“Yeah, another soldier used me for target practice. Took two in the chest and one in the abdomen about a month ago.”
“You lead an exciting life.” The Doctor mumbled as he probed my chest with his fingers. “Seems that you have two cracked ribs. I am just guessing mind you, since I don’t have an X-ray machine here.”
“You are very good, Doctor. They still hurt and worse, now that I got kicked.”
He stopped probing for now and reached into his bag. He came out with a thermometer which he stuck in my mouth and a blood pressure cuff. The nurse took my blood pressure, while the doctor took some of my blood. They took note of their findings and spoke medical jargon to one another as I concentrated on the view from my window.
“Mister Welko, thank you for being such a good patient. I am going to give you a shot of vitamins and another one with a pain killer to help take the pain of these wounds away. I suggest you eat well tonight and get some sleep. You are a very lucky man to be sitting here alive, with the punishment your body has taken.” He gave me the shots and I thanked them as they left.
I went into the bedroom again and checked the closet. I was amazed to find some clothes in my size. What made me laugh, is that they were khaki pants and blue polos. I checked the dresser and found underwear and socks. I decided it was time for a shower. I peeled off the dirt encrusted pants and climbed into the shower. I sat in the hot water for a while, enjoying the heat and privacy. I figured the room was bugged and maybe even had a camera or two in it. The place was plush but still a prison, I had to keep remembering that. I stepped out, dried off, and dressed in the clean clothes.
I wandered back into the living room to find a tray of food on the table in front of the sofa, including a big cup of coffee. Now I know you are thinking wow, this guy is extremely naïve. They are just softening you up before turning the screws on you. I know they are, or at least I expect it. But I might as well enjoy it while I can. I took the top off of the plate and found a mighty T-bone steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus and a Caesar salad. I ate heartily and sat back on the couch, drinking my coffee and staring up at the sky. I started making a list in my head, of the things I knew and the things I didn’t know yet.
Stuff I know; I am in Las Vegas, I have met who I believe to be the high mucky muck in this section of the Culling Initiative Joseph P. Hedley, I know for some reason they are treating me with civility and had me sign a proof of existence letter. Stuff I don’t know; what is going to happen to me, are my loved ones alive, do they know where I am, is there a rescue plan to come get me?
Ok Dan, are we going to answer their questions or fight back?
I watched as the sky grew dark and the lights of the city came on. I yawned and decided I might as well hit the sheets and see what tomorrow would bring when I woke up. I crawled into the massive bed and was out in seconds. I had a dream that night. One that gave me hope but scared me to my foundation.
I woke up on the bench, overlooking the ocean in Oregon again. The beautiful blonde girl from the boat sat next to me. “I am scared. Not for what they may do to me, but what they may get from me. I do not want to tell them anything that can hurt my family.”
She gave me a smile, and reached out, pulling me close to her. “I promise I will be near and I will take you away from the pain. I will help you stay strong. I will not let them take that from you.” She hugged me and I felt her words flow over me like a blanket. “Be strong Dan. Be the man I know you are. Be the man I have seen you be. It’s time to wake up.”
I opened my eyes, looking up at two guards. “We need you to get dressed, your presence has been requested.”
I could tell they were being cordial by order. But there was a distinct hatred for me. I gingerly got off the bed and made my way to the restroom. I dressed and steeled my courage to face what was coming. The guards led me back to the elevator and they pressed the basement button this time. So I guess, my good time was over. We got off the elevator and instead of carpet we walked down grey painted cold concrete. We came to a robust looking metal door, one guard removed a key and unlocked it. The door was opened and I was led into a dimly lit room. A single metal chair sat in the middle of the room over a drain grate.
