by Hetzer, Paul
Dontela stood and stretched lithely in the oversized clothes of her ex-captors. She sat back down, looking at each of them in turn as she continued.
“We decided the next morning to go outside and try to figure out what was going on. Go as far down the street as Katy’s Alpha Delta Pi house and scrounge for some food. We couldn’t see any of the M-80s out any of the house’s windows, so we thought maybe it was safe to go out. We armed ourselves with a hammer and some kitchen knives, unblocked the door, and stepped outside. There wasn’t anyone on the street. We avoided my car and tried to be as quiet as possible when we went by. Still, Shawn saw us anyway. He just went fucking ballistic. This time when he hit the window it fucking exploded all over the sidewalk. He pulled himself through that window, snarling at us with blood dripping down his face and chin. Patty took off first. She dropped her knife and ran screaming back toward the house. Shawn zeroed in on her like a fox on a rabbit. She got maybe ten steps and he was on her. Hit her like a fucking linebacker. He sat up on her back and just started ripping and beating on her. We all stood there in shock watching as he bent down and bit her on the back of the neck. Her scream was bloodcurdling. I think that finally knocked us out of our trance. Eric got there first. He hit Shawn hard in the back of the head with a hammer and Shawn stopped what he was doing and stared up at Eric like what the fuck you just do, home boy? It didn’t even seem to faze him.
Eric turned the hammer over and when I saw what he was going to do I screamed at him to stop. He brought the claw part of that hammer down hard on Shawn’s head and I could see the blades go into his head in slow motion. I was about ready to stab Eric for doing that, but Shawn stood up with that damned hammer sticking out of the top of his head and growled. I shoved that knife as hard as I could through Shawn’s eye. He backed up a few steps and stumbled over Patty and fell to the ground. That’s when I saw other M-80s running up the sidewalk at us.
“When I turned back around Shawn was dead. We grabbed up Patty and dragged her back to the frat house. Those things were at our heels again and back to beating on the door. We were all in shock at what had just happened. Patty was in bad shape. She was bleeding badly from where Shawn had taken a huge bite out of the back of her neck muscle and the pain was terrible for her.”
Dontela was poking at the fire with her stick again; lost in the memories of her story. “I was having trouble coping with the fact that I had just fucking killed my fiancé, the man I loved and had wanted to have my babies with. It took me a while to reconcile with myself that he wasn’t really Shawn anymore, just something inhuman that looked like him.
“Katy did a good job of patching up Patty the best she could with what we had available. We didn’t think it was a mortal wound, although a human mouth is pretty filthy and we were worried about infection. We were right to be worried, but we never thought it would be that kind of infection.”
“We had her lying down on the couch trying to keep her comfortable,” Katherine said. “She was moaning with the pain and complaining that her head hurt too. We figured it was from Shawn hitting her so hard. She was burning up with fever, though. None of us connected it with what had happened the day before. Maybe we didn’t want to acknowledge that that could be possible. We tried to keep her cool, but after a while she stopped responding to my questions and then even her cries of pain stopped. Her eyes were closed and I thought she was asleep. That’s when I noticed the bloody froth around her mouth.
“I told Eric and Dontela I thought something was really wrong with Patty. She was soaked in sweat and kicking and thrashing on the couch. It was Eric that finally said out loud what we were all starting to think. He grabbed her under the arms and told Dontela to grab her legs and we took her into one of the bedrooms. We got her into the bed and covered her up. It couldn’t have been much more than an hour after the attack, and just like that her fever broke. I wanted to stay there and help her, I thought she was getting better and would be alright. Eric didn’t think so. He grabbed me by my arm and dragged me to the door, and that’s when she opened her eyes. They were so bloodshot it was like they were glowing from within. She lunged at us, and we barely got the door closed in time.
