Charlie's Requiem Novella (9 page)

Chapter 14

Day 5

Charlie

Publix Grocery Store, Kirkman Road

A couple more days went by and Dr. Kramer strode down the sidewalk and stopped short of the shopping plaza parking lot. Hundreds of people were clustered around the front entrance to the grocery store. The doors had been closed and metal storm shutters covered the windows while a retractable metal gate was in place over the front door. People were pounding on the metal gate, demanding to be let in.

We tentatively worked our way to the side of the building, standing next to the windows by the front entrance. The storm shutters covered all of the window except for the very outside edge. We were standing there, trying to decide what to do next, when I heard a tapping from the inside of the store. Someone was rapping their keys or some other metal object on the window from the inside.

I pressed my face against the window and peered into the dark slit where the shutter failed to cover the edge of the glass. Suddenly, a flashlight shone from within, illuminating someone’s face in front of me. It was the boy that Janice had talked into letting us into the store. He backed up from the window a bit and I could see him shining his flashlight on his hand. It was pointing back to the right where we had gone the last time to get in the back door.

I grabbed Janice and she peered into the window as well, confirming the boy’s intention to let us in the back once again. Janice told Dr. Kramer what had just happened and we proceeded around back where we found the young man waiting. Janice roughed up his hair as we walked passed him and into the darkened store.

“Hi, my name is Garrett,” he said as he closed the door. We could see a battery-powered lantern sitting in the front of the store. Garrett led us to the lighted spot where Mr. Wayneright and two other employees were seated.

“Hello, Dan.” Dr. Kramer said to the store manager.

“Dr. Kramer,” he replied. “I wish I could give you a better welcome.”

They shook hands warmly.

“How’s you dad doing?” the doctor asked.

“Alive!” the manager replied. “Thanks to you.”

“It was nothing,” he responded to the compliment. They both knew that was a lie.

“Doc!” Mr. Wayneright said. “I hope you can tell me what the hell is going on.”

“Let’s go to your office, so we can talk a bit,” he replied.

Dr. Kramer turned to Janice and me and pointed to the aisles of food behind us.

“You two ladies,” he commanded. “Get your list and see if your friend can help you gather what we need.”

Janice hooked her arm around Garrett’s and we stalked off to gather what we could.

“What’s going on?” Garrett asked after we left the other two. “Why is this happening?”

I glanced at Janice and she gave me a nod. So I explained, the best I could, what Dr. Kramer had told me.

After we had gathered about half of what we needed, I had finished telling him what was causing the power loss and what we had done the last three days.

“Wow,” he sighed. “And I thought we had it bad.”

“What about you,” I asked. “Where do you live?”

“I’m a student at Valencia State College,” he replied. “Been working here while I take classes. My apartment is only about a mile from here, but my family lives near Ocala.”

“Why here? I mean, why not another state College near you?”

“Computers,” he replied. He reached onto one of the shelves and shoveled a dozen cans of spam into our cart. “I want to get a computer degree from U.C.F., and I am guaranteed entry if I finish my second year here at Valencia.”

U.C.F. had a premier computer department. Their ties with the military in computer simulation were known throughout the country with multiple startup simulator companies springing up in the metro Orlando area. It was very difficult department to get in, but Garrett had found a backdoor to the competitive program. Very smart.

We finished our list and made our way back to the other two employees that had stayed with the store. We spent the next few minutes waiting for the doctor, learning that the others simply lived too far to make the walk. Both were over 60 years old and decided they couldn’t make the journey. All were afraid of what was happening and both were desperate to get home.

Just then, Mr. Wayneright and Dr. Kramer returned from the manager’s office.

“Garrett, Carla and Ed,” he started. “I want you to make up four carts with these items and take them to the loading dock.” He handed a list to the three employees. Their questioning looks prompted him to continue his instructions.

“If Dr. Kramer is correct, and I have never had cause to doubt him,” he stated. “We’re not going to have control of the situation for much longer. Apparently, an EMP has taken out all electronics…”

Mr. Wayneright droned on to the three people, repeating Dr. Kramer’s theory. Janice and I tuned it all out, having heard it all before and uncomfortable with the thought that he was correct. Nothing like bad news repeated to shut a brain down.

When he was finished, Dr. Kramer excused us and we left out the back once again.

“What are they going to do?” I asked.

“They’re making up their own survival package. He’s going to stash it all in one of the dumpsters out back when they need to abandon the store. I just hope they have the time to clear out before it gets too violent.”

