by Barone, Cenz
The fight over flight instinct took over and Baxter chased the persons who backed off by the impact of the bullets as he fired again and struck them in their skulls as their heads exploded. Now several more people came inside and he fired into them, doing the same. Baxter moving around, they were slow moving, ugly and discoloured even though what they wore was so ordinary and normal, Baxter felt they were not and thrusting himself into facing them down. The ground floor had been more or less lessened by the amount of dead things at this point as they had moved beyond it since the earlier attempt by Nancy, Kenny, Cherie and Elise with the majority of the creatures leaving the building.
So Baxter was contending with far lesser numbers, and he fired and screamed in a battle cry of a deep hidden drive within him to overcome these terrible odds. His bullets cut through their throat and even their legs, until Baxter screamed when everyone of them was on the floor. Up above on the 9th floor. Nancy and the rest of the group could hear the gunfire from below. Nancy said “We have are being rescued” she was hopeful as she and several others went towards the door but Nancy said “Those who can, grab a weapon and let’s give them support”. So now thinking it was the police or military from beyond the building having come to rescue them Nancy had Elise, Cherie, Bob, Nick as well as James alongside her, despite their awkward situation earlier, now it was about pragmatism and surviving. But when they reached outside the corridor Nancy saw the door was wide open, she then realised she did not have the keys on her. Nancy recalled leaving them on the table but now the door was wide open and the keys were within the log, hanging there.
All noticed this but none could register what was happening. Nancy thought the soldier from up above had gotten down but no, that was impossible, he would have had to come inside the office room they were all in to get the keys to open the stairwell door. But Nancy could not think anymore as the gunfire below continued and she raced to it “We have to go and help them” they all followed Nancy as they held their guns held facing outwards and though all were unfamiliar with what was happening, they wanted to try and assist whatever was happening down below. This could be their only chance to get out after all.
As they got further and further down the gunfire was lessening in intensity and it appeared to be dying away, either those firing had been taken down or those they had been shooting at were no longer a threat. It was too hard to tell but now adrenaline had overtaken the group, including Nancy whose training had gone by the wayside as she reached the first floor door, just like they had attempted to do so earlier and she opened it and everyone behind her came out.
Nancy saw the dead bodies of the things around her, but then as they entered they saw the back of someone, it was obvious who it was but disbelief settled in as they turned and there was Baxter. They were all shocked by his appearance. He stood there dazed and with the machine gun in his left hand, his glasses on the floor and blood all over his face, he was sweating heavily. From up above Laura had raced down with her own weapon and she was eager to find out what was happening and then as Laura entered another person from the left entered which took Nancy, Elise, Nick, Bob, James and Cherie by surprise but they all fired their weapons into him which killed him and then the remnants of the others were fired into.
Baxter stood still at this point and was breathing deeply, he looked like a madman. He now went onto the floor and picked up his fallen glasses, he placed them onto his head and his eyes twitched behind his glasses, his body covered in blood, the corpses all around him. He stuttered before saying “I think I have cleared all of them out of here. I managed to close the entrance, I locked the front door, those people won’t be able to get in here anymore” Baxter having gone around the floor and locked the front door carefully during his assault on the people down below. Nancy approached him hesitantly, none expected to see him, many forgot Baxter was meant to be upstairs and this showed how much he was not noticed. Nancy when she reached him she placed her hand onto his shoulder.
He was staring straight ahead like he had seen a ghost. She gently said to him “You’ve done well Baxter. It is okay”. Baxter began to take his glasses on and off, a habit he had to control nerves, he did so this time however in a trance like state. Nancy just wanted to get the weapon off him because she feared what more he would do with them. She just could not tell by looking at him what state his mind was in, this unpredictable action of his had blindsided her totally. Baxter was dangling the gun in his hand but then he dropped it onto the floor and moved away from Nancy, he sat on a wooden chair and said in relief “I did it alone. I cleared everything”.
