"The Center Pointe' Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Rich, Brian and John were enjoying their morning breakfast that Marissa had made for the group.  They were discussing the plans for the day and Rich was trying not to notice the little glances that Brian and John were giving each other.  He could tell the two liked each other but did not want to say anything in case he embarrassed one of them, besides it was best to stay on topic and not bring attention to personal matters like that.  But he secretly wished his best friend luck.

Karen came in a few minutes later carrying a very chipper and happy looking Sati.  Karen herself looked a bit tired but happy with the bubbling child in her arms.  She sat beside the three men and listened to what they were discussing.

“We should give this entire place a thorough go through so we know exactly how many people we can take on, we will also need to find assign anyone with medical training to the E.R.” Said Rich

“I agree but we should also get anyone trained in guns and combat as a security detail to keep the building safe.  Who was doing all the sniping that saved our asses in the field we need them to train others in the use of rifles and weapons.” Said John.

          Brian gave a proud look to Karen and said. “It was Karen.”

          John looked startled for a moment then turned to Karen with a devilish grin.  “A female sniper that’s just what the other women need around here a strong female presence to uplift their spirits.”

          Karen blushed at this comment.  “I just got a few lucky shots anyone could have done it.”

John looked at her very seriously.  “You were dealing out headshots to targets in a group of people without hitting anyone innocent at over a hundred yards, I can’t think of anyone who’s a better shot than that, please consider helping the people of this group we could really use you.”

Karen took a long look at Sati who was now sitting quietly in Karen’s arms listening intently to the adult’s conversation.  “Okay. I’ll do what I can.”  She said kissing Sati on the top of the head and stroking the girl’s hair.

They all could see how fast Karen had gotten attached to the child and Sati to Karen the three men knew without speaking with nothing but a glance at each other that Karen would do anything to protect the child and that she would gladly teach others to protect as well.  She had never been able to have children of her own so Sati was the gift from God, the light in the dark shinning a path into the future for not just Karen but the whole group.  If the world was to survive its survival must be placed in the hands of the next generation.  Children must be protected from harm at all costs.

          “Okay Karen.” Said Rich. “I am leaving it on you to find anyone with any kind of defensive or combat training to aid you in training others how to protect themselves.” He then turned to Brian.  “I need you to go from person to person for anyone with medical training and help them set up a care unit for the group and god willing any other survivors we may find.  John and I will do an extensive sweep of the perimeter and flag any weak spots for additional fortification.”  He glanced at all three individually.  “Do we all agree?”

The others nodded in unison, they were happy that Rich was able to take charge they all felt good that someone was able to shoulder the responsibility of leadership and they all felt that Rich was the best person to lead them through this.

After they were all done eating breakfast they each took to their assigned tasks.  John and Rich grabbed a couple of handguns and knives to protect themselves as they went to flag the weak points of the perimeter.  Karen took to talking to each member of the group individually and seeing who among the ten adults had combat training or weapons training of any kind, after she was done Brian took to making a list of the people who could best help in a medical role.

          Rich and John decided the best place to start their check was the ground floor of the hospital and move on to the basement then the upper levels.  Since Rich and Brian had already done a walk through they felt it would be an uneventful task.  They began with the Emergency room which would be the most likely place the static would try and infiltrate.  This would also be the heart of the community.  If there were other survivors that made it to the hospital it would be important to have a functioning medical facility that could take on the injured and treat them.

          They first checked the doors.  A person was able to dead bolt the sliding glass doors from the inside without a key so they would be able to lock or unlock the doors in seconds in the event of an emergency.  There were no static at the door at this moment so the two decided to check the structure of the windows and their casing to make sure no damage had been done by the creatures that had been beating on the windows and doors for days.  Upon close inspection they saw that the windows and doors were thankfully holding strong.  There were no cracks or breaks in any of the windows or frames.  Unless someone was to drive a vehicle through the glass it should hold firm against the onslaught of the static.

 They then moved to the ambulance bays to make sure the doors and windows were holding steady there as well, after confirming their integrity they took to checking each individual room and office on the ground floor to make sure there was nothing of importance or danger overlooked.  Each emergency exit door to the outside had been chained by the hospital staff before abandoning the place and there were no ground floor windows a person would be capable of fitting through.  As far as the two men were concerned the ground floor was secure and safe for everyone.  They would have to place a security detail to watch the movement of the static and keep an eye out for any survivors trying to find sanctuary.

