The Last Outbreak (Book 2): Devastation (20 page)

Scanning the first flight of stairs and then leaning into the railing, Tom looked up into the dimly lit stairwell. Steadying himself, he lifted his right leg up onto the first step and was somewhat relieved. Not much pain, more of a dull ache than anything else. He was slow, but mobile.

Using his right arm for leverage, he took another step and looked back at the woman. She smiled and nodded. He moved up a third step and then a forth. Finding a rhythm, Tom was able to balance what was left of the strength in his upper body to compensate for his tender legs, hip, and lower back.

Maintaining a steady pace of the awkward pull, step, pull, step, he reached the second floor and without pausing, started up the next set of stairs. He again turned back to the woman and said, “Getting there.”

She didn’t speak, but again simply smiled and nodded. Tom sensed something different in her now. And before turning to face the steel reinforced mountain, he thought he detected a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

Another sixty seconds and he stepped up onto the landing outside the third-floor lobby. He waited as the woman stepped up beside him and then held his hand over the door. “Wait, I trust these people, but I think we should still be careful.” Slowly parting the door, he craned his neck around the corner and then stepped inside.

“It’s clear,” he said, “let’s go.

She followed him into the third-floor lobby and quickly strode to the windows on the opposite end of the floor. She looked out toward the building they’d just come from and watched as the horde continued to filter in and out of the first-floor entrance.

Moving to an overturned chair, Tom righted it, pushed it into the wall, and slumped down into the plush leather. Finding a positon that was somewhat comfortable, he straightened his right leg and began massaging his weakened hamstring. Pushing his thumbs into the rigid muscle, he winced as micro-spasms ran from behind his knee, up into his lower back.

Wincing through the pain, Tom spoke to his injured body part. “Come on…”

Turning away from the window, the woman walked toward Tom, glancing into the intersecting hall. “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just that I can’t believe that my body decided to wait until now to give up. I mean, I’ve been running like this for six days, why now?”

She continued looking around the lobby, but didn’t answer his question. And when her eyes again reached him, she said, “Thank you.”

“What? I need to be thanking you. You’ve saved me more times in the last few hours than I can count.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know why, but I don’t think I was supposed to die out there. Something inside is telling me that all of this happened today for a reason. You driving through when you did wasn’t just some random coincidence. So I do need to thank you; I need to thank you for saving my life and for helping me to save yours.”

He didn’t know what to do with what she was feeling. These were things he wasn’t used to talking about, especially with someone he knew nothing about. Hell, he still didn’t even know her name, but to be fair, that was also something that eluded even her.

Tom sat with his legs outstretched and looked toward the window. As the gap in the conversation grew—as the seconds passed—he had less of an idea of what to say to the mystery woman. He’d met her only hours before, and between all the running and hiding and not dying, there simply hadn’t been much time for idle chit chat. Now there was and every single question or comment that entered his mind seemed ridiculous given her current state.

Turning back to her, he paused a moment and then deciding not to ignore the elephant in the room said, “Is anything coming back to you… you know about before?”

With the dirty orange backpack still hanging from her shoulders, the woman let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the floor. Crossing her legs, she stared off into the hall for a moment and then turned back to him. “In small flashes.”

“What?”

“I’m seeing things that happened before, but only in small flashes. For a few seconds each time. It happens when things get really bad, like out on the street when we were running. I see things, I start to remember, but then it’s gone.”

“What kinds of things are you seeing?”

“I don’t know—it’s hard to describe. It’s kind of like I’m driving in a car with some other people and those things come out of nowhere. We are attacked. And then I can’t see it anymore. The pictures just fade away.”

“Can you remember where you are?” Tom said. “That may help.”

“It’s in the city, but not here. It looks different.”

“Any names? Faces? Anything else?”

“Not really, I’m mean there is one woman, though. Her face looks like mine, but older, I guess. Maybe my mother or a family member, or maybe I’m just imagining things. I just don’t know.”

He didn’t know what else to say and couldn’t imagine the emotional pain this woman was suffering. He wanted more than anything to be able to offer some encouragement, a few words of wisdom, just something to give her a glimmer of hope. He wanted to tell her it was going to be okay, that she would eventually remember, that it was just going to take some time, but that she would be whole again. He wanted to, but he couldn’t. He would be lying and right now that was the last thing she needed.

