Day One (Book 2): Choices

by Michael McDonald

  The two Guards at the far end made their way toward me, although their movements were in no way threatening, so I let them advance until they reached Smith and the two other Guards.

  “We’ll use the roof stairs to avoid being spotted by those crazies out there, and maybe create a diversion near the back of the campus to draw them all there while we get out of here,” Smith explained to one of the Guards.

  “The chopper I came in on isn’t big enough for all of you,” I said once again. Everyone stopped and looked at me, including Smith. Something in his eyes changed and I could feel it deep in my gut that this guy was trouble.

  Smith. “What?”

  “It can only carry four people, and since I already have a pilot, my daughter, and currently looking for my son, along with myself. There won’t be any room left.” I told them. “I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it is. Could you please show me to where the children are kept?”

  The ungratefulness of the human spirit loomed in their eyes and I could sense a fight coming. They were mostly grouped together now and made easy targets if they chose to do anything other than show me where my son was. I could handle the SBR in full auto and it would dispatch them all within seconds, but one of the Guards still stood in the classroom door to the left, posing a greater challenge if I had to shoot the masses. It wasn’t a guess of if I could hit him, which I knew I could. It would just take a more precise shot to drop him.

  “How do you expect us to just give you your son and then watch you fly off to safety leaving us all behind to die in this shithole?” Cop Two asked.

  He was now close enough to read his name badge.

  “Well, Officer Morris, I’m sorry that I didn’t have the time to pick out a helicopter big enough to accommodate every one of you, considering I didn’t even know you were here to begin with. We took what we had at our disposal, and given the downright selfishness and evil deeds I have encountered from the living in the past week, not to mention a house full of whacko’s just a few minutes ago, it was never my intention to pick any strangers up. I’m just here for my son.”

  “If you cannot help us, then we sure as hell aren’t about to help you!” Morris said.

  “So if the roles were reversed you’d just stand there, with the dumb look you’re wearing right now, or fight to get your child back?”

  Cop one slide his hand toward and touched his holstered weapon.

  “I suggest you remove your hand from that weapon, Officer Dobbs, or I promise it’ll be the last mistake you ever make,” I said coldly.

  “You’re outnumbered,” he added.

  “This things full auto and I’ve been trained by the best to use it,” I stated.

  “Stop it, both of you!” Smith commanded. “Killing each other to prove your manhood will resolve nothing!”

  “How’s it going in there?” Johnny asked.

  With my weapon still trained upon the only threat I had at the moment, I used my left hand to grab the radio and answer. “Haven’t located him yet, but keep your eyes and guns at the ready. We have guests in here.”

  “And how nicely are they playing?” Johnny asked.

  “They are being pretty selfish at the moment, but hopefully it will change.”

  Smith intervened abruptly. “Say we help you find your son, if he’s even here. We have a lot of children here, so you’ll have to be a bit more specific other than just referring to him as your son. But say we helped. Would you promise to come back for us once you got him to safety?”

  “Have you lost your ever-loving-mind, Professor?” Morris asked. “The moment we help this guy he’ll make some bogus promise and then never come back. You watch!”

  Professor Smith ignored the comment. “You have to forgive them, it’s been a very long week and most of us have had no communications with our families, have no idea if they are alive and safe, or anything for that matter. And from what we can make out on the television from time to time, when it wants to work, the images just frighten us all.”

  I didn’t see why we couldn’t at least humor the idea for a moment. If it would keep me from having to kill anyone else and I got what I’d originally came for, and none of the Guards pulled anything or did anything stupid, I was almost positive I could talk Johnny into it. Andrews of course would be an altogether different story, but if he said no it would be on him, not me.

  “You give me your word that none of these gun totting dogs of yours tries anything funny and we get my son, then I don’t see why we couldn’t return the favor,” I stated. “But as I said, we can only carry three of you at a time and the more we show up the more of those things out there are going to come around, so you’ll either have to move fast or get left behind.”

  Smith nodded his head. “All of you keep your weapons holstered.” He held out his hand.

  Morris quickly interfered, speaking his mind. “This is not how we do things around here, Professor! This is our place, we control it, so we should have a say in all of this!”

  Smith looked at Morris a moment. “And how do you suggest we carry things out? Just start shooting and when the smoke has cleared and he’s the one left standing, then what?”

  “He won’t be,” Morris said eyeing me with a glare that spoke his true intentions.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” I added and countered his glare with one of my own. I wasn’t about to stand here for much longer while they argued amongst themselves about who was in charge and what should or shouldn’t be taking place. I had a reason for being here and that reason was the only justification I needed if they wanted to fight.

  The Professor, hearing nothing further from Morris, turned to me and extended his hand once more. “Deal.”

  My gut was on fire by this point, telling me, screaming to me, that something wasn’t right and although I thought I had the situation under control, it’s at those very moments in time you find out just how much you aren’t in control of anything.

  I reached out with my left hand to shake his. The next second was a complete and total blur, filled with blinding pain and as I began to fade, saw the ground rush up at me once again.

