Episode 5: The Sheep of Lockwood

Episode 5

"The Sheep of Lockwood"

(Charlie)

I sat in a chair across from Samantha in my suite. She was so beautiful, I wish she appreciated the things I did for her. There she was, tied to a chair, dressed in a beautiful pink dress I got just for her. Her makeup was still smeared across her face from all of her crying. She couldn't even look me in the eyes today, no matter how much I talked to her, she'd ignore me and continue her crying. I finally had enough of this. I stood up from my chair and kicked it out of the way, then walked up really close to her and grabbed her by the chin.

"My beautiful pink princess, why do you do this to me? Why are you so sad? I love you, just love me back." I whispered to her.

She shuddered, and still refused to give me any kind of eye contact. I got angrier, Samantha is about to realize that it's a big mistake to push me. I punched her across the face and grabbed her by the neck.

"Listen to me!" I screamed in her face, "you ungrateful bitch! I give you so much, and you do this to me? Refuse my love? I should toss you out to the stranglers!"

"Please do." Samantha whispered in a quivering voice.

I stepped back and looked at her for a few seconds, she was still avoiding eye contact. I clenched my fists again and was about to strike her once more until I heard a knock at my door. I sighed and relaxed my hand.

"You're lucky." I pointed at her, I picked her chair up and moved it to my closet, then put duct tape over her mouth.

I answered the door and there were a few soldiers standing by the door.

"The hell do you guys want?" I asked.

"Um, Colin sent us up." The soldier said, "two soldiers returned from the supply run that happened this morning. They said that their truck was hijacked by Brad and a few other soldiers."

That caught me off guard. My heart dropped for a second and a wave of confusion hit me. What the hell? Brad? He's dead!

"What the hell do you mean Brad?" I asked.

"I know sir, it doesn't make sense, but the two soldiers are insisting it was Brad that hijacked the truck from them. We don't know what to think."

"Th-thank you." I stuttered, shutting the door.

I just stared into nothing for a long time, this doesn't make any sense. I walked over to the kitchen and brewed up some coffee and sat at my desk to think.

Could it just be a misunderstanding? Maybe a soldier just looked like Brad, but why would they hijack the truck? That doesn't make sense. There is a rule at Lockwood where you aren't allowed to leave, maybe the soldiers who hijacked the truck just wanted to leave. Why would anyone want to leave though? It's safe here. The only reason I could think of someone wanting to leave is because either there is someone outside the walls they want to be with, or they know something they're not supposed to know. That's when it hit me, the only reason they'd want to leave is if they know something they aren't supposed to. Brad knew a lot, that's why I killed him. Did he get out somehow? Now that everyone in Lockwood thought he was dead, could he have led an escape? Who are the other soldiers that went with him though? Were they soldiers he recruited and got them to help him? That still doesn't explain how the hell he even got out of the freezer room. It was reported that everyone in that room was dead. I reached for my phone and called one of my managers, Alex.

"Hey Alex," I said, "can you find out who the soldiers were that were assigned to kill the infected people on the fourth floor?"

"Sure Charlie, I'll pull up some files. I'll let you know later today."

"Thanks," I said, "Oh and Alex?"

"Yes?"

"Keep this matter secret if you will. We don't need to cause unnecessary panic now."

"Sure thing."

I hung up the phone and took a deep breath in. We still weren't sure if it was really Brad who escaped, I'd like to think it wasn't, but you can never be too sure. I don't need anyone finding out this is going on either, because I told the public that I didn't kill anyone on the fourth floor. I lied to them, if they find out I actually killed everyone on that fourth floor, I'd be in trouble. Once I found out who the soldiers were who were assigned to kill the people in the freezer room, I could ask them if they killed Brad. It could be possible that one of them let Brad out, so I'll have to make sure nobody is lying. I sat up and walked over to the coffee maker, pouring some coffee out into a mug I had.

"Brad," I said, taking a sip, "if you're out there, I will find you. You made a big mistake."

Later that day, I was scheduled to have another public speaking. I needed to update the people on the whole Jeff situation. They're all still wondering what has been done with them. I'll give them to usual story, we're still deciding on a humane way to punish Jeff and his terrorist group. The people should buy into that, as long as they are distracted with Jeff, finding Brad should go smoothly.

