The Bomb and the Cage: Doree Anne (12 page)

“It’s been a great run.”  I closed the front door and locked it.

I knocked on the glass door of the bookstore and Phil came running from the back. He opened the door then locked it as soon as I entered.

“Glad to see you had supplies too.” Phil Said.

“Well I prayed a whole lot that I’d never use any of it.”

“Well we might not have to worry much. Maybe this will all just blow over.”

“Phil you saw what happened out there! You killed that man. How can it go back to normal?”

“It’s some sort of
chemical weapon
.”

“Chemical weapon, what kind of weapon can keep a person alive? I choked that person the entire time he was on me, and nothing. He just kept trying to kill me.”

“The news isn’t getting any better either. They are calling this an epidemic.”

“So what you mean is, it’s spread?” There was a brief pause as Phil stared at me in silence, so I continued. “So it's not just in this area?”

“Come on let’s get out of sight.” Phil said, extending his arm to the back of the store.

In the back Janet and David were sitting in front of a television, watching the news. There was a man in his mid-forties wearing a suit and tie at a desk talking. Papers were laid out in an unorganized manner.

“…About the strange behavior yet. If you are home watching this broadcast please stay where you are and lock your doors. Please stay away from windows and do not go outside. As of right now we do not know much about what is going on.”

The image on the television switched to an overhead view of Clearwater. It was a mess. People were running in the streets. There was a fire towards the north side engulfing home after home.

“Oh Lord what a mess. Why aren’t they putting out the fire?” Janet asked. We sat in silence. The screen returned back to the reporter.

“There have been multiple reports of assaults and vandalisms in the town of Clearwater and law enforcement have advised that you stay inside.”

“This is useless to us. They don’t know anything.”  I said, taking a deep breath before continuing. “And they aren’t giving out all their information either. That guy tried to bite me!”

“We know Daniel.” Phil started. “But there’s nothing we can do right now. We need a plan to survive this epidemic and protect ourselves. This shop is not safe in the long run. It’s only a temporary safe house. The building was built in 1912 after all.”

Phil was right if this lasted any length of time then we needed a safer place.

“You saw that thing, that
zombie
.” Then it happened, the first time the word
zombie
had been used. The same word had been on the tip of our tongues since that person that should have been dead crawled out of the van. The same word that I almost yelled out after it took my choking and two stabs to the back before being taken out with a hit to the head. It was apparent that we were looking at the end of the world as we knew it and if we didn’t plan right, it would be the end of our world.      

Chapter 27

09/18/2004 1105 Hours

C.O. Carlos Mendez

I forgot about the cell phone in my pocket. I wasn’t used to having one. Especially in this uniform, since I wasn’t issued one and it was a friable offense if you accidently bought your phone in. After Fender gave it to me, I stuffed it in bottom pocket of my cargo pants and hadn’t touched it since. Then it started ringing. While I was running around with Ted looking for the phone numbers, I had a cell phone with the number to the control room. Ted looked at me and I hoped my surprise was obvious.

“I am so sorry. I forgot it was in my pocket, I swear.” I said.

“Well, answer it.” I pulled the phone out and answered it, making sure to put it on speaker phone.

“Well Mendez, we got power!” Sergeant Fender said. “I tried opening the gates but I could only get them to open about a foot.”

“Fender, I’ve met up with a cop, named Ted, he’s from the
Clearwater Police Department
, wants to talk with the captain.”

“Well that’s peachy, I’m pretty sure Peters is dead. He went to staff dining to get a cup of coffee when the explosion happened. I’ve tried several times to get a hold of him to no avail. Can I talk to Ted?” I handed the phone to Ted.

“Hello, this is Ted.”

“Well hello Ted. Let me be the first to say, welcome to Clearwater Correctional Institution, it’s a pleasure to have you here today.” There was a pause, and then he continued. “I’m currently trapped in the control room, surrounded by plenty of these things. Here is what I have to offer, if you’re able to get me out of here, weapons, ammunition, and a key to even more weapons and ammunition. All of which you’re going to need desperately for the future of the human race.”

“The future of the human race?”

“I’m sure you’ve talked with your
friends
on the outside. I’m sure this, whatever it is, has spread to the main roads and will continue to spread. We need to get as far as we can from here. This place is ground zero.” 

“Where should we go?”

“It doesn’t matter How about downtown Clearwater? There are plenty of old brick two-story buildings there. It might be a good place to wait out the storm.”

“That’s not very far from here.”

“No, you’re right, but it’s a start.”

“Okay, how do you plan on us getting you out?”

“There’s an electrical truck by the
Department of Transportation
yard area. It’s one of those trucks with a crane and bucket on it. The ones electricians use to work on power lines. We could use it to get on the roof of the control room. I have a ladder and if I bust out the rear window where there aren’t
Biters
I can get on the roof and to you.”

“Well it’s a crazy idea but what other choices do we have.” 

“The keys should be in the ignition.”

“We just have one problem.”

“What’s that?”

“We are trapped in the back tower with Gus and there are about twenty of those things waiting at the bottom. It seems they’re attracted to sound so if we shoot them we’ll just attract more of them. The sound of the gate opening and closing isn’t loud enough to attract all of them.”

“Well I just so happen to have a solution for you. Let me see if the emergency alarms are still working at the maintenance building.”

Seconds later there was a loud siren sound from the direction of the maintenance building. The
Biters
below started walking towards the sound. Even some of the
Biters
in the prison were walking to the sound. I told Fender that it worked, we would be there soon.

Chapter 28

09/18/2004 1105 Hours

Sgt. John Williams

Inmate Sparring hadn’t left my side since we let him out and I was getting used to his company. He wasn’t talkative and let me do all the talking, all the planning, and all the leading. However, now I needed input from him, a list. I just hoped he didn’t start thinking he had some sort of power. Give an inmate an inch and they’ll try to take a foot.