  Chapter Seven.

  I awoke in an empty classroom. My head was throbbing and I had been stripped of all my tactical gear, weapons, mags, and my combat helmet where my NVG’s had been attached. I felt a bit dizzy and was unsure where I was at first or what had happened to get me where I now was. I lie on a soft mat barely long enough for my six plus foot frame, a blanket had been draped over my lower half and a shabby pillow rested under my head. I still had my clothes on and boots, which was a good thing considering how cool the night was.

  Three rows of desks, six desks in each row, were to my left with a long wooden desk at the front of the classroom. Written on the chalk board was a straight to the point suggestion.

  We have your daughter. Do not attempt to escape or she dies!

  I got to my feet, using a desk to keep from falling and instantly began looking for a way out of my prison cell. A large row of windows to my left, which were partially boarded up killed that idea and the section of glass that wasn’t covered was made of almost bulletproof material and on the other side were a massive group of undead. Their eyes were trained on me and they beat against the glass hoping to smash it and use me as a midnight snack.

  I was screwed, to put it bluntly.

  You should have shot those bastards as soon as you saw them! My mind told me and I easily agreed. I sure as hell wouldn’t be where I was now had I done that, although the regret for shooting the woman in the garage was still fresh in my mind, so killing the Guards would have only added to that festering guilt I was engulfed with. But hell, I could live with that.

  If my son was in this school somewhere, I wondered how they were treating him. Was he being fed and around other children or was he locked up like I was, treated like a wild animal. I’d never told them his name or even what he looked like, so the odds of them treating him bad because of me and my action
s weren’t possible. That would only be true if they were treating all of the kids like that, in which case I would kill every Guard I came across, not to mention that lying piece of shit, Smith.

  My blood began to boil and the moral compass that kept me from the evilness that the world was now filled with, no longer mattered. The Young Woman was right. If I had the opportunity to kill someone to keep myself and those around me alive and safe, I’d do it without hesitation.

  The door that led out of the classroom was a solid piece of wood with a narrow slit in the middle about six inches wide by maybe eleven inches tall. The glass was reinforced with a thin metal mesh to keep me from smashing through and feeling for the lock that was no doubt keeping the door from being opened, on the outside. Otherwise, I would simply be able to unlock the door from this side and stroll out into the hallway. It was best at that moment I could not do that.

  I quickly took an inventory of things they might have overlooked when they stripped me of my gear and emptied everything onto the desk. I had a pack of smokes, a lighter, a small flashlight, and a handful of painkillers. “Great!” I said aloud. “And what am I going to do with all of this useless shit? Get high, chain smoke, and play with a god damned flashlight for the next several hours?”

  Setting the sprinkler system off with a lighter would not gain me anymore advantage than going through the window would. All it would do was leave me wet and colder. I lit a cigarette and sat upon the desk, allowing my mind to roam freely. I was in a school not a prison, which meant if I thought long and hard enough I could eventually come up with a plan to gain my freedom. And in doing so I would have to be aggressive and quick, as the message on the chalk board might not be just a bluff to keep me docile, but also under control.

  I rewound in my head to the moments leading up to the unseen attack and tried my best to focus on each of the Guards – their demeanor, size, and any signs that if confronted with violence weather they would back down or fight. I need to weed out the ones that were a threat and focus primarily on the ones that would more than likely cower away from a fight, physical or with weapons. The last thing I needed was to get my ass kicked again or beaten to death for simply pissing the wrong ones off.

  I popped one of the painkillers in my mouth and began chewing it up. It was the most God awful taste I had ever experienced in my life, yet with it crushed and not whole, it would hit my bloodstream a lot quicker, followed by the courage induced euphoria that I needed if I was going to take these guys on with my bare hands, or an overwhelming a calmness right before they killed me. Either way was fine, because it was going to be them or me before this night was over with.

  Footsteps drew me from my pattern of thought and I looked toward the door to see a Guard stop and look through the narrow window at me. I glared at him as he smiled and waved, then turned and began moving away. I rushed to the door and strained to get a good look at him. He strolled down the hallway with an arrogant stride that made me want to puke. He wasn’t much bigger than me, yet I was smart enough to know that size didn’t really matter. It was skill that won a fight not brawn, and anyone as cocky as this guy would surely think he was a badass. Take that fake confidence from them and you find out real quick just how cowardly they truly are. And that’s exactly what I was going to do to him.

  Something in my gut even told me that I could take this guy. I’d never been a fighter before; I’d never had to fight anyone. However, that meant in no way that when it came time I wouldn’t be able to defend myself against him. My only real concern was getting to aggressive and killing the guy when I could use him as a bargaining chip, perhaps.

  He’d been the same Guard that put his hand on his gun in the hallway. Now that doesn’t rightfully mean he’s a pussy, although it could. That would be a gamble I’d have to face soon. But using bare hands against someone armed with an assault rifle was just plain stupid, which is why he probably went for his gun. I guess in his shoes I would have done the same thing. So that wherein laid my problem, as it was impossible for me to determine if he’d fight hard or go down quickly. Either way, I’d have to get him into the classroom before I could find out and those moments would be crucial for my daughter. I’d have to be merciless.

