by West, Lee
“NO! We need to hold up for a minute. I have no idea where we’re heading,” shouted Mike over his shoulder.
Before Joe could answer, a flurry of gunshots rang out all around them. It sounded as though they had wandered into the middle of a firing range. Just as quickly, bright strobe lights hit them, blinding them instantly.
“Halt! U.S. ARMY! Get down on your knees! Hands in the air!” a man shouted at them.
Joe and the others immediately complied with the demand. He dropped to his knees hard, hitting a large sharp rock as he went down. A warm, wet sensation on his kneecap indicated that he torn his pants and skin in the process.
“Joe? What’s happening?” asked Meg softly.
“I don’t know.”
Heavily armed men poured out of the forest in every direction. One of the men gave him a hard shove in the back, pushing his face onto the ground. Other soldiers zip-tied his hands together behind his back. He watched helplessly as they also tied Meg’s and Mike’s hands.
“Get up! We need to move!” shouted one of the men.
He struggled to get to his feet without the help of his hands. A searing hot pain bolted through his injured kneecap, causing him to groan. Rough hands grabbed him by the arms and pulled him to his feet. Other hands pushed him forward.
The soldiers walked them out of the forest to the main road. They had been moving in the right direction. Eventually, they would have found their bikes, enabling them to ride back to the university.
“Where are you taking us?” demanded Mike.
None of the soldiers would answer him. Instead they continued to forcefully urge them forward on the road.
One of the men talked into his radio. “We caught three civilians. Requesting immediate transport.”
Joe could not hear the response to the soldier’s request. Then the man said, “No. We need immediate pickup. We can’t babysit them. The entire mountain is crawling! It’s a mess out here!”
Another inaudible response came, prompting the man to say, “We’ll be at the LZ in five. Over.”
Turning to Joe and the others, the man said, “Looks like it’s your lucky day! You get to leave this mess!”
“Where are they taking us?” asked Meg.
“My guess is that they’ll probably take the three of you to the civilian-processing center outside Lawrence,” said the man with a shrug. “Not my problem.”
Heavy-duty military trucks whizzed past them as they walked on the side of the main road. Finally they stopped walking. One of the men said, “This is it!”
Waiting in the dark, Joe feared for their safety. During the entire crisis, they had done everything possible to prevent being caught by the soldiers. Now they had no choice but to go to a civilian-processing center.
A large canvas-covered military truck slowed and then stopped in front of them. One of the men yelled, “This is it! Let’s move out!”
The men shoved and pushed Joe, Meg and Mike into the back of the truck. As soon as Joe’s backside hit the hard bench, the truck lurched forward, speeding away from the camp and university.
The canvas opening at the back of the truck flapped open as they drove, affording Joe a retreating view of the mountainside. Green and red tracers crisscrossed the landscape as high-intensity explosions lit up the dark sky. The tracers and explosions seemed to be concentrated on the area of the camp. Intense gunfire filled the gaps in sound between the loud explosions.
“What’s happening out there?” said Meg as she glanced outside.
“I have no idea. Maybe that guy was right and it is our lucky day. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near all of that,” said Joe.
“Sorry about your brother, man. I hate to say it, but I’m not sure anyone could survive those blasts,” said Mike gently.
Joe looked in the direction of the camp and finally said, “Jeff was dead the moment he chose to stay with Kim.”
— 27 —
Nancy stood leaning against the window frame of a classroom. She and Brett had volunteered for the midnight until four a.m. shift. Even though their hobby involved looking at the night sky, neither one of them had an easy time staying awake throughout the night. Tonight had been no exception. Fortunately their watch would be over soon, allowing them to get some much-needed rest. Earlier Brett had put his head down on a desk for a few minutes of sleep. Those minutes quickly added up to over an hour of her listening to his snores. Glancing at her watch again, she realized they only had about thirty more minutes until their shift ended. She decided to let him continue to sleep until their replacement arrived.
She did not know who would replace them. However, she assumed Larry would arrive shortly. He always volunteered to sit at this particular location. She and Brett moved watch locations as the need arose. For the life of her, she could not understand why Larry consistently asked for this location almost exclusively.
She looked at her watch yet again. Soon, dawn would lazily break on the horizon, ending the darkness. She could hardly wait to get down to the tunnels for food and sleep. A door slamming somewhere in the building caught her attention. She looked at her watch yet again; they still had twenty minutes until the end of the shift. The noise could not be from Larry; it was too soon.
Stiffening, she turned to Brett and shook his arm. “Brett! Wake up. Someone’s inside the building!” she said in a loud whisper.
“What? So? It’s got to be Larry here to relieve us,” he said through a yawn.
“No. It’s too early for him. He always comes right on time. Wake up! I’m scared and don’t know what to do!”
“Okay. I’m awake. You want me to head out there and look to see who it is?”
“No! We need to stay together.”
Loud footfalls thumped up the closest stairwell as though someone was running in their direction. Adrenaline coursed through Nancy’s body.
“Hide! Whoever it is will be here in a second!” said Brett.
