“Hey man,” said Mac. “I got some information. I need to talk to your leader, your boss. I know something he needs to know.”
One of the men shouted, “STOP! Throw that gun over here.”
Mac's pistol skidded across the concrete towards them. One of the guys rather carelessly patted him down. He said, “Follow me.”
They led the loner to the back of the large carpeted theater lobby. They had managed to rip out some of the comfy padded movie seats and a couple of rows of them sat against a wall. A tall black man sat in one of the seats, his feet propped up on a table. The whole place smelled pretty bad. A foul odor was swimming out from the restrooms. Anything that had fallen to the floor, popcorn etc. was strewn around. Some of the front glass doors were open and a fire was built right on the tiled entrance floor. The guy holding Mac's arm, said, “This guy says he has something to tell you.”
The man was chewing on the end of big cigar. He lit it and said, “So, tell me.”
Mac began, “Well, you know that I have been around. Around town since the whatever happened...”
The man said, “Yeah I know, Mr. Loner Man. I haven't seen you in a long time. Where have you been lately?”
“Just around, you know, trying to survive,” said Mac.
Smoke circled around the dark head and the man just looked at him.
“Anyway, lately I have been hanging around out south. I have observed some stuff that I think you would like to know.”
“And what do you want for this information, what is your price? That is, of course, if I think it is worth anything.”
Mac looked around the vandalized lobby. “I just want to hang around, maybe. I've been out there a long time. Get's pretty lonely. I think you have some women with you.”
The man laughed out loud, “Mr. Loner Man is horny?” He inhaled the cigar.
Mac forced a grin.
“What's this important information you have...uh-h, what was your name?”
“Name is Mac. I have seen some folks out south. I am not sure how many, they are scattered over a pretty big area. Look kinda like hippie survivor types. They have a big garden. I've seen a couple of vehicles that are running.”
The man said, “What else? I'm not really much of a farmer. Do they have weapons? Are there women...not old bitches, I mean young women.”
“I am sure there are some women. I have heard some shots, probably hunting. I couldn't say that they would not put up a fight if you moved in on them. I don't know, they might not even be worth your trouble. When I was roaming on the east side of the city, I heard some rumors that there were some folks surviving in groups out that way.”
The man stood up, he rose about a foot above Mac. He put a beefy hand on his shoulder. “Well, a couple of my men told me a little different story. They said that there was a number of folks in that group out south. And, they looked nice and plump and healthy. I think they probably got a lot more than a garden. They may be hippie types,” he shrugged his big shoulders, “but they are getting along damn well, it seems. I got a nice little army here, no matter how many of them there are.”
It was hot and stinking in this place and the loner was doubting the wisdom of his fishing trip. These low lifes were going to move on Unity. The man had already decided. The leader's confidence could be a weakness, though. He needed this intel. He needed to stay here for a day or so.
“Hey, I just thought I could be of help,” he started backing up.
The man exhaled, cracked a wide grin and said, “I like you a little, Mr. Loner Man. I really hate to see a man without female companionship. Stay for now. I'll fix you up.”
Mac was not sure if this was an order or an invitation. He needed to accept for the time being. “Sure,” he said.
“Put that pack up here and let's see what the loner man has,” said the leader.
Mac threw the pack on the table in front of the man. The man nodded to a side kick and it was emptied out. His sleeping bag was rolled up and tied to it. There was a shirt, a bottle of water, a pack of cigarettes, a small pocket knife, some ammo, a toothbrush, some matches, a cup and a fork and a flashlight.
The man took the cigarettes, looked at the ammo, “You'll get your pistol back eventually.” He motioned for the side kick to show him that room at the end of the hall. Mac put the stuff back in the pack and grabbed the sleeping bag. The side kick took him down the darkened hall past several doors to small theaters. He could see some light and hear voices as he passed most of them.
The guide pushed back a door that was to a utility broom closet and said “Here.”
Mac said, “Hey, is there anything like a pisser around here?”
“Where-ever” said the man, “If you go way down to the other end of this hall, there is an exit. Some folks go out that door.” He showed some stained teeth in a grin, “I'd be careful where I step, if I's you.”
No wonder this place stinks to high heaven, thought Mac. These people are just barely a step above animals.
He propped open the door to the utility room. He threw everything that was inside, out into the hall. That left about an 8'x8' space. He put his pack down and untied the sleeping bag. Looking to make sure no one was around, he unrolled and unfolded the down bag. There was his .45. He carefully split the stitches on the side of the bag and slid the gun in. He left the bed rolled out, placed the pack over the end with the gun. He took out his flashlight. He looked down the hall. He could hear laughter and cursing, see smoke coming out of some of the small theaters.
He eased into the dark entry of the door nearest the broom closet. It was on the opposite side of the hall. He didn't hear anything from the empty seating. He flashed the light around. For some reason, no one was inhabiting this theater. His light caught the glint of a red EXIT sign. Of course, he remembered, the law required each of these theaters to have an emergency exit. That would be worth filing away in his head. He moved along the hall, peering in one or two of the theaters. It wasn't going to be easy to get a count of slugs in this place. He was nearing the opposite end of the hall. A man holding onto the bent elbow of a woman stepped out in front of him. The woman's head was down and dark hair fell across her face. She was wearing a T-shirt, faded jeans and flip flop sandals on her feet.
