America Falls (Book 1): Hell Week

by Medbury, Scott

  I took a step forward and the one with his hand in his pocket pulled out the gun he had reached for.

  “Don’t take another step, bitch!” he barked.

  I heard a snap beside me and suddenly the aggressor gasped, looking down in disbelief at the crossbow bolt buried deep in his chest. The pistol clattered to the frozen pavement as the guy fell to his knees, before pitching forward.

  “Holy shit!” the stunned man with the bat said, echoing my own thoughts. He took a step back as Luke calmly loaded another bolt into the flight groove of his crossbow, cocked it and aimed it at him.

  “You shot him! Jack! He shot Sammy!” he called to whoever was still behind the dumpster.

  “Drop the bat,” said Luke calmly.

  We heard a squeal followed by a curse and another slap. The sound of struggling behind the dumpster came to an abrupt halt and a short, wiry guy stepped partially into view, careful to keep the dumpster between us and him. Like the other two, he was Asian. Chinese-American, for sure, given that he looked to be in his twenties and was not dead of the flu.

  He held his hands up, but I could tell by the look on his face he wasn’t surrendering, simply sizing us up. He had a small machine gun on a strap over his shoulder, the kind you see commandos use in old war movies. He looked like he’d seen plenty of hard life before the Flu and a ragged scar ran up the right side of his face. He was intimidating, to say the least. After glancing down at the guy on the ground, he looked up at us, anger in his eyes.

  “Which one of you fuckers shot Sammy?”

  Apparently, he had sized us up and found us lacking. His right hand curled around the handle of his weapon.

  “I asked a question,” he yelled.

  “It was him, Jack,” said the other gangbanger, his hands still up, at least until he saw which way things were going to go.

  I tensed as Jack raised his gun toward Luke.

  I had never actually shot a person deliberately before and I didn’t mean to start right then, but things sort of got away from me. I meant to put a three-round burst into the pavement by his feet, to scare him off, but, well, the selector was set to 2. You see, Sonny had been wrong about the settings – 3 was actually the setting that gave a three-round burst, while 2 was full machine gun rock-n-roll.

  Many people don’t realize that a weapon firing on full automatic is not nearly like it is in the movies. In reality, it is very hard to control a weapon on full auto. Specifically, the combined recoil of all of the shots going off tends to cause the barrel to rise. Which is exactly what happened.

  The first few rounds hit the pavement between Jack’s legs, just as I had planned. But as the shots kept coming, the barrel kept rising and walked the remaining rounds of my magazine up his right leg. They struck him from just below the knee up to his right hip and into his abdomen before I was able to release the trigger. He hit the ground hard, dropping his weapon as he went.

  My mouth dropped open.

  Jack’s right leg and side were a bloody, smoking mess. My ears were still ringing from the roar of the gunfire as the man with the bat dropped it and turned, running away like a mad man. He jumped the high fence behind him as if his life depended on it.

  “Holy shit, dude!” Luke said.

  I looked at my weapon in horror and let it drop from my trembling hands. Jack was screaming in agony, holding his leg to try and stem the bleeding. I stumbled to the wall of the alley and threw up the beans and franks I had eaten for dinner.

  Luke kicked Jack’s gun away and rounded the dumpster. I took a few moments to compose myself, and wiping my mouth on my sleeve, followed him.

  The girl in the yellow slicker was slumped against the side of the dumpster. She was out cold, with her slicker open. The dirty sweatshirt underneath had been pulled up, exposing her belly and bra. Luke pulled her shirt down and buttoned up the slicker.

  “You can see what that bastard was going to do,” Luke said, taking in my pale face. “You did the world a favor by blowing his ass away.”

  “I know,” I said, nodding my head and looking back at the gravely wounded gang member. He had stopped screaming and was unconscious or … worse. “I didn’t mean to do it like that though…”

  Luke didn’t seem fazed by the fact that he, had just killed someone and I respected his sense of purpose. He un-cocked his crossbow and slung it over his shoulder before leaning over the girl.

