Alpha of the Omega

by Corona, A. M.

  “Where is all of this coming from?” “I tell you where it is coming from its coming from being out there. You need to wake up Hobbs like I said before this is a new world and I will not let anyone not even you keep me from surviving.” Cowan stuck out his hand in a knife gesture. “If you get in my way then I will just have to kill you. So you make up your mind.” Hobbs tried to take everything in all at once. It was too much for him. He was getting fire hosed with too much information. It overwhelmed him. He had to decide what he was going to do. On one hand Cowan had a point this world only belongs to survivalists and the strong. On the other hand there is safety in numbers. The more the better. Just because someone is not strong in surviving does not mean they are not useful when it comes time rebuild. “Just because you think the weak are not worth it then you need to think again. Sure they might seem like they are a liability.” Everyone gasped except for Plague and Cowan. “That does not mean they are useless and need to be killed. They can still be useful when we get on our own two feet and start fighting back.” “Fighting back? They won’t fight back they will run when they get a chance and Thomas was proof of that.” “What I mean is they can be useful in other areas. Not everyone is a fighter but they can do stuff like plant crops, fix engines, fix anything.” “Do you see any mechanics here? What about farmers. Oh please raise your hand if you are a farmer. The only one that probably is of some use is Edward there and that bitch Becky!” “You should know better than anyone especially being in the military. Not everyone is cut out for combat arms but they have their strengths even if they are not fighters.” Cowan let out a breath as his shoulders slumped down. “I am out of here.” Hobbs grabbed Cowan’s shoulder pulling him backwards. Cowan swung around and his fist connected with Hobbs’ face sending him to the ground. Hobbs got up immediately and tackled Cowan to the ground. The two men struggled to get dominance. Each making moves and the other blocking them until Plague finally stepped in. He grabbed Cowan off of Hobbs and shoved him away.

  “Look I am tired of this pity party the two of you are having here. Oh they are weak and a liability. Oh we need them to continue on.” Plague spat on the hard tile. “You both have a good point but this is not the time to be fighting amongst yourselves. There is a war going on gentlemen if you haven’t noticed. It’s humans versus zombies. This is the time we need to stick together so you two need to just cool off before either of you ended up killing each other. Now the way I see it you two are under a lot of stress like the rest of us. You think it has been easy on any of us? Each to his own so either you two kiss and make up like good little boys and girls or each go their own way.”

  Cowan took a step forward and offered his hand to Hobbs. Hobbs took the hand and the two of them embraced each other. Then Cowan turned around and headed towards the door. “Fine then go but I tell you one thing you will not be taking one of the Humvees with you. Cowan ignored the words and preceded towards the door. Becky was the first to take action. She grabbed her halberd and pointed it at Cowan blocking his path. He stopped and pushed the halberd out of the way. “What are you going to do with that little girl?” She was not sure what she was going to do but she knew for certain they could not afford to lose a vehicle. One vehicle was not enough for all of them. She raised the halberd one more time but did not have the stomach to kill another human.

  Cowan pushed the halberd away one more time and opened the door. “Hey buddy I am sorry about this.” “Huh?” Hobbs raised the rifle and the shot echoed around them. Everyone was shocked. Hobbs shot Cowan in the back of the leg. Cowan immediately fell to the ground clutching his leg. He screamed in pain and blood poured out. Plague was the first to react. “Fucking help me!” shouted Plague, looking around for the help he desperately needed. No one moved. The shock stunned them. Then Edward ran and tried to access the situation. “Would you stop moving,” commanded Edward as he was trying to look at the wound. Cowan kept squirming around in pain rocking from side to side. Plague tried to hold Cowan down. Hobbs stood still. He did not even believe what he had done. He just shot his best friend and war buddy. “You fucking shot me!” grunted Cowan between screams of pain. “Well it was for your own good. You were out of control and I had to stop it.” Cowan gritted his teeth, “What did the voices in your head tell you to do that? See he is crazy! Who will he shoot next? Maybe one of you if he feels you are getting out of line.”

