Trying to Survive (Part 2) (6 page)

Chapter 9

   When the hands on the large clock above the electric fireplace hit noon, my panic instantaneously reached a whole new level. I’d been sitting there watching it since 9:37am. When it was almost 11:00am, I told
myself
– It just means they’ve had to check a few houses before they found one that wasn’t looted...

   Like many times before, various situations that led to Walt’s death flashed before my eyes. I could see him suffering and even hear his screams – making it impossible for me to concentrate on anything but watching for them through the window or staring at the clock.

   I cursed myself for not moving faster and getting to that ladder in time… Now, I couldn’t even go out and search for him if they never come back. I could try, but I wouldn’t get very far and if I ran into more than a few shredders I’d be easy food.

   It was leagues beyond frustrating – especially since I knew it would be weeks until my leg would even begin to feel better.

   Melanie’s voice drew my gaze away from the window. She and Clara were sitting around, quietly looking through one of the magazines. “Has it really been almost three hours?”

   Jenny replied “Yes.”

   “I could understand two hours. They may have had to check out ten homes before they found some food – but three hours?”

   “There’s no reason it should take this long. Jessie would have come back by now, just to tell us they have to keep looking so we wouldn’t worry. I know he would.”

   I almost told them to shut-up because they were making it so I wouldn’t hear the van approaching, but I stopped myself and said “What are we gonna do after another hour passes?”

   “Go to that house down the street and try to find the keys for that car. If we can’t, I should be able to get it started anyway. You’ll just have to leave that M4 behind with Melanie and take your rifle.” Jenny sharply replied as if she’d been thinking about it for a while.

  
Search for Walt and leave Melanie and Clara alone, or refuse and make Jenny go by herself?
I began to chew on my bottom lip and felt my heart rate suddenly spike…
If they just stay locked up in this house, everything should be fine – I have to go…

   Clara had been strangely calm and unemotional since Anthony died. And it didn’t seem to be the result of psychological shock – it seemed like she was genuinely just trying to be strong. I assumed it’s why she pushed to have Jenny teach her how to shoot.

   Even though it was going to help keep Clara safe, I found it tragic that she was so frightened by the situation that it didn’t even allow her time to grieve properly. All she could think about was possibly being the next one to die.

   To me, that was something the rest of us should have to deal with – not her...

  By the time it was almost 12:20pm, I had already decided that I wouldn’t be waiting the other half hour to go get that car. “If they’re not back in ten minutes I’m heading down the street. A lot can happen in a half hour.”

   Melanie said “Don’t wait longer because of us – we’re perfectly safe here, James.”

   I looked over to Jenny and she nodded. I’d already given Melanie the M4, so I said “Lock that door behind us – stay upstairs and away from the windows” and headed out of the house.

   When I heard Jenny walking up behind me, I said “Something’s definitely wrong.”

   “I agree.” She caught up to me and grabbed my arm. “Don’t rush. Your leg needs to be feeling the best it can.”

   I hesitantly followed her advice and slowed my already laughable pace. Just as she was about to speak again, I heard the van. Judging by the noise level, it seemed to be at least several streets away and rapidly building speed.

   Jenny stopped and said “It’s them.” She turned her head and listened for a few more seconds. “Seems like they’re in a hurry.”

   “He’s got it floored.”

   “Someone was killed and they’re running away, or someone is injured.”

   I was thinking the exact same thing. “Yeah.”

   “We should head back and take defensive positions – a pack of shredders, or even some people could be following them.”

   As we hurried back to the house, the sound of the van was approaching so quickly that it seemed like it was going to beat us there. I looked back when I heard the screeching of tires, and saw the van sliding around the corner.

   I was intensely relieved to see Walt in the front seat next to Jessie, but I also knew something had happened to Brian.

   Jenny noticed too and softly said “Brian…”

   The van roared past us. Jessie turned into the driveway at such a speed, the dip where it met the road made the van hop up almost a foot when the front wheels crashed against it. Jenny ran the rest of the way – I ignored the growing pain and sped up.

   They both jumped out of the van and Jessie was raging. His eyes were wild and the veins in his forehead looked as though they were trying to break through his skin. “There were people in one of the fucking houses! They took Brian! They took our guns, and they even emptied out the God damn van!”

   Jenny rushed over to him and said with a soothing voice “Relax yourself, Jessie, this isn’t helping. What happened?”

