"The Center Pointe" Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 General Washington was a man not accustomed to any form of resistance in this new world and he was confident in the ability of his army to take the hospital and the people inside with ease. He already was making his plans for what they could use their new headquarters for as they began their march that day.  He looked out over his men.  A loose conflagration of thugs and criminals that he had been able to convince to fight for him, they enjoyed much power in this world and he was like a drunk with the personal power he had accumulated but it was not enough, he wanted more, he wanted to rule this new world and he would plow over anyone who stood in his way.

His men took the most direct route to the hospital, a direct full force assault to overwhelm the people in the building was the best plan he thought to show the power and might of his army.  General Washington loved to inspire fear and he wanted these people to see the power of what was coming for them.

They took the side road that stemmed from the main road that lead straight to the main emergency room doors of the building when they were about one-hundred yards away he ordered his men to halt so he could take in the environment.  He expected to see a bunch of people with guns but all that met his eyes were two men standing next to a couple of old oil barrels staring at the approaching force.

They didn’t appear to be armed and the General thought this was a mistake, if it was peace these people were looking for they would be disappointed.

He called his two main commanders to the front.  “I want you to go and ask those two what they want.  If it’s to talk, kill them and return to me.” 

“Understood General.”  The two commanders drew their guns and walked the length of the road until they came upon the two men standing at the barrels.

At this point the men were out of earshot and the General could not hear the conversation between them but when he saw his men put their hands on their guns he raised his hand ready to give the signal for the rest of his forces to advance on the hospital.  He watched the two men begin to turn as his men’s weapons were withdrawn from their holsters, then all of the sudden his men froze for a moment and slumped forward falling to the ground and smacking their heads on the pavement with such force it was audible to the general even being so far away.  Washington was stunned and for a moment the quiet chattering among his men had fallen to deadly silence.  They all just stood there trying to comprehend what had just happened.  The two men had not moved and had turned their backs to the commanders, there was no gunshot nor the appearance of an arrow.  He was not sure what had just happened.  He stood there for a moment just staring at the unmoving figures down the road from him not sure how to proceed.

General Washington was not expecting this but it did not deter him from the assault, he ordered four of his men to take their rifles and kill the men from here avoiding any other casualties.  The men took their position in front of the General and took aim at the two men who were still standing there staring at the army who were just a hundred yards from them.  As the Generals men were about to fire there were four small wisps of pink mist and the men fell to the ground, the whole army without waiting for orders took cover in the trees on the side of the road with the General in close pursuit.  It was obvious now they were dealing with a very capable sniper hidden somewhere and from the lack of gunshots they had be a distance from them.  It dawned on Washington that the men had been set there in order for the sniper to get an better idea of the distance of their target, he knew only sending more men would result in too many casualties, if he was going to do a forward assault then he would have to use the forest as cover on the side of the road for the approach, this would make it difficult for the sniper to target them and when they got to the building they would no longer be in a position for the sniper to hit.

He looked back at his men who had a look of disillusionment, he knew they thought this would be much easier than it was turning out to be.  He ordered another of his commanders to the front.  “It is time to send in the bait.”  The man nodded in acknowledgement and disappeared to the back to see to his task.  The General turned back to where the bodies of his men were still lying motionless on the ground.  From the tree line he could not see the two men in the rush to get to cover he did not see whether or not they had fled.  This assault was not going the way he had planned.  This made the General happy because it would give him the opportunity to really test the strength of his army.  He had no doubt in his mind he would be victorious.  They may have made a cunning opening move but the battle was far from over.

Brain and Rich quickly made for the tree line on the opposite side of the road that the invaders had ducked into for cover from Karen’s onslaught.  They were pleased that the ruse they had planned had worked but if they wanted to survive this day they would need some of Brian’s luck on their side.  The two friends raced through the woods to get to the small clearing near the hospital they knew they could move faster than the invading force because they knew the terrain and the invaders would take it slower to keep an eye out for any more traps.  They made it to the clearing fairly quickly and dropped down in the dense brown grass for cover.  Rich reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small mirror.  With it he sent a signal to Karen in the hill above the hospital, a moment later two quiet shots rang out and then almost instantly two loud explosions filled the air.  It was they had hoped to hear.  Karen had shot the two barrels they had been standing beside, Rich hoped the explosions would push the advancing men faster through the woods exposing them to more of the traps they had set up the previous day.  It was going to take a lot of luck for this to go just right.  It was their hope they could get through this day without losing one life in the hospital.  More to the point they prayed they could win this battle.  After the two explosions rang out the two men made a mad dash for the hospital to get inside before the invaders could get there, when they finally made it to the doors Shrapnel and two others threw the doors open for them to get inside then slammed them shut before they were exposed for too long.