After a good two hours clearing the ground floor and flagging any potential weak spots in the structure they were finally able to move to the basement of the building.  There were three entrances to the basement, the cargo elevator that could be raised or lowered from the ambulance bay for deliveries, the main door they had entered through and another cargo elevator at the far end of the basement near a storage room.  They knew the main door to the basement was secured and could be latched from the other side so there was no way anyone was getting through that door without being let in.

There were no windows down there but there were flashlights hanging on the wall the two could use and thankfully the batteries were still working so they could take their time clearing the basement and looking for anything that may be useful to their emerging community.  As they took their time quietly moving through the basement they could see many barrels full of fuel that would have been useful for the generator but if they were even to attempt to use it with the high amount of electrical static in the air just touching one of the barrels could set off an explosion that could level the hospital.

“We’re sitting on a bomb that could go off at any time, we should think about moving these barrels out of this basement and away from the building where if they explode they won’t do any harm.” Said John to Rich. 

“Ever since that damn planet appeared touching anything metal could knock you out cold from electric shock.  Anything that is susceptible to us touching it should be removed from the building to a safe distance.”

“Well. I hate to see so much fuel got to waste maybe we can make better use of it some other way,  I have an idea to where we can place the barrels to create a perimeter around this place,  any static get near them and BOOM! They’re toast.  What do you think?”

Rich thought for a moment, if the fuel could be used safely then it would be a great benefit to the people of this building.  But on further thought just using it would risk the lives of everyone and it would only take a second of carelessness to blow the building sky high, but if they did use it as a perimeter it could become an advanced warning system against the static and maybe even take a few of them out or scare them away from the building.  Like it or not this was now their home and Rich was determined to keep the inhabitants of this building safe from the outside world for as long as her could.  “Yes I think that would be a real good idea, but we’ll have to use gloves and be extremely careful, I don’t want to lose anyone in the process of trying to keep them safe.”

John laughed at this. “Yea, in a world gone to hell we get destroyed not by the insane animals and other people but by our own stupidity. We’ll have to work on a plan to move these things without risking everyone, Brian is a pretty smart guy maybe he can think of something.”

Rich noticed John made this statement with a glint in his eye and he could tell right away there was something between his best friend and this new addition to their lives.  Rich never would have thought Brian could find someone to care about in this world, but in a way Rich felt he should not be surprised.  Brian was always very lucky in many things he did, unlike himself and Karen who seemed to be plagued with bad luck.  Rich even secretly thanked God that Brian had been living with them when this all happened because his luck is probably what saved them all. “So you and Brian are getting along, I’m happy to see that.”  He said with a little chuckle.

Johns face grew red with embarrassment for a moment.  He should have thought that Rich knew Brian’s sexual orientation and that he could read between the lines at his comment.  In this world it didn’t seem to matter anymore what people thought but it was obvious Rich was understanding to this and was even glad that Brian and John might have a possible future together.  He wanted to say thank you but thought he should just let the conversation go and focus on the task at hand.

Without windows the basement was so dark that the flashlights barely penetrated the gloom.  The musty smell familiar with most basements permeated their nostrils and did nothing to alleviate the tension they both were feeling.  They strained their ears to listen for even the faintest of noises, bust heard nothing.  The basement was littered with full and empty barrels of fuel that the two had to maneuver around like a mine field to avoid any accidental contact resulting in a static spark to set them off.

“We’re gonna have to find gloves for everyone to help keep injury due to static electricity down.” Said Rich while carefully navigating between two of the explosive cylinders.

“You know I’ve been thinking.”

“That can be hazardous to your health.” Said Rich.  “Did it hurt?” He said with a laugh while guiding John through the remaining barrels.

“Ha, Ha.” Replied John sarcastically.  No but what if we were able to scrounge some solar panels, if we can figure out how to use them it might provide some power to key areas of this place.  If we had power, even limited power it might make all the difference in an emergency.”

“Hmm. Not a bad idea but first we would need to find the panels and learn how to install them, plus there is the chance they will not work at all since the high static discharge in the atmosphere seems to have shorted out all the electronic equipment.”

