Trying to Survive (Part 2)

by C. J. Crowley

  Brian said “It’s not like the movies guys – you don’t just hold down the trigger. These guns do stay on target very well if you’re experienced, but for now, pretend it’s single shot. We have to do our best to only spend one bullet per shredder.”

  We both nodded and muttered agreeable replies. Jessie said “So, I think we should stay away from the gate in case any are walking around near the entrance – might inspire them to alert the others and start comin in the neighborhood… all that shit.”

  Jenny turned her head back, just enough for us to see the side of her face. “There’s a car in one of the driveways near the end of the street. Check there first.”

  When they went to leave, before I had the chance to say it, Walt looked back at me, smiled and said “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

  Jessie added “Might be a good idea if one of you posts up on the second floor. You’ll be able to see a lot farther.”

  Jenny left the front window, and as she passed by me she said “You watch down here and I’ll go upstairs.” When she turned into the kitchen, Melanie and Clara blocked her path.

  Melanie said “Clara was in the hall listening earlier.” She looked down at her. “Tell Jenny what you told me. You need to speak for yourself from now on.”

  Jenny wasn’t much taller than Clara so she didn’t have to lean down very far. “How old are you?”

  She swallowed and slightly raised her brow. “Twelve.”

  “My father taught me how to shoot a gun when I was thirteen.” Jenny put on a comforting smile. “And I was a whole lot smaller than you are too… If you’re ready, I’ll be happy to show you.”

  I could tell Clara was scared, but she hid it well as she confidently said “I’m ready.”

  Jenny asked me to go catch Walt and the others before they left so the shots wouldn’t alarm them. “We’re going to do this upstairs so if it attracts any attention they’ll be far from harm’s way.”

  “Hopefully some do wander up, I would be an opportunity for them to shoot at moving targets.” I remarked as I headed out to let the others know to ignore the shots.

  Once I made it back inside, Jenny had already taken them upstairs. The house was completely silent, and the dozens of large windows allowed the quickly intensifying sun to fill the room with a soft, glowing light. The tranquility of it urged me to lie down on the couch and try to get some sleep… Until I glanced over and was painfully reminded that the couch was stained with Anthony’s blood…

  A few minutes after I pulled up a chair by the front bay and starting keeping watch, the first gunshot rang out and one of the windows across the street shattered… Melanie must be going first with the M4…

  I heard another shot, but none of the windows broke. She fired again, and one of the many small panes of glass in the garage door shattered… She’s having her aim at even smaller targets. Maybe I should be up there too… After Melanie hit three more panes of glass, the shooting stopped.

  It wasn’t long before I became bored with sitting around and waiting for windows to break, and there were no shredders in sight, so I got up and started looking at all the books scattered around the tables.

  Most of them were about interior decorating, poetry or modern art, and had very stylish and noticeable covers – just to show off for the customer. I was relieved when I came across a large, leather-bound book titled “The History of the Civil War”. It was small, but thicker than a textbook – the perfect size to keep me busy while I acted as a glorified sentry.

  When I made it back to my seat, I said to myself – After every page, I take a look around for a minute. I can’t slack…

  I looked down the road, just in time to see Jessie kicking open the front door of the house with the car in the driveway. When I saw they had Walt stand outside to keep watch, a good portion of my worry began to fade. I listened for any gunshots that would signal they ran into something (or someone), but the only ones I heard were coming from upstairs.

  A metallic ping followed the next shot and caused me to glance up from the book. I heard it again and saw sparks shoot off the side of the mailbox… Clara’s turn with the 9mm…

  I was perfectly content to read about the Civil War. I’d always been so fascinated by WWII that I never got around to learning much about it. It was actually difficult to abide by my own rule of looking up for a while after every page.

  The next time I did, I could see Walt, Jessie and Brian standing in the driveway next to the silver car. They were empty handed, and Jessie was waving his arms around and seemed to be yelling. When they all began heading back to us, I automatically assumed we were about to be presented with a new problem.

  My mind was busy trying to guess what had happened, so I must not have heard Jenny come back downstairs. Her voice surprised me and I somewhat fumbled the book. “Something must have happened.”

  “Yeah, I figured as much. Can’t be that bad though – all three of them are coming back.”

  Jenny let out a quick, strong breath through her nose and moved closer to the window. Her eyes thinned as she watched them get closer and calculated all the different possibilities that could explain their quick return.

  She suddenly left my side and headed out to the driveway to wait for them. I let the book drop to the floor and followed her out. When Jessie got close enough, he threw his hands up and said “Looks like some people have already been through this place. The house was picked clean – fuckers even took the rolls of toilet paper!”

  “And I went and checked another house across the street. I could see that all the cabinets and doors were hanging open when I looked through a window.” Brian bleakly remarked.

  When Walt got closer to me I could see him staring at my mangled face. I recognized the pitying look from the day after it happened and he changed my bandage in the bathroom. Instead of continuing to think about that day, I thought about how strange it was to see him with so much hair on his face. He looked so… grown up.

