Cry Havoc (6 page)

“
What the hell is going on out there? What is fucking wrong with these people?”

She's pacing around the room now, gesturing in the air with her hands like the conductor at a symphony of panic.

Cody, who has apparently given up on trying to comfort Polly, rushes over to Jane and takes her by the shoulders.

“Look, Jane.” he says in that annoying, fake accent of his. “We're safe. That's all that matters. We're safe in here.”

I can't help it. I start to laugh. At first it's just a chuckle but the more I think about it, the funnier it seems and before long tears are streaming out of my eyes as I slap my thigh with my palm.

“What?” Jane screeches. “What is so
damn
funny, Richard?”

I wipe the tears from my eyes and sniffle a few times as I try to regain my composure.

“Sorry. I'm sorry. It's just...  well, do you honestly believe, Cody, that we're really safe? Simply because we're in this apartment?”

Cody looks flabbergasted and confused. Which, come to think of it, really isn't that too far out of character for him.

“Yes. Yes, of course, we're safe. Why wouldn't... ”

“Windows are made of glass.” I remind them. “Doors are made of wood. Last time I checked, neither one of those things were indestructible.”

“Now listen here, Richard, I've about had enough of.... ”

In the distance there's a boom that severs the conversation as cleanly as a cleaver. It's quickly followed by a second boom and then a third, each getting louder and closer with every repetition. Within seconds, we can feel the floor of the apartment quake with each successive clap and the little glass votive holders lining the shelves begin to rattle and shake. I'm reminded of the scene in Jurassic Park where the T-Rex is drawing closer and closer, it's footsteps shaking the glass of water until the giant beast was bearing right down upon the heroes. Only I know what lurks outside the thin walls of this apartment is far more savage than any Hollywood dinosaur could ever dream of being. The beast bearing down upon
us
is the beast of change; and once it's begun its charge there's nothing anyone can do to put it down.

Through the thin linen curtains, we begin to see the flash of fireballs rising into the sky. Each one perfectly synchronized with one of the booms, each one bathing the room in brighter and brighter light.

And now there's a sound from the streets below. A sound like the battle cry of five hundred warriors plucked from the streams of time and set down on the avenues of our fair city: Huns, Viking berserkers, the Spartans, and Samurai. William Wallace and his entire Scots army. The sound awakens something in my soul, some primal desire to feel the warmth of blood on my hands, to taste its saltiness on my lips, and smell the metallic aroma as it showers me with its holy spray. The desire to take what is rightfully mine and to defend it from anyone who mistakenly believes themselves to be man enough to take it from me.

Another explosion trembles our building and, at the same time, we're plunged into darkness which causes a small shriek to escape from Jane. She's pressed against me and I can feel her body shaking, but my eyes try to peer through the darkness, searching for Polly.

There's a rumble of motors outside now, quickly followed by volley after volley of gunfire, more explosions, and cries of rage and pain. It also sounds like someone has begun to hammer on the main entrance to the door, as if they're trying to pound it down with nothing more than bare fists and brute force.

“Jane.”

She's latched onto me like a lamprey on a shark, but she seems unresponsive. It's almost as if she's caught somewhere between waking and a dream, her eyes vacant, her face pale and expressionless.

I shake her so hard her teeth rattle within her mouth.

“Damn it, Jane, snap the fuck out of it you stupid bitch!”

She blinks a few times and her brow furrows with confusion.

“You don't have to get vulgar with me, Richard.”

I force myself to take the edge off my voice, to speak to her as if I were dealing with a small child.

“Janey, honey...  you remember that trap door up on the top floor? The one with the little rope you have to pull? The one that leads up into the attic?”

She nods her head solemnly.

“Okay, Jane, I want you to take Polly up there, okay? You take her up there and you hide.”

Jane starts to pull away but then stops and has that confused look on her face again.

“What about you and Cody?”

Leave it to her to make something so simple into a major production that requires a committee meeting and detailed blueprints. I haven't got time for this shit.