“But maybe it could work, I mean, yea it did short out electrical equipment but it may be equipment that can be repaired back to working order.  It is an idea worth exploring don’t you think?”

“It may be in the future but for right now it is dangerous to send anyone out to scavenge, we have to learn to deal with the Static much more efficiently before we can send teams out to gather supplies.  I don’t want to lose anyone, especially for something that may not work to begin with.  When we do venture out, because we have to eventually, I want to make sure that it is when we’re all trained to be safe.”

John could not argue with Rich’s logic and he knew it.  Sending anyone out to scavenge for supplies right now was a death sentence.  This was not some Hollywood zombie movie where the reanimated walking dead lurched at you while stumbling across the earth.  The Static were a very real threat, they were quick strong and dangerous.  For one to even touch you would be game over.  John hadn’t felt the touch of a Static but Brian had described it to him on watch the night before and he was not too keen on experiencing that for himself.  For now he should bow to Rich’s wisdom and work with him Karen and Brian on strengthening the group as a whole so that when they were ready to venture out for supplies then there would be a better chance they would all come back.

The two finally got to the far side of the basement through the barrels.  This side was pretty much empty.  There was a shelf and a work bench with some tools that could be useful.  There was also a door to a store room.  The two figured that it may hold more tools and maybe even some other supplies that could be very useful to all of them.  The two men approached the metal door trying to listen for anything inside.  The door had a padlock holding it shut but the padlock itself was open.  It appeared that there was nothing on the other side that the hospital needed to keep locked up.

Rich stood next to the door combat knife in hand and silently motioned for John to open the latch, he also made a motioning move to indicate he wanted john to open the door quickly and then step aside so nothing would pop out in case there were survivors or other stuff that could fall out and injure them.  Rich with knife ready waited for John to throw open the door.  John took hold of the latch and carefully undid it from the door,  he was about to swing it open and move out of the way for Rich to clear the room when a huge thud and a lot of weight hit the door throwing it open and knocking John backward.  Before John could recover a figure rushed out at him and tackled him, he could already feel the static electricity shooting through his body and before he blacked out from the shock he could feel the teeth of the creature sink into his collar bone and take a chunk out, John was grateful when the darkness finally over took him and gave him an escape from the extreme pain.

Rich was completely taken off guard when the creature threw open the door, it must have heard them and waited for them to open the latch then threw all of its body weight against it.  Rich had no time to even draw his weapon before the Static was on John, Rich saw John black out just as the creature bit into his shoulder.  Rich was grateful that John would be spared the pain.  It only took Rich a moment to recover from the shock of the creature’s appearance. These things moved so quickly and did so much damage in such a short amount of time that it was hard to recover quickly when they surprised you.

Rich took his combat knife and made sure no part of his hand was touching the metal and that he had a tight grip on the nylon part of the handle.  He took the knife and plunged it into the back of the Static’s head right at the base of the skull between the vertebrae of the neck.  The creature howled and fell dead in an instant.  He then grabbed the creature by the ankles and dragged it back in the room it had burst out of.  The room was a mess but at least the thing was alone in there and there were no more surprises waiting.  The place was trashed, there were boxes ripped apart and items that he could not identify in the dim light littering the room.  He dragged the dead thing in the room and dropped it back on the floor, there would be time to examine the contents of the room later but for now he needed to go and see if John was all right.  He had seen the creature knock him out and take a chunk out of him.

 Rich went to John’s side and put his fingers to John’s neck to feel for a pulse.  He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a steady heartbeat, and could see the man breathing normally.  Rich knew that when John did wake up he would be in a good amount of pain.  For right now he could not move him.  He would have to get back up stairs and get some people to come and carry John up to the emergency room, he hoped that Brian had been able to find someone among the group that had some medical training and could help John.  The man was still unconscious and Rich hoped he would stay that way until he could get help; he hated the idea of John waking up in extreme pain and alone in the dark.

“Bro. I know you can’t hear me but I need to go and get someone to help get you to the emergency room, I hope you will be ok.”

Rich navigated through the barrels as quickly and carefully as he could, he then rushed to the stairs and was up to the emergency room as fast as his feet could carry him, when at last he arrived there he saw Brian and two other people talking while bent over some medical equipment, one of the group seemed to be instructing Brian and the other person on the operation of the device. 

