It was the most amount of people they had seen since leaving Chicago. The street that had been so dark and empty earlier was now flooded in light and filled with life, some people were walking towards the hospital, some away, their breath fogging in the cold night air. It was still eerily quiet outside. Despite all the people no one said a word to one another, everyone kept their heads down, only looking where they were going. It made a person feel almost invisible.
AJ stuck his hand into his coat pocket to feel the walkie-talkie he had been given. Daniel, the guy in charge of their team, had instructed AJ to send a signal to Daryl when they got into the security check area.
The security checkpoint was in the former Sun Trust bank next door to the hospital. AJ and Brian followed the crowd going into the bank and past the windows that once had bank tellers behind them. They continued up the escalator to the second level where the employees lined up in front of the entrance of the walking bridge that connected to the hospital. Security stood in front of the line frisking each person and checking their ID.
AJ ran over the instructions Daniel had given him in his head. He nervously rubbed his hand over the walkie-talkie. He tried not to show his nervousness on the outside but the closer they got to security the faster his heart beat and more his stomach started to knot. He glanced at Brian briefly and saw him chewing on his nails. AJ elbowed him in the ribs and caught his eye with a warning. Brian dropped his hand from his mouth and jammed both hands into his coat pockets.
When they had only a couple people ahead of them AJ hit the pager button to let Daryl know it was time for phase two. Now he would wait nervously to see if it worked. They passed by a small potted tree and AJ casually dropped the walkie-talkie into it before he would be patted down.
The timing could not have been better. As soon as the two security guards were done patting down AJ and Brian and right before their ID check the call came over the security scanner.
“All available security personnel please report to the lobby to help contain a gang related disturbance. All available security please report.”
This distracted the guards just long enough for the group to get in without their ID being checked too carefully.
AJ breathed a sigh of relief as they started their trek across the bridge from the former bank to the hospital. He looked down to the street running behind the hospital and saw a long line on people. There were so many of them, some injured, some visibly ill even from his viewpoint. AJ nudged Brian to show him the people below. Brian eyes flashed and jaw set in anger, the sight seeming to disturb him greatly. AJ had some ideas as to why but had still had not expected such a strong reaction from his friend.
When they reached the automatic doors on the other end of the tunnel AJ felt he needed to prepare himself for what they might see. His mind conjured up a war zone hospital with blood and guts everywhere and people crying and screaming over doctors barking orders.
He felt the rush of air as he walked through the retracting doors and noticed immediately that it was very quiet, or at least quieter than he expected. They walked down a short hallway and came to the nurses’ station. There was of course the ringing of phones and the usual intercom calls for doctor “so and so” and “nurse such and such” one would expect in a hospital. There was also the occasional team rushing in a severely wounded person but nothing out of the ordinary. There doctors and nurses were going about their business like it was a normal hospital.
“This is so weird,” Brian spoke both their thoughts aloud.
“I know. I feel like I’m in an episode of the Twilight Zone or something.”
AJ felt a hand grasp harshly to his bicep. “Would you two stop looking around like you’ve never seen the inside of a hospital before?” Daniel reprimanded harshly. “Look, we’re gonna split up now. You two will find the pharmacy and we going to surgery to get supplies there. Here’s a phone for you to contact Daryl. The phone he is using is saved in contacts. The phone only works here in the hospital so don’t leave or we’ll know.”
The small cell phone was pushed into his hand and then Daniel and the other two from their group were gone down the hall.
“Geeze, he’s a bossy little bitch, isn’t he?” AJ commented out loud this time.
Brian snorted, “The lot of ‘em seem to have some alpha male complex. C’mon AJ let’s get moving before someone questions our loitering.”
“Well lead the way. I have no idea where we are going.”
“What and you think I do? Just cause a guy has spent some time in a hospital a few times doesn’t mean he knows ‘em all.”
“Well then I guess we’ll just have to check the directory,” AJ replied before walking over to the map/directory of the hospital. He ran his finger along the names before finding “Pharmacy” and then matched to the location marker next to it.
“First floor near the lobby. Shall we?” AJ hooked his arm and offered it to Brian, who swatted him with a laugh.