Suddenly, Janice stopped.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. “Give me a minute.”

She sprinted back to the lighted area where the Publix employees were gathered. After a minute or so, she returned and we left the building pushing our cart down the long backside of the plaza, out the rear delivery entrance and onto Kirkman road about two hundred yards from the grocery store’s front door. Not an hour had passed since we first arrived and the mob that was waiting to get fed was easily double the size. At least five hundred people were pressed against the metal shutters. A steady hammering of fists was starting to come from the ones in front as they screamed, demanding to be let in.

“Why did you go back into the store when we were leaving?” I asked Janice.

“I told Garrett to come find us when it hits the fan,” she said.

At first, I thought she was playing games with the poor kid. But the look in her eyes told me otherwise. There was real concern in them, and as she looked passed me to the growing crowd, I could tell it was only going to get worse.

Chapter 15

Day 5-6

Charlie

Kirkman Specialty Clinic

Evening had come, and the sound of gunfire had begun in earnest. We kept the lights off, for fear of giving away our location, and that there was power to the building. Dr. Kramer had created piles of food and medicine, one for each of the remaining patients as well one for himself. Janice and I were set with our backpacks that were nicely tucked in the closet.

“Charlie,” he said. “My office, please.”

I followed him back, the way lit by a small flashlight he produced from his pocket. We sat in the break room and he grabbed a couple of Cokes from the refrigerator. We popped them and each took a sip.

“At some point,” he said. “You two need to leave. It’s dangerous, and only going to get more so over the next week. And before you say anything,” he continued. “Realize that by next week, two women walking with supplies won’t last a day out there. You’ll be dead, or worse, when people get truly hungry.”

“Doc,” I replied. “I can’t. I can’t leave you like this. It isn’t fair.”

“Never said it was. But like triage, I have to pick who is worth fighting for, and who is not. Those patients out there,” he said. “They aren’t going to make it. Even if I could get them home, they have no chance. Who’s going to fend for them when their food runs out? The best I can hope for is that they can spend their last days with family or friends.”

“But you two,” he continued. “You two do have a chance and you need to take it now.”

Just then, we heard something that we hadn’t heard in days. The sound of a truck, and by the deep growling of its engine and pitch of the noise, it sounded like something big.

We both sprinted to the front door and out onto Kirkman road. Looking down the six-lane street, we could see a dump truck rumbling up from the interstate, knocking aside any stalled car that happened to get in the way. From the sound of the giant beast, and the rough way the gears were being shifted, it seemed that the driver didn’t have too much time behind its wheel.

“I thought you said nothing was working.” I said. “Does this mean it’s over?”

Dr. Kramer said nothing, but continued to stare at the truck as it turned into the grocery store parking lot and aimed itself directly at the front door. The horror of what was coming mesmerized me and kept me from turning away as it smashed through dozens of people that simply didn’t move fast enough to get out of the way. Bodies were flattened, crushed or dismembered as it plowed into the front of the store and blasted a hole in the building.

The hundreds of the remaining uninjured people flooded through the breach, trampling the already fallen and smashing those that were too slow. Janice screamed and dropped to her knees as I finally turned away from a sight I knew would haunt me for many nights to come.

I joined Janice, squatting next to her, holding her as she sobbed. The terror and uncertainty of the past few days finally bursting forth through her tears and wails. Just what had people become in a few short days?

“Come on girls,” he said. “Back in the building.”

“We have to…” Janice choked. “We have to ggggo and help.”

“No,” Dr. Kramer gently replied. “No we don’t. There is nothing you can do for any of them now. They are all too far gone. Only more death waits for you down there.”

He guided us back to the office where we told the others what we had seen. I followed Dr. Kramer back to the break room and confronted him. He told me that vehicles wouldn’t work, and I just witnessed a dump truck smash over a dozen people to death.

“I though you said nothing was working!” I shouted.

“Nothing with computers,” he calmly replied. “A lot of heavy equipment and older cars have a good chance of being in working order since they don’t rely on computers to run. But just about any car less than 30 years old is out for the count.”

I briefly stared as his dark silhouette, then went back to the waiting room where Janice sat in the corner, a blanket wrapped around her as she scrunched up in one of the reception room chairs. Her sobbing had subsided, but she didn’t respond when I sat down next to her. I couldn’t see much in the dark, but I could tell she was almost in shock. Her breathing was quick and shallow, and I could feel her tremble as I gently checked her pulse. It was rapid and her skin was a bit clammy. I got Dr. Kramer, who guided her back to the first surgical suite and laid her down on the padded table. I got some additional blankets to make a pillow. I retrieved a chair from the reception area and sat next to her, holding her hand under the covers, whispering that everything was going to turn out just fine.