  “I’ll carry her. You grab your gun and we’ll go back and get the groceries we already bagged up,” he said, putting her over his shoulder and standing up. “Let’s get the hell out of here before bat-boy comes back with reinforcements.”

  “What about him?” I asked, after I picked up the automatic.

  “There’s nothing we can do about him now. In fact, I think he’s dead, man.”

  I looked more closely and saw the gangbanger’s chest was still. I nodded solemnly, and we started walking.

  “You okay carrying her?” I asked, when we reached the end of the alley.

  “Yeah, she’s actually not that heavy,” he said, flashing me a smile. “Just awkward to carry.”

  The trip back to the academy was done with as much haste as we could muster and with constant glances over our shoulders to make sure we were not being followed. We kept to the shadowed side of the street, staying out of the moonlight as much as possible.

  We had to stop so Luke could rest several times, but each time, he refused my offers to take a turn. He obviously knew I was in a state of shock and I certainly didn’t feel 100 percent, so I didn’t protest.

  We saw no signs of pursuit.

  “I think we need to consider moving our departure time up,” a puffing Luke said, as we stood by the back door of the academy, waiting for somebody inside to answer our knock.

  “Yeah, tomorrow night, or the night after, at the latest. I’ll talk to Sonny.”

  “Talk to Sonny about what?” Brooke said, as she pulled open the door. “Here now, who is that?”

  “A damsel in distress,” Luke said, grunting as he took the step and squeezed past her.

  “We’re probably going to have to leave within few days. I think we just poked a hornet’s nest,” I answered Brooke’s first question as I squeezed past her.

  After handing off the bags of canned goods to John in the kitchen, I stopped by the bathroom and washed my face. I didn’t look any different, but I felt like a killer. I went to the main practice floor where Luke had lain the girl on a mat.

  Sonny knelt over her, checking her eyes, while Ben, Brooke, and Allie looked on. Luke was standing to the side, massaging his neck.

  “I guess she was heavier than I thought,” he said.

  “Is she going to be okay?” asked Allie.

  “I think she probably has a concussion,” said Sonny. “We’ll know more when she wakes up.”

  I knelt beside him.

  “No worse than that?” I asked.

  “Can’t tell yet,” Sonny replied. “Her eyes are dilated, but not too much. I don’t think the concussion is too bad, but once she wakes up, we better keep her from sleeping for a while.” He looked at me. “Luke told me what happened with the Tigers. Do you want to talk?”

  “Thanks. Maybe … not now.”

  “Okay,” he said, and stood up. “We’ll need to talk about the Tigers later. But, for now, I’m going to go get an extra blanket and pillow for our guest. If she wakes up, don’t let her fall back asleep.”

  “Okay, I’ll watch her if the others want to eat.”

  “Sounds good,” said Luke. “I’ll eat then come back and relieve you.”

  “Okay thanks,” I said, and looked closely at her for the first time as the others filed out.

  I guess to say she was beautiful would be a stretch; she had an ugly purple welt on the side of her face and was covered in dirt and grime. But none of that, not even the fact that her chestnut colored hair had been crudely hacked down to a few inches, could hide her girl-next -door beauty.

  Beneath
the rain slicker, which looked fairly new, her clothing was ragged, threadbare in some places, and it didn’t take a genius to work out she’d been living pretty rough. I wondered how she could have survived on nights like this. The cold alone should have killed her.

  I checked her pockets but found no sort of wallet or identification, just a key to what looked like a gym locker and a half-eaten bag of gummy worms. I put them back where I found them and settled down to wait for Luke.

  About five minutes later, she moaned softly and turned her head.

  “Is she coming to?” Luke asked, drifting back into the practice room.

  The girl opened her eyes and looked around groggily.

  “Are you all right?” I asked, leaning over her. “Are you awake?”

  Her gaze fell on me, she had the most beautiful green eyes I’d ever seen.

  “Well my eyes are open, aren’t they?” she said, smiling.

