El Paso Under Attack - 01 (21 page)

“
When you’re referring to heroes, can I assume that you’re speaking of the General?
”

Of course I am. I died inside when I saw my girlfriend get attacked, but there was nothing I could do the minute she was bitten. If I tried, I would endanger myself needlessly.

Now, the General, this is a guy that got lucky and survived his first encounter and then it all went to his head in one of the greatest power trips the world has ever seen. This man is nothing special; he’s just a guy that left his friends (whom he should have been protecting and keeping safe) over and over for glory. And in doing all this glory searching he also endangered the people he brought with him on his little adventures, not to mention all the property damage he caused.

“
So you believe that he should not have risked himself to save others?
”

Correct, the smartest thing any of us could have done was to stay somewhere safe and hidden. The minute we stop doing that, is the minute we endanger those that are already under our protection and who’s to say that all those people needed him? Who’s to say that the government wouldn’t have eventually come in and saved everyone?

“
Well…the government said that.
”

At the time the government said that they wouldn’t go into the outbreak due to the risk of spreading the infection. I understand that, but what people need to understand is that the government said that during the initial phase. No one knows what they would have said and done later on. I believe public outcry would have forced their hand.

In other words…we didn’t need the General.

“
Okay, let’s get back to your story. What happened after Rebecca was attacked?
”

We ran like hell.

That’s the simple and straightforward answer. I didn’t grab a weapon and defend everyone by risking all our lives. I led them to safety.

We headed to the stairwell and made it to the 12th floor. As soon as we exited the stairwell, I heard the first zombie scream from Rebecca. It was a hard moment for me. I froze at the stairwell exit. Thomas, Heather and Jen were waiting for me. It wasn’t easy, but I forced myself to forge ahead.

The windows weren’t boarded up on the upper floors. The sunlight was shining through in the dusty hallways. I found us a room that looked decently habitable for the foreseeable future.

I barricaded the door behind us.

“Rebecca’s still out there,” said Jen as she lit a cigarette. “We need to do something.”

“She was bitten,” said Thomas. “I don’t think we can do anything for her.”

“We can put her out of her misery,” said Heather.

“No.” I replied. “There’s nothing we can do, but wait for help.”

Everyone looked at me, but none of them said a word against me. After all, I was right; the risk was simply too great.

It wasn’t long before Jen took out her laptop and found EPUA. We all took turns reading the posts. I knew that eventually, this nasty outbreak would be taken care of. It was just a matter of time.

What came instead was something different. I don’t remember how many days had gone by, but it was Jen that saw the first post of the General. He was bragging about how many of the dead he had slain. He was immediately searching for attention. When he signed off, others took over the bragging for him. His legend was spreading like some sort of disease in a human body. I don’t blame the survivors; they wanted a hero in their time of need. I don’t blame them at all. I blame the General for taking advantage of the situation.

Jen, Heather and Thomas were immediately members of his fan club. Like all the others, they were searching for someone to believe in. I kept my opinions to myself, even when others began to describe his battles, which they just happened to see with their own eyes. His trip to meet all the survivors at Lowe’s was especially repulsive to me.

You are aware that he posted messages summoning all the survivors to join him at Lowe’s, correct?

“
Yes, in fact he personally told me the story?
”

Good…and you are aware that 172 survivors gathered together under his summons?

“
Yes
.”

So, if 172 people made it to him, how many people do you think died on their way?

“
What do you mean?
”

I’m saying that if only 172 survivors actually made it to Lowe’s, I then have to wonder how many people were killed trying to get there.

“
I see…I don’t believe there are any numbers for that.
”

How convenient.

So there we were, gathered around that little laptop. The days wore on and on. Our water supply was getting somewhat low and even I was beginning to wonder when or if help would arrive.

It wasn’t long after the General blew up some apartment complex that we were reading about how he was headed to the Downtown area in order to see how bad things had gotten down here.

Of course, my three companions were elated. They were positive that their salvation was on his way. I tried to calm them down. After all, how lucky could one man get? I was sure that he’d turn tail and run once he saw the state of Downtown El Paso.

“
What was the state of Downtown El Paso?
”

Every evening more and more zombies would arrive. They tended to stay low in the bright light of day unless something caught their attention, but at night they wandered the streets. We carefully watched from our windows as the zombies claimed the outside world. Thousands of them would pass the street that connected to the alley beneath our window. It was frightening. Their moans and screams would sound out and echo off the many buildings. Every now and then, a scream from a living being would join the undead screams and we would know that another soul was forever lost.

“
It must have been frightening?
”

You have no idea. The sheer number of zombies that passed our viewpoint was staggering. Waves and waves of them would pass by our alley, followed by fifteen minutes of nothing and after that, another wave that could last for hours. We had to crane our heads to the right a little bit to see the street, so we all had sore necks. It wasn’t long before we stopped watching all together. The sheer volume of the dead was just too disheartening.

“
Did you ever consider making a run for it? Try and escape the area?
”

We wouldn’t have made it past the corner of the first street. It would only take one of them to spot us and scream that wretched scream and thousands would be chasing us down. We were safe where we were, trapped of course, but safe nonetheless.

It was late in the evening when we saw the lights of the vehicle reflect off the window. At first even I was elated. It wasn’t long after that, that we heard a door smash from far below on the ground floor. Someone had entered our building. The rain began to fall from the sky. It was Thomas, who was looking out the window that saw the two men and the dog.

“There are people leaving our building.” He shouted.

Everyone ran to the window. We watched the quick life and death struggle that occurred in the alley. We watched as they entered the McDonalds. We waited for them to return, but it was only the one man and his dog. No zombies had entered the McDonalds, of that I was positive.

