by S. E. Meyer
“That’s how peeps talk now man. At least me and my mains,” Brandon replied and then shrugged.
James just slowly shook his head. “Hash tag this and yolo that. Abbreviating the English language every chance you get, everyone always texting, tweeting or using Facebook all the time. I say good riddance to all of it, now that it’s gone. It just seems to make everyone dumber, i-m-o.” James put extra emphasis on the three letters that stood for ‘in my opinion’. He looked back to Nathaniel. “I swear Father, if our prehistoric ancestors had Twitter and Facebook we would still be without the wheel.” There was a pause while Brandon stuffed the last of the jerky into his mouth. “So where are the Clark brothers now? Did you see where they went?”
“Yeah I know where they went. They stay in the basement now in like a small janitors apartment and do all the cooking down there,” explained Brandon.
“Is there anyone else in this building that might be able to help us take care of the Clark brothers and get the woman and child back that were abducted?” James asked.
“No, I think I’m the only one left in this building. They cleaned out the few of us that were left, over the last few months and they got to the O’Mally’s in fourteen B last week. Everyone else has been evacuated or is dead as far as I know, yo.”
“Okay, I guess we’ll have to do this on our own. Take us to them,” ordered James.
“Hey, I’m not going down there. Those guys are creepy and I don’t want to end up being their next meal, yo.”
James moved the barrel of the rifle closer to Brandon’s forehead. “Well if you don’t take us down there, then I’m going to pop a bullet in your head.” James paused for a moment. “Yo,” he added.
“Okay, fine. I’ll show you how to get down there, but then I’m going to bounce.”
James shook his head again. “Well bounce up off your ass and get moving before our friends turn into entrees.”
Brandon pulled himself up off the floor and brushed the dust off his pants. “Down here,” he said, and then led James and Nathaniel down the dark stairwell towards the basement level. As soon as they made it to the door at the bottom of the stairs James noticed a faint light shining through the small window above the handle.
“Where’s that light coming from?” asked James as he peered through the small piece of glass.
“Probably the old fireplace,” replied Brandon. “That’s where they’ve been cooking people.” He screwed up his face in disgust. James reached out and slowly turned the handle. He pushed the door open and everyone winced at the sound as the door squeaked on its hinges. James went in first, holding the rifle in front of him, followed by Nathaniel and Brandon. James could see the reflection of firelight bouncing off the concrete walls on his left. They crept deeper into the basement until they came to a large doorway on their right. The door was closed, but had a large pane of glass in the top half where the reflected firelight was shining through.
James looked through the window and examined the room beyond. Both brothers had their back to James. Cliff was stoking the large brick fireplace while Chad was sitting in a chair next to him. There were several large pots and pans, along with a cast iron grill, sitting on the floor next to them. In the far corner of the dimly lit room, bound and gagged, were Barb and Aurora. James took a step forward then leaned against the wall. He took a deep breath as he slowly turned the doorknob. James was about to push the door open when Barb caught his attention. She noticed him through the glass from across the room and she was shaking her head vigorously. James shrugged in response, not understanding what she was trying to tell him. Nathaniel finally patted James on the shoulder and then pointed down towards the floor. James looked down towards the bottom of the door and could see what Nathaniel was pointing at. James’ shoe was up against a trip wire that ran across the bottom of the jamb. He slowly and carefully pulled it back. James examined the opening to the room and noticed several more strands of line crisscrossing behind the doorway. He backed away and gestured for Nathaniel and Brandon to follow.
When they had retreated back to the main entrance door, James finally felt comfortable for them to talk. “The entire room is booby trapped,” he breathed into Nathaniel’s ear. “But I have an idea on how we can get them out of the room.” James leaned in towards Brandon and whispered into his ear.
“No way, I’m not doing that. You just said it was booby trapped,” Brandon argued.
“Lower your voice. The booby traps are just noisemakers. They look like cans filled with change or something, tied to strings. Trust me, I think this will work,” James pleaded.
“Yeah, well what’s in it for me?” asked Brandon.