After a while, I must have dozed off. I was jolted to my feet, when more gunfire erupted outside. This time, however, it was close! I jumped up, my neck sore from leaning against the back of the chair, and quickly moved to the reception area. Dr. Kramer was already there, standing in the front door staring down the street toward the Publix. I was shocked as I heard the sound of several cars racing about the parking lot down the street. Several old sedans were chasing down stragglers as they sprinted out of the grocery store. Suddenly, gunfire erupted from the back window of a large four door Chevy, and two looters dropped to the ground, shot as they ran. A total of three old vehicles circled the pavement, like an old-style wagon train spinning about, only this circle spat death at anyone who exited the store. Whooping came from the attackers and cries from the victims as everyone in the store scattered to the wind, hoping to avoid the gunfire.

We watched as the cars finally stopped in front of the Publix, and almost a dozen men dashed into the store, illuminated by the high beam headlights from the cars. More gunfire exploded and after a minute or two, things settled down. Suddenly, another flurry of gunshots bellowed forth from the store and all went quiet. We peered down the road and watched as food and other items were brought out and piled into the cars’ massive trunks. A half an hour went by before two of the cars turned back and went south, away from our clinic.

The third car remained, its lights beaming into the hole left by the dump truck earlier that day. After a few more minutes, we could see the three remaining men loading prescription bottles into the back seat of the car.

“Druggies,” Dr. Kramer said. “We better get inside now.” 

We shut the glass front door and he locked it.

“Everyone,” he said. “Get to the back of the building. I need you to clear the reception room.” 

We all made our way to the back, where all were deposited in the last of four surgical rooms. As Dr. Kramer and I went back to the reception area, he told me of his concerns that the looters would find this office and come looking for drugs.

We moved enough waiting room chairs to the back to handle all the remaining patients. I made my way into the first surgery room to be with Janice as she shakily came out of her stupor. I filled her in on what was happening, when we heard the sound of a car speed into our parking lot and abruptly stop, its headlights shining into the waiting room.

“Quick!” Dr. Kramer hissed. “Find a place to hide, and for God’s sake, get out your knife!”

I reached into my pocket and felt the cardboard cover, slipping it off after removing the knife from my jacket. My hands trembled as I pressed against Janice. We cowered in the corner of the room, trying to hide behind a crash cart. It wouldn’t do us much good if the druggies had a flashlight.

Dr. Kramer shut the door as he left the room and we both smashed our bodies together, two shivering girls getting ready to face people that had just run over, shot or beat to death any number of folks. Just to get a pill. Just to stay high. Civilization was falling around us. I was not prepared.

A minute passed, when we heard the crash of broken glass. A moment later, the front door clicked open. The looters must have reached through the smashed door and twisted open the dead bolt. They were in! I could hear them as they excitedly talked, doors being kicked open as they marched down the hall. Tables were being overturned and chairs and Lord knows what else were being thrown against the walls. More shattered glass when the break room right next door was feeling the brunt of the lunatics as they moved inexorably towards our room. Janice muffled a cry as the refrigerator was slammed to the ground in the next room. I held her with my left arm, my right arm holding the pitifully small knife. I had decided that I was not going to be taken without a fight.
Damn them,
I thought.
I will die before I’d let them take me, or Janice, or the patients.
I knew death was waiting, but at least, I had a chance if I stuck. I wasn’t going to let the bastards get me without a price. Anyway, that is what I told myself.

I steeled myself for what I knew was coming next. The sounds from the break room had stopped, and I could see a beam of light shining under our surgical room door as the punk stepped in front of our hiding place. I let go of Janice, and braced myself. I would lunge at the son of a bitch, and stick him before he could get us. My legs were taut, as I envisioned myself in the starting blocks one of the hundreds of swim meets I had participated in. I was coiled and ready when the door exploded inward, a heavy kick from the scumbag sending it off its hinges and flying into the room.

That, I wasn’t prepared for. The violence of his entrance, and the door crashing back at me held me momentarily stunned. By the time I recovered, the brute was shining his flashlight directly at Janice and me, freezing us in place. The vision of a deer in the headlights suddenly became reality as my muscles refused to budge. There we were, squatting behind a mobile crash cart, me holding a pitiful knife, and no doubt, the druggie holding a gun. We were screwed.

