Necro, page 7
“Jesus,” Glenn said.
“Yeah,” Kate said.
“Creeped me out too,” Glenn agreed. “Guess we can't pretend the whole thing's going to be fine any longer.”
“Guess not,” John agreed.
“Kate is right then... Better get ourselves to a place where we can stock up... Get some trucks, guns and get out of here.”
“What about that wholesale place out across from the mall,” John asked.
“Might be the same, but we can try it. Probably have what we need,” Kate agreed.
“Better let the others know,” Glenn told her. Kate turned, slid the rear window of John's truck open and Amber leaned near. A second later she closed the slider and watched as John slowly picked his way through the downtown streets and headed for the outskirts of the city.
The Outskirts of the city: The Mall
Against all odds the outskirts of the city seemed completely deserted. At least at first glance. The wholesale place was deserted, the doors barred, chained and locked. A little work with the tire iron from John's truck freed up the chains and a nudge from the nose of his truck shattered the heavy glass doors. John and Ed pulled the doors aside and John drove the truck in, crunching over the safety glass.
“Might be safer inside,” Glenn said as John turned the truck around, narrowly missing one check out aisle and faced back toward the doors.
“I think we're stuck here for the night,” John said. Stock up, get whatever else we need in the morning and head out. Little gun shop across the street... Truck dealership over at the mall across the street... Should be easy to get what we need.” He levered the door handle and stepped down to the ground.
“Company,” Dave said as John turned toward the opening.
“Seven or eight... Came out of that strip mall entrance way across the street,” Terry added.
John turned to Kate. “Shotguns... Rifles in the sporting goods' area.” She nodded as she and Amber sprinted toward the middle of the store.
Company:
The small crowd of people was armed, John saw, long before they actually reached the wide street and crossed over into their parking lot. Behind him, in the store, he had heard the sound of breaking glass several times. Presumably Kate and Amber breaking open display cases.
“Think they can see us in here?” he asked.
“Probably too dark,” Glenn answered as Kate and Amber came back with their arms loaded down with high powered rifles and shotguns.
“Careful,” Kate said, her breath coming fast. “These are loaded.” A small line of blood ran away from one knuckle as she passed John a rifle that looked like it would be more at home in a war.
“You're hurt,” John said.
Kate laughed. “Just glass from a case... It's nothing.”
“Not a girl,” John said
“Or even close,” Kate agreed with a smile. She stepped close to the front of the entrance way, still deep in shadow, but just behind the shattered doors.
There were a dozen of them when they came to a stop just thirty feet away from the doors. Women and kids, the old man and a younger guy hanging toward the back. The two men and three of the women were armed.
“We know you're in there,” The lead man shouted out. He was an older man, short silver hair, thin, the ragged remains of a suit hanging from his shoulders. “We don't want trouble... Just company... Safety... The nights are pretty bad now. I guess you know.” He made to step forward again.
“No... Right there is fine,” Kate said.
The man stopped. “I told you, we come in peace.” The man said as she stepped from the shadows. Scott moved out with her and a second later Amber and John joined her. John motioned to the rest to stay inside.
“Every bad alien movie I ever saw started just exactly that way,” Kate said.
“Is that what you think?” The man asked. “Aliens? Well, I'm no alien... I don't know what happened but I don't think it was alien, or aliens, unless you count the meteor that might or might not have hit us. And I'm obviously not one of the gangs or I wouldn't be out here in the daylight talking to you.”
The silence held a long time.
“You hear me?” The older man said.
“I heard you,” Kate agreed. “What do you mean one of the gangs? Not one of the gangs?”
The man laughed. A short hard laugh that had nothing to do with amusement at all. “Are you serious?”
“If I wasn't serious I wouldn't have asked,” Kate told him.
“But... Okay... Why can't we do this in there? Look at what I have here... A handful of scared mothers with a few children. The young guy at the back is okay. Why don't we do this in there? I don't like being out in the open. It's just the gangs we have to worry about.” He looked off in all directions as he talked.
Kate looked over the group and then over at John. “Nothing we can't deal with,” John agreed. Her eye's met Amber's and then Scott's. They both nodded. “So you know there are more of us inside. Don't be stupid.”
“Wouldn't think of it,” The old man agreed. “John,” he said.
Kate just nodded and motioned him forward.
Early evening
They were all gathered around a small fire that Glenn had started for heat and light. The nights were still cold. Glenn had built the fire in an empty fifty five gallon drum they had rolled out from the back. It the smoke detectors had still been working they would have had trouble, but as it was the smoke just gathered high up in the steel rafters and found its way to the outside from there.
“What do you know,” John asked. “That might be a better place to start.”
“Practically nothing,” Glenn answered. “We all met downtown a few days back... Earth quake... Meteor. Everything wrecked and no answers.”
