The Dead Lands Diary Vol. II)

by S. David Staggs

MAN: Doesn’t have to be!

  ME: Who are you? Victor?

  MAN: You seriously think he’d be in here right now? Potentially trapped? Key word, potentially…we’re not.

  ME: Then who am I speaking with?

  MAN: Name’s Duke.

  ME: I’m Jack. Not that it matters. Where’s your friend, Will?

  DUKE: Wow…you know a lot. Impressive. He’s not here. One of us is with Victor at all times…or didn’t you know that part?? I’m assuming you did.

  ME: Yeah…hence why I asked. Had you said he was here, and weren’t lying, then I’d know Victor was here.

  DUKE: Clever little shit, ain’t ya? Last chance…walk!

  I’d had enough of this stalling. I leaned up and told Jim and Mark to stay crouched and be ready to fire when Todd and I stand.

  Jim looked back wide eyed. Mark simply nodded. It was worth a shot. Maybe we’d take a few out if he was lying.

  Todd and I stood and fired everywhere through the doors and walls, Mark and Jim did the same from their crouched position. We riddled the entire area and abruptly stopped shooting. Todd and I crouched back down and we waited a few moments in silence.

  ME: Still think we should turn back, Duke?

  JIM: [whispers] like he’s gonna answer! If he’s alive, he’s gonna pretend he’s not!

  ME: good point.

  TODD: Let’s move, guys. Longer we sit around longer we’re targets while others regroup somewhere.

  We stayed at a hunched level and went forward. Mark stood up and went to the side and then pushed the bullet ridden doors open. Jim, Todd and I rushed in to secure it.

  Over against a far wall a man was sitting against the wall. He was a rather built man who was balding. Blood was dripping from his mouth and he had multiple wounds. He glanced up at us and glared. His gun was down on the floor near his feet but he didn’t go for it. I doubt he could have if he had tried. He was bluffing and I had a feeling he had been. He was alone in here.

  ME: Where’s your friend and boss, Duke? And Harry?

  He smiled a bloody smile and shook his head.

  DUKE: I’ll say one thing about you and yours. Y’all have some fuckin’ nuts. We should have burned your place to the ground…just to be sure we killed all you vermin. Our mistake.

  ME: Us? You’re calling us vermin? You people that keep slaves and Roamers chained to walls? Kill people and put their heads on pikes? No, you and your fucked up people are the damn vermin!

  DUKE: Maybe so [cough]. You are, too, though. At least to me. You sneak up on a lot of us and kill us like…well, like rats.

  ME: You shot one of our men. One of our friends. You shot and killed him months ago at a distance.

  DUKE: Yeah. Yeah, I remember hearing about that. Two guys snooping around and Harry sniped his ass. Other got away.

  RAY: I was the one that got away!

  DUKE: That so?? Ha! Well, good for you, kid. [coughs]

  ME: Point being, you started this. Not us. They weren’t snooping. They were looking for supplies and one of them was gunned down for no reason.

  DUKE: Hey…I didn’t shoot him. I didn’t start shit. Go talk to Harry about that.

  ME: Oh, I will. We will.

  RAY: What is wrong with you people?

  DUKE: Wrong with us? Nothing as far as I know.

  TODD: You captured…how many people? How many slaves? How many did you kill??

  DUKE: There ya go again. I’m just a body guard and old friend of Victor’s. I hardly went outside. I didn’t kill any slaves, I didn’t capture anyone. So, if you don’t mind…can you fuck off so I can die here in peace?

  RAY: Sure! Let me help!

  Ray fired two rounds into Duke’s face, startling us all!

  RAY: I’m sorry…I just. I watched Chuck die. Then this prick talks like it was nothing, I just-

  JIM: We get it kid. Ain’t gotta explain.

  TODD: Look over there.

  We went to the back of the room where there was a large open window. A fire escape ran down the building. Victor and the others weren’t in the building.

  Gunfire erupted outside.

  **

  I rushed through the room past Duke’s body and looked out the window overlooking the street. Three men were running down the road in the direction of tent town and shooting over at the storefront windows. Wayne and some others were returning fire.

  The men weren’t as fast as they thought and got pinned down behind a truck. I recognized Harry. The next I presumed was Will, a slightly hefty man with red hair. Behind them both was a tall man with a long coat. I couldn’t see his front but I knew just by Hank’s description that it was Victor.

  TODD: They’re trapped. We can finish boxing them in. We got the fucks!

  We hurried back down the hallway and down the stairs to the lobby. I emerged in the front door and waved over to let them know not to shoot too far over.

  Once noticed, we went to the desk and out a side door into a small alley. We moved toward the street and the truck came into view.

  The three were gone…

  They had to backtrack somehow. Back into the alley before we got down the stairs? I spun in the dark and looked behind us. Nothing.

