Fending Them Off

by Max Lockwood

  Finally, he carefully parked in a spot as far away from the building as he could. He couldn’t risk hitting a car in the parking lot of a police station. As he walked inside, he noticed that the station was eerily empty, strange for a supposedly busy day.

  “Nice to see you,” Officer Hardwick said to Alec when he walked in. “How’s it been?”

  “It could be worse,” Alec replied.

  “I’m afraid we’re about to find out how bad things can be,” Hardwick said, frowning.

  “What’s going on?” Alec asked. “Davidson called me in and told me that there were riots going on. I get that it has something to do with the virus. Is everyone panicking because they’re worried about supply shortages?”

  “You would think that, but it’s not exactly that rational. In past cases, panic over an epidemic probably would spur some overexcited people into stockpiling goods in case things got bad. But you know, things never escalate that far.”

  “Then what’s going on now?” Alec asked.

  Hardwick grimaced. “I don’t want to over exaggerate, especially when everybody is going crazy over this thing, but it might actually be that bad. Even the station has ordered a bunch of goods in case we have to stay holed up in here. The Washington National Guard has already been called in.”

  Alec suspected that he had a drinking problem, but he knew for sure when his first concern about the madness was that he wouldn’t be able to stockpile enough alcohol before things really got out of hand. He made a mental note to stop at the store whenever he was relieved of his daily duties.

  “You missed the briefing earlier, so I should probably fill you in,” Hardwick continued. “It’s believed that a lot of people out on the streets right now already have the virus. There are probably some crazies who don’t have it yet, but if they stay out there too long, they’re bound to catch it. Not only do we need to go out there and break up the crowds, but we need to try to determine who’s infected and who’s just a little too riled up about this disease.”

  Alec scoffed. He knew this game too well. “How the hell are we supposed to do that? We’re not trained doctors. I can’t perform a blood test on every person who looks a little crazy. That’s just about everybody.”

  “I know,” Hardwick said softly. “All I know is that I just want to get the streets cleared as quickly as possible without getting hurt. My family has been stuck inside for days, and the last thing I want is for something to happen to me. Or worse,” he said grimly, “I don’t want to be the one bringing the virus into our home.”

  Alec nodded, but he wondered if anyone would really miss him if he were gone. He was single, and his family lived out of the state. Plus, things weren’t great at work, and he wasn’t sure if he’d ever have the chance to rise through the ranks again. If he caught the virus, would anyone even care? Would he just quietly ride out the symptoms at home and pass on?

  He shook the thoughts out of his head. He had just read an article that described the psychological effects the virus had on the body. Catching the disease meant that he would probably put others in harm’s way. That was the last thing he wanted.

  The reason he became a cop in the first place was because he truly cared about the safety and well being of everyone—those he knew, and those he didn’t know. While traffic stops and busting teen parties were just an annoying part of the job, he really cared about the big stuff. He wanted to rescue children from abusive homes, stop violent offenders from hurting or killing citizens, and maybe even save the odd cat stuck in a tree. He wanted to do good in a world that so badly needed it.

  Alec was walking to the break room for one final cup of coffee before going out when the memory of the last time he went out on patrol hit him. He slumped into the chair, the memory of what happened overwhelming his senses.

  Before the virus became well-known, he had been sent out on a call about a belligerent woman causing all sorts of problems. Being newly promoted, he was eager to scope out the situation. He drove out to a shopping center to find a crowd gathering outside. In the middle of the commotion, a teenage girl wielded a steak knife at strangers in the crowd.

  Chaos ensued. Even though people were running from the scene, it seemed as though just as many were running to watch. Something about violence really drew a crowd. When he saw what was happening, he immediately called for backup.

  The first thing he tried to do was clear the entrance of the mall. Alec shouted for everyone to back away and go home, but there were still gawkers standing around with their phones out, ready to take a video of the young attacker.

  The thin, blonde girl in her school’s cheerleading uniform was covered in blood. Alec wasn’t sure if it was hers or someone else’s. He called out to her to get her to stop, but she didn’t listen. It was as if she could hear that he was making noises, but she had no idea what he was saying.

  After a few attempts at telling her to drop her weapon, the young officer approached her. She was pretty small and starting to get tired, so Alec knew that if he lunged at her, he could tackle her and hold her down for long enough to get handcuffs on her.

  After one final plea for her to drop her weapon, he strode toward her, gaining speed with each step. Instead of carrying on in her dozy manner, she suddenly became enraged, as if she were possessed by a demon. She screamed a high-pitched howl and raced toward him, the blade of the knife aimed straight for his neck.

  What happened in that next split second was still hazy for Alec. He remembered seeing her coming toward him, but he couldn’t remember any thoughts or memories he had before he drew his gun and pulled the trigger. The witnesses said that he was completely silent as he took one perfect shot to her chest.

  Alec’s body camera and all of the witnesses with cellphones painted a perfectly clear picture of what happened. He was well within his right to use deadly force as she was running straight toward him with a weapon in an attempt to seriously wound or kill him. Legally, he did nothing wrong.

  However, there was some controversy surrounding his case. Many argued that he could have stopped her with a non-lethal weapon or simply shot her in the leg. The girl was so small that a lot of people figured a man of his stature could stop her with a takedown maneuver.

  But, as the autopsy report proved, the girl was suffering from an early mutation of the virus. She was perhaps the first that mania was associated with. Her brain had become so addled by the disease that the honor student went into a rage. First, she cut herself to release the pathogens in her body, then she tried to attack others so they would become infected. By stopping her from cutting anyone, Alec had saved a large crowd of people from becoming infected. That didn’t make him feel any better about it though.

  The police department decided to put Alec on leave for a little bit. He was allowed to do paperwork and write reports, but he couldn’t go out into the field again until the police chief deemed him ready.

  That was fine with Alec. He was really shaken up about it and had no interest in getting himself back into a position like that. He told the chief that he’d take one week at home and then he’d come in to do administrative work. But two weeks had passed, and it wasn’t looking like he would return anytime soon.

  So, it was apparent to Alec that something had gone terribly wrong if they wanted him to work. He tried to push the incident with the girl into the back of his head and focus on the fact that his city needed his protection.

  “Good to see you, Lawrence,” Officer Davidson said. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

  “You were the one who called me in,” he replied.

  Davidson looked him up and down as if he could tell his mental state from a cursory glance. “I wouldn’t have called you if I didn’t think it was absolutely necessary. If you get into any trouble, I want you to come straight back here and we can deal with it, okay?”

  Alec furrowed his brow. “I’m not sure what kind of trouble I’m going to get into when I don’t even have a gun.”

  Davidson blink
ed slowly and sighed. “I think I’ve changed my mind on my previous stance.”

  He handed Alec the key to the gun safe.

  “Understand that we want as little violence as possible today, but you need to protect yourself if you find yourself in extreme danger. Especially,” he added, “since many of those causing this problem might not have much time to live as it is.”

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