The man looked at Mac. “Hey-y, mister, where you going?” The woman did not look up.
Mac said, “Someone said you go out this door to take a leak.”
The man looked at the door, “You better make it fast. This one is for you.” He squeezed the arm of the girl. “I'll take her on down to your place,” he spit out.
The loner went out the door, took care of business. He was trying to do some quick thinking. It was no lie, he was often lonely. He had been without a partner when the s—t-hit-the-fan. He had accepted that it was probably going to be his plight, as long as he lived. He actually never expected it to be this long. He had needed to come up with something, for the leader to let him stay here. The woman idea just popped up. He had seen some of the pretty and tough women of Unity. Like the three daughters of Jack. Now, he could wish for someone like that, to share his space with. However, he felt sorry for any human that was living in this cesspool with these animals. The thought of touching one of these abused and nasty women was not appealing at all. He was human, with normal needs, but damn...he gave a slight shudder.
As he walked down the hall, he thought, if that reluctance puts my manliness in question, well screw it. In this world, I only have to be true to myself. I'll figure this out. He arrived at the broom closet just as the man was shoving the woman through the door and slapping her on the behind. “Thanks,” he said through gritted teeth. No one deserved to be treated like an animal. The man sauntered off down the hall.
The woman stood in the small space. Her head was still down and she hugged her arms against her body. Mac put his hand out and lifted her face, pushed her hair back. Large brown eyes looked back into his. There were dark circles under those eyes. A small cut and bruise was
at the corner of her full mouth. She was very thin. She was not a beauty but her skin was clear, her lashes dark. She was not hard to look at. Mac guessed her to be at least fifteen years younger than himself, maybe early thirties. “What's your name?” he asked.
“Lacey,” said a soft voice.
“Listen. I am not going to hurt you. I promise. You sit down on the sleeping bag, here. I am going to close this door. That means it will be completely dark. Okay?”
The woman eased down on the mat and looked up at him. He pulled an old chair from the hall and when he closed the door he wedged it under. The flashlight caught her nervous expression. Mac said, “I am going to sit down beside you and we are just going to talk. If someone comes snooping, we are busy. Got it?” She nodded.
He eased down beside her and turned out the flashlight. He could hear her uneasy breathing. He was surprised but he could smell the clean scent of her hair. Something deep down stirred in him, something he had not felt in a long time. This might be harder than he thought. He said, “Lacey, how did you get with these people?”
Her voice was low and she spoke well, “I was single when things went crazy. I was working to move but I couldn't afford a place in the better part of town. I was in a place with four apartments. It didn't take long for everyone to be gone. I was surviving because I had always kept a little food and stuff ahead. I was being very careful. I thought that help would eventually come.”
“One day, I was out to refill my water jugs. I had a small pistol but before I could react, I was taken. At that time, the gang was in the basement of an old church. It was only a few days later when I heard the big trucks. I heard them say it was the military, I had a flash of hope. All of the women were tied up and gagged, they were not going to let us go anywhere. So, the military came and went.
As far as I know, most of the women don't care anymore. They have no place else to go. They still tie me up most of the time, they know that I don't want to be here. If I am lucky, they forget about me. There are younger women, I am not their favorite.” She paused for a bit and then, “So sorry, but you didn't get their best merchandise.”
Mac wanted to reach out and touch her, he thought it would be better not to.
“What's your name? What's your story?” she asked.
“My name is Mac. I was alone when the stuff hit the fan. I have been alone, ever since. It is easier to survive when you only have yourself to worry about.” He was quiet for a minute, neither of them spoke. He said, “Lately, I have been....” he didn't finish. He turned on the flashlight and put it near her face, “Lacey, would you like to get out of this place?”
This was a huge risk for the loner and for the woman. How could they possibly trust each other? There was so little left to trust in this world. Lacey said, “I dream of it every minute.”
The door banged up against the wedged chair. Mac's hands trickled up Lacey's ribs and she made a nervous giggling sound. He yelled out, “What the hell do you want, man...we are busy in here.”
The door closed back and the intruder said, “Ex-cu-use me.”
Lacey laughed for real and Mac did too. He said, “I have a place that we can go. A place where nice people are surviving. Would you want to go there with me, Lacey? It doesn't mean that you have to be with me or owe me any favors. They would take you in.”
She reached up, in the dark, for his face. “Yes, please.” Her fingers found his lips. Mac let his breath out in a long regretful sigh. He kissed her fingertips.
“I need all the information that you can give me. Then, I am going to plan how we are getting out of this place.”
***
The next morning found the two stretched out, asleep. Lacey was curled up against Mac, his arm across her slim middle. The pounding on the door brought them awake in the dark room. “Hey, get up lover boy. The boss wants to see you.” Mac scooted the chair away and opened the door. A dim light came in and the two squinted.
