by Lucas Coon
"He needs to leave…." He was still going to push it?
"He's fine to stay. I said drop your damn weapon." Darren obviously wasn't having any of this.
"He can't stay! There's not enough here!" This was less angry and more worried.
"You have three seconds to drop that before I paint the ceiling with the contents of your skull." This was enough to get the big man to drop his gun. "Mitchell, grab it." Mitchell knelt forward and grabbed the gun from the floor. The trio walked back over to the cubicle where Abram and his wife were staying, Abram keeping his hands in the air the entire trip. When they got back to the make-shift room, his wife screeched in shock. Mitchell didn't blame her, there was a powerful weapon pointed directly at her husband.
"What are you doing? Oh my god!" She quickly became shaken in fear.
"Quiet, Aya!" Her husband commanded her to be quiet. She sank back to where she was.
"Why were you trying to kill Mitchell? What did he do to you?" Darren's voice became more demanding than earlier.
"He can't stay! You know there isn't enough here for us, and with him here we'll be dead even quicker!" This was obviously a resource issue. "We can't support this many people off the amount of food that's here, let alone add another person! Are you crazy!?" Abram became irate at his own words. It became obvious to Mitchell that no one had gone to find resources at all since they got there. What was in the kitchen from day zero were all the provisions they had to last them however long it would be until it was safe.
Mitchell realized that this was his fault. Had he not seen the window and trotted in like he deserved hospitality, this wouldn't have happened.
"Darren, if there's not enough for everyone, I'll leave." Mitchell spoke quietly and honestly. "I'm not going to be the reason your family and this couple starves. You guys are families, and I'm just, well, I'm just me. I'm not going to force you all out of a safe area to find food if you don't have to. We're all just trying to live here; just trying to survive. God forbid that I encroach on anyone else's ability to do that. I appreciate it and all, but…. I'll just grab my bag and go. Lower your gun, man. Abram is right." Mitchell patted Darren on the shoulder and turned to walk away.
"Mitchell, stop. You're not going anywhere. These two are leaving instead." This was a shocking statement to come out of Darren's mouth.
"What? You can't be serious!" Abram loudly exclaimed.
"Yeah, Darren, that's not necessary I-"
“How long until it was me on the other end of that gun Mitchell? How much longer would it have been until this man cornered me and aimed a gun at my head, or worse, at Lilly, to intimidate us and force us out? Then what? Had that happened, my wife, my daughter, or myself, we'd be dead. He doesn't care. This is the exact kind of person that you should avoid in tragedies; those that will do anything and everything for themselves. This man is the epitome of the selfishness of our society, and dammit I'm not going to let him turn around and harm me or my family. I swore I wouldn't let anything hurt them, and I made a promise to Lilly that I'd protect her. He's forced my hand. Yeah, we're running low on food, but so what? We'll find a way. Turning on each other like he did will not solve the problem, it causes people to get killed pointlessly, and I think there are enough people that have been killed over the past few days! I'm only going to repeat myself once; Abram, Aya, leave, now!" Arguing with him was futile at this point; he had made up his mind, and he had a valid point, it could have been him, Kayla, or Lilly in Mitchell's position. The only difference would've been that there would have been nobody to come to their rescue as he had saved Mitchell.
Mitchell and Darren stood back as they gathered their belongings. It was hard for Mitchell to watch this play out, but he knew it was what had to be done. It was clear that this isn't how the situation should have ended, nor is it what anybody wanted. As they shoved the remainder of their belongings into their tattered duffel bag, they expressed their anger through passive aggressive actions; grunts, heavy sighs, and forceful motion. It all seemed kind of childish to Mitchell. 'Abram is the reason that they are in this mess. Had he not taken the course of action that he had, this wouldn't have occurred.' Or was it Mitchell's fault? He just followed the signs, it's not like he intentionally barged into the office building with intent to deplete their supply stock at a quicker rate than anticipated. Or was this all Darren's doing? Was he too courteous and hospitable? Maybe he shouldn't have been so polite to this random stranger. Maybe they shouldn't have painted the sign on the window, though that could've happened prior to Abram and his wife arriving. They could've also done it without regards to their supply stock, and simply wanted to help people that were out there. Maybe, in the end, it was nobody's fault. Maybe it was just some sort of random, twisted, fate-like, circumstantial coincidence that crammed these six people on to the third floor of an office building. In the end, it was impossible to pin-point exactly who was to blame, or what caused it all to come to where it was.
