Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 02 (6 page)

"Sounds good to me," Donovan chimed in. "Let's get this over with. We all need some down time."
 

Tapping Luke on the arm, both men in the first wave climbed the stairs and approached the front door. Just as Donovan was reaching for the door handle, there came the sound of a dead bolt turning. The two men flattened themselves on either side of the door and everyone else took cover as best they could. The door creaked open.

"What do you want?" came a harsh and demanding whisper from the door. Donovan could see half a face peaking out from the small opening in the door. "Who are you? What do you want?" the voice demanded again.

"I'm Donovan Murphy. We need a place to shelter for the night. Could we talk?" Donovan's voice was calm and confident, the kind of voice that could make anyone do anything if he asked.

"You've got a lot of guns on you. Are you here to save us?" the whispering voice asked, a hint of hope tinging the edges.

"No," Donovan responded honestly. "No, we're not..."

"Then what good are you!" the whisperer said and started to close the door. Donovan's hand shot forward and held it open.

"Wait, wait. We do have supplies with us. Maybe we can work out a deal?" Once again Donovan's voice was calm and soothing. They were going to be let into this house willingly. Alex just hoped that the bargain they struck wasn't too one sided.

The door opened again and the whispering voice asked, "What you got?"

"Why don't we come in and we'll make the trade. It's starting to get dark out here and we really don't want to be out when the sun goes down," Donovan pushed.
 

"Now that just wouldn't be good for me, would it? You have guns, and who knows if you would still make the deal after I let you in." The voice sounded very nervous, but still had his wits about him. "If you guys don't want to be left out in the cold and dark, I suggest that you start talking. Make it a sweet deal, too. Things have been pretty rough around here lately."

Donovan looked to Alex and laughed. "I think we've met our match here, Alex. What do you want to do?"

"Give him what he wants," Alex said. "We don't have time to look for another place, and we can be pretty sure this house is clear if someone is actually in there. Make the deal and lets go."

Donovan looked back to the small opening in the door. "Okay, seems you're holding all the cards. What can we offer you?"

"Guns and food. Lots of both," the voice stated quickly.

"Just how much is 'lots?'" Donovan asked.

"How much do you have?" the voice asked.

Alex stormed up the stairs of the porch, grabbing Luke Berryman's pack that Dr. Cahn was holding. He threw the pack at the base of the door. "That's what you get. Take it or leave it," he said, ending any future debates. "This world has gone to shit, and you want to string people out for your own selfish gains. We can offer everything in that pack, plus security and safety for the night. That's a better deal than you will get from the deaders, don't you think?"

There was silence on the porch as everyone considered what had just happened. The time seemed to stretch on forever as the person behind the door considered his options. "Deal," the voice said and closed the door. The sound, a the door chain being removed could be heard, then the door swung open slowly. A young man, a boy really, probably no older than twelve or thirteen, reached out and grabbed the pack from in front of the door. "Come on in," he told the men waiting outside.

-----

Each man filed past the boy, their eyes still darting from corner to corner, looking for any danger that could still be inside. Once everyone was safely inside, the boy quickly closed the door, dead-bolted the lock and replaced the chain on the door. He pulled a large chair in front of the door as well, further blocking access to the house from the front. The windows were likewise blocked with furniture and detritus from the rest of the house, effectively sealing all entrances to the lower level of the house.

The boy turned around and stopped, facing the nine men who had just invaded his home. "Well, what do you want?" he asked somewhat rudely, Alex thought.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Cahn began. "We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot. My name is Dr. Cahn..."

"I really don't care," the boy interrupted. "We made a deal. Make yourselves at home." The boy grabbed the pack and struggled to move it to the middle of the room. Dropping the pack he flopped to the floor in front of it and unstrapped the bag. The boy removed each item from the bag and began sorting through it with an efficiency that amazed the group of men.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Cahn said. "I just thought that we should introduce ourselves if we are going to be sheltering here with you tonight."

