Charlie's Requiem: Democide

by Walt Browning

  Maria found a legend stapled to the wall at the west entrance, and following the directions, she made her way around the back of the pavilion to an open bay where some disinterested camp residents were “volunteering” their time distributing a pitiful assortment of lawn toys. Frisbees, several balls and a croquette set were the extent of the “recreational” activities available. But, on the back wall, a library of paperback and hard-covered books were available to read.

  “I’d like to check out a book,” Maria said.

  “Sure,” the volunteer said back without taking her eyes off of the magazine she was perusing. “You just can’t take any with you. We have chairs you can use while you read.”

  Maria saw that dozens of folding chairs were arranged throughout the bay, most still collapsed and leaning against the walls. Maria started to walk behind the table where the woman sat, but was stopped before she could enter the bookshelf space.

  “Card please,” the volunteer snidely stated.

  Maria handed over her I.D. card and the woman swiped the magnetic strip through a reader. After getting a green light, she was allowed to enter the enclosed space and choose something to read. Soon, she found a hardback novel called “The Giver,” and unfolding one of the chairs, she sat down and began to read.

  Time moved quickly and after she finished the fourth chapter, she stood up to stretch her legs. The metal and plastic chairs were definitely not comfortable for reading, but the book had done its job and several hours had passed by without her thinking about the future. Maria sat back down and was just starting to read again, when a short DHS Agent started walking her way. Perplexed, Maria sat and stared as the woman made a bee-line directly to her, bypassing several other women who were reading as well.

  “Maria de la Hoya?” The woman asked.

  “Yes,” she tentatively replied.

  “Come with me, please.”

  “But why, I haven’t done anything wrong?” Maria shot back.

  “No, you haven’t,” the agent said. Then she leaned in and whispered, “Just come with me. It’ll be alright.”

  Maria didn’t know what to do. She sat frozen while the other women stopped and stared at the two of them. The agent stood quietly, waiting for Maria to stand up. When that didn’t happen right away, the woman reached out and grasped Maria by her right arm and gently tugged.

  “Now, would be nice, Ms. de la Hoya.” She more sternly commanded.

  “Don’t touch me,” Maria shot back.

  The agent backed up a bit, then removed an electric prod she had attached to her belt. No firearms were allowed in the facility, preventing them from being stolen and used against the agents themselves. But the electric prod issued by DHS was reported to carry a 5-million-volt shock. With low current, it wasn’t fatal, but the high voltage guaranteed a heck of a jolt if she used it on her.

  “Are you stupid?” The agent asked. “Just come with me or I’ll use this damn thing on you.”

  “Where am I going?” Maria asked.

  “Just shut up and follow me,” the agent replied.

  Maria marched in front of the woman, following the agent’s directions as they made their way to the front of the facility.

  “Stop here,” The agent ordered.

  The little woman walked up next to her and looked up.

  “Don’t act surprised when you see him.” She instructed. “Just act natural, like you know him.”

  “Who? Who am I supposed to know?”

  “Just do what I say. Now move it.”

  The two of them resumed their march to the processing center at the front of the fairgrounds. Maria passed through several more security points; and as she got close to the front gate, she gasped in awe at the sight. Stretching for as far as she could see, thousands of people were lined up, waiting to be processed. Tables with electric and network cabling were stretched across the huge parking lot in front of the 30,000 square foot, single story exposition hall. Coming in from the side of the building enabled Maria to see past the expo center and witness the drama before her. There were refugees as far as she could see.

  A serpentine line wove its way back and forth from the left side to the right end of the parking lot, eventually spilling out onto the four-lane highway in front of the fairground’s property. She stopped to gape at the magnitude of the situation. She noticed that many of the processed people were being ushered into the expo center itself, but a good number of these poor souls were being shoved onto busses that quickly whisked them away and down the road. Their final destination was unknown.

  “Stunning, isn’t it.” The female agent said as they both watched the chaos in front of them.

  Maria quietly was led to a door at the back of the expo hall. They were checked by a sentry once again and they passed through to a small room where five male agents waited. One of them, a tall and fairly good-looking man with light blue eyes came toward her.

  “Maria!” He said and opened his arms to hug her.

  Who the heck was this! Maria thought to herself as she recoiled and pushed the aggressive man back.

  “GET AWAY FROM ME!” She shouted.

  The other four men stood back and chuckled, their fingers pointing at her and her attacker.

  “You said it. She’s pissed!” One of them said between laughs.

  “Come on, Maria,” the aggressive agent said. “You know I didn’t mean to leave you here. It just took some time to find you.”

  Maria was dumbfounded, but wasn’t going to be tricked so easily. She had heard of some women vanishing from camp when they caught the attention of the wrong people. Could she be the next to “disappear?”

  “STAY AWAY,” Maria shouted as the man came forward again. She swung at him, attempting to connect with a right cross. But the man was big and quick and suddenly had her arms pinned behind her back.

  “How long have you known her?” One of the four agents asked.

  “Well,” the man said. “To be honest, I’ve never met her before today. I saw her being processed and it took me a while to find out her name.”