“How about this,” he said. “How about I tell you my story. Where I was when this all went down almost a week ago. Whadda ya think?”

Her eyes opened wide and she smiled. The calmed look on her face was real. She was excited—happy. Living in her own head was taking its toll. She needed to leave that behind, if only temporarily. “Yes,” she said, “I would enjoy that.”

Tom slid up in his seat and cracked his knuckles. “Okay, you ready for this? It may just be the best story you’ve ever heard.”

She cocked her head and squinted. “Seriously?”

“Too much?” he said.

The woman held her hand out in front of her face, her index finger and thumb less than a half inch apart. “Maybe a little.”

“I was at work when all this went down. In my trailer rehearsing my lines when I heard a banging on the door, thought it was my agent. He was supposed to show up an hour before, but I figured he was hung up in all that stuff I was hearing about downtown. Never imagined I’d be running from a production assistant less than ten minutes later.”

She smiled harder and almost laughed. “Wait, aren’t the production assistants supposed to be running around for you, not after you?”

“Okay, good. You have a sense of humor. Let’s see what else we can find out about the pretty lady with the orange backpack.” Her face turned red and even he was surprised as the words came out.

“You think I’m pretty? Okay, now I definitely want to hear your story.”

He forgot where he had left off, not only because he said the words, but also because he meant them. She was beautiful. And at the moment, that was the only thing he could think about.

“Well?” She asked. “What else? I need details.”

Tom wiped his hands over his face and then rubbed them together. “Okay, here we—”

The door from the stairwell opened, cutting short his story.

Cedric was back. He was breathing hard and smelled of burnt plastic. He waited until the door was closed and then started across the lobby floor. As he turned to the pair, and without breaking stride, he said, “Come with me, let’s get you settled in.”

The harsh interior lighting had the group shielding their eyes as they moved out of the cool night air and into the gymnasium. Maddox stood at the door and directed Cora, Shannon, and Carly to the extended bleachers at the opposite end of the gym. He held his hand out and watched as the women made their way over and sat among the twenty or so others.

Ben, Ethan, Frank, and Griffin stared up at Maddox as he slowly turned around. “Stay here and don’t cause any trouble; I’ll be back shortly.” And before moving back through the door, he grabbed a handful of Griffin’s jacket and pulled him in close. “You and I are going to have a nice little chat later, so don’t go getting yourself killed in the meantime.”

Griffin nodded. “You know where to find me.”

As the door slowly closed and Maddox walked back toward the parking lot, Ethan looked out over the darkened campus. Moving in the opposite direction and at twice the speed, Horatio carried a duffel bag over each shoulder. They hung low as he strode up the concrete steps of the Admissions building. Setting the bags on the ground, he quickly looked back the way he’d come, unlocked the doors, and moved inside.

As the gym doors closed and the men started for the opposite end of the gym, every eye in the room fell to them. Scanning the small crowd, Griffin turned to Ethan and Frank. “Hey, you guys notice anything unusual?”

Continuing on, Ethan said, “You mean how immaculate this place is? I mean what the hell is going on here? It looks like we could eat off these floors, doesn’t look like the end of the world is just outside those doors.”

“That’s not it. What do you see that’s missing?”

“No guards?” Frank said.

“No, they’re on the other side of the bleachers. Two men with semi-automatics.”

“Okay,” Ethan said. “What then?”

“Look around, other than those two and the four of us, there aren’t any other men here. I lost count, but with Cora, Shannon, and Carly, it looks like there are less than thirty women. Nowhere near the hundred that they told us were here.”

“And”

“And why aren’t there any other men here?”

Ethan looked around. “Don’t know maybe—”

Carly was running. She came through the crowd of women and ran straight toward the men. She was attempting to keep her voice at an even tone, but was unable to control herself. “Ethan, she’s here. It’s your mother.”

He was still looking at Carly, however as her words trailed off, his eyes drifted to the other women twenty feet beyond. He looked from one face to the next. He moved by Cora and then a few others who looked familiar, but weren’t. Next, he found Shannon and briefly watched as she wrapped her arms around a total stranger. Finally turning to the last few women still seated, his pulse began to quicken and his breath caught in his throat as he watched her stand.

Time slowed and everything else around him faded as he moved away from the others and started toward her. Ethan found her eyes from across the hardwood floor and studied the unusual look on her face. There was joy, but there was also a hint of something different, something quite the opposite. She began to cry.

