by Jeff Olah
His vision beginning to clear, Tom could see the concrete ceiling rushing by overhead. It was as though he were floating above the pavement, flying at some low altitude. He squinted and tried to look back. The only thing visible from his current vantage was Cedric, from the waist up.
The older man was breathing hard and had his neck twisted at an awkward angle. He was attempting to lead the group through the darkened space. “Almost there.”
Although his lower half appeared to not be cooperating, Tom could still vocalize his concern for their current situation, whatever it might be.
“Where are we?”
Cedric spoke through his deep sucking breaths. “Garage… too many… too close.”
Just barely able to see Patrick, he could feel the boy’s smaller hands wrapped around his ankles. Weighing in just north of one-hundred-fifty pounds, Tom wasn’t a big man, although managing to carry that much weight while running was no small feat. He was fascinated with the boy’s strength, as well as his stamina. Even more impressive was the fact that the young man was still able to speak clearly. “Dad, there’s another group coming in from the other side.”
“Yes Patrick, I know, but we’ll make it.”
They were slowing. Tom felt as though he was being turned around and as Cedric’s heavy breath sounds began to fade, they were replaced by the heavy footfalls of the approaching horde. “Put me down.”
He wasn’t sure if he could run. He wasn’t even sure if he could walk, but having no control over where he was or how he was getting there wasn’t sitting right. Tom arched back and looked up at Cedric.
“Put me down, I need to walk.”
“Sit tight, we’re there. Your friend is going to open the door.”
Tom didn’t know what that meant. Where were they? He assumed by his surroundings, that they’d entered the parking garage of another building. As they came to a stop, he looked left and noted two white luxury SUVs sitting alone near a three-foot retaining wall.
“Where are we going?”
He heard the sound of a door opening behind him and they were on the move again. He looked back and to the left. The woman—his new friend—appeared and then was gone. As his feet were dropped, Tom was pulled backward quickly and then leaned against the wall of a partially lit stairwell.
Cedric moved past Tom and waited as the woman closed and locked the door. Turning to his son, he placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders and leaned in. “You okay?”
“Yeah Dad, I’m fine.”
Turning to the woman, Cedric held out his hand. “What about you?”
“I’m…” She looked down and paused. “I… I don’t know.”
Cedric looked back at his son and then turned to Tom. “Listen, we’re safe for the moment, but if we want to keep it that way, you two are going to have to pull your own weight, at least for the next few minutes.”
Tom gripped the railing and pulled himself up. He looked around and then tested his legs. They were weak, but functional. His lower back was numb and his sciatic had relented for the time being. “Okay, what are we doing?”
Cedric turned to his son. “Patrick, go to the front and let your mother know we’re here. Have her send a flare off the west end and then the both of you get back to the suite. I’ll send one off the south side and then come back for these two. I’ll meet you upstairs in twenty minutes.”
“Okay Dad.” Patrick nodded and disappeared up the first flight of stairs.
The woman had moved away from the door and stepped in beside Tom. She dipped under his right arm and smiled nervously.
As the exit door three levels above slammed shut, Cedric turned. He appeared harder, less accommodating. In the dimly lit space, he looked older, much older than even five minutes before. The lines running across his forehead deepened and as he stepped forward, he folded his arms into his chest
“Before I take you two any further, I need to know if you’ve been scratched or bitten. I don’t care how or why, but I won’t have either of you—”
Tom shook his head. “We’re both clean.”
“Then what the hell is with your leg?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Cedric grinned. “Oh yeah? Try me.”
“It’s a cramp, just a stupid cramp. I haven’t had anything to eat since yesterday afternoon and no water in like two days.”
“All this just because you’re dehydrated?”
“No, I guess I’m just run down a bit.”
Cedric paused a moment. He looked from the woman to Tom and then up the stairwell, like he was running through some internal debate. He finally dropped his arms to his side and let out a long breath. “Okay, you are here because of my wife Veronica.” He looked specifically at the woman. “She spotted you yesterday when she was doing her rounds. We lost you until earlier today and watched as the two of you disappeared into that other building. We were going to wait out the crowd and come for you tomorrow morning, but that plan got shot all to hell once those things got through on the other side of your building. You would have never seen them coming.”
The woman placed her hands together. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I told my wife the risk wasn’t worth it. She’s the one you need to thank.”
Tom held out his hand. “I’ll thank her later, but for now I’m thanking you. You and your boy saved my life.”
Cedric shook his hand.
“But don’t worry,” Tom said. “We won’t be a burden. We have somewhere to be, people waiting on us.”
“Well, you’re not going anywhere tonight, it’s just too dangerous. Plus, we have plenty of food and this place is as secure as anywhere else you’re going to find. You’ll have something to eat, get a good night’s rest, and then we can talk about the best way for you to get to where you’re going.”
“Okay, what do you need from us?”
Cedric pointed toward the stairs. “Third floor, can you manage that on your own?”
Tom spoke before the woman had a chance. “Sure.”