  “Oh NO!” One of the others laughed. “You DOG!”

  “Don’t tell anyone,” John said over his shoulder as he pressed into the helpless girl. “She’ll come around when she sees where I live.”

  Maria tried to bite the vile man, but he was just too powerful. She felt him pressing himself into her. He easily held her arms behind her back with one hand; and taking the other, he grabbed her chin and forced it to the side, exposing her left cheek and neck.

  The man moved in, bringing his face into her neck. She felt his nose slowly moving up her skin, stopping at her ear. He inhaled deeply and turned back to his friends.

  “God she smells great!” He stated.

  The other four were mesmerized as their friend overpowered her.

  “I live in the high rise downtown,” He said loud enough for the others to hear. “I have electricity and I’ve got all the food, hot running water and drinks you want. Just take care of me, and I’ll take care of you!”

  Maria fought back with all her might, but she couldn’t stop the horrific man from moving in closely once again. He pressed his lips to her ear, and before she could react, he whispered to her.

  “I’m here to get you out of here. Jorge sent me.”

  Maria was dumbfounded. Was this a trick?

  She momentarily stopped her struggles and he slowly let her turn toward him. She looked into his eyes and instead of seeing a predator, she saw empathy. He was telling the truth.

  Maria relaxed and he released her arms. She put her hand on his face and caressed it.

  “Running hot water you say,” She replied with her sultry voice. “Why didn’t you say so.”

  The other four men were stunned. They looked at the
agent like he was some kind of a god.

  “Told you,” was all he said.

  The little female agent took control; taking Maria by the arm, she announced that she would personally process her.

  “Hey John,” she stated. “I’ll be done in about five minutes.”

  “Meet you out front, Beth.” He replied.

  “Dude,” one of the four said with awe. “That was just too cool.”

  The men were all speaking at once to their new hero, as Beth led Maria out of the room and deeper into bowels of the expo center. Another female “volunteer” retrieved Maria’s belongings while she was being processed out. After returning her Fairgrounds I.D. card and getting her box of personal items, she and the female agent named Beth left the building, meeting John in a side parking lot.

  They got into his military vehicle and put the camp behind them.

  “You better not be screwing with me!” Maria hissed as they turned left on Colonial Drive and headed back toward downtown. John sat quietly as Jorge’s girlfriend railed away at him from the passenger’s seat. He knew there was nothing he could say that would mollify the young woman as she went on and on about her time spent in Camp Fairgrounds.

  As she unleashed on him during the five-minute drive, he learned a lot more about the setup at the facility. She confirmed his suspicions that it was a processing camp; and from what she was yelling about, mostly in English with a few choice Spanish slang words thrown in, it was not good. Women in danger from predators, transfers to places unknown and forced separation of families painted a bleak future for the camp’s occupants.

  “HEY! BUTTERCUPS!” Came a shout from the backseat.

  Maria stopped her ravings as Beth leaned up between the seats.

  “We didn’t have to do this, you know. We can get in a lot of trouble for getting you out of there. Now shut up and let us get you to your boyfriend.”

  Maria sat back, crossed her arms and looked out the window at the passing buildings.

  “How did you find me?” She finally asked.

  “I got access to the DHS database and saw you were registered at the Fairgrounds. I knew which tent you were in, but we found your specific location when you registered at the camp’s recreation center.”

  “I didn’t know what you looked like,” Beth chimed in from the back seat. “So when we pinpointed your location, we beat feet over here and got to you before you could leave the library.”

  “So, how do you know my Jorge?”

  “I don’t, really.” John replied. “But he saved some people I know and I figured I owed him.”

  They passed under the interstate, travelling over North Garland and Orange Avenue. High rises flanked them on their right as the bulk of the city skyline stood to the south.

  They finally turned right onto Highland Avenue and followed it back toward the downtown district. After a quick zig zag, they ended up at a Lutheran School. The beautiful old brick structure dominated the corner of the block. Its main entrance stood open as large wooden double doors were propped outward. To the left of the double door entrance, a green space of lush, ankle high grass was enclosed by a wrought iron fence. Thirty-foot spans of black metal fencing were anchored by brick pillars matching the majestic attached church. They pulled into an asphalt parking lot just past the grassy yard and stopped.

  Maria looked about, not seeing anyone around. She turned a suspicious eye back to John.

  “OK!” She said. “Where is he?”

  “Inside,” John replied and pointed to a side door that sat slightly ajar.

  She hesitated, not trusting the situation.

  “GO!” Beth yelled. “We’ve got to get out of here before someone sees us!”

  Maria grabbed her box of personal belongings and jumped out of the vehicle, running several yards away as if the large M-ATV was on fire. She stopped and turned back to look at the two agents one last time. Beth hopped out of the back door and took her place in the front passenger side.

  With her arm draped over the frame of the open side window, Beth barely lifted her hand, giving Maria a quick wave. The oversized vehicle slowly lumbered away, its diesel fumes billowing out of its elevated exhaust port.

