Day One (Book 1): Alive

by Michael McDonald

  The doors moved again with a subtle rasp coming from the outside.

  “Someone’s out there,” I said, but was quickly silenced by the Young Woman. She eased toward the doors, switching the safety off the SBR as she went and the doors began to move more furiously than before. The rasping of what appeared to be claws screeching across the metal stopped her cold and she buried the short rifle into her shoulder, the only concern was the massive concussion and blast that would follow if she had to shoot. And it would be more than enough to deafen a person for life. Living the rest of her life, however long that might be, completely deaf to the world was not her idea of a good time. It was a death warrant that would come knocking for her, as she’d be unable to hear its angered wings flapping toward her.

  She had to hear in order to survive. There was no way around that. We both did.

  The doors began to violently shake under the power of someone or something on the opposite side. So as long as they stayed quiet, the intruders would not know anyone was within and would eventually move on. The only question to that was how long would they try to gain entry before giving up? They did have a toddler in their midst’s and if she began to cry for any reason at all, their game was over with.

  She looked back at me and pointed toward Kember, following with two fingers moving across her lips – the universal gesture for keeping your mouth shut. I nodded and slowly moved in her direction, considering each step before I took it to ensure that not a single one gave them away. Kember was half playing with a naked doll and fighting sleep hard enough that the worry about whoever was trying to get in was a world away, a problem that did not concern her in the slightest. All she knew was the soft couch and the doll in her hands.

  I knelt beside her and we played silently as the Young Woman stood at the container doors listening for the smallest amount of sounds, which might indicate to her who was on the opposite side. That would determine her course of action when and if something were to transpire.

  “Maybe it’s just some old storage building or something,” A voice said from the opposite side. “Come on, we have to keep moving. It’s starting to get dark.”

  Kember suddenly found something that excited her beyond words and even though she was tired, she yelled, tossing her doll a few feet across the small room.

  “What was that?” A voice asked.

  “Hello? Is someone in there?” Another voice asked. “We really need help! It’s getting dark out here and those things are everywhere.”

  The Young Woman was glaring at me and I could feel she was completely displeased with what had just happened. I shrugged my shoulders. What more could I do?

  They beat on the door again. “I know you’re in there. Please, we need help. We have no food or water and we’ve been roaming around for days now.”

  I remembered the amount of canned food and bottled water in the far container. It was more than enough for them all, although the sleeping arrangements would be a bit awkward, it was still possible and I turned to watch the Young Woman open the door and let them in. Instead, she had backed away from the door and wasn’t going to answer their pleas for help.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  She placed a finger to her lips.

  “No! Those poor people need our help and I will not be quiet and let them get killed.”

  “Then maybe you and your daughter can join them? That way you can take care of them and keep them all safe.” Her words were harsh and as cold as ice. She had gone from understanding and compassionate to hateful in less than a second. That bothered me.

  “You can keep your food and water; we just need a place to stay for the night.”

  The Young Woman turned toward the door. “We cannot help you; now move along before you attract any of those things.”

  “Move along and go where exactly?” A male voice interjected. “There’s nothing but woods out here. For the love of god, let us in… please.”

  “I already told you! Move along before you draw any of those things.”

  Someone slammed a fist or hand into the metal door and a different male voice spoke up. “Sonofabitch!”

  “They need our help,” I added. “You helped me even though you didn’t know anything about me.”

  She spun and looked at me. “You mean like those two assholes that needed help in the gas station that were going to kill you and take your vehicle? Because that’s not what I call help… it is however, what I call taking advantage of someone by using pity to get what you want. And only the lowest scumbags on the face of the earth use that bullshit line.”

  “We have our own supplies. We just need a place that’s safe and secure for the night,” a voice stated. “We can leave in the morning.”

  “Climb a tree and strap yourself in,” The Young Woman announced.

  “What?” The first male voice asked, shocked at such a comment. “Climb a tree? Have you lost your ever loving mind?”

  “I’ve done it and it works. They can’t get you in the top of a tree and if you remain quiet they won’t even know you’re there and will keep going,” she returned.

  “You open this door, bitch. Or I swear I will blast the lock off with this shotgun and you’ll be sorry!”

  “And now the threats come when they realize the pity party bullshit doesn’t work,” she said and stepped to the left of the door.

  “I’m warning you!”

  “I suggest you move along, because if you don’t and you try anything… none of you will live long enough to see the dark, let alone worry about what’s moving around in it.” Through the door, she could hear the whispers of the strangers and how they talked about shooting a hole through the door and killing everyone inside. The racking of a shotgun followed and I grabbed Kember and headed into another of the containers.

  I had the SBR slung over my shoulder and the pistol she had given me in my right hand, which in the next few minutes I would be forced to use.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” The Young Woman said.

  “Too late, bitch… here we come!” The first male’s voice shouted and a shotgun blast followed. Instantly someone began screaming in horrible pain and the sound of them dropping the weapon and following it to the ground was obvious.

  “Holy shit!” Someone yelled. “She shot him… his fucking leg is gone!”

