by Brown, TW
“It looks like whoever is behind this knew who they were targeting and where to strike.” I pointed to some of the places circled on the map. “They hit houses where some of this compound’s leadership were known to reside. In addition, they were also going for the weapons storage and power center.”
“It also looks like they were going after the hospital,” Dr. Zahn added, her finger stabbing a location on the map. Damn, I didn’t know this place had an actual hospital up and running.
Looking at the map, I made up my mind. “And that is where we will go.”
“Not the weapons storage locations?” I heard a male voice ask with a hint of dubious concern in his voice.
“These folks have a contingency plan in place that is up and running, isn’t that right, Graham?” The man might have nodded, but I already had my head of steam going and kept talking without his response. “They will have plenty of firepower in position at places like that. I am willing to bet that they did not think the hospital would be a location that needed defending. If these people gain the hospital, they have something to bargain with.” I turned to face my group. Some of them had blank stares, and I remembered that not everybody learned under the tutelage of Jon, Jesus, and even Jake. I was talking about Invasion Tactics 101.
“Hostages,” Graham breathed.
***
My group consisted of Sunshine, Katrina, and four individuals from Grady’s group. I was still feeling pretty good about my last big order before our group had divided and headed to their respective locations. I had sent Grady, Dr. Zahn, and three armed guards back to our house. The doc shot daggers from her eyes when I made that call, but I would be damned if I would risk somebody so valuable. To her credit, she went without a verbal argument. That did not mean I was not expecting the tongue lashing of my life to come once this was all over.
We were just across the street from what had once been a Walmart Superstore. They had converted it to their own medical facility because it had a massive pharmacy on the premises. I pressed against an RV that was resting on four flat tires. From here, we had a lot of open ground to cover.
“Everybody try to hug any shadow you can find,” I said. “Once we get to the parking lot, we gather over by that light post with the bushes around it. Even from here I could tell that was not going to offer much cover, but it was the best we had. “Any questions?” I was really glad when nobody raised a hand or spoke up. I am pretty sure I had no answers to give.
Staying in a low crouch, I was the first to make the dash. My heart was in the back of my throat and my mouth was absolutely dry. When I came to a stop at the light post, I was in the perfect position to see in the big entry doors. It was dark, but there were a few interior lights putting off enough brightness to offer a dull glow from the windows.
“This should work in our favor,” I whispered once everybody had reached our final checkpoint.
“How so?” an unfamiliar voice asked. I could tell it wasn’t a challenge to my statement, but simply an honest inquiry.
“If any of these raiders are inside, even the little bit of light that is in there will have blown their night vision,” I answered. “Now we wait for the signal.”
BP and his group were supposed to come from the opposite side and take up positions at the loading docks. Darla was with another group—the largest of the three—that was tasked with reaching the roof. They would search for an entry and then split into two groups. One would make their way in and the other would create a diversion on the far side of the store; to the right as I faced it; that would be the farthest from any of our incursion teams.
We didn’t have to wait long. A lone flare was fired, and a moment later, there was the sound of gunfire to the right of the enormous Walmart.
“Move!” I barked.
As one, my group rose to a crouch and began the final charge that would get us to the doors. I kept waiting for the bullets that would come and shred our team. We reached the doors and, since I was in the lead, I yanked them open and ushered everybody inside.
The dull yellow glow from deep within the cavernous space gave us enough light to see the two dead bodies on the floor right where the checkout aisles sat; the black pool of where their blood had spread across the tile already hosting a few flies that were buzzing around.
I moved into the closest aisle and ducked low to use it as cover. My group followed my lead until we had all taken up a position that would allow each of us a look down the length of one small part of the converted store. From my vantage, I could actually see the length of two very long and empty aisles that still bore signs for low prices on items that had long since been scooped up by looters or the residents of this compound.
“Movement!” a voice hissed. I could not tell who it was, but my head immediately turned to the left in search of the source. I saw one of the people that had arrived with Dr. Zahn. He was pointing to his eyes and then towards the aisle that he was positioned to look down.
I gave a nod and moved to the end of my checkout corral. I paused and blinked my eyes. On the floor, shoved just far enough under the now empty bins that once brimmed with all the stuff that children wanted and adults were forced to buy to shut them up was the foil wrapper of a York Peppermint Patty. Without pausing, I grabbed it and dropped it into the pouch at my hip as I moved past.
Reaching the end of my cover, I looked to see everybody had moved to the end of his or her aisle. I held up my hand to signal that they stay put before I duck walked across the open space and tried to meld into the end of the end cap. I had to cross three open aisles to reach the one that had been indicated. Peering around the corner, I ensured the coast was clear before I scurried across. After two more repeats, I was in position.
Looking down, I saw a shadow moving at the far end of the long, free-of-anyplace-to-hide aisle. At first glance, I could tell that the person had his or her back to me. The individual seemed to be shifting nervously from one foot to another. I pointed to the guy who had made the initial sighting and signaled for him to take the next aisle over. With a few hand gestures that I hoped to God everybody else understood, I signaled for the rest of the team to stay put. I would want my ass covered if I had to make a hasty exit.