"My name's Rod, your name I don't care about. This is my house and you are welcome to stay here as long as you pay. Other than that, make yourselves comfortable. The carpet is as comfortable as it gets." The young boy never took his eyes off of the pack as he spoke to the doctor.

"Now look here..." Shawn began, but Dr. Cahn held up a hand to stop him.

"Listen, Rod," the doctor said more calmly than anyone could have imagined. "How long have you been here? Where are your parents?"

"Twelve days. Parents dead. What do you care? Anything else?"

This boy's attitude was really starting to step on the last nerve of everyone there.

Shawn had had enough of the attitude. "Hey, you listen here..." he said as he reached down and grabbed the arm of the young boy. The boy moved faster than any of the men could react. The small .38 caliber revolver was planted firmly into Shawn's neck and the hammer clicked back. Glocks were raised in the direction of the boy, red dots from their laser sights dancing across the boys chest and face. Everyone froze.
 

"I think everyone needs to relax," Dr. Cahn soothed. No one moved for several minutes, hoping someone else would be the first to relax. Alex watched the eyes of the boy; they were murderous and filled with hate.

"Put the guns down," Alex ordered. Still no one moved. "Everyone, stand down!" The roughness in his voice seemed to break into the reverie of the others and slowly each man began to lower their weapon. Alex's Glock was still trained on the boy.

"Aren't you going to put yours down too?" the boy asked Alex, his eyes never leaving Shawn.

"No," Alex replied as a matter of fact. "You and I are going to end this stupid situation, one way or another. You kill my friend, I kill you. Simple. You put your gun down, so will I, but not before. I'm going to protect my own, so you better get used to that." Alex's hands were rock steady, his voice calm as if this were something that someone would expect to see on any given day.

The tense situation continued for a few moments more before the boy flinched. He took his eyes off of Shawn to glare at Alex. "Fine, but this is my house. You are guests here just as long as I say. I'll talk to you however I want, got it?" The question was an ultimatum, not a request. Alex knew there was no point in arguing further so he relented.

"Fine," Alex said. "Now, lower your weapon and let my man go."

"You lower yours first," the boy demanded.

"That wasn't the deal we made. You lower your gun, then I lower mine, and you are allowed to talk to me any way that you want. That's the deal you agreed to." Alex's voice was calm and even, but the other men in the room could hear a slight change in tone, one that started to border on impatience.

Silence stretched again and sweat began to trickle down side of Shawn's face. He was holding up remarkably well for someone who had a gun to his throat, but the stress was starting to wear on him. "Tell you what," Alex started when he noticed Shawn's stress, "how about I just order my men to kill you right here, right now. Then I get my pack back, this house to ourselves, and no shit-ass, scared punk of a kid throwing ultimatums in my face. What do you think about that?"

The boy looked around the room at the seven heavily armed men standing around him. "I'll kill this one before you could get a shot off..."

"And I've got seven others that can fill his place adequately," Alex interrupted. "You on the other hand, will be dead."

"And why do you think that would bother me? My whole family is dead and I'm stuck here in this god-forsaken house all alone. Death doesn't really scare me right now." The boy's voice was trembling, betraying his true feelings. He was scared and locked into a situation that he could not get out of easily. The boy was trying everything he could think of, and everything just pushed him into a corner more and more.

"Okay, have it your way," Alex said stepping forward and raising his gun slightly to take aim on the boy's forehead. The boy broke.

"Okay, okay, okay!" he yelled, throwing his hands over his head and pushing himself back from Shawn. "Don't shoot, man. Don't shoot!" Tears streamed down the boy's face and his voice cracked. This kid was just a kid, trying desperately to be a man.

Alex immediately dropped the barrel of the gun towards the ground and removed his finger from the trigger. Shawn breathed in deep gasps of air, relieved that the .38 was no longer jammed in his throat. Luke was at his side, an arm around the man asking if he was okay and looking at his throat for signs of injury. The doctor moved towards the boy.