   He screamed out random obscenities several more times, pounded on the van and then started to calm himself down. His hand was shaking as he lit a cigarette and said “We kicked in the door, split up and within five seconds someone was walking Brian out into the living-room with a gun to his head. Then five more came in doing the same to Walt… Six men total.”

   “I assume they’re keeping Brian because they want the rest of our things?”

   “…I think so.”

   I walked over by Walt, and before I could speak he stopped me and whispered “Wait, there’s more.”

   “So, we just do what they say, leave and start replenishing our supplies. It’s a major setback, but nothing we can’t overcome.”

   “It’s not that simple, Jenny.”

   She frowned and tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

   Jessie brought his hand up and rubbed at the long gray stubble on his jaw and chin. “They guy holding the gun to Brian’s head said they’ve been fuckin watching us… that they were waiting for us.”

   “Yeah, so what?”

   “He said his “boss” will be coming by to meet with us later, and that the gates been closed and snipers are by the entrance… I don’t think we’re the first ones they’ve done this too, Jenny. I think this damn place is meant to be a trap.”

   “A trap?”

   “Yeah, for people.”

   I glanced over to Walt and he said “Something’s weird about these guys. I can tell it’s not gonna be as simple as giving them all our shit.”

  
What else would they want?..

   Jenny folded her arms and asked “Did they give you a time?”

   “No. He just said it would be later.”

   Jenny looked off to the side as if she was trying to think. “So… Six in the house, the boss, and then let’s guess two guys posted near the entrance. We can’t fight against them – we’ll lose.”

   “No shit… And they made it sound like there’re a lot more of them. Fuckers are well armed too.”

    When Jenny started heading back inside the house, I noticed that Melanie and Clara had been standing at the door. Clara wasn’t holding her hand as she usually would, and still wasn’t showing any signs of being afraid…
She’s changing. She knows if she isn’t strong that she’ll probably die. Hopefully, it’ll help keep her alive…

   Jenny said “All we can do is wait for them to show up and see what happens. Might as well do it off our feet.”

   Jessie scoffed “Yeah.”

   I joined him by the van and lit a cigarette. Walt followed and said “There really is something off about those guys.”

   Jessie exhaled and then muttered “I know.”

   He pushed away from the van and took a few steps forward. Jagged metal from one of the gouges in the van must have cut his hand. He stopped to examine the small amount of blood on his palm. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but they seem like some really weird fucks… They were pretty excited when they caught us, and they all had these strange grins on their faces – like they knew something we didn’t.”

Chapter 10

   Three hours had gone by – I wanted to shoot the clock in the worst way. I saw it as one of the main sources of my stress. I just couldn’t stop watching it, even though I knew it was drastically slowing down my perception of time.

   We all stayed in the living-room together, but rarely spoke. Jenny said all that needed to be said – the only thing we can do is wait.

   When Jessie wasn’t outside smoking a cigarette, he was pacing around the first floor of the house and checking all of the windows…
He wasn’t the only one who felt like we were being watched…

    Jenny stayed by the front bay and took on the role of a statue, forever watching the end of the road. There were moments when I could barely tell she was breathing. She stood completely still, with her feet about a foot apart and her arms folded across her chest. She never even shifted her weight to one side as most people do after standing in the same place for such a long period of time.

   Walt sat forward in the maroon chair. His elbow rested on his knee and his chin was in his hand. I could feel that his mind was racing as he gazed out at the neighborhood. I tried to get an idea of how he was feeling, but his face was completely lacking any signs of emotion.

   Everyone but Clara and Melanie stayed away from the couch where Anthony died. Jessie took the time to cover it with blankets so we wouldn’t see the blood, but we all knew it was there. Whereas Clara stayed glued to the exact spot where he took his final breath. I suspected it made her feel closer to him…

   We only had four guns, not including Jenny’s pistol, and two of them were our rifles. Last time I checked the duffle bag there were only seven bullets left, and all of the extra bullets for the M4’s were stolen from the van. The M4 I gave back to Jessie was full, but according to my memory Jenny had used up at least half of her clip giving Melanie a shooting lesson.

  
From what little information Jessie provided, assuming there were around ten of them was a good bet, but I had a feeling their numbers were even greater…
There’s no coming up with a plan to get him back or fight against them... We’re completely helpless and at their mercy.

  
At the moment, the only thing I could think to hope for was that they’d be reasonable people. That they’d just take the rest of our supplies and send us on our way… If anything, I was almost more concerned about what we’d have to go through to get more weapons and food. It would require going out at night and getting the shredders to empty out of buildings…

  
Even though I hadn’t known Brian for very long, it felt strange not to hear his voice or see his face. And it was easy to tell that his absence and current situation had Jessie falling to pieces in the inside. Even Jenny was unusually quiet.

