I was dumbfounded. I felt like somebody had just reached out and smacked me across the face. Sass had held nothing back.
“My God Sass, you told them everything. What the hell were you thinking?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You seriously have no clue what he was doing out there with you? You’re going to really stand there and tell me you thought you were just having a little chat about life as it was and how you have been surviving so long?”
“Yes Charlie, what the hell are you going off about?”
The tension was still there between us, it wasn’t as thick as before. It felt like it had changed from anger to confused uncertainty. Sass honestly had no clue what I was going on about.
“My God. He was working you for information on us and you gave it all to him. What were you thinking?”
“Oh, I don’t know, let me think. Oh yeah. I was thinking that this is a good guy and why the hell should we be paranoid of him? Now what are you thinking?”
“Amanda thinks that this fire was set by scouts from Gray to separate us from the others. They wanted to question them about us. She thinks that they are most likely trying to figure out what to do with us warriors when we get there. They are deciding our fate and you go and tell him everything. I told Amanda that you wouldn’t say anything, that you would know better but…”
“But she said I would, didn’t she?”
“Yes. She said you would because you wouldn’t think that you were doing anything wrong.”
“Well I would have to say that she is correct about almost everything.”
“What would you say she was wrong about?”
“The fact that they are the bad guys. What the hell is wrong with you Charlie? When did you become this paranoid?”
“I became this paranoid when it became a necessary part of surviving until morning. Didn’t you hear the guy on the radio refer to the leader of this group as the king? The king? You don’t find anything weird about that?”
Sass stopped talking and thought about it. “Okay, I will give you that one. Calling yourself the king does not make you a bad person though.”
“All I’m saying is this situation is looking more and more like we are actually walking into the insane military commander part of our zombie adventure. And to be honest with you Sass, that is a part of this movie that I would rather pass on by.”
Sass leaned in close to me and spoke very even and very soft.
“Have you ever stopped to realize that all the qualities of your insane military commander could just as easily fit Amanda as they do this king?"
No, it had never occurred to me. But now that he mentioned it, I could see he was right. Amanda wasn’t pulling the strings of the group. She wasn’t making all the decisions, but she knew she had my ear and that I put a lot of weight behind what she told me due to her experience in the military. But what proof did we really have that she was even in the military? Could she be the crazy one? Could she be trying everything she could to get us to fear Gray so she could instigate a war with the king? I couldn’t bring myself to believe that she was manipulating us like chess pieces, but wasn’t that exactly what military officers did in war? Move troops here, move troops there. Take this spot and blow up that bridge. Were we simply her pawns?
“She’s twisting you around her little finger man, can’t you see that?”
I didn’t think that was fair or true. Yes, I did agree with her on this point and to be honest, she and I saw a lot of things eye to eye. But there were a good number of things that we had differed on. And even though I had repeatedly done things that she thought was wrong or even a stupid waste of time she had always had my back when it came to the group. I am sure she is a little more paranoid than is truly needed, but is that such a bad thing? I didn’t think so. When men are just boys they are taught the Boy Scout motto of “always be prepared.” Wasn’t this level of paranoia just another tool to help us stay prepared for whatever situation appeared on the horizon?
“Charlie she’s turning you into her version of the mafia’s right hand man, and through you, she is gaining control of the group. Whether that is her plan or just a side effect I’m not sure. What I am sure of though is that she scared us both when we met her and she still spooks the crap out of me. Does she still scare you Charlie? If she doesn’t, can you tell me why?”
I thought about it, does Amanda still scare me?
“No Sass, she doesn’t scare me. And the reason why is because she has saved our lives repeatedly. She has given us sound advise and helped us not only survive, but save others. She has always been loyal to you and me, backing us up every time we have been questioned and she has never asked for anything in return…well other than for us to let her shoot Daniel.”
Sass looked down at the floor as he spoke.
“She told you that I would betray the group and essentially rat us all out to the mysterious villain only known as the king. Does that sound loyal to you?”
“It wasn’t like that, she wasn’t accusing you she was just assessing the situation.”
“As far as having our backs, that’s wrong, she’s always had your back. And the last thing you said actually proves my point, at least in my opinion. The fact that she wants to shoot Daniel puts her squarely on my most likely to be a crazy person list.”
“Let’s be fair here Sass, I wanted to shoot Daniel myself in that strip club.”
“But you didn’t try, did you?”
“I didn’t have a gun.”
“I don’t think you would have even if you'd had a gun.”
“Don’t be too sure of that Sass. The problem here is that you have yet to allow yourself to see what our predicament is. Even now, after all we have been through, you still want to live by the rules and ideas of the old world. I’ve attempted to show you time and time again that the world you knew is gone and in our current world there are new rules that we must live by. Things have changed, morals have changed. Anything that places the group at risk is a threat and must be taken seriously. Daniel has put the group at risk multiple times now and you can bet your hairy butt that he is sitting in Gray right now selling us all down the river. If we had let Amanda put a bullet in his head back in that strip club then he wouldn’t be around to be a risk now. But no, we reverted back to a set of morally useless rules that pertain to the old world, not this one. So now here we sit. He’s there and we’re here and who knows what ideas he’s putting in the mind of a guy who has proclaimed himself a king. Does that sound safe to you?”