  And that is how I met Indigo.

  22

  Indigo, what else can I say about her. As her eyes looked back into mine I felt the beginnings of something. I didn’t have much time to contemplate it just though, because suddenly it was as though someone turned on a light in her brain and her smile disappeared.

  I saw her tense and thought she was about to scream or hit me. I drew back to give her room. Brooke, who had come in behind Luke, rushed over and put a calming hand on the girl’s shoulder.

  Of course, she was wary at first. Who could blame her? Knocked unconscious during an assault, she woke to find strangers leaning over her, my face looming largest of all.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “You’re safe. My name is Isaac. We’re not going to hurt you.”

  “I’m Brooke.”

  “And I’m Luke,” my friend said as he leaned over her and waved goofily.

  Slowly, she appeared to relax. Brooke helped her to sit up and asked if she would like some water. Our guest nodded and looked around the room as Luke darted out to get her a drink. I saw her eyes pause on the doors and windows.

  “What happened?” she asked, when her eyes finally settled back on me. “Where am I?”

  “You’re at the martial arts academy, on Main Street,” I said. “My friend Luke and I were out searching for food when we saw you. We rescued you from those guys that were ... bothering you and brought you here.”

  Her eyes widened at the memory.

  “You know those guys were Tigers, right?” she said. “If you messed with them, they’ll be looking for you. They’re killers.”

  “Don’t worry about it; I don’t think they know where we are.”

  “You better hope so. They killed my cousin Chloe. They would have…”

  I saw tears well in her eyes and I felt my normally icy heart begin to melt. I wanted to question her more about what happened to her cousin, but it could wait. First, we had to gain her trust and let her get over the shock of the attack.

  I changed the subject.

  “Are you hungry? We have some food here,” I said.

  I could see the calm way I spoke to her, and Brooke’s kind touch, had begun to ease her fears. I hoped my offer of food would allay them even more.

  “Yes, thanks ... I’m starving,” she said, as Brooke helped her to her feet and started across to the old sofa Sonny had situated against the wall.

  “Brooke, I’ll go and get some food, if you want to stay with...”

  “Indigo ... Indigo Buchanan.”

  “Indigo. Cool. I’ll go and get you something.”

  I met Luke on the way as he returned with the water.

  “So, what do you think, man?” Luke said, pausing in the hall.

  “She’s alone, and scared,” I replied. “And really, who can blame her? She doesn’t know us at all. For all she knows, we could be as bad as these ‘Tigers.’ She said they killed her cousin.”

  “You think they did?” Luke looked troubled.

  “Yes. I believe her. You saw for yourself what they were like,” I said. “Those guys were animals. Hopefully they never track us down or it’ll be a fight to the death.”

  “No kidding, Chief,” Luke said. “If they kill an innocent girl, what are they going to try to do to us for killing their people?”

  “I’d rather we didn’t find out,” I said, shaking my head.

  Luke headed back with the water and I went to the kitchen, looking through the supplies of canned goods until I found a can of Spaghetti Os. I put them in a bowl and grabbed a clean spoon.

  My footsteps echoed on the wooden floor of the academy’s quiet halls as I walked back and saw where Sonny and his students were. When we got back to the main practice floor, Brooke was still sitting with Indigo on the sofa. They were quietly talking to each other.

  As cold and unappetizing as they must have been, Indigo was very pleased with the Spaghetti Os. She explained that it was her first meal in over 24 hours and was almost finished eating when Sonny entered the room with Karen and Arthur following behind.

  Indigo’s eyes widened in horror when she saw Sonny, so I quickly put my hand on her arm as she dropped the bowl and tried to rise.

  “It’s okay! Indigo, it’s okay! This is Sonny, he’s one of us.”

  Still looking freaked out, she slowly settled back onto the sofa. Sonny wore a wry smile as I introduced Indigo to him and the other two, but he chose not to comment.

