Part 1: Dead Man Walking

At last he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. He was almost to the station. Why hadn't anybody come? Didn't they have cameras in the subway?
David wiped the blood from his brow, blinking to get a bit out of his eye. He checked the cut on his forehead. It was clotting pretty well, but the pressure beneath it still pressed down throughout his body, making every step a struggle. He didn't want to go to the hospital though. He wanted to go home. Shaina could take care of it for him, she was an EMT afterall. Out of habbit, his dulled, aching mind found the strength to note this most recent addition to his list. There were now 93 reasons why the jet-haired beauty waiting for him at home was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He was sure he'd make it to 100 before their 6 month aniversary- only a month away. It was her turn to tie him up tonight, and she promised fireworks. Three of his reasons had come from nights like this- maybe he'd find another tonight. He definately couldn't go to the hospital today. He had to get home.
The train station was empty- it must have been evacuated. Maybe the emergency crews were coming from the next stop down. He certainly felt like he'd taken the long way. It wasn't his problem though- he'd fared remarkably well in the derailment. He just wanted to go home.
David emerged onto the street, pausing to take in the warm July sun. Some day he and Shaina would move out of New York so that he could have the fresh air to go with it. His head was pulsing horribly from his battle with the stairs. He couldn't even hear the traffic over the ringing in his ears and the eratic thump.thump...thump..thump of his own pulse.
"I must have a concussion... this is going to ruin the whole day!"
He thought about catching a cab to the hospital, but traffic was badly gridlocked. There were several accidents, and nobody looked like they planned on moving soon. They just sat in their cars- stuck.
His appartment wasn't far. He'd walk, then go to the hospital when things lightened up in a few hours. Before long, he'd made his way home. The power was out, forcing him up the five flights of stairs for one final torment before he could rest in his wife's arms.
He paused at his front door. He hadn't even thought of what to say about the argument this morning. But she'd forget it too when she saw him. He was hurt. The Gods had punished him already, that's what she'd say. He wouldn't have to hear any more about it until bed- and Shaina had a rather agreeable way of teaching him his lesson there.

Shaina was resting on the couch. He decided not to wake her. He kissed her cheek softly and went to the kitchen. Getting something to eat might make him feel better. He retrieved three steaks from the freezer and went to the balcony where his grill waited for him, still there, in proud defiance of the land lord's constant whinning.
Dave tossed two steaks on the grill and slapped the third against the knot on his aching forehead. He ignored the crunch of broken glass under his shoes as he plopped down on the lawn chair next to his grill and stared out over the gridlocked streets, fancying himself an aristocrat, high above the troubles of those only five stories below him. Their problems didn't matter to him, at least not in this pleasant fantasy. As long as his headache would go away, the world was perfect. Their problems could matter tomorrow- the customer is always right after all.
The customer is always right... easy for Mr. Johanna to say from his office. David suddenly wondered why the old fart hadn't called him yet. He tossed his cellphone back into the apartment before that jinxing thought could draw a call from his boss, and turned on the radio beside him

"Rush, we don't even know who did it yet and you already want to use nuclear weapons on the innocent people of Saudi Arabia? Are you even listening to yourself?"
"We do know who did it, caller. It was the people who have been threatening to do it for years now. The people who answer to a Saudi Arabian man named Bin Laden..."
"Who the Saudis have stripped of his citizenship."
"Wait a minute caller, if there's going to be any interrupting here on the EIB it's going to be done by the MahaRushi. Now I'm telling you that the Saudis have been supporting Bin Laden, there's no way he could have pulled this off without somebody's backing, and mark my words, when the President makes his address in fifteen minutes he's going to know that and he's going to announce some kind of retaliation for what just happened in New York."
*click*
"And ladies and gentleman, as they always seem to do when confronted with the truth, another liberal terrorist lover has run away from Rush Limbaugh. I've got bills to pay now, but stay tuned."

That certainly explained a lot. He turned back to the apartment, wondering if maybe Shaina wasn't entirely asleep.
"Shaina, did you hear what happened? I think they bombed the Subways- just like London last year."
She didn't answer. He stood up and flipped the steaks. The pain in his head was numbing and he felt suddenly much happier.

"What happened baby?" Shaina was awake. He felt almost euphoric. He didn't think to question such a feeling over something so small.
"There was a bombing on the subway."
"Oh God, are you OK?", There wasn't any real worry in her voice, but again David failed to notice.
"I think I need to go to the hospital once the streets are moving. Right now I just want to try and get something out of the day before I waste the rest of it in the doc's office." He was sure she'd come over to help him do just that- number 94: she could read his mind when he flirted.
She didn't move from the couch though. Was she still upset about this morning?
The radio was interrupted by a news bulletin. She must not have realized what happened exactly. She'd forgive him when she heard just how bad it had been.
"Babe, come listen to this. They're going to talk about the bombing."
She didn't answer, but David barely minded. His brief euphoria was fast fading to a desperate need to sleep. He could barely concentrate on the news bulletin.

