The Week of the Dead (3 page)

Phil turned to see Harrison standing there in awe; Phil stood up, with his bat in hand, and told Harrison to strip. “I don’t want you to eat my son,” he said. Harrison then took off his jersey and shirt to reveal old wrinkled skin but no bite marks.

“I do appreciate these clothes, by the way,” Harrison said as he put them back on.

“You’re welcome. The cops aren’t picking up the phone. I don’t know what to do,” Phil commented.

“The news anchor said we should stay indoors. I think that’s the best plan,” Harrison remarked.

“Well, that’s all fine and dandy. However, this place isn’t safe. I haven’t been to the grocery this week, and that
thing
was already in the building. And the only thing that separates us from that thing in your room is two very thin doors,” Phil said.

“Do you have any ideas?” Harrison asked politely.

“Just one, hey Paul, do you know where Uncle Hank took you hunting that one time?”

Jeff and Henry

Chapter 7

Monday 1100 CST

Ohio

J
eff was busy at his desk. Inside the Department of Homeland Security, it was an average day. Jeff worked in his cubicle. With a bagel hanging from his mouth, he typed away. His phone rang. Jeff never received calls, especially this early in the morning. He put the bagel down, brushed the crumbs from his tie, and picked up the phone. “This is Givens,” Jeff spoke in the phone.

“Givens, this is Johnson. Stop all transmissions. Operation Clear Sweep is in play. I say again, this is not a drill. Operation Clear Sweep is in play.” With that Johnson hung up the phone. Jeff hung up his phone. His heart began to race. The cubical next to him began to ring. After a moment all Jeff heard was “Are you sure, sir?” from the other side of the divider.

Jeff ended whatever program he was on. He opened his command prompt and began typing away. He opened the locked drawer at his knee and brought out a binder and quickly began transferring what was on the paper into the command prompt.

He stopped. He looked at his code, and he pressed Enter. He spun in his chair and went to stand. His cubical mate was still there typing. Jeff exited the front door to find two military Humvees and four men standing with automatic weapons and another man in a flight suit with a large case sitting on the ground. “Are you Specialist Givens?” the one in the beret spoke.

“Jeff Givens,” he said as he extended his hand. The one in the beret skipped the open hand.

“Get in. We are your armored transport to the Secondary Protocol. Is the package in transport?”

“Yes, sir,” Givens said as he got in the Humvee. The other man in the flight suit got in and sat the large case in his lap. “We’re airborne, Captain!” The man in the flight suit opened the case and folded it out. Part of the case landed in Jeff’s lap. “Sorry, bro, we’re doing shit for real.” The flight suit had the name Henry. Henry finished opening the crate.

Jeff looked over and saw a joystick lock into position. Henry looked at Jeff as he waited for the syncing of his laptop device. “It’s a flight-control modulator! Eyes in the sky!” Henry said. Jeff was taken aback. The DHS building didn’t have any televisions, and the Internet access was blocked. Jeff didn’t know what was happening until they left the parking lot. Jeff’s gaze went upward when he heard the engine of a drone.

The Ivans

Chapter 8

Monday 1130 CST

Memphis

A
s Erica went on about her work, she heard the door chime. It was too early for customers, but it was never too early for deliveries. She looked up from her desk and saw three men standing in front of her. The one in the middle was a balding man, with finger tattoos, and when he smiled at her, she saw his gold teeth. “Hello, I am here to see Robert,” he said in a thick Russian accent.

“May I ask your name, sir?” Erica interrogated.

“Yes, my name is Ivan, and these are my associates, Ivan and Ivan. Will you please tell him that we wish to speak to him?” The lead Ivan pronounced.

“Certainly,” Erica said as she picked up her phone. “Dad, there are three Ivans here to see you.” At that moment, Robert opened the door, looking sickly and pale.

“Ah, hello, Robert. We have some business to attend to; you look like you could use some sunshine. Let us go outside in the sunshine and talk,” Lead Ivan said as he led Robert to the pavilion along with the two bigger Ivans following in tow.

Outside, the two larger Ivans held the sickly looking Robert up against the hood of a rusted 1957 Chevy Bel-Air. As the two Ivans held Robert’s hands, the smaller Ivan started slapping him. “Where is my money?” Ivan exclaimed as his hand hit Robert’s pale face.

“I don’t have it!”