“I have something I need to take care of, gotta scatter that herd out there, get them away from the garage. I’ll meet you in the lobby of the third floor in ten minutes. Just wait there for me.”
They both spoke at once. “Thank you.”
79
Following the dark-colored muscle car through the parking lot, Ethan slowed the armored truck and pulled into a spot fifty feet from the gymnasium. He peered down through his window and watched as Maddox stepped out onto the asphalt. The large man motioned toward the opposite side of the vehicle and Cora followed Chuck out through the passenger’s side.
Shannon called out from the rear. “What are we doing?”
Ethan turned in his seat. “I think we’re getting out.” And keeping his eye on Maddox, Ethan then spoke to Horatio. “What’s next?”
“They’re probably going to take you inside with the others and make you think you’re welcome here, make you believe that they’re halfway decent people.”
“I think that ship has sailed.”
Horatio lowered his voice and spoke quickly. “We don’t have much time. They’ll probably be serving dinner soon. After that, Maddox and a few others are going out on another run, heading to some of the higher-end communities. Once they’re gone, you need to leave.”
Ethan shook his head. “Somehow, I don’t think that woman is just going to let us walk out the front door.”
“No, you’re going to have to leave on foot. You’ll find another vehicle. There are plenty left abandoned out on the streets. And you’ll need to leave town, I mean completely.”
“That has been our plan all along.”
“Good, because Josie isn’t going to like it when she finds out you’re gone. She’ll send Maddox and the others to find you.”
Ethan continued to watch through the window as Maddox moved around to the front of the dark-colored car and spoke quietly to Chuck.
Horatio continued. �
�When you drive out, you’ll need to take Santa Fe to Highway Seventy. That’s the only route we don’t have covered. You know where that is?”
“Yes, but why are you doing this? You don’t know us, for all you know we could be—”
“Because, those people—Josie, Maddox, a few others—they aren’t right. They think they get to decide how this new world works, which people are bad, which ones are good. They don’t trust anyone and have done some things that I don’t even want to think about.”
Ethan turned away from the window and held out his hand. “Thank you.”
Horatio shook his hand, but pulled away quickly. “Okay, after dinner, they are going to separate you into two groups. The women will be taken to the Carpenter Hall. The men will go with Maddox to the Admissions building. He’s going to lock you in and then leave. Go to the men’s bathroom on the second floor. I will get there first and leave two pistols in the last stall near the window. It will be unlocked and the only way out where Josie won’t see you.”
“How do we get to the women without being seen?”
“It’s a straight shot back to Carpenter Hall from there, stay in the shadows and I’ll make sure the front doors are unlocked.”
“But how—”
Looking over Ethan’s shoulder, Horatio interrupted. “He’s coming, here we go.”
Three thunderous knocks on the driver’s door and then Maddox’s voice. “Let’s go ladies.”
Ethan reached for the handle and opened the door. As he did, Horatio also opened the passenger door, stepped out, and quickly moved around the front of the armored truck. The three men stood between the two vehicles. Ethan reached for Cora and pulled her in close.
Horatio looked up at Maddox and stepped toward Ethan. “Let’s go,” he said looking into Ethan’s eyes. “I already explained the rules around here. Get in line and keep your mouth shut.”
Maddox cut his eyes at Horatio. “Easy buddy, these people are going to fit in around here, maybe even contribute. For now, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.”
The big man turned to Ethan. “Isn’t that right? You and your people aren’t going to cause any trouble around here, are you?”
Ethan gave the thumbs up as Carly, Frank, and Shannon stepped out. “Whatever you say.”
Maddox leaned in close as Griffin finally stepped out. “You’re damn right.” He then turned to Horatio and motioned toward the truck. “Get everything out. Take the supplies to the gym and the weapons over to Sammy. Have him catalog everything, and if you see something I might like, bring it over before we leave.”
Horatio nodded and moved back to the truck. He leaned into the cab, reached under the wheel, and then quickly turned back. “Hey,” he said, “might need these.” He tossed the keys to Maddox and then disappeared into the rear of the armored vehicle.
Sending Chuck on ahead, Maddox moved out in front and looked slowly from one end of the line to the other, from Ethan to Frank and then back. “Okay, follow me.”
Ethan raised his hand, mocking the overly dramatic scene. “Excuse me sir, will a bathroom be made available? I’m not sure about the rest of my friends, but I’ve really got to go.”
Already making eye contact with Ethan, Maddox waited for him to finish and then walked to the end of the line. He didn’t respond to Ethan’s question. Instead, he looked back toward the others and said, “I don’t possess a sense of humor. It pisses some people off and scares others. So one of you may want to explain to your friend why he should keep his mouth shut. If I have to do it, he’ll be eating through a straw for the rest of his life.”
No one said a word.
“Okay,” Maddox said, “let’s go.”
Stepping out from between the armored truck and the jet black muscle car, Maddox strode quickly toward the darkened campus. “Don’t fall behind,” he said. “I’m not waiting for any of you.”
