by Maxey, Phil
6: 00 p.m. Main Street. Southern barricade.
Landon looked at the shaking shotgun barrel of the woman to his right, then across to the left and the same for the rifle of an older man.
They’re all going to die…
Since being posted at the wall of steel, two vehicles deep, he had continuously scanned those on the roofs to his right, and the others on the wagons behind him. Not a second had passed that he hadn’t looked for a way to run to find Jess and the kids, but he was at the tip of the spear and all eyes were focused in his direction.
“There!” shouted the man then fired off his weapon, the bright flash revealing nothing beyond the silver pickup he was leaned against.
“Conserve your ammo, dammit!” shouted Beau, perched on the front of a wagon, a few feet behind.
He wasn’t wrong and Landon almost said the same, but he really didn’t care. He just needed a moment’s distraction to make his getaway. Arlo’s escape route was still doable, if the opportunity came. But first he had to find everyone.
A screech rang out from the darkness, making those around him raise their weapons again. He did so more slowly, trying to see into the rich black. This time he did see something moving amongst the shadows. “About twenty-feet out, near… the fence of that home on the left.”
“Agh, I can’t see it. My eyes ain’t that—”
A cool rush of air smothered Landon about the same time as the spray of warm blood did. He spun around as gunshots filled the air, literally. Seven people were firing into the sky at the thing which had just demolished the skull of the old man, just a few feet to Landon’s left. Looking up he caught a glimpse of wings, or something, like a moth returning to the gloom, its work done.
“It’s gone! Everyone stop your shooting!” cried out Beau.
“Oh… Gareth…” said the woman to Landon’s right as the body was pulled away, someone else taking the deceased’s place at the wall. A tear glistened on her cheek from the lantern behind, but her grief only lasted as long as it took for another screech to reverberate off the nearby buildings once again, making her jump and swing her weapon back towards the south and the unknown.
Landon’s heart beat in his chest. It was pure luck the thing didn’t kill him as well. He was running out of time.
Next attack…
He scoured the darkness once more, picking up more forms moving within it, but this time remained quiet, keeping what he saw to himself.
Come on… this way… here we are…
Gunfire, single shot and automatic opened up at the same time, and roars bellowed out as the things scattered into the darkness.
Damnit…
“Yeah, run!” shouted Beau, now standing on the bench on the front of the wagon. “We’re gonna kill all ya!”
As the young man continued firing at the space that the creatures had left a strange thought occurred to Landon, and before it had fully formed in his mind he had already dropped the gun, vaulted over the two hoods in front of him and rushed into the darkness.
Bullets pinged off the concrete near his boots, before a cry went out from the crazed young man to conserve their ammo, and something about not wasting it on someone who’s dead anyway. Landon staggered forward, up the curb, onto softer ground without knowing truly where he was or where he was heading.
Movement.
The boards of a garage creaked to his right, no doubt a creature, so he changed direction, the glow from the light at the barricade now becoming eclipsed by trees and—
Movement.
He skidded right so abruptly that he almost lost his footing and smashed through a small fence, still not having the slightest idea of where he was running such was the absolute wall of black he was plunging into.
He hit a wall so hard it made his skull ring, and a trickle of wet began to run down his forehead, but it didn’t matter for the next surface he felt was wooden.
Door…
As a groan of something inhuman came from just a few yards behind him, he frantically grabbed the handle, turning it and fell through the opening, slamming the door closed behind.
*****
Sam and Josh were huddled close to Jess, Tye, a bit further away. Meg was seated opposite and a thin slither of light from the hallway outside was the only illumination they had to see each other. Through the small gap beneath the door also came gunfire and sound of something worse, screams which were not just from the creatures.
The monsters on the outside of the barricades had saved her from one within, but strangely he had placed her with her own children, and Meg and Tye. Maybe it was some kind of peace offering, let her have some time with them, before making his demands. Her comment about knowing who to sell the vaccine to had worked. He needed her not only alive but willing to cooperate, so the former farm manager would get his payout. That’s if he lived through the night, with the other immunes.
Something boomed close to the building they were in and Josh shivered. She squeezed him closer to her. Sam though, despite her proximity was oddly quiet. She wondered what her daughter was thinking, but then Sam stood and answered the silent question.
“If we stay here we die,” she said, then turned and hit against the metal door which rattled.
“Hey, stop,” said Meg. “We don’t want them coming back!”
Sam leaned against the smooth surface and strained. “They… are… too… busy… Agh!” The barrier to freedom creaked but remained firm.
Jess looked up at her frustrated daughter, then also stood, placing her hand on the cool metal as well. “On three… one… two… three!” This time the creaking continued and increased in pitch until there was a snap on the other side and the door flew open. A chain fell to the floor with a clang.
“You did… it,” said Tye. Meg helped him to his feet as she stood, following the others into the corridor.
