III - Remnants of Himself
Eddie began to pour himself another drink of wine as Lori nervously fidgeted with her fingers.
"So… if the soldiers– the real soldiers– left… why haven't you?" asked Lori.
"All this talk about protecting the President and preventing anarchy and all that…" sighed Eddie as he took a sip of wine, "...it's because I wasn't able to protect my husband and son when the time came to defend them from the invasion. My husband was killed by the KHAN soldiers. Dragged out of my hands then shot in the back of his head. They did it right in front of my eyes. Then, my son? We were out there, looking for food supplies from nearby military camps when a couple raiders looted the camp. They saw us and shot at us. They hit my kid… and took the food. He bled out in my arms."
"Sorry for your loss," said Lori.
"Thank you, but there isn't really nothing to be sorry about. I learned to deal with it by doing my job. I guess that's why some people look up to me…"
Lori nodded as she wiped her eyes.
Meanwhile, George snuck around the halls of the ground floor of the White House. He walked past the stairs, looking around the hall, making sure he didn't run into any working cameras in the ceiling. He then found an open door to his left. He peeked inside, finding bookshelves near the walls. It was a library. He found a woman in leather sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, her body facing the door but her eyes glued to her book. George quickly peeked away, the woman not budging a muscle.
George then walked to the door right across the library, finding it closed. He placed his ears against the door, but he heard nothing. He looked up and found a sign. Vermeil Room.
He walked back towards the Protection Area and passed by the China Room. Next to it was the Diplomatic Reception Room. The door was slightly open, though George was able to catch a glimpse of an armed Service agent, who was napping in a couch. He walked past it and walked across the hall opposite to the room, heading north.
He continued looking around, finding bullet holes in the walls. He continued walking ahead, when he heard noises coming from the room ahead of him, where another hall ran west and east. He heard laughing and thuds before recognizing the sound of a rolling bowling ball. It was a bowling alley. He turned away, heading east.
The next room was signed as Flower Shop. He looked inside it and found flies buzzing around withering flowers. He left the door open and looked out at the courtyard. He crouched as he saw a couple agents talking to each other, though he was unable to hear anything. He crouched away, heading west.
He found a room to his right, next to the west courtyard. The sign said 'Carpenter's Shop.' He heard a multitude of men and women talking, along with the sounds of tools and machines being used. He looked at the west courtyard through a window, finding the agents carrying backpacks and weapons. There were blood on their pants. On the ground were corpses. Fresh corpses.
One of the agents glanced at the window, causing George to quickly duck. He quickly crawled towards a room to his left, which was the Refrigerator Room. He then hid behind a cabinet as a Service agent came inside the White House.
"I'm tellin' you I saw something," grumbled the agent.
"Hey, Rob!" shouted the agent as he looked across the Refrigerator Room. "You seen anything out here?"
"No," Rob replied. "Should I?"
"See," said the agent. "Told you. Now, stop wasting time, asshole. We gotta get their weapons inside. Inventory check is coming soon and I ain't getting downgraded to cleaning these bodies 'cause of your dumbass!"
"Ight, fine. Jesus."
George sighed as the doors that led out to the courtyard closed. He walked towards another other exit of the Refrigerator Room. He saw stairs that led downstairs, though he ignored it. He saw the Protection Area across the mini-hall. It was signed, 'Map Room.'
He prepared to cross the large hall before hearing Eddie and Lori walking downstairs. He quickly jumped back inside the mini-hall, which Lori saw. Eddie turned around.
"What?" asked Eddie.
"Nothing," said Lori. "Hey, earlier… why'd you call me Mrs. Loud? Some of those girls are my sisters, not my daughters."
Eddie faced Lori, away from the Protection Area. He grabbed Lori's hand as George crossed the hall. He nodded as he walked back inside the Protection Area.
"Well, you have a ring," said Eddie. "I assume you were married."
"Oh," smiled Lori. "Good observation!"
George sighed a big breath of relief as the group members looked at him.
"So, what'd you find?" asked Becky. "Another way to defend Lori?"
"The Service might be dangerous," warned George. "These assholes were lootin' a dead body. And not just any dead body. Fresh ones. The agents– their pants were stained with fresh blood."