General Washington was attempting to chase his men through the woods, they had begun running and scattering themselves throughout the woods when the two explosions had erupted behind them.  The general may not have been a terribly bright human being but he could tell when he was being directed into a trap.  He chased after his men screaming at them to stop and regroup but his screams fell on deaf ears and from his position he could see a few of his men succumbing to spiked traps and pitfalls that had been strategically placed throughout the woods.

When at last his voice was able to carry and the remainder of his men had calmed down realizing that they were running headlong into traps the General was able to get them to carefully double back to him and regroup.  “What the hell are you running from?” He screamed at them in white hot anger.  “You hear explosions and you run the exact way they want you to, I thought I trained you better than to wet your pants at the first sign of trouble.  We’re the predators here not them.  They go lucky, that’s it.  They’re not gonna get lucky again so stop being pussies and think before you move.”

The men hearing the fearlessness of their commander calmed down, pulled themselves together and waited for their leader’s orders.  When everyone was finally calmed down and attentive Washington called the only remaining commander, the he had asked to prepare the bait.  The man came forward wading through the mass of men who had a hard time parting for his movements through the dense forest.  When at last he had made it to the Washington, the General was not happy.  “We have wasted too much, this will have allowed them to prepare more.  I want you to move the bait in close enough, when the trap is sprung we will move in the rest of the troops.”

“Yes, Sir!”  The man said and began again moving through the crowd to the back where he had a group of women and children dressed in baggy disheveled rags.  He pulled out his gun and told them to get moving.  He knew they would be wasting good slaves in this move but at least there would be plenty to replace them when they took the hospital which meant new toys for them to play with which was just as well because he and the men had become bored with the beat up and bruised toys they had now, so at least they would be put to good use in their final moments.

“All right people let’s move it forward!”  The commander yelled.

These people knew what they were being used for but they were so broken marching to their deaths was a relief not a fear.  In this unfortunate new world death was an escape not punishment and General Washington and his men knew this and loved to tease their victims with the promise of death.  At least this time the commander would follow through on his promise. He began moving the group forward slowly through the trees to avoid any more traps or surprises.  The group consisted of women and young girls as was the practice to kill off any men or boys that could be a threat to the General’s army.  For the first time the commander noticed there were no tear or low sobs in the group, they knew what was to become of them but still they marched head uplifted as if marching to their freedom.  He never thought that he would see a world where imminent death was actually considered a means of relief.  He had joined up with the General the day after this all started and had never lived happier.  He was a sick man inside and he knew it was only a matter of time in the old world before he would have ended up in prison or dead so this was a welcome situation for him, a place where he could do what he liked without the fear of consequences.

He marched them forward at a slightly quicker pace through the tree, the plan was to have them run to the building, and upon reaching there the commander had a detonator that would detonate explosives that had been strapped beneath the billowy clothing of the women.  The General and he thought this was a marvelous plan that would play on the sympathies of the occupants inside the building.  They didn’t think that anyone would fire on a group of people screaming for help acting like they are fleeing, or at least they would hesitate long enough for the bombs to get within striking distance.  The new guy had told them the people inside just wanted peace so this ruse should be enough to play on their weakness.

Rich and Brian saw the group of people emerging from the woods adjacent to the entrance of the emergency room, through the rifle scope they could see they were all women and young girls.  Brian gave Rich a look of disappointment.  “They are all wearing baggy clothing from head to toes, I think it’s pretty obvious what these people plan to use them for.

“Suicide bombs to breach the main doors in the E.R.” Rich said giving his friend a look of disgust indicating his anger with people who would use innocents in this way. “We stick to the plan, we can’t sacrifice the lives of those in here for the lives of those out there.  It is a terrible situation but we have to make the right choice.” With this he turned around and spoke a command into the radio to Karen, who was situated in the hills above the hospital about eighty years away.