“There was no way to lock that door from the outside without a key. Patty banged and kicked at it from the other side for a long time, never even tried the doorknob. So now we had them outside the house trying to get in and one inside the house trying to get out. There were only the three of us left. We were so scared and didn’t know what was going on. We didn’t know if we were all going to end up like Shawn and Patty. If we kept quiet, those things would settle down. The ones outside finally went away again when some noise off in the distance caught their attention. It sounded like a gunshot. We never left that house again that day or the next.” Katherine took a drink of water and grew quiet.
After a few moments Dontela picked up where Katherine had left off. “We were having trouble agreeing on what to do. I still wanted to get the fuck out of there and head home, although I was kind of scared to do it myself. The battery in my cell finally died after calling my family constantly and I used Katy’s until it died also. I guess my anxiety over not being able to talk to my parents anymore turned me into a real bitch. We had these silly arguments in whispers so that we wouldn’t rouse Patty into one of her tantrums. It would have been damn comical to someone outside looking in to see the three of us yelling in whispers at each other if the fucking world had not been ending all around us.”
“So what did y’all do for food?” Kera asked, snuggling next to Steven.
“We were starving, trapped in that damned house by our inability to act due to our fears, both real and imagined. After the first few days we had picked the house clean of anything to eat, which didn’t diminish the bitch sessions any, let me tell you. Eric and I made a million excuses why we didn’t want to go outside; it was only Katy that admitted the truth that she was scared to death to go out there. The power died on the third night; that was hard on all of us. At least we still had running water and toilets that flushed. We were grateful for that.
“After a few more days, hunger finally forced our hand and we armed ourselves like before and snuck out early in the morning. Our plan was to go as far as the frat house next door and raid its kitchen. I had the presence of mind to take a blanket with me and toss it over Shawn’s corpse. A lot of his flesh had been striped by animals, birds and insects. It was a stinking mess covered with ants. Eric took his hammer back. When we got to the house the front door was locked, so Eric broke out one of the glass panes in the casement window with the hammer. He reached through to unlock the deadbolt and we all heard the growl from inside and something running toward the door. He barely pulled his arm out in time before one of those M-80s was reaching through trying to grab him.
“We learned quickly after that to check all the windows of a house we were raiding and knock and listen at the doors before trying to get in. We kept ourselves eating that way. We only had to go out two or three times a week, and only when the big crowds of M-80s weren’t in our neighborhood. We lived like rats, scavenging when the coast was clear and then scurrying back to our fucking hole to hide. We learned that the M-80s didn’t move around much at night and that’s when we did most of our runs. I still thought I was going to get in the car and escape home. That was my plan. I kept putting it off, telling myself maybe tomorrow. That tomorrow never happened.
“We knew that there were other people out there. Every once in a while we would hear gunshots way off in the distance. I never believed in owning guns until this all happened, none of us did. Damn we wished we had some then. It was a gun-free campus; we weren’t going to find any there. After the first week we never heard Patty moving behind her door anymore. Even so, none of us had the balls to go in and see what had happened to her. We were pretty sure though by the next week when the smell of rot started permeating the house. We lived with it though.
“Until a few nights ago we never did see anyone else e
xcept the M-80s, and there were lots of them motherfuckers everywhere. It was the middle of the night, and we were all sleeping in the middle of the living room like usual. Anyway, that’s when we heard a vehicle driving up the street. We went to the windows and could barely see it coming up the road with its lights out. We thought we were being rescued when we heard that pickup truck. Damn! It was like we never learned a God damned lesson the entire time.” Dontela frowned and spat into the fire.
“Oh, we learned lessons,” Katherine cut in in a soft voice; her face impassive, “just not the right ones. We never thought there would be that kind of evil out there. We thought we knew who the monsters were.”