The door opened. Eddie and Lori walked inside.
"Thank you for your time, Lori," said Eddie. "I'm going to need David and George now."
David and George looked at each other concerned once again, as they walked up to Eddie.
"Camera appears to be down so we're going to have guards posted outside the room," said Eddie. "Do not try leaving the room. Follow me, men."
Eddie walked next to a couple armed agents as David and George followed him out of the Protection Area. The armed guards closed the door.
"I guess we have time to talk about what happened earlier…" said Lori.
"There might not be time," said Kotaro. "George warned us that these people might be dangerous."
"The Service might be killing people and looting them," said Benny.
"David and George might be in danger," said Lincoln.
Eddie and the agents led David and George inside an office room.
"So, what are we doing here, sir?" asked David.
The Service agents pulled out their pistols and aimed them at both men. Eddie removed his suit and rolled up his sleeves.
"You don't have to address me with that sir bullshit anymore, David. Raise your arms."
"Why?"
"Shut up. I'm going to be the one asking the questions," said Eddie. "Raise them or else I'll get one of Lori's sisters. Maybe then, you'll talk."
"No need," said George, raising his hands. "I knew you weren't a real agent."
"Too good to be true, right?" smiled Eddie.
The Service members grabbed each of the men's hands and handcuffed them behind their backs. Then, they were placed down in a chair each.
"Stan, stay. Everyone, leave," ordered Eddie.
The agents left the office, leaving David and George handcuffed to their chair. Eddie and Stan stared down at both men as they put on their leather gloves.
"KHAN," said Eddie. "Does that name sound familiar?"
"Doesn't ring a bell," said David.
Eddie looked at Stan and nodded once. Stan punched David in the jaw and grabbed his hair.
"You're just going to make this more difficult for us, right?" asked Eddie.
David spit at Stan's shoes.
"Maybe," he snickered.
Eddie walked up to George and punched his gut.
"Just for the record…" said Eddie, "we're only refreshing your memory. 'Cause you're going to tell me everything you know about the KHAN."
"We ain't tellin' you shit," said David. "You could eat shit for all I care. Dickhead."
Eddie let out an uncontrolled chuckle as he walked over to the desk, opening up a drawer. He took out a taser and turned it on. He then thrust it at David's shoulder and began shocking him. He clenched his teeth as he groaned in pain.
"Start with your wife," said Eddie. "Tell me why she was a part of KHAN."
David panted as he faced Eddie, looking surprised.
"Yeah, that's right," smiled Eddie. "Lori told me everything she knew about KHAN. Including the fact that your wife served them! But, heh, can't blame Lori. I was pretty charming."
"None of your goddamn business," said David.
"Oh, that's right. You're Marines! Which means you can supposedly take it all, right?"
David did not reply. He continued panting as Eddie tilted his head.
"I DO NOT HAVE FUCKING PATIENCE!" he boomed.
Eddie grabbed a switchblade and began slicing George's shirt apart. The blade slashed the skin in his chest, arms, and legs. Stan then handed a bottle of rubbing alcohol to Eddie. David watched as Eddie poured the rubbing alcohol over George's body, causing him to scream.
"George!" yelled David.
"Don't tell him anything!" yelled George.
Eddie slapped George.
"Shut up!" yelled Eddie.
"Why do you wanna fucking know?" asked David.
"Because the KHAN killed my husband! And they destroyed my city! And they left it in such a vulnerable place for scum like you to roam around! And scum like you killed my son!"
"That ain't our fault!" yelled David.
"I wanna know because I want to fucking destroy the KHAN. But if you don't tell me…"
Eddie aimed his gun at George's head.
"...I'm going to fucking blow his head out!"
"And after I tell you… you're going to kill everyone in my group?" asked David.
"Yeah, that's the plan."
"My wife was in it because she was forced to join the KHAN. There. Happy?"
"Not quite," said Eddie. "You know their leader's name?"
"Krissen. I don't fucking remember her last name."
"Why couldn't the Marines defeat the KHAN? Huh? Why did they abandon us?"
"I don't fucking know."
"Bullshit! You're supposed to know! Why the fuck didn't they do anything?"
"I don't know!"
"You're supposed to know!"
"I don't!" shouted David.
"YOU KNOW!"
