Cheap Thrills (6 Thrilling reads) (8 page)

Four

Mrs Novik screams at the top of her lungs. She feels as if she has been locked up in her cell for
an eternity. It’s the first time in her life that she finds herself locked up with no freedoms. She has never imagined a time in which she couldn’t go outside without it being yard time. She could never imagine a time where to eat, she would have to shackle her wrists up before they fed her. She could never imagine a time in which being a prisoner was a reality. But now is the time where she need not imagine, because these things are happening to her at this very moment in time. There is no time anymore. Just day and night. Freedom and prison. She only has three of those things, but the one she longs for the most is freedom. It doesn’t seem to be heading her way any time soon.

She screams one more time. She wants the guards to know how she feels. She wants the world to know how she feels. She can’t fathom a justice system that would stick an innocent woman in prison, but she knows it is possible now. She grits her teeth hard, practically grating off her enamel. She’s lost her sense of self. She doesn’t care anymore. Being the good housewife hasn’t paid off so why should she be the good prisoner?

‘Come on you fucking bastards! Give me my dinner already!’ she screams.

She’s working herself up into a frenzy. She can’t wait to see the smug pricks bring her her dinner. She wants them to experience the hell she is going through, and by god is she going to make sure they know how hot it is in hell!

‘Come on you
cunts
! Come on! Come to mama!’ she screams, rattling at her bars like a rabid dog in a kennel.

It’s safe to say that after a certain amount of time every prisoner cracks. The guilty ones crack just as hard as the innocent ones, but the only difference between those two types of prisoners is the innocent ones tend to become just as guilty as the rest. They are the troublesome ones, the ones that flog shit at the guards. The ones that punch an officer for walking by their cells. These are the prisoners who want to get the correctional system back for their wrong incarceration.

‘Are you shitting yourselves yet? You should be, because when I see you I’m going to make sure you shit yourselves good and proper, you hear me?’ She screams

It’s safe to say that Mrs Novik is far from innocent now. She once was, but even these prison walls will make you into a guilty woman whether she likes it
or not.

Five

Mr Conway is holding a meeting in his aquarium styled office. The marine life in his fish tanked walls give the atmosphere of the room a tainted smell of fear. Maybe it’s the fear of one of the walls cracking and a ten foot shark being let loose from its prison. Maybe it’s the fear of Mr Conway exploding in a fit of rage as he has done in the past. Either way, the people attending the meeting are
far from calm
.

Mr Conway sits at the end of the table like the spearhead of an army overlooking his cowardly advisors with distain and authority. Mrs Harriet sits at his right, like a noble warrior who has earned the right to sit so close to perfection. The rest of the seats occupied at the table belong to the yes men and women of the operation. Each one of them dressed in smart clothes but they don no smiles on their faces. It’s evident from the cold atmosphere in the room that bad news is to follow.

‘So spit it out then, tell me what was so important that I had to open my doors to you lot,’ Mr Conway says as he sips on his whisky, his eyes never leaving the gaze of his minions in suits.

‘It’s the Beacons sir’ one brave woman says from across the table opposite him

‘What about them?’ he asks

‘Well, we have picked up some stragglers’

‘Where?’

‘The New York sewer system’

Mr Conway laughs

‘And that’s supposed to be a problem because?’

‘Well, there are at least ten people underground now. Not all of them seem to be in the same area. Some of them are in the east section and some of them are wandering by themselves’

‘I don’t see the problem’ he says impatiently, tapping his fingernails on the big oak desk

‘Well, if they form a group then it’s just a matter of time before there are more of them. They could form a rebel group of sorts, and once the aboveground is cleared of resistance we could face a rebellion from under the streets’

‘Look, I hardly think ten people under the streets of New York counts as a rebellion’

‘Yes, I understand, but they aren’t the only ones sir’

‘What do you mean?’

‘New Jersey has around eight hundred people underground,’ the woman says calmly

‘Eight hundred? How the hell did that happen?’

‘Well, the beacons went off at a sports game and they managed to find their way underground’

Mr Conway gets up from his seat while donning a red face. The group of men and women at the meeting brace themselves for an outburst from the boss.

‘I don’t care how you do it, or when you do it, but make sure these underground rats are dealt with. I can’t have eight hundred people roaming underground. Eight hundred people is enough to overthrow a city, let alone defend one,’ Mr Conway says calmly

‘We can’t be sure if the underground folk have weapons, but I assume they do,’ interrupts a man in a General’s uniform

‘Well, so do we, so at least it will be a fair fight,’ hisses Mr Conway

Six

New Jersey, East Rutherford, Met Life Stadium

Sam
my Banes steps up onto the Bud Light crate in front of the mob of survivors.  An audible sound of dissatisfaction is heard through the crowd as he tries to beckon their attention. He puts two fingers in his mouth and wolf whistles loudly. The crowd of people in front of him quieten down as the inspirational leader takes his fingers out of his mouth and raises his hands.

