Wormwood Dawn (Episode X)

by Crae, Edward

  “Either way,” Jake said. “She’s a freak, and there’s no reason to trust her.”

  “She saved my life,” Toby protested. “And she went to kill some of the monsters.”

  Toby was right. Where the creature was now, she—it—had helped them fight off the infected. Why? He wasn’t sure. The only thing that was clear was that Robert wasn’t the only one. But as he remembered, Robert had the power to bring back the dead with some kind of injected pathogen. He was, for all intents and purposes, a necromancer of sorts.

  “One thing we have to remember,” Linda said. “This is her house. If she wanted us dead, she would have killed us all by—“

  Bill suddenly clutched his chest, causing Linda to stop mid-sentence. She rushed to his side, grabbing his shoulders as everyone else gathered around.

  “Dad, are you alright.”

  Bill moaned, becoming pale and limp. His breathing was ragged, and he could barely get out a mumble. Drool ran from his mouth and sprayed out with each breath.

  “Dad!” Linda repeated.

  “Lay him down,” Travis said.

  Linda and Travis gently laid him down, and Linda put her hand on his head. Travis checked Bill’s pulse, and his expression sent chills up Dan’s spine. He ignored the pounding out front and squatted down with the rest of the group.

  “His heartbeat is erratic,” Travis said. “I think he’s having a heart attack.”

  “Oh my God,” Linda said, searching through Bill’s pockets. “He has pills somewhere.”

  “Shit,” Travis said suddenly. He reared up and placed his hands over Bill’s heart, rising up to deliver a few rough thrusts. “His heart stopped, man.”

  Linda’s hands immediately went to her face. She sat back, covering her eyes.

  “It’s okay,” Toby said, wrapping his arms around her. “Travis is the best doctor in the world.”

  Dan watched helplessly as Travis delivered thrust after thrust. Bill’s body responded with nothing but limp jerking motions with each press to his chest.

  “Damn it,” Travis cursed.

  “I have a taser,” Toni said, reaching into her pocket and squatting down next to Travis. “Will that work?”

  Travis looked over at the device as he continued compressions. After a moment, he reached out took it, placing it against Bill’s chest. “Let’s try it,” he said.

  There was a clicking noise as Travis pressed the button, and Bill jerked violently one time. Travis felt his pulse, his eyes lighting up.

  “Slow and erratic,” he whispered.

  He gave Bill another shock, and his body jerked again. Travis felt his pulse.

  “Damn it,” he said.

  He continued compressions, stopping occasionally to check Bill’s pulse. Linda let her head hang low, likely realizing that it was pointless. But Travis didn’t seem to want to give up.

  “Come on, Bill,” he said. “Not now. Not now.”

  “Travis,” Linda said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Let him go.”

  Travis relaxed, shaking his head. He looked up at everyone else, and they all echoed his grief. Dan couldn’t think of anything to say. He pursed his lips, looking down at Bill’s face. The man seemed at peace now. It was over for him. He wouldn’t have to deal with it all anymore.

  “I’m sorry,” Travis said.

  There was aloud pounding on the boards behind them that was heavier than before. Another creature—probably a large shambler—had joined in the effort to break inside. Dan ran upstairs looking for Cliff. He was near the larger window in the master bedroom, looking down and readying his rifle.

  “What’s down there?” Dan asked him.

  Cliff shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “It was bigger than the rest of them. But I think it was just a shambler.”

  “Did it have skin?”

  “Oh yeah,” Cliff said. “It wasn’t one of those skinless things. What’s going on down there?”

  “Bill just died,” Dan said, joining Cliff in the window.

  Cliff just looked at him as if he was supposed to say something else. Dan glanced at him, seeing the look of disappointment on his face. It was disappointment with Dan’s attitude, it seemed.

  “I know, I know,” Dan said. “It’s just too shocking to comprehend right now.”

  “Linda’s gonna need some sympathy,” Cliff said. “She just lost her father. She might be tough like Toby, but you never know. Besides, Bill was a good dude. I’m gonna miss him.”

