Last Stand (Part 3)

James had run with the Lieutenant wildly into the dark. The city was a cacophony of nightmarish sounds and images. He swore he saw the end result of someone who fell, or been pushed, off a balcony several stories up. But the terror of stopping was too great to grasp what he saw. He just followed the Lieutenant, hoping his sure-fire mentality would get them out. And for the time, at least, it seemed to have succeeded.

They had ducked into the open gates of Old City Cemetery. Aptly named because it was, in fact, the oldest cemetery in the city. Any other night and being in the cemetery would have given James the creeps. The dark shadows from the trees and above ground tombs maintained a wicked feeling to them at night. But tonight, it was a haven.

In the midst of the chaos, no one sought the cemetery. Their only guests were those already dead, and they gave no protest to their presence.

In their momentary rest, James sat down on the ground. A short wall was erected by two graves, Mary Ann and Rebecca Scott. There, he removed his riot gear that had almost cost him his life while trying to flee the barricade. James just finished removing his shin guards when Lieutenant Lanese came back from watching for intruders.

“What’s your round count?”

James patted down his belt. “I have two magazines.”

“I have three shells left in my scattergun, and three pistol magazines.”

James stood back up. The cemetery concealed them in a blanket of darkness. The town was a blaze in the chaos. He could see down part of West Park Avenue, what they called “frat row,” fire had engulfed one of the large sorority homes. The dancing flames superimposed dark figures that were in a macabre show for them, fleeing or attacking. Of fighting, or of killing.

“Have you heard anything on the radio?” James asked

“No. Not since we got here. Last I heard, it sounded like the station was under siege, too.”

“What are we going to do?”

“There was a group of guys from the Capitol City Police that set up a contingent to help evacuate the staff if things got worse. They set up at that intersection in front of City Hall, on East Jefferson and West Pensacola Street. We can try to regroup there.”

James looked out in that direction. It would only be a quarter mile, but he felt that might as well be the moon.

“Are you sure they’re still there?”

“No, I’m not sure of anything.” The Lieutenant’s voice lowered to a whisper. Not that he felt they were being overheard, but from the weight of the situation, the desperation was lowering his voice.

“Can you try to raise them?”

“I haven’t heard anything from any of the stations. Have you?”

While the question was likely legitimate, James felt it to be rhetorical. He hadn’t heard anything on his radio. “No, I haven’t.” James answered.

Lanese produced a cellphone from his pocket. The screen lit up, and James could see the concern and dread etched onto the Lieutenant’s face. “They activated the emergency service lines on all cellular networks. I can’t make a private call, send a text. I can’t do shit.”

James chewed his lower lip for a moment. There had to be action taken. They couldn’t wait in one spot. They were useless to everyone who needed them here. “What’s the best route there?”

Lieutenant Lanese leaned against the low wall and pointed out into the dark at the Southeast. “We cut across the road behind that salon right there. We stay in the dark across that park. That’ll take us up against West Park Avenue. We should cross Park at that healthcare firm there. We can use their parking lot as cover to avoid these crowds. Then it’s a mad dash to the IMAX Center, and that’ll be it.”

“Alright.” James acknowledged the plan. It was simple, and the straightest path they could get there. Not that he had a better idea.

Without further pause, the two men ventured into the darkness. Crossing the last resting place of so many others would be their easiest part.

The immediate road out of the cemetery was North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. They both took a knee there to scan up and down the road. Far up the road to their left was a Baptist church. There was a fire there, and they could just make out a mob of figures that darted back and forth between the darkness and the light. Flittering like flames themselves.

To the immediate right, across the street was their first goal, the women’s salon. The owner had a sense of humor, having the title “Silent Neighbor’s Cuts” being located across the street of the cemetery. It was a repurposed house. A small white picket fence lined the back side they faced. There were a couple of cars that were parked on the side of the street. Not a soul stirred.

Further down the road was the intersection at Park Avenue. There was a wreck there. Several figures lurked around in the dark. Their calmness in the wake of the disaster was more unsettling to James than anything else. No human reaction, not checking either other.  

They have to be crazies. He thought.

The two officers darted out into the night, across the street. They hopped over the short white fence, under the cover of a large willow tree.

James was going to continue after his vault, but Lanese stopped with him with a hand to his chest.

