The Fighter Series (Book 1): Not Alone (The Beginning)

by Kolleen Bookey

  “Stay put.” Riley told the girls moving to the reception area.

  Littered on top of the L shaped desk were loose papers, magazines, and files. Chairs and boxes were scattered. Riley slid over the desk into the darkness of the waiting area. The window closest to the glass door was partially broken, but snow had built a barrier. A light overhead buzzed and then flashed an orange glow casting a shadow across frozen fish in a tank.

  Broken glass crunched under her feet as she began tossing pamphlets about fleas and heartworms, stuffed animals, and bedding onto the floor. Sliding a bookcase in front of the broken window blocked the majority of the cold air. An elongated waiting room couch was next locking the shelving into place. Stuffed animals and beds worked around the edges to close off small openings. It was a temporary fix, but for now, it was temporary insulation.

  Riley hurried back to the girls who were huddled together with Max. The hum of the generator shifted tone. Then a flow of warm air flowed from the vent above her head.

  “Here, stand here.” Riley said, pulling the girls under the vent. “Stay here.”

  Two of the three hallways were black tunnels accented only by the orange glow coming from the backup lights. One they’d already come through and the other Riley had no desire to explore. The lights were holding steady, but remained dim. Further, down at the south end a much brighter white light spilled out into the corridor.

  What kind of hospital has wolves? Picking up a file off the floor, Riley thumbed through several pages. To make her realization even more dramatic another cry echoed down the corridor. “Puma, Siberian Tiger.” Riley reached for another file. “Mexican grey wolves, black bear, and badgers. What the…….?”

  “Riley.” Megan’s voice caught her. “Where are we?”

  Riley wondered if there was a safe place in this hospital to wait out the storm. The maze of rooms and hallways combined with darkness was in itself nerve wracking. Throw in a few exotic cats and wolves and you have a cement jungle.

  “Are you two warming up?” Riley whispered.

  “Yes.” Megan replied.

  Riley nodded shoving their bags into a closet, pushing past a doctor’s coat and a purse. Besides another weapon, Riley tucked several loaded magazines into her jacket.

  “Put your bag in there.” Riley whispered to Utah.

  “Okay.”

  A deep wet cry cut into the cold. Utah craned her head in the direction it came. Max growled a low guttural sound and then proceeded with a long hiss. Megan clamped her hands over her ears shutting out the daunting noises while hugging her sister’s jacket.

  “What is that?” Utah asked in a soft tone.

  “Let’s go,” Riley said not answering.

  Riley no more than lifted her foot when she sensed they were not alone. Max let out another hiss. She set her foot back down and the smell of an old cigarette and campfire overrode the medicine aroma. Worst yet, she smelled blood. It was too late. The shadow stood behind them and another to the front. A third figure appeared as a silhouette in the hallway.

  The girls hid in the darkness. Outnumbered, Riley dropped her pistol in close to her side. Through the darkness, she stared at the end of a sawed of a double barrel shotgun. At the end of the gun was a mountain of a man. Behind him, a cast of orange glow outlining broad shoulders and face. Max hissed. He arched his back up and lunged over the desk towards the hall. Running wouldn’t be as easy for Riley and the girls.

  “Hey Ringo, check out that cat,” the front man said aiming his gun at Max.

  “Knock it off Dave.” Ringo growled.

  Their faces shadowed, the orange glow dancing around the big man’s features like fire. He stroked his trigger, the one thing she could see. The sawed off end of the barrels focused on her head. The blast would be more than ugly. The shot would spew bits and pieces of her face in all directions. Cold with fear, Riley still strained to see some feature of his face. When she saw the shimmer of red coming from where his eyes should be, she knew she was in deep trouble. More than she’d ever been. She felt it, tasted it, and could even smell it. They weren’t infected, they were just pure evil.

  The man behind her pressed a gun just under the base of her neck, the soft click of the revolver and the cold barrels sorting through her hair to find flesh. Her heart raced.

  “It’s my lucky night,” Ringo said.