The sounds of battle were now more clearly defined, giving them an idea of where it was taking place, but Jess walked the other way, past the candle on the floor to one of two external doors and looked…
She immediately pulled back from the small grime covered glass panel. Things were moving out there in the dark. But her glimpse of the outside gave her enough of an insight to judge where they were, which was on the northeast of the town. They were in one of the buildings which sat between the world of the monsters, and the people trying to survive inside.
“We can’t go out this way… the things are too close. But I think I know where we are. We passed this building in the wagon on the way into town.”
“I see them… not the things, Isiah’s people,” said Meg, looking through a similar small window at the opposite end of the corridor. She watched as about thirty-feet away to the south one of the M2s fired continuously over the heads of those also firing below, all in the same direction to the east. “Reckon we can make a run for it, out this door, then do a left and get out of here.”
“But we have to find dad,” said Josh.
Meg ignored the question, looking down the hallway to his mother. “I say we run for one of the houses. Find somewhere safe for the kids, then go back in to find Landon.”
“I’ll go back in. You stay with Sam and—”
Josh pulled on her jacket. “No, you can’t—”
Something heavy slammed up against the door near her, making it rattle and her and Josh jump back. The vibrations continued across the wooden surface, then wall and heavy thuds of feet or something else started to merge with the background noise of gunfire as it moved away. They all let out a breath.
She looked down at her son. “Josh. Meg will stay with you. But I have to find your father. I have to.” He glumly nodded. She looked back to Meg. “How’s it looking out there?”
Meg observed Isiah’s people, firing, ducking, crouching, but not looking north to the woman looking at them. “We have to go now.” She swung her view to the left. “There’s a house about twenty-feet to our left, across the old road.” She strained to see any movement within
the dark. “I don’t think there are any things over there.”
Jess ran to her side, pulling Josh with her. She looked to him, then Sam and Tye. “Stay close to me. If we get pulled apart, you run inside that house. You got that?” They nodded then she looked back to Meg. “Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
6:14 p.m. One hundred yards from the southern barricade.
Landon crept across the floorboards, which creaked despite his best efforts to avoid the loose ones. He was fairly sure he was in a small house from the hard edges of the kitchen top he could feel, and spread his hands across the smooth surfaces, lightly knocking pans and mugs.
Come on, where are...
Something was sliding across the sodden ground just outside the kitchen window. Something heavy, which wheezed and stank, its odor strong enough to penetrate the thin walls and glass of the kitchen he was in.
He froze. His hands resting on the nearby counter top.
Keep going… keep…
A sound, one which he recognized and was confused by in equal measure drifted to him from outside. Within the throat or throats of the thing just feet away came whispers. Multiple overlapping voices of torment.
Words… it’s… talking… can’t… be…
Suddenly the sliding became scampering and he braced for it to burst through the walls, but luckily its sound quickly receded. For a moment he stood in shock at what he thought he heard, then shook his head.
Light… find light.
He continued searching the counter tops around him, then pulled drawers, his fingers sliding across blades and plastic bottles, and then… He pulled the box of matches open, crouched low and lit one of the small wooden sticks.
Blood stained his fingers, and he felt his face, brow then pulled back when touching just below his hairline and the stinging sensation that came from it. He looked up and pulled some paper towel from its holder, dabbing it on his face. Feeling the hard surface against his back he turned to the fridge and pulled it open.
That’s what I need…
He took a bottle of water from the shelf, pulled the top off and took some gulps then poured a little on the towel and did his best to clean the wound which was still seeping. The match fizzed then burned out.
Jess… kids…
His hand fell into his lap, feeling the weight of what he needed to do.
I got this. I can do—
Something collapsed or was crushed beneath a weight outside, perhaps in the front yard.
They don’t know I’m in here.
He waited for the sound of heavy footsteps to move along the side of the house, and then fade before lighting another match. From his position on the floor he quickly looked around the small space, then slowly got to his feet, keeping the flame low so not to be seen from outside. Glimpses of flashes and glows could be seen in the direction of the gunfire, and within the light, dark forms shifted and moved. He turned away and immediately spotted what he needed, hanging on the back of a door just inside the narrow hallway. A backpack. Placing the water inside, the new match went out, making him light another and he moved across the rug covered boards, peering into a living room, and quickly searched through the drawers. Finding then switching on a small flashlight, he blew out the match, placing the box in his pack then looked into the home’s only bedroom, which he was thankful to see was clear of any bodies. He moved to the window, pulling the drape back a touch and looked out into the darkness, then on not seeing any movement, walked back to the kitchen, then the door and listened for the slightest of noise. Only the battle a few hundred yards away could be heard.
With expectation that something was going to lunge at him, he slowly pulled the door open ajar. A mixture of putrid smells and smoke wafted through the gap but nothing moved. Reluctantly taking a deep breath, he pulled it open further and walked outside.
*****
Screams, roars and cracks rained down around Jess as she ran with her children towards what she hoped was salvation. The dark form of a two-story building bobbed and swayed within her limited vision as she ran, pulling Josh with her. Suddenly a roar erupted to her right, making her flick her head towards the possible danger, and she crashed into a small wooden fence, not seeing it in time, but it hardly proved to be any impediment as she plowed though it, taking her son with her.