“She comes with me,” says the man. Lacey's eyes widened with fear.
Mac turned, his back to the man, he smiled and winked at her and said coarsely, “Sure. Maybe I will get some more of that later.”
The man took Lacey. Mac walked down the hall to the leader in the lobby. From his lounging seat the leader said, “Hey, how was it, Mr. Loner Man?”
Mac stretched and said, “It was just fine. It's been a long dry spell, you know. Maybe I could have a little more of that tonight?”
The man laughed. “Well, you ain't real picky are you? We got some fine younger ones around here.”
Mac said, “Like I said, long dry spell. Maybe I got all I can handle right now.”
The tall black man let the loud laugh out once again. He was enjoying the conversation with this loner man. The leader was very smart. Some days the lack of any other intelligent human being to talk with, wore him out. “You could be real handy around here, Mac. Tell me more about those hippies in the south.”
“You know, I could only move around the edges a bit. They are all different ages, from young to old. I know the military went through some of those neighborhoods. Those guys were taking everything and everybody. Maybe these folks settled in after the military moved on.”
“You would be a good man to have when we move on them. You probably even understand strategy.”
“You bet, I could be with you,” said Mac.
The man chewed on his cigar, “I'll send the woman tonight.”
He was dismissed.
Mac spent the day just hanging around, in and out of the theaters. Bulls—ting with the gang members. He was trying to get a handle on their numbers. Lacey had a good estimate, but he would like to have a more solid number. He had seen no weapons. He didn't know where they had them stored. He was having a conversation with the guy that had brought him Lacey. The guy had on a red cap, turned backwards. He noticed that only certain men in the gang wore those caps. Probably they were the leader's trusted seconds. He was trying to ignore the vulgar and stupid chatting, especially the crude remarks about Lacey. The guy said, “Oh-h, I bet there is some fresh young stuff out in that southern group. When we move in there, I am going to get me some.”
Mac dove in the opening, “Yeah, that's the truth. But, you know man, I don't have a gun except that one you took off me. I think those folks do have guns. We are gonna need to have some firepower to go in there and take their women folk.”
The man looked at him serious, “Trust me, dude. We have got firepower.” He looked around him both ways and motioned for Mac to follow. They went down the hall, to the theater that Mac had thought was un-inhabited. The man cast a light between the rows of padded seats. There they were, guns, lots and lots of guns and boxes of ammunition. All just stacked between the rows of seating. Of course, he had not noticed before.
“That's bad ass, man. Pistols, rifles, ammo...what else you got?” said Mac.
“What else!” said the man. He picked up a big automatic rifle. “This thing will blow your ass away.”
“Yeah,” said Mac, “You are right.”
***
It was getting late in the day. Mac had added some bits to his information. He was getting really antsy. He didn't want to have to go looking for Lacey. He sat on the sleeping bag, his head against the wall, the door open. He finally heard some footsteps. The woman tripped into the small space after a hard shove from the guy in the red cap. Mac reached up and pulled her down beside him. She put her head back against the wall and they enlaced their fingers. Just silent for a moment. He got up and closed the door, wedged the chair.
He turned on the flashlight, placed it in her hand. He said, “Shine the light here where my pack is.” He got out his .45 and put it next to his pack. The flashlight was shaking, Lacey was scared to death. “We are going to wait for a few hours. Those pukes don't stop early, they do get more loaded as it gets later.” He sat back down and pulled her next to him and they turned out the light.
The stomping and yelling finally diminished some. Ther
e was still plenty going on but the bad seed were moving around the vast theater less. He removed the wedged chair, put the .45 in the waist of his jeans. He put the flashlight in his pocket. He rolled up the sleeping bag, tied it on and put the pack on his back. He took a drink of water and gave Lacey the last of it. “You just follow my lead, okay?”
He peeked around the edge of the door. A red cap staggered out of one door and into another. He reached back and grabbed her hand. They moved down the hall to the door of the weapon storage theater. As soon as they felt their way down the pitch black entry, he flashed on the flashlight. He didn't see any sign of gang members. He stopped and took a couple of pistols and two rifles. He handed Lacey one of the pistols, which she looked at like it was a snake. He stuck the others in his pack. He wished he could do something more about the weapons. There was not a way, at this time. He could not sabotage the stockpile and still get himself and the woman out. He hoped that his intel and his help when the war began would be worth more.
They moved down to the big EXIT sign. He pushed on the door. At first he panicked a bit. Surely it wasn't locked, that would be against the fire laws. What laws? He thought. He pushed the second time and the heavy door creaked open. He pulled Lacey out behind, they both stood against the wall. The air was hot but it was wonderful compared to the fetid air inside. He cautiously moved to the end of the long building and peered around the corner. He could hear more voices. The two other trucks that belonged to the gang were parked at the side of the building. Two of the gang members hung on the trucks. He pulled back. Not that he didn't think all these guys were scum, taking out a couple would be no loss. He didn't want to raise any alarms. He was hoping that they would just think that the loner got him a woman and took off. He did not want to lead the gang straight into Unity, right now.
No Normal Day II (Unity) Page 10