The man moved across the aisle from me and pulled what looked like a fancy slingshot from his belt. To each his own, I thought.
“Move as fast as you can while staying quiet.” I mouthed the words with as little volume as I could manage. He nodded, and we both started down our respective aisles.
I’d been to Walmart with my mom a few times, but this place was enormous; only made to seem larger by how empty it was. It looked like my target was a mile away, but I knew that was just my brain playing tricks.
At the first intersection, I discovered another body. This one was wearing sweats and had a card on a lanyard still around her neck. I pulled it loose as I moved past and shoved it into my shirt, feeling the cool plastic slide down my body until sweat caused it to stick in place.
I was halfway there and really starting to heat up. Sweat was dripping into my eyes, and I fought to keep my breathing as quiet as possible so the person would not turn around. By now, I could hear soft voices speaking.
“…supposed to do anything but secure this place, Jerry,” my target was urging.
“Yeah, well that punk tried to stab me,” a voice snarled. I heard something rip, along with a muffled groan of pain.
Screw this, I thought. I came up to a three-quarters crouch and pulled my belt knife free with barely a whisper of steel on leather. I covered the last several steps on my toes and at a pace that I am amazed did not give me away.
My squeamishness about killing a living person was consumed by the anger and adrenaline coursing through me at the moment. I hit the unsuspecting person in the back; one hand snaked around to cover the mouth as my other hand drove the blade of my knife into where I imagined the kidneys to be located. I let the body fall off my blade and brought my gaze up to the person I had no
t yet been able to see.
He was a man in his forties or fifties with the weathered face of a chain-smoker who spent too much time in the sun. The deep wrinkles were scars of black in the scarce light. With one step, I moved in and shoved my blade into his eye socket. Something hot splashed the side of my face.
I was in the entrance of what was probably a single ward of this makeshift hospital. A very small part of my mind was registering the details, like the fact that this had once been the electronics section of the store. The man I’d just killed had been holding a roll of silver duct tape in one hand, his booted foot slid from the middle of the chest of a boy that was sprawled on the ground beside the dead body of a woman whose throat had been slit. A few strips of the tape had been slapped over the boy’s mouth.
What my eyes saw, and what fed my growing fury was that this area of the store now housed sick or injured children. A dozen smaller beds were in a neat row, and I could see terrified faces peering at me. Each of the children had been strapped down and their mouths taped shut like the young boy on the floor. Two figures were standing in their midst with long swords in their hands.
One of them snapped out of the surprise generated by my sudden and violent arrival. The person fumbled impotently for a holstered pistol, but I was faster and already had a weapon in hand. I plunged my blade in and up just below the ribcage. Blood came in a dark gout from his mouth, and he made a weak, mewling squeak. I shoved him aside, spun to face the second person, and felt myself stumble and come to an awkward halt.
It was a woman. She had a long, slender blade out before her and was moving with a catlike grace as she came for me. All my rage and anger seemed to have simply vanished. My mind was screaming that this woman was going to kill me. She was like some beautiful but highly lethal flower. Her eyes were locked on me and I saw my death in them. The fact that I’d just killed three of her companions meant nothing. They were men. Sure, Katrina would probably smack me up side my head and call me a pig, but I could not help it.
A dark smudge suddenly appeared in the center of the woman’s forehead. She slumped to the ground in a lifeless heap. I took brief comfort in the idea that she probably never even knew what had happened. I glanced over my shoulder to see the guy who had come with me stepping out from his aisle. He still had his funky slingshot in his hand.
“Damn,” I breathed. “That baby packs some heat.”
“Good for relatively close range,” he said with a smile.
“What the hell do you use as ammo?” I could not help my curiosity.
“Ball bearings when I can find them.”
I leaned down and offered the young boy on the floor my hand. He scrunched into a ball and shied away from me as he stared up with wide and obviously terrified eyes.
“Jeez, Billy,” my cohort with the slingshot said as he elbowed past and knelt down beside the scared young man.
I stepped back and scowled. I turned to look at the other kids still secured in their beds and saw similar expressions in all their faces. How could they not know that I was the good guy? I had just saved their asses.
A scream from deeper in the huge store pulled me from my thoughts. I turned and waved my arm above my head for the group to join me. Turning to the guy with the slingshot who was carefully removing the tape from the young man’s mouth, I said, “You go ahead and cut everybody loose. Keep one person here with you to stand guard.”
Just then, the rest of my team arrived. I motioned for Katrina and the guy standing beside her to follow me. I hated not knowing how many raiders might be in here. I hated running around without an actual plan.
Just ahead I spied a long train of temporary walls. They were the kind I remember from school; they acted as a partition for a section of the room and were on wheels. They also had about a six inch opening at the bottom. I raised my hand to signal a halt and laid down on my belly to try and get some sort of look. I saw three sets of boots moving about what I had to assume was a single row of beds. I also saw a young man lying face down in a pool of blood just a few feet away. His eyes were open and staring, but the dullness gave away the fact that he was very dead.
