by Jeff Olah
“Give it another day, I’ll try to talk to Randy when we see everyone and find out what he has planned. Can you do that?” Savannah slowly closed the space between her and Adam. She stood in front of him and grabbed him around the neck. “I just told you how much I care about you and NOW you decide to go all action hero on me? Is that your way of showing affection?”
“You’re right,” He said. “Talk to Randy and see what he and Mason have to say. It’s probably better if we are all on the same page, but how are you and Randy going to talk with those guys around? They listen to everything we say.”
“They seem to focus mainly on you, Mason and William. They don’t care much what us women think or say; it’s pretty apparent who they are watching. When we are all in the room together, stay on the other side of the room to give me some time to talk to Randy… sound good?”
“Sure no problem. Now… about you and me.”
“Really, is that ALL you can think about? You men are such simple creatures.” Savannah pulled him close and kissed him once more. He didn’t let go, in fact he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body into his. He lifted her from the ground, moving closer to the ten dollar cot he had used for the last two weeks to sleep on. As he let go and sat back on the makeshift bed, Savannah removed his shirt, smiled and began to straddle him…
Savannah stumbled backward and fell to the ground as the unmistakable sound of a key running through the tumblers of a door lock caught them by surprise. Adam hurried to slide his shirt back over his head as Savannah quickly stood and composed herself.
Karen came through the door first and warned them. “Not really sure what’s happening, but they’re taking us to see someone.”
Stumpy appeared next, followed by April and Justin. “They’re not too happy and definitely not in the mood to talk,” April said. “Just stay out of their way and do what they tell us.”
Lurch was the last to come in, his face as stern as the block wall behind him. Another loud squawk came from the walkie at his side. “We have a slight change of plans, can you talk?” said the voice of a woman on the other end. “Hold on a moment,” he said as he turned his back to the group and made his way out into the hall, shutting the door behind him.
Adam stood and made his way over to the others. “What the hell…”
The group stayed completely silent, struggling in vain to catch any part of the conversation from the hall. Stumpy realized what they were up to and even though he knew there was no chance of them hearing anything he tried to shift their focus. “When we leave here I don’t want any funny business, especially from you,” he said pointing at Adam.
“No worries, sir. I’ll be a good boy. You can count on it.”
As they waited for Lurch to finish his conversation in the hall, Adam slowly positioned himself between Stumpy and the door. The others got bored with waiting, moved over to the cots to sit down and continued their small talk.
With the muffled conversation and intermittent squawks from the hall now muted, Lurch came back through the doorway. Everything appeared to move at an exceptionally fast pace as Adam jumped on this man coming through the door and started punching him in the side of the head. His fist made contact over and over. Lurch didn’t appear fazed by the first few blows of the attack in the slightest. He simply reached back over his shoulder, grabbed Adam by the hair and threw him to the ground as the others watched in silence.
Adam’s head hit the floor first and made the sort of squishing sound you might hear if you dropped a melon without it breaking. He rolled onto his side, then up to his feet spitting blood to the floor and brushing the dirt from his clothes. “Why in the hell don’t you inbreeds just let us go? We have no problem with you guys. We just came here to get away from those monsters that took over the city.”
“Son, we don’t have a problem with you people and never did. We gave you food and a place to sleep at night, although after that little stunt, I have a serious problem with YOU!”
Adam slurped the remaining blood in his mouth into a ball and spat it onto Lurch’s shirt. “Bring it on fat man; I’m not afraid of you one bit! How bout you put that gun down and we show everyone your real worth. Make it a fair fight.”
“Boy… you really are too stupid for your own good.” Lurch motioned for Stumpy. “Take the two ladies and her son up to the office, she’s expecting you. I have a special treat for the ignorant one here and his girlfriend.”
Everyone looked around in stunned silence as they exited the room and went their separate ways. Adam avoided any form of eye contact with Savannah, knowing she would be extremely upset by his actions, even though he got the exact response he was looking for out of his adversary. The goose egg on the back of his head reminding him of how serious these guys were began to sting as it rose from his head, although it was worth it. Lurch split the two of them up.
. . .
Stumpy led the way through the maze of corridors as the group followed close behind. They entered the stairway and climbed the three flights of stairs to the skybox level. As they followed him out into the plush halls that were designed to impress even the most elite of society, April and Karen were in awe of the stunning artwork and its beauty that adorned the walls. The contrast between these expensive wall coverings and the bloody handprints and stained carpet that had dried only days before was unsettling.
As they approached the door, Stumpy stopped them. Hanging his head and staring straight ahead at nothing, he said, “Don’t speak to her unless she asks you a question. She’ll tell you what to do. Let’s go.”
As he placed his hand on the doorknob and looked back towards them, his face went flush and instinctively he raised the gun to April’s head. “Where the hell is your son?”
