by Frank Slagel
Bart swung over his legs and stood up.
“Do you know your name?” I asked.
He stared for a second then reached to me. His fingers trailed my face, then went to his own mouth. He played with his lips.
“Bart?”
Bart began to laugh, made raspberry sounds with his mouth and walked by me to equipment.
“No, no don’t eat that.” I stopped him from grabbing the ultra sound wand. Soon he started to try to eat everything in sight.
“Dear god he’s special,” Joe said. “They are brain damaged.”
“Uh!” Henry shouted out. “He peed on me Joe. He just peed on my shoe.”
Ellen laughed.
“You may have cured the virus, Dean. But you can’t normalize these people,” Joe said.
“Joe!” Henry whined. “He peed on me.”
“Too bad Henry, deal with it.”
“Oh yeah, tell me to deal with it, you aren’t the one he peed on.”
I was at a loss. “Maybe, Joe, I just have to keep trying.”
“Maybe Dean it’s meant to be this way. You can cure them, but who will take care of them. Not me. Not you. Not themselves.”
“So we’re supposed to let them die.”
“Or kill them,” Joe stated. “But not like the madman.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “How else.”
“Dean.” Joe grasped my arm firmly and locked a fatherly stare. “If you can create an aerosol that can cure the whole city, surely you can create an aerosol that can wipe them out.”
There must have been something about that family. They made me think and ponder things.
Joe was right. I could create an airborne assault.
I wanted to think about it, if it was the right thing to do. And if it was, how and what would I create.
We stayed at my place because the sun had set. I talked with Ellen all night about the dilemma, and we worked out what I should do. After that, we made love again.
CHAPTER EIGHT – FRANK
Uh! No! He did not just go there. He didn’t. Man, he fuckin’ did. I don’t know about you but I am pretty disgusted after reading the pornographic chapter by Dean.
So he led the story that way. Fine.
My turn.
I will give him that one. I should. It’s the decent thing to do, after all, he lost his virginity finally, and it was a special moment of discovery.
The way it is Pittsburgh is a big city. It was big enough for me to do my thing and Dean to do his thing. Without running into each other. Of course, he had his moments where he chased me down because he was confused.
But I’m pretty tough, like Charlton Heston in Omega Man, but here was something the writers didn’t think about. The mutants.
No matter what they did, they still had a brain, whether it worked well or not, instinct was kicking in. There were fewer and fewer of them for me to kill and it wasn’t because I was killing them all. I was like that saint guy who drove the snakes out of England. St. Vincent or something.
They were scurrying and they were headed to Dean’s section.
Not that I cared, but I knew that Dean couldn’t handle them. He was trying to be a fucking martyr and save them all.
“Oh, no, Frank, we can’t kill them.” Dean said.
“Dean.” I said. “Yes, we can.”
But he didn’t listen.
I learned my lesson about being a martyr. I think I was one at one time, not sure. Could be.
Anyhow . . .
I started feeling guilty and a little pissed that the mutants were heading on his side for protection.
Saint fuckin’ Dean, patron Saint of killer mutant zombies.
What a title to have.
I never got the patron thing. I mean the word. Why is it patron saint? Doesn’t patron mean customer, so does that mean they bought their patron saint title?
There’s like so many patron saints, too. Some are ridiculous.
I mean really ridiculous.
Probably because all the really good ones are already taken.
Saint of mothers and fathers. Animals.
Carpenters. Ill. Desperate situation. Then there are dumb ones like patron saint of mentally confused. Or the martyr virgins. Maybe that was Dean’s favorite. I mean he was a martyr and a virgin.
St. Sebastian was my favorite. Not because he was the patron saint of marksman and cops, but because the guy was shot with a million arrows and lived.
So much like Charlton Heston.
I wonder if he would be a fan if he was alive.
Back to my story. Dean threw me off course.
I’m sneaky and cat like, so I knew I could get on Dean’s section without being seen, who knows what Dean would have done.
All I wanted to see was the situation.
I was headed down Forbes Avenue, back to the wall, keeping a close eye out, when suddenly, I heard this scream. A female scream.
Was it one of them?
Was it a trick?
No.
“Oh God! Help!”
When I heard that, I knew it wasn’t a trick. They don’t speak in sentences.
Where was it coming from?
It wasn’t too far, not at all. Another scream and I locked in. Turning the bend to an alley, I saw the open doorway and I raced that way, swinging forth my rifle.
Darkness.
What the fuck was someone doing in the dark? The only light was from the open door.
Back against the open door, I pulled out my night vision glasses and went in. My weapon was raised, I heard scuffling, and followed the sound.
Around the bend, another door was open, and quietly I peeked.
They had her surround she was protecting her head as they tossed her back and forth, taunting her.
There had to be ten or twelve of them.
I had to be quiet, I couldn’t take a chance that they’d stop their taunting game and just take a bite out of this woman and make her lunch.
I raised my weapon. One of them cocked their head, they heard me.
Fuck.
He snarled, grabbed her, widened his mouth, yanked her forward.
