by Jerry Hart
Owen took the card and noticed the name Patrick Fisher. That name sounded familiar.
“What was that thing you were holding?” Curtis suddenly asked. Owen looked at him but didn’t answer. “You said back in Baker that those zombies were after it. Why?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
“You seemed pretty sure of that thing just now, and at the park. You know more about it than you’re letting on.”
There it was again—that tone. Owen wanted Curtis to go away. He didn’t know where his friend Marco was, and was about to tell Curtis to search the house if he wanted, but then he remembered Alyssa. She might be here as well.
He kept his mouth shut.
Pulling out his cell phone, Owen was about to call the officer on the card to handle Daniel’s body, when his attention was called to the old car he’d leaned on earlier. He wasn’t sure why he was suddenly fascinated by it, but he couldn’t take his eyes off it.
“What is it?” Curtis asked, noticing Owen’s interest.
Owen gave him a quick glance, then looked back to the car. Sticking his phone back in his pocket, he walked over and looked through the windows. There was nothing remarkable about the interior. The seats were splitting open, spilling foam out.
He then walked to the trunk and stared at it. Something in the back of his mind told him to open it.
Curtis was by his side in a heartbeat; Doug was still staring at the house.
A horrible stench came from the trunk. Curtis smelled it and backed away. Owen could see that he was coming to the same realization.
“They’re in there?” Curtis asked.
Owen nodded and slid his fingers through the crease of the trunk lid. His breathing quickened as he prepared himself.
“Do you have a key?” Curtis asked.
“Don’t need one,” Owen said, then he pulled the trunk open, breaking the lock. The stench hit them like a bag of nickels. The air was warm and wet.
The inside of the trunk was dark. Owen couldn’t see what was there. Then he realized he was looking at a black blanket. Something was underneath it. He reached down, grabbed the blanket (he could feel something solid underneath), and pulled it away.
Curtis immediately turned to the side and threw up in the yard. Owen stood frozen at the spot, looking into the trunk. He wasn’t aware how long he did so—time just seemed to stop.
Inside the trunk were two bodies, one headless. The heap was a jumble of arms and legs. Owen almost couldn’t tell what belonged to whom.
Then he saw purple nail polish on one of the hands and knew it to be Alyssa’s. Then he saw her pale face, eyes open. Time started to catch up. He was no longer in his time bubble, which caused him to be trapped with this horrific sight. He collapsed on the spot, hitting his head on the driveway.
* * *
Doug hardly heard anything that was going on around him. He was only faintly aware that Curtis and Owen were talking somewhere behind him. When Owen said he would take care of Daniel’s body, Doug had responded, as if on autopilot, by giving Owen Officer Fisher’s card. Then Doug had said something. He couldn’t remember what, though.
It probably wasn’t important.
What was important was that his brother’s body was rotting inside this house, rotting alongside the body of an old woman and a young fat guy. Earlier, he had been comforted by the thought that his brother was being cared for and pitied the old woman. Now....
Doug Hudson was feeling a lot at the moment. On one hand, he felt the agony of seeing his dead brother walking into the house. On the other, and for this he felt selfish, he kept thinking of himself in Daniel’s place. That was a downside to having a twin: it was like looking into a mirror.
And then it had all come back to him. He remembered Daniel, and that he was dead. And that’s when he’d started screaming.
He suddenly realized he was standing in the front yard now. Owen’s and Curtis’s voices were starting to make sense.
“They’re in there?” Doug heard Curtis ask.
Silence. Owen probably nodded, Doug thought.
“Do you need a key?”
“Don’t need one,” Owen replied.
A few seconds later, Doug heard a lock pop. And then he heard someone throwing up. That’s when Doug turned around and saw Curtis on the ground, puking his guts out. Owen was standing just behind the car in the driveway, staring into the trunk. He wasn’t moving.
Doug started to walk over to him when, all of a sudden, Owen collapsed. Doug heard the soft thud of his skull smacking the pavement. He ran over to him to see if he was okay.
Owen’s eyes were wide open, staring at the sky. He was breathing rapidly. Curtis had ceased vomiting and was at Doug’s side.
“What happened?” Doug asked Curtis.
“Their bodies are in the trunk,” he said, casting a quick glance at the car.
At first Doug didn’t understand. Then it hit him. He looked over at the car and suddenly it was way too close for comfort. He wanted to get away from it, away from what was inside the trunk. Most of all, he wanted to get away from this house.
Doug Hudson wanted to get out of this neighborhood, where death lived.
* * *
Curtis Merriman couldn’t read minds, but at that moment he felt he and Doug were thinking the same thing: Get the hell out of here. Curtis liked to think he wasn’t easily shaken, but the moment he caught sight of his best friend’s body, he completely lost it. Marco’s head was missing; blood had dried on his light-blue shirt.
There had been another body in there as well. It had to be Alyssa Turner. Curtis didn’t look long enough to know for sure. The two bodies looked like they’d just been thrown in the trunk without much thought or care. That infuriated Curtis beyond belief. He wanted to get away from this place. He’d seen five dead bodies in such a short period of time—five bodies too many.