  “I’m gonna kill all of you in there! Do you hear me?” The second male voice stated.

  “We weren’t going to harm you, bitch. We were just gonna take what you had and leave you… but now, now you’re gonna die for sure.”

  The Young Woman looked over her shoulder to see me peeking out from the cooking container. She motioned for me to approach and the fear of her pushed me in her direction rather than shaking my head and seeking any of her anger.

  “Stay here and stand to the side of the door… don’t move!” she whispered to me and quickly vanished into the container behind them.

  What had I gotten myself into? Had I somehow joined up with a psychopath and was now in a dangerous situation? If so, then it was too late to change anything, unless I disobeyed her directives. But where was she going – better yet, what was she doing?

  Another shotgun blast echoed out and pushed me further away from the door. The sound of the pellets peppering the door frightened me. I was certain that the bullets would penetrate the door and hit me, killing me before my body could hit the dingy floor. Back against the wall my thoughts turned from the new screaming to where the Young Woman had went and I wanted to move as quickly as I could away from the door. No sense in dying for nothing.

  Where the hell did this chick go?

  A female voice littered the screams. “You’re going to die in there! Do you hear me; you’re all going to die now!”

  “We don’t want any trouble! She told you to leave and you wouldn’t listen!” I shouted.

  “Well you’ve got trouble now! You’ve got a shitload of it, asshole!”

  “I’ve got a young daught
er in here! She did nothing to you!”

  “And she’s going to die just like you are!” The Female shouted.

  That comment pushed me through a door I never knew existed. I could feel the anger flourish, and then switch to hate. I wanted to do to them what they had threatened to do to us, and I had to act before they could. Without thinking I unlocked the door swiftly, not giving them any time to get prepared, and swung it open, the SBR in my shoulder ready to shoot if they tried to kill me. They were armed… of course they were going to try and kill me.

  A female in baggy clothes, dirty face and oil streaked hair shifted her eyes toward me and I instantly noticed the older model revolver in her hand. My finger touched the trigger as her words rushed through my head and the hate was now fully matured. I was about to kill someone that meant my daughter harm, someone that didn’t see her as an innocent bystander, but another target to eliminate. Not on my watch, bitch. The woman froze, knowing that she would not get her revolver up in time to shoot before I could gun her down.

  Three swift and muffled sounds zipped past me and the dirty woman jerked as pain registered on her face. Her shirt moved in the front and rear, her neck cocked forward as she hunched forward to shelter herself. The last round hit her high in the head, blowing a nice size chunk of her head clean off with a spray of blood and brain matter. She locked up and instantly fell to the ground.

  I spun to the right to see the Young Woman coming out around the side of the container. Her SBR had a suppressor on the end and it fired several more times. A Woman I hadn’t seen at first took off running and the Young Woman ran to a nearby tree and steadied her weapon against a branch.

  I rushed forward toward the first Male to see him holding the stump of a leg. Blood pumped out of his would and the pain smeared his face into a contorted look. I raised the SBR to shoot and the Male threw up a single hand to shield himself from the inevitable.

  “You are going to kill my daughter, you piece of shit? Well let’s see you try that now!” I shouted and grew closer. “Go ahead; tell me what you’re going to do again!”

  Three more muffled shots and the Young Woman returned to my side and watched me. “Do it. That piece of shit was going to kill us all.”

  “No, man… please don’t!”

  “He threatened to kill your daughter… and would have done it had they gotten in. He’s a threat to all of us, including your daughter. Kill him or he’ll come back with more people!”

  The safety switched off and the Male jerked as though shot.

  “Shoot him!” she shouted.

  “You don’t have to! I’m hurt; I can’t do anything to anyone!”

  The Young Woman kicked him in the side. “Bullshit! If you could reach that shotgun we wouldn’t even be having this conversation!” She turned to me. “Now shoot this worthless bastard… or I will!”

  I leaned in for the kill and the Male could see that. If he could not think of something to change my mind in the next few seconds, he would be dead. “I’m just trying to survive, man… just like you and your daughter are.” Tears welled in the man’s eyes.

  The barrel was just two feet from the Male’s face and I felt myself wanting to pull the trigger. Knew that if I didn’t and the man was allowed to live, he might come back with lots of reinforcements, which would be bad for me, my Daughter and the Young Woman. Yet there was also a part of me that knew he was just trying to survive like anyone else. So if I killed the man it would be no different than murdering someone in the world when it had been sane, partially. I released the trigger and slowly stepped back. “Take your people and leave! If you ever come back here, you’ll all die!”

  “Okay, okay… we won’t I promise!”

  I turned and began to walk away when the Young Woman called to me. “What in the hell are you doing?”

  I stopped and looked at her. “Doing what’s right.”

  “Seriously?” she asked. “They just threatened to murder your daughter, who did absolutely nothing to them. Now you’re just going to let them live?”

  “Wounded or not, if I shoot him now, it’s murder. And that’s not who I am,” I said to her with absolute conviction. “Yes! I am going to let them live, and you want to know why?” I said and started towards her. “Because they’re frightened out of their damn minds right now, injured and know without any doubt that I’m not playing. We won’t see them again… I guarantee it!”