The women and girls were now being pushed forward toward the hospital they had just come out of the woods, the commander was close behind them with a gun to their backs, anyone who didn’t move forward would be shot in the head right then and there.  On his command they were to all run to the door of the hospital screaming and pleading for help at which point the commander would detonate them blowing open the doors and allowing the rest of the troops to move in.  It was a good idea he and the General thought, well planned and now about to executed.  The people inside may have pulled some tricks on them but there is no way they were going to walk away from this day alive.  He moved them into position, then gave the order.  The women and young girls ran screaming toward the door of the hospital.  They all got about ten paces from the commander before a huge explosion tore them all apart including the commander and half the woods that the General and the remainder of his men were hiding in. There was nothing General Washington could do except watch his men that were too close to the explosion burn.  Their screams echoed in his ears, they sounded like a rabbit dying in in the woods.  He could smell the burning flesh and hear the light cracks when the bones of the deceased got to hot.  With that single explosion he watched his carefully executed plan literally go up in smoke and ash.  He could not fathom that the people in the hospital that the new guy Hal had described would be capable of the cold hearted action he had just witnessed.  All the sounds around him were hushed to a whisper the explosion still rang in his ears and he was disoriented.  He just stood there looking at the trees.  The fire was spreading from one to another coming closer and closer to the remaining men. It was almost beautiful in the whisper of the moment, you could get lost in the dancing flames licking around the branches.

It took a moment for him to pull himself together, he had forty men left and he was determined to take that damn building, and when he did whoever was inside was going to feel the entirety of his wrath.  He would make them suffer beyond what any person though one was capable of suffering. General Washington pulled himself up, and moved through the huddled crowd of men trying to move back, but the previous explosion had ignited the forest behind them and now the new one was in front of them. They were trapped, if they did not find a way out they would all follow their comrades. They would burn.

“Get up and move across the street where there isn’t any fire!”  The General screamed at his men.

“But the sniper will get us if we go that way!”

The General took his pistol out and aimed it at the man’s head.  “If you don’t go I’ll shoot you here and now, think of it as motivation.”  Upon seeing this threat the remaining men scampered across the road and into the field.  They attempted to hide themselves from the sniper in the high grass.  The General waited until the last of the men had crossed and then went himself, when he got to the other side he used his men as a shield from any attack,  the men recognized this and looks of  disgust were traded secretly among them.  They just realized their leader was a coward, but they were too entrenched in this fight to abandon it now, they have lost too much.  They would have to recoup their losses after taking the hospital.

There was silence in the air, the puffs of smoke and crackling of the fire left by the explosions were the only sounds that filled the silence.  The general strained his ears listening for any signs of sniper fire or approaching foot falls, but there was nothing.  He was sure that his commander had perished with the suicide bombers.  They had not even gotten close enough to the hospital to do any damage.  He knew that if he did not capture this hospital he would no longer be the general by the time they got back to their own encampment.  A failure like this.  Being beaten by a bunch of men women and children would be suicide for his position as the leader of these men.

Hal watched in amazement as the events unfolded.  He could not believe that the people inside had been able to fend off the attack to this point.  He was wrong about them.  He could have joined them.  There was no time for his regret now.  As soon as the second bomb had gone off Hal had taken refuge with the remaining men in the field, he knew they were sitting ducks here but there was nowhere else to go.  The people in the hospital had planned it this way and the General had walked right into their trap like a bear to honey.  He could not believe these people were capable of this level of strategy.  If they wanted to at this point they could kill the remainder of them and not even have taken a single casualty.  The general’s men had not even gotten a shot off.  Things had happened so fast there had been no time to think. 

Hal just laid there for a moment observing the fear and confusion in the remainder of the group, he saw the looks of disgust exchanged when the general hid behind them, if they survived this he knew the Generals rule was over.  He had bet on the wrong horse and now Hal would pay the consequences for his mistake.  It was so quiet now, there was no move made by the inhabitants of the hospital.  If they were determined to finish them off they would have done so by now.  Hal could not believe they had killed the women and children strapped with the bombs but he understood their reasoning there were so many other lives inside to be thought of they had  made the decision not to risk it.  They knew what was about to happen and they had taken the only choice available.  He hoped they would be able to live with that decision.

Rich watched the events unfold from the roof of the hospital, he and Brian had made a difficult decision and he knew it would weigh heavily on them in the future, as the smoke cleared he could see the shredded bodies of the women and young girls lying on the ground, his heart stung in his chest.  He wished desperately he would have had another choice.  He knew when he saw them running what was about to happen and he could not allow the people here to suffer as the torn bodies on the field had.  He was determined to finish this today so no one would ever have to be victimized by these men again.  The atrocities these innocent people in the building and lying dead in the fields have had to endure would end today, this will be the end of the savagery Rich thought to himself.  This would be the beginning of a new world, a world where rationality and wisdom ruled, not brute force and animal savagery. No one should have to experience the horrors that had been witnessed today and Rich was determined to make this the last day these horrors would be seen by his people.