I fired.
Dead on head shot.
It took them all by surprise and they turned to me. Using my rifle I butted one in the face, punched another, and in the midst of the attack on me, twisted one to me, grabbed his head, snapped his neck. With a reach out, I pulled the woman to me and behind me in a protective mode.
It was easy from there on in. A few shots fired, they all went down.
She was scared, whimpering, well, not whimpering, breathing heavy. When the job was finished, not taking a chance that more were on their way, I turned quickly, lifted her into my arms. Boy, she was light. And raced from the building.
Outside in the daylight, where it was safe, I set her down.
I looked at her.
“Oh my God. Ellen.”
“Frank.” She gasped out. I mean gasped out and threw her arms around me. “Frank!”
I held her in my arms and didn’t want to let her go. She was the reason I didn’t leave the city. Ellen was my reason for being there.
“What’s going on?” A man shouted. “We heard . . . Dear God.”
I raised my head from my hold of Ellen.
“Frank.” He said.
“Dad.”
My God, my father was alive, the man who started this whole mess. It figured, didn’t it?
He ran to me and latched on.
Okay, wait, stop. Before the sick minds reading this books say, whoa, wait, I thought he was Ellen’s father, she called him Dad. He’s Frank father too. What kind of twisted people live in this book? He is my father, Ellen just calls him that because she knew him forever.
Okay back to my story and the grateful woman saved from the clutches of death.
“He saved me, Joe,” Ellen said. “Frank saved me.”
“You’ll have that,” My Dad said. “Frank is that kind of guy.”
/> “I am.”
“Group hug.” My dad said. “Frank is alive. We love him. He is a hero.”
“I am Frank.” Again, see, I threw the title of the book in here.
Then the moment was ruined.
He appeared.
Not Henry.
Henry is Okay. I like how Dean called him gay.
Dean showed up.
“What’s going on?” Dean asked. “I heard shots. Frank, what are you doing here?”
“Dean.” Ellen spun to him. “I know Frank.”
“Me, too.” My dad said. “He is my son. He is a hero.”
“He saved me.” Ellen said. “You sent me into that building to see what was there and I got attacked. Frank came in, took them all on, and saved me.”
“Wow.” Dean said. “I am jealous. Frank is so brave. He is so Charlton Heston like.”
Everyone nodded.
“Unbelievable.” Dean said. “Frank is your son and your brother.”
Ellen shook her head.
It was that moment. You know. The one Dean is gonna hate to read.
“Joe is Frank’s dad,” Ellen said. “Joe is not my sperm father; he became my father when . . . Frank and I were in college together and . . .”
Ba-Ba-bum. That’s one of those dramatic pauses and the music plays letting the person know, fuck, something big is gonna be said.
“When we lost our virginity to each other. We have been lovers for many years.”
Dean passed out from the shock.
<><><><>
“Man, pansy.” I said as I looked down to Dean’s passed out body. It was a good thing he was small. I carried him to the jeep, then from the jeep into my father’s hide away. Not that I couldn’t carry him if he wasn’t small. I’m strong. But he was easy to maneuver.
“You’ll have that,” my dad said. See, my dad says that a lot, so don’t be surprised if you see that a lot.
“He passed right out.”
Then that guy Henry asked. “What made him pass out?”
“Shock.” Ellen answered. “I told him Frank saved me and told him who Frank was.”
“You should have told him ahead of time, Ellen.” Henry said. “After all, I know the Frank story. It would not come as a shock had he heard how heroic Frank is and how much you have always loved him.”
“I could not tell him that, Henry,” Ellen said. “He would be living in Frank’s ghost. He is trying to be heroic in his own way.”
Okay, enough. I had to interrupt. “Should we wake him up?”
“Let him sleep.” My dad said. “Let the shock wear off without us having to hear his whining.”
“True,” I said. “He looks like he whines. Okay we will wait until he gets up. Let’s catch up.”
We did.
<><><><>
We had beef stew from a can. It was good to be around my family again. We let Dean sleep. He did wake up again, saw me, groaned, then went back to sleep.
Oh, well.
“He almost cured them,” My dad said. “But unfortunately they are idiots when they are cured.”
“So there is no sense in saving them,” I said.
“No. We need to kill them all.”
“I agree.” I said. “Maybe we should do this city, kill them all, and move on to the next.”
“Dean said,” Ellen said. “That eventually they will die in a year.”
“Even better,” My dad said. “We clean this city, have fun cleaning a few more, then get supplies and wait it out.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Henry raised his hand so we would let him speak. “How are we gonna kill them all in one shot.”
“Hmm.” I rubbed my chin.
“Dean,” Ellen said. “He is going to create a super weapon that we dump on them and it will kill them instantly.”
“Do I have to keep hearing about Dean?” I asked her.
“I’m sorry Frank, I won’t mention him again.”
“Thank you. Dad? Has he worked on this?”
“Started to right after we met him three weeks ago. Said he should be done soon.”
“Good. Let’s let him work on it.” I said.
