The four men couldn't have been more wrong about what they'd witnessed. This wasn't a last-second pardon. It was judgment day.
The guards around them brought their weapons to bear, taking off safeties where necessary and loading ammunition into the chambers. No one counted down, and no one gave a signal, but the look in the eyes of the men on their knees told it all. While they couldn't see the weapons pointing at the backs of their heads, they could see the weapons pointing at their partners' heads.
If there was one small mercy, it was that they only had a few seconds to realize their sentence was about to be carried out. Some from the crowd turned and left before the shots were fired, but most stayed. There's something to be said for morbid human curiosity, and today Holly and Garrett would get to experience that feeling for themselves.
A dozen or so shots rang out, and in firing squad style each man was killed with multiple bullets. No one executioner could claim responsibility for the death of any single man. Nor could they be held solely accountable.
Regardless, the backs of the skulls of the four men shattered. Bone fragments and bits of brain splattered forward amongst each other and onto the ground between them. They collapsed sideways and forward as they exhaled their last breaths.
The crowd began departing, and Holly and Garrett did so with them. Their pace was markedly slower than it had been earlier. Holly no longer tried to pull Garrett along, encouraging him to get used to his splint. They were both in shock. Holly's face showed it more, and she couldn't stop the tears. Garrett, as usual, kept it inside.
"I can't believe ..." Holly trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
"We need to leave. The sooner we get out of this city, the better. Becky needs us. Now more than ever."
Chapter 9 ~ Blood Simple
Holly and Garrett couldn't get away from the mob scene fast enough. They moved quickly now that they could see just how far the boat was from them, less than a hundred meters away. Their pace quickened, and even Garrett, who was hobbled by the splint on his leg, seemed impervious to the pain that was radiating from it. The sight of the familiar lifeboat was the closest thing to home they had today.
If they were a little less focused on the lifeboat, they might have noticed that they were being watched. The short man that had noticed them when they didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the crowd. It wasn't obvious just to this person, it was certainly obvious to others that they were outsiders, but this person seemed to take extra notice.
He followed them cautiously, keeping his distance but taking note of their demeanor. Clearly, they were upset and worried and disturbed by the events that had transpired in front of them. It's not every day that people bear witness to the murder of criminals. Not that their executioners would've considered it murder. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
Holly and Garrett, however, had no intention of sticking around to discuss the ethics of what had transpired before them. They had only one goal in mind, and that goal was getting the hell out. Hopefully, to a place that was safer than the ones they had experienced throughout this day. If they'd paid more attention to their surroundings, they might have noticed who was noticing them.
"Do you ever have one of those days?" Holly said in a tired voice as they walked back to the beach. "One of those days where you'd just like to burn it all down."
Garrett looked at her questioningly, wondering if she had really said what he had heard. Which, of course, she had. He thought that he might not have heard what he thought he did, given the conditions. The wind was picking up off the ocean and really blowing towards them. They could feel the sand whipping against their clothes and arms. It stung their exposed skin. Nothing, though, like the pain they'd experienced so far today.
"Burn it all down?" Garrett slowed his pace and looked at Holly. "What do you mean by that? You want to burn the day? Like throw it all away?"
"That's exactly what I mean. This has been the shittiest day from hell that hell has ever spawned. Wouldn't you agree? At least in my life it certainly has been. I mean, look at the crap that we've gone through. As if being stranded on a beach with a bunch of strangers in a lifeboat that nearly killed all of us wasn't enough. Then we were chased and beaten and ended up as spectators at the murder of four innocent victims."
"I'm not sure I'd exactly call them innocent." They started walking quicker now, their walking keeping pace with the intensity of their conversation. They were moving into the type of conversation that they both recognized. The tone and the body language suggested that this was going to escalate into an argument sooner rather than later.
"Those pricks were anything but innocent. Even if all they had done was beaten a dog to death, they certainly weren't innocent. Maybe not deserving of execution, but quite clearly things are different than they used to be."
"That's exactly what I'm saying. Things have changed, and maybe too much. Burning down the whole day isn't enough. Maybe what I meant by that was burn down the whole week or month. Hell, maybe I'm still not thinking big enough. Maybe what I should be talking about is burning down the future. Just the hell with all of it. I mean, what's the point if this is what happened to our country in just a few short days? Executing people in the streets? Vigilante justice? Is that the kind of world you want to live in?"
Holly looked at Garrett but never gave him a chance to answer. "I certainly don't want to live in a world like that."
"That's not what you need to be thinking about, Holly. We need to focus on Becky. Remember, that was the whole point of this little outing, getting enough gear and supplies together to go find her. Regardless of how you may view the future based on a couple of incidents today, we need to think about her. That's it."
"A couple of incidents?" The tone of Holly's voice escalated. Her pitch had changed, and Garrett knew they'd crossed the line. Garrett still believed that they had to bring it back to Becky. They just had to focus on one thing at a time.
"OK, look. I'm sorry and I don't want to fight about this, all I want to do is find Becky. That's what's key here. All this other stuff is just white noise." Holly started to speak, but Garrett held up a hand. "Please. Just please, OK. I get it, I totally understand why you're upset. I'm upset too, I just don't show it the way you do. Remember? We've been here before, we've talked about this."