“We'll be along shortly. Just take Polly to the attic, okay Janey? Take Polly to the attic.”

Polly appears in the darkness like a succubus materializing from thin air. She places her hand on Jane's arm and looks at me with eyes that reflect understanding.

“Come on, Jane.” she says softly. “Why don't you show me where this attic is, dearie.”

The two disappear into the darkness and moments later I hear our front door open and shut, followed by footsteps running up the stairs.

“What do you have in mind, Richard?”

Cody's voice wavers with uncertainty and I know that in his heart of hearts, he's wishing he was going with them. Upstairs to the attic. To hide with the other girls.

I don't waste time answering him. I'm moving toward the kitchen now, my familiarity with the apartment guiding me effortlessly through the maze of furniture and obstacles. Cody isn't quite as lucky and I hear him stumbling and cussing in the darkness behind me.

That
Useless tit
.

I'm in the kitchen now and I open the second drawer to the right of the sink, the one where the soldiers spent so much time measuring the blades of our knives during the weapons check. I pull out the longest one, a seven and a half inch chef's knife. The blade is honed to such perfection that even in the darkness it gleams like a beacon of hope. Not bothering to shut the drawer, I push my way through the beaded curtain and into the living room just as Cody trips over an ottoman.

“Damn it,” I hiss, “haven't your eyes started adjusting yet?”

“I got vision problems. I can't see worth a dang and you damn well know that.”

I get a small burst of satisfaction to hear him drop the pretense and revert to his native twang.

“Now, you best be telling me real quick, Richard. What the hell's the plan?”

I open the door of the apartment and point the knife into the hallway like a highwayman brandishing his sword.

“Stand and deliver.” I finally say softly. “Their money or their lives.”

From below, the pounding on the door has practically tripled in intensity. It's a strong door, made of solid oak with nice iron hinges if I'm not mistaken. But how long can it hold out? How long until the violence of the street spills into the foyer and then up the stairs to the very threshold of my apartment?

How long indeed....

CHAPTER SIX

I stand on the landing with my heart beating tribal rhythms, whipping me into a blood frenzy that can only be sated with the promise of violence. I feel like my entire life has been building up to this point: all those years imprisoned in the cells of spreadsheets, the
pleases
and
thank yous
and
May I
. The toiling away for all the things I needed, but never coming even close to what I
wanted.
It had all been a precursor to this very moment, this particular point in time and history. After thirty-four years, I had finally become the man I was meant to be.

Which is more than I can say for the trembling buffoon behind me. He won't last five minutes in this new world. Not unless he finds himself a stronger ally to attach himself to, not unless he becomes a bitch.

Outside there's another burst of weapons fire. This sounds like fully automatic machine guns and bullets begin whizzing through the oak door at the bottom of the stairs. They tear through wood and plaster and the pounding noises abruptly come to an end, replaced by a crimson puddle that leaks under the door and spreads across the hallway like an invading cancer.

I've come to a realization as I stood here, ready for a battle which never quite made it to me: Ms Cline was right, for all the good it will do her now. I
do
want Polly.

But not in that sappy, happily-ever-after Disney storybook kind of way. No, I want her like some men want a shiny Cadillac with chrome trim and leather seats. I want her the way a bibliophile needs to have that first edition Kerouac to crown his collection. I want to own this beautiful, nubile, exotic young thing. I want her to be
mine
. Just like the accountant-looking guy wanted Vin Boucher's shiny, gold watch.

And isn't that what this new world is really about? You see something that you want and you take it. No questions. No justifications. No permission. You simply grab it and damn anyone who gets in your way.

I turn around and see that Cody looks as if he's about to pass out. He's leaning against the wall and panting like he's just finished a marathon, shaking from his teeth all the way down to his knees. He's so pale now that his goatee looks absolutely black in the half-darkness of the hall.

“I say,” he gasps, “that was a close one, wasn't it? I thought for sure we were done for.”

