People Are Not Your Friends 3

by William R. Rohn

"Not in the city. But they could have gotten out."

  Eleven

  Josh had seen her tied up in the back of the pickup. He was sure it was her. He had watched them go by through the scope of the hunting rifle. He was sure that he was getting close to where they were staying. He really just wanted to know where to stay away from, but now he had a reason to go take a look.

  He didn't owe her anything. But she did deserve better than the marauders. Plus he did have a score to settle with them. They had taken his home from him. If he knew where they were based out of, he might be able to get a vehicle and some supplies.

  It wasn't the smart thing to do, but it was the end of the world, so you didn't always have to do the smart thing. Sometimes you just needed to do something. Worse case he could snipe a bunch of them. He doubted many of them could even locate a sniper.

  He was going to have to wait until nightfall. It would be safer to move in the dark, plus it was likely that they would have lights or fires to help him find them. They didn't seem smart enough to try to hide their base. They probably didn't think anyone was stupid enough to attack them there. Josh was sure he could make them no longer feel safe, but could he survive the lesson that he was going to teach them?

  It didn't take Josh much time after nightfall to determine that he was right. It seemed like they went into party mode. He could hear the music that they were blasting.

  He moved cautiously, watching out for zombies and the vehicles that were coming and going. As he got closer, he could tell that they weren't bothering to put out any guards. Maybe the roving vehicles were their guards. There were a lot of people down there.

  He found a position that gave him a good view. But he didn't like what he saw. They were in and around a warehouse. They kept the doors open, so he could see inside. He saw the caged women and the ones strapped to poles. Men were laughing and drinking and fucking the ones on the poles.

  Josh didn't believe what he saw. It couldn't be. Was that Katy tied to a pole? But she should be dead, or at the very least still recovering from the gunshot wounds. But then he understood. He understood why these were tied to poles and not just in a cage. These were zombies.

  It made him sick to think of it. He didn't like the cages, but somehow this seemed worse. To him it made the men less human. He hadn't been sure if he would just want to kill them. Not in self defense anymore, but just kill them safely from a distance. Now he knew. He knew that people who would do this couldn't be brought back into any type of civilization. Somethings, you just didn't get a pass on.

  The main problem for Josh was that he hadn't seen Megan yet. He was pretty sure that she wasn't in the cage, so where could she be? He had no doubt that he could kill a few of them and get away, but he couldn't help Megan if he didn't know where she was inside.

  Twelve

  Nishi woke as the darkness fled the sky. She had always been an early riser. Now without lights to prolong the day, she was getting plenty of sleep and had no trouble rising.

  She made noise as she went out into the hallway. Better that they knew she was coming. Otherwise accidents might happen.

  They were still sleeping next to each other on the floor. Her supplies were dwindling. She ate some of what she had just found. It was hers. She didn't owe them anything. They had already made excuses to stay yesterday. Nishi wanted them gone, but her sensei would not have approved of turning them out. The dojo would always be his.

  She went out into the garden and began her daily practice. Normally she did it inside, but she did not wish to wake the others. It was her time to think. She needed to decide what to do next. Now that sensei was gone, did she need to stay? Not that there was anywhere in particular that she could go.

  When she had completed her practice she found Marcus sitting outside on the steps of the dojo. He was watching her carefully.

  "Did you sleep well?" said Nishi as she came to the steps and stopped.

  "About as well as can be expected at the end of the world."

  "It may be the end or just a new beginning."

  "It is not a very pretty beginning."

  "To start over many changes would need to be made or we would always come back to the same place."

  "That is a dark philosophy."

  "Not if it is compared to this all happened for no purpose."

  "I guess I see your point."

  "I don't have a point. How you deal with this moment in time is for you to decide."

  "You are a little strange," said Marcus eying her up and down.

  "Strange compared to what?"

  "Good point," said Marcus. He looked around the dojo's garden area. "Are you planning on staying here?"

  "No," she said frowning. "The food is gone. There is no clean water supply. Now that sensei is gone, there is no reason to remain here any longer."

  "Where will you go?"

  "That is the main reason that I am still here," said Nishi. She looked at the ground. "I have no place to go."

  "I don't think anyone has a good place to go anymore."

  "There are those who were more prepared," said Nishi. "But part of that was to have someplace outside of a populated area. Travel will not be easy now."

  "That is the truth," said Marcus. "I have already been chased out of two places."

  "People cannot see the future anymore," said Nishi. "That makes them dangerous. For they do not think there will be any consequences for their actions."

  "Yeah," said Marcus. "I've seen that. How many people do you think there are left?"

  "A lot more than there will be at this time next year."

  "You are pretty bleak."

  "This world is no place for the weak. If you cannot grasp the reality of the situation, you will not survive much longer."

  Nishi walked past him and went inside. Lisa was still sleeping on the dojo floor. She walked past her and went to her room. She sat down on her mat and began to clear her mind, so that she could meditate on what to do next.