“Come on, there’s a little girl in there,” said James, waving his arms in frustration.
Nathaniel pulled another bag of jerky from his pocket and handed it to Brandon. “Here, take it. If you do this, I’ll give you the rest of what I have,” promised Nathaniel.
There was a moment of silence as Brandon contemplated the offer. “Okay, I’ll do it. But promise me you’re not going to let them eat me,” replied Brandon.
“I promise,” whispered James. The trio crept back to the doorway with the trip wires. “Are you ready?” breathed James. Brandon just nodded. He turned the handle and then ran through the doorway while James and Nathaniel hid against the wall. There was an immediate raucous of clanging and banging as tin cans and jars went flying across the room. Chad jumped off the chair and aimed his gun at Brandon.
“Whoa, whoa, easy Mr. Clark. It’s me. Remember me? I’m Brandon from the second floor.”
“Oh yeah. I think you used to deliver our newspaper every morning,” recalled Chad, but kept his weapon trained on Brandon. “What are you doing down here?”
“Well, there’s no food left, like anywhere. I’m starving. I don’t really agree with what you guys are doing down here, but I don’t know what else to do, you know? I need to eat,” explained Brandon.
Cliff stared Brandon down from where he was standing by the fire. “We don’t have enough to share, so piss off,” he said.
“But that’s why I’m here. I’m willing to share with you,” said Brandon as he slowly moved to the other side of the room next to Barb and Aurora. James peered through the open doorway and saw that Brandon was now facing him. The Clark brothers had their backs to James again as they kept an eye on the young man. “Remember the Johnson’s in eight A?” Brandon asked.
“What you mean the fat twins?” Chad asked with and eager tone.
“Well my mother always said it was rude to call them fat, but yeah I’ve been taking care of them since their mom disappeared,” Brandon said and then looked past the brothers at James. James gave him a disappointed look and then began motioning with his hand for Brandon to continue.
“They’re probably skinny now,” said Cliff with a disappointed look. “Been starving the last two months I suppose.”
Brandon picked up on James’ cue and continued. “Oh, no man. They are still fat. They are totes juicy and stuff dude. I ripped off the corner store when the shit hit the fan so I’ve been feeding them like ho-ho cakes and ding dongs and chocolate cream pies, yo. They’re fatter now then when this all started, I swear,” Brandon continued, talking fast. “They’re so fat, they turned the family tree into a weeping willow, know what I’m saying? And I’m not talking like p-h-a-t, fat. No I mean like super fat-“
“Shut up,” yelled Cliff. “You talk too much and your vocabulary is making me want to shoot myself, or you, whichever will make it stop sooner. Why are you telling us this?”
“Because I told you, I’m starving. There’s no way I can do what you guys have been doing. I mean, I can’t kill anyone, but I thought if I give you the kids, maybe you would be willing to do it for me. Like a trade, you know. I give you the kids and you give me some already, um, cooked stuff,” explained Brandon.
“I don’t know about that,” replied Cliff and then held back a giggle.
“Oh come on Cliff
, you know how tasty the little ones are. And if they’re nice and chunky it makes for a deliciously rich broth, right?” coaxed Chad. Cliff began to laugh hysterically, followed up with a loud giggle from Chad.
Brandon didn’t know what else to do so he joined in with an uncomfortable laugh. “Yeah, good stuff right?” he added.
Cliff stopped laughing. “So where are these little rolls you’re talking about?” he asked.
“They’re up on the top floor. That’s where we’ve been hiding out,” replied Brandon.
“Well go and get them. Then maybe we can work something out,” said Cliff
“No dude, I need help. They are like so fat they can’t even walk, yo.” Brandon explained. “We’re going to have to carry them down here. It’s going to take all three of us.”
Chad and Cliff looked at each other for a moment, deciding on what to do. Cliff held back a giggle while Chad pointed at Barb and Aurora. “What are we supposed to do about them while we’re gone?” asked Chad.
“Oh they’ll be just fine for a few minutes. I got them tied up good and tight,” snickered Cliff.