“Hey Darrell,” the punk screamed over his shoulder. “Lookie what I found here!”

I couldn’t see at all, the flashlight blinding me, keeping me from even attempting to fight back. I had no idea where he was other than somewhere behind the intense white beam. As I started to stand up, the druggie hissed back.

“Drop that knife, or I’ll shoot you and yer friend dead! Drop it now!”

I held on, trying to find a way to strike back. We were trapped, and there was no way out. I lost all hope, and dropped the knife to the tile floor where it bounced with a crisp ring against the ceramic tile.

“Awww,” he said. “Now that’s a good girl. I ain’t gonna kill ya. Just look at you two, pretty as all get out. Naw, we ain’t gonna kill something as pretty as you! We just came to get us some party pills, and here we found us some party girls!”

The thug yelled back for his companions. “Hey Darrell! In here! I done found some…”

Suddenly the flashlight toppled out of his hand and onto the floor at his feet. I heard a sudden gasp. The brute stumbled into the room and went down hard on the tile floor, the flashlight illuminating his upper body. A second person crashed on top of him and Janice and I leapt back to the wall. When the flashlight had finally settled down, I saw Dr. Kramer straddling the man’s back, an I.V. pole in the back of the thug’s head and sticking out of his mouth on the other side.

“Are you girls alright?” He asked.

I was too stunned for words. I just saw Dr. Kramer jam a stainless steel rod through a man’s head. He had just saved our lives.

“Where is his gun?” He quickly asked.

“I… I don’t know” I stuttered.

Dr. Kramer grabbed the flashlight out of the rapidly pooling blood on the floor and began to search the surgical room’s floor for the man’s gun.

“I don’t see it!” he cried. “It has got to be here somewhere!”

It only took a few seconds to search the small room. There was no gun!

Just then, another flashlight shone at us from the doorway. A second hood had arrived and the sound of a gun’s hammer cocking back left no doubt about who had a firearm.

“Damn you!” he shouted, looking at his fallen friend. “You son of a bitches! Ya killed him. Now, Git against the wall… NOW!” 

The three of us raised our hands and backed up until we could move no more. Once again, the flashlight blinded us as the thug moved forward to his fallen companion.

“Look what you’ve done! I’m gonna shoot all three of you, you bastards! I should make you suffer!”

I waited for the first bullet to come. I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see it coming. For all my bravado earlier, I felt so hopeless and alone, I just wanted it to end. I wasn’t ready to die, but I knew deep in my heart that it was my time. All I could do was think about my mom and dad and pray that I wasn’t going to suffer.

A loud thud broke the silence of the room, and the second man’s flashlight fell to the floor. A second thump woke me from my death trance and I could see the flashlight shining on the man where he was now laying on the floor next to his friend, blood dripping down the side of his face onto the floor. His body twitched once and became still. Quickly, someone grabbed the fallen man’s light and I heard a voice like an angel.

“Hey guys,” the mystery man said. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah!” I said shakily.

Then I quickly followed up. “Who are you!?”

“Oh! Sorry,”

With that, our savior shone the light back on himself. He carried a tire jack and wore a Publix uniform.

“It’s me, Garrett!” He said. “Janice invited me to join the party. I hope that’s OK!”

“Garrett! Thank God!” Dr. Kramer shouted. “There’s at least one more out there!”

Dr. Kramer shone the flashlight on the floor and found the second man’s revolver lying next to his body. He scooped it and hustled out into the hallway, pointing the gun down toward the lobby and front door.

“It’s O.K.” Garrett said, stopping Dr. Kramer. “There was one more. He’s by the car. But he’s dead, too.”

“I had two tire irons” he continued. “The other one’s out there. I crushed the guy’s skull while he was smoking. Just couldn’t bring myself to pull the crowbar back out of his head.”

Garrett began to shake, his flashlight beam bouncing around the room as his body dumped the adrenalin that comes from a fight or flight situation. Dr. Kramer put his arm around the young man and gently took his flashlight.

“Come  on, son.” The doctor whispered. “You saved our lives. Let’s find a chair while I go outside and clean up the mess.”

The four of us returned to the waiting room where we sat Garrett down. Janice retrieved a Coke from the tumbled refrigerator and sat next to him, brushing his hair and holding his hand. Thank goodness she bonded with this guy. It saved us all. I had no doubt that the patients and the doctor would have been killed, and Janice and I would be in whatever hell-hole those creeps inhabited. Rape would have been the best we could have hoped for. It was unimaginable.