As they were packing, Mitchell pulled the picture off the pin hooked to the wall and handed it to Abram. It was a gesture intending to show that he didn't want this. Abram looked at Mitchell dishearteningly, but this quickly faded to a look of anger as he snatched to picture out of his hand.
"What happened to them?" Mitchell asked. He knew that now wasn't the best time to impose, but he genuinely wanted to know. "I've lost someone important to me as well. At least, to the extent that I have no idea if she's alive or if she's now one of them. I was just wondering, what happened to them?" This caused Abram to pause. He didn't know why this man was asking about his sons, but by god he was going to answer him.
"They were killed." He gave him the short version.
"How?" Mitchell prodded further. He was never one to know when to stop asking the questions. Why was he asking? Was he trying to stir up emotion in him?
"They were killed by the monsters out there. Slaughtered. Eaten. Probably infected themselves. Aya and I were at home waiting for the all notice to evacuate over the news when they told everyone to stay indoors. They were at their school. We waited and waited but the call never came, and I wasn't going to wait around to become a meal for those bastards. We went to their school. We assumed they were all told to stay as well. When we got there, it was a mess. There were bodies everywhere; teachers, instructors, adults, children, those monsters don't discriminate. We broke down the door; they'd locked it from the inside, and went searching. There wasn't anyone in there that was alive. It was the most horrifying thing I had ever seen in my entire life." While his response was sharp, it was obvious that it was sincere. He wasn't able to protect his family and this probably tore him apart inside.
"So, you didn’t find them in the school?" Abram was taken aback by this inquiry.
"What? No I didn't find their bodies, if that's what you're implying!"
"So they may still be out there Abram. Don't let that go. I lost my wife out there as well. I have no idea if she's looking for me or if she's simply dead. Regardless of what the odds are, I'm not going to let go of the possibility that she may still be out there. I can't imagine that the military just let the school get swarmed with those monsters, and if you didn't find them dead, then dammit they may still be alive. Go find them!" It seemed that Mitchell was attempting to get them to justify the situation and turn it into a positive one. Abram saw what he was doing.
"I….I will keep looking then Mitchell. If I find your wife, I'll tell her you're here too." Abram smirked at Mitchell. While they hadn't met under the best circumstances, there wasn't any hate between them at this point. Between them, Mitchell, and Darren, there was a feeling of understanding. It was painful that all of this had to unwind, but in the end there was a sense of understanding.
The couple finished gathering their items together; a majority of the time taken was silent. While they didn't have a lot with them, and it really didn't take that much time, it felt like eternity. As they were about to leave, Abram stopped and turned himself towards Mitchell.
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br /> "May I have my gun back?" This was a hard question for him to ask, mainly because there was the possibility of Darren saying no. Mitchell looked over to Darren, and nodded. Darren nodded back. They agreed this was best.
"Sure. Here you go." He handed the gun back to Abram. This was an obviously tense moment, though in the end they all knew what was going to happen. Abram took the gun and clipped it back in his holster. The tense moment passed, and at this point it was just three people wanting to survive and do what had to be done. They both shook Abram's hand and silently wished him the best. They got out of the way and followed them to the entrance.
"Daddy?" The small voice's interest was piqued. Darren stopped and sighed heavily while his eyes rolled backwards. He had obviously hoped that she would've just stayed asleep and that she wouldn't have seen any of this. "Daddy, what are you doing?" The dreaded question. This was the exact situation that he didn't want to have to detail for such a young girl. How do you explain to a five year old that you were forcing a family out into certain death because they threatened to kill someone else because they were selfishly protecting themselves? How do you explain desperate times and desperate measures to a young, innocent child?
