"The Center Pointe" Chapter 10

Chapter 10

          Hal Moore sat in a dense thicket of bushes about a hundred yards from the Monroeville hospital with a pair of binoculars carefully watching the building and taking notes on the movement of the inhabitants.  During the first days of Nibiru’s arrival the world had seemed so alien from the day to day routine he had become accustomed to.  Then again you don’t really have a choice in prison weather or not to adhere to a regular schedule.  Hal had been serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of a young girl when Nibiru had first arrived in orbit.  When everyone around him started losing their minds and began to eat each other, he thought he had died and had gone to hell, he had sat in his cell for three days thinking that his prison mates had turned into demons and it was only a matter of time before they would get into his cell and tear him to pieces.

           Three days he spent in that cell wondering when those things would finally get him. But they never did, when the power failed all of the locks in the prison disengaged and all the freaks had made their way outside forgetting about him.  Eventually his hunger got the best of him and he slowly made his way to the exit of the penitentiary and disappeared into the woods.  All that he had for defense was the sharpened end of a broom stick he had broken in half.  Hal spent six days in the woods hiding in trees and trying not to be noticed by the crazy people trying to eat each other. 

          At one point three of them, one he recognized from the prison had attacked a dear that was grazing just beneath where Hal was hiding in the tress.  He would never admit this to anyone, but as he watched those three freaks tear that poor dear to pieces not four feet below him he became so terrified of what they would do were they to find him that he had urinated in his pants.  He was almost discovered when some of it dripped on the head of one of the freaks. It had jumped up and looked around frantically, but in the end it had not looked up and seen him.  It had been a miracle for a man who deserved no miracles.

 He wandered until his feet were raw and bloody looking for another living soul that was not infected with whatever this sickness was.  One night Hal took refuge in an abandoned Laundromat, it seemed to be the only safe place.  Those things never came in here; they mostly stayed around areas with a lot of food like grocery stores or restaurants.  Sometimes he would get lucky and find a safe place to hole up that had a snack machine or a drink machine and he was able to get something to eat, but he became painfully aware one night as he stared at his reflection in the toilet bowl water he was drinking that he was losing weight at an alarming degree and he was not getting the food necessary to keep his weight up.  He was not even getting the protein he needed.  He was getting weaker by the hour and there were not enough safe places to get food.  He realized that if he did not find a place that had food and water soon he was going to die.  That was a thought he could not fathom.  It was not death that terrified Hal it was the thought what those things would do to his body if they found it.

Hal was sure that any day would be his last so he made the effort in this abandoned Laundromat that this would be his final refuge, he would either make a safe place for himself here or he would die trying.  That night he laid his head down on some laundry he had found in the lost and found and tried to sleep.  After about an hour he finally drifted off to sleep.  He was awoken a few hours later by a loud crash in the front of the store.  Almost out of instinct from his time in prison Hal was wide awake and aware of the situation, he moved from under one of the baskets in the back of the Laundromat to behind one of the washing machines that he had pulled away from the wall in case he had to conceal himself, at this point he was very happy he had taken the time to do that.  He sat in silence and dared not make a sound, waiting to see if the creatures had finally come for him.  His heart was beating so fast he felt as though he would have a heart attack right there. 

All of the sudden out of the silence and the darkness came voices talking to each other.  Hal could hear them clearly.  They were discussing the need of a group that they belonged to and how their supplies were running low.  They were raiding shops in hopes of finding vending machines and canned foods.  Hal sat for a few minutes listening to their conversation before he mustered up enough courage to stand and make himself know to the other people in the shop.  The two men were startled upon hearing the unexpected voice coming from the far end of the shop.  Hal slowly walked toward them, his hunger and exhaustion overwhelming his fear of them, he put his life into their hands at this point and even as he moved toward the men who were now shining flashlights around the store looking for him he was not sure what would happen next.  When Hal heard the men cock their guns he had to resist an overwhelming urge to run but he was sure if he did that at this point the men would probably shoot him.  He was too hungry and scared at this point so it was time to take a chance. 

The two men held their guns steady on him as he approached them.  As Hal got closer he could see beyond the brightness of the flashlights to the two men standing behind the light.  The front man who seemed to be the leader of the two had a large rifle pointed at Hal.  He was a tall white man that seemed well muscled with a light beard and short hair that looked as though he had been trimming it with a knife.  He had small cruel looking eyes and he did not seem to be a very friendly person.  He was wearing military camo that looked to have a large quantity of dried blood around the chest and midsection.  The other man was a small black man that looked to be no more than eighteen or twenty years of age.  His hair was overgrown and disheveled.  In his hand he held a small revolver that looked almost too old to fire. Hal did not want to take a chance and put his hands up in surrender to the two men. 

