The Undead Chronicles | Vol. 3 | Dead of Winter, page 34
part #3 of The Undead Chronicles Series
He hoped to find someone making breakfast after absentmindedly turning on every single light inside the building, but as he entered, two strong hands clasped his hands, virtually crushing them over the firearm he held.
Timmons yelped in pain, barely seeing the figure looming over him before the gun was stripped from his hands and he was literally picked up and thrown across the room. Landing hard, his back struck several bar chairs and a sofa, which brought him to an abrupt stop. He felt a sharp pain in his right wrist, causing him to wonder if he broke a bone while being manhandled, or tossed like a lawn dart. One of the chairs fell over him, and as he swept it clear with one arm, Timmons found four younger people approaching him from across the room, already armed with various guns.
One of them was Amber, the girl Harold and Phyllis took in and trusted based on her brief stay the previous year. Timmons hadn’t noticed anything particularly odd about her behavior the past few days, but he now understood she played a part and infiltrated their small group so she could bring in her real friends.
“This really isn’t necessary,” Timmons said, trying to get up from the floor, only to receive a hard shove from the large man who assaulted him.
“Stay down, old man,” he warned.
“I didn’t have much choice,” Amber said, kneeling down a few feet from him. “I didn’t know if anyone would be here after all this time. I needed backup.”
“You didn’t need to lie and sneak around,” Timmons said.
“People are more accepting when there’s only one survivor,” Amber said evenly. “They don’t ask as many questions.”
“It’s a matter of supply and demand,” the shorter of the two men said, taking a step forward.
“And who the fuck are you?”
“This is Ronnie, my brother,” Amber answered.
“Enough with the introductions,” the taller man said. “Let’s shoot the old-timer and take this place.”
Now Timmons felt a shot of adrenaline at the thought of being ruthlessly murdered in a place he temporarily called home. Before he decided to act, however, cooler heads prevailed.
“We aren’t killing anyone,” the other young woman said. “That was never part of the plan.”
“You want to let them walk out of here so they can come back and take the place back? We’d be looking over our shoulders forever.”
Timmons got himself to a seated position on the floor without attracting attention. He felt as though reason might prevail, so he decided not to attack any of the young adults.
“Amber’s been here two days and she knows you can’t keep this place up and running yourselves,” he said.
“You did an internship here, babe,” the tall man said. “You got this.”
“Adam, he’s right. It’s changed.”
“Then we keep the old folks around until they teach you what to do.”
“I can’t believe you’re talking about murdering innocent people, Adam,” Amber said emphatically. “This isn’t you.”
“Wake up, Amber. We can’t afford to feed extra mouths. You’ve been out there.”
“Everyone deserves a chance to make it,” Ronnie said, siding with his sister. “If we’re going to slaughter people, we’re no better than the dead.”
“We’ve made it here by working together,” Timmons said, deciding to speak up while the odds were in his favor.
“Shut up, old man,” Adam demanded, taking a threatening step in his direction.
“You shoot me, and everyone comes in here with guns a blazing,” Timmons warned.
“Maybe I’ll just strangle you with my bare hands,” Adam retorted. “Or gut you like a fish.”
“That’s enough!” Amber shouted with a constrained volume. “We never talked about murdering people, or forcing them to work for us.”
“What did you think was going to happen?” her boyfriend retorted. “There’s a reason we didn’t knock on the front door.”
“We didn’t think anyone would be here,” Ronnie said.
“You wanted a way in, and I got that for you,” Amber said to her boyfriend. “An introduction.”
“Some introduction,” Timmons muttered, holding his injured wrist as he felt the onset of swelling.
“Shut up,” they both told him simultaneously.
“This isn’t going to work,” Ronnie said to his sister. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, but the Padgetts aren’t going to welcome us after you lied to them.”
Timmons suspected the four young adults had time to catch up and discuss recent events before he entered the main building. He wasn’t sure if the other woman was Ronnie’s girlfriend, or simply an acquaintance they brought to their new forever home.
“Look,” he said, daring to speak again. “I’m a pilot. I can get you kids wherever you want to go if you leave these folks alone. Florida, Texas, somewhere nice and warm where you don’t have to worry about all this snow.”
“Where people have guns, and the zombies don’t freeze to make them easy targets,” Amber countered.
“And how the fuck do you expect to get us out of here?” Adam asked. “We had to hike up half of the mountain just to get here.”
“Getting down is much easier,” Timmons assured him. “And we left a plane just west of here.”
“West of here?” Amber said with a furrowed eyebrow. “Buffalo isn’t exactly one town away.”
Now caught in an omission of the truth, Timmons lost any footing he might have gained with his abductors.
“Phyllis can be quite talkative once you get her started,” Amber said, tilting her head sideways in a sassy fashion.