Nancy could not get over how it appeared now that the ground floor was cleared, considering earlier, herself, Kenny, Elise and Cherie had failed and had to push back but Baxter had done so alone, granted the numbers they had to contend with were far more but there was around maybe 7 around them she reasoned right now. Nancy was stunned and then said, thinking Baxter might have gone over an edge “Take it easy Baxter”. Baxter’s head was bopping back and forth but in a gentle way as he muttered “I did it” saying to himself in disbelief at what courage and foolishness it had taken for him to do so.
Nancy asked him “Did they bite you?” he shook his head indicating they had not. Nancy had to take his word for it at this point but as she surveyed him it appeared he was unscathed, he was just covered in blood. Nancy looked at the rest of those who raced downstairs with her and she said to them all “Okay let’s make sure this entire floor is clear. All of you check every window, room and door. Just make sure it is secure and locked”. The group did as she asked as Nancy walked around checking on the bodies of those Baxter killed, each was not moving and all had their brains and head damaged severely. Baxter’s shots were close range she reasoned, and she was able to read this from the wounds on the corpses.
A few minutes went by and everyone came back to the area near the stairwell Nancy was in, with Baxter still sitting down. Nancy said to them “We best move these bodies out of here, throw them down the stairwell to the basement floor” listening to her the group began lifting up the bodies of those Baxter put down and dropped them over the stairwell, they hit the ground below where the dead dog was still rooted like bags of stones. Baxter remained gazing ahead and he had now taken to lifting up the gun he dropped, Nancy in her haste of helping the others move the bodies had put the weapon down she took from Baxter. All looked at him, rocking back and forth in the wooden chair. Baxter was holding it firmly, tightening his grip and Nancy and the others could see his knuckles becoming whitened due to the strength of his grip.
Nancy asked him “I need the weapon back Baxter” he shook his head, even though the other civilians with Nancy had respective weapons, she did not want Baxter to have one right now because he made her and the others uncomfortable due to his mannerisms after what he had just done. “I would prefer to keep it. It makes me feel safe” he said but Nancy told him “It is best if you civilians only have them when needed and right now you don’t need them”. She addressed them all but Baxter stood up, looking at her, his eyes were not the usual basket of apprehension and nerves, but instead he had conviction as he said “We are all civilians now, I don’t want to be nasty or act like an asshole but no I won’t give this up when you say. I need this gun, in case something happens to you or those things break in again. I will be keeping onto it, okay” he said finding a new side to him he never knew existed “We are all victims” he added.
Baxter then walked away, the group watched him go. Baxter was heading to another part of the ground floor. Nancy let him go as she looked around at the people near her, each quiet and thoughtful. Nancy said “At least we have this floor for ourselves”. Laura herself despite not knowing Baxter was quite taken aback by what he had unleashed down below and said “I still feel safer up top”. Nancy then said “Can you guys split up down here, even though we have the top floor we still need to keep this one in operation”. Bob then said as Baxter came back moving around shaking his head, he was
clearly not right mentally and stressed out, the buzz had left him on a high. Bob whispered “That crazy guy is coming back”. Laura though replied to Bob as she watched Baxter “He is not crazy, he is scared and his name is Baxter”. Bob asked her “You knew him before this?” Laura shook her head watching him and replied “Not exactly, he was in my university class, we never spoke” Bob could not help but laugh in nervousness as he then said “Keep him away from me. Loose cannons around here we don’t need. That soldier was enough for one night. I don’t need anymore!”
Now Baxter had walked back, so Nancy opted to approach him, she did so delicately as she said softly “Baxter, hey Baxter” Baxter though was biting his fingernails, and seemed lost in thought, Bob muttered to those around him “I am going to check other rooms” Bob walked to another spot as Nancy reached Baxter who looked at him and she said with appeasement “You can keep the gun, just try not to go off again. We all need to work together and stick together, even if you are all civilians you have to listen to me okay. What you have just done by clearing this room has really helped us, so why don’t you go upstairs and rest” Baxter just shook his head as Nancy said eyeing the gun he held tightly, she did not fear he would shoot them but she knew she could not keep challenging him because she did not want to provoke him. Even though Baxter was not a physically imposing person he was out of everyone, appearing the less hinged and Nancy wondered had Baxter had some kind of training to have cleared the ground floor, but he had not. Baxter was just a regular guy who pushed himself to do something to prove to those he was with he was not useless, and he had done just that, but he had also rattled them into thinking he was crazy.
