“The hell you were. Now shut up before I slap you both upside the head with this bar,” the gruff voice said laughing.
There was another clunk as the bar pried into the doorframe, causing a slight creaking of wood, then the bar popped, and the man yelped. “Dammit; smashed my knuckles!” he shouted.
The man huffed and breathed hard until, suddenly, a thud resonated as the man punched the door.
“This fucker is solid,” Frank said. “Maybe we can get some tools in the morning and try again.”
Jacob heard the crowbar drop to the carpet.
“Or… maybe I should just shoot the lock.”
“Are you crazy? They’ll hear that for sure,” the girl argued.
“Boy, you better shut that little bitch up before I do,” Frank said.
There was a commotion on the landing that sounded like fists being thrown. Heavy breathing and grunting were accompanied by banging against the door as something hard smacked against it repeatedly.
“Stop, Frank! You’ll kill him,” pleaded the girl. The banging against the door stopped; then Jacob heard a loud slap and the girl whimpered. “This is your fault. If you’d just kept your mouth shut!” Frank yelled. “Take this piece of shit downstairs before I kick both your asses. I should have never come back for you,” he said, grunting and breathing heavy.
Jacob could hear the soft steps fade as they fumbled down the stairs. The other man’s heavy breathing remained. He thudded against the door, and Jacob could hear him slide down to the floor. He was muttering to himself. The sound of a lighter sparked to life and soon after, Jacob could smell cigarette smoke as it drifted through the cold air return.
He knew the man was lying against the door. He could easily muffle the gun with a pillow and press it against the wood; a single shot is all it would take, if he guessed correctly. A quick shot in the night. The people downstairs would probably thank him.
There was a clanging as the man pried the bar against the knob. A sharp, metallic clunk followed by a crunching sound, and the handle broke off. Jacob felt the fear build and backed up as he observed the handle drop on his side of the door. The man then jabbed at the knob and knocked away the core, creating a small peek hole where the knob had been.
I cannot allow him to enter, Jacob thought.
Jacob hung back in the shadows and looked at the small hole. He could see the whites of the man’s eye as he peered in. The curtains were drawn, and the room was pitch-black; Jacob knew the man couldn’t see anything. Now was the time—if he was going to do it, he’d do it now. Jacob raised the pistol and aimed at the hole in the door. He’d shoot him through the eye. The gunshot would be loud, but a single shot would be hard for the things to pinpoint.
“Who’s in there?” the man said.
Jacob eased back the pistol and held his breath.
“Come on now, I know someone’s in there; I see your stuff on the bed.”
Jacob held the pistol with both hands and sighted on the hole. He let his thumb quietly click off the safety then cock the hammer on the pistol, holding his breath.
“Whoa, okay now, I heard that; let’s take it easy in there,” the man said.
“Take it easy like you did on the boy and the girl?” Jacob asked, breaking the silence, trying to make his voice sound raucous.
“Come on now, I’m the only thing keeping them alive. The boy’s got some growing up to do; I’m just trying to toughen him up.”
“Yup, that’s your business and you can keep it out there,” Jacob said. “What do you want?”
“What do you got?”
Jacob forced a laugh, wanting the man to think he wasn’t afraid, even though he was. He relaxed his shoulders and kept the gun aimed at the door. He could no longer see the man’s eye but from the deflection of his voice, Jacob knew he was still resting in front of the door.
“You can have anything out there. I don’t have enough in here to share. Take what you need, stay the night, but in the morning, you need to be gone.”
“Oh, come on now, you ain’t left us shit out here. We gonna need something more. What you got? Food? Some water maybe?”
“What I got is a big-ass shotgun aimed at your head,” Jacob bluffed. “I already made you my best offer. Take it or leave it.”
Frank let out an exaggerated sigh. “Mister, I think we got off on the wrong foot here. We’re all on the same side. I just need a little to keep us going. Hell, give us some of what you got, and maybe you can come with us. Lord knows I could use someone like you; that kid sure as hell ain’t no help.”
Jacob had no intention of letting the man in, but he wanted information from him. It was the first contact he’d had with anyone from the outside in days.
“Where are you going?” Jacob asked, intentionally leading the man on.
“The park; word is that it’s safe there. The military is running an evacuation,” Frank said, relaxing his voice. Jacob heard the sound of a lighter as he lit another cigarette.
“Where did you hear this?” Jacob asked.
“State cop, two days ago,” Frank answered.
“Bullshit, I haven’t seen a cop since this all started.”
“There’s still some out there, mister. They stick to the highway, mostly. Won’t go into the neighborhoods anymore.”
“Then how is it you saw one?” Jacob asked suspiciously.
Frank grunted. “Stupid story, really. I actually made it the hell out of here… well, almost. My sister talked me into going back for her dumbass kid. The troopers had school buses up at the old high school, evacuating people. I got my family there, my sister and her little ones, but the woman refused to get on the