And then the most horrible thought came to him, and he felt ashamed: Instead of wanting to find the guy who did this, he wanted to run away from him.
* * *
Owen felt a dull pain in his head where he hit it on the pavement. He was breathing hard and couldn’t stop himself. He stared up at the stars in the sky and wished he could be up there instead of down here where all this death dwelled.
Curtis and Doug were looking down at him, but Owen didn’t look back. They didn’t matter to him right now. Nothing did. Owen didn’t want to deal with anything anymore. He didn’t even want to go back to his hometown, like he’d planned, to find out more about the orb that was causing all of this.
The orb his father supposedly built.
It was that thought that knocked Owen back to Earth. The orb, which was in the backpack he was wearing, was propping him up since he’d fallen back on it.
He finally looked at Curtis and Doug. They’d both lost people important to them, just as Owen had. Michael was responsible for it all.
Him and his brother Jason. Brothers of chaos.
Owen found the strength to sit up. He was going to put an end to what was happening.
“You okay, bud?” Curtis asked quietly.
Owen nodded and put his face in his hands. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay,” Curtis said kindly. “If you hadn’t done it, I would’ve.”
Reaching into his pocket, Owen pulled out his cell phone. He dialed the number on the card.
* * *
Patrick was heading to the police station when his cell phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number on the caller ID, but he answered anyway.
“Is this Officer Fisher?” a male voice asked.
“Yes.”
“I found your card,” said the voice. “You’re not going to believe this, but I need you to come to forty-three twelve, Fairington Drive. There are dead people here.”
“Is this a prank?” Patrick asked uncertainly.
“No, sir, it’s not.”
“Why are you calling me specifically? Who is this?”
<
br /> There was a long pause. Then the voice said, “I’m calling on behalf of Doug Hudson. You spoke to him earlier about his brother Daniel....”
“With whom am I speaking?” Patrick asked again.
“Owen.”
“Owen what?”
“Just Owen.”
“Is Mr. Hudson with you?” Patrick asked.
There was a brief pause, then the voice said, “They both are.”
“Both?” Surely Patrick misheard.
“Yes, Officer. I don’t know how to explain it, but Daniel is here too. Could you come here? You can bring backup or whatever, but Doug wanted me to call you first.”
“May I speak to Doug, please?”
There was another pause, and then a familiar voice said, “This is Douglas Hudson.”
“Mr. Hudson, what’s going on?”
“To be honest, I have no idea. I’m at some guy’s house and there’s all these dead bodies.”
“Whose house?”
“Some guy named...Les Huntington.”
“How many bodies are there?”
“Five.”
“Do you recognize any of the bodies, besides your brother’s?” Patrick asked. Five bodies?
“Yes: There’s Les and an old woman—I think it’s his grandma; Alyssa Turner and...Marco Garcia.”
Patrick dropped the phone. It fell somewhere by his feet. Alyssa Turner? He reached down and picked up the phone.
“I’m sorry, did you say Alyssa Turner?” His hand was trembling.
“Yes, Officer.” Doug’s voice was calm.
“What was the address, again? Forty-three twelve....”
“Forty-three twelve, Fairington Drive,” Doug finished.
“I’m on my way now, Mr. Hudson. I suggest you stay there until I arrive.”
“Yes, Officer.”
The line went dead.
* * *
Owen stood in the hallway. Daniel hadn’t moved an inch while they were outside. Owen reached out and touched Daniel’s back. The skin was cold. Now he touched Daniel’s head. It was warm, and Owen could swear he felt a trembling, like a tiny motor was running in Daniel’s skull.
There was no doubt in Owen’s mind that Daniel was dead, but that didn’t mean he was off.
“He’s on his way,” a voice said behind Owen, making him jump.
Doug and Curtis were standing at the other end of the hall, too afraid to approach. Owen nodded and walked past them, heading for the front door.
“Where are you going?” Curtis asked him.
“There’s stuff I have to do.”
“Does this ‘stuff’ have to with that ball?” Curtis was eyeing the backpack.
“Yes,” Owen said, adjusting himself so the pack was no longer visible.
“So you’re just going to leave us?”
“Nobody knows you’re here,” Doug said. “The officer we called only knows about Owen and me. You can go home.”
“No, I can’t,” Curtis said angrily. “I can’t go home after all the stuff I’ve seen tonight. My best friend is in that trunk with his head ripped off and I want to know why.”
“I don’t know why,” Owen said.
“Save it! Every time you whip that ball out, strange crap happens. I want to know what it is.”
“I don’t know what it is,” Owen said. “That’s why I need to go—to figure it out.”
“Where are you going?” Doug asked quietly.
Owen hesitated, then said, “My hometown.”
“Where’s that?”
Owen didn’t answer Doug. He didn’t want them to know. He darted out the front door, back to his car down the street. He could hear Curtis right behind him.
“Get back here!” Curtis yelled.
Owen was well ahead of him, though. He jumped into his car, started the engine and sped off. Curtis kicked the car as Owen passed him.