Brett grabbed her and shoved her down to the floor. They crouched on the dusty linoleum under one of the desks. Although the hiding spot would not conceal them entirely, it would have to do, given the situation.
Loud steps in the hallway indicated that whoever had come into the building now walked right outside the classroom. The faceless person entered the classroom and then seemed to stop. She willed her breath to slow and quiet.
“Hello? Brett? Nancy? You guys here?” said a male voice through the darkness.
“We’re here,” said Brett in response.
Brett stood and then pulled Nancy up next to him. She shone the flashlight in the direction of the new person in order to see his face.
“Larry? You’re early! And you scared the crap out of us! We assumed someone broke into the building,” said Nancy with a shaky voice.
“Nope. Just me. I decided to relieve you guys a few minutes early since I couldn’t sleep anyway,” he said.
The large man lumbered in their direction with his flashlight pointed to the ground. Nancy could not help but notice Larry’s powerful physique. More than admiring him for his exemplary form, she wondered how many hours one would have to spend in the gym in order to get a body like him. Then she laughed at her own nerdiness. The days of noticing and admiring a good-looking man had been replaced by cool logic.
“You won’t get an argument out of us! I’m happy to leave watch early anytime!” said Brett.
“I don’t see why. It’s not like you remained awake the whole night!” said Nancy with a laugh.
“True enough! I have a crook in my neck for my efforts,” said Brett, rubbing his neck.
They gathered the few books, articles of clothing, and snacks they’d brought with them, in order to tidy up the classroom for Larry.
“Thanks, Larry! You in for a four-hour shift?” asked Nancy.
“No. I’ll probably stay here all day. I don’t mind it at all,” said Larry.
Again Nancy wondered why he would volunteer to sit at the location for so many hours alone.
“Better you than me! See you later!” said Brett.
They walked down the dark stairwell side by side, holding hands. The atrium to the building opened in front of them as they descended to the bottom of the staircase. Brett picked up his pace so he could open the door for her.
“After you, my dear,” he said with a small bow.
“Thank you.”
The dewy cool air felt great on her face. The air inside the building felt stale because they had no way to open the windows without breaking them. No one wanted to smash a hole in the windows out of fear that it would be noticeable to the ever-searching soldiers. The result had been a hot, steamy mess, making the task of watch standing even more excruciating.
“Why do you suppose Larry volunteers to sit in this spot from dawn until well past dusk? The only time he leaves is during the middle of the night. Why would he do that?” she asked, looking to Brett.
“How should I know? I’m just glad he does. I really hate being in there!”
They turned the corner of the building in the direction of the nearest tunnel entrance. A noise behind them caught Brett’s attention. They stopped and looked toward the sound. Nancy’s breath caught in her throat when she realized that a man was walking in their direction. They turned and walked toward the newcomer, excited to meet another survivor.
From his position, Larry would be able to see the man walking, but not Brett and Nancy. The man continued to walk deliberately toward them. Suddenly the door to the building burst open. Unaware of their presence, Larry spilled out of the old stone building and strode quickly toward the man.
Brett and Nancy watched as Larry approached the man. She assumed he would bring the man farther onto campus. Instead, they turned toward the perimeter of campus into the forest.
“What the hell? Where are they going?” she uttered to Brett.
Larry trailed behind the man as they walked off the main road toward the forest.
“I have no idea. Maybe a shortcut to campus?” offered Brett.
“Larry probably has no idea we’re still here. Let’s call him to let him know we’ll take our new friend to everyone,” she said.
Just as she turned toward the men to call out, Larry seemed to pull something out of his pocket. He then got closer to the man than normally expected.
“Larry!” shouted Brett.
Immediately Larry froze in place. He slowly turned toward them while hastily shoving whatever he had in his hand back into his pocket. Nancy could barely make sense of what she had just witnessed. Larry’s actions seemed very odd to her, but she could not figure out why or what he would have been doing.
“Larry! We can take him to the university!” shouted Brett as they walked toward the men.
Nancy and Brett quickly closed the gap between themselves and the two men. As they got closer, she could tell that Larry looked ambivalent about their arrival.
“Hey there! I’m Brett and this is my wife, Nancy!” said Brett as they approached.
The man looked confused. He nervously glanced between them and Larry.
“We’ll take him back for you,” she said. “Ed might be in the tunnels still.”
The man turned to Larry and said, “Tunnels? I thought you said the camp was in the forest! What’s happening here?”
In one swift movement, Larry shoved the man, spun him around and disarmed him. He stepped back and leveled the gun at all three of them.
“Larry? What are you doing?” said Brett, shocked.
Larry did not answer. Instead he glowered at them, pointing the gun at each of them in turn. He seemed to be weighing his options.
“Move it! We’re all taking a little walk into the forest!” he yelled.
In an instant Nancy knew why Larry volunteered to stand watch so much. He wanted to prevent newcomers from entering campus. Larry must have intended to kill the man, and they’d foiled his plan.
“Hey, man, there’s no need for violence. I was just passing through. You don’t have to do this!” the man pleaded.
Brett glanced at Nancy, the pain in his eyes evident. She needed to make sure he did not attempt anything heroic that would get him killed.