"I DON'T!"
Eddie yelled as he kicked David's chest, dropping him and his chair to the ground. He knelt down and began beating David's face. Blood began to ooze out of the torn skin in David's face.
The sun began to descend as Lori paced back and forth in the Protection Area. Lisa knocked on the windows of the White House and sighed.
"Bulletproof," said Lisa.
Kotaro looked through a tiny bookshelf. Luna and Sam lifted up the carpet. Preston placed his left ear against the wall and walked along it. Jace did the same, but on the floor instead. Bobby kept his ear against the door, listening to the armed guards talk and cough. Lincoln approached an air vent close to the ceiling.
"There could be our way out," said Lincoln.
"That's kinda dumb," said Ronnie Anne.
"That's kinda scary," said Bobby.
"That's kinda smart," said Lori. "You could still fit in tight spaces?"
"Yeah," said Lincoln, measuring the vent with his eyes. "It's not too tight. I just have to get up there somehow."
Lynn and Hana picked up the wooden table and placed it below the vent. Lincoln climbed on top of the table, before being handed a wooden chair. He balanced it down on the table, before standing on top of it. He stretched out his body and grabbed the vent. He pulled on it before it popped out. He then placed his hands inside the rectangular air ducts and jumped to no avail.
"Pull yourself up!" exclaimed Lynn.
"I'm trying!" groaned Lincoln.
"Try harder!"
"I can't! My fingers are sweaty! They keep slipping!"
"Ugh, you can't do a pull up?" scoffed Lynn as she climbed on top of the table. "Ditch the chair. Get on my shoulders."
Lincoln climbed down from the chair and looked at the group. They all stared at him. He turned his rosy cheeks away and placed his hands on the wall and his feet on Lynn's shoulders as she remained crouched down. Then, she stood up, causing Lincoln to move his hands up closer to the ducts. His hands were inside the ducts but he was still unable to pull himself up. Then, Lynn grabbed Lincoln's shoes and raised her arms up, lifting Lincoln up even further.
"Whew! You got even heavier!" groaned Lynn.
Lincoln pulled his chest inside the ducts.
"Looking good!" exclaimed Clyde.
Sweat formed on Lynn's forehead as she looked down at Clyde. She gave him a soft smile. Then, she let out a huge breath as Lincoln pulled the rest of his body inside the duct.
"I'm in, Lynn!" exclaimed Lincoln. "Now what do I do?"
"I don't know," said Lynn as she climbed down the table. "Don't you always have a plan when you do shit like this?"
"Oh, right. I'll be back, guys!" said Lincoln as his voice trailed off. "Move the table back to where it was…!"
Lynn grabbed the chair and placed it down before grabbing the table.
"So, what do we do?" asked Luna.
Lily walked up to her and handed her a book.
"Read me a story!" she said.
Luna grabbed the book and looked at the title. It was Fifty Shades of Grey. She rolled her eyes towards the group and sighed in defeat.
Lincoln crawled forward in the dark air ducts, which would only be dimly lit when he passed by a room. He continued to pass by more vents, the sunlight revealing the sweat in his face and oily hair, despite it being cool in the ducts. Whenever he passed by a vent, he would stiffen up and crawl slowly, as to avoid making noise and getting caught. As the dim light faded away, he would increase his pace in the ducts.
As he continued to crawl forward, he heard the noise of the fan grow louder and felt the wind grow colder. He tapped the wall to his right, feeling the outer corner of it. As he continued tapping on the corner, he turned and began crawling away from the fan. He then tapped on a furry object, which squeaked and scurried away.
"Oh, rats!" Lincoln whispered loudly as he moved his hand away. "Man, it's been a while since I crawled in the vents. Last time I did so was with Lucy–"
Lincoln began thinking about her again. Her black hair, pale skin, dark clothing, monotonous voice, he missed all of it. He continued crawling. He was remembering something.
-Day 21-
"Who else wants to come with me to look for car parts?" asked Lori.
David crossed his arms as he leaned against the RV.
"I can come with you," said Lincoln.
"Sorry, but I'm looking for someone older. I don't want to risk your life."
Lincoln frowned as he looked back.
"I can come with you," said Wavehead. "I can take out roamers."
