by Lee West
The large man lumbered in their direction with his flashlight pointed to the ground. Nancy could not help but notice Larry’s powerful physique. More than admiring him for his exemplary form, she wondered how many hours one would have to spend in the gym in order to get a body like him. Then she laughed at her own nerdiness. The days of noticing and admiring a good-looking man had been replaced by cool logic.
“You won’t get an argument out of us! I’m happy to leave watch early anytime!” said Brett.
“I don’t see why. It’s not like you remained awake the whole night!” said Nancy with a laugh.
“True enough! I have a crook in my neck for my efforts,” said Brett, rubbing his neck.
They gathered the few books, articles of clothing, and snacks they’d brought with them, in order to tidy up the classroom for Larry.
“Thanks, Larry! You in for a four-hour shift?” asked Nancy.
“No. I’ll probably stay here all day. I don’t mind it at all,” said Larry.
Again Nancy wondered why he would volunteer to sit at the location for so many hours alone.
“Better you than me! See you later!” said Brett.
They walked down the dark stairwell side by side, holding hands. The atrium to the building opened in front of them as they descended to the bottom of the staircase. Brett picked up his pace so he could open the door for her.
“After you, my dear,” he said with a small bow.
“Thank you.”
The dewy cool air felt great on her face. The air inside the building felt stale because they had no way to open the windows without breaking them. No one wanted to smash a hole in the windows out of fear that it would be noticeable to the ever-searching soldiers. The result had been a hot, steamy mess, making the task of watch standing even more excruciating.
“Why do you suppose Larry volunteers to sit in this spot from dawn until well past dusk? The only time he leaves is during the middle of the night. Why would he do that?” she asked, looking to Brett.
“How should I know? I’m just glad he does. I really hate being in there!”
They turned the corner of the building in the direction of the nearest tunnel entrance. A noise behind them caught Brett’s attention. They stopped and looked toward the sound. Nancy’s breath caught in her throat when she realized that a man was walking in their direction. They turned and walked toward the newcomer, excited to meet another survivor.
From his position, Larry would be able to see the man walking, but not Brett and Nancy. The man continued to walk deliberately toward them. Suddenly the door to the building burst open. Unaware of their presence, Larry spilled out of the old stone building and strode quickly toward the man.
Brett and Nancy watched as Larry approached the man. She assumed he would bring the man farther onto campus. Instead, they turned toward the perimeter of campus into the forest.
“What the hell? Where are they going?” she uttered to Brett.
Larry trailed behind the man as they walked off the main road toward the forest.
“I have no idea. Maybe a shortcut to campus?” offered Brett.
“Larry probably has no idea we’re still here. Let’s call him to let him know we’ll take our new friend to everyone,” she said.
Just as she turned toward the men to call out, Larry seemed to pull something out of his pocket. He then got closer to the man than normally expected.
“Larry!” shouted Brett.
Immediately Larry froze in place. He slowly turned toward them while hastily shoving whatever he had in his hand back into his pocket. Nancy could barely make sense of what she had just witnessed. Larry’s actions seemed very odd to her, but she could not figure out why or what he would have been doing.
“Larry! We can take him to the university!” shouted Brett as they walked toward the men.
Nancy and Brett quickly closed the gap between themselves and the two men. As they got closer, she could tell that Larry looked ambivalent about their arrival.
“Hey there! I’m Brett and this is my wife, Nancy!” said Brett as they approached.
The man looked confused. He nervously glanced between them and Larry.
“We’ll take him back for you,” she said. “Ed might be in the tunnels still.”
The man turned to Larry and said, “Tunnels? I thought you said the camp was in the forest! What’s happening here?”
In one swift movement, Larry shoved the man, spun him around and disarmed him. He stepped back and leveled the gun at all three of them.
“Larry? What are you doing?” said Brett, shocked.
Larry did not answer. Instead he glowered at them, pointing the gun at each of them in turn. He seemed to be weighing his options.
“Move it! We’re all taking a little walk into the forest!” he yelled.
In an instant Nancy knew why Larry volunteered to stand watch so much. He wanted to prevent newcomers from entering campus. Larry must have intended to kill the man, and they’d foiled his plan.
“Hey, man, there’s no need for violence. I was just passing through. You don’t have to do this!” the man pleaded.
Brett glanced at Nancy, the pain in his eyes evident. She needed to make sure he did not attempt anything heroic that would get him killed.
“There’s no need to bring us to the forest, Larry. We can sort this out in the campus. You haven’t done anything wrong. This is just a simple misunderstanding, that’s all. Just settle down and think about what you’re doing,” said Nancy calmly.
They breached the tree line of the forest. The deeper they went into the thick trees, the less likely they would survive.
“You can keep the gun, man. Just let me go on my way. You don’t have to do this. No one has to get hurt,” pleaded the man again.
Brett stopped in place and turned to Larry. “If you intend to kill us, then you’ll have to do it right here! I refuse to make this easy for you!” He stood squared off to Larry, bravely facing the deadly threat.