  I cautiously approached the truck at a crouched position and looked to the left. Yeah…two of them behind another vehicle further down. In the chaos and dark they hadn’t been seen running further down. They were trying to get to the back of the place and out. Harry was missing though. No sign of him anywhere.

  Wayne and his people had stopped shooting. I looked over and saw Wayne behind a car. When he saw me I pointed down the street. He looked annoyed.

  I decided the hell with it. I leaned out and fired down the street at them. Victor ducked to the back of the car. Will took a bullet to the upper arm and then followed to the back.

  TRAVIS: We have them pinned the hell down! Let’s get down there! Open fire the whole way!

  ME: Travis, no! Are you insa-

  He went out into the street and started walking down toward the car. He lifted his rifle. I tried to scream to him that one was missing. Harry wasn’t with them, but it was too late. He started firing and didn’t hear a thing. He was lured out and couldn’t be reached.

  Two bullets ripped through his back and out of his chest. He dropped his rifle and clutched himself. Recklessly, I know, I went to go for him. Most had their guns drawn down the street so the other two didn’t take off.

  I heard Alexis scream from the storefront. Harry was standing behind a box truck at the front gate. He spotted me before I could fire. He came at me shooting; exposing himself. I fell over as he fired. I heard the bullets buzz above my head as I hit the ground. I raised my side arm to fire back, but that wasn’t necessary. An arrow flew into the side of his neck and out of the other side.

  Harry’s jaw dropped, as did his weapon. He looked at me in shock and grabbed the arrow. Amazingly, he tore it from his neck and blood sprayed from the wound. He looked over at Alexis, who had already drawn again, and released. The arrow pierced through his forehead and out of the back. He fell into the concrete.

  All the attention had been drawn to Harry’s demise. We were all caught off guard when we heard a car start behind us. Victor and his goon had gotten in the car and were now flying toward the front gate.

  We all opened fire on it as it was passing by. Will was driving. Victor must have been ducked down because we didn’t see him. What we did see though was Will take a bullet to the face.

  The wheel was cut sharp and the car went rolling toward the gate before finally crashing into it upside down.

  Will was halfway out of the driver side window. He was lacerated everywhere and blood flowed from his head wound.

  The back passenger door then opened and was pushed slowly open. Victor slowly crawled out into the street and came to a stop. He looked up and around. He was exactly as I had pictured him from Hank’s description. His hair was slightly long and combed to the side and over his eye. It was dishev
eled from the wreck. He slowly leaned up and I saw he was wearing an untucked blue dress shirt and black slacks. His forehead was cut at the hairline and a line of blood was running down the side of his face into his stubble.

  He sat there on his knees with his hands on his lap. He was looking at the street and suddenly he smiled and starting slowly shaking his head.

  He lifted his head after a short time and glanced around. He looked right at me. One thing Hank didn’t describe was the hate in his eyes. Pure hate and arrogance. He’d lost the war and yet he smiled. I wasn’t sure if he was in denial or just plain crazy. Maybe both.

  He looked over and saw Wayne aiming at him. He made a “hmph” sound and nodded to himself with a smirk. He didn’t plead in anyway. He never raised his hands and asked not to be shot.

  He turned to look behind him. He looked at Will hanging dead out of the car and then he looked further over at Harry with an arrow protruding from his skull. He turned back around and began to stand up. Once to his feet he looked around again. He was about thirty feet from me and my friends.

  He looked at us and gave a slightly sarcastic grin. He had a little blood on his teeth.

  VICTOR: Well! I must say, gentlemen…I did not see this coming. Obviously my men are…were!…incompetent. I’d punish them but, since you killed them all. It’s so damn hard to find decent help. [shakes head]. I under estimated you country folks. Smarter than I thought. More organized than I would have imagined. I can admit that. How many of you are there? Come on, I gotta know! You, right there…tell me, please.

  ME: You’re asking me?

  VICTOR: Obviously. I’m looking at you, aren’t I?

  ME: Who you see standing with me. That’s how many tonight. The kid dead over there thanks to your dickhead friend. Lastly, the girl across the street with the bow. The girl that put your dickhead friend down.

  [he looked over at her for a moment and then back to me]

  ME: Back home? Nearly a dozen. With the exception of another young man that was killed by one of yours.

  VICTOR: Quite a few. A full attack on you and my men killed…one of you? And here they come to tell me they got a lot.

  ME: They thought they did. Problem is they didn’t do much coordinating among themselves. We’re also deep in the country. We can vanish into hiding spots pretty quick. Your men didn’t look too hard anyway.

  VICTOR: We outnumbered you greatly. You’re two ambushes were thought out nicely. Yeah.

  [he turned and looked over at Wayne]

  VICTOR: And YOU! I knew you were trouble. Always had my eye on you. I knew I should have just killed you.

  WAYNE: You really should have.

  [he turned back to me]

  VICTOR: I didn’t catch your name?