“Okay Sparring, there are some things we need to discuss before we go any further.” I said to him. “I believe this is the end of the world.
If
Robby gets back, we’ll know for sure. If it’s not the end of the world, none of this happened. Consider it an unfortunate accident, that the sex offenders were killed. However, I don’t think this is just a local thing and if I’m right we need to get out and hole up in a town, Clearwater, and help rebuild.” I took a deep breath and followed it with a smile. “For this to work I need
trustworthy
men.
Trust
, is the name of the game. I’m not going to get screwed by whoever we send out. Do I make myself clear on that?”

“Yes sir, you do.” Sparring nodded his head.

“I need a group to get vehicles for my group. How do you feel about that?”

“Am I included in that group?”

“Why, yes, of course! If you weren’t then I wouldn’t be telling you this. I need you to pick out five people for this. They will be our
scavengers
, the ones to get two or three vehicles. Make sure to exclude rapists and sex offenders.”

Sparring looked pleased to have control given to him. I would be careful how much power I gave him. Too little and he would be sure to take more. Too much and he would use it against me.

I handed him a pen and the inmate roster. He looked through the list twice then circled six names. I rolled each door and when I finished, called each inmate to the officer station. The others who were in the cells with them became unruly, refusing to go back into their cells. I allowed them to leave by opening the outside door. They left without checking to make sure the way was clear and the door slammed shut behind them. A moment later, there were the sounds of banging on the door and sounds of screaming. It was too soon to leave.  

The inmates Sparring selected were Brandon Smith, Dale Dixon, Jason Battle, and his brother Brian Battle, Max Helm, Roger Helms, and Eugene Freeman. They were a mixture of whites and blacks and were all in great physical condition. I looked the group over as they crowed the control room.

“Okay gentlemen, you know that song, the song that talks about, ‘
It’s the end of the world, as we know it
.’” There were a few nods. “Well it’s the end of the world as we know it.” I paused and took a deep breath. “There was an explosion earlier and since then everyone who dies has come back to life. I can only assume based on the fact that
help
hasn’t arrived, that it will never arrive.” None of the faces were shocked. “So let me make this very clear, we have been left for dead. Since I was your housing Sergeant when this mess happened I am forgiving you of all charges and sentences.”

“What difference does that make?” Roger Helms blurted out. I was angry that he interrupted me. I took a deep breath and smiled.

“All the difference in the world, I could have left you in your cell to wait. Until till the power failed. You’d wait in complete darkness as one of those monsters comes to your cell to gut and eat you.” I stared at Roger. When he remained silent, I continued. “The first order of business is
respect
. I want to show you why
respect
is so important to maintain while with me. If you want to be part of this group and not stuff out there waiting for the power to go out, break Roger’s legs.”

The group looked at me like I was crazy.

“Break his legs!” Sparring took Roger by the neck and threw him to the ground and the others began to kick him. He screamed but it didn’t matter. Sparring and Eugene took a leg and bent it back until there was a loud cracking sound that made the hair on the back of my neck. Roger’s screams grew louder for a moment, and then the process was repeated. I bent down and looked him in the eyes. I studied his face taking note of the pain I, no
he
caused. “If I hear another word from you I will have them rip your dick off and shove it into your mouth, do I make myself clear?” Roger nodded. “Go ahead and handcuff him Jacobs.”

“So now that we’re on the same page, we need vehicles to get out of here. I know where some prison vans are. If of course you agree to be a part of this group?” They all agreed and we shook hands

There was a sound that was loud and familiar. I went through the hatch and to the caged area. The
Gray
Eyes
were walking towards the sound.
Someone found their weakness and was using them against us
. I thought.

Those things stormed us. They were banging their fists against the front door and attempting to climb the stairs outside where I watched. I thought we were goners, stuck inside forever, at least until they got to us. But then they passed us. The sound had lured them here, but when the siren continued it continued to lure them in the direction of its sound. They got to the two perimeter fences and started banging against it, throwing their weight onto it. It wasn’t long before they tore it down both fences.

This was our chance to escape. The thought of my group of misfits getting their chance, made me smile.

***

The first pair to leave was Brandon Smith and Dale Dixon both, tall and slender country boys in their mid-twenties from North Florida. They knew a lot about hunting and fishing, which was the reason Sparring picked them. They took Rogers with them as a distraction. Just in case the siren didn’t lure enough away, that and to get rid of him.

The second group was Jason and Brian Battle They were brothers and in prison for armed robbery. They were of Jamaican decent. Jason was older by three years. They were skilled in firearms and hand-to-hand combat. The final group was Max Helm and Eugene Freeman, the car stealers in the group. Both were white males, in their early twenties, and short-tempered. I was a little shocked when Sparring picked them, however they were good at what they do, or so Sparring told me.

I figured the administration
building would be a safe meeting spot, since it was at the top of a hill, a good distance away, which overlooked the prison.. It was Saturday and would be empty. If the control room did by some miracle call for help, they wouldn’t use the admin building because you needed to go through the parking lot to get there. Besides, I was sure society would just forget about us here and leave us to die. But we would not stand idly as we are left behind! We will stand up for ourselves and make them regret leaving us behind.

The plan was simple. After they met up at the admin building they would steal three of the vans that were always parked behind the building and bring them here. We would get in and head over to the town of Clearwater where we would, depending on the situation, establish ourselves or take over. Maybe even extend our ranks if we found others that would be useful. Of course we would make a pit stop somewhere, to get new clothes for the inmates. I wouldn’t want to scare anyone we might run into and people would be less inclined to allow us in their town if they saw we were a bunch of convict guards and convicts.