“What… what are you asking?”
April and Karen turned around. He was gone.
“JUSTIN!”
6
The fat short man went first with his mother and Karen close behind. The sound of their shoes against the metal stairs muted any noise the door made as he closed it and hurried back in the direction of the room he had called home for the last several days. The stench of death was his compass, guiding him down the narrow corridor that preceded the home team’s locker room.
The smell intensified as the hall grew deeper and darker. Justin began to run as he crossed the hall that led to the rest of the building and caught the attention of Lurch pushing Adam and Savannah toward the other half of the facility. He didn’t look back and feared the next thing he would hear would be a bullet leaving the chamber of Lurch’s gun before he blacked out. The hall was longer than he expected and as he turned the final corner, he realized where the sounds and smells of death were coming from.
. . .
Being pushed from behind, Adam resisted once again as Savannah tried to coax him forward in hopes of not pissing off this man that already had some sort of permanent vendetta against their whole group. “Adam, let’s go. This man has had enough, can’t you see that. We don’t need to add to it.”
“Yeah, you should listen to her. You don’t know me or what I am capable of. I’ll tell you once only, you need to behave! Trust me; I couldn’t care less what happens to either of you.”
Adam spun around and took a swing at his rival… and missed. Lurch stepped aside avoiding contact and came back hard with a fist of his own, straight into Adam’s ear. Blood started to trickle from the side of his face as he vigorously rubbed away the pain. Savannah pulled Adam forward, begging him to stop. “What the hell is the matter with you? This man is obviously crazy and if you want to get us out of here we need to cooperate.” She looked up for confirmation, although Lurch didn’t even acknowledge her, he just pointed down the hall.
He was sure this man was under the direction of someone else and he was determined to prove it. “Hey, why’d you let the kid just pass in front of us and not even go after him? You waiting for approval from your boss?”
“Where that kid is headed, there�
�s nothing but trouble. He’ll die in here before he becomes a problem for us anyway. Now move, I can’t wait for this next part.”
. . .
The sliver of light that weaved its way out of the locker room only illuminated a small portion of the gate that held back the hundreds of Feeders trapped behind the chain link fence. It acted as a semi-transparent obstruction between not only Justin and the power grid, but also the horde that had not yet noticed his presence. He crawled in silence on all fours through the waste left behind by the painters, electricians and plumbers as he held tight to the far wall estimating thirty feet to the locker room entrance.
Brushing aside soda cans and candy bar wrappers he stopped behind the overturned trash cans that had previously housed the filth he was wading through. One of those things on the other side of the hall must have knocked it over attempting to feed on one of their victims before being locked in the cage.
There was no sense to be made of how they all were trapped behind the fence in the first place. There were men in overalls, women in business attire and even a few in warm-ups. This mixture of demographics would be odd to see all in one place, even if they weren’t Feeders. Moving around the trash can to get a better view proved to be his undoing. A small glass soda bottle rolled out of the can making just enough noise to attract the attention of the horde. They turned as a group and stumbled into the gate like cattle at feeding time.
The initial feeling of terror soon washed away and he was once again intrigued by these things who were only ten feet away. He slowly approached the chain link barrier trying to make eye contact with the biggest of the Feeders. This thing was massive; it had to be at least six and a half feet tall and well over three hundred pounds. Well-muscled, this former athlete would have been terrifying even before it turned into whatever it was. When it finally turned to face him, Justin froze in place. The hair on his arms and back of his neck stood up straight.
It only took two thunderous steps to close the gap between the two and Justin felt a streak of icy sweat run down his spine. They were less than eighteen inches apart now and this behemoth dripped blood from its mouth that splashed on the ground and ricocheted through the fence and onto Justin’s shoes. The beast slowly slid its meaty fingers through the links, gripping the fence tight and began violently shaking it back and forth, trying to rip it from its foundation. Justin slowly backed across the hall wading through the amber glow and turned back into the locker room.
. . .
Being scolded like a dog wasn’t uncommon for Stumpy. While in the police academy, he suffered many tongue lashings meant to instill teamwork and confidence under pressure. This was different. This woman had nothing to gain by treating him that way and did it simply to show her new guests that she was not one to be toyed with.
“How on earth did you lose the boy? Where did he go? I cannot believe that you were actually a man of the shield before two weeks ago. You are a disgrace.”
He didn’t even look up. He knew she would finish soon. This was just a game he needed to play until someone else showed up here and took over control from her. Maybe it should be him.
“I’m going to give you one last assignment before I have you thrown in the cage. Go get the two men and bring them here… BOTH OF THEM! Can you manage that, without losing anyone?”
He didn’t respond. Instead he turned his back to her and walked defiantly into the hall. That was his answer.