As though on que, Phyllis and Harold walked through the door, immediately rushed by the young adults and held at gunpoint. Fortunately, they weren’t handled as roughly as Timmons had been, but they vocalized a need for answers. Very little was said to them, as they were placed near the pilot, and Adam stated a desire to get everyone else in the main building before moving forward.
“What the hell is going on?” Harold asked of Timmons.
“Your former intern seems to have betrayed you.”
“That little bitch,” Phyllis uttered disgustedly, just above a whisper.
After a few minutes, Amber went out the main entrance to check on her boyfriend, and in short order, the pair returned with Isabella, Nathan, and Jillian. Only Timmons knew about Metzger leaving in the middle of the night, and he intended to keep it that way in case his friend arrived in time to deal with the situation. Thus far, none of them were bound, being held at gunpoint only, so a distraction might provide them an opportunity to surprise the young adults by rushing them.
Timmons heard them make mention of the fact that Metzger wasn’t in his cabin, or anywhere else on the grounds, dismissing it as him going on a supply run with one of the cars gone.
Everyone around him looked confused and scared, and for his part, Timmons wasn’t sure of what action to take. His attempts at being conversational and trying to bring about a resolution like Metzger would have tried, failed utterly. It seemed as though three of their captors remained steadfastly against murder, but Adam appeared to have some sort of control over them. Perhaps sheer intimidation because of his size kept them in line, or maybe he spearheaded the entire plan to take over the resort once Amber and Ronnie told him about the self-sufficient nature of the property.
“We can’t run this place without them,” Amber insisted to her boyfriend, trying to keep her voice low enough that she couldn’t be heard.
Timmons knew well enough that virtually every sound inside the building could be heard when there weren’t appliances running in the background. Remaining calm, he studied his surroundings, ignoring some of the conversation as he looked for the means to escape the situation or overtake the young adults. Other than bulky furniture, few weaponry options presented themselves. If he were determined to be selfish, he could make a run for the building’s other door, ducking into the woods and escaping if his captors weren’t good shots.
He already knew he wasn’t going to run, which would force him to continue using his weaker skill set of negotiating. Turning the other three against the taller, stronger man wasn’t going to be easy, but Timmons knew only fear kept them under his thumb. No matter the size of a man, a bullet proved a great equalizer, and he needed to convince only one of them of that fact.
“We have everything we need,” Adam insisted, touching his girlfriend’s face gently, trying to manipulate his way into converting her mindset.
“You do?” Phyllis chimed in. “You know where to go for supply runs?”
Her question was met with silence and mildly surprised stares.
“You know how to raise chickens, keep plants alive all year round, and replace a solar panel when it goes bad?”
More silence.
“We run this place as a team,” Harold added. “You youngsters wouldn’t last a month without something important breaking down.”
“You seem to forget we worked here,” Ronnie said, his voice not as confident as the stoic front he put forth.
“So that’s it?” Harold questioned. “Because we built this place up, and you think you know how to run it, you’re going to systematically murder us and bury us out back?”
Ronnie didn’t answer, and the look crossing his face indicated he didn’t want to harm anyone.
“This wasn’t your idea, was it, son?” Harold asked the younger man, using language Timmons often used with Metzger, possibly to drive his point home.
“There are other camps in the area,” Isabella stated, trying to reason with the four young adults. “All of them have fireplaces, nearby water, and some supplies. You could make a go of it there, and even trade supplies with us. I have a son here.”
“A son who enjoys hot showers,” Adam said with a hint of envy and anger. “Why shouldn’t we get to live the good life?”
Timmons felt his face flush with anger, and he foolishly blurted his words without forethought.
“Because we were invited, and you’re an entitled piece of shit trying to steal something that doesn’t belong to you.”
Holding a pistol in one hand, Adam stormed over to the pilot, clutching Timmons by the throat with his free hand, hoisting him off the ground as Timmons felt the large fingers begin to cut off the oxygen he desperately needed to survive.
“Old man, it’s time for you to go.”
Timmons felt the fingers squeeze inward and he involuntarily made a gurgling croak that came from asphyxiation.
“Leave him alone!” Isabella shouted, and some of the others chimed in, but Timmons felt no easing from the powerful fingers wrapped around his throat.
He felt light-headed, and Timmons saw sparkling orbs of light as the room began to dim.
“Let the old man go,” a voice from across the room ordered, and all heads turned to find Metzger and his brother standing near the entry that led to the rear entrance.
Timmons felt the hand completely release him, and he dropped to the ground in a heap, quickly gulping a few deep breaths.
“Bryce!” Isabella shouted, prompting her husband to hold up a hand, letting her know to stay put until the life and death business concluded.
“Dad!” Nathan exclaimed as his mother held him back.
Both Metzger brothers held firearms on the newcomers to the resort, keeping them at bay.
All of them except Amber appeared to recognize Bryce, possibly wishing they killed him outright instead of trusting that the elements would keep him in check. They didn’t immediately put down their firearms, so Metzger took the next step in controlling the situation.
