Day One (Book 2): Choices (14 page)

I positioned the rear view mirror and caught a glimpse of myself. “What do you think my chances are?” I asked my reflection, which simply stared silently back at me. “Yeah, I thought so to.” I started the SUV and knew that when I put it in reverse and hammered the accelerator to the floor, I had to turn the wheel quickly to the left to avoid my Ex’s car still in the driveway. The SUV had more than ample horsepower to push the Sentra out of the way; I just didn’t want to stick around the neighborhood any longer than I had to. I wanted to get to the school and rescue my son as quickly as possible.

Four undead stopped at the closed garage door and looked at it. They could hear something on the other side and it drew their attention, yet if they knew what was coming, would they have the common sense to at least move out of the way?

The SUV crashed through the garage door, narrowly missing the Sentra but not the undead, which were run over, one of them was dragged to the road where it tried to get up, yet I put the vehicle in gear and fled from the scene as swiftly as a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun. It lost its grip and fell to the pavement.

“So long sucker!” I shouted.

My route to the school complex would not be a straight shot as Johnny’s was. I had to make several turns and hope to avoid any of the roaming undead in order to keep the SUV from sustaining too much damage and putting me back on foot long before I was even close. So I had to be incredibly decisive about what streets to use that could be infested, yet not go too far out of the way and take more time than I thought I had left to get there. It’s a good thing I used to live in this small town and knew several shortcuts.

The emergency broadcast station filled the speakers of the vehicle with its annoying series of beeps, to which I kept waiting for direction to the nearest safe zone. If I could find one, then we could take the bird there and not have to worry about Andrews anger at us for stealing his military property.

Johnny made it to the massive complex and circled many times hoping to draw the attention of anyone inside, alive or dead. Anything he could do to guarantee the area was clear would greatly help me out on foot. My instincts were still in their infancy stage and I doubted them from time to time. It would take a lot of experience for me to know what was safe and what was a setup or ambush. I had already dealt with a few bad guys and I’d go out of my way to avoid any more situations like that. I wasn’t trained to deal with such incidents like soldiers were. I was a normal Joe just trying to find his son, making things up as I went and hoping each of my actions had a consequence that was easy to deal with.

I passed a few familiar houses and knew that the school complex was no more than a hundred yards away. I flipped the NVG’s over my eyes and cut the SUV lights, making myself less of a target to any dead that I hadn’t spotted yet or to any living that were on high alert. An element of surprise wouldn’t necessarily guarantee and victory, but it
would
guarantee that I at least had a fighting chance if the proverbial shit hit the fan on arrival.

“I’m about to pull in, Johnny. How’s it looking from the air?”

“So far I’ve spotted only a few undead, nothing you couldn’t handle on your own, but don’t get cocky, man. There could be a lot more under several of the awnings you wouldn’t see until you were right up on them,” he explained.

“I was thinking on the way over here,” I told him.

“Yeah, what’s that?” He asked.

“The roof of that school is more than solid enough to put that bird on. Maybe you could land and shut down while I looked, I mean no one’s going to be able to climb up there and get you, plus it would conserve what fuel we have left,” I told him.

“But how would you get up here when you find him?”

“Leave that to me,” I said confidently.

“I’ll give it a shot, but if it doesn’t work out, I’ll have to keep the bird in the air.”

“I understand, just as long as you are close by when I bring him out,” I stated.

“I’m not going anywhere, man. Trust me on that.”

There was not one shred of evidence I had not to believe him. We might have gotten off on the wrong foot when we met, but when the bullets started flying and hordes of those things were descending upon us, he made sure my daughter was safe and to me that spoke volume about who he was and his character. I trusted him with my life. I trusted him with my daughter’s life and would continue to do so unless he gave me a reason not to, which was extremely unlikely. Friendships now meant survival.

“Thank you,” I said, turning the SUV into the parking lot of one of the large buildings. I still ran with the lights off to conceal my approach from anyone, including my son, who may think I was a bad guy coming to take over his perfect hideout.

Several levels of emotions confronted me as did the possibility that he might not be here as well. I tried very hard not to think further down that road, although at the same time I also had to face facts that this was no movie. The good guys didn’t always win, the bad guys didn’t always wear black and just when you thought the end had happened the main character would show up out of nowhere. More Hollywood bullshit of course. This was the real world… the new hell world; I guess you could call it.

What I was trying to get out while beating around the bush, was that there was no guarantee he was in this school complex. My gut neither told me he was nor wasn’t, so I was on my own to venture further or give up and head back to base empty handed. What true father could do that though? Just give up on their children and go back to where it was safe. I sure the hell couldn’t.

I plowed over the curb, across a long narrow patch of emerald green grass, between two small trees, up on the sidewalk and headed straight for the first set of doors I could see. I slammed on the brakes and the SUV responded and slide sideways.

I came to rest with the passenger side nearest to the front doors in case others were in there as well and were armed. The vehicle would stop a majority of the rounds and give me time to get to better cover. Let’s hope this would not be the case. Given my recent luck though, I wasn’t about to hold my breath on that thought.

Inside the school complex three security guys crept forward through the darkness towards the front door where just moments ago they had seen a vehicle pull up and stop sideways. They were armed with tactical shotguns and side arms, not the typical equipment a rent-a-cop was used to having at his disposal. When they had approached and gotten as close as they dared, the first Cop enlightened his buddies on what they should do. “I say we starting busting on these people and scare them away.”

The second Cop shook his head. “Why, so we can announce to the world that we’re in here? Why don’t you try thinking before you speak, idiot!”