I headed down the elevator with two guards escorting me, and I walked over to the balcony, overlooking the lobby. A bunch of people were already there waiting, the people who didn't come down to the lobby would hear the speech through the speakers that are placed on every floor. I tapped the microphone and it echoed through the room.

"Hello everyone." I said, everyone stopped what they were doing and they looked up at me.

"Good afternoon, I hope everyone is doing fine. We were delayed on supplies last run, but we have plenty already stored up. We will be sending out another supply run group to get more supplies in the next week. No need to worry. Anyways, I'm sure you're all wondering about the whole Jeff situation. I would like to assure you guys that Jeff and his terrorist group has been peacefully detained. They are currently being held in a room for questioning, we are still deciding on the most humane punishment we can give them. Don't worry, they will be punished. You won't have to worry about those terrorists anymore. I assure you."

"You still haven't done anything with them?" An angry resident screamed out.

"You should have dealt with them by now! We don't want to be living with criminals still unpunished in this building!" A lady yelled.

"I know everyone, we are still working on a punishment, I promise it will all go according to plan-"

"You're a weak leader Charlie! A real leader would have dealt with these guys already!" Another man yelled out.

A weak leader? Who would dare speak to their leader like that? I've kept these ungrateful scum alive for so long. Under the protection of my walls, they're still alive. That sorry son of a bitch is lucky I don't hang him for disrespecting his leader! No Charlie, stay calm. I need not to get angry with these people, I am above them, they rely on me. I need to take the moral high ground. I cleared my throat and responded to the man in the calmest way I could.

"Yes sir, I understand your frustration. We need to be smart about the punishment though. We don't want to stoop to their level. We must be better people than them. These terrorists will be punished, but we cannot get out of hand with it."

A bunch of booing erupted from the crowd. I thought this public speaking would work, I thought this would hold the people over until a little longer. Shit, they aren't buying my story anymore. The soldiers calmed everyone down by quickly hushing their booing, it was barely helping though, because the booing just continued. Colin and Alex walked over to me and escorted me off the balcony and back to the elevator.

Once I made it back to my suite, I sat down and thought about what I could do to hold these people over. People are starting to get impatient. I guess I should have figured I can't keep the Jeff distraction story going forever. I sipped some more of my coffee and sat in my desk, and kept thinking on some way I could distract these people some more. I need to keep distracting these people, because if they find out that I ordered the killing of the people on the fourth floor, I'd be exposed. Lockwood would be in chaos, and it could risk a fall of my empire.

"Stop thinking like that," I said to myself, "I'll find a new distraction soon enough and the people of Lockwood will respect me once again."

I grabbed a pen and clicked it once, then started writing ideas on a sheet of paper. I'll come up with something, and the sheep of Lockwood will keep following.

(Jack)

I sat in my room in my room with my face buried in my hands. I was stressed out. I can't believe Brad screwed this up. I should have never saved him, all he's done is cause me trouble. It was a simple mission, hijack the truck silently and don't alert anyone. He couldn't even pull that off. Charlie has asked the soldiers that know about Brad's hijacking to keep it a secret. I think it's because he doesn't want it getting out that he actually killed all those innocent people on the fourth floor. Luckily, some of the soldiers who were told, are on my side. They told me everything that happened. Apparently Brad panicked when a soldier found out it was him, and he shot one of them. He then hijacked the truck, alerting a nearby outpost. The other two soldiers ran back to Lockwood and explained what happened. Brad should have just shot those two other soldiers, they knew it was him. He made a mistake. I was hoping nobody would notice Brad being gone, but of course they figured it out. By sparing those two soldiers, they blew everything. Now Charlie knows Brad is still alive, and he's on the hunt to find out how. It's not going to be long until he tracks it back to me, I'll be killed for sure. I dont know if it was out of panic, or just mercy that Brad let those two soldiers live. I'm going to have to lie low for now, hopefully this whole thing dies down. In the meantime, I need to act like I know nothing, and carry out my regular duties in Lockwood. That's the only thing I can do.