  Jessie barked out in frustration “We’re gonna have to use the van and go deeper into the neighborhood.”

  Jenny stepped toward him and said “But, the noise.”

  “We’ve only seen a handful of them since we came in here, and you were just giving shooting lessons a few minutes ago – still nothing… Look, if things get too heavy we’ll turn around and try something else.”

  I don’t like this idea, but what the hell am I supposed to say? I can’t go, so no one can?

  Chapter 9

  When the hands on the large clock above the electric fireplace hit noon, my panic instantaneously reached a whole new level. I’d been sitting there watching it since 9:37am. When it was almost 11:00am, I told myself – It just means they’ve had to check a few houses before they found one that wasn’t looted...

  Like many times before, various situations that led to Walt’s death flashed before my eyes. I could see him suffering and even hear his screams – making it impossible for me to concentrate on anything but watching for them through the window or staring at the clock.

  I cursed myself for not moving faster and getting to that ladder in time… Now, I couldn’t even go out and search for him if they never come back. I could try, but I wouldn’t get very far and if I ran into more than a few shredders I’d be easy food.

  It was leagues beyond frustrating – especially since I knew it would be weeks until my leg would even begin to feel better.

  Melanie’s voice drew my gaze away from the window. She and Clara were sitting around, quietly looking through one of the magazines. “Has it really been almost three hours?”

  Jenny replied “Yes.”

  “I could understand two hours. They may have had to check out ten homes before they found some food – but three hours?”

  “There’s no reason it should take this long. Jessie would have come back by now, just to tell us they have to keep looking so we wouldn’t worry. I know he would.”

  I almost told them to shut-up because they were
making it so I wouldn’t hear the van approaching, but I stopped myself and said “What are we gonna do after another hour passes?”

  “Go to that house down the street and try to find the keys for that car. If we can’t, I should be able to get it started anyway. You’ll just have to leave that M4 behind with Melanie and take your rifle.” Jenny sharply replied as if she’d been thinking about it for a while.

  Search for Walt and leave Melanie and Clara alone, or refuse and make Jenny go by herself? I began to chew on my bottom lip and felt my heart rate suddenly spike… If they just stay locked up in this house, everything should be fine – I have to go…

  Clara had been strangely calm and unemotional since Anthony died. And it didn’t seem to be the result of psychological shock – it seemed like she was genuinely just trying to be strong. I assumed it’s why she pushed to have Jenny teach her how to shoot.

  Even though it was going to help keep Clara safe, I found it tragic that she was so frightened by the situation that it didn’t even allow her time to grieve properly. All she could think about was possibly being the next one to die.

  To me, that was something the rest of us should have to deal with – not her...

  By the time it was almost 12:20pm, I had already decided that I wouldn’t be waiting the other half hour to go get that car. “If they’re not back in ten minutes I’m heading down the street. A lot can happen in a half hour.”

  Melanie said “Don’t wait longer because of us – we’re perfectly safe here, James.”

  I looked over to Jenny and she nodded. I’d already given Melanie the M4, so I said “Lock that door behind us – stay upstairs and away from the windows” and headed out of the house.

  When I heard Jenny walking up behind me, I said “Something’s definitely wrong.”

  “I agree.” She caught up to me and grabbed my arm. “Don’t rush. Your leg needs to be feeling the best it can.”

  I hesitantly followed her advice and slowed my already laughable pace. Just as she was about to speak again, I heard the van. Judging by the noise level, it seemed to be at least several streets away and rapidly building speed.

  Jenny stopped and said “It’s them.” She turned her head and listened for a few more seconds. “Seems like they’re in a hurry.”

  “He’s got it floored.”

  “Someone was killed and they’re running away, or someone is injured.”

  I was thinking the exact same thing. “Yeah.”

  “We should head back and take defensive positions – a pack of shredders, or even some people could be following them.”

  As we hurried back to the house, the sound of the van was approaching so quickly that it seemed like it was going to beat us there. I looked back when I heard the screeching of tires, and saw the van sliding around the corner.

  I was intensely relieved to see Walt in the front seat next to Jessie, but I also knew something had happened to Brian.

  Jenny noticed too and softly said “Brian…”

  The van roared past us. Jessie turned into the driveway at such a speed, the dip where it met the road made the van hop up almost a foot when the front wheels crashed against it. Jenny ran the rest of the way – I ignored the growing pain and sped up.

  They both jumped out of the van and Jessie was raging. His eyes were wild and the veins in his forehead looked as though they were trying to break through his skin. “There were people in one of the fucking houses! They took Brian! They took our guns, and they even emptied out the God damn van!”

  Jenny rushed over to him and said with a soothing voice “Relax yourself, Jessie, this isn’t helping. What happened?”

  He screamed out random obscenities several more times, pounded on the van and then started to calm himself down. His hand was shaking as he lit a cigarette and said “We kicked in the door, split up and within five seconds someone was walking Brian out into the living-room with a gun to his head. Then five more came in doing the same to Walt… Six men total.”

