BURT: Guess you’re as deaf as you are stupid. Didn’t you hear that amplified notice? You ain’t going nowhere, bitch. We got men on every road out of this place. We done it before.
TODD: How many men our blocking these roads?
BURT: Like that matters? Too many. There’s too few of you to get through even a handful.
TODD: That a fact? Some of us were hiding, you moron. You sorry dicks didn’t even check for bodies anywhere or check houses.
BURT: We got enough of you! I saw some bitch take a bullet in the gut and I heard plenty of shots and screams. Maybe there’s a few more of you than meets the eye...but I’m willing to bet it’s not a ton. Especially not anymore.
TODD: The woman that got shot in the gut, actually got shot in the side. Little above the hip. A flesh wound. She’ll be just fine.
BURT: How unfortunate.
TODD: You’ll regret that statement. You did kill one of us. His name was Kurt. A high school student…before everything.
BURT: Welp, least the day wasn’t a total waste.
TODD: You’re going to really regret that statement, too.
BURT: Doesn’t matter. You’re all dead.
TODD: So how many men on the roads we gotta deal with?
BURT: Each road block we set up consists of at least five men.
TODD: How many roads you blocking?
BURT: Four. So you might as well sit tight. You ain’t going anywhere. Well, not until Victor is ready for you to go somewhere.
TODD: Four roads, hmm? Five men per block…20 men?
BURT: You can count, that’s good. They got radios…you try and attack one block the others will come and you’ll just be slaughtered. Hell, you might want to consider that. Be a lot less painful than what Victor is gonna do to you.
TODD: I told you I don’t like you lying to me…I warned you not to.
BURT: Lie about what?! Go ahead…look for yourself!
TODD: See, by our count…including you…there’s only eight men. So, let’s get down to business, asshole.
BURT: Pfft, eight?? You killed but a fraction…you think from watching us you saw all of us? We have other locations! We got…I guess bases you could call them. We have one even all the way out on the Hiram College campus.
ME: That so? Cause, some others and myself were in Hiram for a year and we’ve been through there since. There’s nothing at the college.
TODD: There you go lying again. Why you gotta do this? You’re making things worse on yourself. You have eight men including yourself. There’s no one on the roads so save the bullshit.
BURT: How could you possibly even know that if it were even true?!
TODD: Oh, it’s true. A new member of our community let us know the numbers and some other shit. Great guy. Name’s Hank.
BURT: HANK?! That spineless asswipe! Traitor!! I told everyone he should have been a slave! He was too weak to be one of us! But, no. Since he was “there from the start” he was safe. If he hadn’t been, he’d have been dead by now!
TODD: On the contrary…I find him to be anything but spineless. I killed his partner right in front of him. For all he knew we were total lunatics but he took a chance and came with us. That’s how much he wanted away from you sorry pricks.
BURT: Victor will enjoy killing that turncoat even more than you, probably! It’s a close tie.
TODD: Yeah, yeah. You’re gonna answer any questions that Hank wasn’t able to. Since you’ve lied about a hundred times already, I can see you won’t be reasonable and Imma have to hurt you a little bit. Like your sadistic boss. You’ve watched him torture people…let’s see how you like being in the chair.
BURT: Do your worst, bitch. I ain’t telling you shit anyway.
TODD: I don’t know why you’d wanna put yourself through this. It doesn’t make any sense. We don’t need to know that much! Details like, your numbers and most of your set up are known to us…and those are most crucial, don’t you think?
BURT: Just ask your first question, alright? Get on with it.
TODD: How close are you to Victor?
BURT: Oh, we’re besties! We have movie nights and the like.
Todd swung the crowbar into Burt’s right shin. The sound of bone cracking made me cringe and his screams filled the open space.
TODD: Let’s try again. How close are you with Victor??
BURT: What the fuck does that matter?!?!
TODD: Who’s asking the damn questions?!
Todd raised the crowbar again-
BURT: Wait! No! I ain’t close to him at all!
TODD: Thought you weren’t talking?
BURT: It’s a pointless question you fuck!! He’s a damn recluse overall! I’m sure you got all that from Hank! So what the fuck!!
TODD: That he was slightly a shut-in, yeah. But if you were close to him, you’d know more about him, moron. So you don’t know shit??
BURT: Only people that know him on a more personal level are Harry, Duke and Will! Which I’m sure you know all about. You’d need them for that kind of information!
TODD: You may not be close to Victor, but I know Harry is out and about. You surely know him.
BURT: Yeah? So? It’s not like he speaks about Victor.
TODD: But he’s the right hand man. What’s he like?
BURT: He’s just an asshole like Victor. Not much to know about him.
TODD: Anything at all?!
BURT: I think he’s a Virgo with an Italian Irish background, that help?
Todd smashed the crowbar into his other shin with the same sickening cracking sound. Burt shook himself violently in the chair and screamed for several minutes.
