Quetzalcoatl Ch. 10

"Fifteen minutes heh," Luke chimed in.

"Well, how much time do you need? You're not here for a prom," the greeter answered back sullenly, referring to Luke's age.

"Can we see the women?" I asked.

"No," the greeter answered curtly. He was obviously getting annoyed with our questions.

"I have a rifle that I might want to trade. What would that get me?"

The greeter looked at the doorman. "What kind of rifle?" The doorman asked.

"Mini-14 semiautomatic."

The greeter looked again at the doorman as he gave him a serious nod.

"You can have an hour with a three star lady." The greeter answered.

"More if you have any ammo to go with it," the doorman added.

"Oh, I have plenty of ammo for you."

"Okay, good. Just don't have any in the gun when you bring it in. We don't want any accidents," said the greeter.

"No there won't be any accidents," I said and we headed out of the place.

"They will be the first to die?" Dave asked as we quickly crossed the road.

"No use in shooting up the zombies. They will start running as soon as the fun starts and I want as much of a surprise as possible," I answered as we got in the Jeep.

"That was pretty smart mentioning the rifle," Luke observed. "Now they won't think it's weird that you are arriving with a gun."

"Nothing gets by you Luke," I said sarcastically.

That night I couldn't fall asleep, and, when I finally did, I dreamt of Jen. Of course she was naked. She had a dancer's body: all thin, muscular and limber. Her breasts were small but perfectly formed, her waist thin without being emaciated, and her ass was like two scoops of vanilla ice cream side by side.

She loved it when I went down on her. I could still remember the way she moaned as I brought her to orgasm. She would tell me that I had been the only man to ever get her off that way. That was how she knew that I was the one, because she felt so comfortable with me between her legs.

I dreamt of the last time we made love. She was sick and we both knew that she was going to die. I didn't want to do it, but she said that she wanted to feel me one last time. She was so weak and pale as I slipped between her legs... We were both crying as I hovered above her, trying not to hurt her.

"I want you to marry again," she preached to me in my dream.

"Don't say that. There will never be another like you."

"I am just a memory. Life is too precious a gift to waste on a memory. We will be together soon enough and then, forever. But now you have to live the life God gave you."

"I can't Jen."

"You will meet her soon enough. You must let go of me and live your lives together."

"I'm coming to you soon Jen."

She just looked up at me as the dream started to fade into black. "Live your life Edward."

The next morning it was raining hard when I got up. The rain was coming down in waves and the parking lot out back was filled with water. Dave was up already and he was working on his laptop.

"You don't have any Internet, do you?" I asked.

"No." He smiled. "But we're working on it. Coffee?"

"Coffee, yes. What do you mean?"

"It's on the counter. Cups are in the cupboard and milk is in the frig. It will be like back in the day. When the Internet was just a few computers hooked up together."

"From little steps..." I said as I filled my cup up from the coffee maker, and then got the milk from the refrigerator.

"It has to start somewhere," Dave continued. "Hopefully someone in California is starting one there and someday we will meet in the middle."

I nodded my approval. "Where did you get the milk?" I asked as I took my first sip.

"Friend of mine has a goat farm," he said without looking up.

"Goat farm?" I asked, half spitting out the coffee.

Dave looked up slyly from the laptop. "I dare you to tell me there is a difference. Except for the fact that it has more cream in it."

"Goat milk?"

"Oh relax. Don't be such a wimp. Besides he says they're easier to take care of than cows."

I had to admit that it tasted pretty good. He was right about the creaminess. It tasted more like half and half. "Rain is coming down pretty good," I said looking out the window.

"It'll be good for you."

"Why?"

"No moonlight. The moon was supposed to be almost full tonight."

"Oh."

"You are going tonight, right?"

"That was my plan."

"We have a few things to do."

"Like what?"

"Well, you should tape that light to your rifle and fill all of your magazines."

"They're already full."

"How many do you have?"

"Two for each gun."

"Giving you how many rounds?"

"Twenty for each gun."

"Is that enough?"

"Don't know. But I'm going to take a bunch loose, so I can reload the mags as I go."

"Sounds good. What's the plan?"