Passing the last row of parked cars, Shannon shifted her place in line. She fell back and allowed Frank, Ben, and Griffin to take the lead. She moved alongside Cora and laid her hand on the taller woman’s shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Cora said. “They really didn’t say anything to me. The big one just told the other one that they needed to hurry. That they weren’t going to screw around this time.”
“Oh?”
“I don’t know what they were talking about. It didn’t make much sense.”
Shannon hugged Cora and pulled her in tight as they continued to walk. “Who knows, probably nothing? I mean these people don’t seem very smart. I’m amazed that they were able to set all this up.”
Shannon was lying. It felt wrong not being honest with Cora; however, she saw no reason to tell her the truth. If she did, she’d have to explain to her and to everyone else what she knew and how she knew. And at the moment, they were less than twenty seconds from walking into the gym, and who knows what else. Right now, she had time for one thing and one thing only. She needed to make sure that what she knew wasn’t going to come crashing down all around them. She needed to let Ethan in on what she’d known since the men in the dark-colored muscle car rolled alongside them nearly thirty minutes before.
She kissed Cora on the cheek and again faded back in line, now allowing Carly to pass as well. When she reached Ethan, the look on his face told her that he knew something was wrong. He moved to the right side of the walkway and looked out ahead.
“Whatever it is, you better be quick; we’re going in.”
She slowed and moved in close, tucked herself under his arm, and whispered into his ear. “We need to leave.”
“Yeah,” Ethan said, “I’m working on it.”
“No, you don’t understand. These people, I know who they are. They all worked for Marcus Goodwin. We have to leave right now.”
Ten paces before the doors and Ethan looked up. “How do you—”
Maddox had stopped and was now turned around staring directly into Ethan’s eyes. “So, anything you want to share with the rest of us?”
80
Scanning the first flight of stairs and then leaning into the railing, Tom looked up into the dimly lit stairwell. Steadying himself, he lifted his right leg up onto the first step and was somewhat relieved. Not much pain, more of a dull ache than anything else. He was slow, but mobile.
Using his right arm for leverage, he took another step and looked back at the woman. She smiled and nodded. He moved up a third step and then a fourth. Finding a rhythm, Tom was able to balance what was left of the strength in his upper body to compensate for his tender legs, hip, and lower back.
Maintaining a steady pace of the awkward pull, step, pull, step, he reached the second floor and without pausing, started up the next set of stairs. He again turned back to the woman and said, “Getting there.”
She didn’t speak, but again simply smiled and nodded. Tom sensed something different in her now. And before turning to face the steel reinforced mountain, he thought he detected a tear forming in the corner of her eye.
Another sixty seconds and he stepped up onto the landing outside the third-floor lobby. He waited as the woman stepped up beside him and then held his hand over the door. “Wait, I trust these people, but I think we should still be careful.” Slowly parting the door, he craned his neck around the corner and then stepped inside.
“It’s clear,” he said, “let’s go.
She followed him into the third-floor lobby and quickly strode to the windows on the opposite end of the floor. She looked out toward the building they’d just come from and watched as the horde continued to filter in and out of the first-floor entrance.
Moving to an overturned chair, Tom righted it, pushed it into the wall, and slumped down into the plush leather. Finding a positon that was somewhat comfortable, he straightened his right leg and began massaging his weakened hamstring. Pushing his thumbs into the rigid muscle, he winced as micro-spasms ran from behind his knee, up into his lower back.
Wincing through the pain, Tom spoke to
his injured body part. “Come on…”
Turning away from the window, the woman walked toward Tom, glancing into the intersecting hall. “What?”
“Nothing, it’s just that I can’t believe that my body decided to wait until now to give up. I mean, I’ve been running like this for six days, why now?”
She continued looking around the lobby, but didn’t answer his question. And when her eyes again reached him, she said, “Thank you.”
“What? I need to be thanking you. You’ve saved me more times in the last few hours than I can count.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know why, but I don’t think I was supposed to die out there. Something inside is telling me that all of this happened today for a reason. You driving through when you did wasn’t just some random coincidence. So I do need to thank you; I need to thank you for saving my life and for helping me to save yours.”
He didn’t know what to do with what she was feeling. These were things he wasn’t used to talking about, especially with someone he knew nothing about. Hell, he still didn’t even know her name, but to be fair, that was also something that eluded even her.
Tom sat with his legs outstretched and looked toward the window. As the gap in the conversation grew—as the seconds passed—he had less of an idea of what to say to the mystery woman. He’d met her only hours before, and between all the running and hiding and not dying, there simply hadn’t been much time for idle chit chat. Now there was and every single question or comment that entered his mind seemed ridiculous given her current state.
Turning back to her, he paused a moment and then deciding not to ignore the elephant in the room said, “Is anything coming back to you… you know about before?”
With the dirty orange backpack still hanging from her shoulders, the woman let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the floor. Crossing her legs, she stared off into the hall for a moment and then turned back to him. “In small flashes.”
