache didn't make sense. He felt the drool wetting his cheek and sat up on his elbows. Concrete? he thought. He wiped his cheek on his shoulder and became aware of talking going on in the vicinity, but he couldn't determine what was being said. He looked over and saw Baldy cutting the woman's clothes off with a big pair of dull scissors, struggling with slicing through the seams and cursing at the slowness of it. He then looked over at Jeff, who was watching with great anticipation.

  He groaned inwardly and tried to push through the fogginess in his head. He sluggishly sat up and stared at the scene in front of him. The woman turned her head and looked right at Franklin. Fear and hopelessness in her eyes spoke more than any words could describe. A sudden image of Jackie flooded his brain, and he thought about the possibility of what these men might have done to her. Hatred and rage flowed over his body like a warm sweater on a cold day and pushed the fogginess completely aside. He got to his feet quietly and softly strode over behind Jeff. He looked at him for a second, then grabbed his head with both hands and snapped his neck.

  Baldy jumped at the sound of the bones snapping and turned around in surprise. Franklin looked right at him as he shoved Jeff's body over with his left hand.

  "Oops. Was that your friend?"

  Baldy's face turned purple with rage and he rushed at Franklin again, this time with scissors raised high. Franklin deftly dodged the attack and tripped him with a right foot, shoving him down as he fell. The scissors clattered across the concrete floor and Franklin dropped onto his back.

  "This is how you do a headlock," he growled hoarsely at Baldy. He shoved his right arm around his neck and pulled back, simultaneously pushing down the back of his head with his left. "Now you go to sleep. Forever." Baldy clawed and scrambled and flailed, but soon he was still. Franklin held on for a full sixty seconds later just to be sure and then released. He checked both their pulses for his own peace of mind and then rose to help the woman.

  "Are you ok?" he whispered huskily. He carefully took the gag out of her mouth.

  "Thank you! Thank you!" she exclaimed. "I---I---" she stuttered and then burst into tears.

  "It's all over. They're gone," he reassured her as he untied the rope around her wrists and helped her do the ones at her ankles.

  He pointed at a pair of coveralls hanging on a hook on the wall. "Would you like those over there?" he asked softly. She nodded and wiped her eyes. He grabbed the coveralls and helped her put them on.

  "Now we need to get out of here. Sooner or later, those guys are going to be missed, and we don't want to be here when that happens. Savvy? I'm Franklin, by the way."

  "I'm Audrey. Why did you help me?"

  "I'm looking for my wife and friends. I just-- I can't let something like that happen. To anybody. I'd hope someone would do the same for the ones I love. They were kidnapped recently like you were."

  She looked at him with a great sadness in her eyes and nodded in understanding. "Let's go."

  * * *

  Audrey followed close behind Franklin, moving quickly through the hallways, ducking into rooms when sounds of footsteps or talking reached their ears. Ever on the search for Jackie, Franklin was trying his hardest to find the dormitory style housing he had heard one worker mention in passing. They passed by a window on the edge of the building when Audrey poked Franklin in the ribs.

  "Over there," she hissed, pointing with her other hand.

  Franklin peeked over the ledge and saw a building with a makeshift painted sign marked "HOUSING."

  "That's it!" he whispered. "You don't have to come with me if you want. I'm going to make a heck of an entrance."

  "Oh, I'm coming. I want to destroy this place," she said, a hardness solidifying her voice.

  Franklin nodded and they moved quickly over the manicured lawn to the marked building. Once inside, they entered a large open lobby with people relaxing, watching movies, or talking to their friends. No one noticed Audrey and Franklin as they strolled in. Franklin looked around the lobby. It was tall, two stories, with a walking balcony on the second floor.

  "Up there. That's where I'm going," Franklin said to Audrey, gesturing to the balcony.

  They found a stairwell and walked to the top. A man in a security
uniform stopped them at the door and with a bored voice said, "Passes please." Audrey looked at Franklin with a questioning look, and Franklin just grinned back at her. With a quick motion, he shoved the guard back into the door, pressing the latch and swinging it wide open. Stooping down, he grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and lifted him up, pushing him halfway over the balcony railing. Audrey grabbed the man’s belt to stabilize him as he kicked and screamed.

  He glanced down at the guard’s name tag. "Stay still, Jermaine," he growled. "Or you'll have a very bad day." The guard quieted down immediately, save for a few sniffles.