BURT: You fucking son of a bitch! You moth--FUCK! What do you want?! Okay, Okay…one time he was walking into Victor’s building and I happened to hear him say to Duke and Will, “Bro is gonna love this.” And he went up to see Victor. Maybe Harry is Victor’s brother, I don’t know…sometimes people just call other people “bro” so it’s fifty/fifty. Who the hell knows!
TODD: Better than nothing. Gives us leverage if he really is his brother. He’ll want to protect Harry if that’s the case. What do you know about Duke and Will?
BURT: Nothing, really. That’s the truth! I swear! They’re like damn statues that stay by the door generally. If Victor comes out they are by him at all times.
TODD: What do they look like?
BURT: I got some selfies with them, just grab my wallet, will ya? They’re adorable!
Todd raised and brought the crowbar down onto Burt’s tied right hand on the chair. The bones in the top of his hand shattered. He howled in pain. I was a little rattled at how calm Todd was. It didn’t seem much to him. He wasn’t sadistic, no. He wasn’t enjoying himself, but he wasn’t phased much. If he was, he hid it well. I was just glad he was on our side!
BURT: I could kill you…even with one hand, I’d kill you right now!
TODD: I could break the other one?
BURT: One hand…come on, untie me. I’ll take you on!
TODD: Maybe after we’re done talking. Depends on what you give me.
BURT: You got everything you need! Untie me, prick!
TODD: How many slaves?
BURT: I don’t walk around taking a head count! Couple dozen give or take.
TODD: Where’s your armory?
BURT: You seem to have plenty of weapons. I think. Not like you could get to it without being seen, so you’re wasting y-
Todd punched him in the mouth. Burt yelled out and started spitting blood out of his mouth, along with a front tooth.
BURT: You fuck! What the fuck was that for?!
TODD: Because I didn’t ask for your two cents or input. I asked a simple question and you need to just answer it. Where. Is. The. Armory??
BURT: It’s in the building next to his! By the gates! Some of our men sleep in there, too. Kinda like a barracks or whatever!
TODD: Was that so hard?
BURT: Blow me.
Another punch. This time t
o the nose. Burt yelled again and blood flowed from his nose. He coughed and spat.
BURT: I dare you to untie me. I fuckin’ dare you!
TODD: You’re a ballsy mother fucker, aren’t ya?? Take it down a level. You probably couldn’t even stand. Those shins of yours, if not broken, are fractured at the very least.
BURT: I’m bored of this…if you have more questions, ask. If not…shut your fucking mouth!
Todd swung the crowbar in a backhand and connected to the side Burt’s mouth. He of course, screamed…worse than ever now. Blood oozed down from his mouth and a few teeth slipped out with it.
BURT: [mumbling through blood] I’ll kill…you…asshole. Un…untie me…I dare ya.
TODD: Fine.
Todd pulled out a pocket knife and leaned down and cut his ankles free and then his hands. He took a step back and tossed the knife down in front of him.
TODD: Here’s your shot, dickhead. Even gave you a knife. Let’s go. Hank told me you kicked a poor older man to death? Take your best shot. Pick up the knife!! Stand up! You wanted a shot at me, take it! And when you fail…be prepared to get kicked to death like you deserve.
Burt looked up at Todd; blood still flowing down his chin. He stood and then screamed and collapsed, grasping at his left leg. While on the ground, he took the knife and slowly got to his feet, leaning mostly on one. He glared at Todd and started to limp forward, nearly falling again. Todd tossed the crowbar behind him and gestured for Burt to bring it.
Once in range, Burt mustered all he had from one leg and threw himself at Todd with the blade outstretched. Todd side stepped and as he did kicked Burt in the shin. Burt screamed out while crashing into the hard dirt floor.
TODD: Well, you tried.
Then Todd began to kick him. He kicked him everywhere. His shins, his legs, arms, stomach, ribs and chest. He just kept kicking and Burt kept screaming. Todd then started kicking him in the head and his screams stopped. Todd, however, did not. He kept kicking until he was sure he was dead. Then he gave four hard stomps on his skull. Suddenly, he backed up holding his hands to his face and wiping sweat from his brow. He then turned and ran near an old stall and wretched a few times. He wiped his mouth and looked at me.
I walked over and knelt down and checked Burt’s pulse. He was dead. I looked at Todd and nodded. Todd opened the doors and I followed him out into the cool night.
**
The following day we met near the west walls for a meeting with everyone, while having Travis and Ray on the walls keeping watch as we proceeded.
ME: I just wanted to clarify and go over the entire plan so everyone knows what’s going on. Tonight, we finish this. Ray, Todd, Travis, Jim, Alexis, Mark and myself are going in and will attack around four in the morning. Lily, you remain inside at all times. If any should come here and attack, get in the crawlspace like before with your kids. Alan will be with you. Heather, Hank and Karen on western walls, Kelly and Ben on east and Larry and Mindy near the front gates. Rachel, Reggie and Tina in the high grass near the back walls. A hundred feet from the walls. If you two spot anything, you radio to the others. Does everyone know their role?
