"The Center Pointe" Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It had now been only a couple of days since the arrival of the planet Nibiru.  It now swung in tandem with earth around the sun, a cosmic dance partner with our own planet.  I did warn you before my dear reader that you would have a front row seat to the horror of the new age.  Can you now see the desperate struggles of the trio as they try and make their way to the hospital in order to find medicine and safety?  They were forced to watch in horror as the creatures of the new world tore apart an innocent family.  This is not some science fiction story where a family almost gets annihilated but gets saved at the last second, this is the cold harsh reality of this new world where the only safety comes in the form of a weapon and a trusted companion at your side.

The world was sick to begin with.  Fellow man only cared about their own advancement and selfishness was considered to be a good thing among the well off.  Philanthropy only came in the form of charities for tax evasion.  People only cared about one another as much as was required.  You rarely would ever see true kindness.  Now a world has come into being where the comforts of the modern age have been obliterated and the only chance one could have for survival is the kindness of strangers.  Now I will ask you, rare survivor of the upper echelon of society, two men threw their lives to the wind and attempted to rush to the aid of a family in trouble.  If those men knew who you were would they have done the same for you?  Would you have done the same for them? Or would you have been like the man at the beginning of this story walking his dog while the voice of those in need faded with each step.  When you are truly in need will those same steps get louder or will they fade from you as well?

It is abhorrent for me to even surmise the despair the trio must have been in not being able to save the family or at least the children.  No one deserved a fate like that, but that is the order of the new world, the world I grew up in.

Brian sat alone on a rock trying in vain to warm himself in the early morning sun.  The temperature had been gradually dipping day by day for the last week, but over the last day or so it seemed as though it had finally begun to level off.  Rich and Karen were snuggled up together a few yards off in a tent the three had found.  It kept them warm and free from the elements at night but someone always had to keep watch in case those creatures came to close at night.  It had been three days since they had witnessed the attack on the family and the terror would still seep into their consciousness every chance it got.

Brian left Rich and Karen alone for the last few hours and even though it was Rich’s turn on watch Brian liked to see them cuddled together and happy for a while before they awoke and were again reminded of where they were.  Rich hoped one day to be cuddled close against someone he could love in the same way that his friends were cuddled together.  In this world his hopes of finding love were greatly diminished and over the last month every so often that thought would crawl into his brain and cause him momentary grief.  He knew he may not find love in the traditional sense, but he loved his two friends like family and would stick by their side and protect them as long as he was able.  Secretly he was not as optimistic as Rich was, Where Rich was in the mind that they all would either survive together or die together, Brian was more pessimistic.  He did not look forward to the day Rich may lose Karen to the illness that afflicted her.  He knew that if Karen or Rich were to die then that meant a death sentence for the survivor.  One could not live without the other and in Brian’s time with the couple he found one truth to be absolute.  The two were soul mates, a pair.  One could not exist without the other.  Brain knew this and he knew that Rich knew this.  This is why Brian was determined to take the risk.  He loved them and would rather trade his life in the event of some fatal event than have those two be without the other.

The three were now within sight of the hospital but had camped on top of a hill overlooking the building till the daylight had come.  They had arrived around midnight but upon inspection had seen no lights or activity of any kind so Rich thought it would be better to wait until daylight before taking a chance approaching it. 

Brian was watching the building intently for any signs of life while sunning himself, but within an hour he saw nothing.  There was no movement of any kind, animal or human.  His hopes faded with each passing minute that there would be any kind of safety at this place and began to wonder if leaving the house behind them had been the right decision because now they were in unknown territory with nowhere in which to hide.  Brian also knew that they would have no choice but to adventure into the hospital in search of food and medicine.  Karen had become increasingly sick over the last couple days since her medicine had worn off and he was worried that if they did not get her some soon they would be in a worse situation than running into the creatures that had torn that poor family apart.

Brian’s thoughts were interrupted by Karen emerging from the tent to run behind a nearby tree, no words were exchanged but Brian knew what was happening.  They needed in that hospital and they needed in now.  While Karen was relieving herself Brian got down off the rock and approached Rich.  He had woken when Karen ran from the tent and was busying himself collecting the gear and preparing to move.  He understood the look on Brian’s face immediately.

          “I know what you’re gonna say but we have to try.  Even if there is no one there, there is a good chance of finding food and medicine.  Karen won’t last another week if we don’t find something for her soon.” said Rich

          “Well I haven’t seen any activity so if we’re lucky we won’t have any trouble from the creatures.  Maybe we can hole up there for a while if we need to.”

“We may not have a choice.  Karen is pretty bad and getting worse, we need a place to rest and regain our strength till we can figure out our next move.  If we can claim the hospital then we can use it for other survivors as an outpost and some kind of safety.”

          “Look at you being the optimist Rich!” said Brian clapping his friend on the back.