"I drive around back. Take out the generator, and then come in the front door, hopefully to a lot of confusion."

"Oh they will be confused. Azul sends for me when they have problems with the generator and they haven't sent for me in months. They won't know what to do. The elevator, which won't have any power, is down the hall to the left. The stairs are also on the left just past the elevator."

"Thanks for all of your help."

"I didn't do it for you, remember. I did it for the grandmas."

We both smiled at that.

Getting ready took me no more than an hour. I taped the maglight to the stock of the rifle, and took another light as a back up. The magazines were ready to go, and I had extra ammo in the cargo pockets of my shorts. .9 mm, pistol rounds in the left side, and .223 rifle rounds in the right side. I had the knife sheathed and attached to my belt along with the gun holster. I even took another look at the generator. Just to make sure.

The rest of the day I sat on the couch and watched old movies with Luke. I couldn't even tell you what movies they were. All I thought about was Azul, and how the hell was I going to kill him. The rain didn't stop, and it looked like it would never stop as the day dragged on.

By ten o'clock that night I was ready to go. It wasn't that late, but it was dark enough and it wasn't getting any darker.

With all of the rain that night I figured that there wouldn't be too many patrons at Azul's. Which was a good thing, I didn't want too much collateral damage. Win or lose, I just wanted it to be over. So I said my goodbyes and Dave actually gave me a hug. I really liked this kid.

"Remind me to get a goat when we get back Luke," I said as I exited the apartment. "I miss milk in my coffee."

"Not to mention the goat meat," Dave chimed in. "Curry goat is very tasty."

"You'll have to make me some."

"It's a deal," Dave said skeptically as I headed for the Jeep in the rain.

On the way to Azul's place the lack of sleep started to affect me. I couldn't see through the rain and the dark, and I felt an almost out of body experience as I strained to stay on the road.

Finally I made it to the apartment building and, when I drove past, it almost seemed closed. I didn't see anyone in front of it at first, but then a man exited as I rounded the corner to go around back.

That was a good sign. I think that I dreaded hurting an innocent more than I dreaded death. After last night's dream, I almost yearned for death. To be with my beautiful Jen again, and forever, seemed like heaven.

I parked the Jeep and made a check of my gear. I knew I had the knife and pistol because they were sticking me in the back. The mini was on the passenger seat and the extra ammo was clinking in the cargo pockets of my shorts. Lastly was the extra flashlight, which I stuck in my back pocket as I exited the vehicle.

It was still raining as I stood in the street looking up at Azul's building from the rear. Well, I thought as I headed across the street, let's go meet our maker.

I wasn't sure which way to go at first, but then I started to recognize the buildings as I made my way into the alley between them. I then heard the hum of the generator, and I followed my ears to it.

It was coming down in buckets and there was no one in sight as I neared the rectangular beast. I used the spare flashlight and only flashed it on once in a while as I made my way in the rain. I put the mini down on top of it and, as I squatted down next to it, opened the steel door.

I didn't bother to put on the flashlight, but just traced the fill pipe down to the gas tank, and finally to the fuel line. I pulled the knife out of the sheath and, with about thirty seconds of work, I cut through it.

As Dave predicted the generator didn't stop right away, but kept on humming. I put the knife away, got up and, as I grabbed the mini, I headed for the front of the building. About half way there the motor started to falter and, by the time I made it to the front of the building, it had stopped altogether.

The commotion in the building started as soon as I opened up the door to the lobby. The doorman and the greeter were both there, but their attention was down the hall. People and zombies were milling about everywhere in the hall. Because of the chaos, I was able to sneak in the lobby unnoticed.

By the time the doorman turned around and noticed me I was standing on top of him with the rifle in my hand. The maglight was still off, but I could see their outline in the dark.

"What the fuck's going on?" He exclaimed as I stood there.

He shone a flashlight on me. Shit, I thought, I hadn't accounted for him being prepared.

"Remember me?" I asked. "I was here last night, and I told you I was bringing a rifle." The greeter was just turning around and noticing that I was there.

"Yeah, I remember you. Is that thing loaded?" Somehow the doorman must have seen the magazine in the gun.