“Drop your weapons or we open fire and risk fucking this place up for all of us. It’s the only reason I didn’t come in shooting.”
“How can we trust you won’t shoot us?” the other girl asked.
“If I wanted you dead, I would’ve come in shooting. I’m giving you one last chance.”
Amber’s boyfriend wasn’t having it.
“We can kill all of them and take this place,” he said.
“We never agreed to killing anyone,” Amber argued, putting down her weapon as her brother and the other woman followed suit. “This was your plan, and a bad one at that.”
“It sounds like only one of you is the problem,” Metzger said. “I can’t kick the four of you out of here and expect you to stay away, which poses a dilemma.”
“How much did you hear?” Phyllis asked Metzger.
“Enough,” he responded. “It’s time we settle this without damaging this place.”
He continued to keep his weapon aimed at the taller man, who remained dangerously close to the hostages.
“How do you propose that?” Ronnie asked, keeping his hands raised just above his waist, indicating he didn’t plan on making any sudden moves.
“Me and the big fella over there are going to have it out to see who stays here. No one dies needlessly, and we settle this like men.”
“I like that idea,” Adam said with a scowl.
Instead of immediately complying, however, the taller man remained near the hostages in case Metzger provided a ruse instead of a solution. Of the four intruders, only he continued to hold a firearm, which he didn’t appear ready to put down.
Timmons got to his feet, inching a bit closer to Metzger as everyone appeared to be in compliance with his idea. The pilot felt certain everyone in the room wanted Metzger to kick this bully’s ass, but he wasn’t convinced his friend possessed the ability to follow through.
“You can’t do this,” Timmons said, keeping his voice low, fearing for the safety of his flying protégé.
“I can, and I will,” Metzger replied.
“What I mean, is you can’t possibly beat him.”
Metzger looked at him directly with the most serious look he’d ever provided the pilot.
“Manchester.”
Twenty-Six
“No, not Manchester,” Timmons insisted, taking hold of Metzger’s right arm for emphasis. “You can’t do this.”
“I’ll be fine,” Metzger promised, appearing reassured to the Navy captain.
He continued to hold both his sidearm, and the short sword, moving toward the other three young adults who trespassed at the resort.
“He’s playing for blood,” Timmons said just above a whisper, extremely worried about his friend. “I don’t want to see you end up dead.”
“I’ve got this, Scott,” Metzger assured him with a grin. “What matters is we get him away from everyone else. I don’t think the others are much of a threat.”
“Just shoot the motherfucker, Dan.”
“No. He needs to learn a lesson, and the others need to see the consequences of their actions.”
“Why do you always have to do things the hard way?”
“I’ve known him almost thirty-four years, and I’ve yet to find out,” Bryce chimed in.
Because someone finally spoke it, the group knew Adam’s last name to be Hewitt. He continued to argue with his group members, who appeared to be turning on him completely, asking why he would accept a challenge when they were clearly outnumbered and the three of them surrendered their weapons.
He didn’t really have an answer for them, but Timmons recognized the classic signs of a bully in the man with a sociopathic streak.
Metzger removed his jacket, even though he had stated a desire to carry out the fight outside.
“Talk him out of this,” Timmons said, turning his attention to Bryce.
“Nope.”
Timmons remained silent a moment as Metzger went forward with his plan, speaking before anyone else could interrupt.
“Outside,” he said, addressing Hewitt. “No weapons. The winner is the last one conscious.”
“You’ll be more than unconscious,” Hewitt promised.
“I’m sure you’ll try, but this isn’t going to end well for you.”
Timmons drew close to Bryce before speaking into the man’s ear.
“Is he just doing this for show?”
“No,” Bryce answered. “He means it.”
“Why aren’t you stepping in? You’re his big brother.”
Bryce shot him a quizzical stare.
“If he gets pummeled, it’s on your watch,” Timmons added.
“He won’t get pummeled.”
“Fighting that isn’t like fighting the dead.”
“I’m aware,” Bryce said. “Just like you, I was on the receiving end of those big paws.”
Bryce turned to acknowledge his wife and son as they ran up to him, knowing they were no longer in danger. He broke away from Timmons to embrace them and tell them comforting words. Timmons knew their anguish, and decided not to pester Bryce during the family reunion. He wasn’t sure how he would react if he learned that his son and ex-wife were alive, but he seriously doubted that possibility in his own life.
Because of that, and seeing that Bryce might remain preoccupied for at least a few minutes, the pilot made the decision that he wasn’t going to let any serious harm come to the man he considered the son he always wanted.
Timmons watched as Metzger and Hewitt walked to the main door after Hewitt handed his last firearm to Amber, who quickly set it down in compliance with the rules Metzger set. She didn’t want to be harmed by the people she betrayed, because no one knew which way the impending skirmish would end. Bryce seemed confident, which unnerved Timmons even more, because the lieutenant commander wasn’t sharing his insider knowledge.