Larry hesitated and then said, “Fine. Have it your way.”
Larry lifted the gun, pointing it at the middle of Brett’s chest. The shock of the terrifying gunshot blast caused Nancy to involuntarily let out a loud gut-curling scream. Blood sprayed her face and hair. She instinctively moved to Brett, who remained firmly standing in place.
“Get down!” shouted the man as he lunged for them. He knocked both of them off their feet to the ground.
The first bullet had ripped through Larry’s thick chest, resulting in the splatter that hit Nancy. The remaining bullets made Larry seem to dance in place as his body took hit after hit. Finally, his legs buckled, crumpling his large body to the ground. His lifeless eyes remained open, shining under the soft morning light.
“I tried to warn him,” said the man as he stood up.
Nancy remained on the ground, too stunned to move. Her hands shook from the shock of seeing Larry killed.
“Who are you?” asked Brett as he attempted to sit up.
“My name’s George,” he said.
George calmly walked over to Larry. He pried the gun away from Larry’s dead hand. After wiping Larry’s blood off the weapon, he placed it into the back of his waistband.
“Okay!” he shouted into the air.
Within seconds the people who saved them came out of the forest, joining the grizzly scene.
“Come on, Nancy. It’s safe now,” said Brett, giving her a hand to get up.
Four heavily armed people joined them.
“What about these two?” said one of the men, pointing at Brett and Nancy.
“I think that asshole intended to kill them too. He seemed to have his own agenda,” said George.
The woman eyed them suspiciously, unsure what to do.
“Really? That makes no sense. I think it was a ruse to get you to go with them. We can’t trust them.”
“I don’t think so. That guy would have killed all of us. Believe me. These two weren’t part of his plan,” said George.
The woman seemed satisfied with his assessment of the situation. She holstered her weapon then approached Nancy.
“I’m Heather. Leader of this little group,” she said, waving her hand toward the others.
“Where did you guys come from?” asked Brett.
Nancy could hardly pay attention to the conversation. Her eyes kept returning to Larry’s bloodied body. She had never been able to handle the sight of blood, but she also could not seem to look away. The strong metallic odor from his body made bile rise in the back of her throat.
Covering her mouth with her hand, she said, “I need to get away from here.”
Brett came to her side. He placed an arm around her shoulders and gently turned her away from Larry’s blood-soaked body.
“Come on. Let’s get you inside,” he said to her. “There are around thirty of us here on campus. We’ve been mostly hiding in the tunnels. You should come with us. I’ll take you to everyone else.”
The members of the group looked to one another, unsure what to do. Finally, the woman said, “Okay. Let’s go with them.”
Nancy leaned against Brett while they walked back to the nearest tunnel access point. She needed his strength now more than ever. Once out of the forest and back in the center of campus, she started to feel well enough to pull away from Brett, merely holding his hand as they walked.
“Why did you come onto the campus alone? It seems like you would have been safer together,” she asked George.
“We’ve been surviving out there long enough to know that going to a new place one at a time is actually safer than all of us going as a group. They were standing by watching the entire exchange. I felt perfectly safe the entire time,” said George.
“Besides, people find us a little intimidating,” said Heather with a wink.
After Nancy’s head cleared, she felt more able to assess the new group. Each of them carried multiple firearms, knives and other weapons. Most wore scarves they could use to cover their faces. They looked like a serious bunch of people. She understood why they had to approach new areas cautiously. She would never want to tangle with them.
“We’d better warn the others that we’re coming. She’s right, they’re a little scary looking, even if they did just save our lives,” said Nancy.
“Good point. I don’t have the radio. We left it with Larry when he relieved us,” said Brett.
“It must be inside. I don’t think he was carrying anything when he came downstairs,” said Nancy.
“Yes. I don’t either. I’ll go grab it.”
Brett turned to the others and said, “Give me one minute. We need the radio to call ahead. The other watch standers are probably freaked out by the gunshots and radio silence.”
Nancy waited with the group as Brett walked quickly back to the classroom where they stood watch. Shock set in again, numbing her mind. She blamed herself for not seeing through Larry’s Mr. Helpful routine.
“You have other people on watch?” asked Heather.
Heather’s words forced Nancy out of her head, back into the present moment.
“We do. They’re placed all over campus. This particular location overlooks the primary entrance to campus.”
“I’m guessing you probably never had many newcomers thanks to King Kong over there,” said George as he hitched his finger toward Larry’s corpse.
“None at all during the several weeks we’ve been here. We all assumed it was because of the location or because most civilians have been rounded up by the feds. We had no idea Larry was killing anyone who entered the campus.”
“No one would’ve guessed someone on their team would have such a murderous intention,” said Heather.
“I guess you’re right. I’m so glad you guys are here. Who knows what else he was capable of.”
Suddenly the distant sky lit up with several explosions. Then green and red tracers darted across the sky, hitting unseen targets. The distance caused the sound from the explosions and tracers to become mere low thumping noises.
“Holy shit! What the hell is that?” yelled George.