The first rent a Cop shook his head. “I just don’t want anyone getting in here; we have too much to lose if that happens.”

“I know that, so that’s why we have to remain quiet and undetected for as long as possible. Shooting at someone just because they are parked out front is a welcome sign to all those things out there, as well. This person may not be a threat, but you can bet your ass that those things out there are.” Cop two stated.

“Fine. I had an idea and I threw it out there for everyone to hear. That doesn’t make me an idiot.” The offense of the comment was evident in his voice.

His superior looked at him. “Then stop making stupid comments and we’ll stop referring to you as an idiot.”

I crossed the beams of the headlights and they could see I was well armed and dressed in military clothing, which to them conveyed I was either full blown military or a simple imposter trying to fool anyone that might have been watching. At the front double door I found them locked an upon further inspection saw they were chained from the inside. It was then I knew there were survivors inside; my son could easily be one of them. I thought about shooting through the door and maybe hitting the lock, kicking the doors open and entering with a formidable presence. However, in doing so if there were any children inside, they would most likely be frightened at the horrible action and remain silent and hidden.

Time was not a luxury I could afford anymore. I was poor beyond measurement in that department. The bird was steadily using fuel and would soon reach a point where Johnny would have to return or set it down for good, stranding us all in the small town. The later idea set as well with me as fighting a large group of undead with a water pistol, so I’d have to find another way in, one that was possibly less noisy, but where?

“He’s moving off to the right, armed with an assault rifle and god only knows what else. Everyone keep your eyes and ears peeled,” Cop two said into a small walkie talkie. Several other guards responded and headed off to cover their designated area.

Roaming through the darkness gave me a few minutes to think about the woman I had shot in the garage and the one that had tried to kill me in the hallway. Anyway I looked at it, their deaths, or blood, was on my hands and could never be washed away, no matter what brand or how much soap I used. It was funny that at that very moment, when everything was falling apart, I didn’t much give a shit what happened to them, and in some case I wanted them dead. But now, alone and with the few pennies of time I had left, their deaths were somewhat different. I guess without the rage and being in the moment, you have a better understanding of what you didn’t then.

“They made their choices,” I silently said to myself.

The first one I didn’t feel that much for. She tried to kill me after all, so it was self-defense – that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with of course, but I had justification, whatever that was worth. The second one, even though she had stabbed me and had it not been for my body armor she would have done a great job, I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for her or the horrific death she had endured. A part of me wanted to shoot her and put her out of her misery, missing the painful meal she was about to become, yet the rest of me felt she deserved whatever they had done to her. The only question remained, was which of those within me was right or justified?

“I found a solid enough place to set this bird down, but I’m not going to turn her off while you look. I’ll let her idle, which should save on fuel, so if we have to leave in a hurry there won’t be any problems,” Johnny explained.

“If we have to leave in a hurry, I have more than enough bullets to keep them at bay,” I replied and seconds later found a regular window that had no bars in front of it or built into the glass. “Put it down, I found a way in, but keep your eyes open. I don’t know if there are more than just kids in this place.”

“Let me find a good spot, but any way it goes, man. Watch your ass. You don’t know who or what else might be in there,” Johnny stated and the radio quickly fell silent. And he was right. I had no idea what I was running full speed towards. All I could think about was my son and in doing so I was becoming more and more reckless with each step. I went through the window into a darkened room, although with my NVG’s I was able to see perfectly.

I pushed the door open and a long dark hallway sprang out before me. From where I was I could see a few classroom doors on either side, perfect places for the living to lay in wait for me to pass by or simply get close enough for them to spring out and do what they were going to do. For the first time I didn’t let the recklessness control me, I simply stood in the doorway scanning and listening.

The roar of the helicopter overhead grew louder as Johnny found his perfect spot and set her down with ease. I could hear the blades begin to wind down into idle mode, yet still the bird was loud and would attract anyone or anything that was within the school. And still I stood there with the SBR at the ready and the NVG’s covering my eyes looking for anyone that wanted a fight.

“You really think you’re just going to rush in there, find him, fight off a few of those things, and then leave that easily?” The Apparition asked me.

I did my best to ignore its words.

“You had the opportunity over a week ago to save him! But being the coward we all know you are, you chose to save yourself instead,” It added.

I wasn’t a coward like I had first thought. I had done too many things in that past week that proved that, if not to anyone else, than at least to me. Sure I had made a bad choice then, but I was scared shitless and figured the military would help. I was wrong and no matter how hard I wished it to happen I could not rewind time and do things over again. What had happened was in the past. My future wasn’t set, I had the ability to change things and I’d move Heaven and earth to make it so. I
would
make it so.

“Just do what you do best,” the Apparition said. “Just run back to the military base and live out your days there allowing
real
men to protect you.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. “Real men?” I asked. “You mean men like you that think more of yourself and expect everyone around you to bow down like you’re some kind of fucking king? Is that the
real
kind of men you are talking about? Or is it the
real
men that beats the shit out of their kids over the smallest of things because they don’t want or ever make the time to deal with them?” I asked harshly “Is that who the fuck you’re referring too?”

The Apparition dissolved into thin air as a shadow formed at the far end of the hallway. I brought my weapon up and through my night vision I could see it was a security guard. He stopped and stood there looking back at me, and then another guard appeared and stopped by the first one. He held a shotgun and I was positive that even if he began shooting at me, the buckshot would never reach me, although my M855 rounds with a steel penetrator inside the tip would most definitely reach them without problems,
and
defeat any lower level of body armor a school rent-a-cop would have in their inventory. They meant to intimidate me. Scare me away so that I would not want to return… these assholes were in for a rude awakening, fast.