  Thirteen

  Megan had slept well, but she was not being allowed to leave the office area. They did bring her whatever she wanted, if they could find it. No weapons of course. Well except for her bat. They had returned that to her. Apparently they had never been hit with an aluminum bat, otherwise she was sure that they wouldn't have let her have that either.

  But a bat versus a gun was not a fair fight, by any stretch of the imagination. There wasn't much for Megan to do other than to try to get whatever she could from the warehouse.

  She already had a case of bottled water, soda and various canned and dried foods. They didn't seem to be in any danger of running out soon. So that meant that they were just hunting people down for fun. What a swell group of guys.

  Being cooped up in here was driving her nuts. She had never been good with large groups of people and now she was out of practice. She went to see her dad.

  He was sitting on a couch watching a movie on a big screen TV. Megan didn't think she could concentrate on it over the noise the generators were making.

  "Dad," she said.

  He looked up at her.

  "I want to look around the warehouse."

  "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

  "Just assign me a guard or something. I can't be cooped up in here forever."

  "How did you stay in the house for so long?"

  "There was lots to do in the house," said Megan. "Plus that was about survival. This isn't."

  He hit the pause button on the remote and the movie stopped. He stood up.

  "Alright," he said. "Two guards and your word that you won't run."

  "Fine," said Megan. "I will not run from your two guards today."

  "Great," said her dad. "Let's find you an escort."

  Fourteen

  It had been a long night of watching for Josh. Still no sign of Megan. Throughout the night there was a lot of activity amongst the marauders though. Lots of vehicles in and out. But by morning most of the vehicles had returned.

 
Josh saw her late in the morning. She was walking around inside the warehouse. There were two men with her. What was going on in there? He couldn't make any sense of it. He saw her point to things and the men took stuff from the pallets and carried them as they continued along. Was she shopping?

  He heard the gunfire in the distance. It didn't take long for vehicles to begin streaming off in that direction. It didn't sound very close, so they must be one of the parties involved in the fight. He pitied those who had been caught.

  But it did seem like an opportunity for him. There were only a few men that he could see left in the warehouse. He needed to get closer if he was going to be able to get inside and free Megan. He wondered why he was bothering. She didn't seem to be in any danger.

  The popping of gunfire in the distance increased. Somebody was having a bad day. He had repositioned himself to a new vantage point, but Megan was no longer wandering around the warehouse. He wasn't sure where she had gone.

  Josh waited. He felt the ground shake. Then the boom of the explosion came to him. He scanned the sky and found the cloud of smoke. What the fuck had happened there?

  At the warehouse he saw the marauders coming out and looking off in the direction of the smoke. Several got into SUVs and pickups and headed out. Megan and a single guard came out and stood with the others looking off into the sky.

  This was going to be his best opportunity. He doubted that there would ever be less marauders around and at the moment they were paying no attention to him.

  Josh lined up Megan's guard in the cross-hairs of the rifle scope and pulled the trigger. He saw the blood and flesh blossom from the wound and changed targets to the line of on-lookers. He had hit three more before they began to randomly fire in any direction and seek cover.

  He did not see Megan. She must have fled back inside. If she wanted to stay, that was her choice. These men needed to die anyways. But he switched targets and turned his scope to the zombies tied up naked. To Katy. No one deserved that when they are dead. 'Goodbye Katy' he thought as he pulled the trigger and saw her head explode into a mess of blood and pulp.

  No one was coming for him. The men at the warehouse were hiding as best they could. He could tell they didn't really know where he was. Still the trucks would be coming back. That would be trouble.

  He found three marauders that weren't hidden well enough. Two of the three he only saw an arm or a leg, into which he put a round, but the third he saw the head looking around. As the man wondered if it was safe, Josh put a round through his brain.

  But it was time to move. Josh crawled back out of sight and then got up and began moving away. It was all that he was going to be able to do for Megan. If she wanted to escape she had a chance now. If not, he didn't want to kill her.

  He withdrew from position to position. Once at a new position he would look for any sign of pursuit, but he never saw any. Whatever had happened at the sight of the explosion, it was not good news for the marauders. His attack would also not go over well. It would be hard to strike them at their warehouse again. But once had satisfied Josh's need for revenge. Now he needed to find a new place to stay so that he could continue to survive.

  Fifteen

  Lisa and Marcus left the dojo mid-morning. Lisa hadn't slept well, but at least it was some sleep. But when she had gotten up, Marcus seemed anxious to leave. She and Marcus had shared the little food they had. Marcus had brought water from one of the fish ponds, but it had tasted off.

  They set off up the street and then began following the back alley ways. They avoided a few zombies and came to a cross street. Lisa and Marcus were in the middle of it when she heard the vehicle.

  Marcus ran back the way they had come and Lisa followed him. She heard the gunfire as they ran. This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all.

  Marcus cut into a side alley and Lisa followed him. She heard the vehicles brakes out on the street and the marauders shouting. They were coming for them. Where could they hide?

  Lisa was falling behind Marcus. The marauders weren't wildly running after them or they would have caught up with her already. She was getting winded. Marcus changed direction again and she chased after him, hoping to at least see which direction he went next. He really didn't seem to be concerned for her at all. What a bastard.