“Lead the way,” said Chad, motioning with his hand.
“Oh absolutely Mr. Clark Sir. You won’t regret this. I’m-“
“Just shut up. More walking and less talking okay?” Chad ordered, and then held back a giggle. Brandon led them out of the room and back to the basement entrance door. Brandon opened it and the three of them began to climb the stairs. As soon as James heard the door clang shut behind them he stepped out of the shadows from the opposite end of the basement, followed by Nathaniel.
“Let’s get them untied and get as far away from here as possible,” whispered James. Nathaniel nodded quietly and they rushed into the basement apartment.
James untied Barb while Nathaniel went to work on Aurora’s bindings. As soon as Barb was free and the gag was pulled from her mouth she knelt in front of Aurora. “Okay honey, I’m going to pull this out so you can talk, but I need you to be very quiet so we can get away from those bad men okay,” soothed Barb. Aurora nodded and sniffed her runny nose at the same time. James looked in the corner of the room and noticed a pile of bones on the floor. He wrinkled his nose as he studied them. They were white, clean of any flesh, and the ends were polished smooth. The kind of polishing and smooth edges that only boiling in a pot for hours can produce.
“Let’s go,” said James, and then led Barb and Aurora out of the room by their hands. They carefully made their way up the stairs and to the nearest exit on the ground floor. James slowly opened the door and cautiously led them out into bright sunshine.
“Where are we going to go?” asked Nathaniel.
“As far away from here as possible,” replied James with a solemn expression.
“What about the kid?” Nathaniel asked. “We can’t just leave him here.”
“The kid is not my problem,” replied James. “Barb and Aurora are my responsibility, I can’t save everyone you know.” James continued walking down the street as he nervously looked around in all directions.
“But he saved Barb and Aurora. If it wasn’t for him, getting them out of there could have turned pretty ugly for all of us,” pleaded Nathaniel. James ignored him and kept walking.
Nathaniel stopped. “Look, if you’re not going to do anything about it then I’ll have to go and save him myself,” the priest protested confidently.
James stopped and turned to face him. “And just what do you think you are going to do about it? If you go back in there he’ll be the hors d’oeuvre and you’ll be the entrée.”
“I think he’s right,” said Barb. “I mean I don’t know this kid from Adam, but if he helped save us, then it’s the right thing to do James.”
James quietly contemplated for a moment. “All right. Nathaniel, you stay here with Barb and Aurora. Try and stay out of sight for a few minutes while I go back in and get him okay?” replied James.
“I swear, they were there before I came down to talk to you guys,” yelled Brandon as Chad and Cliff dragged him back into the dimly lit basement apartment, leaving the door open behind them.
“You’re a liar and-“ Chad cut himself off with a gasp. “Cliff, they’re gone! Where the hell are they? I thought you said you tied them up good. You’re such an idiot!” Chad scolded. “Now we don’t have any fat little ones and we lost the meal we had.” Chad turned toward Brandon. “This is your fault! Now all we have to eat is your skinny little ass.”
“Wait, wait Mr. Clark. You can’t eat me. I mean come on; I used to deliver your morning paper, yo. We’re like friends and shit, right?” Chad ignored his pleading and began to tie Brandon’s hands behind his back. “Besides I’m sure I won’t taste very good. And I’ll probably be all tough and shit.”
Chad grabbed a rag off the floor and held it in front of Brandon’s face. “How many times do I have to tell you to just shut up!” he yelled.
“I hope I make you sick, give you the runs and all kinds of totes nasty ill-” Brandon was cut off by Chad stuffing the rag into his mouth. He walked back over to the fire. “Finally, a little piece and quiet.” Chad sighed and then let out a giggle.
“It’s too bad that the woman is gone. I was planning on getting some of that,” said Cliff as he shook his head.
“What?” Chad replied, giving his brother a shocked look. “Oh no, I wasn’t about to let that happen. No way I’m eating anything you have had your paws all over,” he argued. “Besides, you never know these days what kind of STD someone might have.”
“Oh I’m sure it would have been fine. That lady didn’t look like anyone that would be carrying something,” argued Cliff.
