State of Panic: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller (5 page)

Murphy must have found that humorous. The guy had lived his entire life in the military. This must have seemed like a walk in the park to him. When all of us were falling apart at the seams in the wilderness he looked as if he was in his element.

“Wouldn’t that have been affected by the EMP?”

“No, Dan was big on keeping those protected. It’s stored in a small Faraday cage.”

Murphy was assisting Sara. I noticed the guy who came in with Sara looked at Murphy. There was some definite animosity there.

“Should I even bother asking what that is?” Brett asked.

Murphy didn’t reply immediately.

“It’s a means of protection from electrostatic and electromagnetic interference.”

“What the hell, was Dan expecting this to happen?”

He glanced over at everyone who was watching him and for a brief second smirked. “You obviously don’t know Dan very well. The guy expects everything to happen. Now don’t stand there gawking. Barricade the doors with anything you can find.”

“And then what?” one of the older women asked.

“I kind of have my hands tied right now,” he said, covered in blood from helping Sara.

“What about the windows?”

“What about them?”

“They are setting fire to business buildings.”

City Hall was made of brick but it wouldn’t have stopped them throwing Molotov cocktails through the glass windows. We would die from smoke inhalation. The moment we stepped outside they would hack us to death.

Murphy with a dead serious face just pointed to the doors. “Go and do as I’ve asked.”

Everyone start grabbing chairs, tables, anything they could find and dragging them into the hallway. We began stacking them up in front of the main doors which were just glass and steel. It wouldn’t take them long to put two and two together and see that all that shit was there to protect those inside. City Hall was attached to the police station. One of the older women mentioned making a hole in the wall through to the station so that we could expand it and create an escape route. But that idea vanished when the officer said that there was a two-foot thick brick wall between the two buildings.

Once the doors were barricaded, some of the oldies started looking for anything that could be used as a weapon. In City Hall there was nothing except office furniture. Some of them broke off pieces of wood from chair legs and wrapped up shards of glass in towels.

The guys from the lumberyard paced back and forth.

“I don’t like this. I say we move now, while they are still gathering. We could get out of town through the forest.”

“What do you say?” They posed the question to Murphy who was still helping the wounded officer.

“No, we need to stick together,” Brett said.

“We will. But leaving on foot.”

Sara spoke up. “This man is too injured. He can’t and I’m not leaving him.”

“That’s not our problem,” one of the men spat back. “I’m not losing my life over one man.”

Murphy spun around.

“You want to leave. Go now. No one is stopping you. But we are staying to help.”

A few of their wives began to cry as they told them to get moving. Fear had taken hold as the harsh reality bore down on us all. People would divide as the fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. Edgar was right, even if we could hike out, we wouldn’t survive long. We had zero food, no protection from the elements and currently no weapons. The harsh mountainous terrain would have kicked our asses long before we had managed to get to safety.

In many ways leaving would have been like an extreme version of Camp Zero.

“No, he’s right, Murphy. A few of us are going to have to venture out. It won’t be long before they make their way down here. If there are over two hundred of them, those doors are not going to hold,” Bill Robertson said, still sporting a terrible bloodied gash on his face. “I have kids to think about. C’mon, Rachel. Hey! Hold up,” he shouted to the lumber guys who were in the processing of removing what we had stacked on twenty minutes earlier.

“Where do you live, Murphy?” Edgar asked.

“On the west side.”

“Shit.”

The thought of trying to make it across town with groups of skinheads searching for survivors only added to the anxiety we felt.

“I have a home on the edge of town.”

“Let me guess, you are one of those prepper types with everything stored up?” Corey asked.

“Actually no, that’s Dan. I have weapons. Beyond that I have stocked up on a few things mainly because Dan badgered me but no, I wish I did.”

“What about the fallout? Radiation and shit like that? Shouldn’t we be down in some bunker or something?” Luke asked. “I’ve heard that if you don’t die from the blast, you can die from radiation?”

Murphy didn’t reply. I don’t think it was because he didn’t know. I think there was little he could do. There was little any of us could do.

“You don’t think they would set one off in this town, do you?” Billy asked.

