John Krygelski - The Aegis Solution

“Richard, it looks like a standoff,” Elias stated flatly.

Faulk did not have the wild-eyed look of a madman, but was calm and steady. Shoving the barrel of the shotgun another inch into Lisa’s side, he ordered, “Tell your men to drop their weapons.”

“Not going to happen. They lower their weapons, you start pulling the trigger. And I’m not sure where you’d stop. Besides,” Elias continued, recalling that Faulk knew nothing of what was happening in the outside world, “we’re all going to die anyway, remember? We might as well take you with us.”

From Faulk’s perspective, Elias’ words made sense. He knew better than to negotiate with someone who had nothing to lose.

“Very well. Tell them to back away from the doorway or step inside the room.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m leaving, and if you try to stop me, she goes. And even though your days are numbered anyway, I doubt that you or her husband would want to see her splattered all over the walls of this place.”

Leah, who was behind Sweezea and Crabill, standing off to the side and listening, said, “Elias, let him go.”

Deciding to maintain the charade for believability, Elias asked her, “What about the vaccines in his truck? We need them.”

Her disembodied voice answered, “Right after I cuffed him, I sent out Crabill. We’ve got them.”

Appreciating her quick thinking, Elias turned to Sweezea and Crabill and, with a jerk of his head, said, “You two move back down the hall that way, but keep him in your sights.”

He turned to Faulk. “Richard, after you.”

Faulk, holding Lisa as a shield, walked her to the open door. Sweezea and Crabill both slowly back-stepped toward the interior of Aegis and away from the exit, keeping their rifles trained on Faulk. Matt Clements had backed across the hallway, never taking his eyes off his wife. Once clear of the utility room, Faulk glanced quickly at the exit door and saw that it was clear and open. Still clutching Lisa and keeping the muzzle of the shotgun tucked into her side, he backed toward the exit, pausing when his feet bumped into the threshold.

His face contorted, he snarled, “You know, Elias, I’ve been thinking. You have been a thorn in my side…no, a pain in my ass…for a long time. I know that even though you have the vaccines…even though you might live through the purge that’s coming…we will come back for you and Leah…and the rest of your little group. We will come back and wipe all of you off the face of the Earth. But you know what? That’s not good enough for me. I want to be there. I want to see it for myself. I want to be the one to make you draw your last miserable breath.”

He took another step back through the exit. The doorway was not wide enough to accommodate Faulk, Lisa, and the shotgun with its stock pointed out to his right. Still holding Lisa tightly, he pulled the shotgun out from her side and swung it around, aiming it at Elias. Before Elias could react, before Faulk’s finger could pull the trigger, something swung down from outside the doorway, slamming into the top of the shotgun. The impact was enough to knock the weapon, unfired, out of his hands. Instantly, Lisa stomped down hard on Faulk’s instep, causing him to release her. She ran inside and into her husband’s arms.

Staggering, Faulk recovered and took off at a full run. Elias was clearing the doorway when he heard Wilson shout, “ELIAS, DON’T! JUST LET HIM GO!”

He skidded to a stop and watched Faulk’s rapidly retreating figure following the wall toward the parking area. Standing in the shadows beside the door was Wilson, still holding the four-foot-long metal rod he had used to disarm Faulk. As Leah and the others came out, Elias commented, “Nice work, Wilson.”

“Damn,” Leah exclaimed. “I wanted to shoot the bastard myself!”

Wilson, dropping the bar, said, “No, you don’t. At least I would hope not.”

Leah looked at him in the glow from the open door. “Why not?”

His eyes fixed on the retreating figure moving quickly out of view, Wilson explained, “Because we may be the only ones left. If I am correct, if we have been saved for a new beginning, I would think that killing a man, unless in self-defense, is a trait we would all prefer to leave behind.”

“But….”

Before she could continue, Wilson interrupted, “I understand, believe me. I am certain that every hour of every day for the last two years of your life was a living hell. I wouldn’t be surprised if your thoughts, your fantasies of escape and what you would do to the man responsible for your pain and agony, were what sustained you during the worst of those times.”

He could barely make out a slight nod of her head, in agreement with his words.

“But we are now faced with an opportunity not only to survive, but to be the fundamental building blocks of a new mankind. I know that it is too soon for any of us to yet grasp the overwhelming responsibility of that, but we soon shall. Until that day arrives, we must help each other to ensure that none of us do anything for which we will be later ashamed.”

Elias was staring into the distance. “Jay, did you and Matt finish removing the radio?”

“We did,” answered Crabill. “We heard the shot while we were on our way in with it.”

Elias was still looking off. “Then I suggest we get inside and close this door as soon as possible.”

“What’s the rush?”

“If Wilson is right about everything, about the script we are all playing out, then the timing of the destruction of the entrance is more than likely pivotal. With the news of the epidemic spreading, there are probably people by the front entrance already, trying to get inside Aegis. If they haven’t begun looking for another way in, they will if they see Faulk coming from this side of the complex.”

Even as he finished his thought, Elias could see two figures, dimly lit, running toward them from the direction where Faulk had disappeared. He silently raised his hand and pointed. The others looked in that direction and saw what he was seeing. Even more began to round the bend, running.

“Come on,” Sweezea bellowed. “Let’s move.”

“Shouldn’t we let them in?” The question came from Lisa, who was still held tightly by her husband in the doorway.

Elias was beginning to answer but Wilson spoke first, his voice urgent. “We can’t.”

Matt and Lisa stepped back inside to clear the entrance. Crabill, Leah, Wilson, and Sweezea swiftly followed, with Elias coming in last, taking one more quick look back. He could now see multiple figures. They were close enough that he was able to barely make out shouting from their direction. Even at this distance he could hear desperation in their voices.

As soon as Elias had cleared the metal door, Sweezea slammed it and called out to him, “We’ve got no lock! We need something to brace it!” He put his shoulder to the door, trying to hold it closed.

Whirling around, searching for something useful, Elias barked, “The gang box!” He and Wilson seized the heavy steel box and manhandled it toward the door. “Tip it over! We need it off its wheels!”

Wilson followed the order and lifted up on his corner while Elias did the same. Sweezea, moving out of the way, almost did not make it as the box fell against the door with a tremendous crash, followed by the clatter of tools tumbling against the lid. Crabill dashed out of the utility room with a hammer and two cold-chisels, and immediately began pounding one of the chisels between the door and the frame, wedging the door tightly shut. He was just about to drive in the second chisel when they heard the sudden banging against the outside of the door, accompanied by frantic shouts and pleas for them to open it.