[nods, murmurs of agreement]
ME: Questions?
TRAVIS: How about a refresh on everything we’re doing? How we’re hitting them so there’s no fuck ups.
ME: First thing is getting some high ground and seeing where the rest of them are positioned. The front gate for sure. I was hoping we’d check out the alley that took us to a wall relatively hidden. Where Hank thought we were…and he was right! We bring a couple of these ladders they left behind and use them against the bastards. Won’t take but a minute to dispatch some chained infected, just need to do it quick so they don’t start trying to attack and alert attention.
TRAVIS: Think the slaves will give us away accidentally?
ME: I hope not. Most will be asleep, surely. Those who aren’t would surely give us a second look, but they’d likely stay quiet and hope we’re not worse than their oppressors. And any awake that look willing to help, we’ll approach and talk to. We have extra weapons. I’m sure they’ve noticed many men are not around. Even still, they wouldn’t try to mount an unarmed attack. Just Harry and three others not guarding the building would mow them down. But with us…and with us arming them, yeah. I think they’ll fight with us.
HANK: Find Wayne. I know he’ll fight!
ME: Do you know where he is specifically?
HANK: He was usually in the far corner of the tent area, near the wall and boarded up store.
ME: What’s he look like?
HANK: Kinda hard to miss. For the past several months he’s been wearing a red shirt with a black tree silhouette on it. They don’t let them change clothes very often. He also has long light brown hair past his shoulders, typically in a ponytail. Scruffy face. He’ll be approachable. Most will. While plenty are terrified, others are just apathetic and hopeless.
ME: And Wayne? Hopeless or terrified?
HANK: Not terrified. I wouldn’t say hopeless, either. He kind of stays to himself unless spoken to and like I said, to this day they keep an eye on him. Victor has always thought he was too quiet, as if plotting. Just acting broken.
ME: What do you think?
HANK: I truly believe on that first day he was broken, yes. Who wouldn’t have been after that? I don’t think he stayed that way, though. Now and then I’d see him glance around curiously. Scoping walls, looking at where the guards were and their routines. He never made a move. If he’s plotting, he’s taking his time.
ME: Which is the smart move. Maybe a slight change in the plan. Some of us will jump the wall by the alley, the rest will hit the opposite wall and further down and jump into the tent city. If anything, they’d have maybe one…maybe no one watching them. I don’t even think they’ll be on a full alert like us. They don’t know what we know. They won’t be expecting an attack on them. We have to use that to the fullest. Those of us going on offense, get a couple hours sleep if possible. If not, stay on watch with others. We’ll reconvene at 3:00 at the front gate, gear up and head out. So be ready and be prepared. We’re almost there. This is almost over. Just one more fight! We can’t lose this or it’s over. Everything we’ve built will be gone. So be ready to go with everything you have! See you all at 3:00!
**
I managed to get about a half hour of sleep when Reggie shook me awake and startled me. I looked at him dumbly for a second and then sat up as he handed me a cup of warm instant coffee.
ME: What time is it?
REGGIE: 3:50
ME: What?!
REGGIE: Nah, man. I’m just fuckin’ with ya [laughs]
ME: You’re hilarious.
REGGIE: Gotta have a little levity, man. Goes a long damn way.
ME: Yeah, maybe. [sigh]
REGGIE: It’s actually 2:45, almost time to reconvene or whatever. You ready?
ME: Not really. I gave a big ass pep talk about being ready and roaring to go, but I ain’t ready. How do you truly be ready for this kind of fight? We’ve already seen and done so much. So many terrible things.
REGGIE: Yeah. Yeah, we have. You’re the one, though, that kept reminding us all it was for our safety. Them or us. And you’re right. It’s necessary. Now shut the hell up and down that coffee, asshat. Almost game time.
ME: [laughs]
REGGIE: Seriously, though. Don’t do something stupid. Don’t get fucking overzealous when you get the fuck over those damn walls. Don’t act like a hero. You’re my best friend, Jack. You better come back from there!
ME: I will, Reggie. You getting sentimental on me now?
REGGIE: Shut the fuck up and drink your damn coffee, shit. Drink and walk, let’s go!
ME: [laughs] lead the way, boss.
**
Travis let out a yawn as we loaded weapons and gear into three vehicles. Once everything was in order, we said our goodbyes and were wished good luck about fifty times. For the first time that I had witnessed,
Alan and Mark shook hands and then embraced. Mark then embraced Rachel. Ray then was also hugged his father and sister. Kelly was gripping Jim fiercely and I wondered if she’d ever let go. Finally she did and he gave Ben a hug. Ben also ran up to me and did the same, and then to Travis and Alexis.
Todd and Larry gave firm handshakes. Larry then proceeded to give the rest of us handshakes and wished us luck. After making sure we had everything, we hopped into the cars and made our way onto the dark road and toward The Retreat.
The Dead Lands Diary Vol. II) Page 14