Brian heard the running and saw Rich round the corner huffing and panting and alone.  He dropped what he was doing and rushed to his friend’s side.  “What happened, where is John, are you okay?”

Rich caught his breath a moment later.  “There was a Static locked in the store room in the basement it knocked John out and took a bite out of his shoulder.”

“Is he okay?”

“He is unconscious for now but that can change at any moment, I need some help getting him up here.  Did you find anyone with medical training?”

The group member that had been instructing Brian and the other person stepped forward.  She was a tall heavy set woman that looked to be in her early forties.  She has close cut hair that at one time required a lot of hair spray, the light auburn hair now hung about her ears disheveled from the harsh days outside.  “I was a registered nurse before all of this, I can probably help but we need to get him up here, if we were to treat him down there he could get an infection due to the dank environment.”

Before she had time to say anything else Rich and Brian had already disappeared down the hall making for the basement.  They did not want to waste any time in helping their new friend.  It wasn’t long before the two were standing in front of the barrels littered about the floor between them and John.  Rich called out to the man but heard no response; he was relieved and hoped that John was still unconscious.  They navigated through the maze as fast as was safely possible and were soon standing over the motionless body of John,  Rich could see the concern for the fallen man in Brian’s eyes and the look went well beyond mere concern for a fallen friend and Rich could tell that Brian was quickly developing strong feeling for the other man.

“Okay we have to find a way to cover the wound until we can get him upstairs.” Rich said looking around the floor for a rag or a piece of cloth.

Brian in the meantime was already tearing off a piece of his shirt and began to apply pressure to the wound on Johns shoulder.  At this pressure John began to stir and awaken.

“God, those things really pack a punch don’t they.”

Brian laughed. “Yea you just joined the club, it got you pretty bad on the shoulder there is a lot of blood.”

“I don’t feel anything.”

“That’s because you might be in shock.” Rich said. “We have to get you upstairs, one of the group is a registered nurse she can clean you up and bandage the wound.   Can you walk?”

“Yea I think so.”

Brian and Rich helped John to his feet and slung his arms over their shoulders.

“We will have to be very careful navigating through the barrels so try not to move too much or all of this will have been for nothing.”

John acknowledged this with a weak nod of his head and the three began their navigation of the barrels.  After an agonizing twenty minutes they were successfully through the maze and on their way up the stairs.

Christina Chekov had been a registered nurse at this very hospital and was thankfully familiar with the building in which they were all now hunkered down.  When Brian had come to her and asked if she had medical training she almost said no.  It scared her to have to have so many people’s lives in her hands.  That is why she had never become a doctor, not because she was incapable of it but because she had a fear of making the wrong call and losing a patient.  Now in this new world all of these people were depending on her and many more may depend on her in the future.

While Brian and Rich were downstairs helping to get John to safety she was busing one of the trauma rooms for the first patient the hospital had seen since being abandoned after the arrival of the planet that sat so menacingly in the sky.  Christina had been among many of the nurses and doctors who had prepared the hospital to be abandoned.  The military had asked that it be fully stocked with food and supplies in case they were able to return, there would be a fully functioning hospital to come back to. 

Now she was back but not in the capacity she had hoped for, the world was in chaos and now she was the only member of the group that had the training to care for the sick and injured.  Brian had asked her if she would be able to train himself and another member he had picked in first aid so she would have assistant and she had agreed but she had found it difficult to hide the anxiety she now felt at having others’ lives depending on her.  She prayed for the strength to carry on while she was preparing the room for the injured John.

John had saved her when the Army base had been overrun by the Static.  She had spent three days in a car listening to the people all around her going mad and eating each other.  When the planet had entered orbit the hospital had already been evacuated and abandoned and she was working with a group of doctors and nurses caring for those that came to the emergency military center in a panic.  Many were injured and others were just looking for safe harbor in the insanity that had ensued.  She thought that was the worst and felt she could handle it, but then all of the sudden many of her colleagues began acting strangely then growling.  While dressing the wound of a child she began to hear screaming and shooting from all directions.  She opened the curtain that had separated the patients from the waiting to see the horrific sight of people attacking people.  They were tearing at the flesh of each other like wild animals, doctors turned on patients and patients turned on doctors nurses and each other it was like the world had just snapped and went insane.