"Same here," said D.
"I guess I'm coming as well," said Luna.
"Count me in too," smiled Sam.
"I could come with you too," said Tad.
"And me," said Becky. "I could do well with a machete..."
Lincoln walked away and headed back inside the RV. He saw Ronnie Anne, Lynn, Clyde, Tabby, Liam, and Zach all standing around Rusty and Lucy on the couch, taking turns at making an attempt to comfort them.
"...he sounds like a cool fella," said Liam. "I didn't know him that well but Rocky really does seem like an interesting lad."
"Because he was," said Rusty. "Just leave me alone, guys."
"I appreciate what you guys said, but I really need to be alone now," said Lucy, moving to the booth table.
Clyde and Lynn frowned as they walked away from the couch. They passed by Lincoln, only managing to give him quick glances. He walked towards the booth table. Zach grabbed Lincoln's shoulder.
"Hey, what about him?" he whispered, tilting his head towards Rusty.
"In a minute," said Lincoln.
"Hey," whispered Tabby, grabbing Lincoln's chest. "She's not in a good mood."
"I still gotta try."
"C'mon, Rusty needs you more than she does," said Zach.
"Fellas, just… just let Lincoln give Lucy a good talk," said Liam before facing Lincoln. "Go. We got this. Get 'er spirits up."
Lincoln nodded as he passed by Ronnie Anne. She remained quiet as she kept her arms crossed. Liam looked back at Rusty.
"Ain't no one tellin' you how to feel," said Liam. "I reckon we're all buggin' ya, but I think we're all just tryna' tell ya that we'll always be there for you. We ain't got a problem with you wantin' to be alone. Just please, if ya feel like talkin' to us, then don't feel ashamed to walk up to us. I get it."
Liam looked at Tabby and Zach.
"They get it. We're ya friends, man."
Rusty teared up and nodded as he looked at Lincoln.
Lincoln sat at the booth table.
"Hey, Luce."
"Lincoln…" whispered Lucy. "If you're here to tell me how to feel, then you will be wasting your time."
"I just want to talk to you. And I think you wanna talk to someone too. Preferably someone who's not just talking about how to make you feel better."
"Well… I guess I do want someone to talk with. But I don't want to drag you down with me. You shouldn't feel as heartbroken as me."
"You don't really seem–"
"Because I'm hiding my grief," said Lucy. "I'm suppressing it. Moving it for another time."
"How do you do that?"
"I just wait until I'm alone. Then, I do whatever my heart wants to do. Sleep, cry, wallow, whatever. I don't want to look weak in front of Lana, Lola, Lisa, and Lily. Maybe even you."
Lincoln stared at Lucy.
"See– this is why I didn't want to–"
"No," said Lincoln. "It's okay. I get it. I actually think that's something I might do. I understand why you want to do it."
"Really? You really are the only one who understands me."
Lucy played with her fingers as she looked down at the table.
"Rocky also understood me. Not a day goes by where I don't think about him. I really hate this world. There's nothing he ever did to deserve his fate."
Lincoln nodded as Lucy wrapped her arms around his body. Her cold skin felt warmth radiating from her brother's body. It was comforting. Lincoln hugged her back.
-Present Day-
Lincoln felt the warmth leave his body as he approached a bright vent. He crawled towards it, wiping his eyes. He then looked through and found shelves and tables filled with guns. It was the armory. He looked around and saw a Service agent cleaning Lori's AK-47. The agent whistled as he placed the stock against his shoulder and looked into the iron sights. He pretended to fire the gun before walking out of the room.
"Okay," whispered Lincoln, opening the vent. "Do this slowly. Slowly."
He held the vent and looked down at the shelf below him. They were filled with pistols, including his M1911.
"Hey, you!" shouted one of the agents from the door.
Lincoln's heart froze. He almost let the vent slip out of his fingers.
"Hey, Rob, can't you hear me?" said the agent. "Did you do inventory check?"
"I can barely walk, asshole!" exclaimed Rob from the distance.
Lincoln quickly grabbed the M1911 and slowly moved back into the air ducts, closing the vent softly. He kept looking inside the armory as more agents walked inside.
"I'll do inventory check," said one of the agents.