  While I did have hope, I was also starting to doubt that I’d ever see him again. My mind kept going back to Jessie and Walt’s observations of “odd” behavior, and something was telling me that things wouldn’t go smoothly…

   It was just a few hours away from getting dark when a black Lincoln Town Car came coasting to a stop in front of the house. It let out a squeal, signaling it needed new brakes.

   The front passenger door opened and a balding man in a white tank-top stepped out. He was holding one of the M4’s.

   He seemed to be in his mid-forties and embodied the very definition of the “average person”. The first thing that came to mind was a school teacher. When he looked at us and smiled, I could see that his teeth were abnormally white.

   Jessie was the first one to make it across the front yard, and of course, I was the last. He aggressively stomped towards the balding man and yelled “We’ll give you whatever the hell you want! Just let him go! Why do we have to play games!?”

   I was surprised when the balding man took several quick steps forward, raised his rifle and yelled back “Shut your damn mouth, peewee! We’ve had enough of your shit! The boss wants to talk to someone who isn’t an asshole.”

   He smiled and said “Anyone ever tell you that you remind them of one of those little yapping dogs?”

   Jessie was at a loss for words – we all were.

   “I have a tendency to shoot annoying dogs that won’t shut the hell up… I like the cute little yelp they let out when the bullet hits.” He looked right at Jessie. “I can’t help but wonder if you’d make the same kind of noise.”

  
What the fuck…

   Jenny started to walk forward and the man motioned for her to stop with the rifle. “Not you either!” He looked at Walt, lightly laughed at his youthful appearance and then moved his eyes to me. “You! Come over here.”

   Jessie said “Whoa, man!”

   The balding man snapped “I said shut-up, you little fuck! If you yell at me again I’m going to shoot you in the foot… and probably the knee too.” He pointed to me. “You, come here.”

   Jessie practically growled as he forced himself not to lash out against him.

   Walt lunged forward and started to raise his rifle. The man put Walt in his sights and began to laugh. “You won’t have time kid…” He tilted his head and mockingly pushed out his bottom lip. “I know the world is shit now – but you still like being alive, don’t you?”

  
Jessie and Walt were wrong… there isn’t something “off” about these guys. They’re fuckin psychos…

   He moved his gun back to me. “If you don’t come over here right now, I’m going to shoot your brother.” He smiled. “In the face… You see, unlike your little Chihuahua over there, I don’t care if he suffers for a while first – I’ll just end him.”

  
They really have been watching us closely…
When I hesitated, he fired a shot just past Walt’s head and shattered the driver’s side window of the van. “NOW!”

   As I took my first few steps toward the car, Walt and Jenny began to protest. I quickly turned back and said “Just stop. I have to go.”

   The balding man’s smile widened, then he opened the back door to the car. “Hop in, please. I’m glad we didn’t have to resort to violence, James.” His words oozed condescension.

  
Doesn’t seem like it…

   First I saw brown work boots, similar to the ones I used to wear, then jeans and a bright red shirt. When I lowered myself into the car using the roof to keep weight off of my leg, I noticed an AK47 leaned up against his door.

   Once my ass hit the seat, I was face to face with a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, possibly even early-forties. His face still grasped onto youth, but I could see the scattered gray that was beginning to overcome his raven-black hair.

   His eyes were glazed over, and so dark in color that I could barely make out his pupils. He had a strange smile on his face that I would almost describe as “stupid”. When he let out a somewhat deep breath, I understood why – I was hit with a shockingly strong smell of liquor.

  
He thinks this is funny, just like that other asshole…

  
The door shut behind me. I expected the balding man to get back in and for the car to drive away, but instead he just stayed outside and kept watch. I took it as a good sign.

   When I looked over the back seat and examined the driver, I could see a 9mm in his lap. When he noticed me staring in the rearview mirror, he snapped “Pay attention!”

   The man with the raven-black hair began to softly laugh as he put his hand out. “I’m Darren, nice to meet you, James.”

   I looked down at his hand, thought to myself -
Are you kidding me?
and then shook it. “Yeah, you too.”

   “Would you like a drink?” He said in his strange, slightly high-pitched and somewhat childish voice.

   “No, thanks.”

   “He turned his body toward me so he wouldn’t have to strain his neck. “I’d like to start by saying how sorry I was to hear about what happened to the little boy who was with you.”