  "Listen up! Do I have your attention?!" Franklin bellowed. Everyone froze and gasped as they stared up at the scene above them, their faces a mixture of fear, concern, and curiosity.

  "I just need one thing!" he shouted. "My wife! Find me her, and I leave everyone alone! Jackie Moore is her name!"

  Several people exchanged glances, and a short, thick woman with cropped grayish, black hair stood up quickly off a wicker couch. "I know her, but you must tell me your name and something only she would know!" she yelled back up at him.

  A glint of hope flashed in Franklin's eyes and a faint smile creased the corner of his mouth. "When she sleeps, her left foot twitches in rhythm with her breathing! Oh, and it's Franklin. She'll know it's me. And your name?"

  She pointed her short index finger up at him. "Tracy! You better not hurt her or that man up there, or I'll kill you myself!" She turned to leave. "Just saying!"

  Tracy briskly walked out and headed straight for the infirmary. Several times, someone tried to stop her to ask what was going on, but she stepped aside and continued onward, focused solely on the task at hand. Reaching the infirmary, she shoved open the swinging doors and stomped inside.

  A broad-shouldered male nurse stepped in front of Tracy. "You can't be back here," he reprimanded.

  Tracy leaned and shouted around him. "Jackie! Jackie! I need you now! Get that skinny butt out here!"

  In a patient's room, Jackie heard Tracy's orders and laid the old man's head gently down onto the pillow. "Ok, Mr. Ralph. Just take it easy, and I'll be back to check up on you later." She smiled at him warmly and plucked the purple gloves off her hands with a snap. Tossing the gloves in the proper receptacle on her way out the door, she hurried to Tracy.

  "It's ok, Walter," she assured the burly nurse, as she reached him. She ushered Tracy out of the room and looked at her curiously.

  Tracy grabbed Jackie by the shoulders and looked her square in the eye. "When you sleep, does your left foot twitch in rhythm while you sleep, and if it does, who would know that?"

  Jackie laughed. "It does! My husband, Franklin, told me that it would do that all the time. He, actually, told me once that he was going to tie it down to the bed and--and--." She paused for a second and the smile left her lips. "Wait. How do you know that?"

  Tracy smiled happily and stepped to the side with her right hand on Jackie's back. "There's someone you should see. Come with me, honey." Jackie gave her a puzzled look and walked slowly alongside her. "Hurry, hurry!" Tracy urged. “This is just like that movie on tv. Oh goody!”

  Jackie gave her another bewildered look and then stepped into the lobby, instantly feeling the stares of everyone burning into her. She was about to open her mouth when a loud "Hey, you!” shattered her thoughts. Recognizing the voice, she couldn't believe her ears, but she turned to let her eyes do what her ears could not convince her.

  "Babe! Is that really you?" She ran directly underneath him, spun around looking for the way up, and then disappeared in the stairwell.

  Franklin helped the security guard back to his feet and smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt. "No hard feelings, man. I wasn't going to hurt you. Just needed some help." Just as soon as he turned around, a speeding Jackie slammed into him, staggering him backward, embracing him.

  "Jackie," he whispered through the tears dripping off his cheeks into her hair, "I thought I'd lost you." Jackie didn't respond as she just sobbed harder and squeezed her husband tighter. They were in their own little bubble, not noticing the crowd gathering around them. The crowd almost reverently whispered questions to Audrey, and she replied solemnly with only what she knew, the story of how Franklin saved her while looking for his wife. Tracy gave her a motherly hug, tears streaming down her face.

  Finally, Jackie lifted her head from where she had buried it in Franklin's shoulder and whispered, "Our little boy?"

  A shadow passed over Franklin's eyes as he remembered his son, Seth, and his heart ached to see him again as well. "He's fine, babe. I left him with Jacob right before I went after you."

  Still embracing her, he leaned back and switched gears. "Katelyn? Is she here?"

  Jackie shook her head. "She disappeared one night. No one knows why or where to, but we've been worried. Jesse's here, though."

  "Jesse made it?!" Franklin exclaimed happily.

  Jackie looked down as she replied, "He’s not the same. I don't think you're going to like his change."

  Just then, as if he heard his name, Jesse, leading a group of five men, burst through the stairwell and sauntered up to where Franklin and Jackie were still locked in each other's arms. He looked at the guard that Franklin had assaulted and gestured towards Franklin.