  “I need a pair of scissors NOW!” shouted Edward. Everyone stood still. They were too afraid to move. Hobbs grabbed his Gerber out of its sleeve and flung it open allowing the plier end to come out so he could get to the knife. He pulled out the knife and headed towards Cowan. His hands were shaking. Cowan peered up at him and started screaming. “Keep the FUCK AWAY FROM ME!” Hobbs paused for a moment deciding if he was going to go and help or not. Buddy boy why don’t you go ahead and finish the job? You already have him incapacitated. Now would be the perfect time to finish the job. All it would take is one thrust towards the heart. Just shove it right into his heart. Hobbs shook his head. No I can’t do that he told the voice in his head. Why not he’s a liability. After this he will kill you for certain. “I-I-just reacted. I didn’t mean to harm him.” Harm him? Hell you shot him. What did you think that would do? Just make him to be all nice and warm towards you. Just finish the job baby boy. Don’t be a wishy washy bleeding heart vagina.

  “He’s going to kill him,” shouted Lilly. Tears were running down her face. “He’s going to kill all of us!” Becky moved forward and grabbed the Gerber from Hobbs and kneeled down at Cowan’s side. She proceeded to cut away the bloody fabric that was obscuring Edwards view. Edward pulled down the pant leg trying to wipe away all the blood. Cowan was starting to go into shock as the color in his skin started to fade and he stopped moving. “Shit he is going into shock. His breathing is slowing down and his breaths are shallow.” Edward inspected the wound and came to the conclusion the bullet went straight through. “It seems like it missed any major artery which is good. Plague get me something to raise his feet up with he lost a lot of blood. Damn it!” Cowan’s chest stopped rising and falling. “Lilly get me something to keep him warm. I am going to have to start CPR.” Edward slowly tilted Cowan’s head backwards to open the airway and started compressions. He counted out the compressions as he went. Edward took a pause and allowed Plague to give the rescue breaths. Edward continued on with the compression which went on for two minutes.

  “Someone look for an AED. There should be one somewhere.” Becky got up frantic and started looking around. She was running around the building. “I don’t see one.” Then she spotted the red box that was behind the counter. “Got it!” She ran towards Edward who was beginning to slow down his compression as fatigue set in. “Open it up and get it ready.” Becky pulled apart the Velcro that hid the zipper. She started to unzip the case but it got caught and wouldn’t move anymore. She struggled until the zipper was free. He tugged on Cowan’s shirt as far up as he could. “How do I work this?” “Becky pull out the pads and we need to place them on him one on the chest and one on the side.” Becky fumbled around with the pad placing one on the chest and the other on the side. “There should be a button to turn it on so it can start to analyze the heart.” The machine came to life speaking out instructions. The voice was calm and robotic. It spoke in a slow manner. Becky followed the instructions. “Deliver shock,” came the calm voice. “Ok everyone get back,” said Edward. He looked at the machine and found the red shock button. The electricity flowed into Cowan’s body as his body slightly raised. “Well that was a doozy,” said Becky. Edward looked up at her. “This is not the movies!” Edward checked for a pulse as he put his ear towards Cowan’s mouth. He watched to see if there was any rise or fall in the chest. There was nothing and Edward began giving compressions counting them out again. He paused again allowing Plague to give the gift of life into Cowan’s mouth. Edward saw the stomach rise and not the chest. So he adjusted Cowan’s head and began compressions once more. This time whe
n Plague breathed into Cowan’s mouth the chest rose and fell.

  “Analyzing,” came the calm voice from the machine. There was a slight pause and then it said, “Administer shock.” “Clear!” shouted Edward once more as he pressed the shock button on the AED. The chest slightly rose and fell. Lilly was covering her mouth with her hand. Tears ran down her face. Becky pushed her fingers through her hair. She was worried they would lose him. Then Cowan’s chest rose slightly and fell. Edward checked for a pulse. “There is a weak pulse but a pulse.” “Analyzing” came the voice once more. Edward turned off the machine pulling the pads off Cowan. Plague turned Cowan back over so his arm was stretched out while the other draped over his stomach and pushed the body over. He pulled one leg out and placed him in the recovery rest position.