          Rich gave a small chuckle as he began breaking down the tent.  As he was finishing Karen came walking back very slowly with a finger to her lips signaling quiet.  Brian pulled his knife and Rich grabbed a club he had fashioned from a tree branch.  Without saying a word she pointed to the grouping of trees behind them slightly down the hill.  After a moment of silence they heard the familiar grunting of the horrible creatures they had previously run into.

The sounds were getting louder by the second and they all knew there was no hiding or running this time.  They were going to have to stand and fight or die.  Rich turned to Karen “Get behind us and don’t let them touch you.  Brian, I will try and make an opening and you go for the kill.  A quick stab to the heart should take them down almost instantly.”

          “Or we could play it like a zombie movie and get them directly in the head.”

          “Then you will have to stab hard because the heart and the head are difficult to penetrate with the bone.”

          Karen had now covered her eyes not wanting to see the outcome.  She was certain they would be overwhelmed like the family and be torn apart.  They waited for what seemed an eternity for the creatures to come over the hill.  They had already spotted the trio but had a difficult time traversing the dense brush the companions had taken refuge in.  By the time they had made it to the clearing Brian and Rich had taken up defensive positions.  Rich had taken up point to keep the creatures at a distance and occupied so Brian could get in behind them and go for the kill where it was easier to penetrate a vital organ or the heart.

          When at last the creatures came into view it was hard for the trio to keep from looking away. There were two males.  One looked to be a business man, his suit was tattered and his hair and beard had grown out a bit but he had the unmistakable look of one who routinely wore suits to work.  The other was obviously a cop.  His uniform had been completely torn apart except for a pair of tattered pants only held on his body by the utility belt that was tightly fastened about his waist.  They both were covered in a multitude of cuts and bruises; brush from the forest was tangled about their bodies as if they were part of the woods.  Their skin was a deep grey and although it was brisk they were like the others sweating as if very hot.  Any trace of humanity was gone and only animals remained.  The only thing that gave away their former status was the tattered remains of their clothing.

Brian and Rich had only seconds to take in the sight before the two rushed them. As the first one got within range Rich slammed the tip of his club into the business man’s chest sending the creature reeling back into the brush where he got tangled.  The creature made a grand angry display catching himself in the brush and getting tangled in the mass.

Rich was at the ready for the onslaught of the second attack and instead of attempting to slam the second attacker in the chest he instead used the club to kite the creature in an attempt to make an opening for Brian to use his blade.  The creature was grabbing at the end of the club and trying to wretch it from Riches grasp.  The struggle was so great it did not notice Brian side step around from behind Rich and move himself behind it.  Before the creature was able to wrestle the club from Rich, Brian thrust the knife with all his force in the things back penetrating the heart from behind.  As Brian twisted the knife to ensure the maximum damage the creature gave a horrible piercing cry and fell dead at Karen’s feet who had moved to Riches side during the fight.

Before Rich and Brian could gain back their strength the other one had freed himself and rushed the two.  Rich pulled up the club just in time to keep the thing from grabbing him but as the man stumbled back he reached out for something to steady himself and unfortunately grabbed Brian’s shoulder in the process.  There was a small spark as its hand connected with Brian’s shoulder.  Brian’s body stiffened and slumped to the ground an audible groan the only sound before he fell into unconsciousness.  With Brian on the ground Rich was forgotten and the creature jumped on the unconscious Brian sinking its teeth into the helpless man’s left arm.

Rich jumped back into the fray using the club trying to beat the creature off of his friend.  But it was as though it did not even notice Rich’s efforts and kept trying to take chunks out of Brian’s body. 

Karen sat horrified by the body of the cop watching Rich trying to save Brian.  She felt helpless that she could not help them and shuddered with fear.  Finally the creature took his attention from Brian and renewed its efforts trying to take Rich down as well.  Rich was now in a struggle for his life, he was tired and the thing seemed to have never ending strength and stamina in its animal style rage.  She knew there was nothing she could do, she didn’t have the strength to fight this thing and she could tell Rich’s strength was fading.  Her despair almost overtook her until she looked at the body lying before her.

Rich was in trouble.  The creatures renewed efforts were close to overpowering him.  He had no weapon in which to cause a great enough injury to take down the beast.  A quick thrust from the creature to the base of Rich’s club sent the object flying from his hand and landing on the ground out of reach.  The creature then rushed Rich and he knew this was the end.  He braced himself for the shock he knew was coming and all he could think of was that he had let Karen down and now their fate would be shared with the poor family they had also failed to save.  Just then a loud bang resounded echoing throughout the vicinity and the creature dropped dead at Rich’s feet blood pouring from a wound to the head.  Rich looked back to see Karen standing behind him, a smoking glock in her hand.