They were on the beach now and within shouting distance of the lifeboat. Garrett pointed towards the boat, trying to focus Holly's attention. "Look, we're back. There are people here, and we're safe at least for the time being. Safety in numbers. OK?"
It was difficult for Garrett to make his way across the sand with the splint. The walking was uneven, and there were some rocky sections he had to cover. He almost tripped a few times, but Holly helped him balance.
They were working together again. They didn't need to say a lot now as they both mulled over the day's events. Garrett liked to think about things, analyze them and then come up with the best solution to a problem. Holly didn't quite see it that way. She was more prone just to react and blurt out what was on her mind. She knew that—heck, they both knew that. They both understood their differences, just sometimes it was hard to deal with them.
A few of the survivors had found crates and boxes from the boat for people to sit around on the sand. They'd been hauling stuff out while Holly and Garrett were gone. The number of survivors had dwindled. It looked like maybe only half as many as before.
The short man who had followed them down to the beach kept his distance. He was a careful observer and understood the virtue of patience. He was sure he hadn't been spotted and even if he had, what could they do about it? He was part of a bigger group, a stronger group that controlled the city. He had nothing to fear from this couple.
But now, he was surprised by the number of people on the beach hanging around a lifeboat that wasn't there the last time he'd been to the beach. These two are obviously part of a larger group. They seem to be drawing attention from the others. That's a lot of people
, he thought. What do they have in mind? This was something that had to be reported back up the chain of command. He took careful notes, counting all the people he could see and then the resources that were around the boat. The appearance of a lifeboat of this size was not something he'd seen before. He was quite sure that others in his group would be interested in its appearance.
<<<>>>
Javier was a small man. Always had been and always would be. It was one of the things about his life that he truly hated, but had learned to live with. What else can you do about it when genetics deal you a raw hand? Play the cards to the best of your ability and hope for the best. That's what Javier did. He thought he was clever, figured he was one of the brightest people he knew. Given the circles that Javier traveled in, that wasn't exactly setting the bar high. He was one of the smartest guys in his group. The people he hung out with were criminals at the worst, or vagrants and loaf-abouts at best.
But there was one thing that Javier was good at, and that was seeing opportunity. Seeing it and seizing it. He was good at it. That's where he figured he got his reputation for being clever. The fact was that he was only half right. He was good at seeing opportunity, but where he fell down was in capitalizing on those opportunities. That's where he tended to screw up. His emotions and his greed got the better of him. That and the fact that he wasn't quite as smart as he thought he was.
Jaden was a big man, really big. Big enough to be the biggest player on his high school football team, but not big enough to cut it as a college player. When the pond got bigger, he wasn't the big fish he thought he was. Not that he was smart enough to survive college for all that long anyway. He'd gotten there on his size. Even with the rules tipped in his favor and a town that greatly favored prowess in their football team, Jaden didn't measure up.
His desire wasn't enough either. He was lazy and never really wanted to be there. His parents had pushed him to become more of an achiever and to be the first of his family to go to college. But Jaden didn't care about any of that, although he liked being big. He liked the fact that it gave him power over everyone else. It made him feel secure. All his childhood, he'd been the big guy. No one pushed him around, and everyone looked up to him.
After an abbreviated college career, he had aspirations to be a cop. A gun, he thought, would be a pretty cool thing. Just like in the cowboy movies that he was so fond of watching. He didn't tell anybody that, as they would've just laughed. Nobody watched Western movies these days, that was for old folks. Of course, they wouldn't have laughed to his face. Not with his temper anyway; it demanded respect. Size demanded respect. Being a cop didn't quite work out though, as there was a lot of discipline that went with that. They had a lot of rules at the police academy, and Jaden wasn't used to following rules. He was big and could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. Being at an academy run on discipline didn't quite suit him.
Jaden barely noticed Javier walking up to him. He was kind of like that, didn't pay a lot of attention to the little people, especially someone like Javier who was even smaller than average.
Javier, on the other hand, couldn't help but notice Jaden. It was a survival skill. When you're as small as Javier, if you didn't keep track of those around you, you'd be squashed. It again fed into Javier's idea that he was clever. The fact that he could mentally outmaneuver big guys like Jaden fueled his pride.
Most of the crowd had dispersed from the scene of the execution, but not everyone. Jaden had started to walk away before the deed was done, but didn't get very far. The power of it all intrigued him, and he wanted to come back to see the aftermath. Now, he couldn't take his eyes off the blood.
Javier watched Jaden watching the blood. He seemed to be enthralled by it, in spite of the fact that he hadn't actually been one of the executioners. Javier couldn't decide if Jaden was feeling remorse or fascination. He walked around the four bodies and watched their life fluid leak out onto the pavement.
Javier analyzed things, always looking for an opportunity. There was an opportunity here for sure, with the survivors and the lifeboat. Javier just hadn't figured it out yet. Jaden was in charge, there was no doubt about that. He was the biggest and the most aggressive of their group. Javier wasn't foolish enough to challenge that. At least not yet.
