Eliot Strange and the Prince of the Apocalypse

31) A Trip to the Library

Twenty minutes later, we arrive at the library. It is a small public library so we soon have all the exits covered. There is no sign of the hostages or anyone else. They were outside yesterday according to Torin.

"Where are they?" I ask the prince.

He has a funny look on his face, and it is only then that I hear them. A pack of dogs, barking and growling at each other, on the other side of the front wall that hides the entrance to the front. The dogs are fighting over something that we can see that looks like a trash bag with arms and legs.

"Gone rogue. Gone savage. Poor creatures." Says Adam. "Starving."

Poor creatures? It is a pack of wild dogs. Before I can say this out loud, Adam says, "I used to be a vet tech. It's sad, but civilization is defined by how it treats the weak, the young, the old, the sick. Their pets." He makes a decision before anyone else can react. "I'm going to take a look." Adam advances on the pack. There is growling and dogs whimpering, and then he emerges and motions us forward.

"Are you crazy?" Sarah asks Adam as she checks him for an injury because he has blood on his face and shirt.

"Some people say I am. Don't worry, I'm not hurt. I tried to be humane, but those dogs are no longer anyone's pet. They're dangerous. Once they taste human flesh, they won't stop. Especially, when they are starving or hunting in packs."

I don't want to look, but I do because I have to know.

"Not ours," says Sarah. She points to what used to be a pants leg. "Camo, one of theirs." She points to the inside lobby where there are overturned chairs and books strewn and what looks like blood stains.

Leia peers inside. "Battle took place here. They fought back."

Torin motions us in. Only about ten of us enter because Torin says we must make sure this is not an ambush. The rest remain outside to guard the perimeter. The library is quiet, but we can hear noise coming from a back room. Torin makes the motion to hold here, and before I can reason with him, he is gone.

Torin shared the signals for "stop" and "go" and "quiet" with all of us before we left. They are pretty simple signals, just like you see in the movies, easy to follow, only I am sure my heartbeat should not be beating in rhythm triple time to my steps forward. When he motions us forward with the "go" signal, we follow Torin to the room in the back. I am fairly sure there is nothing to fear on the other side because I can hear muffled crying. Torin reaches to open the door handle, but it is locked.

There is instant silence on the other side like a radio being turned off.

Torin knocks on the door. "Lindy, it is us. It is Eliot and your new friend, Torin. It is Torin."

The door is cracked open by an older man I do not know. "Are y'all good people?"

Torin nods. "We're here to rescue you."

"Thank you young man," he says as he opens the door, "but we already been rescued." He is holding a stapler and a pair of scissors, and as if in explanation says, "I fought in Nam. Name's Clay. Clay Key."

We step into the room and see who is crying. There is a small group of women and children and in the back is my best friend Steven. He is holding Nana like a baby, all wrapped up in a bloody blanket.

I rush over and before I can ask what happened Clay explains. "She saved us all. Best surprise attack I ever saw. Didn't even know she had the gun."

"She saved us all." Steven repeats.

"I heard them talking," continues Clay. "I snuck out to gather some intel. I saw a red jeep drive up with some new people. A man and a pretty lady in front. Couldn't get a good look at the one in the back. Looked like the man in the front was in charge. About the time they drove up, a man came running up and told them he found someone by the name of Jack. Said this Jack, who he said wasn't really Jack at all, was a prince. Said he found the prince, and he wanted a reward. They was all excited. They was arguing. They wanted to go find this prince guy. One or two wanted to let us go, but the man in charge here wanted to kill us all. Get rid of dead weight - is what he said. He said - We got to find that prince. It's priority."