. . .
The air felt thick and heavy as the sun began to die behind the western hills. Weaving their way through the opposing player’s locker room broke the tension between the two men. Savannah finally was able to stop prodding Adam with mundane questions to get his attention off Lurch. There were chairs, water bottles and preseason uniforms strewn across the floor and Adam couldn’t stop staring. His dreams of being a professional athlete had long since been dashed due to a college career-ending knee injury he suffered in a freak accident at the hands of his own teammate. He had been in many professional stadiums and their locker rooms, although this felt different. It hadn’t been used by anyone. This could have been his.
“Let’s go!” Lurch said as he climbed the two steps that led to the dugout and into what remained of the day’s last light, pushing Adam forward. “This should be fun kid, you’re about to learn some manners.”
7
The temperature had risen ten degrees within the last hour and the quiet whisper from the ventilation shaft had stopped, indicating the air conditioning was no longer running. Even though neither could determine exactly when it happened, the proof was in the damp circles starting to form mid-chest on both men. “A cold one would definitely do me some good right about now, whadda ya say, Mason?”
“I don’t think these idiots have any idea how to control the power in this building. Either that or they’re trying to screw with us.”
“Could be they’re screwing with us for what I did to the little guy the other day,” Randy said.
“Don’t you mean what he did to you?”
“Let’s just say the two of us haven’t finished our talk. I need to meet with him one more time before it’s all said and done.”
“I agree that he deserves a beating, although you need to be sure it doesn’t get all of us killed,” Mason said.
“Stumpy doesn’t have it in him; trust me, I know his type. I’ll show you some time.”
With his ear to the door, he tried listening to the activity inside with absolutely no luck. He already knew he wouldn’t be able to hear anything other than muffled tones and inaudible murmuring. Withdrawing his pistol with one hand, he used the other to slide the key into the lock ever so gently.
While trying to avoid alerting his reluctant detainees of his entry, Stumpy couldn’t help thinking that the key slowly passing against the lock tumblers one at a time sounded quite a bit like soldiers marching side by side to their own death.
Pushing the door open and in one motion pointing the gun at the man he had so boldly knocked to the ground only days before, he figured he would catch them off guard and immediately get the upper hand.
“Whooooaaaaa, what’s going on,” Mason said.
“You two need to come with me. I don’t want any trouble.”
“We’ll come with you, but put the gun down. We’re not looking to cause you any trouble… isn’t that right, Randy?”
“Sure, but we’re not through little man.”
“Where are we going?” Mason asked.
Lowering the pistol and softening a bit, he looked at both men a brief second before continuing, “SHE wants to see you, ALL OF YOU. The rest of your family and friends are with her now and I don’t know what she wants, so don’t even ask.”
Randy stepped toward the little man and smiled. “Good, let’s go see her, whoever she is.”
Mason slid his shoes back on and met the others at the door. “Where’s your buddy?”
“He’s taking the rest of your friends to her now. You are the last ones; they’re waiting for you two, so let’s get going… One last thing, I know you both have reason to feel a certain way toward me, especially you,” Stumpy said pointing to Randy. “However, this woman is not to be messed with. If you want to live to see tomorrow, you’ll do whatever she asks. I’m serious, WHATEVER she asks.”
“Yeah sure,” Randy said. “We’ll see.”
Not about to let someone else get past him, Stumpy took the rear and let the two men lead the way under his direction. “Turn left at the end of the hall and the door to the stairwell is straight ahead about fifty feet. Don’t try anything. Your family is already there and waiting for you.”
Randy laughed. “Yeah, you already said that.”
Making eye contact with Randy and then looking back at the man with the gun trained on their backs, Mason thought he’d redirect. Looking back again he asked, “Any idea why the sudden change in temperature? It went from ice cold to desert hot within the last few hours.”
“Not really sure, it’
s not my thing,” said Stumpy.
Randy stopped, turned and took three quick steps, now face to face with Stumpy. “What IS your thing… little man? I’ll bet my last dollar we are about to find out.”
“Tough guys like you are all the same. Your last dollar won’t do you a bit of good here, although you’re right, you ARE going to find out…” Stumpy said, putting the gun against Randy’s forehead. “Last chance, MOVE.”
Mason reach in, grabbing Randy by the back of the shirt. “Let’s go, the time will come, just not now. Let’s get to the others. They need us alive.”
The trio started forward again and quickly reached the stairwell. “Listen to your friend, he knows what he’s talking about. Start climbing, I’ll let you know when we’re there.”
. . .
This woman looked like anyone else they might have seen only weeks ago on the street and passed without a second glance. Nothing special or distinct about her physical appearance, although she stood leaning against the bar with an aura of confidence and strength that was obvious. “Where do you suppose your son has run off to?”