The back side of the house turned shop, was a small deck with a ramp leading up to it. There on the ramp was a woman. Tangled red hair stuck to her chest where blood plastered the strands to her skin. The woman threw her head back, like she was howling at the moon, but no noise came out.

A rancid smell rose to them, making James first think of trash. Looking harder, the grass had the red-brown of crusted blood and the tatters of clothing. Shards of human remains.

The woman walked up the dark gangway of the deck and into the maw of the house. She disappeared into the darkness there. A shiver ran up James’s back.

“C’mon.” Lanese hurried at the opportunity.

James tried not to look at the remains on the grass. Dead bodies were not an unfamiliar sight for James, but the thought that they might have been eaten… his stomach turned.

They went around the side of the house, away from the road. James neared the A/C unit of the house when something slammed against the window of the house above his head. They both stopped.

James felt an electrifying need to move, but Lanese stayed still in a crouch. Something was beating against the walls inside. Lanese raised one finger to his lips. They both moved forward in a crouch, staying away from the window.

They came to the front corner of the salon house. Another large tree with Spanish moss provided them cover as they surveyed the route before them. West Park Avenue, which was really two one-way streets divided by a small grass park. A dead animal was between them and the park. But in the dark, James could not make out what the animal was.

“The park’s really open.” James whispered.

“It’s the most direct route.” Lanese pushed back.

James didn’t like the idea of running out across an open field. There was nothing to help conceal themselves. Only hope the darkness was going to be enough.

With nothing else to say, the two jumped the fence and crossed over into the park. Something distantly howled, a tormented noise behind them. James ran faster, but looking back, nothing pursued them.

Crossing the park diagonally, they could see the building that was a doctor’s office. Then across that front street, North Bronough St, was the post office. There was another accident at the Bronough intersection. A pickup truck was on its side. The passenger’s head was against the dashboard where the cab light framed the dead visage. White teeth slick with drool and blood.

Neither officer stopped. They both ran crossing the road out front of the post office.

A ghastly shriek stopped them. From the covered steps of the post office, a man screamed. His lower jaws were smeared with blood that stained his blue shirt black.

Lanese leveled his shotgun at the charging figure. The shotgun roared. A bright blast crumpled the man with a scattering of pellets.

The darkness around them came alive with hoots and screams. Hunting calls.

“Keep running!” Lanese called as he pumped his shotgun.

James torpedoed himself around the post office’s parking lot. There were several vacant cars that still occupied spots there. He looked back to see Lanese catching up, but a group of pursuers were only a short distance behind him.

They sprinted across the parking lot. James heard the roar of Lanese’s shotgun again. He didn’t stop to look.

James had started cutting across West College Avenue. He had intended to run up along the shopping center between the IMAX theater and the restaurants and immediately saw the trap.

Dozens came pouring out of the storefronts.

James skidded to a stop.

“They’re in front of us!” James called as Lanese fired his last shotgun blast.

“Go up the road!” Lanese pointed up College Avenue. He drew his pistol.

James started to run and saw Lanese veered off.

“What are you doing?” James screamed back. But his mind already answered.

Lanese ran under the parking garage to the left. A large business building the college used for their real estate foundation. Lanese fired at the infected people, effectively cornering himself into the parking garage with them.

James rounded the corner that made Duval Street and College. He looked back, hoping against fate that he was wrong. That Lanese had followed. A crowd was streaming into the garage. The windows of the parking structured were barred, and each shot Lanese fired from inside sent bright flashes out from within. Shadows of the bars flicking with each explosive shot.

James said the fastest prayer, that whatever happened to Lanese would be quick.

Distantly, the shots grew more rapid, more desperate, and then abruptly stopped.

Duval Street was jammed bumper to bumper with cars that had been abandoned by their owners. Hope was towering above him. The top of the capitol building could be seen looming over the town. Lights still on at the top.

He ran.

He just needed to get to Jefferson Street, and he’d be there. It was just the next road up on his left. The home stretch.

James went across the street. He taking the bend around the front of a car and caught his hip on it. In the recoil he thought he caught the bumper, but the edge moved. Bumping into a woman who was crouched between the cars.

The wild face turned to him. She held her hands up with the remains of who she was eating. Something wet flung from her mouth as she screeched at him.