Nancy now looked at the rest of the people and said “Let me get my point to you people clear, we are in this together, now we have secured the building, as best as we can we should try and use the resources down here” Nancy referring to the phones and the radio in the front desk near the front door as she said “But even though we are all in this together, you are all still my responsibility, it’s my job to maintain this place and all those within, so without trying to come across like a bitch, I am in charge okay” she looked around at everyone “OKAY” some raised her voice, some people murmured in agreement, but others did not.
Nick, another of the group who had arrived with the soldier however laughed loudly, drawing all their looks to him as he said “I cannot believe you would say that, I was in a police station before I was brought here. All the way in the middle of Branton, and we had 15 police officers, not to mention half of them were armed officers, and not one of them could protect me, my family and my friends, my little girl Trudy. Alongside us were the dozens of people who like myself and those I was with had the bright idea of heading to a police station for safety, this is worse, I was brought her by that crackpot soldier, I had no choice but to come here”.
Nick was growing incensed, as he stared around at the bodies near him, he held a pistol in his hand and said “These guns are useless when you have so many of those things” he surveyed the blood on the floor from Baxter shooting the people and then thought about outside “100s more out there, it is just a matter of time before they break in”. Nick then thought about his daughter as he added “My little girl had her head ripped off by one of those things. I lost my wife, my brothers and my sick father. So please don’t patronise us with false hopes lady, and quit giving us the same speeches” directly looking at Nancy angrily as he added “We are as lost and alone as you are, what is there to be in charge of in here? Nothing just a would be morgue and mark my words it won’t be long until those things get in here, end up killing us all, and only a few of us will survive, escape to another situation, it’s hopeless, really, everything is hopeless”.
There was some loud shouting in another room, Nancy broke off the conversation with Nick and ran towards the source and she was met with Bob and James who stood near Laura, she was shouting at Bob who was threatening to kill James, they had an argument over an undisclosed fact and James took offence to Bob who was mocking his inability to handle a previous situation and James had launched a fist into Bob, both of them were rolling around on the floor. Nancy came in and was raising her voice amazed they were fighting. Laura was calling them to stop and Nick did not want to know so he just hovered in the backdrop. Eventually Bob and James broke off assaulting each other. Laura could not believe they would fight, what with everything going on outside. “Are you guys crazy, fighting with what is going on, you have got to control yourself” she stated.
James turned to Laura and snarled “Shut up bitch, you have no right to get involved, you trying to control something which is out of control, we are all fucked” Laura stood there feeling helpless as James pushed Bob away from him and stated to her “Why don’t you fuck something worthwhile, huh” he said aggressively and Laura could smell the whisky on his breath, Nancy noticed that James also had a machine gun he took from upstairs when he ran down, she had to treat this expertly. Laura stated “Get away from me”. James laughed and winked at her as Nancy said “James, we have had this conversation so why don’t you...” James shook his head and interrupted her and said “No Nancy, this little girl got involved in my beef with Bob, so now she has to answer to me, why did you huh?” James now approached Laura and he raised his weapon going to strike Laura, Laura was slow to reply as was Nancy but then a whack was heard.
James fell on the floor holding his jaw and standing near Laura was Baxter who had quietly moved across from the other room, Baxter told James “I would not do that Sir”, James held his jaw raising his hands as Baxter pointed his gun at James. Nancy went down to pick up the weapon James had and she placed it around her shoulder via the rope. Baxter aggressively told James “You back off, both of you” he moved between Bob and James, Bob had his hands up and said “I did not do anything”. Baxter undid the safety of his weapon as James nodded and made his way out of the room. Baxter kept his eyes on Bob and Laura was surprised that James would think about striking her but also surprised that Baxter was somehow different, he held his weapon pointing it at Bob without saying a word. Bob did not bother arguing and made his way out of the room following James. Bob was not interested anymore.