“C’mon freak.” He replied as they walked to the main elevators.
“Ah Brian, you’re no fun. Hey, maybe we could find a janitor’s closet and have a quickie before we play Mission Impossible.”
“Geeze, when did you turn into a horny teenager again?” Brian replied as he pressed the down button for the elevator.
“What can I say? I finally got a taste of you again and now I’m hooked.”
Brian laughed as he shoved AJ into the elevator.
As soon as the doors were closed behind them they both turned serious. “We need to talk about what our plan is here,” AJ said.
“I know and I have one, as soon as we get off the elevator we’ll find an empty room and talk about this. I think I have an idea of how we can help these guys and help ourselves too.”
“Do we still even want to help these guys? I mean this all is starting to feel really wrong. There is something not right here and you know it.”
“I know AJ I just--”
“Just what, Brian?” AJ said forcefully before the doors of the elevator opened. AJ walked out without another word and headed down the hall, Brian close behind. He checked behind each door before coming to a bathroom. They looked around them to see if anyone was watching and then went in, locking the door behind them.
AJ whipped around, eyes blazing. “Brian, I am tired of getting pushed around by these assholes and every other asshole who crosses our path. I say we just get what we need here and get out. They aren’t watching us so why not just run? We steal a truck and cross the Mississippi they know we‘re gone.”
“You really think it’s going to be that easy? In case you have forgotten Daryl and his men took over security. They probably are watching us right now. And you think we can just steal a truck and cross I40 like it’s nothing? You think there aren’t other groups out there to stop us? I doubt that hospitals are the only operations still up and running.”
AJ got up to Brian’s face. He was scared and frustrated and angry. It had been a long time since AJ had felt so helpless and he did not like it one bit. “You are the one that got us into this! I didn’t want to do this. I was just going along because you kept telling me to trust you. Well look where that got us!”
“I’m sorry, ok! What do you want me to say? I screwed up! You’re right, I am too trusting and I got us into this mess, but what do you want me to do about it?”
“Damn it Brian!” AJ exclaimed before punching the wall next to him. “I want you to fucking fix it!”
“I’m trying, ok!” Brian shouted before closing his eyes and taking a breath. He walked up to AJ and put his hands on his. AJ flinched, his chest still heaving with angry breaths. “Please calm down. Don’t be mad. I’m sorry. I’ll fix this ok. I’ll get us out of this.” Brian could feel tears starting to form behind his eyes. He kissed AJ gently on the lips. “Please, I’m sorry. I’ll fix it, I promise.”
AJ felt his anger melt away as he looked up into those sparkling blue eyes he loved so much. “I’m sorry too. We’ll figure this out together, but let’s do it now.”
AJ jumped as he felt a vibration in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out the small phone he had been given. “Hello?” He answered.
“You two boy’s aren’t planning on running out on us are you?” Came the voice that had started to make AJ’s skin crawl.
“What are you talking about Daryl? We aren’t doing anything?”
“Really? ‘Cause I swear I just saw you two slip into a bathroom and haven’t come out in a few minutes. Longer than it takes for a leak. Or maybe you two homos were busy sodomizing each other.”
“Fuck you Daryl. We’re just trying to come up with a plan--”
“You have a plan! We gave it to you already, you little prick. Now get your asses moving before we all get caught. They can only hold up the distraction in the lobby for so long. Don’t make me have to call again. You’re asses better be out of that bathroom in one minute,” he finished before hanging up.
“Man I am getting so tired of that enormous tool bag!”
“What happened? Was that Daryl? What did he say?”
“That he’s watching us. We have to get out of the bathroom now or he’s going to send one of his goons after us.”
Brian looked worriedly at the phone in AJ’s hand. “I don’t get it?” Brian said quietly. “Why is he so concerned about us? They don’t really need us so why’s he so bent out of shape about what we’re doing?”
“I don’t know but we need to start heading for the pharmacy. We can discuss our strategy for getting out of this on the way.”
Brian nodded jerkily. “Okay,” He breathed out, “I think I have a plan.”