“You’ve said things like this to me quite a few times today. This new world you’re talking about, these news rules we have to live by. I can’t understand why we have to give up our humanity just because things are more dangerous now. In war do you see soldiers shooting each other because one of them gets a little mouthy? Do you see football teams finishing off their star players just because they start acting like an ass?”
“Both of those situations are examples from the world that was, not the world we live in now. In this world we are the prey, we are extremely outnumbered and are being hunted every minute of every day. Our group has to stay strong mentally and physically. You get one crazy like Daniel in the group and you've got problems. He has the potential to break the group apart.”
Sass looked down to the floor again. He seemed lost in thought. It was half a minute or more before he looked up and gave me a sigh that said everything I needed to know. He was tired. He was wired. He was sick of being scared. He also had no clue what to say to me.
“I don’t know Charlie. I just don’t think I could ever believe that killing somebody is a good thing. I can see your side of this, but I just can’t support it.”
“Fair enough Sass, but I am just letting you know that if he endangers the group again I’m not sure if I will stay Amanda’s hand. I can say with one hundred percent honesty that I think killing him is the best move that we could make.”
Sass shook his head at me,
“Did you ever think that you would say those words at any point in your life?”
I thought about that question and could see the point he was trying to make, “No. I never thought I would be saying something like that. I also never thought I would be trying to keep a group of people from being eaten by zombies either. It’s not going to be easy to stay alive in this world and we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot because we don’t like the idea of getting our hands dirty.”
Sass shrugged, “Like I said, I can see your point. I just can’t imagine a set of circumstances that would ever make me agree with it.” The whole life or death Daniel decision seemed to be weighing him down so I decided a change of subject was needed. Winking at Sass I said, “I still love ya, even though you did rat us out.”
I smiled big so he could see I wasn’t being serious and I began to walk back down the short hallway.
“Let’s go see if there are any cable stations still on the air.” I said.
Sass followed me into the living room, “Do you really think there’s still going to be stuff on TV?”
“There is still power isn’t there?”
“Somehow I find it hard to believe that there would be people still sitting in some broadcast booth pushing the buttons to keep the channels on the air.”
“Sass what century do you live in? It’s all computerized. That stuff will run until the power goes out and then there are most likely back up generators that will kick on and keep the signal going for a bit longer.”
Sass gave me a look that said, “You think you’re so smart.”
I grabbed the remote and clicked the TV on. The picture showed a commercial where a mop had been kicked to the curb in favor of a Swiffer product. The mop hid behind a tree watching through the window as its previous owner, a woman who looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties, danced around the room cleaning the floor with the shiny new utensil. I stood there thinking that this crap could possibly be the last thing I would ever watch on television and was somewhat depressed by that idea. The truth of our situation hit home while I watched this mop weep over its lost relationship.
“Are you ready for some football?!” There will be no more of that. There will never be another Monday night game. There would be no more movies to watch either, be it new or old. Will Smith wouldn’t defeat the evil robots. Indiana Jones wouldn’t save the day. Humpfrey Bogart would never again tell Ingrid Bergman that she was in fact getting on that plane or she would regret it.
The death of television was a painful revelation and it hit me far harder than I would have ever imagined. The television had been there for me throughout my entire life.
“Bored?” It would say. “I’m here.”
“Excited about that season premier episode? I’m there with you brother.”
“Can’t sleep? Come here and let me lull you unconscious with my stories that you have watched again and again. Let me sooth you into a slumber with my infomercials and documentaries. Let me be the friend you need when you find you have the time and the desire to be with me.”
This was going through my head as I turned to Sass and said, “Yes. I am that smart.”
Sass wasn’t impressed with me, or at least he wasn’t going to let me see it if he was.
“Hey, see if any of the news networks are still broadcasting.”
I turned the station to one of the twenty-four hour news networks and we saw a picture of a ragged looking anchor woman talking to us. The banner at the bottom of the screen said “The Dead Walk! Live Coverage!”
“Oh, my God.” Was all I could think to say.
“Turn it up.” Sass said.
“…is unknown but we are getting reports of these creatures…these zombies… in every state of the union and initial reports of it just being a phenomena that was limited to the US borders are now being shown to be false. Reports of zombies in London, Moscow, Japan and even inside the Great Wall are flooding the airwaves. So far the only place on the globe that is still reporting as being zombie free is the continent of Australia.”
The woman stopped and took a drink from a glass of water. I looked to Sass and mouthed the word “Australia?” Sass shook his head, “Don’t even think about it.”