When they both realized he was alone they lowered their weapons and asked him what he was doing here.  Hal then recounted his story to the two men hoping that telling them about his prison time would help him seem tougher than he looked at this moment, plus with the rough and tough look of the leader of the two Hal was placing his luck on he had also served time and might see Hal as a brother.  The two men looked at each other for a moment before telling Hal to follow them.

After leaving the Laundromat the three of them made their way down the street of the small town that was only a few miles from the prison that Hal had escaped.  The two men kept Hal between them, the bigger man stayed behind him with his gun up in case Hal tried to make any threatening moves.  In the distance the three could hear the creatures snarling and at one point in there walk they heard the screams of a person being attacked.  The two men leading Hal did not look concerned or interested in trying to aid the poor soul they all knew would be torn apart. 

Eventually he could not take it anymore and asked the two men where they were taking him. The black man explained they were taking him to the leader of their group and if the leader decided to allow Hal to join the group then he would be given food and water in exchange for his loyalty to the group.  If the leader was not interested in him then he would become food for the group, this was the way they had done it for months and they have stayed alive and safe for all this time.  Hal’s heart sank.  In his condition he did not look to be of any use to anyone, he only hoped that their leader would think him to be to scrawny for food and give him a chance to earn his keep.  At least these people seemed to be more like him and not some pussy group that would be picked off by stronger groups later on down the road.  If they allowed him to live Hal could see a decent future among these like minded people. 

A few streets later they came to a row of turned over cars that had been set to make a protective barrier around the inner camp.  Several armed men lined the tops of the cars looking intently into the night for any movement.  Hal’s two captors led him through a small opening between the cars that were guarded by two more armed guards, after a brief exchange and an explanation of Hal’s presence they were directed to an old worn military looking tent on the other side of a rather large bonfire.  Tables were set up on either side of the tent one had food the other had weapons.  Next to the bonfire was a large metal barrel filled to the brim with water.  These guys were clearly organized and well taken care of by their leader.

 As Hal got closer to the main tent he could see some torches off to the left of the tent that to Hal’s surprise was illuminating a makeshift cage made of wood guarded by a couple of men.  What really piqued Hal’s attention was the occupants of the cage were all women and young girls? They all looked disheveled and scared in the torchlight and many of them had faces covered in bruises.  Many of the young girls were just children and were softly crying being comforted and held in the arms of the older women.

Upon entering the tent Hal was hit by a flood of candlelight that lit up the whole interior.  There was a bed in the left hand corner that was made of oak, clearly taken from a house. There was a form covered by the bed sheets. On the other side of the tent there was a folding table with an old looking kitchen chair behind it.  On the table were open packages of junk food and stacks of papers. In the corner of the table sat an old time typewriter.  The most striking feature of the tent was a high backed plush leather chair set in the center of the tent that looked like a throne.  At the moment the chair was empty and Hal stood there in the center of the large tent with his two escorts on either side of him.  They ended up standing there for almost ten minutes in silence before the flap of the tent opened and in walked a very large black man with a bald head and very menacing looking face.

Without saying anything he walked over to his chair and sat down and began to study Hal.  After a couple of minutes he had looked at the larger man and asked for a report. The man told him how on the food run they had come to the Laundromat and found Hal hiding in the back; they then described what Hal had told them about the prison he had escaped from.  After he was finished with his report the leader stood up and walked right up to Hal.

“If you’re going to stay with us you will be required to pull your weight and do everything you are told to do without question.  Do you understand this?” 

Hal nodded vigorously.

“If you fall behind or do not follow an order you will end up being dinner instead of eating dinner.  Follow my orders and my laws and you will have a good life in this hell that we are living in.”  He looked at Hal for a minute but Hal remained silent waiting for him to finish, not wanting to jeopardize his chances at staying alive.

“My name is General Washington, we have built this encampment and this army in the attempt to survive and build a new world, a world free from the oppression of the government a new world where the people control their own lives.  We will build this new world on the backs of a huge labor force where the strong will survive and the weak will serve us.  If you do what you’re told you can be part of our vision for the new world.  If you are not with us in this struggle then you are against us.”

Hal had no qualms about following what this man said, he could tell by looking at this man that he was not a real general and his title was most likely self-given.  He was not about to ask the man any hard questions he was just happy that he was not going to be the main course at tonight’s dinner.

“Ok tonight go out get something to eat and drink, feel free to take a woman or girl for yourself and tomorrow we will speak more.  I will have your first orders tomorrow morning so be ready.”

