by Jack Hunt
“Only by a year.”
“A year and seven months.”
“Okay, now you’re just being picky.”
He smiled. “Scott, we don’t know them but Finn does. I talked with him this evening and he filled me on what they will do if he doesn’t hand himself in. They will kill Tobias and Daniels. He thinks he can reason with them, speak with his brother and work out a deal.”
I stared back and shook my head.
“What?” Nick asked. “You don’t want to hand him over?”
“I’m not sure I trust him.”
That caught Nick’s attention. “You don’t trust him? That’s why you don’t want us handing him over?”
I cast a glance over to him. “Listen, it’s one thing to be at odds with your kin when the world is all rainbows and sunflowers but it’s changed. Regardless of what they have done to his family, Dominick is still his brother. Blood is thicker than water. Who’s to say he won’t work out a bargain for himself?”
Nick got up and shook his head and walked outside. I followed him out.
“You know it’s true. He might do it.”
“He won’t.”
“We don’t know him, Nick.”
He spun around. “Then what do you suggest we do? You want to raid the place and put all our lives at risk? That’s not for us to decide, Scott. This way, we risk one life.”
“No we don’t, we risk two.”
He knew what I meant.
“I’m not having this conversation. Tomorrow Finn hands himself in, in exchange for them.”
With that said he went back inside and Jamal took over keeping an eye out while he got some sleep. He came to talk to me but I just brushed past him. I had no problem with him but I was annoyed at the way things were working out. It wasn’t meant to be this way. I couldn’t help wonder if I just left them alive back in Indian Lake whether we would have been in this situation. As I climbed into a sleeping bag and tried to get to sleep, I noticed Finn was looking at me. I rolled over but could still feel his eyes boring into me. I slowed my breathing and attempted to get some shut-eye, if only for a few minutes.
* * *
The groans of the dead replaced the cock crowing. I’m not sure how long it took me to fall asleep, only that when I did my dreams were filled with nightmares. When I awoke the next morning, it was a little after nine. My eyes snapped wide, and I rolled to find everyone was already up and outside. I could hear quiet chatter. I crawled out, rolled up the bag and stuffed it into a duffel bag. I scooped up my rifle and went to the window. Nick was standing beside Finn and nodded his head. Finn placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled.
The door opened and Nick came in. His eyes bounced from where my sleeping bag had been to me standing by the window.
“Here, I brought you some coffee.”
“Coffee?”
“It’s cold but good. Ryland managed to pry open the vending machine and get the bag out.” He handed me a plastic cup, and I gave it a sniff. The smell jump-started my senses.
“Go on, knock it back.”
I downed it, swallowing most of the grinds in the process. It was damn nasty but at least it would come in handy to get my system going. Nick patted me on the shoulder and told me he would be outside with the others. I went into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. The pipes made a knocking sound, and it kicked out a small amount of dirty water but that was it. Without power, no more water would be pumping from the water supplies. I entered the toilet and looked down at the huge tube steak that someone had left in the bottom. Nasty! I figured we wouldn’t be back, so I pissed over the floor, gave a shake, then zipped up.
When I emerged, I squinted at the bright sun. I badly wanted to get back on the road and wished Daniels was with us. I was ready to put this all behind me but I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. I had a strong feeling more blood would be on our hands before the day was out.
Finn approached me and I felt awkward after what I’d said last night. I assumed he’d overheard or Nick had told him.
“Scott. I know I wasn’t exactly forthright when we met, about Dominick being my brother, but I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to ensure the safety of your friends.” He stared intently at me and gripped my shoulder. “You didn’t have to stop and cut me loose. I owe you my life. All of you,” he said turning and raising his voice so the others could hear. “Trust me, this would have eventually happened. Now I need to go deal with my brother.”
He pulled me in for an awkward hug. I smiled politely and flashed Nick a glance. I was sure Nick knew what was going through my head. Once Finn had said his goodbyes to everyone we gathered up our belongings and headed towards the unknown.
Haggle
There is nothing quite like slashing your way through a crowd of Zs first thing in the morning. I don’t think it’s something I will ever get used to. The killing, the bloodshed, the arguments, the journey to Boston, that morning I wondered if any of it was worth it. We could have stayed in Long Lake. Sure, things would have been hard but there were others. Not everyone would choose to leave town. All I knew was if we didn’t get the doc to Boston whatever hope we had of finding a cure or safe zone might be gone. Still, I had to wonder if the doc was holding back on me last night and not telling us everything she knew about this virus. Perhaps she didn’t want to get my hopes up, perhaps she was lying to herself? I noticed living in this new world, trust was something that didn’t come easy. Every second of the day you had to have your wits about you because you didn’t know who was going to throw you under the bus — speaking of being thrown under the bus, we were about to find out the depth of Finn’s words.
We hung back at the corner of Main Street and Ski Bowl Road. Huddled together, a couple of us watching our six, while Nick went over what Finn had planned.
“And if it fails?”
“It won’t. Trust me,” Finn said. He gave one glance back at us all and then hurried across the road, just a lone figure making his way down an empty street. I watched him disappear around the front of the building and waited for a gun to go off but the echo never came.
