Transformation Page 21

  Weed put his hands up and started hobbling forward. He still entertained the notion of escape. He wanted to go back to Shangri-La and wanted the . . . wanted Ron with him.

  Falcon led him across the space between buildings. Weed didn’t hear or see a thing. It was dark and still. He smelled pine trees and realized he was starving. He caught himself planning to go to a Denny’s after this all-nighter, as he had so many times in the past. Damn, he missed Denny’s. All the more reason to get back to the garage. Now those folks would be brewing coffee soon and sitting down for chow while he was dealing with this shit, if he was still alive. Ah, well, he’d had a good run of things and coming out here was a big old fucking misstep on his part. He’d either leave here with everything he came for or not at all.

  “Open the door.”

  Weed complied. He turned the knob and stepped into the blackness. This, he decided, was his opportunity. Falcon expected this might be the time and place where his old prisoner might put up some resistance so he kept a wary eye as the old man shuffled through the door.

  Wariness wasn’t enough. Weed ducked left towards the cells. Unseen by Falcon was Weed’s knife flicking out in the dark.

  The man, having a gun and being inches from the light switch was bemused by the old fool. There was nowhere to go. The building was a cement box. He smiled as he stepped through the door and flipped the switch.

  Weed was not just a fighter, he was a dirty fighter. He was quick and unpredictable. He squatted down right next to the door so when the man entered, looking left and at eye level for the old man who was surely cowering in a corner, he was stunned by the vicious attack from below.

  Weed stabbed upwards to the groin hard and fast as he stood. He threw his other elbow at the face but Falcon avoided it. But Weed’s knife never stopped its vicious assault. Like a sewing machine Weed worked the knife up the man’s torso, stabbing his way across the gut.

  The pain incapacitated Falcon. He dropped his gun and grabbed for Weed’s knife in desperation. But Weed had him against the wall and was trying to get the knife to his throat. He succeeded and one push ended the man’s life.

  §

  Ron wasn’t clear what he saw as he peeked from the cell door. He sat to wait, praying, and only moments later saw the light click on, heard the sounds of a scuffle, and then the screams of a man in pain. He watched as Francis, thin old man Francis, held a man a foot taller and thirty years younger than himself against the wall and apparently cut his throat. Francis stepped away and the man, who was drenched in blood, dropped to the ground.

  Francis moved quickly, a lot quicker than Ron had ever seen him move, and hit the light switch. All was black again. Ron pushed the door shut. He heard Weed whisper.

  “Ronnie, you in here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well sit tight. I’m getting us out of here.”

  Ron sat, confused, happy, nervous, but mostly confused. What the hell was going on? He waited in complete darkness and silence for a moment. He wondered if he should leave the cell again.

  The light clicked on again. Again, he heard the sounds of a scuffle. Then the gurgle of a dying man. Another voice, a young boy, yelling for help. Then he heard Francis.

  “Ah shit Ronnie, I think I fucked up. One got away.”

  Ron was just starting to peek from his cell but the light clicked off again.

  “Ronnie, I do hope you get out of here.”

  Ron didn’t know what to say. Did Francis just leave him? He wasn’t even sure why he was here in the first place. Francis was apparently at the door looking out because he heard him speak in a hushed whisper from down the hall.

  “Looks like only two are heading over here. One’s a kid.”

  Weed fell silent and seconds later the door crashed open. More silence.

  “Show yourself!”

  Silence.

  The light clicked on again. Hesitant footsteps down the hall. What Ron heard next set his teeth on edge.

  §

  After Weed killed one of the kid guards, he shut off the light and got himself behind the door. When the door opened all the way, it hit the wall so he squeezed into the corner as tight as possible and waited in the dark. When the door crashed open he sat tight. When the lights clicked on he waited some more. The two men entering would see the two bodies, the blood, and probably assume he was on the run. What they would do next Weed had no idea. He dared a peek around the door and saw the two walking away, down the hall and towards Ron’s cell.

