When morning came about and after a quick surveillance check had been done, it was quickly noticed that nothing extraordinary had occurred during the night. Everyone still had their heads screwed on tight, well at least for the most part. Emotions are running everywhere right now, and no one knows what's going on. Adapting to life now is harder than anything else I have ever encountered. The friendship between us all is the only thing keeping us going. Without all of them here I don't know if I would be able to survive in this vastly different world. Then out of nowhere while I was walking around the house, I came upon the rest of the group talking about the day to come in the living room. I decided to keep my presence hidden and listen to their conversation for a brief second.
"So I know all of you heard the gunshot last night," Owen said talking to the rest of the group while they were nodding their heads.
"Now we all know it was Lucas and Jim taking care of something that none of us want to talk about but the least we can do is try to help in every other way," He said, sounding very leader-like and very caring towards the group. It made me think back to all he might have lost once this started. To what they all might have lost.
"I think that we should go to the Henry County Sheriff's Office today and raid their supplies. It's not like anyone will be there anyway," He said, moving on from the last topic pretty quickly.
"The Henry County Sheriff's Office is a pretty hard place to get into without making any noise. Our best bet is to make a small diversion to get inside. We could have Jeremy and Jim go over to the bank to set off a small explosive. That would draw any of those creatures away from the jail giving us ample time to weasel our way in." I said coming out from my hiding place, revealing myself to the group.
"The goal is to get in through the front by breaking a side glass panel right by the door. One of us would then run into the building and get behind the front desk and turn off the alarm that will sound." I said ignoring the looks on their faces.
"The issue is getting behind the counter considering it is bulletproof glass. Next to the counter is a magnetic keycard required door." Jim chimed in coming in from around the corner he was doing the same thing that I had been.
Aaron then sprang up and said, "We could shut down the power to jail and then pry open the door thus getting us behind the counter as well as shutting down the alarm at the same time."
"Great now that we can get in and start setting up, let's gather everything up into my dad's work truck out back, and let's get the hell out of here," I said with a smile on my face hoping that if I showed some sort of emotion that wasn't sadness it would raise everyone else's spirits along with it. But then as I looked about the house in which I had grown up, I couldn't help but feel that pull on my heart. This was it I was leaving everything behind.
After my truck and the work truck were loaded up, we started the curved driveway that was made of gravel and connected to the street. Cars and trucks were scattered everywhere and the funky odor in the air made the trip very uncomfortable. We took the back streets to avoid being detected as much as possible. It worked for the most part until we got about halfway there when the truck came to an abrupt stop. There was a huge tree in the way with an orange Mazda underneath it. I guessed that the Mazda had hit the tree at a very high rate of speed.
Jim was making the small explosive while Aaron was driving. We had decided to put the two of them in Aaron's car just in case things went south. Once Jim and Aaron got to the back, they texted us and we headed their way to drop off Jeremy there with them. After we dropped him off, we went right down the street to the sheriff's office. I parked my truck on the front lawn of the place and Owen parked the work truck next to mine. Once we had all gotten out of the trucks. Owen and Rob began to run a surveillance check, to make sure the area was safe to a certain degree.
Rob then ran to the back of the jail and gained access to the power panel on the far left side of the building. A huge grey box that took up most of the wall and had a lightning bolt on it. Very hard to miss. That's when we gave Jim, Jeremy, and Aaron the all-clear to detonate the explosive. Once that happened, I told Rob to temporarily shut down the power. I went ahead and busted the glass with a hammer from the back of our work truck and shimmied my way inside. Trying not to get myself cut on the now shattered glass. Once inside Owen handed me the crowbar and I began to try and pry the magnetic door open, but no matter what I tried it wouldn't budge.
"Owen!" I yelled out with a slurred speech due to my teeth being gritted together trying to pry the damn thing open.
"Get your ass over here and help me with this!" I said quickly, running out of breath trying to bark out orders.
I was hoping with the two of us combined we could open the door. After a few good grunts, pushes and a whole hell lot of cussing from the both of us, we were able to get it open. I then proceeded to text Jeremy to get over here and begin moving on in. Once we had all gotten inside, I got the group together to have a quick conversation about what to do with the prisoners.