(Jeff)

There must be some way out of this place. I looked around for anything that could help me in escaping. I haven't eaten in a long time, and my throat was bone dry. Charlie was clearly doing this on purpose, he wanted me to suffer. I wonder what the people of Lockwood think. Charlie told me he keeps me alive as a distraction for the Lockwood people, but when is his distraction going to end? I saw a broken chair leg off in the distance, I stretched out to try and grab it but I couldn't reach it. My one hand that was handcuffed to the pole made things really difficult to do anything. Don't even get me started on using the bathroom. It stinks like shit in here. I'm living like a barn animal, and Charlie is going to pay for this. I gave up on trying to grab the chair leg and just sat down up against the pole.

"Damn." I said, feeling defeated.

I jingled the handcuff and tried moving the pole I was tied to. It wouldn't budge. Maybe if I kept putting stress on the pole it would eventually give out. I started yanking on the handcuff, but stopped because I realized all I was going to do was screw up my wrist before I do anything to the pole.

The door opened at the top of the stairs and I sighed. It must be Charlie. He's the only one who comes down here. Probably here to taunt me again. I saw navy blue pants show up in the dim light as he walked down the stairs. He turned on a brighter light and it blinded me for a few seconds. Once I regained my vision, he grabbed a chair with three legs and put it back down.

"What the hell happened to the chair?" He asked.

I didn't say anything. He picked up the chair leg and looked at me.

"What the hell happened to the damn chair?" He asked again.

I didn't even look at him. I just kept my head down and stared at the ground.

"Hey jackass did you break my chair?"

"No." I answered.

He walked over to me and swung the leg at my head. It hit me hard. Everything got fuzzy and my ears starting ringing. I felt blood trickle down my head and drip down my ear.

"Fuck sakes Charlie I didn't break your chair! How would I even do that?" I yelled.

Charlie examined the chair leg which now had blood trickling down that too. He tossed the leg away and squatted next to me. He slapped me in the face a few times. Then pulled a camera out of his pocket and snapped a picture of my face. It blinded me for a second.

"How you feeling?" He asked.

"What the hell is the camera for?" I asked.

"Sometimes I miss you Jeff, so I just like seeing you even when I'm in my suite. This picture should do fine."

"That's a bullshit answer, but you know what, I don't even wanna know why you're taking a picture of me."

Charlie touched my hair and felt the blood pouring down my head.

"I hit you pretty hard. Did I damage something up there? You need water?"

"Of course I need water. I haven't had any in ages. Some food would be great too." I replied.

Charlie started laughing at me, he then stood up and messed up my hair with his hand. He then turned the light off.

"Maybe you can have some water. I'll think about it. I'm leaving because it stinks like shit down here. Don't die on me down here yet."

"Yeah whatever." I said.

He started walking upstairs, then stopped and looked back at me.

"Your days are numbered. The distraction has almost worn out. Don't worry, I'll keep Samantha and Kayla safe here when you're gone."

"D-don't you touch them!" I yelled.

Charlie laughed as he continued up the stairs.

"Don't you walk away!" I screamed, "come down here and finish me off! You piece of shit!"

I heard the door open and slam, leaving me alone in the darkness again. I slammed my fist on the ground and screamed in anger. I turned to the pole and started yanking on the handcuffs again, the pole didn't even shake. My wrist was starting to bleed from pulling on it so much, but I was in such an angry state I didn't stop. I just kept pulling, and pulling.

(Charlie)

While I was at my desk, scheduling the next supply run, I got a phone call. I grabbed the phone.

"What?" I asked.

"Hey Charlie," said Alex, "I have the names of the soldiers who were assigned to kill the people on the fourth floor."

"Who were they?"

"A bunch of new soldiers, not very high in ranks. Two guys named Marcus Phillips and Ray Wilson. There is one other soldier who is a higher rank. He's been living here for quite a while, Jack Ackerman. He's a weird one, he might know something about Brad's disappearance. I'd question some of them."

"That's what I was planning on doing. Thank you Alex."

"No problem boss."

I hung up the phone and started writing the names Alex said on a piece of paper.

"Marcus Phillips, Ray Wilson, and Jack Ackerman. Hmm. You guys have some explaining to do." I said, a smile creeping on my face.