John nodded. “Okay,” He rested his head in his hands for a moment, and then looked up. His eyes were red; the bags under his eyes bruised and heavy. “The second. It happened overnight, the first, the end of the first. I don't know what it was, anymore than you do, but I suspect the meteor they said would miss us didn't. Maybe that started a whole chain of events. So, aliens? No. I think our own government did us in though. I can see your view too, because there is something alien about it. About the way we would view it, the way you would view it. Yesterday the planes came over. Big Cargo planes. Sprayed blue stuff over the entire city. We thought for sure we were done right then, but whatever that was it didn't kill us, didn't seem to do anything to us... But I wonder I really do...” He seemed to zone out for a second.
“John?” Glenn asked quietly.
He laughed. “Sorry. I need sleep. Sleep is what I need. Gangs,” he took a deep breath. “These cities, most of the cities I've been hearing about on the CB are controlled by Gangs now. They're out all night rounding us up. The other survivors...” He frowned heavily. “I'll be straight, not much use for other men... 'Less they think like them. Not much use for the children either. Women, gas, cash,” he laughed again. “They seem to think a day will come when it will all be worth something again.”
“You don't?” Kate asked.
“I don't,” John agreed. “I think somebody mucked up badly... I can't believe it was all an accident. Washington? Dead. L.A.? Dead. New York? Dead as well. There have been reports of the President being killed. In the end the Secret Service deserted him. The few that remained fled. The whole thing fell apart. And it's no better in other countries from what I have heard on the CB. Some of it could be exaggerated... Could be fear talking... But I don't think so. I think most of it is absolute truth. I think it all failed and we're on our own. That's what I think.”
Kate looked over as Amber sprang to her feet and walked away into the darkness of the store. “I'll be back,” Kate said. She got up and followed.
“I appreciate the truth, John,” John said.
John nodded. “Upset us too. Nothing for it that I can see.”
“Where are you from,” John asked.
“Rochester... Haven't heard much from it except there is a glow to the west... Could be they still have power there.”
“Hey inside!” This from the parking lot that was now edging quickly toward twilight.
“Shit,” Scott said. “Forgot all about that.” He jumped to his feet and headed to the opening, John right behind him.
“Guess we'll have to post a guard or something,” John agreed. He stared out at two small groups that stood in the darkness looking around at the deepening shadows. Scott spoke.
“What is it you want?” Scott asked.
“What is it we want? Are you kidding me? We want in there, out of the cold, the night.” The guy was tall and dirty looking in the darkening light, but Scott supposed they all probably looked a little rough. “Talking like that ain't gonna get you in here,” Scott told him. “In fact it will get you an invitation to hit the road.”
A woman who was leading the second group, off to the right of the first group spoke up. “Look, man. We're all on edge right now. We just want to share your shelter. Manny is not so good with diplomacy.”
“Manny?” Scott asked.
She nodded to the other group, “Manuel... Manny.”
“These groups ain't bad,” John said from beyond the doorway, hidden in the shadows.
“You vouch for them?” John asked.
“No... I won't go that far. I will say I have seen them around... They are not part of the gangs that are all over the place at night in the city. Not these two.”
“Good enough for me... Ed? Scott? Anyone else have an objection?”
“We'll just watch them kind of close,” Dave said.”
“Okay... Well, somebody better go get Amber and Kate... Just to be safe.” He turned back to the parking lot and the two waiting groups. “Slow,” he called out. “Slow and keep those rifles pointed down.”
Watertown: The Mall
John and Kate
Morning
Amber had risen early to the smell of hot food. A few of the women had begun cooking sometime before dawn, and plates were filled with food. Eggs, sausages, toast made over the fire. Burgers, canned ham and more. The store was stocked with all sorts of food. Some of it was going bad, but much of it had stayed preserved in the freezers and coolers. No one had been inside so the cold air had lasted longer without doors opening and closing every two minutes. When would she have a chance to eat real eggs again, Amber asked herself as she devoured the food. She looked over at Kate who was eating as fast as she was.
“Pigs,” Kate agreed. She laughed. “I had no idea how hungry I was.”
“Man oh man. Me either,” Amber agreed.
“It is good,” Manny grinned from nearby. Amber gave him a smile and went back to eating. The conversation ebbed and swelled around them. What to do, where to go.
They had posted guards all night long, and although there were gunshots further away, and a few fires they could see burning back in the city, the night had passed uneventfully.
Their small group had finally decided to go towards Rochester, New York. Glenn had said that he felt that it may be their best bet, due to the fact that there were no large military bases very close to it, and the lake levels would be low for a while, so there should be no flooding.
“It's probably dead center of the two major fault lines, and it's further away from the Saint Lawrence,” he had ventured.
They had discussed Syracuse, which was much closer, but rejected it when Terry had pointed out that the Finger Lakes could easily flood the whole area.
Glenn had agreed, and recalled several articles that had been written about the supposed newly discovered fault lines that crisscrossed the Finger Lakes.
Kate had pointed out that Watertown had its own military base and reminded them of the new facility that had been under construction in the old caves under the city. More reason to wonder why the military wasn't here.
“That whole complex is probably under water by now,” Glenn opinioned.