Ivan countered, “Why not? I lent you money. You pay me back money. How is this not fair deal?” He said with his thick Russian accent. As Ivan got tired of hitting Robert in the face, he got the Ivan who was holding down his right hand to punch him in the face with his grapefruit-sized hands. The smaller Ivan began to grow impatient.

“Well, if you do not have money, then I can take payment from somewhere else,” he said as he began to eye in the direction of Erica. “She is your daughter, yes?” Robert tried to scream, but the bigger Ivan was holding his monstrous hand over Robert’s mouth. “I think I will go talk to the pretty woman; maybe she and I can do some business.” As the lead Ivan walked back toward the building, he turned to say something in Russian; the two larger Ivans nodded in compliance and began to savagely beat Robert.

Inside the office of the junkyard, Erica was calmly filing paperwork. The office was soundproof, to prevent customers from hearing what really happens to their cars when they deposit them at the junkyard. Most of the time, Devin, Frank, and Gary would do as they were told and take the cars to the crusher for the valuable steel chassis. Sometimes the guys took the vehicles to the back of the yard and had a little anger management on the vehicles. Gary, usually the calm one, would take a crowbar and start bashing out the windows. Devin would take his utility knife, which was latched onto his belt, and start destroying the seats. Frank, on the other hand, would wait for them to finish and until they were usually out of breath. Frank would go to his workstation in the back of the yard and pull out his twelve-gauge double-barrel shotgun. He would take pleasure in buying stuffed animals, setting them in or on top of the vehicles, and start blowing them to pieces with his double barrel. This was heaven to Frank.

The back door chimed as Ivan walked in. Erica was steadily working, so she paid him no attention. As Ivan propped the door open with a cinder block, he wanted Robert to see what he was about to do. “Excuse me, young lady,” Ivan said to Erica in a calming manner.

“Yes, sir, how may I help you?” Erica asked openly.

“Tell me, do you have any security cameras or silent alarms? I am a security consultant with your father.” Ivan’s thick accent was hard for Erica to understand.

“No, sir, we’re just a small-time junkyard. There’s not a whole lot to steal around here.” Erica turned to see Ivan standing behind her.

“That is not good…
for you
.”

Ivan went to the front door and locked the bolt. “You know you are a very beautiful girl,” Ivan stated as he start to wheel the blinds closed.

“Thank you, sir, but I don’t try to look pretty. I just work for my dad,” Erica said, as she calmly picked up her office phone and hit the intercom button.

“Don’t do that,” Ivan commanded. He was now kneeling in front of her, holding both of her wrists. “Your father owes me something, and I’m going to take it from you!” She could see her own scared reflection in his eyes.

“No! Fuck off, you weirdo!”

She wrestled her left hand free as she reached into her purse. Ivan reassured his grip, and he pushed her on top of the desk. Erica struggled with all of her might. She began to kick and scream, and Ivan rolled her onto her stomach. As she was bent over her desk, Ivan spread her legs, and he leaned on top of her pulling her hair. He whispered, “I’m going to fuck you, and you’re going to enjoy it!” Ivan began to tear away her dress and panties. Erica laid there frozen in fear. Just as Ivan was about to penetrate, he felt a hairy forearm slide under his right armpit and around the left side of his neck. As Ivan was standing there behind a frightened teenager who was shaking with fear, he felt a sharp pain radiating from his genitals. “Which would you prefer: I just snap your neck now, or I cut you to pieces?” A voice thundered from behind.

“Do you know who I am?” Ivan said trembling.

“Yeah, you’re the guy trying to rape an innocent girl, but I’m the guy who’s got a knife to your cock. Who’s got authority here, asshole? Erica, get up, and go lock yourself in the break room.” Erica, who was still frozen in fear, turned around to find Devin holding Ivan’s penis hostage.

Erica rose from her attempted rape, suddenly; the color came back to her face like a cloud moving out of the sun. “Devin, I—,” Erica tried to say something, but she was cut off by Devin. “No talking. Go lock yourself in the break room,” Devin commanded as he reassured his grip around Ivan’s neck.

“What about Dad?” Erica asked as she covered herself with her arms.

“Don’t worry, Frank’s got that covered.” At that very moment, a shotgun blast rang. “Frank!” From outside the propped open glass door, another shot rang out.

“Yeah!” Frank yelled facing the two bigger Ivans.

“You OK?” Devin yelled back at him from behind the leading Ivan.

