by Hunt, Jack
“Look, they aren’t going to hold people in the gymnasium for long. They are probably keeping them there while they perform a roll call to ensure that no one has slipped away. After which they’ll load them up and cart them out of here. We don’t have long before they realize we aren’t there but are in the building somewhere.” Nick returned to the door to keep watch on what was happening. There was a commotion out in the hallway and in the gap they saw Thomas Barnum making a run for it down the corridor. In the grip of panic and casting a glance over his shoulder to keep an eye on his pursuers, he didn’t see a soldier step out ahead of him and raise an arm to clothes hang him. His feet went out from underneath him and he landed hard on his back only a few feet away from their door. He was coughing and spluttering. Two soldiers laid into him with batons before placing a knee on his back and zip tying him. As they were putting him into restraints, Barnum’s head was forced at an angle so that his field of vision had them in it. His eyes widened as he saw Nick hiding. He mouthed the word run before the soldiers hauled him to his feet and carted him off back to the gymnasium.
A shot of cold fear coursed through Nick.
He’d never seen someone so afraid.
They had to get out of there and now.
“Devan, you remember that room Gypsy allowed us to have a cigarette in?”
“Yeah.”
“There was a hatch that went up to the roof area. If we can get up there we’ll have a better view of where the military is and potentially determine a way out without getting seen. Right now we can’t see shit from down here.”
“But the caretaker’s room is three corridors away. We don’t stand a chance in hell of making it there. We’re lucky we even made it this far.”
“You have a better idea?” Nick asked.
Devan stared back, biting down on his lower lip and then biting his nails. He shook his head. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Gypsy was a caretaker who worked at the school for many years until they fired him for letting students smoke in the boiler room. He’d often use it as a place to listen to music, smoke a joint or eat his lunch, and because he got on well with lots of the students, he didn’t think twice about letting others join him there. He would often offer students cigarettes and allowed a small group of students, including Nick and Devan, to join him there at lunch break from time to time. That was until another student ratted them out and the principal shut the whole thing down and fired the poor guy. The caretaker now was a complete asshole. Still, Nick remembered what the room looked like. Essentially all the heating and guts of the school was contained inside it. It smelled nasty, like grease and steel, but for a long time it was a great place to have a smoke without teachers knowing. Gypsy would crack open a hatch at the top of a rusted ladder and use a fan to blow out the smoke, while putting a towel at the bottom of the door to avoid teachers smelling anything. Maybe the plan would go south on them but it was worth a shot and right now that was all they could do. Now they just had to get down three corridors. He muttered under his breath, you can do this. As confident as he was in front of Devan, he would be lying to say he didn’t have his doubts.
Like mice trying to escape cats they darted in and out of classrooms, moving as fast as they could. Multiple times they nearly got caught, especially on the second hallway. A soldier had walked into view but was looking down at his phone while they were fully exposed with their backs to the walls. Had he turned to his left he would have seen them but fortunately he walked on.
Then there was the last stretch before the boiler room.
Two soldiers had been posted at the far end of the hallway and for a brief moment, Nick thought it was over. Then, as if fate would have it, a commotion further down the hall drew them away leaving a small window of opportunity.
They took it.
Like two Olympic runners in a 100-meter race, they pounded the ground, legs pumping like pistons as they raced forward knowing that if they didn’t do it then, there was a good chance the moment would be gone forever.
By the time they slipped into the boiler room both of them were sweating and panting hard. Devan curled over placing his hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath.
“Holy crap, I thought for sure they would look back.”
“Look, we don’t have much time,” Nick said as they made their way over to the ladder and prepared to climb. They were just about to ascend when the door rattled behind them and opened wide.
“We would like to know what is going on!” Dr. Summers said, rising to his feet before being told to sit down by a soldier. Since the arrival of the military at Alpine Medical Center, much of the staff had been isolated, except for a few who were brought into a separate room and not told why. Jenna was one of them, as was Dr. Summers. The rest were nurses, and higher-up management. They had been given water bottles, had their cell phones removed and had been told they would get answers, but for now they were to remain where they were. As the hours wore on, so their patience became thin.
“I have a daughter at home that is expecting me back,” Trish Warren said. She was a nurse whose shift was over two hours ago. The three armed soldiers standing at the front of the room just remained stoic and unmoved by her outburst.
Jenna placed a hand on Trish’s arm and tried to get her to relax. “There’s no point inciting them. I have to get back for my kid but until they…”
Before she had finished what she was saying, the door opened and in walked two people, the woman she’d seen earlier and a taller gentleman dressed in military attire.
“Thank you for being patient. I understand you have questions and we are here to answer them but please understand that this matter is of national security and so there are some things we can’t share with you at this time. My name is Colonel Nichol Lynch and this is Major Tim Brown.”
“What the hell is going on?” Summers asked.
“The medical center is being quarantined for a short period of time until we have conducted an investigation.”
