Music City Macabre: The Low Lying Lands Saga: Vol. 1 (14 page)

As the tidal wave of terror flooded in through the front entrance, it didn’t take long to destroy the front doors. A mass of bodies went left to the Rec Center side, and a mass of bodies went to the Health Center. What followed was what Kade often referred as the “Sound of Music.”

A group of about twenty men and women armed with as much as they could carry set up in the old pool area. The pool had been drained and was used for training. Another group of fighters set up in the gym. The armory did their best to pass out as many weapons as they could before it started.

A small group of people unable to fight was asked to escort the children to the very back and try to escape via the tennis courts. It was an exercise in futility, as the entire building was surrounded.

The bulk of the available fighters and official security personnel were sent to what the MSZ referred to as the Med Center. The hallway into the lobby was filled with security officers and residents who were there to take down as many Freaks as possible. The medical machinery within the walls was invaluable. MRI machines, X-Rays, labs, a mostly full pharmacy, and supplies. If all of this was lost it would set the Regular movement in the Southern region of the former United States of America back essentially to the stone age.

Two hours later there was nothing left of the former Murfreesboro Safe Zone. Kade’s Freak forces had easily made it past the trained security in the Med Center and destroyed everything. The Rec Center side had fared the same. Ortiz had taken a number of the most horribly carved up, shot-up, and violated bodies and posed them inside the empty pool to spell out, “
MAYBE NEXT TIME.”
This had truly been a devastating attack perpetrated by Kade and his crew, but it wasn’t over yet. They had come to steal gas as well, and they weren’t leaving without it.

The tanker was pulled around to the back of the building where the racquetball courts were located, and also where there was about five hundred gallons of gas stored in homemade, industrial size storage barrels. Kade was pissed there wasn’t more gas here than there was. It was going to be a bitch getting those barrels transferred to the tanker. He guessed they’d also syphon what they could from the vehicles the Regulars had here and head on back to Nashville.

Kade felt they’d just about worn out their welcome and it was going to be time to go soon. He was pleased with his Freaks. They had done him proud. As Ortiz had said, Chaos would most assuredly be pleased. It was time for their reward.

He was standing on the ledge of the roof of the Med Center and started to fire his pistol into the air. When the masses started to look his way he waved them in as close as they could get. He didn’t have a mic anymore, but his voice was very commanding.

“Can you hear me in the back?”

“YES, SIR!”

“This is what happens to Regulars who think they can operate with impunity and with malicious intent towards US on OUR land! This land did not belong to them. Did it?”

“NO!”

“It belonged to us!”

“YES!”

“Why do Regulars continue to believe that they have a place in this world? Our World! Do they?”

“NO!”

“You’re damn right they don’t.” He turned and shouted to Ortiz, who had been behind him. “Bring him to me.” Sitting on the ground, bound and brutally beaten was Jim Hawkins. “Go load the precious cargo. We’ll be leaving here shortly.”

Kade fired another several rounds into the air to make sure they were all paying very close attention to what was coming. He turned to Jim Hawkins and said, “Have you made your peace, Regular? I guarantee it’s only going to hurt for a little while longer.”

“Do your worst, Kade. I know where I’m going. And when the times comes for you—and it will—I know exactly where you’re going.”

“Don’t make me laugh, ha ha ha! When my time comes, I will ascend and sit at the right hand of the Lord and Master, Chaos, who has made all of this possible.”

“Whatever, pal. When your ticket gets punched, you’re going straight to hell.”

“Regardless, you won’t be here to see it.”

He walked to the edge of the roof and started speaking again. “We are going to be leaving in just a few moments, but I wanted to teach you a little something first. It’s about how you make an exit. Whenever one of these rat cage, safe zones gets destroyed, the Regulars say, ‘it fell.’ Well we are going to leave a little message for the remaining two members of this outpost that are rushing back as we speak to discover what we’re leaving them.”

“This is Jim Hawkins. This is the man who had the balls to take a shot at me to kick off our little soiree. I respect the hell outa you, Jim. And it’s because of that that I have chosen you to deliver this very special message.” Ortiz brought forward a very crude handmade sign that had rope knots tied through the top corners. He showed it to the crowd of frothy, broken Freaks down below who still hadn’t come down from the violence. They went nuts with ecstasy. Ortiz turned and showed the sign to Jim Hawkins. When Hawkins read what it said he spit in Ortiz’ face. Ortiz put the sign around Hawkins’ neck and gave him a shot across the cheek for good measure. Kade resumed control and bellowed to his audience, “Gentlemen, start your engines.” He put a noose around Jim Hawkins’ neck, kissed him on the lips (because that’s what Al Pacino did in the Godfather Part 2) and shoved him off the roof.

Kade always liked to be the last car to leave a conquest. He lit a cigar, puffed a big plume of smoke, and drove out away from his handiwork. He looked one last time in his rearview mirror and saw Jim Hawkins swaying gently from side to side. The sign around his neck clearly spelled out in blood:
I FELL
.

NO MORE RUNNING

We had come on to the old college campus via Middle Tennessee Boulevard and crept at a snail’s pace through the deserted campus in a tight bumper-to-bumper convoy. Lexi was on high alert and I felt pretty confident she would let me know if she saw something. I followed Cole and Shields up to the back of the Student Union. The place was massive. At least it was to me. There was so much glass. How had this place survived?

Cole, who was an MSZ Security Officer, knew the immediate campus buildings in relation to the Rec/Health Services building, which housed the Murfreesboro Safe Zone. With weapons drawn and Lexi bringing up the rear, Cole directed us through the expansive hallway to the front of the building. Through the clear glass front double doors, we could see a killing ground strewn with bodies.There were three men standing on a lower piece of flat roof that covered the front of the MSZ. One was very much in charge. The other two were most likely a lieutenant, and either hostage or an example. It didn’t take us long to find out.