Jaden circled the scene, first from a distance then closer, down in a crouch. He didn't touch the bodies, but watched them as they slowly bled out. He stared at them intently, examining them in detail.
Javier had to carefully gauge when and when not to say things. He knew sometimes that he spoke too quickly and got himself into trouble. He couldn't let that happen now. Not in this world and not in this environment. Being a small person surrounded by brutes like Jaden in the old world was a challenge, but now being small could be deadly. Screw up one time and it could mean your end.
Javier found himself enthralled with the blood as well. It was interesting how it pooled into the low spots on the ground, you could see where the concrete was uneven and how it seeped into the cracks. Going down to the earth underneath. Javier wondered momentarily if insects would eat the blood. Would it be a nutrient for them? Would they get stronger now, because there were four bodies lying in the street? Blood flowed around them like rivers, mixing together. That was interesting, he thought. These four had found a unity and a bond to bring them all together. Their blood mixed, making them true blood brothers.
Javier figured they thought they were pretty smart too. Now look what happened to them. Javier decided right then and right there that that wouldn't be what happened to him. No way, no way in hell his blood would be spilled on these streets.
"What do you think you're doing there, little man?" Jaden's remark caught Javier off guard. Javier didn't expect to be noticed. He never was. But now Jaden was staring directly at him, and his eyes were different. Must've been the blood, Javier thought. It has to affect people. It affected him more than he thought it would.
"I'm not really up to anything, Jaden. Just checking out things. Trying to figure stuff out. Who's going to clean up the bodies? We can't just leave them lying here, can we?"
"You volunteering?"
"Not really." Javier winced at his impudence. He didn't want to come across as too smart ass in front of Jaden. He knew that wouldn't serve him well. "I mean," he stammered, "if you really think I should, then I suppose I could get a few of the others to help me and do it."
Jaden chuckled. "You think you can convince some of the others to help you move the bodies and dispose of them?" Javier didn't like the way Jaden said the word you. He was belittling him as if he was insignificant. More insignificant than just size. Jaden didn't know him as well as he thought he did. He was clever, Javier was convinced of that. Smarter than the big damn oaf that looked down at him.
"I can probably bribe them to help me out. There are a few that owe me favors." Javier contemplated telling Jaden what he had discovered about the two strangers. Jaden most likely hadn't noticed, and neither had any of the others. At least not enough to follow them and figure out where they'd come from. An entirely new group in town. Not as big as their group, but certainly one that could become big. Their group had started small too. Just a dozen or so of them, including Javier and Jaden. Then they snowballed from there, into the size they were now. Several hundred at least. All under Jaden's command.
"I think you should be in charge of getting rid of the bodies." Jaden grinned at him. "Although the thought of just leaving them lying here in the street isn't so bad either. At the very least, it might send a signal to others about power and who wields it."
"That's not a bad idea," Javier said, agreeing just for the sake of agreeing. He didn't really have an opinion one way or the other. It's not like the bodies were close enough for the odor to drift into their homes. The worst that could happen if they just left them in the street was maybe some animals would find them and take care of the remains.
Right now, though, Javier didn't want to disagree with Jaden. He also didn't want
to give Jaden any more information. Knowledge was power, and at the moment Javier didn't feel like giving Jaden any more power. Javier decided that he'd keep what he discovered to himself. At least for now. He'd counted around fifty people in that group. That's a lot bigger than a dozen, and even though they were smaller at the moment, there was nothing to say they couldn't grow to be a rival. Javier’s mind churned. Maybe it would make sense to befriend someone in the beach group. Nothing like playing both sides of the game. Once a schemer, always a schemer.
Chapter 10 ~ Theme Song
Holly and Garrett felt a certain unease as they came back to the group. Everyone seemed to be milling about the boat like ants around newly found food, unsure as to what to do. Then again, maybe not like ants. Ants always knew what to do with food: bring it back to the hive and give it to the queen. Feed the greater group. Holly and Garrett kept their distance. They hadn't been spotted by the others yet, so they plunked themselves down in the sand and enjoyed a momentary peace. If anyone wanted to talk to them, they'd have to come and find them.
"What are you thinking?" Holly asked.
"I don't know," Garrett responded. "I'm not sure we should tell them."
They were both thinking the same thing, and Holly didn't need to voice her concerns too literally. Would it be wise to tell the group what they had encountered and what they had gone through? Would it instill panic or a sense of coming together? Every group was different. Population dynamics are a funny thing. Enduring common hardships and stress within a group can often bring them together and bind them. Having a single goal or obstacle to overcome would be a good thing.
"They could all just run for the hills. Scatter, like dust in the wind," Holly suggested.
"That probably wouldn't be a bad thing."
"I know you think that we should do this all on our own and that we don't need anybody else's help, but I'm still not convinced," Garrett started, but then stopped himself. He'd already voiced his concern several times to Holly and didn't feel a need at the moment to repeat himself. The shock of the situation and what they had endured was now starting to settle in on him.
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