  “Me too,” Dan replied. “I just can’t understand what happened. Travis said he was having a heart attack, but he didn’t seem like he was feeling bad before.”

  Cliff stood up straight, cocking his head. “Did you check him for bites or scratches?”

  Oh shit, Dan thought. “No.”

  “Either way,” Cliff reminded him. “We gotta make sure he doesn’t come back. Don’t forget about Mason and Melanie.”

  Dan descended the stairs into the front room. Linda was cradling her father in her arms, weeping softly. Everyone else was stationed at all the windows, making sure the boards stayed in place and stabbing and slicing at any appendages the infected stuck through the gaps.

  Dan felt bad for Linda. Though he didn’t know either of them well, he knew that Bill and Linda were close. Linda was definitely a daddy’s girl, likely acting as surrogate for a son that Bill never had. He thought about this as he approached and squatted near her.

  “I’m sorry, Linda,” he said. “Bill was a good man. We’ll all miss him.”

  Linda nodded slowly, her face still a mask of grief. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I knew this would happen, just not so quickly.”

  “Did he have heart problems?”

  “Yes. He was taking medicine for it before all this happened. He ran out soon after and none of the local pharmacies had much left.”

  “I wish I had known,” Dan said, feeling guilty. “I would have made sure he had what he needed.”

  “It would have just prolonged the inevitable,” she said. “And he would never have wanted to be anyone’s burden. Even mine.”

  Dan looked fondly at Bill’s face. Gone were the worry lines, solemn expression, and furrowed brow. Now, Bill was at peace. The struggle was over for him, and now he could “fly away”.

  “Rest in peace, Bill,” Dan said.

  Linda smiled at him, then leaned her head against Bill’s. Dan stood and looked to make sure everyone was in their places. Jake and Eric were still boarding up windows in the kitchen, and Drew was finishing up the back living room windows. Max stood vigilantly by the front door, his MP5 in hand. Dan joined him, peering through the gaps in the wood.

  “I’m thinking we try to stay as quiet as possible,” Max said. “They might forget we’re here and move on.”

  “The dead, maybe,” Dan said. “And maybe the shufflers. But any shamblers out there will still smell us.”

  Max gulped. “What do you think about what Toby said?” he asked. “The creature he saw. The one that saved his life.”

  Dan shook his head. “I don’t know, man. It sounds like another creature like Robert. He said there were others like him; those that are more compatible with the pathogen, he said.”

  Grace joined them, her rifle ready for action. “We never studied anything like the creature you described,” she said. “It’s something none of us ever heard of. The thought of it is fascinating, I think.”

  Dan shrugged. “If you think a mutant psycho is fascinating, then I suppose so.”

  “To think, it actually spoke, and was sentient,” Grace said. “I just find the whole thing incredible. I would love to study one.”

  “I doubt she’ll let you,” Dan said. “If she’s real.”

  “Do you think Toby was mistaken?” Max asked.

  Dan shook his head. “I don’t know. Probably not. There’s no mistaking something like that. And from what he says, he saw the one in Maynard’s basement and nice and close up before we got there.”


  Max was knocked away from the boards as something heavy slammed against the door. He caught his balance, turning to point his rifle at the now cracked heavy wood.

  “Jesus Christ,” he said. “What the fuck was that?”

  Dan raised his Blackout, holding it beside his head as he peeked through the gaps. There was the ugly, rotting face of a large corpse on the other side, mindless but seemingly determined to get inside.

  “Fuck,” Dan said. “That’s a big one. I’ve never seen one that big.”

  “Dead?” Grace asked. “Or fungal?”

  “Dead, it looks like,” Dan replied. “Rotting and smelly.”

  “Is it close enough to reach with a knife?” Max asked.

  Dan shook his head. “No,” he said. “It won’t get close enough to the hole. But it knows we’re in here. They can smell us. The shufflers can’t.”

  He raised his rifle, putting the muzzle against the gap. Though he couldn’t see out using the scope, he adjusted the angle of the barrel to align with the gap. His suppressor was too large to fit through, so he adjusted its position to make sure he wouldn’t hit the wood. When he was satisfied, he reached for the trigger.