* * *
Curtis jumped into his truck and was heading after Owen when Doug jumped in his way. Curtis stomped on the brake, stopping only an inch from him.
Doug jumped into the passenger seat. “I’m going with you.”
“Good,” Curtis said and sped off. After a few minutes, they were on the freeway. Owen’s car was in sight.
* * *
The brown-haired boy with the tear-stained face had just approached the house when two vehicles left in a hurry. He was on foot but surprisingly fast. He had followed them all the way from the condo downtown and he would follow them now, wherever they were going.
He would follow because the orb was calling.
* * *
“Oh, Daniel,” Alyssa said as they watched the scene unfold in the blue lake. Together they had seen what happened to Owen and the other at Les’s house. With horror, Daniel watched his dead body walk into the house of its own accord. Daniel had to shut his eyes a few times during the ordeal, but he always wound up opening them again to watch.
And then Alyssa had seen her body in the trunk of the car. Both of them were understandably upset and nearly regretted watching. At least they knew now what was going on. There had to be some closure to that. Right?
“Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about that weird feeling anymore,” Daniel said as nonchalantly as he could. He didn’t feel any better, however. What was going on down there?
“I can’t believe Michael just threw me into that trunk,” Alyssa said. She was horrified. She didn’t really remember the moment she died, luckily, having been thrown against an alley wall with great force. Daniel didn’t remember his death either. Small mercies. “We should keep an eye on Owen, to make sure he doesn’t end up like us,” she added.
“What about Chris?” Daniel asked. “Why can’t we find him again?”
“I don’t know. You don’t think he’s....”
“Dead? No. He would be here with us, wouldn’t he?”
“Probably. But why can’t we find him?”
Daniel shrugged. “Something’s definitely wrong with him, though.” He looked at the blue waterfall again. It tended to soothe him. He needed that now.
Chapter 30. Silver and Blue
Doug stared at the sky to his right. It was bright, like there was a giant light source behind the clouds. “Are you seeing this?” he asked Curtis in amazement.
Curtis wasn’t paying attention, though. They had been following Owen for ten minutes, heading west to God knew where. They hadn’t passed a single car in that time. They were in some rural area.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” said Doug, temporarily forgetting the light show above them. “I don’t know you and I barely know Owen, yet I’m driving out into the middle of nowhere with you guys. I’ve only done this once before: I was drunk and partying with my friends and some other people I didn’t know. My friends were tired and wanted to go home, but I was still wired. So the other guys invited me to another party, and I went with them. Can you guess how the story ends?”
Curtis said nothing as he continued to look forward.
“I’ll tell you,” Doug said quickly, having anticipated a response like that. “I woke up the next morning in a field where the party had been, and the guys I showed up with were gone. I didn’t have a ride back. It was scary. I had no idea where I was.”
“How did you get back?” Curtis asked absently; he was still focusing on Owen’s car, which was barely visible in front of them. Curtis was going a hundred and twenty miles per hour on the freeway, so Owen had to be doing the same.
“I called a friend to pick me up. When he asked where I was, I had to ask a couple of people who were just getting ready to leave. They wouldn’t give me a ride, but they were nice enough to tell me that much. Turns out I was in Oklahoma.
“After a while, everyone who had slept there left, and I was the only one. I was so depressed. It took my friend an hour to show up.”
“That sounds like a good friend. I probably would’ve left your ass there.” Curtis still sounded distant, but a smile formed on his face.
“The best,” Doug said. “It was actually my brother.”
Curtis looked at him now. Doug could feel his eyes watering up, but he managed to keep the tears away.
“I’m sorry about what happened,” Curtis said. “I don’t have any brothers or sisters, so I can’t imagine how it feels.”
“Well, Marco was your best friend, so I guess it’s similar.”
“Yeah, I suppose. He was like a brother to me. I’d known him since we were six years old.”
Curtis didn’t say anything else for a while. Doug went back to staring at the sky. The light source had moved away from the field to the freeway. Doug had to look straight up through the windshield to see it.
What he saw frightened him.
The rest of the sky in the distance was pitch black. Doug could swear he saw something just behind the clouds now—a large, dark mass. He also heard something. It sounded muffled, but deep. He rolled down his window and stuck his head out. The wind beat against his face.
Looking up at the sky made him dizzy. He thought about pulling himself back into the truck, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the sky. The sound he’d heard was much more pronounced, despite the wind. It sounded like a constant moan.
The voice of a god, Doug thought. The moan was spine-tingling. Finally he sat back in his seat and rolled up the window. “Dude,” he said to Curtis, “there is some freaky stuff going on up there.”
Just then, a loud bang startled them. Up ahead, something crashed in front of Owen’s car, causing him to swerve. It did no good, because he crashed into it anyway.
And then something landed directly in front of Curtis and Doug. Curtis tried to swerve as well, but he crashed sideways into the object. The passenger-side window shattered, spilling glass over Doug. He closed his eyes as the glass cut his face. When it was over, he opened them and saw, just outside, what they had hit.