"It wouldn't be worth a damn if it wasn't loaded."

"Give me that gun mister."

"Here take it," I said as I leveled the mini and shot from the hip. Two shots ripped through his torso, and a third one through his throat. He dropped the flashlight and both of his hands went for his throat. He made a sick gurgling sound as he tried to breathe with a shredded larynx.

I turned towards the greeter, who I could see in the partial light of the flashlight that was still shinning on the floor. His eyes were wide open, and so was his mouth. His hands were up in a warding off position and I sensed that he didn't know whether or not to run.

"He might have been the most dangerous," I said referring to the doorman. "But you are the most vile. Tonight you will know what it is like to pimp in hell." I brought the rifle up to eye level, catching the front sight in my peripheral vision, and I blew his head off with two shots.

Five shots I thought. I removed the magazine, reloaded it, and then snapped the magazine back into place. I then turned on the maglight and I was good to go.

I realized then, that the hallway was totally empty. I hadn't even noticed that they had all cleared out. Next I made for the stairs and as I got there two men were coming down. I shone the light on the first one's face. He couldn't see anything with the light in his eyes and they looked more scared than threatening.

"Holy shit man. What the fuck is going on?" He screamed.

"Do you guys work here?" I asked.

"Work here? No man we just came here to get laid. Who are you?"

"Can you find your way out?" I ignored the question.

"I don't know. Which way is the lobby?"

"Down the hall behind me. Go towards the light." Meaning the flashlight that I left on the floor.

"Thanks man," he said as they made their way past me. "You better watch yourself," said the second man. "Someone is shooting the place up." And they ran for the door.

The stairs were a series of three short landings that must have circled the elevator shaft up the building. I was up them in a bound. As I emerged out of the doorway I could see people in panic. There were women screaming and there was a lot of noise.

I thought for a second about what to do. It would take me forever to sort out the johns from the zombies. I resolved to let them sort themselves out when a guy came running for the stairs.

"You better get out of here man. The whores are killing the zombies," he said as he pushed past me and ran down the stairs in the dark. Well, good for the grandmas, I thought. That solved that, and so I made for the stairwell to the third floor.

As I scaled the steps, three men came running past me and almost knocked me down the stairs. They said nothing, but I could tell they were scared to death. The bedlam was a Godsend. I was walking through the place like a ghost.

That was, until I hit the third floor. At the top of the stairs in the doorway was a man and I could see from the maglight's that he had a gun. He couldn't see me, but he could see my light.

"Who's that?" He yelled at me. He was turned sideways to me and he brought the gun up half way, but it was still pointing at the floor. I shouldered the mini and got him in my sights.

"Better speak up or I'll shoot," he proclaimed.

I hit him twice and one must have hit his arm that was holding the gun, because he dropped it, slammed against the far wall and slumped to the ground. I quickly bounded up the steps and grabbed his gun off the floor.

"Who are you?" He pleaded as I shone the light in his face.

"Quetzalcoatl," was all I said, and then I shot him in the face.

It was cold, I know, but enemies, that I thought were out of the picture, had burned me before. If I had any chance of escaping this place, I couldn't show any mercy. They surely wouldn't show me any.

I was riveted out of my trance by the sound of gunfire. I turned around to see about ten people cowering on the floor and one man running down the hall firing a pistol at me. I returned fire, missing badly, and ducked back in the stairwell.

My return fire stopped him in his tracks and, since he had no light, he was just firing at the glow of the flashlight. I got on my knees at the edge of the door, pulled out the Glock and, as I extended my left arm with the rifle in it, I snuck around the corner with the pistol in my right hand.

He fired twice at the rifle with the light on it and I returned fire three times with the Glock. Nothing happened at first, but then he slumped down, dropped the gun and fell to the floor.

I looked up and down the hallway, but no one else stirred. I could hear some woman crying and that was it. I got to my feet and came around the corner into the hallway. I holstered the Glock and I shone the flashlight off the hallway's ceiling. It gave a low light to everyone in the hall.