“Into what?” Jillian White, a nurse, asked.
“We can’t say at this time but rest assured that as soon as we have what we need, the quarantine will be lifted.”
“And how long will that take?” Jenna asked. “We have families, kids that are expecting us home.”
“We understand that and can appreciate the inconvenience but it’s for your safety and theirs that we do this.”
Summers rose to his feet. “Safety? Let me go out on a limb here and you tell me if I’m off base. You show up here in hazmat suits, you quarantine this place, tell us this is a matter of national security and say that none of us can leave because it’s for the safety of our families. We are dealing with some kind of pandemic, aren’t we? That’s why you’re here.”
“I’m a USAMRIID virologist, we are investing an outbreak. That’s all I can tell you. And like with any outbreak we have to take measures to ensure the safety of the general public. We are not doing this to ruin your day.”
“And yet you are,” Trish said. “This is bullshit!”
The colonel eyed Trish through narrowed eyes. Jenna placed a hand on hers to try and keep her calm. She knew there was no point in them getting upset by this. The military personnel were following protocol, that’s all. Not telling them what the outbreak was, was to be expected.
Nick’s stomach dropped as the door flew open, then relaxed when he saw it was Callie Madison. “Callie?” She closed the door behind her but not before peering out. Nick dropped down off the ladder and made his way over. “How did you get out?”
“I left just after you two did but saw you duck into the washroom. I went into the science lab and stayed in the resources room until it was quiet. I came out and saw you two darting in and out of rooms but I couldn’t catch up until now. What are you doing?”
He brought her up to speed.
“Did you see what they are doing to them?” Devan asked.
She nodded. “They are all sitting in the gymnasi
um under armed guard. The teachers are doing roll call. What the hell is going on?”
“There’s no time to discuss that now, we need to get out.”
“And go where?”
“My father is waiting for us at Coffield Park.”
“And then where he’s taking you?” she asked.
Devan walked over to the ladder, getting ready to head up. “Who knows but it’s better than being stuck here. You coming or not?”
She nodded and all three of them ascended the rusted ladder. At the top, Devan popped the hatch open and they crawled onto a gravel roof, keeping low. The school itself was divided into sections, some areas had slanted roofs and others were flat. Nick closed the hatch behind them and they jogged over to the edge of the building on the east side and looked out. There had to have been ten military vehicles positioned in various spots around the school grounds. Soldiers were walking the perimeter of the school while others were going in and out.
“We don’t stand a chance,” Callie said.
Nick darted over to the west side which faced Gonzales Street. That also had vehicles. The south side was the same on Lincoln Street, which left only the north end. They hopped down about six feet onto an adjoining roof, crossed over and jumped to a slanted metal roof and made their way to the north side. That side was different. There were a few military trucks parked close to the building but nowhere as many as the other three sides.
Devan dropped down to his knees and put his head in his hands.
“We aren’t getting off, are we?”
Nick didn’t reply, instead he was trying to gauge the distance between the school building and the cafeteria which was a separate area divided by a parking lot. It had to have been about twenty to thirty yards. If they could get to it, they stood a chance of making it over to Murphy Street and heading west towards the park.
“Look, this isn’t going to be easy and there is a good chance we’ll be spotted but I’d rather take my chances trying to get the hell out of here than give myself up. What do you say?”
Devan grimaced.
Callie was the first to respond. “What’s the plan?”
Chapter 8
It was a roadblock. Why the hell had they set up a roadblock in Alpine? Brody had attempted multiple times to reach other officers back in Marfa on the radio but without success before he made the decision to continue on.
“Leave this to me,” Gottman said. “There is probably a very good reason for all of this. It’s possible they have an escaped convict. It wouldn’t be the first time they have got the National Guard involved.”
He was right.
Brody veered off the hard shoulder and continued on getting closer to the checkpoint. There was a large fire engine with its lights flashing cutting off a portion of the road, as well as a military truck and two cop cars. As they got closer two soldiers wearing hazmat suits stepped forward with rifles at the ready. Brody brought his truck to a crawl and lowered the window.
“Where you coming from?” they asked.
“We were south of Marfa viewing point on the Mitchell Flat recovering a body.”
Gottman hopped out and the soldiers raised their rifles. “Get back inside the vehicle,” one of them yelled.
“I’m a cop with Alpine.” He gestured towards the officers that were about a hundred yards away. “These officers will vouch for that.” He also turned his arm to show them the patch on his shoulder. “This is the chief of police from Marfa,” he said. “We’re just transporting back a body related to an open case. You want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Hold tight,” the soldier said getting on his radio and walking a short distance away. Brody gripped the steering wheel tight and felt uncomfortable as the other soldier kept his weapon trained on him. There was no escaped convict. They would have said it and waved them on in. Something wasn’t right. The soldier who was on the radio returned and waved them on in. Gottman hopped back in with a smile on his face. “Told you. They just needed to speak to the right person.”