  “Careful,” Max said. “Are you sure it’s quiet enough?”

  “Should be,” Dan replied without looking. “But get ready just in case.”

  Dan pulled the trigger. The loud “poof” sounded, and Dan pulled the rifle away to look out again. The corpse was staggering backward, its forehead split open and gushing thick, gloppy fluids. It stumbled over the railing, and disappeared into the darkness. The other creatures were oblivious.

  “He’s down,” Dan said.

  He turned, seeing Linda still cradling Bill. Everyone was still and silent, waiting for the horde to pass. It was still in full force, but it sounded like some of the creatures were losing interest. Drew looked back at him, and Dan shot him a questioning glance. Drew responded with a thumbs up.

  “I’ll check upstairs again,” Dan said. “Just keep still. Grace, use your rifle if you have to. Your suppressor should stop most of the noise.”

  Toby crept up with his own rifle. “Want me to stand at a window?” he asked.

  “Yeah, but follow me up to where Cliff is.”

  “Yes sir,” Toby said.

  Chapter Six

  A rustling noise awoke Nathan. He hadn’t been aware of falling asleep, but the fact that he was shivering told him so. He opened his eyes and remained unmoving, looking around him frantically. It was then that he noticed in the moonlight that the dead man was stirring.

  Shit, he thought, slowing reaching for his knife.

  The corpse turned his head to the side, groaning as it came to life. Its fingers twitched; clenched and relaxed as its groaning became more apparent. Why the hell was the thing coming back to life? He had never seen a dead body reanimate, but people he had met told him they had seen it happen.

  Gripping his knife, Nathan sat up and crawled over to the body. The corpse saw him in the dim light and opened its mouth to hiss. Its hand reached up, ready to claw at Nathan. But he held down the arm, reached up, and stabbed the thing’s head. It fell limp almost instantly, silent again. Nathan remained in that position for a moment, making sure it was dead, and then withdrew his blade. He heard the gloppy squirt of rotting fluid come out with it.

  “Jesus Christ,” he whispered, noticing the rotting scent that followed. It was even worse than the smell that was already here.

  He no longer had any desire to sleep. He was tired as hell, about to collapse, but he realized he wasn’t safe here anymore. Whatever was happening ahead was still going on, and the distant moans and groans told him that some creatures were coming his way.

  He gathered up his things and wrapped his coat around him tighter. He zipped it up, slinging his pack over his back and grabbing his machete. Though it wasn’t much of a weapon, it was better than nothing. This was no time to go shooting anything and attracting attention.

  He went toward the sounds, not really knowing why. It would be safer to go in the other direction, he knew, but if someone up there was in trouble, he had to help them if he could. He was never the kind of person that would abandon anyone. Besides, it could be Dan and his bunch, and Nathan had to warn him. He had to warn them of this big guy that was looking for him, and killing everyone he questioned.

  Nathan wanted to know why.

  He crept forward, keeping to the moonlit path. He went slowly so as not to disturb the underbrush. It would be pointless to sneak if he made too much noise. Though he doubted anyone or anything could hear him with all the ruckus going on ahead, he wasn’t taking any chances. He gripped his machete tightly, ducking under every branch, and stepping over every log. Then, he suddenly realized something he hadn’t thought of before.

  If there was a horde ahead, and he was approaching it, he might be able to disguise himself. There were a few corpses back there; the camper and the shufflers he had killed. If he could make himself smell like the creatures…

  It was worth a shot.

  Dan looked out over the horde, seeing that some of them were wandering off. The shufflers were staggering around, wandering aimlessly along with the corpses. There were shamblers among them, standing in one place and sniffing the air. But what was surprising was the stalker that slowly crept among them, its eyes narrowed into red slits, and its snake-like tongue darting about, testing the air.

  Dan raised his rifle and looked through the scope, centering the crosshairs on the thing’s head. “I got him,” he said.