When she had turned back to her patient the child had tried to attack her.  Before she knew what she was doing she was running out of the building trying to avoid all the people that were suddenly trying to attack and eat each other.  She made her way through a back door of the tent that had been set up for the influx of patients and was greeted by military officers shooting their own comrades.  They were being attacked from all sides. In the panic all Christina could do was run and run she did.  In front of her was a military Humvee that was not being occupied at the moment and the frightened woman dove into the vehicle and pulled the doors shut and laid down on the seat.  All around her were people screaming and guns blazing.  It was hours before silence finally settled on the encampment.

Even in the silence she had not been able to bring herself to move from her spot and there she stayed for days in her own filth until finally being found by John and his small group.  They had taken her in and she had suggested coming back to the hospital.  Now that Christina was back here she in some ways wished she had died out there with everyone else.  She felt stuck in an unending nightmare and she couldn’t wake up.

She finished setting up her instrument just as Brian and Rich appeared with John in tow.  There was a wadded up piece of cloth covering the wound on his shoulder, it did a poor job of stifling the flow of blood.

“Lay him gently down on the bed; I need to get an I.V. in his arm.”

The two men laid John down on the bed as softly as they could, on the way up the shock had worn off and now the man was immense pain.  It seemed the bite of the Static amped up the pain receptors of the body.  Christina set about inserting an I.V. of antibiotics in the man’s arm.  She then removed the crude bandage from the wound and began to clean it.  These Static had a lot of saliva and it was apparent in the wound, but when she had finally gotten it clean she saw that thankfully the wound had looked worse than it actually was.  She told them that she could stitch and bandage the wound and that with some painkillers and antibiotics John would be fine.

“Oh, I get it.” Said Rich with a grin.  “You were just too lazy to come up here yourself so you pretended to be in shock so we’d carry you, or were just trying to get some attention from Brian?”

At this all three of the men laughed leaving Christina to wonder what they were all laughing about.  She felt good that her first patient was going to be fine and that he at least did not try to attack and eat her.  Her anxiety was still in her for what might come next but for now she was happy that the man that had saved her life was going to be fine, after she was done with her patient she left the three of them to converse among themselves while she went about setting up more rooms and stations for the future.  Before she left she reminded Brian that he needed to make sure and get some sleep because he would be spending the night helping her set up the emergency center and doing a physical workup on all group member so they would have a basic history of everyone.’

Brian groaned at this and they all shared a laugh.  “I’m my own worst enemy he said.”  He looked at John then and the two shared a knowing stare.

Rich took that as his cue to leave.  “When you’re feeling better we will all have to clear that basement of those barrels and that body so we can make use of the area.”  With that he was gone, off to find Karen and Sati and see what success if any Karen had recruiting a security detail.

After Rich was gone and Brian and John were alone Brain looked at John and slipped his hand into the other man’s hand, they looked at each other for a moment then John closed his eyes relaxing and squeezed Brian’s hand.  “I never thought in a world like this I would find someone I would so instantly have a connection with.  Is that a bad thing?”

“No.”  Said Brian softly.  We don’t know what each day is going to bring and if we can even experience a brief moment of joy through all of this then we shouldn’t feel bad or guilty for doing so.”

John opened his eyes again and looked at Brian.  “It’s sad that it took the world to end to find you.”

“At least you did find me, and I found you.”

Brian then leaned over and kissed Johns forehead.  When he pulled back a bit John tilted his head up and caught Brian square on the lips.  The two shared a passionate kiss and embrace for a few seconds before pulling apart and blushing.  In this world two souls had found each other against all odds.  In this new world the prejudices of the past could finally be laid to rest.  The fall of society also meant the fall of the bad things as well.  Society could for the first time in centuries reinvent itself and it would begin with these two men that had found each other in a world where just living to the next day was a miracle.

We would like to believe that this world is a civilized society but the truth will be shown in how a society handles a catastrophic situation and in situations such as that history has proven that society breaks down and rule of law is thrown out and only the strong survive.  But if one ray can show through the dense fog of savagery then it is proof that humanity can indeed become civilized and stay civilized through the worst that life can throw at it.