I was looking at Kade for the first time. Although we were a good distance away, I couldn’t help but notice, and quickly acknowledge, the demonic force of nature that was Kade. He had to be about six foot five ,and weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds. He was big. He was also very loud, and extremely charismatic. I was almost mesmerized by his Jim Jones-like ability to get the Freaks to drink his Kool-Aid. If Lexi hadn’t bitten Cole’s pant leg, he would’ve stormed out the front door of the building and, well, we’d all be dead.

Shields got in front of him. “Listen to me Cole.” She forcefully put her hands to either side of his head and said, “Listen. To. Me. I can’t begin to tell you what to feel right now, but it is my
job
to tell you to stand down. You feel me, Sergeant? Stand.
Down!
You and I both know Jim’s going to die. There is nothing we can do to save him. We are three against three hundred! Or more! We have to let it happen Cole. We have to. I’m sorry. Goddamn it. I’m sorry, Jim.”

I watched, along with Cole and Shields as Kade threw Jim Hawkins off the roof. I didn’t know the man, but I vowed, in that moment, I would avenge him along with the others. I clutched Cole in the tightest bear hug I can honestly ever recall and that still wasn’t enough. Shields tackled us both to the ground and stuffed a rag in his mouth. She punched him square in the face and whispered viciously, “Shut up, you dumb bastard! You’re going to get us killed before we even get our revenge. You didn’t listen to a damn thing I just said, did you? Jesus, you fuckin idiot.”

“They’re gone. They’re all gone,” sobbed Cole. “He just, just...hung Jim as a
fuck you
to us! How did this happen? How were we not ready? They’re all dead.”

“I don’t know, Cole. I’m completely at a loss for reasons. We had surveillance. We had communication. We had The Network.” Cole walked about ten feet away, put his back against the large glass wall, and slid down. He put his face in his hands and began to cry.

I stepped in close to Shields and said, “You know what? I’ve just about enough of this cryptic network bullshit! When are you two going to tell me what the hell The Network is?”

“Cole doesn’t have access to The Network
.
Only The Three
,”
said Shields. “There is nothing more important than The Network
.
If The Network wasn’t protected, then all is truly lost. Jim was a good man. His number one job above all else was to protect The Network
.
We have to trust that he did. Prescott, if we determine The Network
lives, then you will be told everything. Right now, shut up and let me think.”

She wasn’t looking at me while she was talking. She was looking at Jim Hawkins and that fucking sign that hung from his neck. She was absorbing the devastation of losing over a hundred family members. I looked at her, and despite only knowing her for a few hours, I could tell she was no longer the same woman I’d recently met. The ideals and experiences that had shaped the person she was were sliding off her body like a snake shedding an old layer of skin. When she decided to turn and face me, to meet my eyes with hers, she would be a new woman. A woman who wasn’t going to run any longer.

“We need to make a camp. Regardless of the fact that the MSZ still stands, it has fallen, and is no longer secure. We’ll need to find another building.” She still had her back to us. I saw her shoulders begin to slump and went to her. I put my hand on her shoulder and she spun on me and struck like a pissed off cobra.

“Don’t touch me! You will not touch me ever again! If you somehow figure out a way in your selfish, half-cocked, brain to put your hands on me again I will kill you. Is that clear?” She had tears in her eyes and rage in her heart.

“Understood. I was only trying to help.”

“Help? How could you possibly help, Prescott? Everything we’ve worked for the last two years, everything we’ve accomplished since The Descent is gone. Dead. All the effort we put into preserving life, creating life and maintaining our humanity in the face of inhuman and demonic forces has been wiped out in one fell swoop. So I have a new objective. I’m going to kill every last one of those sons-a-bitches I can until they take me.

“Now, as much I want to get over there and investigate, we have to determine the fate of The Network
,
what we need to do now is make camp... here. In a few hours, once we’re situated and we’ve all had some time to process, we’ll go over to the SZ. Cole and I are going to excuse ourselves for a while and talk. I need to determine if Cole is able to continue. He’s already broken. This could short circuit his ass back to drooling and sucking his thumb. We would appreciate your respect and some privacy right now. You are welcome to find whatever you can in the immediate vicinity and relax with your dog. Do not leave the building. We’ll be back after a while and we’ll have a plan on how to proceed. With our dead, and with Kade.”

Shields walked over to where Cole was sitting and crouched down to look him in the eyes. She spoke to him and he raised his head. They were having a quiet, yet intense conversation. I’m not sure how I came into it, but Cole was pointing at me and he was pretty hot. I couldn’t blame him. I mean, I don’t know why my presence fuelled his anger it but the rage I felt over losing Emily was all consuming. I couldn’t possibly understand what they were going through. I couldn’t put myself in their shoes. If I tried, it would only send me down the rabbit hole again and I might not come out this time.

I started walking down the hallway from the entrance to the Student Union with Lexi right by my side. My bond with her was growing stronger, for sure. We passed by the bookstore and the game room. We turned in and did a quick tour, but got no joy. While not damaged too badly, anything that could’ve been used as a weapon, such as pool cues, balls, foosball arms and other things had all been cherry picked out of here.

We continued past a giant mockery to my growling stomach with the seemingly five hundred seat food court.
Popeye’s, Panda Express,
and something called
Happy Tomato
were among many long-abandoned eateries. The only purpose these places were serving now was to piss me off.

Finally, we came large, open lounge space. I can only conclude that the residents of the Murfreesboro Safe Zone had adopted this Union as an escape from their daily struggle. Sure, there wasn’t any food, and there was next to nothing in the way of fun. But there were books. And there was respite. I get the feeling you could’ve come here as an escape. It was...very quiet in here. Vast and cavernous.