"Stop right there, doc," Alex commanded. His gun raised again in the direction of the boy, but the barrel was lower than where the boy was sprawled on the ground. "Drop the gun, son. Drop the gun before I have to put a bullet in you." Alex's gun started to raise again, the red dot of his laser sight tracing a line across the floor towards the boy. Desperately, the boy threw the gun into the corner before curling into a ball and covering his face, sobbing uncontrollably. The red dot winked out and Alex returned the gun to the holster on his hip.

"He's all yours, doc," Alex said as he turned back to his men. "Let's get this place secured. Plan is still in place, we're moving to the second floor. Clear the first floor, move the gear upstairs and we'll blockade the stairs on our way up." Alex looked over his shoulder to the doctor and the boy. "He's to join us. Get him cleared and upstairs as soon as we have secured it. Under no circumstances should he be armed."

Alex dropped to the floor near the opened pack and began placing the contents back inside. "I'll designate guard shifts once we're secured on the second floor." He glanced out the small patch of uncovered window to the darkening sky outside. "Let's get this moving. It's getting dark outside."

-----

The house was clear of any deaders, as the men had suspected. Alex however, would not allow anyone to slack in their assigned tasks. The first floor's barricades were checked for stability, each reinforced again as the need arose. Once the second floor had been cleared, Dr. Cahn and the boy were moved there so that the doctor could continue his examination. Once the barricades were secure, Alex moved the team to the second floor along with the doctor. Alex and Liam had removed two doors from their hinges and these were secured in place over the steps. Alex explained that this would prove to be nearly impossible for any zombies entering the house to navigate since their brains did not allow them to problem solve or perform two tasks at once. Namely, walk up the stairs and hold on to the railing so that they would not slip back down. Heavy furniture was placed at the top of the stairs as a last stand should the zombies get through.

"Luke, Trapper and Hayden, you are on first watch. If anything comes near the house, come and alert the others, but do not engage. Keep track of where any contacts go; we may have to deal with them in the morning before heading out. You understand?" Alex's felt like he was speaking to children instead of grown and capable men. "I'm sorry if I sound blunt, but I want everyone to understand that we are in hiding here. This is not our hill to die on." Nods of approval came from every man in the room. "Everyone else, try and get some rest. It's going to be another long and rough day tomorrow, and we are leaving at dawn. No heros tonight; we're all just shadows."

The three men on the first watch shift quickly met to divide up tasks and lookouts before heading to different corners of the house. The remaining men looked around the room, not really sure what to do with themselves. "There are beds in the other three rooms," came a weak and timid voice. The doctor found out that the boy's name was Rod Fischer, and he was only thirteen. The boy had been on his own for almost two months after his parents were infected with the virus looking for food. He had been alone in the house, rationing what little food he could scrounge together, huddling in a closet at night for protection. Rod was severely malnourished and sleep deprived.

"It's amazing that he lasted this long," Dr. Cahn said walking up to Alex. "I'm not sure you can blame him too much for what he did tonight..."

"Anyone can be held responsible for their actions, Doc," Alex interrupted. "We can't just let common decency and humanity fall by the wayside in times like these. More so now than before this world came crashing down."

Dr. Cahn shook his head in disagreement. "That boy has been through hell, and you want to punish him for surviving..."

"I never said I was punishing anyone, Doc. You assumed. He can't be allowed to act however he wants." Alex looked towards the boy who was huddled in a corner of the room asleep. "That's probably the first time he has really slept in God knows how long," Alex mused and looked back at Dr. Cahn. "And to think he almost missed it because he nearly got a bullet in his head." Alex paused to let his words sink in. "Acting irrationally and without thought will get you killed, especially in times like these. You've got to use your brains to survive." Alex put a hand on the doctor's shoulder and squeezed, trying to reassure the man and make him realize that Alex understood where he was coming from.

"So you're ex-marine, right? Special Ops?" a voice asked from across the room. Donovan Murphy sat against the wall, an Army MRE steaming in his hands.

"What makes you say that?" Alex said, trying to deflect any serious questions away with his tone of voice.