  “You’re damn right about that.” The Young Woman said and shot the Male in the face.

  I almost jumped out of my skin when she fired. “Why the hell did you do that?” I shouted.

  “Take a good look around. Do you see those people right there, the ones that were armed!” she pointed to them. “This is not the world we use to know, and I don’t know how many times I have to remind you of that! There’s no more justice to prevail unless you make it yourself! These fucking people would have killed both of us, including your daughter and stolen everything we have! That’s all they care about – themselves! Life doesn’t mean shit to them unless it’s their own, so don’t forget that. Don’t ever forget that!” She walked away from me and went to each of the bodies and ensured they were dead. I watched horrified as she fired into their heads. I held in my hands the power to stop her, although a part of me knew she was right. The part of me that was still trying to make sense of things and remain civilized was the part that I couldn’t let go of. It was the part that was in the way.

  I stood there feeling like an accessory to murder and a victim all at the same time. I was scared of her and would have taken Kember and left if it wasn’t for my fear of her retaliating against my actions, or the massive evil world just past the trees that secluded us. She was aggressive and that aided in their safety and survival, although it also made her unstable and if I ever found myself in a full blown argument with her about the slightest thing, I could be sure that murder would be her way of solving the problem. So for the moment I’d coexist with her until something better came along.

  I wondered how long that would last though.

  Only time would tell.

  An hour later we sat around a shabby little table with empty plates. We drank powdered drinks from cleaned carrot cans, neither of us saying a word. The silence was mortally awkward and I kept finding myself looking at the Young Woman, as if she was about to explain her earlier actions. She wouldn’t bring herself to capture my gaze; instead she finished her drink and left the container.

  More rain moved in and as I lay upon the couch watching my Daughter sleep soundly, my mind wondered to the Young Woman in the next container. I didn’t even know her name, yet that hadn’t stopped her from saving our lives. She had opened her home to us without any questions – never posting any rules we must abide by in order to stay – allowing us to use her supplies of food and water without any gain or contribution. She had even given up her couch for us and not once could I remember if I had thanked her for what she had done. I felt like a horse’s ass for the way I had reacted, but my morals held me in contempt and no matter how bad I wanted to go against them, I could not bring myself to kill another human being, especially when they were just trying to survive like we were. She on the other hand had no problem doing it. How?

  What had she been forced to endure that made her so cold?

  How was she able to kill at a moment’s notice and sleep peacefully through the night? I rolled over and watched Kember settle into a comfortable position before loudly snoring again and tried for twenty minutes to put the questions out of my mind and sleep. It didn’t work so I got up and decided to go and speak to her… if she was awake?

  She wasn’t in the next container and as far as I knew I hadn’t passed her anywhere, as I moved through the abode in silence. I looked everywhere and was unable to locate her. There wasn’t a need to be concerned, as she was more than capable of taking care of herself, yet I was still drawn to find out where she had gone. I had a gut feeling that she was up to something – not bad, just up to s
omething. And in the far container, the one I had awoke to find myself; there was a ladder in the far wall and a hatch above. It would explain how she was able to get outside earlier and deal with those that were a threat without making any noise.

  Outside I cautiously moved to a nearby tree and huddled there a few moments, listening to the sounds of the night and trying to get a distinct possible direction to which she might have went. Everything looked the same to me and I could see how easy it must be for someone to get lost in the woods. In that situation, however, there weren’t any monsters looking for you, just utter darkness and the occasional wild animal. No mountain lions or bears, at least I had been told that through the years. Now whether that was true or not, I guess I was about to find out.

  Movement sixty feet away pulled my attention from my malingering thoughts of animals and I strained in the moonless night to see who it was. From what I could see, it appeared to be the Young Woman and I hurried quietly in her direction, blindly running into the unknown. Kember was safe and sound, locked behind bulletproof doors, under warm blankets and sound asleep. There was no other place on the earth where she would be safer. Even in the event that she woke up, there’s was nothing she could do to endanger herself, which made me breath easier.

  I disappeared into the nearby woods, unarmed and curious – thoughts about my safety blew carelessly with the wind. If anything were to take place, the Young Woman would be armed and could deal with the threat before I even realized one was happening. That could be taken as reckless disregard, and it was on my part. Hey, I never said I was the coldest beer in the refrigerator, now did I?

  She was dangerous and there was no doubt in my mind about that, however, there was also a strong connection that drew me to her, persuading me to negate her short comings and moral issues, which made her who she was. Without such traits, we might both be dead already.

  Moments later, the Young Woman emerged from the wood line to the right of the containers and calmly surveyed the woods in front of her. She had heard the sound of someone moving through the dense underbrush and she lowered herself toward the ground and continued to scan for the maker of noises. As the minutes seemed to tick by, she was sure that whoever had made the noise was far gone, probably passing through the area and brain-dead to the fact that the containers held anyone alive or would offer up any kind of a meal. She made her way back inside and out of the cool wind.