“These creatures don’t feel pain. They can’t be stopped by anything short of severe head trauma or better yet, decapitation. If you are just joining us I am sure you are aware of the event that is taking place world wide since this morning. America was the first to be hit by this wave of dead terrorists. However, this event has since spread across the globe. The president and vice president are reported to be hidden away in a bunker located somewhere within the continental United States, but no further information has been given. There are rumors that both are dead…or worse. But at this time those are only rumors fueled by the fact that the president’s speech for tonight has been delayed. The official story is that the emergency broadcasting network is going to carry the speech, which will air possibly late tonight or tomorrow during the day. It will then repeat every hour for the foreseeable future as our nation readies for the war we find ourselves facing with the dead.”
“We’re at war? With them?” Sass said in surprise. “I would imagine a platoon of soldiers could walk into midtown New York and cleanse the entire city before the sun went down.”
“It’s a numbers issue and we are way behind the curve. You never played Everquest with me so let me give you a quick education of what is called the zerg strategy.”
“Zerg?”
“Yes, the zerg strategy. It’s a manipulation of a basic law of physics. Many weaker objects repeatedly assaulting a vastly stronger object will eventually destroy the stronger object. This is as long as there are enough weaker objects to finish the job.”
“Okay, in English now.”
“It’s like this. In EQ if you are level twenty and you find yourself being attacked by a level two then you know you’re in no danger. The level two may get lucky and pop you for somewhere between one and twenty points of damage before you absolutely crush him and he falls down dead. This is nowhere near your total hit points so you laugh it off, kill the newb, and go on about your business. However, if there is a never ending horde of these level two characters continually attacking you then those one to twenty points of damage start adding up. Eventually this wave after wave of low levels will kill you simply because you couldn’t kill them all before their combined damage killed you. Understand?”
“So, you’re saying we are at war because no matter how good of a marksman our soldiers are they couldn’t kill all of the zombies in New York before they found themselves overrun and eaten.”
“Exactly. It’s been done repeatedly throughout history. If you can’t out think your opponent simply out man them.”
Sass nodded and turned back to the TV where the newswoman was now saying, “…have lost contact with Seattle and Las Vegas since the last time we checked in. As well we have reports that the Chicago group is in danger of breach. We go now to check on the WMAQ news team. How are things in Chicago guys?”
The feed changed to what seemed to be the inside of an office. The vantage point of the camera didn’t really provide anything useful for determining what was going on. The video had connected before the audio did so the scene was dead quiet except for the newswoman saying, “Guys? Guys, are you there?”
The sound appeared and the woman immediately quit talking as you could hear banging coming from off camera. Beneath the banging you could hear things being moved, or slid, across the floor. An unseen voice said, “Dammit Joe, get the camera, we’re going to have to run for it.”
“Run where?” a voice asked.
“Anywhere that itn’t here.” The voice answered.
A man ran across the room. For an instant you could see him as he moved across the right side of the screen and disappeared off the left.
“Come on Joe, grab the camera, we gots ta go out the window!”
“If I move they’ll get in.” Joe s
aid to the unnamed man.
“They’re coming in either way! Let’s go!”
A new person appeared from the right side of the screen and for the first time we see Joe. He is tall and thin. His blue jeans and grey t-shirt have stains on them that I could only imagine was blood. He ran to the middle of the picture then stopped and looked back at what I guess was the barricaded office door. He then just stood there watching whatever was happening off the screen.
“Dammit Joe, COME ON!” the other man yelled, but Joe wasn’t moving. It was like he was hypnotized. I could hear glass breaking and wood splintering as the dead began the breach the defenses that these two men had hoped would protect them. Still Joe stood his ground. There were no more shouts from the other guy. I imagine that he had bailed out the window figuring if Joe had suddenly decided to have a death wish then it wasn’t his problem. The breaking sounds were getting closer and still Joe stood like a statue. If he didn’t turn and run in the next few seconds it was over for him and the whole world would be able to see it in HD.
The first zombie arm came into view out of the right side of the picture. Joe remained standing completely still. He was frozen to the spot and I was to the point of wondering if he would even scream as they took him down. Now the body of the zombie lurched into the screen. Joe took this moment to decide that moving would be a great idea. He turned to make a break for the window.
Joe was wrong. Moving had been a great ideal until about ten seconds before he decided to do it. As he turned to run, the lead zombie reached out and snagged his shirt. He spun around and pulled that zombie off its feet, throwing it sideways into a heap on the floor. This move was impressive but it rocked Joe off balance. As he staggered to his right for a moment regaining his balance three more zombies closed in on him. He made to run again but two of the three were already on top of him. He pushed one off and began beating the other in the head when a fourth zombie got its hands on him. This time it was fatal. The zombie raked its fingernails down Joe’s arm ripping long bloody gashes into him. Joe screamed in pain as the first zombie regained its feet and lunged at him from behind grabbing him in a reverse bear hug and sinking its teeth into Joe’s shoulder.
A Good Distance From Dying Page 16