Rich slowly stood and looked at Karen for a moment, he was about to say something when he remembered Brain on the ground unconscious.  He ran over to him and knelt down.  He put a hand on his friend’s chest to make sure he was still breathing as Karen grabbed a piece of cloth and began tending to the wound on Brian’s left arm.

          “That thing got him good.” she said wiping away the blood to get a better look at the injury.  “I hope he’ll be ok, you don’t think he’ll turn into one of those things do you?”

          Rich was busy testing Brian’s heart rate and watching his friend’s breathing.  “No, it doesn’t look to be anything that would be transferred.  From the look of these guys and the other one we saw it seems they turned on the arrival of the planet.  This isn’t a zombie movie, just tend to his wound I think he’ll be fine, his breathing is normal and steady he’s just unconscious.”

Brian remained un-conscious, Rich and Karen tended to his wound and made sure it was dressed; when they were finished they took a seat on the rock that their friend had been sunning himself on that morning.  The afternoon had trudged on slowly.  Nibiru hung low in the sky illuminated by the afternoon sun.  At this point the planet appeared to be twice the size of the sun and had appeared to settle into orbit around the Earth.  For a while they were wondering if the planet was going to collide with theirs but it now seemed the two planets were in a cosmic dance with each other moving around the sun.

There had been no movement in the woods or around the hospital since they were able to take a break after tending to Brian.  They had a brief conversation about what they might find there and finally settled on the decision that it was worth the risk to explore the hospital. 

Karen had found two extra clips on the police officers body and held the gun in her left hand while holding Rich’s hand in her right.  They were so engrossed in the quiet of the afternoon air and the warmth of the bright sun they did not notice Brian awaken and take a seat beside them.  They both jumped when he spoke.

          “Well I guess god must be watching over us if were still alive.”

          Rich and Karen both looked at Brian in unison then jumped on him hugging their friend.

“God! get off of me you freaks!”  He said with a gentle laugh.  “Who’s the crack shot.  I thought for sure when that thing touched me we were all dead then I awaken to a dressed wound and two dead things next to me.  One with a bullet to the head.”

          Karen looked at him and with a grin on her face said “When you got a redneck father and he wanted a son and didn’t get one, then he takes his daughter out.  He made sure I knew how to shoot, he used to want to take me on hunts but my mom wouldn’t let him.”  Her face then grew somber and she rested her head on her husband’s shoulder.  “He’s probably dead huh?”  She said trying to hold back the tears.

          “We survived hon. you never know, he’s a survivor I have confidence that him and your mother are fine.”  He said hugging her tight against his body.  “In about an hour we’re gonna make our move for the hospital.  So let’s all try and relax and enjoy the quiet together for a while.”  The trio then sat taking in the silence and the quiet of the day devoid of loud vehicles and noisy planes.  If it wasn’t for the present reality of things it would have been a very pleasant hour indeed.

         

The trip down the hill and through the parking lot to the hospital was gratefully uneventful and the trio now stood at the emergency room doors trying to peer into the darkness.  There was no movement inside which was a letdown among the three of them.  Their hopes of safe haven now seemed dashed.  On a positive note the doors were shut and no windows seemed broken, which meant hopefully no creatures had gotten into the immense structure.  Brian and Rich each took hold of one side of the sliding glass doors and began to pry them open while Karen stood guard gun leveled.  After a few minutes the doors stood open and the trio cautiously made their way inside sliding the doors shut behind them.

The sun thankfully lit part of the interior bathing the emergency room waiting area in light.  But the further back they went the darker it got.  Once they got to the actual emergency patient area they found flashlights on the wall and were soon able to get a good look at their new surroundings.

They swung the rays of the flashlights around the big room looking for any signs of life.  The feeling was surreal, seeing nurses stations and doctors desks, empty with all their items still in place is what one would expect to find in some kind of horror movie, the quiet was deafening as if the killer would jump from the shadows any moment slicing away with his butchers knife.  The three strained themselves listening for any telltale noise of life but the room remained silent.  They went from patient room to patient room but found them all empty.  Each room was pristine as if expecting to receive a patient at any moment.  It was an odd sight because you would expect that after the initial catastrophe the hospital would have been abuzz but it was just the opposite it looked as though it had been cleaned then vacated.  The confusion was evident on all their faces that now occupied the darkened room.

“No broken glass, no dead patients, nothing even out of order here?” said Brian sitting down in a chair behind the intake desk usually occupied by a nurse.  “Where did everyone go? This doesn’t make any sense?”

“Well I don’t think the creatures could get in even if they had wanted to.  They’re not really of the mentality to pry open the doors, and hospitals are usually equipped with plexi-glass windows in case of emergency.” said Rich.  “As long as there are no breaks in the building or someone got stuck in here then turned I believe we should be safe for the time being.  We should search and secure the rest of the hospital.  Medicine and food should be our top priority.  The other two nodded their agreement.