The Crimson Fall (The Sons of Liberty Book 1) (35 page)

Jack quickly depleted the shotgun and tossed it aside, drawing his sidearm fluidly and taking aim at those trying to climb the stairs. With tunnel vision and auditory exclusion enveloping him in a world of odd silence, he could only hear the sharp ‘click, click’ as he pulled and released his trigger. Small streams of blood escaped his targets as almost every round found its mark. That was it; one after another. Bullet after bullet. Magazine after magazine.

Death after death.

Jack had finally reached the top of the stairs and turned to run toward the open elevator when a flash went off just behind him, knocking him to the ground for the second time. He tried to push himself up but his left arm wouldn’t move. He could see blood beginning to pool next to him. A terrible pain was quickly followed by a numbness that enveloped him like a soft blanket swaddling a newly born babe. He looked up and saw his horrified wife running toward him with the young doctor—her white lab coat streaming behind her in an apparent slow motion. Alan stood next to him, voice lost in silence as he fired into the throng below that was already looting the building. Jack heard one last shout and a stifled gunshot, all sounding eerily distant, before he lost consciousness and swam in a sea of blackness.

Indianapolis, Indiana

Day Thirty-Seven

Edward Christoff hated when things didn’t abide by his perfect routine. He had worked hard, followed all the rules, and earned the luxuries that filled his life. Recently though, it seemed as though the entire world was conspiring against him and his perfect routine.

For starters, he had fallen sick three weeks earlier with a flu bug that his physician had told him would go away with time and rest. The doctor had seemed more preoccupied at the time with the demonstrations in New York and the news of a string of truck driver murders than he was with his patients. Edward had initially called the law firm that employed him and told his boss that he would work from home for a week or two, but Edward hadn’t planned to do much work. After all, his boss wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between him working at home and gaming on his new system as long as he answered an email every so often. His flu had cleared up within eight days, but he had enjoyed his break so much so that he called in to take off a second and third week as well. His boss, a man named Bob Elbridge, didn’t even hesitate to give him the extended time off. He had seemed too distracted over the phone to give much of a damn about anything Edward said. Edward figured that Bob’s wife must have finally discovered that her beloved husband had been cheating on her with the gorgeous intern the firm had hired last year. But none of that had bothered Edward much. The intern was one of those girls that forced men to reconsider their marriage vows, and Edward knew he would have given in to the temptation had he been married, or even in her league.

Edward had chosen to simply veg-out, game online, and avoid leaving his condo for fear that the office might discover his rule-breaking schemes. He had used his prolonged vacation to bask in what was his first real break since college. As great as the first two weeks had been, the third week had begun to wear him thin. It had been eight days since the maid for his high-rise apartment had shown up to work, leaving him with the nuisance of cleaning up his own mess. He had been ordering delivery for the most part, but after a couple of weeks, any restaurant he called claimed they were experiencing shortages in their supply, forcing Edward to concede defeat and make do with what he had in the apartment. Not only did he have to cook all his own food, but he had also slept in an unmade bed for days on end. On top of that, he hadn’t been able to reach the concierge in the lobby to help him figure out someone to replace his lazy, good-for-nothing maid. Even his flamboyant neighbors were not answering their phones anymore. So when Monday morning arrived after that final, troublesome week, he rose from his bed angrily—unhappy that his
free
vacation had pushed his patience to the edge—and got ready to go back to work.

Edward grabbed one of his last sandwiches from the fridge and left his fourth-story condo. When he exited the lobby, his frustration grew as he was unable to fetch a cab. However, when he saw the size of the traffic jam, he quickly decided against the idea of riding to work. The traffic was so bad that he even witnessed three men fighting over an empty cab.
Idiots can’t even see that the driver isn’t there
, he thought with the shake of his head. He valued his face too much to risk a fight and decided he would walk the three blocks to the downtown law firm. On the way, he tried to stop in at his favorite coffee shop, but it was all closed up. The iron cage that locked the doors at night had been busted in, undoubtedly causing the owners to shut it down until they cleaned things up.

Oh the brotherly love
, he thought to himself.

Two more of his usual breakfast stops were no different, which infuriated Edward all the more. He decided to skip the coffee on the go and grab something at the office, but things only grew worse as he continued on.

There were an abnormal amount of beggars out and about the Circle City. Three men in business attire had mustered up the audacity to ask him for food or money. One of them even tried to pawn off what had to have been a fake Rolex for anything Edward could spare. But Edward was no fool. He could tell when someone was just trying to milk him because of his success so he shoved past anyone who approached him. When he finally arrived at the high-rise building he worked in, he was mumbling curses to himself, angry at the lack of respect in humanity. He had already had a rough start to his week, and he wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and plop his butt down in his comfy chair.

He crossed the large, marble foyer but abruptly stopped halfway as he became aware of his surroundings. He was the only person in the entire entrance, which was very odd for nine in the morning. There had been no doorman, no clients, and no other lawyers heading to or from their offices above. After a few moments he cursed himself, thinking his time off screwed up his schedule and that he must have come in on a Sunday. He tapped his earpiece and asked what day it was, but his nVision display failed to answer. He looked down at his watch, but it displayed no signal either.
Shit phone companies.
He removed his earpiece and watch, tossing them into his leather briefcase, before deciding to go upstairs and catch up for the coming week.

However, when the elevator stopped and the two doors opened to his floor, Edward Christoff became truly perplexed.

Papers were strewn across the floor and every office door he could see sat wide open. He passed through the reception area—cursing with the knowledge that he would be left in charge of cleaning up the mess—and walked back toward his office. When he was halfway down the long hallway he saw Shannon, the gorgeous intern, walking out of Bob’s corner suite.