  “Lucky.” Riley said. “Why?”

  “It depends what’s under all those layers?”

  “More layers.” She said softly.

  The cold metal of her gun pressed against her thigh. Lift and pull the trigger.

  “Come out of the dark.” Ringo commanded the girls. Utah stepped out slowly her arms encasing Megan.

  Keeping the gun at the base of Riley’s skull, Dave instructed the girls to stand, but far enough away that she couldn’t reach them. I felt the slight wisp of Megan’s fingers as she tried to grab my jacket. Riley shifted, but stopped when the gun pressed harder into her head. Riley felt desperation. For a split second, she remembered the family in the parking lot, the little girl running for her life and the voice telling her to get up. Her eyes shifted to the mans.

  “Dave wouldn’t mind stripping you down, would you Dave?” Ringo said.

  “Uh uh.” Grunting sound.

  “That’s not going to happen.” He wanted sex but he wasn’t going to get it. This was a game but she wasn’t participating. She’d protect the girls even if it meant she had to die.

  Ringo shifted and the dim light fell past his frame casting another eerie glow. His face remained hidden from her but she could smell them, both of them. Her sense of smell had gotten extraordinary through the months and right now Dave smelled like a wet dog, but the devil smelled like blood.

  “Unf…ing believable,” Riley whispered.

  That same day and only hours ago, she’d prayed for no more obstacles. Out of all the buildings to choose from, I found this one. She’d found the one building ran by wild animals led by evil men. Lucky me.

  “She’s got a mouth on her Ringo,” Dave said, chuckling. He reached up and fondled her hair, his hand brushing skin. Riley shivered.

  Dismissing his touch, she focused on Ringo, because he was the real threat. The hood of his jacket encased his face still hidden by darkness and shadows. Her fingers tightened around her pistol. They thought she wasn’t a threat. They were wrong.

  THIRTY-FIVE

  He and Blake moved down the hallway. A continuous tapping sound outside of the building concealed their movement allowing them to move faster. From a fork in the corridor, they saw a woman trapped by two men at gunpoint. Neither of which had good intentions. Voices were sharp, words lost to the chaos outside.

  “Markers.” Jack said.

  “They’re going to kill her.”

  “Probably.”

  “We can get to her.” Blake said.

  The intruder advanced on the women. So close that his face appeared welded to hers. Jack could tell, she didn’t like it. Then he saw a little girl. The conversation instantly took a turn for the worse. He knew what was about to happen. The storm increased in intensity and on cue. The man shoved the woman backward and then smashed the butt of his gun into her face. A gust of wind slammed the building. The little girl started to run forward but another reached out to stop her. She cried out as both silhouettes were lost in the darkness. Jack felt a moment of panic. Bermuda.

  The scene suddenly turned chaotic. The storm screamed outside putting immense pressure on the building. There was an eruption of gunfire as the darkness lit up with rapid bursts of gunfire. The explosions set alight the reception mimicking fireworks.

  Jack motioned Blake forward hugging the wall moving further away from the soft glow of light and back into the examining room. The smell of gunfire, hot metal, and smoke permeated the air. Then there was silence, but for the storm. Two shadows down the corridor worked their way towards them, but Jack knew they were there to help.

  “Someone to the right.”
Blake said. “Not one of us.”

  “Friend.” Jack replied.

  “How do you know?”

  “He was shooting at the bad guys.” Jack murmured.

  THIRTY-SIX

  The aroma of flowers stung Riley’s nose. When Riley saw the female’s face the glow of the emergency lights bounced off her pale complexion into something supernatural. Darkness swam in and underneath her eyes and lips. All expression on her face washed away and the flatness made Riley think of the walking dead. Her beauty shrouded with ugliness and though Riley wanted to feel sorrow for her, she didn’t. There she stood two men, one other woman and two children. The odds were racking up in their favor.

  “Where you running too?” Ringo asked. He leaned in closer to Riley. A rusty smell of old blood touched her nose again making her stomach roll. “Who else is with you?”