“No,” Frank said as he walked in the back door to find Devin holding a man’s penis at knifepoint and Erica emotionally shaken against the wall. “What the hell did I miss?” he asked as he reloaded his double barrel.

“She hit the interco…,” Devin began as his focus was turned to Robert standing behind Frank, dwarfing him in size. Robert’s face was bruised, and his eyes had gone red. Blood soaked his button-down shirt and khakis.

“Boss, sorry about the mess. I got scared,” Frank spoke as his attention then turned to the two big men in black suits arising from the ground. “What? I don’t understand it! I put a shell into their chests!” Frank said, as he raised the gun to them again.

“Dad! No!” Erica shrieked as Robert grabbed Frank by the shoulder and stuck his teeth into Frank’s neck.

“Ah! You fuck!” Frank screamed as he hit Robert in the chest with the butt of his gun.

Escape

Chapter 9

Monday 1135 CST

Memphis

D
evin threw the trembling Ivan to the ground, dashing over the desks and knocking over a computer, to get to Frank and Robert. He grabbed a lamp from the side table and forced it into Robert knocking him back a few feet. Devin went to pick up Frank from the ground. Frank was bleeding from the wound on his neck. “What the fuck is going on here?” Frank exclaimed when he got back to his feet. Devin exchanged Frank’s double barrel for a handkerchief covered in grease. “What do you want me to do with this?”

“Put pressure on the wound, numbnuts; stop the bleeding,” Devin responded. “Everyone to the break room!” Devin said as he pointed the double barrel toward the sickly looking Robert. Erica, in shock from her run-in with Ivan, stood motionless gazing at her father.

“Erica! Break room! Now!” the angry dwarf commanded. Erica was shaken out of her dismay and did as she was told by Frank. She ran behind Devin pointing the shotgun at her father.

“Dad?” she whimpered.

“He’s not your dad! I don’t know what’s going on, but I know he isn’t your dad. Get back!” Devin said as he walked backward keeping Robert and the two body builders at bay with the shotgun.

“What about me?”

Devin glanced over his shoulder to see Ivan the Rapist up against the far wall trembling with his pants still around his ankles.

“Best of luck, motherfucker!” Devin shouted as he closed and locked the break-room door. The sickly Robert and the two large Ivans began to claw at the door and screech. Ivan the Rapist looked at these strange creatures. He didn’t understand what they were or why they were working together; he arrived at the junkyard with the two large-body Ivans to beat some money out of Robert. He thought it would have been an easy snatch and grab. He chuckled at how quickly greed can change a man. “Hey, boys,” Ivan interrupted the trio of bloody men, trying to pull up his pants. The three blood-soaked men turned to the direction of the sound. Ivan the Rapist stood there pretending like he still had dignity and control over his soldiers. “Boys, what is going on? Why did you let this man go? Why are you not in pain? Are you all coked out again? Look, I told you…” The trio of moaners began to walk toward Ivan leaving bloodstains in the carpet. “Not while we were working! You have all day to do as much coke as you want, but not while we’re working! Why are you all staring at me like that?” There was no response from the two Ivans or the proximal Robert.

Jeff watched as Cincinnati was busy living as a city. People were on their way to work. The siren and spinning lights on top of the Humvees made a quick path out of the traffic. Jeff looked out the window to see people coming out of their vehicles. “Look!” he said pointing forward. Henry kept his face on the modulator in front of him.

“Large heat signatures!” Henry called out looking for a response.

“It’s a traffic jam?” Jeff asked.

“Blow it!” the beret said, not turning his head to respond.

“Firing!” Henry called out.

“What?” came from Jeff’s mouth before he saw two streams of white smoke connect the sky to the situation in front of them. The road in front of them ignited in orange flame.

“Inside!” the beret spoke into the radio. The gunner who had been on the SAW turret quickly squatted into the Humvee.

Jeff began to panic. “What the hell is happening? What the hell did you do that for?” He grabbed Henry by the flight suit. “Those were Americans you just fired at!” Jeff shouted. “Collins!” was the last thing Jeff heard before the gunner placed a right hook across Jeff’s face. Jeff’s vision went dark.

Back inside the break room, Devin was tending to Frank’s wound on his neck. Erica was crouched against the wall in the fetal position. She only had one shoulder of her dress on, and she had bound her dress around her the best she could. Most of her body was exposed. She sat there sobbing. “What do you think we should do?” Frank said chokingly.