“I highly doubt it, they want control of this town. Bryan Catz had mentioned the organization had targeted the grid and military installations. I imagine they hit New York, Los Angeles, maybe Washington and some of the larger cities, leaving enough left over for them to control and start again. We’re not talking about a missile here, guys. These are one kiloton. It’s still a lot of power but the particles from the blast would mostly land in areas where people had already been killed.”

“But the weather can affect it. I mean, it could blow some of those particles for miles.”

Murphy nodded.

“This is fucked up,” Corey said getting up and walking back and forth.

“Take a seat, big man,” Billy said. “We only have so much air in here, and you are sucking most of it up.”

Corey scowled at him, balling his fists. He might have floored him in the wilderness but right now it wouldn’t have done him much good. We had bigger issues to deal with.

“Who’s going to come with me?” Murphy asked.

“I’ll go.”

Murphy paused for a few seconds then looked around.

“Has anyone seen Kate?”

M
urphy’s home
was close to Mount Pleasant Inn. It was a good fifteen-minute walk on an ordinary day but with the streets filled with lunatics it was liable to take us close to thirty, maybe more. No one wanted to step a foot outside the doors and we weren’t going to take the chance of losing Murphy.

We pulled together anything that could be considered a weapon in a pile on the table. It was a pitiful sight. There were a few pieces of wood, a couple of butter knives, several shards of glass and a large wrench that belonged to Edgar. Besides that Murphy was carrying a Glock, and I had a carving knife from my house. It wasn’t exactly instilling confidence in us.

“Scot, are you sure about this?” Sara asked.

“We don’t have any other choice. If I don’t get over to my house, we aren’t going to have the means to protect ourselves. Listen, I’m going to leave the Glock with you.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Edgar said. “We are going to need it out there.”

“No, I want to make sure that if anyone comes through those doors other than the police, or someone needing help, they have some way to protect themselves.”

“I’m coming with you,” Ally said.

“No, sweetheart, you’re staying here.”

“Matt,” Murphy handed him the Glock. “Look after them.”

Ally began to protest. “Dad, I’m not staying here.”

“It’s too dangerous, Ally.”

“Oh, but it’s okay for you and them?” She pointed at me.

He shook his head and Matt tried to intervene.

“Ally. Listen to him.”

She put up a hand without even looking at him. “You’re not my father, Matt.”

I saw Murphy’s eyes dart between them. A look of concern, perhaps amusement crossed his face. It couldn’t have been easy seeing someone else living with your ex.

“You think he’s going to be okay?” Corey enquired about the cop who was out cold on the table.

“He’s lost a lot of blood. He really needs to get to a hospital soon,” Sara replied.

Murphy went to take the wrench and Edgar placed his meaty hand on it. “I’m coming with you and that’s mine.”

“Fair enough.” He reached for what appeared to be a wooden chair leg. He slapped it in his other hand a few times as if testing how strong it was. All I could think about was how many skinheads were out there and how they had smashed in some guy’s face with a hammer.

It was decided that Luke, Edgar and myself would go. We didn’t want too many people out there. Corey and Billy would stay to offer additional help just in case anything went south.

“Stay quiet. Keep the lights off and we’ll be back soon,” Murphy said before giving his daughter a kiss on the forehead.

After being in the wilderness for the past month we had pretty much been schooled in the means of being creative. If we didn’t get creative we didn’t sleep or eat. It was as simple as that. Matt offered Murphy a large flashlight but he declined.

“That’ll only attract attention. By the way, turn off the generator. They are focusing in on homes and companies that have generators. Those will be the first places they hit.”

“I’ll go do that,” Jim Emerson, owner of a local bar and grill, disappeared off down the hall.

Murphy walked back over to Matt. “Only use the gun if they get through those doors. Unless they break in, don’t fire. We’ll knock three times when we get back so you know it’s us.”

Ally hugged her father one more time and we moved out. At the back of the building we began pulling the chairs away. Matt and a few of the other men got ready to block it the second we got outside. As the door cracked open my heart started beating faster. Murphy was the first out. Except for the glow of fires in the distance it was pitch-black outside. Staying together in one line we moved with purpose across the parking lot keeping ourselves low to the ground. The lot came out on Cedar Street and shoehorned around an elementary school. So far we hadn’t seen anyone except a couple of locals who still seemed to be oblivious to what was taking place in the town. Murphy tried to warn them but they just thought we were insane and darted across the street away from us. It probably didn’t help that we were creeping along holding a wrench, a knife and two chair legs.