The guards sat me down and strapped me in using leather straps. They left and closed the door locking it again from the other side. A TV on the wall came to life. My friend good ol’ Joseph P. Hedley, himself came on. “Mr. Welko, I hoped you enjoyed your dinner, care, and room. I have a friend who is going to come in soon. He is going to ask you some questions. If you answer them truthfully, you will go back to your room and have a comfortable existence here. If you lie or don’t answer him, well, he is gonna hurt you. I want to be as cordial as possible and give you a chance at getting through this with no pain and sorrow. But if you finish with this session and we feel that we are not getting what we want, well, you will be sent to the ‘pit of infected’. It’s hard to describe, so let me show you what that is.”
The camera that was on Joseph, swung to the right and then tilted down. A large hole, so big I couldn’t discern the other side, was packed shoulder to shoulder with zombies. Joseph’s voice came over the speakers. “Now, just to show what this means I have arranged a little show. This person was caught stealing, and was tried in our court system and has been found guilty, and was sentenced to the pit.”
The camera tilted up and showed a man dangling from a rope connected to a crane. His hands were clasped above his head and tied to the rope. He looked beyond frightened, his face couldn’t show the emotions he was feeling. The crane could be heard in the background revving its engine. The man was slowly lowered downward until just feet above the heads of the zombies. With their meal so close, they started to move and reach and growl and moan in anticipation. The man screamed and begged to be saved and forgiven. Then the unbelievable happened. The rope let go from the crane and the man fell onto the waiting zombies. The camera zoomed in tight and caught every scream and blood spurt from the zombies as they tore him apart and ate him. I watched and made sure to sear this picture into my mind. I wanted to hate these people with all that I was.
The camera tilted back and showed Joseph. He smiled and winked into the camera. Then the screen went dark and the TV turned off. I sat in silence for an undeterminable amount of time. I knew what was coming next, but I also knew what the woman in my dream had promised. The door then opened slowly and a small unassuming man walked in pushing a cart. He looked up at me and smiled.
“My name is not important, but they do call me the Librarian. I know not a scary name I agree. But the reason they call me that is because I know how and where to find the answers I am looking for. I brought my tools with me, but I am hoping we can just have a little chat.” He left the room and came back with a stool. He placed it in front of me and adjusted it so when he sat, he could look me in the eyes.
He sat down and crossed his legs, removed a notebook from his pocket and showed it to me. “Your notebook is very interesting. But we have a small problem. You write in some kind of short hand or code that we cannot decipher. So, I guess the first question I have for you. What is in this notebook?”
“That’s an easy one, I thought you were going to ask for something hard. I am from the future and that is my sports cheat sheet of winners and losers. I aim to make a killing!” I made sure to say all this with a straight face and no inflection in my voice.
The Librarian smiled and put the notebook back in his pocket. He then reached back and removed something from his cart. He then turned around and showed me a heavy rubber glove. He smiled at me while he put it on.
“My prostate is fine. You don’t need to check it.” I quipped.
He just continued that little smile. He slid the glove on and flexed his fingers. He then backhanded me so hard across the face, that it brought tears to my eyes. He let out a little sad sigh and smiled at me again. “You are in no way as tough as the men that I have broken. I was told to make sure you stayed in one piece a
nd recognizable, so when they filmed you being fed to the infected you would be recognized and that your screams and begging could be heard. They are going to send it to your friends, so they can see that you died a coward. Now, that does mean that I am limited to what I can do to you. But trust me, I can hurt you in ways that will not leave a mark on you. Also, they never said that I couldn’t burn parts of you with my torch.”
He struck me in the chest so fast that I barely registered the blow. He made sure to hit me palm open on the healing bruise the soldier had left with his kick. My pain nerves ignited in fire and I had to grit my teeth to keep from screaming in pain and showing the punk he’d hurt me. Suddenly a light appeared behind him and moved slowly to the right into my sight line. It transformed from a glob of light to a small figure. Then took on more details. A sob tried to break from my chest, but I swallowed it back.
The shape that stood in front of me, waved and smiled at me. It walked up and touched my chest and then pulled back holding a dimmer light. I could now see my body and the Librarian as he struck me again in the chest this time with a flat wooden paddle. I didn’t feel the pain I felt fine. I looked to the light and made out Angel. She had returned to protect me. I know you are really confused, and let me say I share your sentiment, but here I was holding her hand and looking at my body take a beating. “Hi Dan, surprised to see me?”