  Edward got up and started running down the ends of the aisles looking for a sponge. They have to be here somewhere. He found what he was looking for and grabbed the biggest sponges he could find. He then moved towards the medicine aisle and looked for the ace bandages. He looked at each one. He couldn’t decide what brand to use. He scratched his head a moment before he came to the conclusion they all did the basic task of wrapping something up. He grabbed two boxes and grabbed some boxes of gauze and headed towards Cowan. Edward dropped the boxes on the floor next to Cowan. He tried opening the package but it would not rip. Again he struggle to tear the plastic but his hands were cramping and he was losing strength in his fingers. Plague ripped the package right out of Edward’s hands and tore it open. He gave a general smile of satisfaction towards Edward. “Well…thank you.” “No problem sugar,” came the response. “I need you to help me with his leg,” said Edward, as he was pulled the contents out of the boxes. “Sure what do you need?” asked Plague with a devilish smile. “Just lift the leg slightly so I can wrap this around his leg. “Sure thing no problem.” Edward was placing the sponge on Cowan’s leg. Cowan jerked slightly for a moment before he was still again. “Ok lift the leg. Gently now.” Edward placed the ace bandage on top of the sponge. Then with his other hand he grabbed two sponges and placed it on the entry and exit wound. He stretched the ace bandage to make it tight. He continued to wrap it all around covering the sponges. He looked at Cowan for any signs of movement. Movement never came. Edward inspected the wrapping. He tried to put two fingers underneath all sides of the bandage to make sure it was not cutting off the circulation. He took a pulse above and below the wrapping. When satisfied he ordered Plague to lower the leg.

  Becky and Lilly were staring at Hobbs. Becky had her halberd clutched in her hands and pointed it at Hobbs. Lilly gave him an icy cold stare. Becky had tears running down her beautiful face those baby blue eyes staring at him. Her eyes were puffy and she pursed her lips together. Hobbs kept his gaze on Cowan averting his eyes from the two women who were staring him down. Baby boy, so what are you going to do now? They think you are a crazy killer. You know that’s not a good combination. I mean they all know you are a trained killer. Well it doesn’t matter now baby boy. The way I see it you have two options here. You can either try and escape and kill them all or you can sit here and rot until they figure out what they are going to do with you.

  Becky thrusted the halberd closer to Hobbs in case he was going to try something. Then came the angry voice from Lilly. “What are the voices telling you to do? Well I would like to see you try it whatever it is. Just move again do it MOTHER FUCKER!” Her hands were balled up into fists ready to strike. “We know what you are now and know what you are planning to do but I tell you it won’t work. It won’t work I tell you!”

  Oh baby, baby boy she has got you pinned now doesn’t she. She knows what we are planning does she? If the bitch only knew what you are capable of. You could easily push Becky aside and snap that bitches neck like a twig. She’s scared and it’s definitely showing it. You on the other hand are calm and collective. This was not the first time you’ve shot someone. It gets easier with each squeeze of the trigger. I say we kill the bitch in her sleep. Yeah you can do that. Edward won’t do a thing. He is just pathetic. Plague though on the other hand is different. He is a trained killer like you and would put up a hell of a fight. Maybe you can convince him to side with you. Are you listening baby boy? Hobbs refused to answer the voice in his head.

  Plague came over and startled Lilly who jumped. His voice smooth, calm, and collective. “It seems like you two are doing a great job over here.” The two women looked at him. “What I mean is I don’t think we really need to guard Hobbs.” Hobbs ears perked up and was happy to think someone was on his side. Lilly raised her hand but Plague caught it and threw it aside causing Lilly to stumble. Becky took a step back keeping the halberd aimed at Hobbs and angled enough to keep both of them in her sight.