  Weed moved fast, shot a glance out of the door as he ran by. No one was coming that he could see. He raced up and grabbed the kid by the hair and was pushing his blade into his neck before he could do a thing. He would have preferred to take the one called Jake out first, but he had to take the closest target.

  When the kid tried to scream all that came out was the horrible sound of his throat flapping as the air pushed through the gash. He dropped to the cement as Jake spun around, eyes wide.

  Without a word Jake came at Weed with a quick and vicious assault. The old biker was caught off guard and ended up in the clutches of the giant man being choked to death. Jake smashed his knee into Weed’s gut, causing him to drop his knife. Weed was going unconscious quickly, helpless in the iron grip.

  This is it you old fucker. Weed thought as blackness flooded his vision. He panicked and fought for air at first, but then he felt himself relax. He had no more fight in him, and he knew he must be crossing over to wherever it was he was going be it heaven, hell, or oblivion. He let go, amazed at how peaceful it was at the end, how painless it was to die. He was vaguely aware he was pissing himself and his dying thought was. Ain’t the first time I pissed my pants but it’s the last.

  But right before he was totally gone, when all that remained of the world was a dull grey dot rapidly shrinking to nothing, he found himself coming back. He was on the floor gasping for air, straining to breathe, and coughing up a lung. His neck was a knot of pain, his eyes were pounding in his skull, and his head hurt like it got stomped by an elephant. And he was soaked in his own warm piss.

  As air and blood flowed back into his brain Weed came back fully to consciousness and slowly raised his head. He saw Ron getting pummeled by the giant that had just tried to squeeze the life out of him. He mustered up what strength he had left, his body still numb and icy, his gut flipping over and over, and stood. He could barely walk a straight line but he managed to get his hands on his blade and made a line straight for the giant asshole’s back.

  Weed rammed his blade into Jake’s neck but, in his weakened state, he only struck a glancing blow. It injured the man, drew a lot of blood, but wasn’t fatal. Jake turned and Weed stumbled backwards.

  He wanted to say something really bad ass right now, some remark or comment like he was the hero in a movie, but when that giant bastard turned on him he only came up with one thing.

  “Fuck me.”

  Jake towered over Weed, his arm back and his fist balled tight. Weed caught a glimpse of Ron on the floor behind him. He wasn’t moving and Weed feared the worst. He turned to run but pain shot through his scalp and his head whipped backwards. He was pulled off his feet by his hair. He hit the ground and reflexively rolled away. He was able to get to his feet and flash his blade at the giant man causing him pause.

  “Fucking pussy, pulling my hair like a little girl.” Weed scowled.

  “Fuck you, old man.”

  “Fuck me? Fuck you!” Weed was rubbing the back of his head with his free hand and when he withdrew it there was blood on his fingers. Jake lunged at him but Weed brandished his knife and kept him at bay. Weed was almost embarrassed for the man.

  “You really are a pussy. Pulling hair. Afraid of old men with pointy objects.” Weed started to laugh and he could see that he was getting under the man’s skin. He was backing towards the door, about to make a break for it, when he saw Ron stir. He stopped moving away.

  “My god, look at you. A six foot seven vagina. All them muscles
and you’re just a big fucking coward.”

  “Shut up!” Jake roared.

  “Shit man, I’m a dumb old mother fucker with a brain soaked in alcohol and bong water and I’m winning this here war of the words. Well that’s a first for me, I tell you.” Weed stole a glance at Ron who was slowly getting to his feet.

  He was really pissing Jake off and pissing people off to the point that they would attack him was a skill he’d had all his life, but it was a skill he used judiciously. Ron looked as ready as he’d ever be and Jake looked to be on the verge of attacking so Weed knew it was time. The man only needed a small push to provoke him.

  “How tiny is your dick that you have to…”

  The attack came sooner than Weed expected and he was a bit disappointed he wasn’t able to finish his last jibe. But he was ready for the attack and Ron was on his feet.