“There’s no need to bring us to the forest, Larry. We can sort this out in the campus. You haven’t done anything wrong. This is just a simple misunderstanding, that’s all. Just settle down and think about what you’re doing,” said Nancy calmly.
They breached the tree line of the forest. The deeper they went into the thick trees, the less likely they would survive.
“You can keep the gun, man. Just let me go on my way. You don’t have to do this. No one has to get hurt,” pleaded the man again.
Brett stopped in place and turned to Larry. “If you intend to kill us, then you’ll have to do it right here! I refuse to make this easy for you!” He stood squared off to Larry, bravely facing the deadly threat.
Larry hesitated and then said, “Fine. Have it your way.”
Larry lifted the gun, pointing it at the middle of Brett’s chest. The shock of the terrifying gunshot blast caused Nancy to involuntarily let out a loud gut-curling scream. Blood sprayed her face and hair. She instinctively moved to Brett, who remained firmly standing in place.
“Get down!” shouted the man as he lunged for them. He knocked both of them off their feet to the ground.
The first bullet had ripped through Larry’s thick chest, resulting in the splatter that hit Nancy. The remaining bullets made Larry seem to dance in place as his body took hit after hit. Finally, his legs buckled, crumpling his large body to the ground. His lifeless eyes remained open, shining under the soft morning light.
“I tried to warn him,” said the man as he stood up.
Nancy remained on the ground, too stunned to move. Her hands shook from the shock of seeing Larry killed.
“Who are you?” asked Brett as he attempted to sit up.
“My name’s George,” he said.
George calmly walked over to Larry. He pried the gun away from Larry’s dead hand. After wiping Larry’s blood off the weapon, he placed it into the back of his waistband.
“Okay!” he shouted into the air.
Within seconds the people who saved them came out of the forest, joining the grizzly scene.
“Come on, Nancy. It’s safe now,” said Brett, giving her a hand to get up.
Four heavily armed people joined them.
“What about these two?” said one of the men, pointing at Brett and Nancy.
“I think that asshole intended to kill them too. He seemed to have his own agenda,” said George.
The woman eyed them suspiciously, unsure what to do.
“Really? That makes no sense. I think it was a ruse to get you to go with them. We can’t trust them.”
“I don’t think so. That guy would have killed all of us. Believe me. These two weren’t part of his plan,” said George.
The woman seemed satisfied with his assessment of the situation. She holstered her weapon then approached Nancy.
“I’m Heather. Leader of this little group,” she said, waving her hand toward the others.
“Where did you guys come from?” asked Brett.
Nancy could hardly pay attention to the conversation. Her eyes kept returning to Larry’s bloodied body. She had never been able to handle the sight of blood, but she also could not seem to look away. The strong metallic odor from his body made bile rise in the back of her throat.
Covering her mouth with her hand, she said, “I need to get away from here.”
Brett came to her side. He placed an arm around her shoulders and gently turned her away from Larry’s blood-soaked body.
“Come on. Let’s get you inside,” he said to her. “There are around thirty of us here on campus. We’ve been mostly hiding in the tunnels. You should come with us. I’ll take you to everyone else.”
The members of the group looked to one another, unsure what to do. Finally, the woman said, “Okay. Let’s go with them.”
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Nancy leaned against Brett while they walked back to the nearest tunnel access point. She needed his strength now more than ever. Once out of the forest and back in the center of campus, she started to feel well enough to pull away from Brett, merely holding his hand as they walked.
“Why did you come onto the campus alone? It seems like you would have been safer together,” she asked George.
“We’ve been surviving out there long enough to know that going to a new place one at a time is actually safer than all of us going as a group. They were standing by watching the entire exchange. I felt perfectly safe the entire time,” said George.
“Besides, people find us a little intimidating,” said Heather with a wink.
After Nancy’s head cleared, she felt more able to assess the new group. Each of them carried multiple firearms, knives and other weapons. Most wore scarves they could use to cover their faces. They looked like a serious bunch of people. She understood why they had to approach new areas cautiously. She would never want to tangle with them.
“We’d better warn the others that we’re coming. She’s right, they’re a little scary looking, even if they did just save our lives,” said Nancy.
“Good point. I don’t have the radio. We left it with Larry when he relieved us,” said Brett.
“It must be inside. I don’t think he was carrying anything when he came downstairs,” said Nancy.
“Yes. I don’t either. I’ll go grab it.”
Brett turned to the others and said, “Give me one minute. We need the radio to call ahead. The other watch standers are probably freaked out by the gunshots and radio silence.”
Nancy waited with the group as Brett walked quickly back to the classroom where they stood watch. Shock set in again, numbing her mind. She blamed herself for not seeing through Larry’s Mr. Helpful routine.
“You have other people on watch?” asked Heather.
Heather’s words forced Nancy out of her head, back into the present moment.
“We do. They’re placed all over campus. This particular location overlooks the primary entrance to campus.”
“I’m guessing you probably never had many newcomers thanks to King Kong over there,” said George as he hitched his finger toward Larry’s corpse.