“I thought we were exchanging him for one of ours?” I asked.
“We are. He says his brother wouldn’t do it without talking to him. I guess we’ll have to trust him.”
“Guys, I hate to be a buzz killer but we got a bunch of crawlers coming up the rear.”
“Well go deal with them,” Nick snapped. I could tell his nerves were fried. He only got that way when he felt under pressure. Ryland, Alexa and Jamal broke away to deal with the stiffs. Jamal unloaded two rounds. Perfect headshots. We were all getting better by the day. Practice makes perfect, some would say. Alexa waited for one to get close before jamming a knife up under a dead man’s chin and burying it deep. Ryland opted to use a machete and hack off a few heads. They dropped, and then just when we thought it was over, four more came around, these were fresh ones, skinheads that had fallen from the night before. They were running full tilt as if they’d downed a pack of Red Bull. They were screaming, a guttural cry that we were now used to. The first time I heard it, I swear I froze but now we reacted the same way as we did to the slow ones. Jamal dropped to a knee but before he could squeeze off the rounds, I did it for him, firing from a distance. He turned and scowled. “Those were mine.”
“Nice shooting, Scotty, there is still hope for you.” Ryland smirked as they made their way back up. Nick was beginning to look antsy.
“Where are they?”
I came behind him just in time to see skinheads stream into the streets. Green bomber jackets, white T-shirts, skin-tight jeans and combat boots, they looked more threatening in the day than at night. They fanned out across the street, taking up the road and sidewalks like an unruly mob that was about to charge the police at a rally. Two of them made a gap in the line to allow room for Dominick. He casually smoked a cigarette, then spat a huge wad of phlegm to the ground and made a finger clicking gesture with his left
hand for a couple of his men to bring out Daniels and Tobias. They were pushed in front of him and forced to their knees. One glance and it was clear they had received one hell of a beating. Tobias’s face was swollen around the eyes, his lips busted up and his jeans had been cut and were covered in blood. Daniels wasn’t in a much better state. He kept his head high, giving us a good shot of his cut lip and battered face. Both had their wrists bound. Lola peered around me and I had to put an arm back to prevent her from running out.
Finn appeared at Dominick’s side, he muttered something in his ear and his brother nodded.
“Well, let’s get this show on the road.”
Nick stepped out, keeping his rifle towards them, as did the rest of us as we fanned out to mirror what they had done. I began counting heads, there were eleven of them remaining, twelve including Dominick. He was similar in appearance to Finn, except he sported a shaved head and had a star tattoo on the side of his scalp and a small swastika symbol between his eyes.
“Who’s in charge?” he barked.
“We all are, you baldy prick!” Ryland shot back.
Nick rolled his eyes, glanced at him and shook his head. Nick stepped forward. “All we want is our friends and we will be on our way. We have given you what you wanted. Now do the same.”
He laughed and looked at the rest of his pinhead rabble. “You got balls. I like that.” He glanced at Finn. “Finn tells me he is responsible for the death of the four back in Indian Lake. Now I might be inclined to believe that in light of the falling out that we’ve had but a lot more were killed when you fled. Do you remember the bridge?”
Nick looked at me and I stepped forward.
“Yeah, I remember it,” I said.
“Oh, look at this, maybe we do have a winner. And what might your name be?”
“Does it matter?”
“No, not really but humor me.”
“Scott.”
Daniels looked at me but it was hard to tell what his expression was after the way they’d beaten his face to the point that it was almost unrecognizable.
“Well Scott, that little stunt you pulled. That’s going to cost you. So here’s what I’m going to do. We’ll hand these two chumps back to you in exchange for you and the doc.”
Nick frowned and jabbed his finger at him. “That’s not happening.’
“Oh believe me it’s happening,” Dominick replied. He paced with a swagger that reminded me of a cage fighter.
“The deal was…”
“The deal is whatever I say it is,” Dominick said cutting him off.
Both of us looked at Finn and his head dropped. What the hell had he told his brother? Nick walked over to me. “Head back to the train station.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I replied.
Not wishing to cause a scene he turned back to Dominick and responded.
“We’ve given you Finn.”
“No, he gave himself up. You haven’t given me anything. I would have got Finn, regardless. So… what’s it going to be?” He smiled. “You better make it quick because I’m not going to extend this offer for long. The only reason I’m extending it now is because of Finn. That’s all you get from him coming in. My men, they want to kill all of you and had Finn not come in, that’s how today would have ended… but… in light of the new information that has been passed on to me, I can see how all of us can be satisfied. The doc will go with us to Boston. That’s right, we will escort her there with this critical information she has, and my men will get to have a little fun with Scott.”
“No deal.”
He shrugged. “So be it!’
He waved his hand and rifles were raised, we reacted by doing the same.
“Do you really want to die today?” Nick shouted. “You might take a few of us out but you’ll go down with us.” Nick’s rifle was aimed at Dominick.
Finn leaned in and said something into Dominick’s ear.