  “We turned the supply closet across from the bathroom into a room for our guest,” Sonny said. “We put in a sleeping mat and some warm blankets, and you can stay there as long as you want.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “Aren’t you worried that people will get jealous? Giving Indigo a private room when no one else has one?” Luke said, a goofy grin on his face.

  “No,” Sonny replied, seriously. “We all realize she’s been through a horrible ordeal and may need some time to adjust. Karen here will show you to your room later, when you’re ready to sleep.”

  We all made Indigo feel as welcome as we could, and I think by the time we all went to bed she knew she was in a safe place with people she could trust.

  I woke up some time around midnight and couldn’t get back to sleep. I decided to go and get something to eat. I made my way carefully through the tangle of sleeping bags and bodies on the floor of the practice room to the hallway and into the kitchen. Following my late-night snack of stale Saltines, I was on my way back to the practice room when I heard voices coming from Sonny’s office.

  One of the voices was Sonny. I didn’t recognize the other. It was a woman’s voice, with a faint Chinese accent. Intrigued and, I have to admit, a little alarmed, I stopped to listen. Now understand, eavesdropping is not really my thing, but once in a while curiosity and self-preservation will get the better of me. This was one of those times and I make no apologies.

  “Why did you come here?” I could hear Sonny saying. “How could you just show up here after what’s happened. After what your government has done?!”

  “Sonny! Our people didn’t want this. I didn’t ...” the woman said, emotion clear in her voice. “Many of us are just as appalled by what’s happened as the rest of the world. Some in the upper echelons of government even tried to stop it, but they were brutally suppressed.”

  “How can I trust a word you say? You work for them! Why shouldn’t I just kill you now?” Sonny asked.

  His thoughts echoed my own and I briefly thought of running to grab my rifle. I didn’t. I knew Sonny could handle himself and something in the woman’s tone stopped me.

  “Please, trust me Sonny. By coming here, I have placed myself in great danger,” she said, a hint of desperation in her voice. “If you ever felt anything for me at all, please, just listen to me.”

  “Alright, Huian, I’ll give you five minutes,” Sonny replied. “You better make the most of them.”

  “Thank you,” the woman, Huian, said. “You and your students need to get out of here. The People’s Army is tired of losing trucks. They are planning to route a
n entire division to Worcester. In three days, if you are not gone by then, you will be rounded up and sent to a camp. That is, if you are not simply executed.”

  “So, that’s what you came here to do? To threaten me? Who else knows about us?”

  “No, that’s not why I came here at all,” she said. “I came here to warn you and help you if I can. No one else knows. I am on the New England intelligence team. I requested it especially. We track resistance and movement over the six states and there is a big red flag over this city. I saw the location and came here on a hunch. I knew the virus wouldn’t have killed you but ... well I am just so glad I found you alive.”

  “How do you propose to help us?” Sonny asked, his voice softening a little.

  “I can provide you with a truck and I can promise it will not be reported missing for 72 hours.”

  “Why would you do this for me?”

  “What the People’s Republic of China has done is inexcusable. There are those of us trying to fight it, even now, or at least make sure that it never happens again.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why you would help me,” Sonny said.

  The woman said something I couldn’t make out.

  “What was that?” Sonny asked.

  “I said, because I love you,” she said, in a louder voice. “I have always loved you, Sonny, since the first day I met you.”

  “Then why did you go back, Huian?” Sonny said. “Why did you leave me?”

  “It was my duty and, back then, I put my duty ahead of everything. Even love.”

  “And now? Isn’t it your duty to turn us in?”

  “Now I hold my duty to be a higher cause,” she said. “It sickens me to think I ever put the needs of the People’s Republic above my own, especially given the way they abused that trust.”

  “Well, thanks for the heads up, at least,” Sonny said. “I hope you are not too offended that I don’t welcome you back into my life with open arms. Too much water passed under that bridge and, besides, you blew it up on your way out the door.”

  “I know ... someday I hope to show you just how much you still mean to me. Until then, I just hope you accept what aid I can provide and keep yourself safe.”