Baxter turned to Laura and she stared at the fellow she had known as a stranger in their class in university. Baxter moved towards her and said “I thought you needed help”. Laura looked at the floor, one of the men had dropped their wallet, she picked it up and said distracting herself from how Baxter was making her feel “I better give this to him” but Nancy took the wallet from her and said “No, I will do it, just keep cool here”. Nancy then looked into Baxter’s eyes, he was tired and hungry. The same as her but had somehow found a new sense of self in this frightful ordeal, Nancy said “Thanks Baxter”. Baxter just nodded at Nancy, Nancy had to keep as many of them onside so was gracious the situation had been brought to heel. Nancy then said to them all “Okay, let’s all settle back down” Nancy left Laura and Baxter standing there and went to see some of the others as she was planning on making use of the resources in the front desk of the building. Laura observed Baxter still looking at her. He tried to keep his own attraction to her at bay, so Laura weakly smiled but it was quick, her way of saying thanks and she shyly walked away, leaving him standing there unsure was she what to say to Baxter.
Around 25 minutes had passed and Nancy with Baxter and Laura had come back upstairs. Nancy had brought with her some items from downstairs and set them up in the office and secured it neatly. Nancy reasoned it would be safer up on the top floor with her, and away from the civilians downstairs like James, Bob and Nick whom she did not trust, especially James and all three men had taken to remaining downstairs. What she had brought was a large signal radio box that had access to wider areas, beyond the hand held radios, and a small laptop which was Clint’s but she did not use this, she just felt like it could be useful later perhaps. Nancy now after having set up everything and with time passing went to go for a walk, she just wanted to
survey the 9th floor and when she returned shortly after, her voice was agitated as she said “Has anyone seen that soldier I locked up on the roof? He has gone and the door has been forced open”. Elise and those up above were not aware of this when Nancy and the others were downstairs following Baxter’s efforts to clear the room. Grant confused said “No, I have been walking around this floor and seen nothing. I did not even know he burst out”.
This conversation was distracted however as Gate who was by the window of the office overlooking the university grounds said “There are more creatures out there, I think their numbers are increasing, it is hard to tell though”. Laura found his choice of word to describe them odd as she stated the word in question “Creatures?” Laura added as Nancy and went to the coffee machine “They are people who have gone insane”. Melissa though answered her friend and said “Listen to the radio” Melissa went to the radio and turned it up, Melissa remarked “It said it has broken hours ago, but when you guys were downstairs it has been confirmed apparently these people are not people, they are dead people who are living again, the government have confirmed it, it is not mixed up information anymore”. Melissa saying as she tried to adjust the radio dial, it was now suddenly trying to break through with a signal. Nancy drank some coffee. Nancy thinking about all she had to now contend with, she had to be mindful of those outside, a loose deranged soldier, three civilians downstairs who were questionable and now new updates from the radio which she was not aware of but just suddenly told about, she wondered why wasn’t she told directly once she came up from the ground floor.
Everyone though who had not learned of this confirmation went eerily quiet. Gage muttered “I could have told them that when I first saw these dead things”. Nancy shook her head and stated after hearing what was said on the radio “The dead rising up” she said not believing it by the tone of her voice but she knew all too well it was true, it was a relief in a way to have it confirmed albeit from the authorities who had proven to be ineffective thus far but it was the first time she had personally heard it spoken in such a way by those on the radio whereby she believed it. Nancy then asked those who had heard the radio broadcast “What else was said?” Cherie then said to Nancy “Martial law has officially been declared all over the country, and it appears to be the same globally with martial law. Scientists are sending out reports that the dead are rising for reasons not understood yet, but it is all gone to shit Nancy. The government has also been flown to somewhere in Scotland, a remote region I imagine, they said they are dealing with the situation in the rest of the country from there”.