“Well hey there, Beautiful!” Edward said with a devious grin.

Shannon looked up with a start. “Edward! You scared the hell out of me.”

“So what’s this all about?” Edward asked. “Bob’s wife finally find out? You know, if you’re so desperate for a man, I’d love to—”

“Can’t you just shut up for once, you stupid asshole?”

Shannon’s harsh words took Edward by surprise. She had never played along with his constant flirting, but never had she been cruel or discouraging either. She shoved passed him, leaving him standing there alone with his briefcase as he watched her disappear into the elevator behind him. Edward walked over to his boss’ office and poked his head inside.

Bob was bent down next to his desk, emptying a safe of some valuables and a few stacks of cash. He had boxes and bags packed up around his office, seemingly ready to hit the road with anything of value. Edward figured the man must have only a few minutes before his wife burst through the door and set herself on him. Edward smiled—thinking he might actually get to witness the explosive and entertaining confrontation that was approaching, and hoped he’d be able to stick around.

“So how did she find out?” Edward asked jokingly.

Bob turned around and looked at Edward, hair disarrayed and fear lining his face.

“Damn it, Edward, you about gave me a heart attack,” Bob said with a sigh. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Other than surviving your typical shitty Sunday morning, not much.” Edward replied. “I figured I’d get caught up on things. Don’t worry, I’ll get someone to clean this crap up after you’re gone.”

“Look, I don’t know what you’re up to, but you stay away from me. You got it?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not contagious. My fever broke a couple weeks ago. Anyway, what happened? Did your wife figure it out? You think she’s close?”

“No,” Bob said. “She’s probably dead for all I know.”

“Come on, man,” Edward said. “There’s no need to talk like that. I’m sure you two will be just fine.”

Bob turned back around and began to dig through his safe.

“I’m not joking,” Bob said. “She was in New York on business. Last I heard was that city is ten times worse than here.”

“What, you mean the demonstrations?” Edward asked. “I thought they would have been over by now?”

“Demonstrations?” Bob shouted as he turned around. “Haven’t you been awake over the past ten days?”

“I’ve been . . . I mean I was. . . .” Edward dropped his briefcase in the doorway as he struggled to breathe, let alone answer. After a few more breathless moments, he finally responded. “What happened?”

“What happened? Edward, look outside!” Bob shouted.

Edward walked over to the window and gazed out on the city. He could see the traffic and the wrecks on the streets fifteen stories below. Off in the distance half a dozen plumes of dark smoke rose from the skyline.

“What, did you really think it was time for work? Edward, there is no more work! There is no more . . . of any of this! The nation is descending into chaos. Someone stopped shipping food a week ago, and there’s nothing left anywhere. Period! They say to stay calm, but there’s no one coming to help. It’s just me and Shannon now. I came back to grab a few things to help us hoof south before winter. Look, I don’t know what rock you’ve been hiding under, but it’s all over. I’m sorry, but you’re on your own.” He set a box on his desk and took out a handgun, stuffing it behind his belt.

Fear seized Edward as everything suddenly became clear. The maid, the lack of food, the men on the streets, even Starbucks; it was all over. Something had happened, and Edward had been so oblivious to the world that he missed it all. He turned back to his boss, noticing what he was gathering for a second time. The gold coins, a bag of food, the cash, some aged whisky.

A gun.

Bob was grabbing anything that had any value and was about to book it out of town, leaving Edward alone with nothing.

“You got to take me with you,” Edward said in a shaky voice.

“Not going to happen,” Bob replied firmly. “Shannon and I are leaving in five minutes. She’s taking stuff downstairs, and as soon as she’s back we’re gone. You can find your own way out.”

Edward looked back at the city behind him and began to panic. He had nothing but the clothes on his back and the uncomfortable shoes on his feet. Frantically, Edward started to approach his boss and plead with him.

“Please, Bob,” he shouted. “You got to help me!”

Edward took two steps before Bob drew his handgun, walked up to Edward, and stuck it inches from Edward’s forehead.

“I said you can find your own way out!” Bob shouted.

Edward stopped, unable to move or to think. His perfect and comfortable routine had been engulfed by the fires that swept the nation. He had devoted the past eight years to furthering his career and reaping the benefits of city living. Now, within the blink of an eye, he realized he had nothing—no knowledge or friends to help him survive the strange new world around him. He had woken up that morning and begun his day irritated by the minor inconveniences. But now—a mere hour later—he was frozen with fear as he stared down the barrel of a snub-nosed revolver.

“Bob, take it easy now. . . .”

Edward’s watch buzzed loudly in his briefcase next to the door, causing Bob to turn in alarm. Edward didn’t hesitate. He moved his head to the side and grabbed Bob’s outstretched hand just as the shot rang out, shattering the window behind them and causing a gust of wind to quickly fill the room. Papers swirled around the two men as they struggled with one another. Though Bob had a firm grip on the pistol, Edward knew what was coming if he failed the rip the gun free, and he refused to let go. As the two thrashed about the office with their yells and grunts, Edward stepped backward—tripping on an overturned coffee table and toppling back toward the open window. Edward’s hold on Bob’s arm dragged the older man down with him, causing Bob to drop the gun and hold out his hands in an effort to grab a hold of something. However, Bob failed to find anything other than the open air as he tumbled out the window with a scream that quickly faded down below, lasting for a few short seconds before coming to an abrupt end.

Edward lay motionless of the floor. He began to shake as shock overtook him.
I just killed a man
. Not just a man, but someone he would have labeled as a friend two minutes ago. He fought through the tremors that flowed through him and rolled over to his side. The revolver lay on the rug next to him. He rose to his knees and grabbed the gun, holding it in his quivering hands.
You did what you had to do,
he thought.
If you hadn’t. . . .