“I agree,” Scott had thrown in. “I worked there last year. It's nowhere completely sealed up, couldn't be. There are parts that might be okay, but if there was anyone other than a small staff down there I would be surprised. I don't see how they could get out of there if they are there. Fort Drum would be a better bet for help.”
“And that didn't happen,” John reminded, bringing the conversation full circle.
Glenn said that he felt the facility was probably destroyed, and had gone on to explain his own belief that anyone in there was either dead or trapped permanently.
“The Black River runs through that entire series of caves, even under most of the city itself. I can't say for a fact, but I think what most likely would happen is that at least part of the cave system would collapse. They're done for, if they're there at all,” he had said.
In the end they had finally decided on Rochester, and they were now discussing how to get there. They had decided, at Terry's suggestion, to use four wheel drive vehicles of some sort, and Kate had suggested that she and John check out the Jeep dealership across the street at the mall to see what they had on the lot.
She had also pointed out that there were several other car dealers in the same area, and if they couldn't find what they wanted there, they would only have a short walk to another lot to find something suitable.
“If any of it runs,” Scott had added.
“Running as of yesterday,” Manny threw in. “I drove one back into the city to get my family.”
“Didn't run for us the other day,” John added.
“Didn't for me either,” Manny agreed. “CB said they thought some sort of nuclear bomb, or the meteor.”
“The meteor could have done it?” Amber asked.
“I don't know, but they seem to think so... CB, they all think they are gods of knowledge.”
They were now discussing how many vehicles they would need, and how many people John and Kate would need to drive them back.
“I'm sure,” Terry continued, “that I can get a couple of the others guys to go with us.”
Glenn spoke up. “I really think then, that we ought to approach everyone else and find out who wants to go. They may not want to. We have to accept that you know.”
“He's right,” John agreed, “they may not. How many of them do you know?” he asked of the small group.
“It's a fairly tight community,” Kate said. “I'm not from here. I mean, the city seems big, the locals not so much. Very small tight knit community.”
“She's right,” Glenn added. “I'll go... Terry?” He turned back to John. “You too. Let's go see who we got.”
“I don't know that they'll all want to go. I've already seen a few leave, and we lost a couple of people this morning,” Amber added.
“She's right about that,” Glenn agreed, “I saw a couple of people hanging back talking together and they ended up leaving. I guess they aren't convinced that we should leave. I can't say I blame them really, the whole thing probably hasn't even sunk in yet.”
“Well, let’s go see who's left, and who wants to go then,” John decided. “No sense deciding this until we know for sure.”
“You mean if they don't want to go, you're not going?” Terry asked.
“No,” John said calmly. “I'm going, period.”
“Maybe we should decide right now if all of us want to go,” Glenn said. He looked around at the small assembled group, letting his eyes stop on Ed Weston.
“Ed, Dave?” Glenn asked.
“I'm in,” Ed replied, “I can't see any reason to stay here, and I think you may be right, Glenn. I'm not so sure this is a safe place to be.” He seemed to be slightly out of sync, Glenn thought, but he answered quickly, and decisively nonetheless.
“I'm in too,” Dave said. “But what if we get to Rochester and it's the same as here?”
“That's a chance we'll have to take,” Glenn replied. “In fact, I wouldn't doubt that there is damage. My only argument is that it may be safer than here. It's built on higher ground. It's also a much larger city, and I think that would increase our chances of finding other people. Maybe it would allow us to get a little more insight, or information, on what happened. Who knows, they may still have power, or some form of police, hell, maybe the television stations there are still working. We don't know, and the only way we will know is to go and find out. One thing is for certain though; Rochester is definitely built on higher ground than Watertown is. If that lake does rise, I would rather be there than here.”
Glenn looked around at the small group, and then continued.
“So, if we're all in agreement, I guess we better go talk to the others and see how many of them are going with us, agreed” he asked turning to Kate. “You and John will have an idea of how many trucks we are going to need; get some drivers... How long you figure, an hour or so? I mean to get ready to go.”
“It will probably be a good three hours before we get what we need and get back,” Kate replied after a quick look at John who nodded.
“I think you better do the talking, Glenn,” John said, “They know you better than they know me, and if we're going to get out of here today we better get our asses in gear too.”
With that the small group walked to the front of the store, where the other people had congregated by the shattered doors.
“Folks,” Glenn said as he held his hands over his head to get them to quiet down, “I'd like to talk to you.”
Most of the people there either knew Glenn, or knew of him, and they had an idea of what was coming, as most of them had been standing around listening when the conversation had first turned to leaving. They turned expectantly towards Glenn now, and waited for him to begin to speak.
“As most of you know,” Glenn began, “I'm in favor of leaving Watertown. I think you've all heard my reasons so I won't go into them, but what I would like to let you know, is that if we're going to go, and the eight of us are,” Glenn lowered his hands and gestured to include the group of people that stood around and near him, “we need to know if any of you are going to come along.”
No one answered for a few seconds. Glenn was about to begin speaking, if only to break the oppressive silence, when someone finally did. It was not what he had expected however.