  “He’s outside.” Riley lied staring to move forward, but the pressure of the barrel on her head forced her to stop.

  “Come out come out wherever you are.” Ringo called out. The sound of his voice was taunting. He stopped and as he moved, Riley could finally see his eyes. “I think you’re alone. A man doesn’t send a woman and children to do his work.”

  He pressed his nose to her cheek and as he did, she held her breath. Heat came from his breath. A toxic smell seeped out of his pores as he pressed his mouth onto hers and rolled his tongue over her lips. Riley pulled her head to the side, wrenching away from him, but that only pushed her closer to Dave.

  Dave held his pose. Waiting for an explosion followed by eternal darkness, Riley held her breath. Excited, Dave touched her hair again and Riley felt the electricity of tension building. He laughed in her ear. “What do you want to do Ringo?” He asked. The gun moved.

  Ringo gave Riley a slight shove backward. On cue, Dave stepped back as well. Distracted, Ringo shoved the end of his gun across her face. The force threw her into Dave. The sight on Ringo’s pistol caught the flesh on her cheek. A cloud of white stars sparkled over her as she struggled not to black out.

  The floor was icy. Through blurred vision, Riley saw Ringo looking at her gun. Feeling the blood run down her face, Riley looked at her friend, her gun lying on the cold floor. Ringo continued to stare at the gun. What are you waiting for? Off to the side, Utah grabbed Megan keeping her in place. Riley climbed to her knees, scooping up the gun. If she was going to die one of them was going to also.

  “I’ll kill him,” Riley said resting my sights on Dave. “And if I’m still breathing, I’ll take you too.”

  “You don’t get this game do you?” he shouted. “Kill Dave. Poor bastard’s as dumb as a tack.” Dave chuckled. A chill passed over her. Ringo’s voice lowered. “I don’t want to kill you, I want to…”

  “Not while I’m breathing,” Riley said wiping the blood off her face. She moved the pistol from Dave to Ringo. Ringo’s female partner stood still wrapped in darkness. Riley had just hit the rev meter on her adrenaline level.

  “You won’t need to be breathing.” Ringo said.

  Utah shifted her feet. She grabbed Megan’s hand and Riley knew it was now or never.

  “Fuck You!” She yelled.

  The girls bolted to the right. Riley lunged to the left firing at Ringo at the same time. He dodged the bullet, which shattered the wood behind him. His movements were uncanny, light, and quick.

  The flame from the gunfire sparked through the dim light as bullets splintered wood, plastic, and computer screens. There was a shower of dismantled debris. White foam exploded from office chairs as the force of bullets sent them crashing against the counter. Silently Riley thanked the state of California for her regulation bulletproof vest she was wearing. Dropping to the floor, Riley crawled off to the right just under the edge of the counter. Rounds connected with things other than flesh and bone. She waited for ammo to run dry.

  Megan and Utah had taken off at a full run and were out of sight within seconds. The sound of their footsteps was long gone. Riley prayed it was enough time for them to hide and hide well. The bursts of explosions ricocheted inside the building echoing down the hollow corridor. Then suddenly it all stopped. Riley drew on Ringo first and fired. The bullet caught his shoulder, shoving him backwards. Unaffected, he drove his body forward.

  “That didn’t feel very good Kitten.” He said. The sound of his footsteps grew faint, but his voice was loud and clear. “I’m not finished with you yet.”

  The hospital grew quiet with the exception of the extreme storm outside. Riley’s first thought was to find the girls and get the hell out of there, but the fury of the wind bashing the sides of the building quickly put that thought to rest. Even the animals had surrendered to its turbulence. Leaping over the counter, she landed softly on her feet. There was no movement, no voices, and very little light. The storm once again had center stage.

  The ringing in her ears started to subside. The cold combined with fear made her shiver. She slid inside another doorway. Here the building was much colder. She couldn’t stay here long. A hard gust slammed into the side of the building.