"Ladies," I started. "I'm sorry for the commotion, but you are all free to leave." No one moved. I waited for a few seconds. "Ladies this is no joke, and if you want to get out of here before your captors come back, I suggest that you leave now." That got them moving. Slowly they got to their feet and started for the stairs.

"Are you serious," one older woman grabbed me. "We can leave?"

"Yes, and I would make haste. I don't know how many guys are in this building, or if there are more coming."

"What about us?" one of the men spoke up.

"I don't know. Ladies what do you think? Can I let them go?"

"I say we cut their balls off first," said one woman who was walking into the stairwell.

"I'm sorry but I don't have the time or the inclination to do any castrations," I said tongue in cheek. "Okay then guys, you can go."

As the men got up, a young woman approached me with the gun that the second guy dropped. She was young and beautiful with long straight auburn hair and she was only wearing a bra and panties. She had an incredible body on display, although I made every effort not to be too obvious about noticing it. My first thought was, why are you still alive?

"There is still a guard hiding in the last apartment," she said to me as we locked eyes.

"Ah shit. Okay I'll go get him."

She put a hand on my chest. Her touch was electric. "No, let me," she said still holding the gun.

"Are you sure?" I could sense a hatred and determination in her eyes.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

"Okay," I conceded. "But hold on." I took the first guy's gun out and checked the magazine. It was full. "Use this gun. It has more bullets." We exchanged guns and I took the opportunity to fill my magazines while I watched her ass as she walked down the hall and into the apartment.

I stood at the stairwell leading to the top floor and I waited for an outcome. I started to think that I shouldn't have let her go, but then I heard three shots and, a minute later, she walked out into the hallway. Good girl, I thought.

I didn't wait any longer. I had already taken too much time. I turned off the maglight and started up the stairs. It was quiet upstairs. Whoever was up there had far too much time to prepare. I was at a disadvantage.

I came around the corner of the stairs, and looked up the landing to the doorway. For some reason I turned on the maglight on that doorway and was greeted by two gunmen, one of whom had a shotgun. They immediately opened fire. I was quick enough to bounce back behind the stairway wall, but not before a few pellets stung my right leg.

I slumped to the landing and listened for footsteps, but heard none. That was their mistake. I turned off the maglight again and with my arm fully extended to my right into the open stairway I held the mini. I estimated the direction to the doorway in the dark and emptied a whole magazine into the night. Ten rounds went screaming up the stairway, ripping into anything soft in their way.

A peek around the corner, with the light back on, produced the results I needed. I could just see the heads of two men slumped at the top of the stairs. They were testaments to the damage that that rifle can inflict in as little as five seconds.

As I got up the sting in my right leg became out-in-out pain. I needed to pull myself up the stairway by the railing. I figured that I got hit with at least three pellets. It was only buckshot and I was lucky that it wasn't anything more substantial, but it still hurt like hell.

I quickly snapped the light on and then off again and saw nothing down the hallway. That was worse than being confronted. I would have to make my way down the hall and anyone could pop out of any one of the five apartments on the floor.

I flicked on the light again and looked at the two men at the top of the stairs. The one with the shotgun was a zombie. He was way overdressed and he stunk. I wondered how people could live around such filth.

I honed in on the first apartment door. It was down on my left about five feet away. I turned off the light and headed towards the door in the dark. I made my way down the hall using feel and hearing.

I found the door jamb easy enough, but a try of the knob proved it to be locked. I flicked on the light, got my balance and sent the heel of my foot at the doorknob. The first try just dislodged the door a notch, but a second try slammed it open. A quick glance down the hall showed that no one was coming out of the other apartments, so I headed in.

The apartment opened up to a small living room with a kitchen behind. Two doors to the left presumably led to bedrooms. Fuck, I thought, more doors. Anyone could be hiding anywhere.

I just resigned myself to kicking in both doors, when the one on the left opened up. Slowly at first, but then a woman stuck her head out around the jamb. She was older, and she reminded me of Josie. She didn't have the same features, in fact she was light skinned with blond hair, but she was a beautiful older woman. She was also dressed in a bra and panties, but not as revealing as the ones the auburn haired girl wore.

"Who are you?" She asked frightfully.

"I'm here to set you free," I said calmly to settle her down.