  Maria turned and started walking toward the door, but before she could take more than two or three steps, Jorge burst out of the darkened entryway. They ran at each other and met on the sidewalk. As they hugged and kissed, she realized just how bad the last week had been, and how good it felt to be back in her man’s arms. Finally, he released her and pulled her into the abandoned school, the darkness enveloping them as he gently closed the steel-framed door.

  “Did you see those two!” Beth beamed as they rolled back to DHS headquarters.

  John smiled and looked over at his friend. “Yeah. Feels good to do something nice.”

  “Makes you realize what side you’re on,” Beth replied. “I don’t know about all this. I’m grateful to have a roof over my head and hot meals every day, but I can’t shake a bad vibe I’m getting. Truth be told, I feel dirty working for these guys.”

  “Three hots and a cot, huh. Sounds like jail.” John shot back.

  Beth contemplated John’s observation and quickly agreed with his assessment. It felt like she was in jail. Not that the work environment was so bad, since she had drawn security at the Hughey Street headquarters building and didn’t have to leave the structure like John did.

  Although she hadn’t been on the streets, she did hear the stories that the patrol agents were bringing back to the station. Theft, assault, rape and murder were all at epidemic levels with no societal restraints to keep the bad people in check. Even though the criminals represented just a fraction of the general population, they had their way with the others, wreaking havoc and spreading pain. The thugs were a pestilence that needed to be eradicated.

  What bothered Beth was that DHS was only interested in processing people through their system, and not in protecting those that they hadn’t collected.

  “What about Mike?” John asked. “How’s he handling his new position?”

  Big Mike had drawn a patrol job similar to John’s. The problem Mike had was that they assigned him to the south side of town, putting him as far as he could have been placed from his mother and two sisters who were living to the north in Sanford. Mike’s dream of reuniting with his family wasn’t going to happen with him giving out relocation instructions to the residents of Orlando almost 40 miles south of the family homestead.

  “He’s not happy!” Beth said with a grin. “He’s already trying to finagle his way up north.”

  With a non-essential travel ban in place, and DHS checking mileage on their vehicles, any extensive travel would be suspect. John had already checked his M-ATV for a GPS positioning tracker and found none. But it wouldn’t be hard for them to put one on at any time, so keeping your mileage steady and unremarkable was a smart move.

  They pulled up to the headquarters’ front entrance, and Beth hopped out. Giving John a wave, she trotted through the glass doors and disappeared into the bowels of the large, brick structure.

  John rolled into his assigned parking spot and shut the beast down. While he went on his mission to retrieve Maria, he had his partner deliver their report to their bosses, spelling out how the corpse at the OUC lot had died from electrocution in a world without power. He wanted to get Charlie and her crew out of his hair as soon as possible, and he didn’t want to include Bru in his plans. So he sent the young man into the lion’s den and made the trip to Camp Fairgrounds and back in less than 45 minutes.

  Typical of the government, Bru didn’t show back up to their vehicle until an hour later. All in all, it took him almost two hours to give a report that shouldn’t have taken more than 15 minutes. John had counted on the inefficiency of the administration to give him the time he needed to ge
t Maria. He and Beth had a backup story if Bru was waiting for him when they returned, but Drosky was glad that he didn’t have to lie to his partner and that typical bureaucratic bullshit was still alive and well in the apocalypse.

  “We only have another two hours to go on our shift,” John said as Bru hopped into the passenger side chair. “Let’s roll up over Pine Hills and finish grid 47.”

  “Sound good to me,” Bru said, obviously frustrated and drained.

  “Had a nice time with the boss?” John teased.

  “Yeah, but you wouldn’t believe the bullshit. I was in there with the captain for almost an hour. Then, when he was finished, I was put on a satellite call to freakin’ Washington!”

  “What?” John said. “Washington?”

  “Can you believe that. I don’t know what’s going on, but this fed was real interested in how secure the downtown area was. He asked me about our patrols, and whether I felt safe living there. Then, the two of them started talking about some kind of project and relocation of assets. Then the captain puts this fed guy on hold and dismissed me. As I was leaving the office, I heard them laughing and setting up a lunch for their families sometime next week or the following.”

  John sat silently, too much information was hitting him at once. Things were just moving too fast and in weird directions. From the pre-EMP grounding of the utility assets, to the rapid deployment of generators and repair personnel, the entire response to the EMP was eerily efficient. Now Bru says that some people from Washington were already making Orlando a home for more feds. All of these things made John uneasy, and the situation was starting to smell.

  After their shift had been completed, John made his way back to the tower, cleaned up and headed back to DHS headquarters cafeteria for dinner. After loading up his plate with the least disgusting food they offered, he entered the common eating area and quickly located big Mike and Beth. They had agreed to meet here given that they had all been assigned different buildings to live in. Beth was assigned to a downtown hotel nearby, while Mike was being housed in a four-story government housing project that lacked both running water and electricity. Although Beth’s hotel didn’t have electricity yet, it did have running water; but the water supply to her room hadn’t been cleared for use due to possible bacterial contamination, and testing took time. The first two structures to be cleared of water contamination were the tower and headquarters building. Once those had been deemed safe, the rest of the buildings downtown area were lined up, waiting their turn.