  Ron was having trouble moving after the beating he’d received. Just a few hits from the man proved incapacitating. He saw Francis facing off with the giant man, telling him something. The man lunged at Francis. Ron had no idea what to do so he yelled.

  “Hey!”

  This startled Jake, causing him to turn his head slightly in reaction and that was all Weed needed. That split second where the man dropped his guard, exposed his neck, and took his eyes off the old knife wielding bastard.

  Weed stabbed once, hard and fast, and punctured Jake’s neck inflicting another wound that bled but wasn’t fatal. As Jake clutched his throat in pain and surprise Weed rammed his knife into the man’s stomach to the hilt.

  Jake doubled over, clutching his belly with one hand and putting his arm up to ward off the coming attack with the other. But Weed stepped around the waving arm and stabbed Jake in his exposed back several times. When the big man finally went down to his knees Weed inserted his blade into his neck and finished him.

  Weed stood for a moment to catch his breath, watching the blood pool on the concrete. He looked up to see a wide-eyed Ron staring at him.

  “We best be getting the fuck out of Dodge.”

  As he and Ron left the building, they saw a crowd gathered around the front of the main building across the quad. Between them were the two noosed ropes tossed over a makeshift gallows.

  It was then that Ron realized just why Old Francis was fighting and killing all those men. He was rescuing him.

  “There they are!” someone yelled.

  Ron and Weed took off in the opposite direction, behind the building they had just left and into the woods. Once in the trees the darkness was deep. The two moved as quickly as possible.

  After a few moments Weed stopped and Ron bumped him from behind.

  “Why’d you stop?”

  “To listen,” Weed whispered. The old man stood quietly for a bit then started off to his left at a slow walk.

  “Where are we headed?” Ron asked.

  “This way as far as I can tell,” Weed chuckled.

  “Do you know where you are going? Seriously.”

  “Oh hell, no.” Weed said. “But it doesn’t sound like we are being pursued and the sun will be up soon. I hope to see the road we came in on sooner than later. We can parallel it through the woods.”

  “We going back to the car?” Ron persisted.

  “Eventually. Our pursuers might just go and lay low by the car so we need to approach with caution. For now a slow walk is about all I can manage.”

  And just as he said it, they heard the sound of pursuit. The yells of several men grew louder and louder. Weed looked at Ron.

  “Guess we are going to need to manage a bit more than a slow walk.”

  One voice was louder than the rest.

  “Here! They’re here!”

  Ron and Weed saw the man, yards away, shouting to the rest of the group.

  “Ah fuck,” Weed said as he started a fast jog with Ron close behind.

  Had to open your big ole fucking mouth didn’t ya! Weed thought as he looked back. The man was running and gaining on the two quickly.

  “You go on Ronnie, I’ve got this.” Weed stopped and turned around.

  “What? No. I can’t leave you. They’ll kill you.”

  Weed ignored him as he raised his hands high and walked towards the running man.

  Ron was too stunned to move. Between the color of his skin and Francis’ actions they were surely both going to die.

  27.

  Donna stood perfectly still. Someone had just taken a shot at her. Should she duck down, run, put her hands up? Before she could make a move a voice called out.

  “Donna?” A female voice.

  When she turned, squeals of delight erupted as Lisa and Ana ran to her. They couldn’t believe she was alive. They had a million questions and she did too. Most importantly, where was Ron. They wanted to know what had happened to her. How was it that she was still alive?

  “So Ron’s gone? Where to?” Donna was confused. Lisa and Ana seemed clueless. Everyone was gone and they weren’t sure where they went. She was shaken up by Dale’s note, Mary’s death and worried sick about Ron. And where were Francis and Jeff? Where were Sal and Wendy?

  Lisa and Ana were stunned at Donna’s story. The blast made sense now. Bandanna man must’ve come back, and he and Alvin took Mary, tried to build a bomb that went off killing them all.

  Donna excused herself. She was still feeling horrible after her experience.