  He blasted it, bursting its head. The creature fell over, and the shamblers and corpses were on it immediately, tearing it apart and sharing the goodies. Dan had never seen the creature eat a stalker—only the other way around.

  “They must be starving,” Cliff said. “They usually don’t eat the monsters.”

  “This is getting more fucked up by the second,” Dan said.

  “There’s another one,” Toby said, pointing toward the shed. “I think it’s the one I saw earlier.”

  Dan went over to the window where Toby was. On the ground, he could see the stalker sniffing around the shed, possibly smelling their presence there from earlier. It put its front claws on the wall of the small building, standing up against it, its tentacles sensing the area around it. Then, unexpectedly, it looked up in their direction.

  Cliff nailed it before it could even growl.

  “Good shot, Cliff,” Toby said in amazement.

  “That sucker was gonna leap up here,” Cliff said. “I know it.”

  “I wonder where the lady is,” Toby said. “She doesn’t like the monsters either.”

  Dan shot Cliff a look. Cliff shrugged. Toby turned around to look at both of them.

  “She helped me,” he said. “I think she’s a good guy, or lady, or monster… whatever.”

  “Wherever she is,” Dan said. “She did kill some of them. I wonder where she is, too.”

  “I’ll keep watch with Cliff,” Toby said. “You can check downstairs again.”

  Cliff chuckled. Dan smiled and patted Toby on the head. “Alright, kid.”

  He slowly went back downstairs, avoiding the creaky steps. Everyone was still vigilant in their various places. Toni had moved to the far right window in the front room with Eric. Travis went through the medkit, making sure everything was ready in case someone was injured. Finally, Drew and Jake kept watch on the back yard where the property sloped down into a dark gully.

  Outside, the growls, hisses and banging continued. The creatures had stepped up their game somewhat, probably realizing that there were still people inside. The shooting, however silenced, kept their attention. They would have to be more careful next time lest the horde’s hunger was encouraged by their noises.

  Drew motioned for him with a finger gesture. “Check this out,” he said.

  Jake was still glaring out unmoving. Something outside had gotten their attention. Dan looked out, squinting into the darkness. He could see nothing
but subtle movements, stumbling shufflers, and the occasional rotting corpse. But there at the far left there was one creature that seemed out of place. It was a man-sized thing with a large hump on its back, seemingly shuffling toward them in the shadows. A strange covering was draped all over its body, with dark and hollow eyes that appeared black against its surface.

  “What the hell?” Dan said.

  Whatever the creature was wearing was covered in gore, old and new. It shimmered in the moonlight as it trudged along. Its gait was strange, as if purposeful but showing tiny signs of randomness. It was as if…

  “Is that a dude?” Dan said out loud.

  “I think so,” Jake said. “He’s disguised. The others don’t notice him. He’s been wandering around for a few minutes trying to find a way to get closer.”

  The man was on the other side of the rows of creatures that were scraping against the siding. He was gradually making his way inward, trying to avoid the claws and teeth of the horde as he stumbled along. He would occasionally stop, waiting for any creatures to go by that came too close. They seemed to sense that he was out of place, but then would wander away once they got close enough to smell him.

  “That guy’s fuckin’ nuts,” Drew said. “Can we get him inside somehow?”

  Dan though for a moment. There were no openings in the house that weren’t plastered with infected. Every door, window, or hole in the wall was boarded up, and blocked by large numbers of infected. The only windows that weren’t blocked were on the upper level. And that seemed to be where the stranger was heading. There was a rickety fire ladder near the outside of the kitchen window. Dan had forgotten about it, and obviously the creatures hadn’t noticed it.

  “He’s going for the ladder there,” Dan said. “If he can time it right, he can probably make it.”

  “Reminds me of Muslims in Mecca,” Jake said. “Thousands of them going around the Kaaba stone, trying to get closer and closer so they can touch it.”

  “He’s not going around the house, though,” Dan said. “Maybe he should.”

  There was a slight creaking from the stairway, and the three of them turned to see Toby creeping down, his eyes lit up with excitement. He tiptoed over to them, seemingly thrilled and confused at the same time.