Warren made a slight effort to scramble
to his feet and run, but Jason and Wes snatched him up and held him while
Franklin secured his wrists with the zip tie.
Though he attempted to resist, the
effort was poor. Instead, he seemed to be concentrating on projecting his
voice, as loudly and irritatingly as possible. “This is bullshit! You can’t do
this to me! I’ve done nothing wrong!” Warren screamed as if his life depended
on it. He had the premonition that it might.
“You happen to have a gag in there too?”
Wes said chuckling, pointing at Franklin’s satchel.
“Sorry no, but if it gets too bad, we
can use a sock, or a tennis ball.” Wes wasn’t sure if he meant it jokingly.
As the
three men left to transport Warren down the hall, Franklin caught the face of a
male medical worker, one of the dead, staring through the small window in room
124’s door. The man’s lips and most of his gums had rotted away, leaving thin,
spiky teeth that were yellowed. He growled, and snapped his teeth against the
glass, breaking a few off in the process.
Warren
gave the trio a momentary lull, but when they arrived back at the cafeteria he
powered up the screaming once again. “See what’s happening here? They are
taking over; they are systematically targeting all those that disagree with
them! First me, then you!” Warren warned as the rest of the group looked
on.
Everyone
gawked, but Jackie and Sam were the first to step forward. “What is this?”
Jackie looked to Wes. “What’s goin’ on Keller?” Sam demanded.
“He’s
out of control.” Wes told the group. “He was going to open the door. We
couldn’t let that happen. Not without some order.”
Franklin,
Wes and Jason tossed Warren atop a cafeteria table, the action lacked
gentleness.
“Warren?” Sam eyeballed Warren.
“This true?”
“Sam, c’mon man. We’ve worked
together nearly fifteen years!” Warren attempted to move his hands in front of
him, momentarily forgetting his restraints.
“That’s not what I asked you. I
don’t care if we were Siamese god-damned twins separated at birth. Me thinkin’
I know you went right out the window when dead people started eating the
living.”
“Well put,” Franklin added.
“It’s this kid’s fault!” Warren
yelled, nodding towards Franklin. “Look at him, all painted up like some circus
performer. Its idiocy is what it is! And Wes seems to be listening to
everything this kid’s got to say! Why he assaulted me in the hallway! And everything
was fine-”
Van Bourne flicking ashes on the
floor stepped in to cut Warren off, “No way you’re getting away with that! You
have been trying to undermine Wes’s lead for damn near the entire time we’ve
been here.”
This comment seemed to quiet
Warren. And others in the group nodded. Uncharacteristically Jason stepped
forward, “We caught him at the door to room 124. The keys are missing, he was
alone.” Sighing, “It looked suspicious.”
The group looked to Wes for
confirmation. He gave a single nod.
Warren mewed weakly, “So that’s it?
A group of accusers can just say I did something and I’m automatically guilty?”
“That’s not a new concept. It’s
called witnesses. Been that way for awhile.” Franklin quipped.
“Well what should we do with him?”
Nancy and Amy asked nearly simultaneously.
“I have an idea.” Wes walked
forward, hovering over Warren. “We search him. But I’m not carrying this decision
alone. We put it to a vote. All in favor?”
Seven people gave a resounding
“Aye.”
“All opposed?”
Two other thoughtful souls gave a
timid, “Nay.” One was Warren. The other was Nurse Van Bourne.
“Van?” Wes seemed puzzled.
The nurse answered calmly. “If we
do this Wes it changes everything. The practicalities of the group are changed.
We run the risk of becoming accuser vs. accused – with no real way for someone
to prove their innocence.”
Wes began to answer, when Sam
butted in, “It’s better than nothin’. One guy runnin’ the show?” Sam turned to
Wes, “No offense, but that ain’t my idea of a square deal either. I think we’ve
been at this long enough to trust each other. We also know one another. Have an
idea of what type of characters we’re dealing with.”
“Fuck off Sam.”
Sam rolled his eyes at Warren. “My
point exactly.”
“Fair,” Wes said, but then looked to
Bernadette. “Ms. Faulkner?”
Meekly, she walked out from behind
where Amy and Nancy stood. “Yes Mr. Keller?”
“You didn’t vote dear?”
“Oh, yes well I don’t really know
what to say.” The woman shuffled her feet, and began to stare at the ground.
“But I know that majority rules, and even if I voted against the group, it
still wouldn’t be close enough to change the vote.” A pause, “So Aye, I suppose.”
“This is outrageous!” Warren
yelled, and began to struggle, kicking and nearly pitching himself off the
table.
Sam grabbed the smaller man,
hoisting him upright on the table. “Listen pal. Settle down. Even if you are
innocent your actions right now are telling us otherwise.”
Wes stepped forward, “Alright, then
its settled we search him. If we find the missing keys, we’ll have another vote
on what to do with him. If he doesn’t have them, we let him go.”
As Franklin, Sam and Wes closed in around
him, Warren simply smiled.