Rich could see the general and his remaining men cowering in the field unaware of what was about to happen next.  From this vantage point Rich and Brian could see what was about to happen.  Off at the far end of the field there was movement in the tall grass, rustling of the long strands moving toward the defeated men taking shelter from Karen in the field.  It would be a minute or two before the screams of the Static would be heard moving toward the men in the field and by the time they did hear them it would be too late for them to get away.  There was not just one or two static coming toward them, the explosions and commotion had attracted a horde of them and they were coming at full speed right for the cowering soldiers.

Hal continued to sit in the field but instead of his eyes darting around in fear he was watching the people on the roof of the hospital intently, although they were very small he could make out the familiar people he had met while being held prisoner there.  Then he noticed something that he would remember all his days as the turning point in his life.   While everyone around him was in a state of panic he was able to make out what they were doing on the roof of the hospital, he could make out Rich and Brian not looking in their direction but farther afield.  At this point Hal realized that they did not consider the general and the remaining men a threat and were now focused on something more interesting.  Hal immediately knew what it was and a moment later his fears were confirmed.  They all in unison heard the first of the piercing shrieks from the opposite side of the field.  It dawned on them all at this moment they were herded into this field and the noise of the explosions attracted the attention of the Static.  They could already hear the crazed infected people racing through the field toward their location.  The men looked to their leader for what to do but when they turned their attention to him he was gone, the only thing they could see was the flattened grass leading into the woods from his hasty retreat.  After seeing their leader flee like a coward the men tried to beat a hasty retreat but it was too late and before they could move the static were upon them. 

Hal had been the only one of the men to see the General sneak away, he should have known this would happen as soon as Hal noticed they were out- matched.  When Hal saw the General disappear he knew it was time for him to make his own hasty exit.  While the men were panicking about the approach of the Static Hal was able to slip away the same route the General took.  By the time he was clear he could hear the screaming of the men being torn apart by the savages. He had just made it beyond their sight and down a small embankment landing in a muddy creek bed.  He lay there silently for the next few minutes waiting for the screams to die down so he could get away while the Static we busy eating.  While he laid there he took the time to look around to see where the General had scampered off to.  He could see a faint boot impressions that were quickly being washed away by the creek, if he wanted to follow where the General was going he would have to be quick before his tracks were gone. 

As soon as the screams had finally dies down and the tearing of the flesh began Hal made his break for it moving as silently as he could along the muddy and rocky bank of the creek on his hands and knees tearing the fabric of his pants and ripping into the tender flesh leaving a small trickle trail of wet blood behind him.  When he was finally far enough away he jumped to his feet and bolted following the Generals boot treads from the river bed to a thick undergrowth he seems to have wriggled his way through in an attempt to make following him more difficult.  “Done like a true coward.”  Hal thought to himself as he followed the low path through the thicket.  It was a long grueling crawl but eventually he found himself on the other end of the thicket and in a small clearing, but the sound of voices made Hal stop short and hide behind a tree.  He needed to scope things out before he made his presence known, who knows what the mindset of the General was at this point.  Hal did not want to get his head shot off for startling him.  He crouched behind the tree and began to listen intently to the voices just a few yards from him.

“You people think you’ve won, I’ll return with more men and make your people wish they had never tried to stand up to me.”  Hal recognized the voice of the General.  But who was he talking to?  Hal had to see, he decided to peek his head around the tree just enough to see what was going on.  What he saw made him cringe, and hold his position.  The General had a woman and gunpoint, she was down on her knees with him standing behind her a gun pushed into the back of her head and a rifle on the ground a few feet from her. Hal was in a position to catch this scene from the side view and he instantly recognized the woman that was kneeling on the ground in front of General Washington.  The woman was no other than Karen, the same woman who had showed Hal kindness and had escorted him around the hospital.  “She must have been the sniper.”  He thought to himself.

“Go ahead and kill me if you’re going to.”  Karen said defiantly as she knelt there without fear.  There was no tell-tale shaking or heavy breathing to indicate fear, even in the face of death this woman was courageous and without fear.  Hal instantly gained vast admiration for this woman.  Upon this he realized he had a choice to make in this matter.  The General had the gun and he could shoot her at any moment, Hal had no weapon but did possess the element of surprise.  But if he failed he was dead.  “Gotta’ go sometime.” He said resolutely as he moved to the other side of the tree and began to move to a position behind the General.