Panic let training take over. He moved laterally away from the woman. James fired his Glock. The sights on the pistol not even a concern. He was too close. He fired three quick shots. The woman spasmed and dropped to her knees, but the rage still burned in her wild eyes.

He fired two more shots and the body slumped over.

“Holy Jesus.” James let out. His adrenaline fully dumped. He ran. Imagining he could hear them pursuing him. He didn’t look to check. Just ran.

His heart fluttered for a moment as he reached West Jefferson Street. Large orange Jersey barriers blocked the road. The thick letters across them read ‘POLICE’ but there was no one nearby.

James ran past the barriers. Up along the desolate street of the once magnificent street.

James came to the odd intersection of where East Jefferson, Pensacola, and West Jefferson met at the front of City Hall.

There had been something here. But James slowed his run to realize he was walking through the ruins of whatever it was.

In front of City Hall, on the brick walkway, along where the benches made of brick was a pop-up-tent. Under it were two folding tables. One knocked over. Several boxes of equipment sat idly by. A wet smear of something on the brick indicated the first events of what happened here.

The parking spots along Pensacola street were still lined with a variety of vehicles. One of which was a white news van with a large dish on the top. The side door was open and along the array of blurred screens and electrical devices hung the legs of a mutilated man. Static filled monitors cast his insides in hues of black and gray.

The corner bar that made up South Adams and East Jefferson sat scarred with the windows and doors broken in. Something in the far distance of the darkness shambled. The awkward movement was too jagged for James to trust.

James started forward towards the Capitol.

Up East Jefferson, James could see another barricade. More barriers and squad cars were used to block the road along with a temporary fence. The street on the other side, South Monroe Street, was packed with vehicles left by their owners. Headlights and hub lights unattended.

The unsettling truth of the situation dawned on James. These really were not riots. Something had burned through their city like a raging wildfire.

Alone on the desolate street, he knew he had to move. With no other options, he continued forward. He looked up to his destination, the large, towering capitol building ahead.

The capitol towered high in the sky over officer James Matthews. The capitol was a complex by itself. Its front, which if he went to his left up to the blocked road, would take him to the historic capitol. Just a museum, flanked with marble obelisks. One to the Seminole Wars and one to the Civil War. Opposite of where James stood was the Senate Office building. He imagined the road on the other side, Madison Street, was likely clogged as he saw Monroe Street to be. There was the Knott Building, and then the center and tallest structure in the city was the Capitol itself. The arrangement created a courtyard in the center of the buildings that was filled with statues and memorials.

James stood between the City Hall building and the House Office Building. He was acutely aware of the shambling figure he saw in the bar behind him earlier. Being left out in the open, exposed, and alone, he had no other choice than to move forward.

He headed up the North Plaza. The plaza would allow him to cross between the House Office and the Historic Capitol into the courtyard. If he was lucky, there would be something or someone around.

With the thought of luck ringing in his head, he couldn’t help but notice how absolutely quiet the surrounding area was tonight. The distant sounds of horns, fires, and gunshots still sounded from areas far off, but his immediate area was like a graveyard. Unnatural, surreal silence sent a shiver up his spine.

James stopped by the replica Liberty Bell. Deciding to try his own radio, despite the abysmal news that the Lieutenant left him with at the graveyard. He tried scanning the network. Only hearing garbled chatter, he turned his radio up, but nothing intelligible was coming through.

“Break, break, any officers this net. I’m cut off by the capitol. Anyone read me? Over.” He waited. The scrambled chatter came back.

“Fuck,” He spat out. He wasn’t transmitting, or something wasn’t right. He took a shot in the dark and hit his emergency button.

The emergency button would go out to all the agencies and dispatch. His mic would also open on all nets for thirty seconds. “Any units, I have an officer potentially down, and cut off at Jefferson and Monroe.” He let the radio go through its cycle.

The radio was silent for a moment, and then the static chattering came back.

He rolled his eyes up to the sky, a desperate plea to whatever entity might be there, and asked for a break.

How can things be so bad that radios aren’t working?

“Officer Matthews—it’s officer Sneddon, Capitol Police. What’s your 10-20?” His radio cracked.

My God, I’m not alone after all.

“Liberty Bell by the Historic Capitol.”

“Come to the courtyard. We’ll receive you there.”

Oh, thank God, finally.