  “Little girl you have no idea what you are doing here do you? Let me guess your boyfriend or whatever he is over there didn’t do anything to protect you out there.” He lowered his voice. “He is not much of a fighter now is he?” Lilly’s face turned red in anger. “Now calm down missy. I am just pointing out the facts here. Now Becky over there. She is a fighter and she has the spirit.” “What’s your point Plague?” asked Becky looking at him. “My point dears Hobbs is not a killer. Well not in the sense you think he is. Oh don’t get me wrong he is a killer but think about it if he was going to kill Cowan he would have shot him in the head. Get it done and over with now wouldn’t he?” Hobbs’ eyebrows raised for a moment. Was he coming to his rescue and put both of them straight or was he there to stir the pot. “He just shot him to keep him from taking off with the asset you desperately need. Now I know none of you would really have done the same. So really you should be thanking him that he was so noble. This bunker you guys talked about. How do you think you would have made it there if Cowan ran off with one of the Humvees? I know for one thing I would not want to be jammed packed into one of those things when shit hit the fan.

  Lilly’s face softened and the redness started to fade but Becky kept a defensive stance. “Look baby Hobbs is not the killer you think he is. That is all I’m saying.” He turned around and grabbed a bag of chips from the end of the aisle and started to eat them standing there watching the three. Lilly looked at Becky and they traded glances as Becky shrugged her shoulders.

  “Well he does have a point.” “Becky! I can’t believe you are taking him seriously. Hobbs is a killer we saw what he did to Cowan. What if one of us is next. He is crazy we all know he is. Didn’t you hear what Cowan said about the voices?” Becky shook her head. “Crazy or not he didn’t kill Cowan. We were both there. He was going to run off. Hobbs stopped him from taking the Humvee.” “I can’t believe what you are saying. He is fucking crazy. We can’t trust him.” “Well he has seen and been through a lot,” said Becky, as she was shrugged her shoulders. “He’s crazy and he needs to be dealt with.” “Now this is entertainment.” bellowed Plague with a small chuckle to himself. The two women stared at him as if their gazes could kill.

  “So what do you suggest then Plague,” said Lilly, with anger. “Well toots let’s see what we have here. We have one guy that has defended all of you. He did provide some place to stay rather safely I might add since all the mayhem and fuck storm outside.” Plague took a big breath. He stuck his hands into his pants leaving the thumbs out front. “Then on the other hand he seems like he is going mad and possibly a hazard to all of us.” “Get to the point,” blurted out Lilly, impatiently. “Well like I was saying he has done some good and he is still trying to protect everyone despite his madness. Now his method I might not have agreed with but he was doing what he thought was best. So we can either cage him and let him loose on the zombies when the time comes or we can just outright kill him now and save us the trouble.” “So basically you don’t know what the hell to do.” shouted Lilly, pointing her bony finger at him. “Look I am just stating what is going on here. Basically I don’t give a shit what you guys do. I’ve been fine on my own and I have no ties to any of you. I just figured I’d s
top in and say hello while getting some entertainment and then leave… and maybe getting some action in first, any takers?” Lilly just scowled at him.

  “Well why don’t we just tie him up you know?” came the small voice from behind all of them. “I mean Cowan can be an asshole. I mean just a few days with him and I wanted to kill him myself. Now I say we keep an eye on Hobbs and tie him up for a while until he can come back around maybe we can get some medicine for him or something. Who knows but that is what I suggest anyways,” said Nina.

  “Well I agree with Nina on this. One of us was bound to crack anyways. I think he might have been through a lot more than us being military. I vote we just keep an eye on him and take all his weapons. If he poses a threat later then we kill him plain and simple,” said Becky, looking around to see if the others agreed with her. Plague just shuffled his bag of potato chips looked down and reached in to grab a handful of chips. Then he looked straight at Becky. “Well I guess there are no objections then so that is what we are going to do.”