this as his chance to steal away. This had reminded him that he was not as alone as he felt. He was now looking more for emerging human dangers than he was for the pump house. Overnight, Daniel’s view of the other people sharing this world had changed forever. While yesterday he would have marched right down the middle of the street, virtually concern-free, today it felt like every person on the planet was a threat.
Thankfully, the rest of his tiring excursion passed without further disruption. Daniel sat in the shade cast by the pressure house that stood at the end of the water line. He could see the south and east sides of the Warehouse across Klondike Avenue, about three hundred yards away. This put him on the same side of the street as the empty-looking City Hall, a hundred yards to the north. He put the rifle down gently by his side, and rummaged through the small pack, looking for a pair of compact binoculars.
The absence of movement had Daniel on edge. The pathway from the parking lot to the gate was empty, and he wondered where the drifters had gone off to. He scanned the buildings through the small optics, looking for any signs of life. All of the shutters on the Warehouse were closed, and Daniel realized that he had never seen the building without at least a few of them propped open to let in a breeze.
The two police APC’s had been moved across the street and placed close to the eastern corners of the Warehouse, inside of the chain link fence that had a coil of razor wire as a crown. The tops of the helmets that Daniel could make out up on the roof of the Warehouse gave him hope. The police had obviously taken valiant steps in keeping the building secure, and he now took all of these indicators, even the absence of life outside, to be very good signs. If he could get his family inside, they would not have to worry anymore.
Daniel was just about to stand up and brazenly walk up to the closed fence gate, demanding to speak with his mother-in-law, when two people came into view walking north on Klondike Ave. They walked up until they reached Cannon Drive, the same road he had driven to the Warehouse just days ago on. The pair then crossed the open road without concern, coming to a stop at the locked gate in front of the Warehouse.
For a few long seconds nothing happened, despite their yelling, which, in turn, put the dogs in the kennel to barking. Then the northeast man door, just to the left of the large rolling door that led into the bazaar, suddenly opened. Three policemen in full riot gear came out, cautiously checking their surroundings. One shouted a warning to the dogs, which seemed to quiet the majority of them. Once they were certain that the two hikers were alone, the trio casually walked down to the gate with their rifles, most likely basic AR-15’s, at close ready.
After a brief exchange, the two civilians took off rolled packs, then stepped back a couple paces further away from the gate. Now that the pair had their hands up, Daniel could make out that one of them was a female. A thought struck Daniel that these two were probably the ones that he had passed down by the river. Another brief, yet more animated, conversation ensued, ending with the couple getting down on their knees, with hands still raised.
Without warning, the three police officer’s rifles rose up and began firing at the couple, and the dogs started barking wildly again. The man danced and spun violently as the bullets, fired from point blank range, struck him in the legs and body. He fell to the ground in a heap, and the woman, untouched by the flying lead, fell over from fright, landing on top of his twitching legs. She tried to roll away, screaming as she made it to all fours. She started crawling away, but stopped to look back at the still twitching man.
The police officer on the left made his way to the side of the gate, unlocking the chain that held it closed. As he walked the swinging gate inward, the other two policemen crossed behind him to make their way out. One took aim at the still form of the man, putting one more bullet into his brain pan. The other began laughing,