James imagined multiple officers, the Capitol Police were the smallest department. Still, he would accept any win. He imagined that the other officers from the barricade would likely be there. They must have fallen back to the courtyard, set up a command center there or in the capitol building itself.

James jogged up the gap between the Historic Capitol and the House Office Building. Eager to be reunited with his fellow officers.

The courtyard was a long rectangle with burnt orange bricks that made a scenic walkway. But tonight was a grisly scene to take in.

Gore seeped between the bricks There were bodies scattered at various distances. Several piles of bodies had been moved, as if stacked, along the sides of the buildings. The bodies were a mix, and indiscriminate. Some even wore police uniforms.

Directly ahead, from the tall capitol, came a man wearing the forest green uniform of the Capitol Police Department. Behind him came a more heavily armed man wearing fatigues, a multicam pattern, with a dark green vest that read “NATIONAL GUARD.” The officer waved him forward.

Thank you God. Thank you.

James ran forward to the men. It was a short distance, and a pit grew in him during that distance. There was no other movement. Both men seemed to be cautious, guarded. The soldier was alert. Head moving side to side, scanning.

“Office Sneddon?” James asked as he finished the distance.

“Yes, c’mon we need to get back inside.” Officer Sneddon hurried without explanation. The three men headed into the main entrance of the Capitol. Once inside, Officer Sneddon fumbled to lock the plexiglass doors and then pull down the emergency shutters. Then promptly locking them as well.

Finally, the pasty man stood, a thick film of perspiration coating his face. He rammed his hand out to shake James’s hand.

“Jacob Sneddon. Good to see you made it, man.”

“James, like wise.”

“Specialist Nick Nisbet.” The soldier offered.

Handshakes complete, James asked the next question. “Where is everyone?”

There was a tentative glance between the two men.

“We have one more guy up top. Otherwise, we’re it.” Nick answered.

“The last six hours have been a nightmare, and honestly, had we not been inside when most of it went down, we’d likely be out there among the dead.” Jacob added.

James eyed the two and then rested on Nick. “I was told the Guard was cut off by traffic, you guys made it here then?”

“No, the rest of the unit is stuck on the North side of town. Myself and one other guy were sent here the other day when the stand-to order came from State. They wanted a sniper team to supplement security as the Governor decided he was going to ride it out here. Whole lot of good that did.” Nick snorted.

“Follow us topside. I can explain as we go.” James followed Jacob and Nick up the stairwell. “The agencies were caught trying to coordinate everything here when panic spread through the people. They responded like it was a riot, but shit hit the fan, and when people started eating each other—everything fell apart. The Governor and some of his staff evacuated. The first helicopter came and got them out of here. We had barricades and shield walls, but they started collapsing. We basically watched as our flimsy perimeter was consumed by waves of bodies. North Monroe? Forget it. It’s a nightmare along that entire road. Cars went right through officers as they were trying to set up. Every officer that fell just became another one of them. It’s like a contagious delirium.”

They reached a floor, James wasn’t counting, but when he emerged through a door Jacob opened they were halfway up the capitol building. The windows were looking East up Apalachee Parkway. A hellish landscape stretched far up the road. Lights still lingered on some businesses, vehicles up and down the major four-lane parkway were trapped with their lights still going. One way was all red taillights, another all white. Still, there was the creepy movement of fleeting figures between the lights. Fires burned like chaotic stars, and charred husks left dark plumes rising in their wakes.

“I was in one of the barricades closer to the college when the shield walls fell. I couldn’t get anything on the radio, neither could my lieutenant,” James noted.

“Makes sense. Come here, I’ll show you.” Jacob directed.

The two men led James to a Southern window. Another soldier was posted there, prone, behind a large scoped rifle, peering out into the nightmare. James noted the amount of shell casings that flickered on the floor from all the dazzling lights from the outside world.

The window came into sight to the Senate Office Building. A large charred hole still smoked off the South-East corner.

“The command staff that set up outside were waiting on another helicopter to get staff and civilians out of here. That’s when our barriers gave out. Just too many bodies. I don’t know what exactly happened, but that helicopter went sporadic in the sky and went down right there. Our radios rely on relays around town to get their reach. Turns out, the top of the Senate Building was one of our relays. When that bird went down, it took it out, cutting this area of town off from being able to talk. You were close, so we heard you transmit.” Jacob noted.