  “I assume they’re keeping Brian because they want the rest of our things?”

  “…I think so.”

  I walked over by Walt, and before I could speak he stopped me and whispered “Wait, there’s more.”

  “So, we just do what they say, leave and start replenishing our supplies. It’s a major setback, but nothing we can’t overcome.”

  “It’s not that simple, Jenny.”

  She frowned and tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  Jessie brought his hand up and rubbed at the long gray stubble on his jaw and chin. “They guy holding the gun to Brian’s head said they’ve been fuckin watching us… that they were waiting for us.”

  “Yeah, so what?”

  “He said his “boss” will be coming by to meet with us later, and that the gates been closed and snipers are by the entrance… I don’t think we’re the first ones they’ve done this too, Jenny. I think this damn place is meant to be a trap.”

  “A trap?”

  “Yeah, for people.”

  I glanced over to Walt and he said “Something’s weird about these guys. I can tell it’s not gonna be as simple as giving them all our shit.”

  What else would they want?..

  Jenny folded her arms and asked “Did they give you a time?”

  “No. He just said it would be later.”

  Jenny looked off to the side as if she was trying to think. “So… Six in the house, the boss, and then let’s guess two guys posted near the entrance. We can’t fight against them – we’ll lose.”

  “No shit… And they made it sound like there’re a lot more of them. Fuckers are well armed too.”

  When Jenny started heading back inside the house, I noticed that Melanie and Clara had been standing at the door. Clara wasn’t holding her hand as she usually would, and still wasn’t showing any signs of being afraid… She’s changing. She knows if she isn’t strong that she’ll probably die. Hopefully, it’ll help keep her alive…

  Jenny said “All we can do is wait for them to show up and see what happens. Might as well do it off our feet.”

  Jessie scoffed “Yeah.”

  I joined him by the van and lit a cigarette. Walt followed and said “There really is something off about those guys.”

  Jessie exhaled and then muttered “I know.”

  He pushed away from the van and took a few steps forward. Jagged metal from one of the gouges in the van must have cut his hand. He stopped to examine the small amount of blood on his palm. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but they seem like some really weird fucks… They were pretty excited when they caught us, and they all had these strange grins on their faces – like they knew something we didn’t.”

  Chapter 10

  Three hours had gone by – I wanted to shoot the clock in the worst way. I saw it as one of the main sources of my stress. I just couldn’t stop watching it, even though I knew it was drastically slowing down my perception of time.

  We all stayed in the living-room together, but rarely spoke. Jenny said all that needed to be said – the only thing we can do is wait.

  When Jessie wasn’t outside smoking a cigarette, he was pacing around the first floor of the house and checking all of the windows… He wasn’t the only one who felt like we were being watched…

  Jenny stayed by the front bay and took on the role of a statue, forever watching the end of the road. There were moments when I could barely tell she was breathing. She stood completely still, with her feet about a foot apart and her arms folded across her chest. She never even shifted her weight to one side as most people do after standing in the same place for such a long period of time.

  Walt sat forward in the maroon chair. His elbow rested on his knee and his chin was in his hand. I could feel that his mind was racing as he gazed out at the neighborhood. I tried to get an idea of how he was feeling, but his face was completely lacking any signs of emotion.

  Everyone but Clara and Melanie stayed away from the c
ouch where Anthony died. Jessie took the time to cover it with blankets so we wouldn’t see the blood, but we all knew it was there. Whereas Clara stayed glued to the exact spot where he took his final breath. I suspected it made her feel closer to him…

  We only had four guns, not including Jenny’s pistol, and two of them were our rifles. Last time I checked the duffle bag there were only seven bullets left, and all of the extra bullets for the M4’s were stolen from the van. The M4 I gave back to Jessie was full, but according to my memory Jenny had used up at least half of her clip giving Melanie a shooting lesson.

  From what little information Jessie provided, assuming there were around ten of them was a good bet, but I had a feeling their numbers were even greater… There’s no coming up with a plan to get him back or fight against them... We’re completely helpless and at their mercy.

  At the moment, the only thing I could think to hope for was that they’d be reasonable people. That they’d just take the rest of our supplies and send us on our way… If anything, I was almost more concerned about what we’d have to go through to get more weapons and food. It would require going out at night and getting the shredders to empty out of buildings…

  Even though I hadn’t known Brian for very long, it felt strange not to hear his voice or see his face. And it was easy to tell that his absence and current situation had Jessie falling to pieces in the inside. Even Jenny was unusually quiet.

  While I did have hope, I was also starting to doubt that I’d ever see him again. My mind kept going back to Jessie and Walt’s observations of “odd” behavior, and something was telling me that things wouldn’t go smoothly…

  It was just a few hours away from getting dark when a black Lincoln Town Car came coasting to a stop in front of the house. It let out a squeal, signaling it needed new brakes.