"It's not humane to keep them locked up in here when the world and current government have gone to shit." Owen immediately began voicing his own opinion. But not in an offensive way that made you want to punch him.
"It's very humane. They are prisoners, they are murders, thieves, and a whole lot of other things. They deserve to rot in this place." It was Jim that began talking this time, which while very unlike him did make some sense. I mean I get it his dad had murdered his grandmother who wouldn't still feel hate for him. While I don't think his father was located in this holding facility I do think that he was taking his suppressed anger out on these "humans".
"Ok, I get where both of you are coming from, I do. But I think Owen is right on this one. The government is gone, we have no right to keep them here. Let's release them but only in a way that they can't get to us." I said trying to bring what could be a huge fight down to a simmer.
There is a hallway connecting the outside to the prison wing but it is kind of sketchy. First, we need to barricade the laundry room door so they can't hide in there. Also, we need to make sure the visiting counter is guarded. There is no point in barricading that because the glass is already bulletproof. I gave Rob that job and armed him with the hunting rifle.
Once the prisoners are outside, that is when we can start looking through everything and also finding the armory. Once the plan was in effect, we started to head to our respective posts. Rob took the visiting counter, Jim was monitoring the security cameras, Jeremy is on standby with one of the pistols just in case one tries to pull something funny. Aaron was making sure the prison doors were working, we do not want that to malfunction in the middle of the release.
Now we are ready, but right before I gave Jim to press the button to release the prisoners Owen said over the radio that we should at least debrief the inmates before just releasing them or they are just going to die as soon as they step out those doors. Owen did make a good point, we may be freeing them but only then putting them right back into danger. Owen and I walked into the prison wing and got on the intercom to speak to all the inmates. Owen was the first to speak saying "No need to fear, the world has fallen apart and I and my group decided to let you guys free." Right at that moment all I could hear was screaming and hollering from all the cell blocks.
That's when I got on the intercom and spoke my peace. "We are letting you go out of these cells and you will go out the second entrance to your cell blocks, from there you will continue down the hallway until you are outside." Suddenly I could hear the inmates banging on the windows trying to get out. Owen then pulled out his pistol and fired one shot into the air. It did the trick because the prison wing got quiet fast.
After the order was restored and started back up again, "Once you get outside, what you do is on you, but do not try and come back or you will be met with lethal force." I then found the inmate roster and made sure everyone was currently inside their cells. Immediately following me and Owen went back to the others and told them what we said.
We then each got into position and were ready for the next most painful minutes of our entire lives. I gave Jim orders to press the button and off the inmates went. I sat there and watched the cameras to make sure everything was flowing smoothly. The prisoners were just slaughtering each other for no reason. Pushing and shoving others out of the way just to get outside. Other inmates were stabbing their way out. After a couple of minutes had passed, Rob came over the radio saying one of the prisoners was just staring at him through the visiting window.
The prisoner began hitting the window with what looked like a metal table leg he got from his cell. After a good couple of swings, a crack began to appear. I then radioed Owen to get down here with his pistol. Once Owen got down here he fired one shot at the glass which cracked it even more. That was my plan by the way just in case anybody thought I was crazy. The glass was about to shatter when I gave Rob the order to shoot the inmate. Rob was in some state of panic. I guess he just stood there in complete fear.
I took the rifle out of his hands and fired a single shot right through the glass and into the prisoner's chest killing him. After he fell to the ground I dropped the rifle onto the floor. I had never killed another human being before. I was traumatized, I fell to the ground and started sobbing like a five-year-old kid who dropped his ice cream on the pavement. Jeremy ran into the room Owen, Rob, and I were in and threw one of the tables up where a giant hole was and barricaded it up onto the wall.
Owen came down and sat by me trying to help me through what I had just done. I told Owen that "I know he was in here for doing something bad, but that didn't mean he had to die." Owen agreed and said:
"Some people are here to hurt us and that is why we are here to protect each other." We then hugged and stood up together and walked on over to the door.