“How. How, are you here? How are you doing this?”
“I told you I wouldn’t let you suffer.” She said in her sweet high pitched voice.
“No, you didn’t. A woman did.” My mind was about to shatter.
“Silly. That is me.” She grew and changed before my eyes taking on the beautiful form of the woman from the boat and from the bench overlooking the ocean. She was one in the same.
“How, Angel? How?”
“Come, I don’t want to watch this. Let us go somewhere more peaceful so we can talk.” She gripped my hand tighter and led me into a tunnel of light. When we exited I somehow knew we were on top of the building. We took a seat on a park bench and looked up at the stars.
“This has to be a dream. I can’t understand.” My grip on reality was starting to slip.
“You haven’t had a real dream since this scourge was released on this plane. I have been looking for the right person to stop this from happening. And when I found you I knew I had found what I was looking for. You will put a stop to the hurting. You will stop the evil from destroying everything my master has created.”
“Angel, I don’t understand what you are saying. Who is your master? What did he create? How can I, a normal man, stop this? I am but a flawed man who wants to be with the woman he loves for the time he has left.”
She reached over and turned my head toward hers. Our eyes met, and I saw something I cannot explain. I saw me. No, that’s not right. I saw who I could become. I saw an older me, smiling and holding a little blonde girl who looked a lot like Julie and a lot like Angel. I felt happiness, completeness, and a sense of love. “Dan, do what you are called on to do, and you will have all that you desire. There will be intense pain physical and mental, and you will be on the brink. But remember you will never fall over into the precipice, you will win, you will succeed.” She stopped and looked off to her left and smiled. “Friends are about to arrive. You will be reunited with her soon. I will need to return you to the pain. I am sorry, but be proud, he could not break you.”
“Will I see you again, Angel?” My voice cracked full of emotion.
She was my little Angel again and stood on the bench holding my face in her hands. “I will never truly leave you. I promise.” With an explosion thundering around me, I was sucked back into my body and pain fell over me like a waterfall.
The door of the room blew open in a flash and men rushed into the room. I raised my head and mumbled through my split lip. “Don’t kill him, we need him.” Brian raised his blacked out face mask and gave me an awkward look. Then swung his right fist into the man’s chest crushing him against the wall where he slid down into a heap.
“He’ll live, I pulled the punch at the last second. He is gonna wish he was dead but oh well.” Another soldier came into the room, flipped the man over and zip-tied his hands and feet.
Brian, came over to me and looked me over. “You look like shit Boss.”
“I’ve felt better. Mind getting me out of here?”
Another soldier came into the room and came right up to me, then raised its facemask. Heaven looked me in the eyes and then smiled. “She was right.” He said cryptically. He then produced a key and proceeded to unlock my shackles.
Brian slid his hands under my arms and held me up. “We need to boogie, so no time to let you walk. I will carry, you brother.” He then lifted me onto his broad shoulders into a fireman’s carry. Someone else grabbed the Librarian’s unmoving form and threw him over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes. More men were in the hallway securing both directions. The two guards from earlier were lying in pools of blood on the floor. We moved quickly down the hallway and into a set of elevators being held open by two more men. Once in the elevator someone jammed a needle into my ass. A relief flooded over me, taking the pain away but allowing me to stay awake.
We stopped at the top floor and exited into a hallway being held by two more soldiers. I tapped Brian’s helmet. “I want to speak with whoever is holding this floor.”
Brian stepped up to one of the soldiers. “Dan wants to ask you something.”
The soldier pulled off their mask and the smiling face of Apache showed. “Yes, sir?”
“Of course you would be here. Did you run into a man dressed exquisitely with rings on his fingers?” I croaked out through the quickly numbing pain.