“Just keep your mouths shut and nobody has to get hurt,” a man was saying.
“You killed Ricky!” an elderly woman snapped. “Why did you have to do that?”
“Please just hush, ma’am,” another voice spoke with cold authority. “The young man…Ricky was it? He drew a gun. What would you have us do?”
“I would have you throw yourselves into a mob of those disgusting groaners, only they would probably get food poisoning,” the elderly woman retorted. I think I just found Dr. Zahn’s long lost sister.
“Tape ‘em up,” the second voice spoke.
I heard the familiar ripping sound as strips of duct tape were being torn. There were sounds of a struggle and I saw two sets of boots converge on one bed.
“You won’t get aw—” the elderly woman began to protest, but her words were cut off and muffled as, from the sounds of it, at least four strips of tape were applied.
“Please do not make us hurt you,” a third, and much younger sounding voice pleaded.
“Just do your job, Gable,” the second voice ordered.
At least I had an idea who was in charge. From this position, I had even been able to determine which set of boots belonged to him. He was standing back while the other two were taping the mouths of every patient.
Getting up to my knees, but keeping my head down so that I could see, I moved as silently as possible to mirror the person that I had determined to be the leader. I motioned Katrina to move the opposite direction. He was pacing back and forth and would actually come close to the opening between a pair of these rolling, false walls.
I moved to the edge of the partition, stood up, and waited for Katrina to get into place. Raising one hand slightly, I held up three fingers and gave the countdown.
Three…
Two…
One.
As quickly as possible, I stepped out from around the partition just as the man turned to resume his pacing in the opposite direction. Once more I lunged in and drove my knife into a man’s back. This time I did not bother to cover his mouth.
I yanked the blade free and took a step towards the closest target. He looked like he was in his late twenties or early thirties. He also looked like he had not eaten a good meal in about six months. His cheeks were sunken and his face was little more than a thin layer of skin clinging to a skull.
“Just drop your weapon,” I said. I hoped the sudden wash of fatigue that was rolling through me did not show.
The man took a tentative step toward me, but it was the younger kid who spoke. “Just do what he says, Mitch.”
“Shut up, Gable,” the man I now knew as Mitch growled.
“Do what the kid says,” Katrina called from behind both men who were so fixed on me that they had not seen her step into the cordoned space.
Mitch looked over his shoulder and something dark and nasty crossed his face. It was so brief that it might have been my imagination, but considering what I’d seen in the past year, I seriously doubted it. He looked back to me with no expression at all. Extending his arms out to his sides, he opened one hand and let the wicked machete that he was carrying fall to the ground with a noisy clatter.
“Now open your jacket,” I said. Mitch scowled and I knew I hadn’t imagined that. Still, he did as he was asked and revealed a nifty looking shoulder holster with what I was guessing had to be a freaking .44 Magnum. I mean, this gun was straight out of a Dirty Harry movie.
That thought made me wonder what Clint Eastwood looked like as a zombie. And then I started to chuckle.
“What’s so damn funny?” Mitch snapped. Obviously he thought that I was laughing at him.
“Nothing,” I replied through laughter that was actually getting worse the more that I tried to stop.
“Billy?” Katrina called with genuine concern in her voice.
I was verging
near hysterics at this point. The laughter was so fierce that I felt like I was going to pass out if I could not get a breath soon. Keeping her eyes on me, Katrina made her way across the room. Through the tears in my eyes, I could see Mitch lower his arms.
Crap, I thought. I tried even harder to stop laughing, but it was useless. By now, everything was a blur as I felt tears flowing down my cheeks. Somehow, I ended up on my knees.
I heard the distinct sound of a gunshot, and people yelling. Unfortunately, I was growing dizzy as I simply could not catch my breath. The more I tried, the worse my laughter became. Then…the room faded.
***
“Billy?” a voice called from somewhere that was both very close, yet miles away.
I opened my eyes to discover Katrina and the rest of my group gathered around me. Katrina was holding a rag that was crimson. Crap, I must have been shot or stabbed, I thought.
“Hey, big man,” the guy who I had left back with the kids said with an uneasy laugh, “you gonna be okay?”
I sat up, and Katrina moved away just a little to give me some room. My eyes scanned the group as my hands went over my body in search for whatever injury had caused so much bleeding.
“You lookin’ for something?” a voice asked from almost right behind me, causing me to jump. “Whoa! Sorry!” A man stepped out and into my field of view with his hands up. “Just asking a question since you seem to be patting yourself down.”
“Where am I hurt?” I asked. The looks I got in return were a mixture of everything from puzzlement to concern.
Katrina leaned in close and began inspecting me. “Does it hurt anyplace specific?” Her hands had now joined mine and were patting me down and tugging on places to try and find the wound.
“I gotta be hurt somewhere to be bleeding like that.” I gave a nod to the rag that Katrina was still holding.
It was like I threw a switch. Everybody froze, and then they started laughing. I was the only person who did not find the humor in the moment. Well…with the exception of the kid I recognized as one of the three that we had encountered before I blacked out or whatever the hell happened.