Hal had nodded and thanked the General for his generosity and was then escorted from the tent.  His escorts directed him to the food and water and then departed most likely to return to their regular duties.  As Hal sat down on the ground by the fire he was now able to take the time to take in the full view of the camp.  From what he could see at his vantage point there were at least twenty different men guarding the camp, he could see that the line of cars stretched around the camp for a least a hundred yards in every direction with armed guards posted every few yards. As his eyes adjusted better to the dim light of the fire he could see the cage better that held the women and the children.

Every so often one of the guards would open the cage and drag one of the women or young girls out and take them off into the woods and more darkened area of the encampment.  Then he would hear the screams of the women and girls as the guards raped them.  Hal may have been in prison for a sex crime but this seemed too harsh for even him, but if he wanted to stay alive he better keep his mouth shut and follow orders. 

Some of these guards were no more than children themselves and he wondered how they felt about what was happening here.  He thought they were doing what they were told to avoid becoming victims themselves, but on many of the other soldiers faces there seemed to be almost a joy on their faces that they had so much power over others.  Hal had to wonder to himself that if this were some kind of judgment from the heavens then why were so many bad people benefiting so well from the situation, he almost forgot for a second that he was one of the bad people benefiting from this situation.  He had to admit to himself that he probably didn’t deserve to still be alive, but he was and now his life seemed to have thrown him a curve ball.  If this was the order of the new world Hal felt himself fortunate to now be aligned with a strong group capable of surviving and no matter what their drawbacks he was glad to be a part of them.

Hal pulled himself out of his head and now refocused his attention on his task.  The general had come to him the next day and told him about the hospital that was a few miles away from the camp and that if Hal wanted to be a part of this army he was building then his first task would be to head to the hospital and see if there was anyone there whether it be the creatures or people.  If it was occupied he was to stay there and get Intel on the situation to report back.  The general wanted the hospital and if it was occupied he was determined to take it for his own benefit and ambitions.  He had been given food rations a couple canteens of water and a rifle for protection.  He was scared out of his mind to do this but he wasn’t about to argue.  It had taken him several days to make the journey having to constantly avoid the creatures that hunted for food night and day.  He had finally arrived at the outer grounds of the hospital in the dead of night.  He was not able to light a fire because he did not want to be discovered.  He had gotten a few hours of sleep before daylight and was grateful for the rations he was given.

As the sun began to rise over the horizon Hal was able to take in more of the complex.  The hospital was not a huge place it was conservative by comparison to most hospitals.  It seemed to be in good condition and untouched.  At first it looked to be abandoned there were no signs of life.  He scanned the property for any kind of movement.  As he looked carefully over the building he almost missed the slight movement in the upper left hand corner of the roof.  Hal focused his binoculars on the figure and was surprised to see a female peering back in his direction from behind the scope of a rifle.  Hal ducked quickly behind a tree praying he was not spotted.  A person on the roof with a scope most likely knew how to use the weapon and he did not want to be on the receiving end of that rifle.

Luckily he wasn’t spotted and eventually the woman turned her gaze off into a field adjacent to where Hal was hiding.  He took a few minutes to himself before he resumed his observation of the building.  No one was out around the ground and he could not see in the window because whoever was occupying it had drawn the blinds in every window to keep a low profile. As he scanned the building he found the same thing in every window until he came to the emergency room, there was a barricade in the front but not much in the effort to cover the windows.  Maybe they only used that front room during the day so there wasn’t a huge need to cover the window.

When Hal looked in through the windows he was amazed to see at least a dozen people, men women and children laughing and conversing and although he could not hear them from this distance he could tell that they were happy and well fed. “The general would love this place.”  He thought to himself as he watched the happy looking people through the window he could not help but also imagine what would be done to them.  He felt guilt for the first time in a long time at that point, he felt it would be no use to warn them from what he saw he didn’t feel they would have any chance against the military style might and cruelty that the general would deal to them.  For a moment he had the urge to make himself known and tell them about the people that had sent him but he knew that all that waited for him in the end was death.  These people would be destroyed by the general’s force and the women and children would become sex slaves and the men would either be forced into labor or served up for dinner, Hal did not wish to share their fate.  He would report what he had seen to the general and stay on the side of those who would let him live.

After a bit more of watching the building Hal felt it was time to leave and make his way back to the encampment.  He gathered his things together and got up to make his way back, he intended to move off slowly so he would make little noise and avoid the attraction of attention from the sniper on the roof. He backed up a few steps and ran into something he thought was a tree but as he turned around to move beyond it he realized what he had run into.  He was so startled he dropped his rifle on the ground.  He didn’t know how long they had been there but he knew they had him dead in his place.  Standing before him were two men with rifles pointed directly between Hal’s eyes.