“I don’t know! We need to take cover. They could be coming in this direction next!” yelled Heather.
Brett ran toward them with the radio in hand. He spoke loudly to the person on the other end. “We saw it too! We have guests. Five people arrived. We’re taking them into the tunnels. Larry is dead!”
Nancy could tell the person on the other end of the radio sounded frantic. They had no answers to offer.
— 28 —
Ed slept in the tunnels with everyone else. They borrowed mattresses, sheets and other supplies from the dorms as the need arose. In order to be comfortable, he piled two mattresses on top of one another. He found the extra height off the floor made it seem less like he dozed on a makeshift bed and more like the real thing.
He stretched and yawned, willing himself to get up for the day. He liked to be awake before the others. It helped him to feel more in control of the situation. Unfortunately that ensured he rose very early on most days. Suddenly, his radio came to life.
“Ed! You there? It’s Seth!” yelled one of the watch standers.
The man sounded frantic. Ed hated that no sound came into the tunnels. Their subterranean hideaway offered them no situational awareness. The tunnels always remained dark and silent despite what happened above. It prevented him from being part of events as they occurred topside.
“This is Ed! What’s happened?”
“I don’t know! I heard multiple gunshots! Now the sky is lighting up with explosions and some weird tracers!”
“Can you tell where the gunshots came from?” shouted Ed as he quickly got out of bed. He felt frustrated for allowing himself to doze a few extra minutes.
“No! I can’t see shit up here. I think it’s coming from the entrance where Brett and Nancy are, but I’m not sure!”
“What about the explosions and tracers? Are those near?”
“No, those are in the mountains north of here. They shouldn’t pose a threat to us right now. I’m more concerned about the gunfire. It was right on top of us! Maybe they’re shooting at us!”
The man sounded completely unhinged. Ed needed to calm him so that he would not do anything that could place all of them in danger.
“Listen, Seth! Calm down. It sounds like you’re safe where you are. Have you heard from the other watchers?” asked Ed.
In order to save radio power, they’d decided to have each watcher report their status to the person in the bell tower. Then the bell tower individual would relay information to Ed.
“Yes. Everyone is fine except Brett and Nancy. They never responded.”
“I thought Larry replaced them? Did you hear from him?” asked Ed.
“No. I’ve called over there numerous times after the gunshots. I didn’t get a response. What if we’re under attack? What should I do?” shouted Seth.
“You need to calm down. We don’t have enough information to make the assumption that we’re under attack. Stay put. We’re sealing the tunnels. I’ll get back to you in a few minutes. Hang tight,” said Ed.
Ed ran through the tunnels, yelling to everyone to get up. They needed to barricade the doors immediately.
People quickly scrambled out of their beds to their assigned tunnel entrance. Within seconds, each door had been barricaded.
“Ed! This is Nancy! Over!”
Ed grabbed his radio to respond to her. His hands shook unsteadily as he tried to depress the talk button. “Nancy! What’s happening out there? Are you guys okay?”
“Brett and I are fine, but Larry is dead! Also there’s something happening to the north. We can see explosions and red and green tracers! The whole sky is lighting up! We’re coming to the south tunnel entrance with five people who just came onto campus,” she said.
“Alright! We’ll open the doors.”
Ed ran through the tunnel to the south entrance under the humanities building.
A group of p
eople huddled near the barricaded door. A palpable level of fear showed on their faces as they prepared to be attacked.
“We need to open the door! Brett and Nancy are coming in with a few new people who just arrived!” he said to them.
“What’s happening up there?” asked one of the men.
“I don’t know. Hopefully we’ll get some answers.”
They removed the boards and heavy furniture from the door. Ed admired how quickly and efficiently the team had been able to close off the door.
Once everything had been removed, he opened the door and waited for their arrival.
— 29 —
Nancy led the group through the darkness of the humanities building’s basement. She and the others shined their flashlights as they moved. Glancing over her shoulder at the newcomers, she realized they had the appearance of a small heavily armed army. She appreciated why they chose to introduce themselves with just one person initially. They looked like a serious militarized group who would not hesitate to act with swift, deadly force, as demonstrated by their attack on Larry.
“Nancy?” shouted Ed through the gloom.
“Yes. It’s us! Brett and I are coming with five heavily armed people!” she said.
She wanted to give Ed as much warning as possible in order to assuage his trepidation at the sight of the group.
“This is it. Welcome to the south entrance to the tunnels. Everyone, meet Ed. He’s in charge of the university,” she said as they entered the tunnels.
Once they made it inside, Ed softly closed the door behind him. One of the university residents asked, “Should we barricade it again?”
Ed looked to Nancy for the answer. She said, “Yes. I have no idea what’s happening out there.”
They moved through the tunnels to the center, where the various side tunnels merged. It formed a large circular area, which served as their community meeting room.
“My god, Nancy! You’re covered in blood! Are you alright?” said Ed.
“I’m fine. This is Larry’s blood. I’m not injured.”
“What happened out there?” he asked.