Murphy shook his head looking over at them before Edgar spoke.

“There’s no time. We just need to get there.”

He nodded and we pressed on, circling the school. Cedar crossed over Sixth Street, went past the Oasis Museum and several fish restaurants. We hung a right on Sixth Street and double-timed it north. We remained in the shadows, ducking into alleyways every time we heard movement.

“You think they are all on Main Street?” Edgar asked.

“That’s where they said they were heading. Down to the large church building.”

We had made it as far as the Northern Pacific Depot Railroad Museum. High above us was I-90 that passed overhead. The initial goal was to go underneath it and head into the forest just beyond but that would not happen. They had blocked off the road with multiple vehicles and up ahead were six skinheads keeping watch. One of them had a chain in his hand and was swinging it around while the others were raiding Alibi’s Steakhouse. They had taken a large metal trashcan and thrown it through the front window. Several of them were inside. We could only see six from where we were but we were sure there were more.

“Okay, change of plan. We are going down Pine Street.”

“But that’s going to bring us out close to Main Street.”

“Not if we hang a left four blocks down and go north on Front.”

Luke let out a chuckle. “If we can make it there.”

“It’s a straight run.”

“Yeah, straight past those baldies over there.”

Murphy leaned back against a wall close to a large industrial dumpster.

“The alternative is we head back and go west on Cedar Street,” Edgar said.

“Which will bring you directly into Main Street,” I added. “No, listen up, I know what to do. Just hang back here.”

“What?” Murphy said in a hushed tone.

Before I could explain or he could stop me, I tucked the knife into the back of my jeans and darted out between two vehicles. I began rushing in the direction of the six skinheads.

“Oy! Cops are heading for Main Street.” I didn’t wait to see if they would follow, I just kept running. With my green bomber jacket on, my jeans and trimmed hair, they didn’t think twice. They just assumed I was one of them and began running to catch up with me. I turned back momentarily. Now that the skinheads were facing the other direction, the others were able to get across the street without being seen. I slowed down and placed my hands on my knees pretending to be out of breath. They shot by me, only one of them turned back to ask if I was okay. I waved him on and watched them disappear around a corner. Looking back, I could see Murphy and the others were already halfway down the street. They hugged the sides of the buildings. Just three dark silhouettes moving unnoticed through the night.

We had started heading up Fifth Street, which would eventually merge into Front, when our luck went out the window. For a brief while we thought the darkness would keep us from being spotted, we were wrong. As we passed by River Street a set of headlights flicked on lighting us up. They were the super-bright halogen kind, the ones that blind even if you shield your eyes in time. As the lights flicked off, I blinked hard allowing my vision to adjust. That’s when I saw them. There had to have been at least eight with bats, chains and knives.

For what seemed like a minute or two, but was likely only a few seconds, we stared back.

“Holy shit,” Luke muttered before we made a break for it. The sound of hollering and boots pounding asphalt behind us was enough to make my blood run cold.

“Go, go, go.” I don’t know why I was saying it, as the others were running as fast as they could. I cast a glance over my shoulder to see them catching up.

“I’m thinking we could have used that Glock about now,” Edgar hollered.

Mount Pleasant Library was the closest building to us. Fifteen large concrete steps led up to a set of dark brown wood doors. Murphy smashed his foot against one but it didn’t give way.

He tried again but it was too late. On the ground the skinheads prowled around the lower steps looking devilish.

“Stay the fuck back!” Luke said swiping the air with a thick chair leg.

“Brave, are we?” One of them stepped forward slapping his baseball bat in his hand in a taunting manner. I had seen him before. He was one of the skinheads being handcuffed by the two officers earlier. My eyes scanned the rest of their faces, hoping to see at least one member that I knew. They were all from out of town.

“And look at this fucker,” he pointed his bat towards me. “What are you doing running with them?”

“Look, man, we don’t want no trouble.”

He cocked his head and got this grin.

“A shit-eating turncoat,” another one said.

That was the extent of the conversation. The guy gestured with his finger and the others rushed the stairs. Four against eight wasn’t exactly good odds but then again they didn’t have someone who was a SEAL, or a mechanic who looked as if he had swung that wrench a few times.