* <?xml:namespace prefix = o />
*
*
The closer they got to the lobby the more hectic things seemed to be. There were people running every which way and more heavily injured patients being frantically wheeled to various rooms. This seemed to fit better with their previous expectations.
Brian grabbed the arm of a nurse that was trying to run by them, “Hold on one second.”
“Look I got an emergency code, I have to go now,” protested the nurse.
“What is going on? We got called down here but nobody told us what happened.”
“The usual gang activity. There was some sort of riot downtown and they brought all their people here. And of course there’s the usual protestors causing trouble. Now do you mind? If y’all were called to this then you shouldn‘t be just standing around.” The nurse pulled away and continued to run down the hall. Brian and AJ followed behind.
“You should all rot in Hell for this! It’s not right! Y’all hide in your tower, protecting your goods while the rest of us suffer in this crumbling world!”
They heard this shout as well as general shouting of approval or disapproval as they passed by the lobby. They could see that things were definitely getting out of hand. Security was restraining people and fighting off others. They seemed to be trying to push the protestors, that looked unsurprisingly like Daryl’s crew, out the door. Further down the hall was another commotion of another kind, this one included screaming and crying and shouting.
There were bloody people everywhere. It looked like the middle of a war zone. This was what the boys had left behind in Chicago. This was the evidence, in this seemingly untouched place, of the world around them.
“Wow. I wonder if Daryl anticipated this mess?” AJ wondered out loud.
“I doubt it,” Brian answered while calculating the situation and how they could use this to their advantage. AJ could see that Brian was once again in survival mode. It always amazed AJ how a person could be so sensitive, so vulnerable and yet so strong when it is needed. It was something he had always loved about the older man; that contrast between his strength and frailty.
“So here’s the deal. We’re going to get what we need from the pharmacy and then we’re going to leave through the ER. With all this commotion we‘ll be gone before Daryl even notices.” It was risky but the best plan Brian had.
AJ took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay then, lead the way.”
“We also need to find a couple security guards we can ‘borrow’,” Brian added.
“Okay, I really don’t like the sound of that. What are you planning?”
*
*
*
AJ fastened the last button on his newly acquired security uniform. He looked down at the knocked out previous owner and back up to Brian, the brains of the operation, putting on his own uniform. Since the United States had gone to hell this was the craziest thing they had done so far.
He felt a familiar buzz in his pocket. He had wondered when they would be hearing from general redneck again. He picked up the phone and gave Brian a smirk before answering.
“What in the hell are you two yahoos doing?” Daryl shouted before AJ could get a word in.
“Well hey there Daryl, figured you’d call soon. Don’t worry about us, we’re fine. So nice that you were worried though.”
Brian gave a small giggle of amusement at AJ’s antics.
“Listen, we gave you your instructions, now hurry up and do your job so we can go home.”
AJ put his hand over the mouth piece of the phone and turned to Brian. “I think he’s mad at us,” he whispered playfully. Brian doubled over in laughter.
“Well see Daryl, we just came up with a better plan. We’ve got this under control so don’t go getting your panties in a twist. We’ll meet you at the rendezvous point as planned. Now if you don’t mind, we have a pharmacy to bust into.” And with that AJ ended the call.
“I don’t think he likes you very much AJ.”
AJ shrugged, “Eh, he’s probably an *Nsync fan or something.”
*
*
*
The boys found themselves amidst the commotion once again. They were almost run over by a gurney twice and every time they rounded a corner they would end up getting knocked over or knocking someone over.
“I wonder what happened? They said it was gang related,” AJ commented.
“Well, Memphis was never considered one of the safer cities in the country. Imagine what happened when there was suddenly no law to reign things in at all,” Brian replied, remembering the advice people in the South gave out when it came to going to Memphis; don’t go. Part of this advice came from a prejudice that still existed in this part of the country; Memphis being a predominantly African American city was often looked down on by some white Southerners. However, Memphis’ reputation was not completely unfounded, the city did have an embarrassingly high crime rate and corrupt city officials not helping things progress at all.
“Huh, I didn't think of that. Hate to see what happened in Vegas.”