  “Lions, tigers and bears oh my,” Ringo sang out. “Oh Dorothy, this isn’t fucking Kansas and you aren’t going home.” His voice twisted with sarcasm and into a pure evilness. “You can run, but you can’t hide… Kitten. I can smell you.”

  His laughter filled the cold. I’m his entertainment making her want to kill him even more. The sound of doors opening and shutting echoed down the hall. He was taunting her. Then the inside of the hospital grew eerily silent again. Riley held her breath, knowing something was coming. It did. Something or someone had made Ringo mad.

  The breaking of glass found a place in the sounds of the storm. Riley jumped as the crashes continued growing repeatedly closer. His actions were so unstable. Drugs had to be a factor. Find the girls and get the hell out! They’d take their chances on the road. Anything was better than this.

  Riley stood quietly, willing her body to conserve body heat. Frigid air surrounded her. The floor was so cold that it penetrated through her socks and boots, freezing toes.

  Riley waited. Then Ringo stopped. She heard him swear under his breath and then he recklessly popped off a handful of rounds. Riley closed her eyes jumping at each round fired, but they weren’t all his.

  “I’ll be back?” He said through the darkness.

  “I won’t be.” Riley answered, taking a deep breath. Find the girls.

  “Son of a bitch,” a different voice said. Riley paused midstride, straining to listen.

  “Where’d they go?”

  “The woman went that way.” Both men were barely speaking above a whisper, but the hollowness of the building amplified every little sound.

  “I don’t think they’re here to see the Doc.” One of them said.

  “No.” The other said.

  I don’ think it’s a good idea to go looking for them Jack.” Their voices lowered.

  “Where’d the kid go?” There was a soft shuffle of feet.

  “He’s here.” She heard him say, “Watch out for the animals”.

  What the hell does that mean? Are the animals loose? “Shit,” Riley said, thinking of the girls. She’d turned them loose in a petting zoo of lions and tigers.

  Her experience included mountain lions AKA Cougars, bears and a coyote or two. Cats are hunters. With that said, an animal cried, sending an even deeper chill through her body.

  “Great!”

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  “What was that?” Shay turned to Jack as he and Blake slipped through the doors. “We heard shooting.”

  “Mexican grey wolf. Five of them.”

  “In here? Who were you shooting at, the animals?” Shay went to her tiptoes and looked through the surgery room windows.

  “Someone else is taking up shelter here as well.” Blake said moving towards his pack, he grabbed up more ammo.

  “I forgot to tell you, stay away from room six.” Jack pulled Shay away from the doors.

  “What abou
t the Doc?”

  “The doc is dead.” Jack said.

  “How? What’s in room six?” asked Sherry?

  “Bermuda’s in room six.” Jack paused for an instant. “Doc was shot.” He left out the part about Bermuda.

  “Sweet Jesus,” Shay whispered. “What kind of hospital is this anyway?” Jack shifted uncomfortably glancing out the eyehole of a window with his rifle tilted outward.

  “A dangerous one.” Jack said. “Pam has an apartment across the hall. I think we should move Matt there.”

  “Why are the animals making so much noise?” Shay asked.

  “Their hungry.” Jack answered. He was about to say more when a high-pitched scream echoed down the corridor. “What’s up with all the questions?”

  “Who’s Bermuda?” Sherry asked taking over where Shay left off.

  Blake said. “Didn’t Doc have a technician living here with her?”

  “She does.” Jack hesitated, knowing Bermuda wasn’t the only cat on the premises. “A rescued Siberian Tiger.”

  Sherry had a mound of supplies stacked on top of Matt’s legs ready to transport. “Okay.” She said. “We can move him.”

  “By the way. That was incredible.” Shay said to Sherry unable to control the smile on her lips.

  “Thanks.” Sherry said. “I’m pretty sure I just stepped outside of my legal boundaries though.”

  “No worries there.” Shay replied.

  “He’s stable, for now anyway.” Sherry’s good news lasted only a split second when the pack of wolves let out an extended cry. The sound found its way through the brick siding and thick pained glass windows into the surgery room.