The damn phony accent again. What the hell did Polly ever see in this loser? Maybe, it was simply a case of second bests. She couldn't have me because she thought I was so wrapped up in Jane that it would never happen. Hard to believe that, for a long while, I'd believed that myself.

I take two steps and place my left hand on his shoulder.

“Well,” I say slowly, “one of us is.”

“What in blazes are you.... ”

I shove the chef's knife into his gut and it feels just like stabbing an overstuffed pillow. He gasps sharply as his eyes grow large and round and his hands wrap around the handle protruding from his belly. Yanking the blade free, it slices through his palms, severing nerves and tendons, and his mouth is moving now like a fish who has been pulled from the river and thrown onto the bank to flounder and die.

I plunge the knife again, this time hooking my arm around his shoulders and pulling him into the thrust at the same time.

“You like that?” I hiss in his ears. “You want some more?”

Over and over, the blade pierces his skin; each time he shudders and gasps and soon I begin hitting bone and the jolt is like an electrical current that travels along my arm and vibrates in my shoulders.

My hand is sticky and warm now, like it's been dipped into room-temperature glue and I feel almost stoned, perfectly aware of every sound, every sensation. Relishing every moment of my conquest.

I pull away and Cody staggers around the hallway for a moment, his arms cradling his gut like the pink intestines were a small baby that he could somehow protect. Dropping the knife, I rush toward him with a growl, pushing at his chest with my both my hands at the moment of impact. He stumbles backward and momentum carries his body over the railing; then he's falling, end over end, bouncing off the hand rails and banisters and walls until his body hits the ground floor with a sound that's like a thud, squish, and sharp crack all rolled into one.

It is complete now.

The competition has been removed from the playing field.

I look over the railing at Cody's twisted, broken body for a moment and then go back into the apartment. I head into the kitchen and lather dish soap on my hands and forearms until it's a pink froth; warm water washes the blood away and I watch as it swirls down the drain, realizing that it carries all the remnants of my old life with it.

I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. They sound tentative, as if the person is trying their hardest to achieve stealth but still failing miserably. A step, the squeak of a floorboard, a few moments of silence. Another step.

When the person reaches the landing I hear a sharp intake of breath and a sound like a hand being slapped over a mouth. Apparently whoever it is has seen the blood. And I imagine there's quite a bit of it out there.

“Cody? Richard?”

Polly's voice. She sounds as if she's afraid to make a noise but knows that she has to. That if she doesn't call out the suspense of not knowing will drive her mad.

“Anyone?”

“In the kitchen.” I reply as I dry my hands on the little towel with the art deco designs. The towel which Jane always said was decorative only. Which is probably one of the many reasons things
had
to change. Decorative towels. Form without function...  that could very well be the epitaph on the tomb of humanity.

I hear the beaded curtain rattle behind me and my heightened senses pick up that unmistakable scent of Polly's body. That tantalizing combination of sweat and powder and skin and perfume, so heady that I could get drunk just by breathing it in.

“Richard...  where's Cody? Whose blood is that out in the hall?”

Her voice sounds hopeful and frightened all at the same time and my stomach flutters a little. How long have I wanted this woman? How many years did I deny myself the pleasure of even admitting that I wanted her? All that wasted time....

“Yeah, Cody. I'm afraid he didn't make it, honey. Didn't make the cut, you might say.”

Silence.

I fold the towel carefully and place it back on its little rod.

I feel power surging through my veins like I've never known. When you have the ability to decide who live or dies, you become almost like a god. You see the entire world spreading out before you like a veritable buffet where you're free to pick and choose only the things which most please you.

“Oh my God, Richard, you're bleeding! There's blood all over you!”

I hear her feet pattering across the tile and finally turn to face her. She's more beautiful now than I have ever seen her; her skin so radiant that it almost seems to glow, her hair shiny and flaxen, her breasts jiggling slightly as she runs to me, the hem of her skirt swishing slightly around her ankles. And her shirt. The one she's wearing now let's me know it wasn't all in my imagination. There's a message there after all.