Dontela nodded. “Yeah, I was always a pessimist when it came to people and expected the worst from them, but I let that distrust slip away in the face of the M-80s. I just wanted to be fucking saved.” She shook her head in disgust. “We ran out into that street waving our arms and whooping and a hollering like the damn fools we were. Suddenly all the lights on this truck flicked on, and there was a fucking load of them, and we were all standing there like deer in a spotlight. I heard this loud bang and saw the flash overtop of the truck’s cab and I remember wondering to myself what the hell they were shooting at. I thought maybe there were M-80s coming up behind us. I turned around and I see Eric lying on the ground with the back of his head gone and what’s left of his brains leaking out. I still didn’t get it. I thought it had to be a terrible mistake. That they fucked up with their shot. It was us who had fucked up. Katy and I just stood there with our mouths hanging open, staring at Eric. Over the past three months he had become like a brother to us and seeing him…” She choked back a sob as tears welled in her eyes, reflecting back the firelight. “My mind wasn’t grasping the situation. We were supposed to be getting fucking rescued. I didn’t hear them get out of the truck. Don’t even remember them hitting me on the head. The next thing I knew I was waking up with my skull on fire, trussed up like a prized pig going to slaughter and laying face-down on the cold metal of the truck bed. After a few moments I turned my head and saw Katy lying next to me, tied up too. We both had dirty rags stuffed in our mouths. I can still taste the oil from it. There was a big white dude standing in the bed between us, holding onto a roll bar with one hand and a rifle with the other.” She grabbed hold of Katherine’s hand and held it tight, not looking up at Steven or Kera. “I’m not going to tell you what they did to us when they got us here or some of the things they told us they were going to do to us, I’m sure you can guess.” She continued in a whisper, “The M-80s don’t hold a candle to the type of monsters that these motherfuckers were.”
The girls fell silent, their story finished. Steven and Kera remained silent, digesting what they had heard and watched the fire burn down to embers.
Kera finally stood up and walked over to the other two girls and sat down next to Katherine. She put her arm around the girl and hugged her. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier, Katherine.”
Katherine nodded, smiling faintly at Kera. “It’s okay; I know I get a little hysterical at times. I can hold my own though. And you can call me Katy.”
Kera smiled back. “Okay, Katy.”
“We should get some sleep. We need to get out of here in the morning,” Steven said, standing and picking up his rifle. “I’ll take first watch.”
He scrutinized the gathering of women and realized that whether he wanted it or not, they were under his care. With the collapse of society and the subsequent loss of the societal protections afforded to women (and to a lesser extent anyone old, weak, very young, or disabled), they would become a commodity by the less scrupulous who had survived, to be used, traded, and disposed of as one would any other possession. What they saw here at this camp would be repeated over and over again throughout the world without the rule of law. It would be up to people like him, carrying the torch of honor and morality, to protect the women of the world from those who would abuse them. However, even he knew that without the great equalizer of guns he would be useless to these women, as the strongest and most ruthless in the world would dictate the lives of everyone else and there would be no way to resist their abusive rule. Without guns in the hands of everyone, truly only the strongest would survive.
Chapter Six
Jeremy felt the Stryker slow to a stop. The soldier who was built like a bulldog and named Heinlich disappeared out of the top of the vehicle’s hatch and after a few moments the Stryker began moving again. It finally stopped and the engine died. Almost immediately the red-headed man had the rear hatch of the Stryker ramping down.
“Thank you for riding with the Stonewall Brigade of the 29th Infantry Division. We know you don’t have much of a choice in carriers these days, so thank you for choosing the Blue and the Gray!” the man called out with a laugh as he walked down the ramp.
While the men and women disembarked from the Stryker, Shavers took Jeremy by the shoulder and led him out into the bright sunlight of the cool autumn afternoon. Everyone had gathered around the outside of the Stryker’s ramp and Jeremy noticed a few additional people who were congregating in the area.
Jumper bounded off to relieve himself on one of the nearby truck tires and Jeremy looked sheepishly at his hosts and shrugged his shoulders. No one seemed to care. Jeremy paused at the foot of the steel ramp and observed his surroundings casually. They were parked next to a row of old red Conex containers that had doors and windows built into them, giving them the appearance of low-rent trailers. They were within a parking lot in a fenced in compound containing a variety of military vehicles. The twelve-foot tall fence that surrounded the parking lot was topped with coils of wicked looking razor wire that flashed menacingly in the rays of the afternoon sun reflecting off its knife edges. A large two-story red-brick building sat like a fortress directly in front of the Stryker, its white framed windows high up on the walls; too high to reach without a ladder. All in all, he thought that his was about as safe a place as he was ever going to find.