“Mom… mom…” stuttered Josh, pointing with his free hand, but Jess’s focus was on what she hoped was the front deck of the house, and the steps to the front door.
Spinning around she brushed Josh past her, while spotting the mass of something darker than the night, about a twenty-feet away. Sam and Tye ran through the hole she had made in the fence following Josh up to the door, but Meg was lagging behind, still running across the concrete of the nearby junction.
Not going to make it.
She glanced at the children. “Get inside!” Sam immediately turned the handle then pulled her brother and Tye with her into the interior, while Jess walked forward waving her arms above her head towards what was taking shape at the left edge of the property. Even with her enhanced vision, she couldn’t see it clearly, just the outline which was lit by the dim light from Main Street, but it stood on four legs, its body a few feet off the ground and a head that hung low, as if it had fallen from its shoulders. She walked towards it, across the soft earth. “Hey! Here! Look at me!”
Meg’s panting was almost louder than the creature’s screeches, but she ran past Jess following the kids. The creature bounded forward, smashing another hole in the fence as Jess spun around and raced up the wooden steps and into the house. Just as she slammed the door behind her, placing her back up against it the air was filled by an explosion of wood and masonry, only inches away. The creature had careened into the front porch. Those inside the black of the hallway, crouched and huddled together as the thing outside flailed and roared, not knowing where its prey had gone.
Jess pulled her children towards her, and each sat on the cold floor waiting for the thing to smash through the entrance, but gradually the sound of creaks and wood being splintered resided, and finally hoofs pounded the ground and the threat was gone.
Jess got up. “Stay here,” she whispered then fumbled against walls, another doorframe, pushing open a door and moved into what she presumed was a living room as glass squares reflected flashes of light from outside. She moved to the window and looked out to the road and the houses on the other side. All seemed relatively peaceful.
“Any…” Meg took a deep breath. “Of them nearby?”
“I can’t see any.” Jess whirled around and quickly moved back to the hallway as Meg took her place at the window. Without seeing their expressions clearly, she placed her hands on the children’s shoulders. “Are you hurt? Are you—”
“We’re okay,” said Sam.
“Good, good. That was close.” She turned around to face what she could vaguely see was the bottom of some stairs and a corridor.
“Are there monsters in this house?” said Josh.
“No. They would have attacked already, or you would smell…” She sniffed the air which was pungent, but not the odor she had come accustomed to from the things. “It’s… clear. Everyone carefully search for any kind of—”
A cone of light appeared from the living room doorway. “Was on a coffee ta—”
Sam’s scream and Josh’s yelp interrupted Meg. All stood transfixed by the body of an old man, gently rocking from the rope which held him aloft from a beam across the hallway. Jess looked at Meg. “I need the light.” Meg handed it to her. “Check to make sure none of the things heard us.” As Meg did so, she moved past the body and into the kitchen, pulling a sturdy knife from a rack, then returned to the hallway. As her children watched, she walked up some of the stairs, leaned across and slashed across the rope. The man fell to the ground with a clump, making Josh wince. She then moved to the door under the stairs, while glancing back to the living room. “Anything?”
“Not that my old eyes can see.�
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“I’ll look,” said Sam, joining her.
Jess started to open the closet but caught her son’s gaze, still held by the decaying body. “Josh, he’s moved on. The monsters can’t hurt him now.”
“I know…”
She sighed then pulled open the small door, dragged the body inside and closed it.
“I think it’s clear outside,” said Sam from the other room.
“Good. The things are probably being drawn to the sound and light of the guns. This is a good time to—” Josh flung his arms around her. “I… have to go, Josh. To find your dad…”
Josh sniffed. “I know, I just don’t want you to die…”
She squeezed him tight then pulled away and kneeled. Meg, Sam and Tye were standing near the living room doorway. “Meg here is going to look after you.”
“I don’t need looking after.”
“Good,” said Meg. “Then you can look after me.”
Sam’s expression became a smile for the slightest of moments, but Josh still looked glum.
“I need you to be brave like you have been already,” said Jess to him. “Can you do that for me?” He nodded. “And you will do whatever Meg’s tells you to do, right?” He nodded again. “Good.” She hugged him one last time then stood. She looked at Sam. “Can you take Josh and Tye into the kitchen and find some food?”
Sam nodded, walking with her brother and friend into the other room and Jess moved closer to Meg. “I’m not just going to look for my husband, I’m going to find the—”
“Vaccine.”
“Yeah.”
“But if I’m not back in one hour. Leave—”
“That’s not long.”
“If I’m not back by then I won’t be…” She let out a breath. “Coming back.” Her eyes moistened as were Meg’s. “Head northwest. Stay away from any place where people could be.” Meg nodded. “I don’t know how long the vaccine in your systems will last, maybe… maybe if you get to a place where there is no human population… I don’t know. It will be worth a—” Meg hugged the younger woman to her.