I mean, Dean creating a weapon that worked would be a lot less messy than blowing up the city. Although, blowing it up could be fun and interesting to watch.
I always wanted to watch a city blow up. Not from the city that was getting blown up, but at a distance. My dad put that shit in my head since I was young. He would talk excited about the world blowing up, getting our hopes all up.
Anyhow, we enjoyed the rest of the evening without Dean.
Then Ellen and I went out on to the porch like we did when we were young and older.
“I can’t believe you’re alive, Frank.” She said.
“I am.”
“I know.”
“I can’t believe you are alive too.”
“I am.”
“I know.”
“This is nice.” I put my arm on her. “I missed this.”
“Me, too,” she said. “Frank? What about Dean?”
“I’m not gonna put my arm around him, Ellen. Henry can do that.”
She laughed. “No, Frank. I think Dean is in love with me.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he told me he was in love with me and I thought you were dead. I let him lose his virginity to me. Are you mad?”
“No. You thought I was dead and we will look at it as your civil duty to America. He was in the Army.”
“Thank you Frank.”
See? I was being the understanding guy. Dean would never be understanding. So everything pornographic he wrote is moot because I was in the picture. I was Ellen’s one true love, and nothing was gonna change that.
CHAPTER EIGHT – DEAN
“He thinks I am his one true love, Dean,” Ellen told me so desperately. “What am I gonna do?”
I honestly didn’t know what to tell Ellen, I knew she was stuck.
“We have to be careful with him,” I said. “Seriously, El, he’s a man on the edge.”
“He’s not sane, Dean.”
“I know.”
“Dean,” she inched to me. “I loved him at one time, but since I met you, all that changed. I want to have children with you.”
She was torn. Torn between her obligation to Frank and her feelings for me.
But what could Frank give her?
A life of violence, killing, short bus conversation.
I could give her a life of science, intelligence. Imagine their children, how bright would they be. But our children would be insightful, brilliant, and beautiful. Because let’s face it, Frank was not an attractive man.
There really wasn’t any choice.
The aerosol exterminator was due to be ready in a few days. They would be placed in several gas can style bombs and strategically placed through out the city.
We really didn’t need to kill them all, hell we could have just moved on, but Joe wanted to clean at least one city. And admittedly, I was anxious to see if my invention would work.
The plan was set in motion, detonate the aerosol, and we all would move on. Move on to a new place and settle.
It was a matter of days. It would take at least two days to safely set the devices when those things weren’t around.
A few more days, we’d move on, and hopefully Frank would be mature enough to realize Ellen was moving on with me. More than likely, that chapter of the story, my ending the mutants in Pittsburgh will probably end the book. I look forward to it.
CHAPTER NINE – FRANK
I told Ellen, my Dad and Henry I had a surprise for them. But didn’t tell them what it was.
Did you ever do that to someone, say you have a surprise it drives them nuts, doesn’t it.
Anyhow, I had a surprise.
“What’s the surprise?” Ellen asked.
“You’ll see.”
Then Henry asked, “Does this have anything to do with how long i
t is taking Dean to set them devices.”
“Somewhat,” I said.
“Let’s not pick on Dean,” my dad said. “He is trying.”
“Yes.”
I don’t know who said the ‘yes’ someone did, so just think of who it was, and you’ll be right.
We go in the car and drove a good ten miles to a big hill.
We parked on top of the hill.
“Who remembers I am Legend, the movie?” I asked. “Do you remember the ending?”
“Which ending, Frank?” Henry asked. “The one in the theater or the one that came in the deluxe alternate, unedited directors cut, expensive box set.”
“Original movie theater.”
“I didn’t like that ending.”
“Who cares?” I said.
“I liked the ending,” my dad said. “Something to be said about explosions and self sacrifice.”
“Makes for a true Hero.” I said, arms folded looking mean. I look good mean. Most heroes do look good mean. Very rarely do you ever see Chuck Heston looking sweet. Or Clint Eastwood.
How about John Wayne’s. He looks mean, he looks like God or God looks like John Wayne. Not saying that God is mean, he probably is, he flooded the oceans.
So we’re on top oft his hill right and I said, “Don’t you think what Dean’s doing makes him like a hero.”
“Yes,” Ellen said. “That is very nice of you to say that, Frank.”
“I’m a nice guy.”
“You are.”
“I am.”
“Frank, my smart son,” my Dad said. “What does Dean being a hero have to do with the surprise? Oh, wait. You helped him out.”
I smiled, not too big; it would stop me from looking intimidating. I pointed outward. “See?”
“Wow,” Ellen said. “It’s the city. This is a great view. Who would have thought we would see this city this far out.”
“Me,” I said. “Now keep your eyes open.”
And I counted.
Five.
Four.
Three
Two
One.
It sounded like a big drum being struck once, a nice bright flash and when it disappeared, a beautiful mushroom cloud shot up over Pittsburgh,
“Christ, Frank,” my Dad said. “Did you set and detonate a nuclear warhead in Pittsburgh.”