“Oh hon, you have no idea what I’m gonna do to ya.  I have no intention of killing ya, yer comin with me and we're gonna get to know one another better.  But I can’t have you squirmin so we're gonna have to do something to make ya more compliant.”  With that he rose the butt of his gun behind her ready to knock her unconscious, this was Hal’s chance.  The General was distracted and he was in position but if he didn’t do this right the game was over, he was dead and Karen was a slave.  He would not be able to stomach the idea.  He had to win this fight.  He picked up a rock behind the general's foot and silently rose behind him, the general heard this and began to turn.  But Hal, in a swift motion the knockout game would be proud of belted general Washington in the back of the head with the stone.  The sound made by the stone hitting his head was like a hammer hitting a side of ribs, there was a dull thud followed by a faint cracking sound, with a grunt he fell to the ground, blood pouring from the gash on the back of his head.  The General was down and Karen was safe, Hal fell to the ground in a sitting position amazed that had worked and he was still alive. 

For a moment Karen just kept where she was until she knew the danger had passed but before Hal could react Karen rolled and grabbed the rifle, Hal was too tired from crawling through the underbrush and knocking the General out to even move.  In a moment Karen had the gun trained on him, Hal just looked at her until the recognition of who he was and what he had just done for her registered in her eyes, when it finally did and she lowered the gun Hal let his body fall back on the ground in exhaustion staring at the blue sky where Nibiru still hung like a dance partner entangled with the sun.         Hal just wanted to drift off under this beautiful alien sky and forget about the world, if he died right now it would be with perfect contentment.  He felt for the first time he could be redeemed.  Soon after he was jerked out of his reverie when Karen’s face blocked out the beauty of the sky with the softness of the feminine face.  Even after the hell this woman had lived through she still looked lovely.

“Well.” She said, taking Hal by hand and helping him up.  “This is not how I saw that situation going. 

“I didn’t expect it either I just wanted to see where he was going.”  He looked at Karen, trying to see in her eyes what she may be thinking.  “Look.”  He said hoping to explain his position.  “I don’t…”

Karen raised her hand in a gesture of silence.  “There’s no need to explain Hal, we understood the predicament you were in, that is why we planned this.  But maybe next time you won’t underestimate people.  If you come with me we’ll see what Brian and Rich have to say.”

Karen slung the rifle over her shoulder and started toward the hospital.  Hal briefly checked the General’s body before following Karen, there were no signs of life.  Hal ran to catch up to Karen and they disappeared into the woods.

The battle had been quick, much quicker than Rich would have thought it could go.  The final tally at the end was fifty dead invaders and zero dead allies.  He never thought he would have been unable to pull this off, but he could not help feeling an overwhelming sense of pride in the people of his community.  If they could continue to work together like that then there would be a bright future for this hospital.  Rich had dreams of growing this place into a real thriving community where they could start anew and bring back the old world.  A better version of the old world.

Rich wished they could bury the dead but the Static had gotten to them, so what was left they decided they would burn so the smell would not overwhelm the hospital, the last thing they needed was a constant reminder of what had taken place here.  Although Rich would make sure this battle was never forgotten he understood that people shouldn’t have to be reminded every second of what they had had to do to survive.  The bodies of the women and young girls were a memory that would haunt Rich until the day he died.  He and Brian took it upon themselves to clean up the remains of their bodies so no one else would have to be haunted by that memory.  Brain and Rich solemnly collected the dismembered parts of the women and young girls and put them in a pile, they felt compelled to say a prayer over the bodies before dropping a match on them setting them alight.

“That is something I hope we never have to do again, do you think we made the right decision?”  Rich said second guessing himself to his friend.

“Yes we made the right decision although it wasn’t an easy one, we can rest easy knowing the decision we made saved the lives of everyone in here, if they had been successful in blowing themselves up here this day would have gone very different.”  Brian rested his hand on his friend's shoulder in a gesture of sympathy.  “So have you given any thought about what we want to do about Hal?  Karen is on her way back with him now.”

Rich stood there staring at the flames that were now engulfing the corpses of the women and girls.  He acted as though he had not heard Brian.  Rich started a bit when Brian again placed his hand on Rich’s shoulder, it brought him out of his thoughts and back to the world.  “I don’t know.”  He said turning and starting back toward the emergency room entrance.  “He saved Karen’s life.  Everyone should get a second chance."