‘Ladies and gentleman, may I have your attention please?’ Asks Sammy

Someone in the crowd heckles Sammy, the rest of the crowd laugh at the man on the crate.

‘I wouldn’t shout obscenities at me if you want to walk out of here alive,’ Sammy says calmly while balancing on the wooden beer crate.

The dark surroundings of the area in which they find themselves in adds to the hostility of the atmosphere. A flickering of industrial lights echo off the walls as a distant sound of electrical buzzing is heard as the crowd of survivors quieten down. The heckling man steps forward.

‘Was that a threat?’ The irate man asks as he looks up at Sammy

Sammy doesn’t say anything; he just quickly extends his right leg out in a kicking motion and lands a stiff kick onto the man’s face. The man hits the ground hard, landing in a puddle, splashing dirty water on some of the survivors behind him. The man looks back up at Sammy while holding his nose in pain. Some of the onlookers smirk at the sight of the heckling man in the puddle.

‘Now we have that out of the way, we need to figure out what we are going to do,’ says Sammy as he scans the crowd for answers.

One woman steps forward.

‘Why don’t we get on a boat and get out of the country?’ She asks

‘I’m afraid that’s out of the question. You saw what happened above ground. Those flashing lights practically killed thirty odd thousand people in front of us all. If it wasn’t for the fact that we were on the East exits, it could be us up there lying on the ground in a pile of our own ashes’

The woman shakes her head in disagreement.

‘You weren’t with us in the stands, you were on the field’

Sammy Banes looks down at his jersey. It has a big red number nine on it. Next to his shoulder lies the insignia of the New York Jets.

‘Well, I was one of the lucky ones I supposed. The rest of my teammates found themselves in a pile of ashes too, just like a quarter of the stadium’

‘How the hell did you get underground so fast?’ One of the men in the crowd asks

‘I don’t know, but when I saw what was happening, I thought it was best to hit the road. When I got up to the stairwell leading out of the stadium, it was full of people trying to escape, so I took the elevator and found a bunch of you guys running, so I followed the group and here I am’

‘You left your teammates to die!’ Another one of the crowd members shouts.

Sammy shakes his head

‘No, I
left
my teammates
to live
’

Seven

New York City

‘Come on Dwayne, don’t fucking blow up on me now!’ says Tyrell as he rushes through the empty streets of New York on 46
th
.

Dwayne’s trying to keep pace with the faster and leaner Tyrell.

‘I won’t man, trust me, I aint looking to die today!’ shouts Dwayne while out of breath from the constant running he and Tyrell have been doing since seeing a man self-combust in front of them.

They continue to run some more until they come across a sewer grate that’s uncovered. They both stop dead in front of the grate and stare down the endless black hole. The sweat on Tyrell’s hands drip down his fingers as he nervously looks around the desolate street. A few cars remain parked on the side street but nothing else is present but fear and loneliness as they both contemplate their next moves.

‘I say we carry on running. We find a shop or something and hunker down in there,’ suggests Dwayne, still reeling for air.

‘Nah man, let’s go underground, above ground is dangerous. You ever saw those wacko shows on National Geographic?’

Dwayne shakes his head

‘What shows?’

‘You know, the ones with those white people who fear the end of the world is near so they build or buy an underground shelter for when it does end so they can keep safe’

Dwayne laughs while whipping the sweat off his brow.

‘Well it seems as if those white folks were onto something then!’

‘I hear you! I’ll go first, the ladder looks a bit unsteady, if it breaks and I fall, just go on without me,’ says Tyrell as he mounts the ladder on the manhole.

‘You don’t have to tell me twice!’ says Dwayne

Tyrell disappears from sight as he clunks his way down the ladder. The sound of his feet hitting every run is a sigh of relief for Dwayne as he continues to stare at his wrist in anxiety. The flashing hasn’t slowed down, as a matter of fact its speeding up. Dwayne sighs impatiently as he starts to worry about exploding into thin air. Finally Tyrell’s voice can be heard from the bottom of the ladder. It seems as if everything went well as Dwayne himself mounts the ladder. Before Dwayne can stabilize himself, he loses his footing on the first run of the dirty ladder. He slips and free falls down the manhole. Its a few seconds before he hits the water but when he does he immediately recognises the pain he is in.

Eight

‘What do you mean the Mayor is missing?’ asks Deshaun

The Commissioner squints his eyes in confusion.

‘It’s quite simple really, he’s gone! What else do you want me to say? Oh I’m sorry a grown ass man went and vanished like a fart in the wind,’ the commissioner snarls as he grabs at his caseload on the desk in front of him.

Deshaun looks shocked at the outspoken Commissioner.

‘You better watch your tone with me, I work for the Whitehouse, remember that!’

The commissioner slams his fist on the desk.

‘I couldn’t give a flying fuck who you work for! Now get the fuck out of my office before I call security,’ shouts the commissioner.