  You can do it. You have to do it for your daughter and son! They are far more important than those scumbags out there… they don’t deserve to live any longer! My mind told me and I could feel the hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end. I could not believe that I was starting to feel this way about other human beings. They could have been good people at one time with families, a nice home in the suburbs, and dreams. Yet with the fall of the world those that had once been good, most of them weren’t anymore. Those that had authority now abused it. They were scum… all of them. And they needed to feel what it was like to be the victim for once. To know that your life hung in the balance of a complete stranger that knew nothing about you, nor cared. I had to be ruthless as well as cunning.

  I sat there patiently for twelve minutes and noticed a pattern that the Guard stuck with. I had, at the most, four minutes from the time he passed my door until he came by again. And he was also patrolling alone, so if I were able to get him into the classroom, and keep him from screaming, there’d be no backup.

  “How do I get him in here though?” I asked aloud, as I could hear his footsteps growing closer. “Think dammit, think.”

  The Guard looked in the direction of the door where the new prisoner had been placed and a smile crossed his face. He’d been a feisty little guy and he’d have a little fun when The Professor was finished with him, like he’d done so many times before since all of this started. He wasn’t exactly sure what Smith was doing to those that ventured too close or stumbled into the campus. He only knew that he had been a science teacher and that was it. As far as he was concerned, whatever the guy did to those people was none of his business least he end up the next one on the make shift exam table. Out of sight, out of mind.

  The Guard stopped and peered through the window to see the young man in the corner, and it appeared that he was in the process of urinating on the floor. He banged on the door. “Knock that shit off you dumbass!”

  The young man simply continued what he was doing and gave him the middle finger, which enraged him. He pulled the keys from his duty belt, sorted through a few of them until he found the right one and opened the door. “I’m about to slap your ass silly and beat you stupid, wiseass!”

  “Eat shit rent-a-cop!” I fired back and listened as his footsteps grew closer. He grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around. The small flashlight I had in my pocket was now cupped in my right hand and on, so when I saw his face I blasted him with the powerful beam, blinding him momentarily. He covered his eyes and tried to quickly back away, putting distance between himself and the possible threat, although I followed and offered a swift kick to his groin and he dropped to his knees and groaned in great pain. He went for his gun, but I was too close, rage pushing me harder with each breath. I slammed his head as hard as I could against the wooden teacher’s desk. He went limp in my hand and hit the floor hard.

  I relieved him of his .9mm Glock 17, the ring of keys, three extra mags for the weapon and since he was lying face down. I took his handcuffs and hooked him up. In the top drawer of the desk I found some tape and ran it around his face several times, and even though I wanted him to slowly suffocate while he was passed out, I instead pocked two holes for his nostrils and dashed across to the still open door. He hadn’t provoked me enough to kill him… yet.

  The hallway was empty and I shut the door quietly and locked it, breaking the key off in the lock to ensure he wasn’t getting out of there anytime soon. The hallway was unfamiliar to me and ran the same distance in either direction, which meant I had a fifty-fifty chance of running into other Guards or missing them altogether. Which way?

  My gut told me right and that’s the way I headed, moving close to the lockers in case someone stepped out, I might be able to open the upper an
d lower locker if they started shooting. I have no idea if the lockers would stop a bullet, but I did know that if they couldn’t see me they sure as hell couldn’t shoot me. And if one set of lockers wouldn’t stop a bullet, I was willing to bet several of them might, although I wasn’t sure how’d I’d open multiple lockers in a gunfight.

  My mind stayed several steps ahead, giving me ideas of things I could do if I encountered the wrong people, as well as those I might know. I couldn’t hear the blades of the chopper anymore, because they had more than likely surrounded Johnny and took him and my Daughter prisoners as well. At least for their sake that’s all they better had done.

  Ten feet before the long hallway ended and branched left to right, so did the lockers and my cover. I was extremely vulnerable at this point. I looked behind to make sure no one was sneaking up on me, found no one and continued forward hoping and praying that I didn’t run into anyone. At the edge of the hallway I suddenly heard voices, wondering which direction they were coming from. The large spacious halls threw voices in all directions, amplifying them like a concert with surround sound.

  I partially pulled the Glocks slide back to see there was a round in the chamber and made sure the three extra mags I had were easily accessible. The last thing I needed was to get into a gunfight and not be able to get to my ammo.

  “What exactly is he doing to them in there?” A female voice asked.

  “I have no idea, but from what I’ve heard from time to time, I can’t be good,” a Male voice responded.

  “Are we helping this guy murder innocent people, because of what happened to his own family? Or is he really trying to help? We might not be cops, but I’m damn sure not a murderer either,” the Female asked.

  “I heard, and this is just speculation and hear-say, but I heard he thinks that whatever is causing normal people to turn into those things, starts somewhere in the brain,” the Male said.

  “In the brain?” She asked.