Although Brody had his reservations about heading into town, until he could speak to the chief of Alpine, he wouldn’t have a clear picture of what was happening. The fire truck reversed, allowing them room to pass through. As they drove on, Gottman gave a nod to his fellow officers. He might have felt comfortable with this situation but Brody sure as hell didn’t.
Emerick Jones sat in the idling Chevy Blazer just on the outskirts of Coffield Park near the baseball diamond, waiting for his son. His heart ached recalling all the years he’d spent bringing his kid out here and watching him play. That was until he reached his teen years, and his mother had taken off with some other guy, leaving Emerick to raise him. It had caused him a great deal of pain to lose her but what hurt worse was seeing Devan in pain. Nowadays he acted as if it didn’t affect him but it did. He just kept it bottled up inside. Emerick kept staring at his phone on the dashboard expecting it to buzz with a text while Angela kept watch on the road ahead and behind them.
“They’ve locked down the hospital in Alpine and now the school in Marfa. Why isn’t anyone reporting this online? They might have been able to get away with this back in the ’80s but…” He scooped up his phone and noticed the Internet had stopped working. “Oh, c’mon!” he yelled. “Angela, check your phone. Is the Internet working for you?”
She fished it out of her pocket and shook her head. “And I’m also not getting any signal either.”
“What?”
He looked back down at his and sure enough the bars were gone. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see what was going on. The military had shut down the Internet and all communication lines. Whatever shit they were pulling, they were making sure that no one was going to spread the word which also told him that whatever he’d seen earlier was perhaps isolated to Marfa and Alpine.
His nerves were starting to get the better of him.
“We might not be out of the woods yet. I just saw a military truck pass by West Lincoln Street. We can’t stay out here too much longer.”
“We aren’t a threat.”
“They’re looking for us. Remember?”
He nodded. He’d put the incident on the street to the back of his mind and hadn’t thought of anything else except getting his son out of harm’s way. It also wasn’t like they could conceal their vehicle behind trees. Coffield Park was an open space with a few shady areas where trees were dotted. It was probably the greenest area inside of Marfa’s town limits. Tourists and locals alike would go there to unwind. It was common to see people walking, running or playing with kids in the park. It didn’t offer much but Marfa residents weren’t exactly high-maintenance individuals.
“Listen, what happens if he doesn’t show?”
“Then I go find him. I’m not leaving him.”
“Emerick. If this is some kind of imposition of martial law, and people are being rounded up and shipped off to FEMA camps, I’m not putting myself in that. My mother is in an Alpine nursing home. I need to make sure that she’s okay.”
“First, we’re not heading to Alpine. You think it’s any better there? Second, I hardly think FEMA is involved in this.”
“You heard it yourself from our guest the other night.”
“The guy was a conspiracy nut ranting about U.S. citizens being imprisoned for the purpose of extermination as part of a New World Order, Angela. I think we can take what he said with a grain of salt.”
“Most consider you a conspiracy nut.”
“Just because it’s a part of our weekly show, doesn’t mean I agree with it.” He reached for a pack of smokes and tapped one out before lighting it. His hand was still shaking from nerves. He brought the window down and blew gray smoke out the corner of his mouth. “It’s all about numbers. We have to appeal to the masses, we can’t just run a regular radio show. That shit doesn’t fly nowadays. You have to have your hand in everything.” He took another hit on his cigarette. “Besides, if they’ve shut off the communication and Inter
net in both towns, I hardly think they are going to cart us all off to a concentration camp. This is the concentration camp. They only need to set up borders, post police and military at every exit out of town and they have us hedged in like rats in a science lab experiment.”
She nodded and tapped her fingers against her leg.
Emerick had known Angela for over fifteen years. In all that time she’d never got married, had a kid or shown any sign of settling down. Some even thought she was a lesbian because she trimmed her hair short and was only ever seen with women in bars. But he didn’t buy it. There was more to her story but he’d never really got into it with her. “Why don’t you date guys?”
“What?” she said flashing him a glance, confused by the question.
“Guys. Dating. I never hear you talking about them.”
She shrugged. “I guess I just haven’t got around to it.”
“But don’t you feel alone?”
“I guess. I mean, yeah, of course. I have nights where I wish someone was there when I came home but I have a lot of good friends.”
“Females.”
She got this smile on her face.
“Not you as well.”
“Well you have to admit, Angela, it’s kind of odd. Even Suzie Foster has a man, and she’s a real hag. You’re much better looking than her.”
“Well thank you. Though I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult.” She scoffed looking back at out the window.
“I’m just saying, a little bit of a makeover and you really could turn heads.”
“Emerick.”
“What?”
“Shut the hell up.”
Back at the high school, Nick had watched the soldiers go in and out of the north entrance. No matter how they did this, there was a good chance they’d be caught. “Listen to me. If any one of us gets caught, the others don’t stop. Just keep going. I mean that. If they grab me you keep going.”