  “I need to eat and shower and I might just do them both at the same time.”

  When the hot water hit her skin she instantly felt better. The water stung her wounds and abrasions, was a little too hot, but she had a hard time pulling herself out of the little plastic lined booth. She thought of how fortunate they all were to have Jeff around.

  When Donna was clean, eating some food, she felt fatigue wash over her like a warm wave. She felt a sense of blissful euphoria and wanted to sleep. But she continued to pace for a bit unable to succumb to much needed sleep. Waiting was all she could do right now and it was torturous. She drank a beer and swallowed a sleeping pill and lay down. She was free from the truck, clean, and laying in a bed on the fourth level of the structure. A cool breeze blew through the garage. Lisa and Ana remained on watch. She could finally relax. She closed her eyes and well before the pill had a chance to take effect Donna was in a deep sleep.

  Donna slept for a few hours and when she awoke, she jumped to her feet. Although she was groggy and dizzy, she needed to check on things. She made her way to the sofas. No new news. She took a turn searching the area for any signs of distress calls or activity of any kind.

  They sorted supplies, talked, and read and tried to keep busy. With Donna there, things were easier and more enjoyable for Ana and Lisa. They still couldn’t believe she was alive.

  “I’m having trouble sitting still.” Donna stopped herself from pacing but started tapping her foot.

  “The more I think about it the more concerned I get. All these people are gone, no word to anyone. And we just wait?”

  “I don’t know what else to do,” Lisa said. “If we go out there alone—that just doesn’t seem right.”

  “I know, but we have to do something.”

  The three women discussed several ideas but nothing came of it. All they could do was wait and make good use of their time.

  They talked and time passed. They sun dropped and the world was pitched into a primordial darkness. It was a deep darkness that had become almost impossible to find before civilization shut down. Even in remote areas of the world the glow from major cities lit the sky for miles and miles around.

  It was in this deep darkness that hundreds of thousands of corpses shambled towards the structure, pulled by the sound of the explosion. They oozed from the far side of the airport, through the office parks, and down every street and road leading in. Once they surrounded the garage, no one would be able to get in or out.

  28.

  Cooper stepped in front of Rachael but before he could speak she pushed passed him. She pointed her finger
at him and stabbed the air.

  “You stay the fuck away from me,” she turned and went into the room.

  Ben held his hands up. “Wow! What was that about?” His face seemed stuck in that smile. It was part amusement and part gloating and it all came from a place of darkness.

  Cooper folded his arms and stood his ground.

  “Just stay away from us and we’ll stay away from you.”

  “You aren’t going to turn me in to the good captain?” Ben took a step closer.

  Cooper held his hand up. “I’m not playing around. Turn around now and walk away.”

  “Or what?” Ben took another step forward.

  Cooper took three steps forward until the two were in the center of the room face to face.

  “You want me to kick your ass again? I’ll kill you this time.”

  “You got lucky,” Ben sneered.

  “I was drugged and you had a gun. And you had that crazy bitch there too.”

  Ben was about to fire the next verbal salvo when Rachael stepped up. She put a hand on Cooper’s chest and pushed him backwards.

  “Come on. Stop pissing on each other.”

  “You mean pissing contest?” Ben laughed.

  “No. Someone wins a contest. You two are just pissing on each other.”

  She turned and took Cooper’s hand.

  “C’mon Cooper, we’re going to break that bed in there. Ben can sit out here and think about his dead cum dumpster.”

  Rachael shut the door to the room and held a finger to her lips. She whispered.

  “I’m just messing with Ben.”

  “Ah, great prank.” Cooper smiled and winked. “And I was thinking you’d finally succumbed to my charms.”

  Rachael just looked at him and smiled. It was a look Cooper couldn’t read. Was she thinking yeah right or I sure have? He dismissed the pointless speculation.

  They listened in the dark as Ben apparently searched the house. They heard him banging around, open and closing doors, slamming drawers. A few times they heard a crash as if something fell or was dropped.