  "I need you to cuff this man!" he ordered. The guard looked confused and drew out his cuffs anyway, but stood frozen. "Do it now!" he roared.

  Franklin let go of Jackie and moved in front of her, a bewildered look on his face. "Buddy, are you ok? What's going on?"

  Jesse stepped right up to Franklin's face as two of his men grabbed one of Franklin’s arms each. "Listen, before now, you were the boss. We hopped when you said to hop. But now--," he paused and jabbed a finger hard into Franklin's chest. "But now, I am the boss! You jump when I say jump! You go when I say go--And I say go! We are setting up a new society here! And I know you won’t buy into it!"

  Franklin's expression changed from bewilderment to anger. "Screw your new society and all that’s a part of it! I just found Jackie and that’s all I want! You can't take me from her again! We'll leave right now if we need to!"

  Jesse sneered. "Oh, you think I'm going to let her leave? We have a good thing going here at this place. A thing that makes sense. Something that isn't burdened by whatever it is you had us doing. We are rebuilding society the way it ought to be done--the powerful and profitable rule the weak and unproductive! She can't leave. We use her here. You're merely a problem to eliminate."

  Franklin's eyes narrowed and darkened with rage. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but this cannot--is not--right! You do whatever it is you want to do here, but--" he tried to step closer to Jesse but was firmly held back by the men holding him. "But so help me God, I will find you and destroy you and everything it is you're trying to accomplish if you don't let both of us go right now!"

  Jesse just laughed and turned his back on him. "You guys know what to do. And take her back to her job." With a wave of his hand, he dismissed them and then exited through the stairwell. Franklin struggled to free himself, but their grip was too strong. Two other men grabbed hold of Jackie and began leading her, struggling, back to the infirmary, tears streaming down her face in frustration, anger, and sadness.

  "You can't do this!" Franklin roared, struggling to free himself. A third man wordlessly walked up to him and jabbed a stun gun in his back, quickly silencing his protests and blacking him out yet again.

  * * *

  The scent of moist earth tickled at Franklin's nose and awakened his consciousness. Lying face down on a hard-packed bare patch of ground, he surmised that he was outside. He tried to move his hands to his sides to push himself up, but was hindered by the twisted knots of a nylon rope. Rolling to his back, he could see that his feet too were bound. Looking beyond his feet, two of the men that had walked in with Jesse were digging a large hole. The cold reality of what he was facing settled on Franklin's heart, and he rolled back to his stomach before the
men could see him. Scanning the surface of the bare ground, he could see a few sticks and pebbles but nothing of use. He looked to his right side and saw a sharp piece of limestone protruding from the dirt at the edge of some short cropped grass. Rolling onto his back once again, Franklin glanced at the men and satisfied that they were still busy, he turned himself over until his back lay right next to the rock. In what seemed like an eternity, but was more like five minutes, he sliced the rope with the rock and went to work with the binding around his ankles. He was lost in deep concentration as he struggled to loosen them when a shadow passed over him.

  "Jesse did say you were a tricky one," said the man holding the shovel. The other one merely grunted in agreement. Franklin hunched his shoulders and didn't even bother looking up as they bound him and then grasped him by his shirt under his armpits and dragged him to the freshly dug hole. Headfirst, they tossed him in, his face implanting itself in the soft clay. Clods of dirt rained down on his back as the two chucked shovelful after shovelful on top of him. Suddenly, there was a pause. Faintly, Franklin could hear the snarl of several rotters.

  "Get 'em!" Franklin yelled, receiving a mouthful of dirt for his efforts.

  "Shut up!" was the answer he got. "We took care of them with the shovels. Lie still." Franklin felt a forceful thump on the broad part of his back with the flat of the shovel to remind him who was in control. He grimaced, but lay still as he was told. Dejected and solidly bound, he resigned himself to his fate. Quickly, darkness settled in as the soil blocked out the sun, and Franklin could feel his own hot breath surrounding his face.

  Only a couple minutes passed from the time he was tossed in before Franklin could faintly hear the men drive away on their four-wheeler. Trying so hard to keep the panic at bay that was knocking at the edge of his mind, he closed his eyes to calm himself and forced himself to take the deepest, slowest breath possible. He tried to push out of his mind that rescue was unlikely, but he still held out hope and minimized his movements to preserve as much oxygen as possible. Suddenly, he heard a scraping movement above him.