Brian spotted the pharmacy up ahead. There was a large window where the pharmacists handed out medication that were needed by the doctors. To the right facing the hall was a door that was most likely locked.
“You ready?” Brian asked.
“Let’s just get this over with.”
They walked purposefully across the hall between the frantic people and went up to the window of the pharmacy.
There was a tall red haired woman who looked to be in her early 20s behind the counter and behind her was a tall slim man that looked to be in his 50s.
“Excuse me but we just got orders to lock up the pharmacy and have anyone not working emergency to head to the upper levels of the hospital for safety,” Brian ordered.
The man they assumed was the pharmacist came forward. “Why? What’s going on?”
“The rioting is getting out of control and they are worried if they get past security in the lobby they will try to break in here. So if you will please lock up and come with us.
The pharmacist seemed to contemplate this for a moment and then turned to the tech. “Ashley, go ahead and head up stairs, I’ll close up and meet you there.”
“What? No Daddy I don’t want to leave you. What if something happens?” The girl argued.
“That’s why I want you to go. If something happens I don’t want your mom and Sarah to be alone.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll make sure your Dad makes it upstairs to join you,” AJ assured but felt suddenly guilty about what they were about to do to the nice older gentleman.
Ashley was gone down the hall by the time her Dad pulled down the shade on the pharmacy window and headed for the side door.
Brian said a quick prayer of forgiveness before taisering the poor pharmacist until he passed out.
They discreetly shut the door and proceeded to grab anything they recognized as pain medication or antibiotics.
They were just about done when they heard an alarm go off followed by a voice saying “attention security, there is a break in, in the main level pharmacy. Repeat, break in, in the main level pharmacy.”
“Fuck!” AJ swore before dialing the number for the head of the Redneck Resistance as he decided to call them now.
“Yes?” Daryl answered casually.
“What the fuck is going on? I thought you guys were taking care of security for us,” AJ yelled back.
“Well see we had a change of plans also. You two are going to take the fall for us. You’re going to be the distraction while the rest of us take the loot and high tail it outta here.”
“But we have your loot Daryl--”
“AJ we need to leave, now,” Brian interrupted, listening to the security scanner that told him the disruption in the lobby had now ended and they were the next target.
“Did you really think we would trust y’all with this whole thing? You little pop star pricks are our diversion. We already got what we came for, now we’re ready to leave.”
“You son of a bitch! You can’t do this--” AJ began, rage flowing through him, but was interrupted again by Brian, who took the phone and threw it to the side.
“Forget him, we have to go now!”
“What about the stuff?”
“Go ahead and grab it,” Brian responded, “we’ll make for the emergency dock and highjack an ambulance, then we make for I40 and cross the Mississippi.”
They took the small pack with the meds and opened the door right into two security guards. Both duos startled momentarily before AJ quickly responded. “Thank God you got here. We got here first but they knocked us down and got away. I think they headed for the lobby, must have been apart of that group that was causing trouble.”
The two guards exchanged a look and looked at the pharmacist on the ground. “He alright?“ One of them asked.
“He’ll be ok,” Brian responded, “just got knocked out. We’ll take care of him and report in. Why don’t you two head for the lobby.”
The two still didn’t move, they did not seem to be buying it. Both boys swore internally. Everything happened very quickly after that. Brian saw the first guard reach for his gun and with cat-like reflexes gave a left hook to the man’s head knocking him cold. The second reached for his gun but was instantly tackled by AJ. They rolled on the ground until AJ found himself underneath the guard who hit him in the face. AJ felt pain radiate through his jaw and tried to get where he could block his head and face. Suddenly the guard was pulled off. AJ looked up just in time to see Brian use another well placed hit to knock guard number two to the ground and take the taser to him.
“Where did you learn to hit like that?” AJ asked as Brian helped him to his feet.
Brian looked at AJ strangely, “Uh the same place you did. Last summer we did all that boxing training to get in shape.”
AJ blushed, “Oh right. I may have paid my trainer to go easy on me.”
Brian pointed accusingly at his companion, “I knew you weren’t working out like the rest of us. Bet you’re regretting that now, huh?”