“You can’t tell by looking at someone, dumb ass. That’s always been your problem. Just dipping in to anything that comes your way. It’s kind of gross.”
“Oh yeah? At least I got laid more than you.”
“Yeah and you got your share of diseases along the way too. Remember that time you got the Clap?”
“Yeah, I got the Clap three times in like two months,” replied Cliff beaming, and then started laughing again. Chad looked at his brother and shook his head disapprovingly.
“That’s not exactly something to be proud of Cliff. Getting the Clap three times don’t make it an applause.”
“Oh very funny-“ Cliff stopped talking and cocked his head to one side. “What is that sound?” Chad heard it too, it was like a quiet grinding sound. He turned around to look towards the door. They both watched as a small can slowly rolled across the floor. The stainless steel can with an orange colored label, smoothly and effortlessly, continued to roll towards them. It finally stopped when it bumped into the toe of Chad’s boot. Chad looked down at the can and read the label as he bent over to pick it up.
“Peaches,” he muttered as he slowly straightened himself, still staring at the can in his hand. Chad’s face was wrinkled up in confusion for a moment, but it quickly changed to shock. He looked up at Cliff. Chad didn’t even hear the earsplitting crack of a gun going off as the bullet ripped through his skull.
“No!” Cliff yelled as the small tin can dropped to the floor and split open. Chad fell to the floor next to it with a thud. Cliff bent down on one knee. “No, no. Chad. What the hell just happened?” There was another loud crack as the bullet from James’ rifle tore through Cliff’s neck. He dropped onto his brother and started to laugh again as he bled from his jugular. James stepped out of the shadows of the basement hallway and into the silent room. He stepped over the two dead brothers towards Brandon. James’ shoe made a terrible squishing sound as the back of his sole met the peach syrup while the front of his shoe met Cliff’s blood. James untied Brandon and pulled the gag from his mouth. Brandon looked down at the can of peaches next to Cliff and watched as the two thick, sticky liquids combined to make a sweet, crimson ooze.
“Come on,” said James. “Let’s go.” He grabbed Brandon’s arm and led him out of the room.
“You killed those guys,” said
Brandon as he jogged along beside James. They made it to the staircase and James opened the door.
“Would you rather I had let them live?”
“No man, I just have never seen anything like that before. It kind of freaks a guy out a bit, yo.” James stopped walking and turned to face Brandon.
“If you say ‘yo’ one more time, I am going to shoot you, okay? Now let’s get out of here.” They made their way out of the building and back to where James had left the others. He scanned the area, but didn’t see anyone. “Do you see them anywhere?” James asked Brandon. Nathaniel jumped out from behind a dumpster, pulling Barb behind him. Barb was holding Aurora and they ran up to where James and Brandon were standing.
“You got him out of there!” exclaimed Nathaniel. “Hey, I made you a promise,” Nathaniel said to Brandon, and then pulled out another bag of jerky and threw it at him. “That’s the last of what I have. Thanks again for helping us.”
Nathaniel looked at James. “We heard two gunshots,” he said. “So does that mean what I think it means?”
“Yes, they’re both, um, gone,” James replied apprehensively.
“Hey don’t feel bad about it, I mean look at what they were doing to people,” said Nathaniel.
“I don’t. Well, maybe a little bit. It’s just hard to be forced into a situation where you have to kill someone. I’ve never killed anyone before. But I guess it doesn’t matter, they were dead anyway,” explained James.
“What do you mean?” asked Nathaniel with his eyebrow raised.
“Remember I said they had Kuru? It’s a degenerative neurological disease. It’s also incurable. It was only a matter of time before they died anyway. I just helped it to happen sooner I guess,” replied James. “Come on, let’s get back inside.”
“ Inside?” asked Barb. “You mean back into that awful apartment building?”
“Yes. Brandon said he and the Clark brothers were the only ones left in that building. That means we can get inside, barricade the doors and hope John comes through for us.” James paused momentarily and took a deep breath. “And comes back to get us,” he finished.