Anyway, he had stirred up a hornets’ nest. The dead were well aware of his presence and they were eager to make his acquaintance.

“It’s the General,” said Jen. “It has to be. Who else could fight like that?”

“We need to get his attention,” replied Heather.

“Stop it all of you.” I ordered. “It very well may be the General, but he’s leading all those zombies straight into our hotel.”

“Then we need to let him know that we’re here,” said Thomas. “We need his help to get out.”

“No.” I said. “If he knows we’re here, that glory hound may lead them straight to our room. Let’s just be quiet and hope that he leads them all through the hotel and back onto the street.”

“This could be our only chance,” said Jen.

“And which one of you would like to go down there and look for him with all those zombies streaming into the hotel?”

Of course, none of them were very eager to leave the room and I sure as hell wasn’t going to do it.

It wasn’t long before we heard the sound of the stairwell door being slammed open. Shortly after that, we heard noises in the hallway…sounds of banging and sliding and crunching.

“
This is when the stairwell barricade was being made?
”

Yes. We could hear the dead screaming out for him. The idiot had led them right to our floor. We were all in danger because of him.

The whump of a sudden fire echoed through the halls. We heard him slam the stairwell door and pile rubbish up in front of it.

We heard the doorknob of our room rattle and we heard the dog sniff underneath the door. None of us moved. I don’t believe my three companions knew how to react, but I knew…I was hoping that he’d go away and leave us in piece.

Instead, he kicked the damn door off the hinges.

“I assume I need no introductions.” He said. The arrogance was amazing.

Now, if you’re thinking that some knight in shining armor showed up at our door with a white pony to save us, you are sadly mistaken. This man is a beast. He doesn’t look like any hero I’ve ever heard of. He looked as if some hell bound gladiator just time traveled straight out of a roman coliseum into our hotel.

The General’s probably just a shade less than 6ft, but he’s a wide man. His shoulders are immense; they remind me of a silverback gorilla. He was wearing all black clothes that were ripped and torn. His skin was dirt smudged and pale, his hair was very short and there was stubble on his cheeks. It must have been days since he last shaved. His eyes were fierce, it’s not that the green in them was brilliant or anything…it was more in the stare. He looked as if he was about the rip us all apart.

All in all, he wasn’t a man that other men would bother. Whatever mold that created him came from the past. It was a mold designed for killing machines, a mold that was once needed to win wars. It had no place in our modern times.

His dog was no better, a pit bull. An animal designed to fight. This creature was at best, unpredictable. I was afraid to get anywhere near it.

“Are you the General?” asked Jen. She was in awe. I could tell what she was thinking…if anyone could save us, it had to be him.

“Call me Jax,” said the General.

“It is you,” said Heather. “I knew it had to be you. We saw you in the alley.”

“Let’s cut the chitchat,” said the General. “We need to move, that barricade won’t hold them for long.”

“Who says we’re going with you?” I asked.

At this point, the man stared at me long and hard. We were two leaders sizing one another up. I won.

“You’re free to stay if you want,” he said. “But those things will be coming right for you as soon as the flames I lit die down.”

“We aren’t staying,” said Heather.

I looked over at her, I tried to give her one of those looks, I was hoping that she’d shut up. It was too late, the damage was done. One idiotic voice influenced the rest of them.

“Is there another stairwell?” asked the General.

“Yes,” answered Jen. “I saw a one down the hallway when we were looking for a room.”

“There are other zombies in the hotel,” added Heather. “We were running from them.”

“How many?” asked the General.

“At least two,” said Heather. “We didn’t see anymore.”

This man wasn’t even trying to create a plan. He found it perfectly acceptable to lead us all straight into danger and hope for the best.

“What happened to the man that was with you in the alley?” I asked.

He gave me one of those wild stares yet again. He looked like he wanted to rip me into pieces. I was hoping that my companions could see what I was seeing. The man was a violent animal.

Unfortunately, I set him off. Before I could even blink, his hand shot out and grabbed the front of my shirt. He then shoved me hard against the opposite wall. The plaster around me crumbled.

“I’m not going to play games with you,” he said. “You can stay here or you can come with me. If you choose to come with me, then you need to shut the hell up.”

I valued my life. I kept my mouth shut for the time being. I firmly believed that this violent man would kill me if I said another thing to upset him.

“
Are you now aware that he had to kill the man you were just asking about in self-defense?
”

I had a pretty good idea even back then. As far as him saying that it was self-defense…well that’s debatable I’m sure. After all, it’s very convenient that there were no witnesses.

“
Do you think a man that has dedicated his life to saving others would be able to kill another man in a situation that didn’t involve self-defense?
”

He had just thrown me into a wall. Yes, I believe that he’s quite capable of ending another human beings life without much provoking. Like I tried to tell you earlier, this man is the personification of rage and violence.

As I look at him, I can tell that he means what he says. I don’t believe that it’s just a dislike for the General that has caused him to speak out (though there is definitely a strong dislike). He actually believes that the General is a dangerous human being.

We were all off and tearing down the hallway in search of Jens stairwell. She didn’t remember exactly which hallway she saw it in and it was a lot brighter the last time we were here. It was nighttime now and it took time, precious time.

At last she found it.

The General carefully opened the door and peered into the darkness with his flashlight.

“Looks empty,” he said. “I’ll go first just to make sure. All of you stay close behind me and keep quiet. I want to be able to hear if anything’s creeping up behind us.”

Just then, we heard pounding on the door of the barricaded stairwell.

“The flames must have died,” said the General with panic in his voice.

“Run.”

He started shoving us down the stairwell into the darkness. It was dangerous. Anything could be lurking just behind the beam of the flashlight which he had handed to Thomas.