“How was I supposed to know I might actually have to use that stuff.”
“Well it’s a good thing you have me around,” Brian smirked while picking up the guns the guards had been carrying. “Now let’s go before more of them show up.”
They looked around after they closed the pharmacy door to see if anyone had seen or heard the commotion but everyone seemed to be going about their business still. They started to casually head down the hall to security when they heard a shout from behind. “Hey you two!”
Brian and AJ looked back to see a lot more security and Ashley, the pharmacist’s daughter pointing at them.
“Oh shit! Run!” Brian yelled before they both took off down the hallway.
They ran as fast as they could while using their agility as dancers to maneuver around the doctors and nurses rushing around. They got a few yells as they accidentally knocked over a some people on crutches.
They soon reached the emergency room that was filled with more yelling and screaming and blood. There were so many people it was almost hard to get through. On the plus side that meant it would be hard for security to get through also. They finally made it to the ambulance dock and saw a group of paramedics unloading a few patients from an ambulance. AJ ran for the driver side while Brian made for the passenger side.
AJ pulled out the driver and threw him to the ground while Brian watched for the last patient to be unloaded. “Go! Go! Go!” He yelled as soon as they were clear. AJ was already peeling out as Brian jumped into the passenger seat. He heard two shots go off as they pulled away.
AJ turned right out of the hospital and pressed hard on the gas while Brian recalculated the ambulance’s GPS to take them to Arkansas.
“Okay. At the first cross street take a right,” Brian instructed. He said this just as they came to the turn and AJ almost missed it, tires squealing as he took a sharp, quick right.
“Okay, then you’re going to take a left onto Union.” AJ did just that, narrowly missing a few pedestrians that were heading towards the hospital. As they made their way to the highway exit AJ saw three police cars in the rear vie
“Fuck! There are police? What the hell!”
Brian looked in his side mirror as well and was surprised to see that indeed they were being pursued by police cars. “This just gets weirder and weirder.”
They took the exit off of Union and headed north on the highway. AJ was relieved to see that the cops had not followed them. “They must not have cared too much about catching us.”
“Maybe, or they don’t want to stray too far in case we are part of a militia or something. Okay, next you want to exit onto 40 west. The river crossing shouldn’t be too far from there.”
As AJ turned onto the interstate a splatter of white appeared on the windshield. He turned on the wipers as large, wet snowflakes flew at the ambulance making it hard to see very far.
“You may want to slow down a bit. There could be ice patches on the bridge.”
“How far is the bridge anyways? I can’t see a damn thing.”
Brian looked over AJ and squinted to see if he could make out the city through the snow and darkness but with no lights on in the city it made it impossible. “I don’t know but we have to be close.” Brian turned to the front again just in time to see a bright spotlight turn on.
“Oh shit! I can’t see!” AJ panicked.
“Don’t worry just follow the lines on the road. There must be a blockade at the bridge entrance.”
“What? Well what are we supposed to do?”
“We’ll just have to play a little chicken and hope they get out of the way.”
AJ whipped his head to look at Brian. “Are you fucking crazy?! We’re going to die!”
“We’re not going to die. Just focus and don’t panic. You can do this AJ, just act like you’re playing a real life game of Grand Theft Auto,” Brian said with a smile.
AJ looked over with a frightened look on his face. “You are crazy, you know that? I always knew you were but this really confirms it. Completely mental.”
As they got closer to the spotlights AJ could finally make out the outline of the bridge and the small posse guarding it with a barricade behind them. AJ said a quick prayer for safety then sped up. The small group of men started to run off to the side, seeing that the driver had no intention of slowing down.
“Brian, I sure hope you have your seatbelt on, ’cause here goes nothing.” Just before they hit the barricade there was a bang followed by a crack in the windshield and AJ felt pain explode in his arm.
They slammed through and AJ felt the road go slick beneath them. He tried to get control of the wheel but his injured arm did not want to co-operate.
AJ heard Brian screaming his name as the ambulance spun and slammed into the side of the bridge. Blackness followed soon after.