Lincoln crawled in the ducts with his pistol in his hands. He looked at the safety switch as he felt the cold metal barrel. He remembered when he first touched the gun. He placed the gun in his pocket and continued crawling. But he couldn't stop remembering.
-Day 58-
"We can do fine with three cars," said Lori. "We have 28 people. Fourteen people in Vanzilla. Ten people in the RV. Four people in the van. We can move the remaining boxes of weapons to the van. We don't need the empty ones anymore."
"Let's move them out quickly then," said Luan. "I can't see anything in this darkness."
Luna and Sam opened up the trunk to Chunk's van. With lowered heads, they lifted the crates up and placed them inside the van.
Carol approached Richard who was carrying a crate from Chaz's car to the van.
"Hey, you alright?" she asked.
Richard grumbled and ignored Carol. She simply rubbed her arms and walked away.
Vonda stared down at her mother's M1911 pistol.
Lynn then grabbed it and stormed towards the side of the road before stretching her arms back, getting ready to toss the gun away.
"Hey, no!" yelled Vonda.
"I don't want to see this ever again!" yelled Lynn.
"Lynn, please!"
Vonda grabbed Lynn's arms before being shoved away.
"What's wrong with you?" exclaimed Lynn. "I don't get why you want anything to remember your evil mom by!"
"What's going on here?" asked David, stepping in.
"She took that pistol from my hands!" shouted Vonda.
"It belonged to Sherry!" exclaimed Lynn.
"Lynn, give it back to her. She's going through a lot and if having that pistol helps her deal with her emotions, then let her have it."
"But-"
"Jesus, just give it back!"
Lynn scoffed and tossed the pistol to the side.
Vonda rushed to get the pistol, dusting it off as she picked it up. The metal barrel cooled her warm hands as she picked it up.
"Thank you," said Vonda as she looked up at David.
Lincoln walked up to Lynn.
"Hey, that wasn't cool," he remarked.
"Yeah, well it's uncool to keep the weapon that murdered our people."
"It didn't kill Lucy."
Lynn growled as she looked at him.
"What do you mean by that?" she hissed.
"I'm saying... you're not doing her any favors by acting this way. This anger... you can't let it take over you."
"I'm angry because I'm grieving, Lincoln. But you... you wouldn't know about it, right? Not with the way you got over Lucy's death pretty fast."
Lincoln lowered his eyes as Luna approached them.
"Hey, leave him alone," she said. "Linc's just got his own way of dealing with being crapped on by life. If he don't cry, then he don't cry. I'm sure he cares about Lucy a lot more than he shows."
Lynn puffed as she walked away.
Luna then turned over to Lincoln.
"Suppressing your grief?" asked Luna.
"How'd you know?" said Lincoln in a low voice.
"'Cause I did it before," said Luna. "It didn't work out so much for me. I guess I suppressed it for too long, 'cause when all the emotional crap piled up on me… it felt like hell. Even Sam couldn't stop me from crying."
Luna cleared her throat.
"Just don't let that stuff accumulate in you, alright? Let the grief out somehow. Lucy knew best how to do it."
Lincoln softly nodded as he glanced at David walking inside his RV with the M1911 in his hands.
-Present Day-
Lincoln looked around the air ducts as he heard screaming coming from one of the rooms. He continued crawling until he looked at the vent for the photo office. He looked at Eddie and Stan interrogating David and George. Stan held David's mouth opened as Eddie reached inside it with pliers. David screamed in agony as Eddie grabbed a tooth and began pulling on it with his pliers.
"I can do this for hours," said Eddie. "And I won't stop until I get some fuckin' answers!"
"That's the plan," said David.
"It's a bad plan. If you plan on stalling me– it won't work. All my people are going to kill everyone in that room except the girl scientist. Her cure will help a lot. I'll also keep the dog alive– keep him for myself. And then you'll be here– alive. The longer you keep me here, the more painful I make it for them."
Lincoln held his M1911 before leaving it in his pocket. He crawled away rapidly, before banging his knee against a duct wall.
Eddie looked up at the vents. Lincoln remained hidden away from the vents, though his breath shook. Eddie pointed his pistol at the air ducts.
"We got a rat problem, again?" asked Eddie.
Stan shrugged before Eddie turned around.