"They're, uh, they're leaving sweetheart." Darren choked while trying to create this sentence. It was obvious it was hard for him to say even the broad statement he did. There was no way that he could even possibly begin to explain the harsh reality that was unraveling around everyone. He hoped that she would leave it alone, but the curiosity of a five year old never ceases.
"Where are they going? They can't go outside! The monsters will eat them!!" She went from a simple inquiry to a horrendous realization. The sincerity in her voice was pure, and incredibly touching. She was right. If they went out there, they probably wouldn't make it. The only thing they had on their side was that this had all occurred at sunrise and not sunset, so the daylight would offer a small amount of protection. If they left right then, they'd have around ten hours to find a new place to hide, if they weren't hit by the ones that walked during the day. They were rare, but quite vicious.
"They're going to go find somewhere else to stay Lilly. It'll be OK." Darren managed to recompose himself to the point of a firm, and calm response.
"No daddy! Tell them they can't go! They have to stay in here where it's safe! I don't want them to be eaten! Tell them they have to stay!" Lilly began to cry as she protested the current events.
"Lilly! Stop!” Darren yelled back at her. He was able to hold back any emotion, but just barely. His face looked like a dam that could burst at any moment. He turned and looked the child in the eye from across the floor. "They have to leave honey… They have to. You wouldn't understand." She stood weeping and looking straight into her father's eyes. He was right, if he went into the details she wouldn't get it. She'd protest that they needed to stay because it wasn't safe. She wanted nothing more than for everyone to be safe and sound. She wouldn't get that he had threatened Mitchell. She wouldn't understand that it could've been Darren or Kayla in front of the barrel. There was no way that he could tell her what had occurred. Nothing he could say would change her mind. He wanted nothing more than to protect her and she wanted nothing more than for everyone to survive. This was a case of a pure mind versus one that had been tarnished by years of experience in human nature.
The moment between the father and the daughter was tense. There were several seconds of silence as they stared at each other. His face acting as a flood gate, and hers being painted with a torrent of emotion. After several moments of silence, an unexpected voice chimed in to help.
"We're going to go find our sons. We'll be fine Lilly." Abram's words were the strongest force in the room at that time. Saying only these two sentences changed her from franticly sobbing to a neutral state, and helped Darren in not having to explain what was happening. It was a relief on all fronts.
Abram extended his hand towards Darren to gesture a respectful handshake.
"I'm sorry for all of this. Take good care of your family, Darren." Abram turned and patted Mitchell on the shoulder. "Best of luck to you, Mitchell. I hope you find your wife." He smiled and nodded in understanding. They turned and opened the only barricade between them and a world that had gone to hell. They exited, the door swinging shut behind them.
And with that, they were gone.
Chapter 4 – The Ascension
Mitchell turned around and leaned with his back against the door. He looked over to Darren and sighed.
"They'll be alright, right?" He shot this inquiry in Darren's direction, but it was mostly rhetorical. He knew that they wouldn't be alright unless they found somewhere else quickly. Maybe another floor of the building was available? It was hard to say in the end. Darren didn't respond, he could tell that the conversation was over. There wouldn't be any mention of Abram and Aya from that moment on. Darren walked back up the center aisle and grabbed Lilly along the path back to their area. Mitchell stood there for a few moments gathering his thoughts.