"Ok, the president is supposed to make his address to the nation in about five minutes. We are told that the president does have all of the necessary information and is prepared to announce a strong US reaction. Just to recap for those of you tuning in just now, about an hour and a half ago, at 9:11 AM, several huge explosions ripped through New York City. About 30 minutes later, the Governor's office confirmed that power and communications in the city are completely out of operation, but civilian aircraft have reported to the FAA spotting what appeared to be small mushroom clouds rising from the blast areas. There hasn't been much official news since then, but experts are strongly speculating that New York has been attacked with up to three suitcase-sized nuclear weapons..."

David's eyes opened wide. He leaned forward and surveyed the skyline intently. He couldn't bring himself to focus. He glanced down- traffic hadn't moved. Suddenly he wondered if it was really his headache deadening the noise of the city. SHAINA! He threw himself to his feet and came down just as quickly on his face. As he crawled into the apartment he finally took real notice of the shattered sliding door of his balcony. He crawled desperately to his wife, glass shredding his knees as he struggled to her side. Her hand was cold to the touch.
"NO! No! You were talking to me!"
"Shaina talk to me damnit. Wakeup!"
He pressed his face to her cold hand and cried himself to sleep, hoping that he'd awake where ever she was now.

[edit on 12-7-2005 by The Vagabond]

"Hi Raven. I'm glad you're back."
Samantha smiled. It had taken her a few weeks to grasp the moods and sincerity of the of her patients near mono-tone mumblings.
"It was only a day David. The doctor split my days off because you do so much better when you talk to me. But he doesn't want me to use that nickname anymore. He thinks it reminds you of your wife."

"That guy's smarter than he looks.", David droned.
Samantha could tell that he wanted to smile a little. Every day she hoped she'd be able to get a laugh out of him, or something. In a ward full of dellusional drug abusers and rebellious teens she'd finally met a patient who really deserved help. She'd never seen a man so utterly wrecked by loss. He must have a heart of gold, she thought. Pity that gold makes such poor armor.

"I've got to check on the others David, I'll see you in a little while."
"Aren't you going to tell me what's happening outside?"

The doctor had hoped that he'd ask. The young nurse wasn't comfortable pushing him, but she followed her instructions, trying to be gentle.
"I'd love to Dave. Doctor James wants us to talk in the rec room from now on though."
"What's the difference?"
"You need to move around more. We want to help you. Now that we're talking we have to try bigger things."
David sat up slightly and looked at her with hurt in his eyes. Samantha's eyes lit up at the unexpected show of emotion.
"You mean talking to me is just therapy?" there was a little tone in his voice for once. In samantha's fine-tuned ear for his monotones his voice conveyed an awful new heartbreak. She didn't know what to say to him... she knew how smart he was- after 3 weeks together he could read her like a book, without effort. She dodged the question and turned the conversation back to him.
"How do you feel right now?"
There was a long pause. A faint look of consideration hinted on his face.
"I feel like I'm alone again."
He laid back down, trying to restore the blank look on his face.
Samantha left to continue her rounds.
Behind a pair of blank eyes fixed at the cieling above, new thoughs were suddenly racing.
"I'm sorry Shaina.", the young man sobbed.


Samantha couldn't wait for the shift to end. There were only 20 minutes left. She didn't know how she'd face David the next morning, but she couldn't stand to be in the building much longer thinking about it. This must be what it's like to make your child cry, she thought. She'd contemplated giving him a kiss, just to prove him wrong. He'd see through it. And she'd get fired.
She glanced up at the clock again, but the clock immediately became irrelevant. David was on his way across the room, head down, marching in short, slow steps, with his lean, wiry arms hanging free at his sides. He hadn't bothered to put on his shirt.
Broken as he looked, his apparent strength caught Samantha's attention for the first time. She'd never seen him walk on his own before. Seeing him in public, she'd never guess that a man like that could be hurt so deeply.
She searched for the right words as he leaned on the counter in front of her.
"Sam, Will you still tell me the news?"
"Y-yeah... I.. Dave I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I do like talking to you, but it is my job to help..."
"No, just... tell me what we're doing about New York."