“I see you found him.” The soldier in the prone spoke, but didn’t move from the rifle he laid behind.

“This is Sergeant Williams.” Nick introduced the men.

“Pleasure.” The Sergeant again spoke without moving.

“How about the Guard?”

“We brought our radios as an emergency. We have coms like you, and then military radios—similar issue. We don’t have a power-amp that would push us to being able to talk to our guys on the other-side of town. We can hear them, but can’t talk to them.” Nick explained.

“What are they saying?”

“Nothing good.” Nick injected.

“I’m not sure if you have a cellphone, but they are out of commission too, unless you have one designated as a responder phone. Some genius at the FEMA control station thought they were doing the right thing, activated the Emergency Alert System for all phone towers. So, unless it’s a responder phone, you’re carrying a brick.” Jacob explained.

“What about landlines?” James asked.

“You get a busy signal.” Nick answered.

Sergeant Williams spoke up. “Yeah, I always said Tallahassee should put its power and phone lines underground. Too big of an expense, they said. Look at us now.”

James zoned out into the distance as he considered their situation. His eyes tried to find some place to rest that was not chaotic, but the entire landscape denied him that reprieve. He rested his eyes at the intersection of Madison and South Monroe. An ambulance was crushed up against two other cars and a streetlight. The lights of the ambulance were still going, but nothing else moved in the flashing lights.

“So, is this nationwide?” James finally asked.

“Nationwide?” Sergeant Williams chuckled. “It’s planet wide man.”

“We’d been able to listen to some news before the television went out. The press secretary gave some vague answers. Every major city was in upheaval. What looked to be people upset with a racial dispute or possible pandemic lockdowns was tossed to the wind when we saw images of London that looked like they were bombed.” Nick explained more.

“So, what? We’re at war?” James grasped at straws.

“I think this is far beyond that.” Nick denied, shaking his head.

James let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t get how this spread so quickly. One moment we were going for a riot response, next thing these, these—zombies are pouring out of the buildings!”

“Oh, they aren’t zombies.” Sergeant Williams chimed in again, still calm and cool behind his rifle as he monitored the area outside via his scope. “They drop just like people. Cracked out people, but they go down the same. I think to be a zombie you have to be dead.”

“I don’t think that’s a necessity.” Nick sniped.

“Are you a zombie expert?” The Sergeant chided.

“Look, that’s not the concern right now.” James cut off the childish game. “How did it spread so quickly?”

The Sergeant broke his cheek weld and looked back at James. There was a momentary pause, and then he went back to the rifle. “I think it’s that we’ve been lied to in what’s going on. This was brewing for a while.”

James tried to swallow, but found his mouth dry.

“We’ve already tried to break this down. The best we could figure is everyone they thought was sick over the last few weeks became these, um, things.” Nick explained. “The riots probably were a mix of issues, but most of it was probably these infected people turning.”

“This is all guesswork?” James wanted clarification.

“No, there’s more. Might as well tell him.” Jacob pushed the subject.

James saw a tenseness wash across Nick. There was a tentative look he gave down to the Sergeant.

“Tell him.” The Sergeant said without moving from his rifle.

“We sort of knew something more was up when they asked for us here a few days back. We’ve responded to riots before, protests and such. The public doesn’t know it, but either the Guard or local law enforcement usually has over watch snipers on critical government buildings. The rules for engagement are extremely strict, so we rarely ever fire a shot. In fact, we never fired a shot in the US until today.

“When the state order came down, there was a tasking that included the expected ammunition count. We brought several cases of ammunition. To give you an idea of how unusual this is, for similar operations in the past, we each usually have ten rounds of ammunition on us.

“Then, when we started to see activity in the streets and all the agencies were still around, there was this conglomeration of guys. Some of them FEMA, local and national, a few WHO guys. They all seemed on edge, scared. We were told by them that anyone who broke through the barrier was considered extremely hostile and was to be fired upon.” Nick cleared his throat. Something choked him deeper inside than his cool young face allowed to show.

“The Specialist is right. It’s a big thing for the Guard to pull the trigger. A whole lot of red tape and fear. The State doesn’t want to deal with it, Commander doesn’t want to deal with it. The Feds don’t want to deal with it. But today… today might as well have been a range day.” Sergeant Williams completed the explanation.

James looked at all the brass along the floor, and the stark image of the bodies outside were still burned into his memory.