As he reached her, he leaned in, kissed her tear-soaked face, and pulled her into him. Her shoulders rounded as she melted into his chest, quivering as she pulled in tight.

“Mom, you’re okay.”

She cried harder, gripping his back and pulling at his jacket. Attempting to speak, her words came out in short bursts. Your father… he’s gone… your sister… I don’t… I don’t know… we have to go, but… they won’t… they won’t let us leave.”

His joy quickly turning to anger, Ethan pulled back and looked into her eyes. She was older now. Much older than her sixty years. Her face hung at the corners and wide dark rings encircled her eyes. Wiping her dirty hand across her face, his mother attempted to compose herself. She pulled at the sleeves of her blouse, straightening them as she took in a deep breath.

Ethan rested his hand on her shoulder and looked back to where the men with the semi-automatic weapons stood. They were gone. As Griffin and Ben approached, he leaned in and spoke quietly to his mother.

“Where’s Dad?”

Her tears returned. “He’s still at the house.”

“What, why?”

“That man, the big one that brought you in here, he came into our neighborhood, to our home. He told us that they had a safe place for us to go, with food and protection. He told us they were going to take the women and children first.”

She shook as she tried to continue. “He said that the men were going to be brought out next.”

“When was that?”

She looked around and then lowered her voice. “Yesterday,”

Griffin leaned in. “We’ve got company.”

The men dressed in black strode quickly from the edge of the bleachers, a small crowd of women parting as they drew close. “Listen up, we’ve got a problem out at the gates. We are taking everyone back to their rooms. No exceptions. The men will need to follow me and the rest of you will go with Sam back to Carpenter Hall.” The volume in his voice increased as he continued, “Once we have it under control we will bring you back here to eat. Let’s go.”

The man giving instructions cuts his eyes toward Ethan. “We don’t have any problems, do we?”

Ethan released his mother and turned to Shannon, Carly, and Cora. “Mom, stay with them.” Leaning in, he pressed his lips to her damp face, kissed her, and whispered into her ear. “I’m going to get Dad. Just do what these men tell you. I will be back.”

She looked up at him as he pulled away. “But?”

He simply shook his head and followed the man with the semi-automatic weapon.

.      .      .

Back out into the cool night air, Ben moved in beside Ethan. He spoke quickly and quietly. “What’s going on?”

“Not really sure, but let’s just see how this plays out. No heroic stuff, okay?”

“Sure.”

Griffin walked at the front of the line, two paces behind the man in black guiding them toward the Admissions building. He was as curious as the others, but decided on another approach. “Where are you taking us?”

The man didn’t answer.

“Alright then, I’ll wait here until you’re ready to explain to me what the hell you people are doing.”

The man stopped, but didn’t initially turn. He pulled his weapon into his shoulder and spoke in the opposite direction. “You have two choices. You either walk up those stairs and into that building or I shoot you where you stand.”

“How about you turn and face me. You’re the one with the weapon, you shouldn’t be afraid.”

The man swung around quickly, nearly striking Griffin with the end of the weapon as he stepped in close. “Do I look like I’m afraid?” He leaned forward and pressed the barrel into Griffin’s throat. “Do I?”

Ethan moved ahead and stepped between the men, pulling Griffin away. He nodded to the man in black. “We’ll do what you say. We’re just exhausted and hungry, been out there too long.”

“Just keep your boy in line. I won’t hesitate—”

Ethan interrupted and looked up toward the building. “Sure thing.”

The man turned and started forward again. Frank and Ben followed as Ethan turned to Griffin. “Let’s do what they tell us, for now anyway. You’ll get your turn, I promise.”

Up the concrete steps, and into the darkened Admissions building, the man in black locked the door from the outside and started back toward the parking lot.

The four men stood in the empty lobby staring out through the doors. They watched as across the greenbelt, the twenty-eight women were led into Carpenter Hall. And Ethan’s mother, Helen Runner, slowly walking hand in hand with Carly.

Griffin turned and started toward the massive reception desk at the center of the room. “There’s something wrong with these people. We need to get the hell out of here.”

“Wait,” Ethan said, “there’s something else—”

Footsteps from the darkened hallway had the men back on their heels. From out of the shadows came a voice and then a silhouetted frame. “Ethan, you and your people have to leave.”