He'd found a new nickname for her. And he'd said "we" instead of "they". Samantha was amazed.
"They're taking care of everything. They've got checkpoints to keep terrorists from moving around too much. They're running a lot of background checks. They caught a lot of people who were planning to attack after New York."
"You told me about that stuff already. Aren't we going to war though? Who was behind it?"
That was a loaded question- she didn't know if she should tell him about the riots.
"Well, everyone blames Saudi Arabia. We're not at war yet though. A lot of people are upset about it."
David look up from the counter, right into Samantha's eyes.
"That's the same little breath you gave the first day you started putting my pills in the orange juice. Please don't lie to me. I aready forgave you for one."
"You knew about that?"
"I'm miserable, not stupid. I didn't mind taking them. I was trading them for extra desert."
"To whom?!"
He changed the subject.
"You're changing the subject Sam, what did you leave out about Saudi?"
She didn't notice.
"People are rioting. They think the president is protecting Saudi Arabia. It's kind of ugly."
"Nobody minded that back in 2001. Funny how a few megatons can change things, isn't it?" David seemed to be waking up rapidly. He was grinning sarcastically now.
"That's not funny David." the nurse snapped back.
"Sure it is. Since when is stupidity not funny? Two stolen elections- no riot. Two illegal wars- no riot. Secret police force- no riot. Vaporize well under 1% population- riot. Why? Because that's what they told us to fear most? Because of that magic word "nuclear"? They're rioting against him because he trained them to."
This was too bizzare for Samantha. Had he snapped?
"That doesn't make any sense Dave."
"Who do you think killed Kennedy?"
"What?"
"Trust me, I've got a point, who do you think killed Kennedy?"
"Lee Harvey Oswald.", she answered matter of factly.
"That's why it doesn't make sense to you."
Samantha could only stare blankly.
"Sam, I want to check myself out tomorrow. Make sure you tell the doc first thing."
"But.."
"But I'm checking out tomorrow. I can handle myself... thanks to you I guess."
He smiled and headed back to his room.

"He's gotta be nuts. I'm so going to get fired over this."

[edit on 12-7-2005 by The Vagabond]

[edit on 12-7-2005 by The Vagabond]

He couldn't sleep. He hadn't really been awake for days. Now he was wide awake. He'd always taken his own beliefs with a grain of salt. All that ATS stuff was just so far out there. But it had come true.
They'd killed her! They'd killed everyone! For their precious NWO?! So the people who already ruled the damned world could feel just a bit more powerful? He was awake now. Vengeance kept him awake, and it couldn't wait till morning.

They thought a room with a window might be good for him. They were right. Carefully, he lifted frame of his bed and slipped one of the legs loose from the button holding it. Hopefully the slots would fit the bolts on the window bars. They did. With his improvised wrench, he soon had the bars loose from his window.
The comfortable summer air and the wet grass beneath his bare feet might have been nice once. He might have found a place to hide and relax for a while, to clear his head. He might have, at another time. Tonight though, he set out quickly across the park with a long, hurried stride. He was going home to be with Shaina, but first he had something to do.

It wasn't long before he'd found a Walmart. They're everywhere after all. As a matter of pride he'd always refused to shop there usually, but it was convenient- and they had weapons.
The tile was cold. David took this personally.
"Cold corporate bastards. Just like Bush. Just like everyone."
The greeter could only stare as David hurried by, wearing only a thin pair of white hospital issue pants. As soon as David had passed, he rushed to get security.
Strange how all of these stores are laid out exactly the same. Turn right in front of Mc Donalds, head to the back. Make a left by the bikes and toys. Sure enough, there were the shotguns, and nobody at the counter. He selected an alluminum baseball bat from the rack as he passed it and didn't pause, swinging in mid stride as he reached the gun case. The bat bounced off of the plexi-glass harmlessly.
"DAMMIT!"
He swung again, the bat bounced back and caught him upside the head. He didn't even care. He took another shot. He was getting nowhere. The store's loudspeaker interrupted him.
"Attention Walmart Shoppers. We have an emergency. Please exit the store immediately. Remain calm, the police are on their way."
"Freakin perfect!" He'd hoped to get further.
He tried the bat on the smaller display case, shattering it with easily. He helped himself to a pair of hunting knives and a paintball gun. He readied the paintball gun and headed for the front of the store.

He met the police on their way in. He aimed for the face and fired. The officer went down screaming, blue paint and blood running from his eye. A second officer opened fire. David threw himself behind a checkout stand. He was hit, but it didn't hurt much. He pressed his hand to the side of his neck... he couldn't find the wound.
"What in the hell?"
The cop was standin right over him now.
"Drop the paintball gun and lay down on your face, now!"
David extended the toy up into the officers face. The officer opened fire, empty his magazine. David stood up, eyes wild with fury and hatred.
The officer backed up, his jaws trembling as he tried to speak.
"Wh-What are you?"
David looked down at himself, equally in awe.
"I don't know."
It was the last thing the officer would hear.

David grinned wickedly. He had more to do than he'd thought. He was alive now. Vengeance kept him alive, and it couldn't wait till morning.


[edit on 15-7-2005 by The Vagabond]