After that whole ordeal, the gang and I decided to sit down and relax in the conference room for a second. We sat around and told stories, ate, and played some card games. Some of us went to bed after that while some stayed up and took the first watch. I was the first to pass out. It was weird thinking of sleep in the jail but not in the prison part.
In the morning I and Aaron are going to go gather everything from the trucks outside and bring them into the offices for storage. After about two hours of sleep, Jim tapped me on the shoulder and said it was my turn to take a shift so he could get a little bit of sleep. Not much happened at night, just a few creatures ran by the street, but nothing too serious.
Morning came and so did the headache. I went over to my bag and grabbed some ibuprofen. I then went and found Aaron and we got straight to work moving boxes from the outside in. Jeremy stood guard while we unloaded. I sent Owen and Jim to the cafeteria. They were to bring back everything they could find. No lie, they must have made at least ten or fifteen trips and they even took a small wagon. We now have enough food to last a couple of months. Once Aaron and I got stuff unloaded, I took Jim with me to go through each cell looking for anything useful. We didn't find much, but everything helped. The best part was all the pillows, blankets, and mattresses. Of course, we had to wash them, I am not sleeping on stuff that hasn't been washed in probably years.
Rob pointed out that we had left the outside door open after releasing the prisoners. We closed it and didn't think much of it at the time. We were all talking when the power all of a sudden went out. Rob and Jim took off to the back of the building to see what had happened. I took Jeremy and Aaron to the cell block to see if any of the prisoners slipped by us.
When we got to the cell block no one was there. All was quiet within the walls. I then radioed Jim and Rob, but I didn't get a response back, only static. Jeremy, Aaron, and I went outside with guns raised and ready to shoot. We saw Jim and Rob on the ground unconscious. We began sweeping the area when a prisoner leaped out and shot Aaron right in the arm. Aaron fell to the ground in pain. Jeremy took the shot and put a bullet right in the inmate's gut. The inmate bled out, blood gushing onto the floor in front of us. Jeremy took Aaron inside while trying to get Jim and Rob awake.
After I got them inside I ran to Jeremy and tried to attend to Aaron's bullet wound. After putting some alcohol on the wound and giving Aaron something to bite on, Jeremy took some tweezers and went fishing for the bullet. It didn't take him very long to get it out which was a little surprising. We then stitched him up and began watching him just making sure that the wound didn't get infected.
It took a couple of hours before Rob and Jim woke up, but at least they were alive. Owen tended to Rob and Jim while I checked up on Aaron. His bullet wound looked ok but you never know. I then went over to the security monitor to make sure that no one else was lurking around the facility. All I had to do was check those cameras and none of this would have happened. Aaron could be up to doing things but instead, he has a hole in his arm all because of me.
Jeremy came over to talk to me because he knew I was struggling with something. He said:
"You look like you could blow off some steam." Well, he was not wrong. He then said:
" Why don't you just follow me? I know a place where you can punch the shit out of something." After a minute's walk, we arrived at the gym. He got out the punching bag and we both took turns blowing off some things that have been bothering us or just releasing our anger on something that can't do anything back.
I could have sworn we spent a good couple of hours there. By the time I left, I felt as if I was a completely different person. My anxiety levels were at an all-time low and I could think clearly for the first time since the world went to absolute shit. I returned to the rest of the group and had a small talk with them. We set up times to let ourselves go so that way we keep our composure.
Later that night Owen made some of the best Chili I had ever eaten. I could be wrong but that man could have been the teen version of Gordan Ramsay. After dinner, I went to go check the monitor one last time before hitting the hay. When I looked at the screen I could see a very bright light coming from the front of the building. It looked like someone holding a flashlight. This person was waving it around almost as if they were trying to get the camera's attention.
After a few minutes had gone by the person stopped and looked over to their right and froze. They stood there as if something else was staring them down. Out of nowhere, one of those monsters ran across the screen and tackled the person to the ground. I couldn't hear anything, but I could visualize in my head that person screaming for dear life. There was nothing I could do to help them without putting my friends in danger.
After witnessing that all I could think about was what if that person's scream attracted more of them and sure enough it did. They came one after another until the entire building had creatures surrounding it. Now that was another problem we had on our hands. How in the world were we supposed to get these creatures away from the jailhouse?