As a chain wrapped itself around my one leg, I kicked a guy in the face with the other and he fell back down the stairs into two others like dominoes collapsing. We had the advantage of high ground. The fifteen steps were steep and there was only one way they could get at us and that was by coming up. Murphy obviously didn’t see it that way as he hopped over the side down onto the green in an attempt to draw a couple of them away. I might have enjoyed seeing him go ape shit on the two guys but I was in the process of unwrapping the thick chain from my leg. I turned to see Edgar bring his wrench down on one guy’s skull so hard, it caved in. A spray of red mist hit my face as the skinhead dropped making it harder for the next guy behind him to get up the steps. Luke wielded a wooden chair leg like it was Thor’s axe, clobbering one skinhead so hard around the face that I was sure he had killed the guy. I didn’t even have a chance to get that chain off before another was up and on me. He knocked me back towards the ground and was trying to force a machete down on my face. With my back pressed against the concrete I felt the carving knife in my waistband dig into my flesh. There was no way I could get at it as the guy above me was using his full body weight to try and push this sideways blade down on my face. It felt like I was bench pressing two people at the same time. If it hadn’t been for Luke kicking the guy in the gut, I was pretty sure he would have jammed that blade through my skull. The very second the guy fell off, I reached around, pulled the knife and jammed it into his leg. He let out a high-pitched scream and staggered back. Meanwhile Edgar was still going nuts with his oversized wrench. I noticed he had been cut as he was bleeding from his side but it wasn’t stopping him. Reaching down to my leg, I pulled off the chain, wrapped it around my fist so a large piece dangled down and then unleashed it like a whip around the face of the guy who was climbing the stairs with a spiked knuckleduster.

He let out a blood-curdling scream before Murphy came up behind him and slit his throat.

We all stood there for a second gazing at the bloody aftermath. My hand was shaking.

Now I don’t think we got lucky, we just wanted to live more than they did. As I looked around at the carnage, those that were still alive were groaning on the floor, writhing around in pain. Panting hard, I pulled the knife from the guy’s leg and he let out another cry. At least he wasn’t dead. I wasn’t sure I was ready to kill anyone.

Murphy wiped a bloody knife on his leg.

We grabbed up what weapons they were carrying and set off again.

Front Street was on the far edge of town. We could hear the noise of people screaming along with laughter and chaos erupting in the streets. What little calm remained after the blackout was now gone. Anarchy was alive in the streets like a snake seeking to devour and destroy.

“How much longer?” Edgar asked.

“A few more blocks,” Murphy replied with a stoic look on his face. We were getting close to Third Street and Cypress when we saw another group. They had dragged out several people from an inn and were beating them. A woman pleaded for her husband’s life but they didn’t care. They were savages.

I wanted to help but there were too many of them and Murphy told us to keep moving. We might have escaped death back at the library but the chance of being able to fend off another attack was unlikely, especially when there were only four us and at least fifteen of them.

The journey to Murphy’s place was tough but it was only made harder by the constant stopping and starting. We had to drop down behind cars, and behind fences. All the while we had a front seat to the torture of human life. They were like a pack of rabid wolves encircling their prey and taking turns to inflict as much as harm as possible.

In a town with a population of just over eight hundred, it wouldn’t be long before they would overtake and control the streets. It wasn’t even like the police could radio for help. This was a sudden and coordinated attack. Like a lion waiting in the undergrowth, just biding its time, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

We eventually arrived at Murphy’s place. It wasn’t anything fancy. Just a small clapboard house set back from the road, shrouded by trees with a small gravel driveway that led up to a property that couldn’t have been more than fifteen hundred square foot.

“Didn’t you come here first?” Luke asked.

“No, I went straight to City Hall after collecting Sara from the hospital and picking up Ally and Matt.”

As we made our way in, Luke carried on peppering him with questions. “So what’s the deal with him? When did your ex meet Matt?”

“She’s not my ex. Well, she is but not on paper. We haven’t finalized the divorce.”

“How long have you been separated?”

He unlocked a metal cabinet inside his house and pulled out an M4 carbine, along with two AR-15s.

“Here, hold this.”

I stared down at it.

“Isn’t that illegal?” Edgar asked.