'I wonder how much longer we can hold out here. If Abram was that worried about the state of everything, then maybe there isn't much left after all. Considering Darren was willing to stick up for me, maybe something needs to be done on my part.' He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards the kitchen area. He immediately noticed the nearly empty vending machine with the shattered glass front. That wasn't a good indication of what he was going to find in the room. He opened the cabinets and the fridge, and, to his dismay, they were empty. There really was very little in way of supplies. The only thing that there seemed to be plenty of was a dark roast coffee. Mitchell thought that it would be a good way to start the morning, so he set the coffee pot up to brew. The smell of the hot water pouring over the ground beans was heavenly. It was probably the best thing he'd smelled for a while now. He grabbed a mug that looked relatively clean from the cup shelf and put in two packets of sugar, two containers of creamer. He waited for the coffee to finish and poured the maximum amount that he could into his cup. He stirred it with anticipation, the sweet caffeine boost seemed like it would be exactly what he needed to fix the damage of the day so far. He placed the spoon that he stirred it with next to the coffee maker, just in case he wanted a second cup and lifted the mug towards his mouth.
"Mitchell! What the hell are you doing!?" Darren interrupted his moment of bliss.
"I was about to have some coffee. Would you like some?" Mitchell smiled at him and motioned towards the coffee pot.
"Did you use the water from the sink?" Darren looked at Mitchell as if he had just failed a first grade math test.
"Yeah. Why is that a prob- Oh…." Mitchell looked at his cup and frowned. He dumped it down the sink and begrudgingly emptied the pot down the drain. He sat down in the chair that was setting against a round lunch table. "That was stupid of me." He looked up at Darren with assurance. "I didn't drink any though…." Darren sat down in the chair opposite of him.
"It's fine man. I'm just glad I smelled it before you had." Darren smirked at Mitchell as if he'd saved his life, and he may very well have.
"It's been rough to acclimate to this scenario. It's been days since we were put into a state of emergency and I still haven't gotten used to it. It's like I can randomly remember to not drink the water. This sucks…." Mitchell lamented.
"I hear you. I've almost made that same mistake a few times since we got here. I'm finally weaned off coffee though. We've done alright so far with the vending machine food and the food that was in the fridge. As you have probably seen, there's not much left of all that though." Darren's smile turned neutral.
"You know, I was just thinking about where we should go to get more supplies. This building is about seven or eight stories right? We should check up closer to the top floor. I'm betting the floors haven't been raided yet, and they may be safe from any monsters. Would you be willing to go look with me?" This was a bit of a long shot. Mitchell knew that Darren was a bit shaky in the first place, and he kn
ew that he was heavily devoted to protecting his family. Even so, Darren was well aware of their situation and what needed to be done.
"Well, I mean, that may be best if we go up and check. We'd need to have Kayla near the door though so she can let us in. On that same thought, the other doors may have the same style locks, but the readers might not be broken. We could use her badge." Darren seemed more accepting of the idea than Mitchell expected.
"Her badge? Kayla worked here?" Mitchell didn't see that coming. Darren nodded his head to say yes, and Mitchell made a face that indicated his surprise. "Huh! Well that's convenient." They got up and walked towards to cubicle where Lilly was reading a story to Kayla. They stood and smiled as the young girl fluidly announced the words on the pages.
"That's her favorite book." Darren nudged Mitchell. "It's a story about a purple dog that gets lost in the woods and the forest animals all help him find the trail home. I swear she's read that book a hundred times. She told me that we needed to get a purple dog. I told her that we could get a dog, but there was no such thing as a purple dog. She told me that we would just paint him purple and it would be the same as getting a dog that was naturally purple. I couldn't argue with her logic." Darren smiled. The loving warmth between them filled the room yet again. "Hey Kayla. I don't mean to interrupt but could we pull you away from Lilly for a moment or two.” Kayla nodded and stood up.
"Don't stop reading honey. Mommy will be back in a few minutes, and I want you to tell me what happened when I get back." Mitchell knew that Kayla was well aware of what happened in the book. He was certain she'd heard it a number of times that neither he, nor Darren, could fathom. They walked into the office that Mitchell had slept in and shut the door most of the way behind them.
"Mitchell and I were discussing a plan to get out and try to find some food. We were thinking of heading up a floor or two and seeing if they'd been raided yet, or if there were infected up there." Darren didn't sugarcoat the plan, he came right out and explained what they were considering.