   I felt my lips tighten and the corners of my eyes wrinkle…
Don’t push it, motherfucker…

   “You know, a lot of great men have suggested that you can judge a man’s soul by the way he treats animals… That boy – he had a good soul. It really is a shame.”

   I wasn’t in the mood to play games and I could tell he was prolonging our interaction and toying with me on purpose. “Look, man. We just want our friend back and we’ll be on our way. You can have all of our stuff. We’ll just go find more… As I’m sure you already know – all the gun shops and grocery stores are full.”

   He sighed and pursed his lips. “Oh, I see… There’s been a misunderstanding. We don’t want you to leave – we want you to stay right here with us.”

  
My heart skipped a beat…
What the fuck is this.

   A devilish smile spread across his face. “Allow me to explain.”

   He reached up into the center console and pulled out a clear glass bottle that was perfectly shaped into a human skull. Even though I’d been seeing that brand at the liquor store for years, I felt it was odd that he went out of his way to carry it around. It was only building on the threatening aura I already felt from him.

   I’m gonna go ahead and guess I won’t like what he has to say…

   “Let me ask you something, James… Did you get the point of what I said about the young boy?”

   Is he trying to get me to attack him? Or does he just enjoy tormenting people?

   “I can see by the look on your face that you didn’t pick up on it… What I was trying to say was – the reason he was killed is because he had a good soul. Because he tried to help that dog.” He pointed at me. “And I’m gonna bet you’ve taken on some of the blame, am I right?”

   I was already past the point of wanting to bury my fist in his face…
Don’t do it. They have Brian… Don’t do it…

   He squinted and leaned in closer to me. “That’s a yes! Well, you shouldn’t… because it was his good soul – not you, not anyone else.”

   Since I couldn’t beat him to death with my own hands, I felt the need to hurry the conversation along. Without actually yelling, I forcefully said “What’s the point of all this?”

   His eyes moved to the skull-shaped liquor bottle and he held it up to the window. As it caught the light, he suspended it with his fingers and began to spin it around. His mouth slowly opened and he grinned

  
This asshole is trashed…

   I got his attention. “Say what you have to say.”

   His eyes shot back to me and he bit down on his bottom lip. He looked angry. He obviously didn’t like being told what to do. “My point,
James
… is that you can’t worry about having a good soul at a time like this. Otherwise you’re doomed. We all have to do what’s necessary.”

   As I waited for him to continue, for the first time since I entered the car I glanced around the back. I immediately noticed dried blood in the all the seams and crevices in the seats. I kept looking, and soon came to the conclusion that large amounts of blood had recently been cleaned up. There were faint stains almost everywhere I looked… I’d been so fixated on his strangeness since I entered the car, I hadn’t taken my eye off of him.

   He must have seen the concern and growing fear spread across my face. “If you’re wondering whether that’s blood or not… It’s blood.”

   I could feel my heart starting to beat faster and my entire body breaking out into a sweat, but I had to appear strong – otherwise he’d walk all over me. I tried to appear casual and even threw in some confident sarcasm when I said “Look, I get it. You’re very scary men and you’ll kill us. Just tell me what you want so that doesn’t happen, please… and we don’t plan on staying here – we’re continuing on to look for more survivors.”

   He smiled and said “But you’ve found them. Don’t you see?”

 
Ninety percent of the population is gone and this weird prick survives
?.. “Just tell me what you want.”

   He began shaking his head. “You see, it’s not about wanting. It’s about needing. And it isn’t about what I need – it’s about what we all need, what humanity needs… In this hell, we have driven away the demons and begun the creation of a nirvana.”

   He leaned closer to me. “Now, James… Do you know what the two most important things in a situation like this would be?”

   As I said “Apparently, I don’t.” I imagined myself grabbing his gun and blowing his head all over the ceiling of the car…
This fuckin guy is too weird to let live…

   “We need able men to protect the new world we will create. And women to bare their children.” He smiled. “We’ll need the three women with you as soon as possible, and your involvement isn’t required. Preferred, of course! But not required… Your lives are in your hands, James.”

   My eye widened…
I can’t let him take them. Even if it sacrifices Brian – I have to find a way to kill him… Alright, alright… I just have to play along for now so I can think. Get him talking. He likes to talk…

   I couldn’t help but remark “You mean two women and a
child
.”

   “You can’t worry about things like that during a time like this. Look around you! They outnumber us twenty or thirty to one. The only way we can ever take back our world is if we begin repopulating immediately… And in the face of Armageddon, it is her duty as a female member of the human race to take part.”