“Best we guess, this has all been going on since the talk of a new pandemic. The government either knew, or didn’t want to admit it. Oce way or another, here we are.” Jacob shrugged.

James looked out at his burning city. The people they were all supposed to be protecting. The lives that were supposed to be so dear. Yet now, it was more like being a fish trapped in a filthy aquarium with a neglectful master who had left them to wallow in their own filth.

“What now then? What do we do?” James asked them all.

Jacob stepped in. “It doesn’t make sense to leave right now. The roads are thick with those people out there.”

“I noticed the power was on at the top of the building, most of the area seems to be out. What’s going on with that?” James pried.

“There was an explosion West of here that seemed to be linked to that. Just guessing, it was probably one of the substations. Power still seems to be on for most of the town. We have power, but that’s the generators in the basement providing that power.” The Sergeant answered.

The word substation brought an idea to James. “Sergeant, there’s a police substation further south on Monroe, at the intersection of Magnolia Drive. Can you see it?”

“Give me a moment.” The soldier adjusted himself and peered out into the bleak landscape. “I see it. It’s a healthcare center of some kind.”

“Is there any activity?”

“I can’t see that much. Too much in the way.”

“What are you thinking?” Jacob asked.

“The substation should have a base radio.” James explained. “We could at least get in communication with others.”

“If it’s just communication, we have one of the HMMWVs in the lower garage. There’s a power amp on it, and we can talk back to our unit.” Nick explained. “But think about it. What’s it going to change? They’ll still be far away with an entire city of those things between us. It’s not like the power amp can be brought up here. It’s part of the vehicle, and our HMMWV is not an armored one. It’s a soft top with no doors.”

“If they are making a move, we need to know about it. We have to be able to link up with other’s first chance we get,” James asserted.

Sergeant Williams rolled onto his side and pondered them. He looked as if he were chewing something, but James guessed his mouth was likely empty. “You’re not wrong. I don’t think getting out to that little substation of yours would be worth it, though. That’s a lot of dangerous terrain to cross for a little reward. The HMMWV is an asset, but it’s not moving with all those abandoned vehicles out front. If we are going to move, we might as well try for the actual police station. It’s the same distance as your substation, but it’s more likely to have people there.”

“Are we really talking about doing two miles on foot?” Jacob eked out.

“It’s a mile and a half.” James corrected.

“That’s a mile and a half of those things across a city that’s basically burning!”

“We’re all ears if you have an idea.” Nick suggested.

“Ok.” Jacob straightened up. “We wait until morning. We’ll be able to see easily, and maybe your Guard buddies will be able to get through.”

Sergeant Williams shook his head at the idea. “I’ll tell you why that’s not going to happen. First, our unit is five miles North-East of here. You see how thick Monroe and Apalachee are?” The Sergeant pointed to the streets packed with cars and the swift hunting figures below. “That’s not a one-day operation. Second, there’s no one worth anything here. The Governor is gone, all the staff are gone. No one has an incentive to come here. We have limited supplies. Who knows when they’ll get here? Lastly, daylight works both ways. We might be able to see, but everyone else will be able to as well. Nick and I have night vision. So, we have a slight advantage in moving now.”

Jacob pinched his lips tight. The rejection of the idea was still there, but he could not find an argument against the facts.

“What if the station is overrun?” Nick asked. “It’s possible that they are in a worse situation than we are.”

“We can flex our plans, then. Either beat-feet back here, or try somewhere else.” The Sergeant rolled and looked at James. “As we get closer, your radio should be able to communicate with your buddies. It’s not like we are walking in blind.”

“Ok, so that’s it. We got a plan then?” James asked for confirmation.

“I’d say so,” Nick confirmed.

The Sergeant nodded.

Jacob twisted his face. He didn’t like the idea of giving up the safety they had, but he relented with a sigh. “I don’t see any point in staying here alone.”

Sergeant Williams and Specialist Nisbet donned their helmets and night vision as they stood at the main entrance to the Capitol. Jacob and James were waiting behind them, strung tight with tension.

“When we move, we move together and we stay tight.” Sergeant Williams explained once more. “Everyone takes commands from me. No talking once we get out these doors.”

With nothing else to say, the men all nodded in understanding.

Jacob raised the shutters and unlocked the doors. The men threw themselves out into their fates.