‘Are you mad? You have forgotten your role in this. You answer to the US government. I am the US government. A bit of common courtesy wouldn’t go amiss,’ reasons Deshaun.

‘I think you’re the one who’s mad.  All you’ve been doing since you’ve gotten here is bust balls. You may work for the Whitehouse, but you’re a long way away from those green lawns and presidential pricks you hang around with. This here is my building, and if you are going to act like a power hungry dictator then I am going to throw you out of my building!’

DeShaun’s mouth hangs open in shock.

‘
Presidential pricks
?’ he says in awe

‘Well…you know what I mean,’ laughs the commissioner

‘Well, I’ll be dammed; you sure have some big balls sir, but that being said we still need to find the mayor. If we don’t, then it could spell mayhem for the city. New York needs its leader,’ says Deshaun

‘Don’t worry. We will find him’

Deshaun extends his hand out to the commissioner. They both shake hands firmly.

‘I’ll be seeing you later commissioner. I’m sure you can get the job done’

Deshaun walks out of the office leaving the commissioner alone with his thoughts.

Nine

‘This is it; this is our camp you wanted to see so badly. I told you it wasn’t much to look at,’ laughs Ray as Donner and he approach the sectioned off sewer system in which Ray and the others have been sleeping in for the past day.

The light from the blazed oil drum is much dimmer than it was when Ray left a few hours ago. He figures that maybe they are running out of fuel. The two little girls are still asleep, which surprises Ray, but made sense, seeing the events that they must have been through would make anyone sleepy. Mitch and David were up and talking amongst each other when Mitch’s vision had swayed from David onto the approaching pair, Ray and Donner.

David smiles as he gets up and looks pleased to see Ray. Mitch stays seated and continues to stare wildly at Ray and his companion.

‘I thought you weren’t going to come back!’ says David as he embraces Ray’s hand in a firm handshake.

‘And who do we have here?’ He asks

Ray looks at Donner with a reassuring smile.

‘I’m Donner. I came across Ray when I was walking down the train tacks a few miles away from here,’ she says

David shakes her hand too. His suit is no longer looking dashing and dapper as the dim light shows off the tattered appearance of his attire. Everyone looks as if the clothes on their backs would fall off with a strong gust of wind. It’s safe to say some new clothes wouldn’t go a miss.

‘I’m Mitch,’ a voice from the floor says as Ray and Donner look down at the sketchiness of his stance while seated on the floor as if he doesn’t need to get up for new guests.  Ray feels like smacking the smirk off Mitch’s face, but he doesn’t want Donner to run off scared. They need someone like her to keep the proverbial ship afloat so to speak.

‘So how did you find your way down here?’ asks David

Donner looks down at her bloodied blouse and puts on a face of uncertainty.  Her eyes flicker in her head as she tries to remember how she got to where she is now. She remembers the hospital room in which Mr Adams had penetrated her with a beacon. She remembers the hospital halls in which a dozen people had combusted in front of her. She remembers her boss Tim being flung in the air by an explosion and hitting the industrial ceiling fan and getting cut up pretty good. She remembers the shot up police man. She remembers the burning train making its way down the metro. She knows some things are better left to just remembering than saying.

‘It was a struggle, but I got here in the end,’ she says calmly, a slight tear running down her face.

David turns his attentions to Ray.

‘You okay then buddy?’

Ray nods his head, still feeling uneasy about being in the same area with Mitch.

Mitch looks up at Ray and licks his lips. David catches a glimpse of the two men eyeing each other up. Donner too starts to feel uncomfortable.

‘So you’re a doctor?’ asks Mitch as he looks the slender woman up and down, still licking his lips as he does so.

‘Yes,’ she says. She can’t be bothered to explain the difference between her being an intern and not a doctor.

David looks at Ray and then at her bag.

‘Doctors supplies?’ he asks

Mitch is too busy looking at Ray to notice David eying the doctor and shifting his eyes at Mitch. It’s not long until Donner realises that David is trying to tell her something.

‘Can I see the supplies?’ He asks, still trying to tell her something through his facial expression. Mitch still has no idea what is going on. He’s too busy eying up the petite doctor now.

She hands him the bag of supplies. David immediately see’s what he is looking for. He slowly moves his hand into the bag and grips the object.

‘There better be some drugs in there, I wouldn’t mind getting high before I die,’ laughs Mitch

David smiles and moves closer to Mitch.

‘Yeah, look what I found,’ says David

Mitch looks up at David with an excitement on his face, a kin to a kid at a candy store. The excitement grows ever more evident in every step David takes until he’s finally standing over Mitch.

‘So what have you got for me then?’ Smiles Mitch

‘This,’ David shouts and swings a syringe out of the bag and into Mitch’s neck. He hits the plunger and watches as the see through syringe excretes the liquid into his neck. Mitch’s eyes roll into the back of his head as he immediately hits the ground, landing firmly on his back.