  She ran. Wood from the fence that she was running along, splintered and broke. A fraction of a second later she heard the gunfire and the laughter. Great, they were toying with her. Her lungs ached and her legs were feeling like they were going to collapse. She saw the dojo up ahead. She hoped she could make it.

  Sixteen

  Megan had dashed back into the offices as the shooting started outside. Her guard had been the first to take a bullet. It seemed that even the marauders couldn't make you safe from what was out there.

  Her dad had gone to the explosion in a fancy SUV. He hadn't asked her to go along or even told her to stay. He had simply left.

  She went back to her room and put together her bag. It had taken quite a bit of looking through the warehouse to get what she needed. Lightweight food and a new change of clothes.

  It all fit nicely into a backpack that she had acquired. She picked up her bat and looked around. This was a place of danger. Even though for the moment her dad was in charge, that wouldn't last forever. She knew that when her dad was gone, she would at best end up in the cage with the women.

  Everything about this place made her ill. She couldn't stay here. She wouldn't. Now with everyone distracted was her only chance to really disappear. She slipped quickly through the warehouse and out the doors on the other side. There she kept moving. Seeking only to get further away. The further she got before they came looking the better her chances would be.

  Seventeen

  Sahir heard the gunfire. They were out again, but now he was ready. He grabbed his AK-47 and a small bag of supplies and went outside. He climbed up onto the roof of the building.

  Sahir scanned the area, but didn't see anyone. No matter. Nizaam would be the first to complete his mission. Sahir pulled on the rope that lifted the metal door below. He heard the shuffling movements as the zombie moved around.

  After a few agonizing minutes Sahir looked down and saw Nizaam shuffling down the street towards the gunfire. He smiled. Everything was coming together. As soon as Nizaam was out of site he lowered the door back down.

  Now all he needed to do was to follow Nizaam and deliver his blow to his enemy. Today he would teach respect to the marauders who had shot him. Today would be a good day. He climbed down off of the roof.

  It was easy to keep up with Nizaam. Still Sahir had to watch out for the other zombies that were also being drawn in the direction of the gunfire. Slowly the gunfire grew louder. These marauders liked to shoot and have fun. They were in no hurry to have their fun come to have an end. That was good, otherwise Nizaam would not get near them.

  It was almost another hour before their vehicles were in sight. The other good thing was that they were just on the other side of some empty lots that had high grass, trees and bushes. Nizaam and the other zombies that were drawn to the noise, would be fairly close before they could be shot. That should be close enough. But Sahir moved to get into a position where he could kill a few of the defenders so that the zombies could get even closer.

  Eighteen

  Marcus watched from behind the hedges of the dojo garden as Lisa came running in. She fell to the ground, huffing and puffing. Still she crawled towards the dojo.

  He was glad she was alright, but she had led the marauders right to the dojo. As their vehicles pulled up outside, he stood up and fired his pistol rapidly at them. Then he dove back down and crawled away.

  He was sure he had hit at least one man and the truck. He heard the truck backing further away. So at least that part of the plan had gone well. The dojo was not defensible at all, but there wasn't much around that was. The hedges of the garden cut down on visibility and that would help to limit the advantage of their numbers.


  Marcus changed the clip in his pistol and began reloading the nearly spent clip that he had just removed. He definitely needed to be prepared if he was going to survive this.

  Gunfire erupted from across the street. Marcus lay flat on the ground. He saw bullets impacting on the dojo and the hedges all around. They were just spraying a lot of lead around and hoping to get lucky. He could hear their laughter as the gunfire paused. Plus, they considered this fun.

  He heard more vehicles pulling up and the gunfire increased again. Five to one or a hundred to one really wasn't going to make much of a difference in this fight. The only outcome he could see for himself was death. It was now a matter of seeing how many he could take with him.

  The gunfire stopped and he heard them shouting and moving. They were coming for him. Lisa had a pistol, but he wasn't expecting her to be any help. Nishi was an unknown, but he hadn't seen her with a gun, only that sword.

  He watched them come through the base of the bushes. All he could see were feet, but that was all he needed. He waited until he could see three in a group. He shot them all in the ankle before they reacted. Two of them got bullets in the body after they fell. Then he was crawling quickly away as the marauders began to spray bullets everywhere.

  It was fifteen minutes before they started in again. They were moving cautiously and had better coordination in their movements. He still hit one or two more, but now he had to shoot and move. He couldn't wait around shooting them after they fell.

  They were forcing him further back into the gardens. Soon they would be able to enter the dojo. Marcus never thought that he could prevent that anyways. But it wouldn't be much longer before they had him surrounded.

  A man with a shotgun came around the corner. Marcus shot him. Dirt kicked up into his face from the man's shot. The man fell to the ground.

  Pain shot through Marcus's right arm and the pistol fell to the ground. He looked at his arm and saw blood flowing from the wound. He picked up the pistol and rolled against the hedge. Bullets danced all around him.