“Yes, we did. He is over there, hog-tied. Why?” She raised an eyebrow.
“He is near the top of the Culling Initiative. Bring him with.” I said breathlessly.
She smiled her deadly smile and pointed to the man on the floor. Made a hand signal and another soldier walked over picked him up and moved up a stairway to the roof. “Done and done, sir.” She touched my cheek softly then cocked her head listening to her radio. Then at full volume yelled, “Choppers are here, let’s move it!”
Brian moved me slightly as he ran up the stairs and out onto the roof. I looked around for the park bench where I’d sat with Angel earlier, but couldn’t find it. I looked around at the sky and listened, but never heard the rotor beats of the helicopter. Then suddenly one came out of the pitch dark and landed briefly on the roof. Brian loaded me in first belting me in, then climbed in next to me. Apache came next, and a couple of other soldiers climbed on. The door slid closed and we lifted quickly into the air. I figured another one was landing to grab the left over soldiers and prisoners.
I looked over at Brian and he removed his mask and helmet and winked at me. “No more leaving like that again. I told you, ‘where you go, I go’. Do that again and I will beat you to an inch of your life.”
I let out half a laugh and half a sob. Tears broke from my eyes and I started having problems breathing. Brian looked concerned and yelled at someone who handed him a mask attached to a tube. Brian slid it over my face and I was able to breathe a little easier. Another prick from a needle, and I faded into oblivion.
I woke up lying in a warm bed under a thick blanket. I moved slightly and reached out, coming in contact to warm skin. The person rolled over onto their elbow, and looked down at me. Julie’s face looked happy and her eyes twinkled. “Good morning mister.” She said in her husky voice and kissed my forehead. “But I swear, if you ever leave me again, I will hunt you down stake you to the ground, and let the bugs eat you alive. You are a monumental asshole.” Her voice grew slightly louder and louder, then to a softer loving tone. “And thank you, for sacrificing everything to make sure I lived.”
I raised my hand and caressed her cheek. “I would give my life for yours every single time. Never a thought.”
She smiled down at me and kissed my lips
tenderly. “I think you have slept enough. Let’s get you up and get the doctor to look you over.”
I groaned then tried to sit up. The pain was not as bad as I’d thought it would be. With Julie’s help, I made it the edge of the bed and slid my feet over and onto the ground. I looked around the room and was amazed to be back in our house on Mountain Home base. I looked down at my chest and found it wrapped in numerous bandages. “So, how long was I out this time?”
“They flew you back last night. You did stay one day at some secret base getting medical attention first.”
I didn’t remember any of that, and chalked it up to the painkillers in my system. “Did they say how bad I am?”
“You took quiet a beating, but from what Brian says you broke those two ribs again. And have a sea of bruises, along with some cuts and a couple of bruises to your face. But I still find you cute.”
The door rattled in its frame as some knocked on it. “Hold on, let me cover up!” Julie called out and ran from the room into our master bathroom. She returned in a big white terry cloth robe and answered the door.
Brian stood there, looking a little worried. “Oh, you are awake. Good. Doctor Harmidi is here, making a house call.”
“Alright. Give Julie some time to put some clothes on and send him in. Oh and Brian.”
He stopped halfway out the door and turned back. He raised his eye brows and waited.
“Thank you for coming to get me.”
He laughed his patented gravel filled belly laugh. “Told you, Boss, I would always be by your side.”
“Oh and Brian?”
He stopped again and waited.
“You know how much it sucks to wake up to your ugly Sasquatch ass?” I croaked out and then tried not to laugh.
He laughed again. “I’m just glad you got the chance to wake up, Boss.” He then retreated quickly, and shut the door.
I sat there staring at the door. Julie moved around me, hurriedly getting dressed. The door knocked again. Julie opened it and invited the doctor in. He sighed and shook his head in mock pain. “You just had to go out and reinjure my good work. Do you think you can stay in one piece this time Mister Welko?”
Zombie Theorem (Book 3): The End Game Page 5