"So, where was I?" said Eddie. "Oh, that's right– you were going to tell me why you betrayed your country."
Lincoln slowly crawled away from the vents, heading back to the Protection Area. He heard punches, and groans coming from George. As he continued to navigate around the ducts, he stumbled upon a vent that looked downwards at the Palm Room, a room below the left courtyard. He peeked through it, finding a teen girl walking with two older men, all armed with pistols.
"I don't know, guys," said the teen girl. "There is strength in numbers, right? Why do we keep killing our guests?"
"We're already large enough," said one of the agents. "Plus, we don't need more mouths to feed. You know, your mother does nothing but sit in her ass all day, so unless she can pull her own damn weight then–"
"Don't fucking disrespect her like that, asshole!"
"Sheila, don't mind what comes out his mouth," said the other agent. "You're doing your mother a favor by helping us out. And you have to keep it that way, understand me? You came here to look for the President. He ain't here but you got us. Understand?"
"I just don't like doing it," said Sheila. "I dream about what we do sometimes. I hate those fucking dreams. And that's when I sleep. What if the real government finds out what we did? I dream about that too. You know how those dreams end? With my brain in the floor!"
"We are the government!" said the asshole agent. "I swear to God, Sheila, if you're gonna complain about getting your hands dirty, then–"
"Shut up. Just shut up," said the agent. "Let's just go get something to eat, damn."
The two agents walked away as Sheila held her chest, closed her eyes, faced up, and let out a deep breath. She then opened her eyes. Lincoln flinched back before remaining frozen. She continued to stare at the boy before an agent called out to her.
"Sheila, you comin' or what?"
Sheila looked down and walked away, leaving the Palm Room. Lincoln let out a deep sigh of relief before crawling away.
Meanwhile, in the Protection Area, Luna nudged Lisa in the shoulders. Lisa faced her and saw her older sister holding Dr. White's glasses.
"You know, one of the last things the doc asked me was to ask you if your sacrifice was worth it," said Luna. "Didn't know what the meant 'till now. Curious then, curious now."
Lisa gulped.
"I would like to believe it was worth the sacrifice. I would."
The vent near the ceiling came off and went inside the duct. Lincoln then revealed his face.
"Good news or bad news?" asked Lori.
"Bad news," replied Lincoln. "Oh, definitely bad news! These people are going to kill everyone in this room but Lisa. I guess they wanna keep her alive because she's the only person who knows how to make the cure."
Lori placed her hand over her forehead.
"Damn… I even went into detail about that," said Lori. "What else?"
"Eddie is torturing David and George. I don't know why– something about betraying his own country or something."
"I spoke too damn much. They fucking think David's a rogue."
"I found their armory. I even took back a gun, I don't know if you want it or–"
"No, take it," said Lori. "Go rescue David and George. We'll figure something out."
"You don't want me to go down from the other side? Shoot the guards or something?"
"No, it'll be too much noise," said Lori.
"Well, the armory looks like a woodshop," said Lincoln.
"Carpenter's Shop," said Lisa. "Straight ahead, past the kitchen. Should be next to a courtyard."
Lori nodded.
"Another thing," said Lincoln. "There is no president here. No government. These are just people who took over the White House. The Service have done this before, but there are good people here. Some people are forced to kill, like a teenage girl I saw! Sheila is her name!"
"We'll put down anyone who threatens us," said Lori. "Simple as that. Now go."
Lincoln closed the vent and turned around before reluctantly crawling away.
"Are we really going to kill these people?" asked Luan.
"We don't really have a choice, do we?" asked Lori.
"You're making it sound like we have to kill them all," said Benny.
"Well… we have to get them out of the building one way or another…"
"Wait, hold on," said Jace. "You mean we're not escaping?"
"Fences, fortified walls, barbed wire, locked doors, running water, electricity," said Lori. "This place is too valuable. And we didn't come all this way just to turn it away. These people don't want to work with us to make this cure happen? Then, they can't stay."
"What do we do, babe?" asked Bobby.
"We're going to kill as many Service members as we can, and we'll drive the others out of the building. And Eddie? He's mine. He's literally got a whole fucking lot of explaining to do."
"So…" said Becky, cracking her neck, "...what's the plan?"