Shavers appeared to be noticeably more relaxed now that they were at their destination.
“Welcome to Staunton, Virginia and the Thomas Howie Memorial Armory; home of the 116th Infantry Brigade.” He smiled warmly at Jeremy. “I’m First Sergeant Shavers of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, and this is Sergeant Heinrich, who seems to have taken quite the shine to you.” He put his hand on the short-wide man who laughed and put his hand out for Jeremy to shake.
“Pleasure to formally meet you, son.” His large hand engulfed Jeremy’s with a strong grip that could probably crush walnuts if he so desired. “I hope you’ll enjoy your stay at our luxurious resort.”
Shavers turned to Heinrich. “Finish the introductions then join me inside,” and without another word spun on his heel and walked toward a set of doors that were recessed between two of the building’s wings.
“This young man is Jeremy,” Sergeant Heinrich introduced him in his rough sounding voice. “He was singlehandedly holding off that swarm of crazies we annihilated near Waynesboro’s industrial zone. He was literally stacking them deep.”
“You attendant for the trip out here to the armory was PFC ‘Red Beard’ McCully.”
McCully bowed toward the boy with a smile. “Yeah, he ain’t one to mess with,” McCully added.
“And here is your fearless driver for today, Corporal Dinora Hernandez.” Heinrich indicated the short, dark-haired Hispanic woman who was presently exiting the vehicle from the hatch on the forward deck. She rolled her eyes at McCully as she shouldered him aside.
“What’s up, kid?” she asked with a slight hint of a Puerto Rican accent.
“I wouldn’t call him that, Dino,” McCully laughed with a gleam in his eyes. “The little man proved himself today.”
Hernandez ‘harrumphed’ and pushed past the boy, heading toward the doors Shavers had disappeared through.
“On guns today we had PFC Butch Nantz with the SAW and Miss Sarah Ferguson with her M4.”
The woman, who
Jeremy thought was really more of a girl and awfully damn cute, smiled at him again with her azure-blue eyes aglow and took his hand gently in hers. Her pale golden hair framed her face like a halo and he thought she was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. Jeremy’s eyes briefly wandered down to the two large mounds pressing tightly against the fabric of her shirt. He hastily glanced back up and from the sly smile she gave him he knew that he had been caught. He blushed noticeably as he shook her hand and said that it was nice to meet her. His head was swimming from the feel of the warm, silky skin of her hand in his and he failed to hear what she said to him in reply. He abruptly dropped her hand and faced PFC Nantz to hide his embarrassment.
Nantz was tall, lanky man with a neatly trimmed beard hiding his stern face. His dark hazel eyes squinted in the bright light, however, they seemed to hold a bit of menace in them. He nodded silently at Jeremy, slid a pair of sunglasses over his eyes, then turned back to the Stryker where he instantly climbed up and started working on the Browning machine gun.
“Don’t mind him,” the blonde girl spoke to him with a voice like an angel’s. “He don’t like anybody.”
“Okay Miss Ferguson,” Jeremy replied in a whisper, caught up in her eyes again.
“Please call me Sarah.”
He nodded.
Heinrich and McCully observed the interaction of the young boy and slightly older girl and nearly laughed out loud at how uncomfortable Jeremy was around the pretty blonde. They nudged each other in the ribs, though thankfully they didn’t say anything to embarrass Jeremy any more than he was.
Heinrich cleared his throat to get the boy’s attention again and pointed to two armed civilians, both women, who had met them when they exited the Stryker.
The women were older, one in her mid to late thirties and the other one about a decade older. They also had a hard-rugged look to their faces and Jeremy could tell that they had seen some tough times lately; as had all of them.