“Ah,” he said nodding. “So Scott is your brother? Now it makes sense. Well look, I can appreciate brotherly love and all. Hell, it’s why I reacted the way I did towards Finn. You see, family means everything to me. And I won’t let anything come between it. I mean anything,” he said casting a glance at Finn. He was referring to the woman Finn had married. “So, put your rifles down and we’ll settle this a different way.”
Nick was reluctant.
“You better hear me on this as this is my final offer before we…. slaughter the whole fucking lot of you.” His face turned towards us and gone was the amused expression; in its place was nothing more than rage.
“You get to keep your brother. But we still get the doc and in place of Scott, my men get to keep one of these two.”
He motioned with a wave towards Daniels and Tobias.
Lola reacted. “No!”
Dominick noticed, and a smile formed on his face. He turned his attention towards Daniels. “Looks like you have a cheerleader. She’s a pretty little thing. Perhaps I can hand both of you back for the doc and her. I’m sure my men would enjoy that, hey guys!”
They smiled like wolves fixing their eyes on prey. Daniels spat near his feet and cursed at him. Dominick turned and shook his finger. “Actually I’ll make the choice for you.” He motioned for two of his men to haul up Tobias and send him over. They dragged him up and forced him forward, then backed away. Tobias broke into a jog and hurried over. Brooke stepped forward to grab him in and lead him back behind the building.
“No, that wasn’t the deal,” Nick said.
“I told you. I’m the one who makes the deals here. I don’t think I could have made that any clearer than I already have.” He cocked his head to one side and his eyes darted to me.
I glanced at Lola then back at him. “No, take me.”
“Scott,” Nick said and shook his head.
“Oh, what do we have here? Man, you have some big balls but I’m afraid you are going to have to put those away, Scott, because the decision has already been made.”
“No it’s not,” I shot back. “C’mon man, you have your brother, give us ours.”
“Oh he’s your brother, now is he?” His front teeth tapped together as he smiled. “Send over the doc and let’s get this done. I haven’t even had my morning coffee.”
Diane stepped forward from the back and slipped her way through our group. She placed her hand on my arm and told me not to worry. She leaned in and muttered into my ear. “They won’t survive in Boston. Don’t worry.”
With that said she walked the short distance between our groups until they grabbed her and pulled her in. One of them ran his tongue up the side of her face and held her tight.
Lola broke away from our group, pulling her Glock. Daniels shouted out, “No, Lola.” But she was too fast. A round struck one of the skinheads killing him instantly.
Nick yelled, “Move!”
Ryland and I grabbed Lola and hauled her back towards the corner of the building as gunfire erupted from both sides. Everyone scattered trying to take cover.
What I wasn’t aware of was that Jamal had positioned himself farther down the street. He’d circled around the stores. As bullets flew through the air, he began unloading from behind, dropping another two and causing them to run for the cover of the hotel. I truly believe if he hadn’t taken the initiative, all of us would have died in that street.
Instead only one of us did.
Eli gasped for air, his hand gripping his stomach, blood seeping over his fingers as we dragged him back behind the corner. Nick remained with Alexa unloading round after round. I would later find out he took out another one, dropping their numbers to eight.
I tore up Eli’s shirt and pressed my hand over the wound, yelling for someone to get me one of those gauzes from the doc’s bag. Ryland hurried over to the bag and began rooting through it but it was too late. Eli tried to say something but nothing came out of his mouth except blood. Tears formed in my eyes as I watched him take his last breath and saw the light in his eyes leave. Ry
land dropped down beside me, shoving the gauze in my hand then noticing that he was gone.
“Eli?”
I rocked back on my knees clutching the gauze, the blood soaking into it.
Some wounds couldn’t be stitched. Some lives couldn’t be saved.
All around us bullets continued to erupt. Brooke had to physically restrain Lola from running out there. As I got up and stepped back from Eli’s body, Ryland looked at me.
“I don’t want to be the one to do it.”
“Neither do I but we have no choice.”
I slowly withdrew the blade from the sheath and squeezed it tightly in my hand, staring at someone who had been with us since the beginning. I took a deep breath and stepped in, jamming the knife up behind his ear, deep into his skull. My hand trembled as I withdrew it. I didn’t know what pain was until that moment. Not even the physical gunshot wound I’d received came close to what I was feeling right then.
“I’m gonna kill every last one of them,” Ryland said through gritted teeth.
When Jamal made his way back and rounded the corner, he looked at us with a smile on his face, but it disappeared when he caught sight of Eli. His rifle dropped to his side and his mouth widened. No words could express what we were feeling. It wasn’t just the loss of Daniels and the doc to a savage group but the harsh reality that we were looking at the future.
Any one of us could have been lying in Eli’s spot.
Any one of us could be dead today or tomorrow. Fighting Zs was just the tip of the iceberg. We’d soon learn more about the evil of man and face the end of all that was good.
The Raid
We did it Nick’s way, and it failed. I wasn’t going to blame him but I had a good feeling others might, so I wanted to avoid that. The truth was no one could negotiate with ruthless men; the only thing they understood was violence.
I stabbed the air with a finger. “I’m telling you, Nick, we need to move in now.”
“Listen to yourself. We have just lost Eli, do you want to die as well?”