  ME: Jack.

  VICTOR: You lead these people?

  ME: No. We just work well together.

  VICTOR: I’ve noticed. No leader then?

  ME: A man runs the place.

  VICTOR: Okay, so tell me, Jack. What now? If you’re gonna shoot me then shoot me already.

  ME: We’re not going to shoot you.

  WAYNE: Um, we’re not?

  ALEXIS: Yeah, what the fuck do you mean??

  TODD: I gotta say…I’m wondering what you’re thinking here, Jack.

  VICTOR: As am I! You just keep surprising me, Jack! [smile]

  ME: This has been a long, horrible fight. We’ve lost people. Innocent people were made slaves here and died. We could easily just shoot him now and be done with it. But…I think we should end this war with a bit of civility. We want to eventually get back to being civilized, don’t we? Rebuild? Have a system? Slowly we have to take those steps. I think that first step should be taken now. We take him with us. We actually…we have a kind of trial and decide his fate that way.

  [Victor explodes into a laughing fit, bending and grabbing his knees and then standing up straight again]

  VICTOR: You’re totally screwing with me, right?

  ME: No, I’m not.

  VICTOR: You’re serious? [laughing]

  ME: I am.

  TODD: That’s out of left field. I get what you’re saying, I do. But this freak??

  VICTOR: I resent that.

  ME: Yeah, why not?

  JIM: We’re gonna just lock him up somewhere? Where we sleep? In Haven?

  ME: It’s not like he won’t be under twenty four hour watch by armed and capable people. It won’t take long to figure it out either.

  TODD: I’m just gonna follow your lead on this, but if it was up to me I’d just shoot the son of a bitch in the face and go home.

  RAY: My pops is gonna just love this.

  JIM: Yeah. Kelly too, shit.

  ME: It’ll be fine.

  WAYNE: What about us?

  ME: You all come with us…we have room until we can figure our arrangements.

  WAYNE: You sure? We’ll be welcome? There’s a bit of us. Well, sadly not as many after this fight [sigh]

  ME: I’m sure. It’s you people that made us decide to fight. It was to free you and for all of our security.

  WAYNE: Thank you…

  VICTOR: Well, what are we waiting for, Jack? Take me away officer! Lock me up!

  ME: Shut the fuck up…

  VICTOR: [laughs]

  **

  We used a box truck to push the flipped car out of the way and clear the road and prepped the truck and the other box truck to bring people back with us. We weren’t sure we had all the space for everyone right off the bat, so as much as it pained us, we asked them to grab some of the tents. I’m sure they were hoping to never set foot in them again. However, they didn’t appear to mind. They were just happy to be going to a safe place and not have to worry about being beaten or shot or chained to a wall outside.

  As we were gathering some essentials and tents, we heard something. None of us could tell at first what it was. A growing shuffling sound. It grew louder and closer from the back of the place. On the other side of the back wall.

  Then we heard growls and moans.

  JIM: No…oh, shit.

  TODD: Sounds like a lot. We need to get up high.

  Todd, Jim, Alexis and myself ran into the building and up the stairs as fast as we could. It didn’t take us long to find the ladder that went to the roof. We made ourselves up and onto the surface. I jogged to the end and stopped, stunned. My mouth dropped.

  A sea of Roamers and Shamblers. They were nearing the back wall and they went nearly as far as we could see down the road.

  JIM: I…we…

  TODD: Yeah…we gotta fuckin’ move!

  ALEXIS: There’s hundreds of them. I’ve never seen this many!

  ME: None of us have! Let’s get the fuck gone!

  We went down the ladder at a reckless speed and down the steps even faster and outside.

  RAY: What is it??

  TODD: Roamers. We gotta go.

  [now they could be heard clawing and beating against the wall]

  WAYNE: How many?

  ME: Hundreds.

  MARK: Hundreds?? Is that what you said??

  TODD: They are from here way the fuck toward Kent.

  ME: So many people died at the refugee center there, then add on the local population that was already there. Many of them must have still been in that direction.

  ALEXIS: You’d think they’d have dispersed better by now…

  ME: They probably came from other places in that direction too. All the gunfire attracted them.

  [loud cracking noises at the wall]

  WAYNE: That wall…all these walls were built to keep out a few…small groups. They weren’t built for hundreds. They’re cheap as you can see. Wood, tires, car hoods. Patch work with weak ass support beams.

  ME: Finish throwing what’s left in the trucks.

  We tossed as much as possible in the backs of the two trucks. Some extra food, tents, packages of water, etc. While doing so we heard the wall crash down far behind us. We looked and saw them pouring in like a
swarm of ants. I caught a quick glimpse of a chained Roamer on the wall being trampled. They just kept coming. The back area and street filled with the dead.

  RAY: Oh, wow! Yeah, fuck this!!

  MARK: I second that!