by Chuck Buda
As they reached the end of the lot, Samantha began to turn the car left toward the school. Aiden asked her to stop so he could get out. Samantha touched the brakes. Aiden swung the door open and stepped out. She followed his line of sight to see if anything stood out. The yard was black.
She returned her gaze to Aiden. He leaned to the side as if he had seen something. She couldn’t be sure so she asked him. “Do you see anything?” Aiden didn’t respond. Instead he took a few more steps across the grass. He rounded a Dogwood and then moved between the tree and a shrub.
Again, Aiden leaned over the sidewalk. Staring down the strip. Samantha followed his line of vision.
Her heart stopped.
Zoe.
Samantha almost fainted from the nausea that worked its way up her throat and back down to her belly.
Zoe was covered in blood. Her face and arms. Her breasts.
She was naked.
Samantha blinked quickly, attempting to challenge her eyes to confirm what she was taking in. It was a scene straight out of a horror movie. Samantha recalled the climax of the movie Carrie. The main character had been doused in blood, staring straight ahead as her nipples pierced through the soaked material of her prom dress. Zoe looked exactly the same except she was completely naked. There was no prom dress cloaking her stiffened nipples from sight.
Samantha fell down a hole inside her mind. As she fell, the darkness enveloped her body. She felt spider webs and filthy roots tickle her skin as she fell down to the depths of the black hole. She cried out for someone to save her. Only it wasn’t Samantha’s voice that screamed for help.
It was Leah’s
Samantha cried as Leah strained her vocal cords in desperation. The fear blatant in her shrieks. Samantha saw Leah shredded by a gaggle of naked women. The women were petite. One of them turned to grin an insidious, bloody smile at her. It was Zoe. Her teeth were tainted crimson. Samantha soon realized all the women feeding on Leah were Zoe. It was a crowd of evil Zoes working their way through her daughter’s flesh. Samantha could hear the snap of tendons and skin. She heard hungry, slurpy chewing sounds. A few of the Zoes made yummy noises like a child enjoying their French fries at the boardwalk.
Samantha reached out to Leah. She screamed. “Mommy’s here, baby. Hold on. I’m coming.” But Leah couldn’t hear Samantha’s reassurances over the cannibalism above her. Samantha screamed in frustration and rushed to the crowd of Zoes. Two of them sprung up to cling to Samantha’s neck. They snapped and clawed at her flesh. She batted one Zoe across the face, knocking the evil sprite to the ground. The other Zoe dug in deeper, fighting inside Samantha’s arms for a bite. Samantha fought off Zoe #2. As she did, she stole a glance at Leah. Her daughter no longer fought off the gang of Zoes eating her. Her eyes were closed. A touch of peacefulness on her lids.
Then Leah’s eyes sprung open. She glared at Samantha like she was angry at her for not coming to her rescue sooner. A faint smile spread across Leah’s lips.
Samantha caught herself hyperventilating. Her eyes were pinned to the bloody visage of Zoe on the other side of the ornamental grasses. No sooner had she awakened to the reality of what was before her, that Zoe had darted into the shadows. Movement from the right side of her peripheral vision dragged her attention away from where Zoe had been a moment ago. Aiden scrambled down the sidewalk after Zoe. Samantha watched him nearly stumble over something on the ground. Aiden stopped to look beneath his feet. A second later, he was off and running again. Aiden quickly disappeared into the shadows.
Samantha floored the car. The wheels screeched as she tore off across the lot. The passenger door Aiden had left open, slammed shut from the sudden momentum of the car’s acceleration.
She acted before she even understood what she needed to do. Samantha had to get ahead of Zoe, to corner her in so they could finish this off once and for all. Finish off Zoe.
Samantha spun through the parking lot toward the front side of the school. She could cut through the horse-shoe shaped driveway into the teacher’s lot on the far side of the school.
As she drove like a bat out of hell, Samantha resolved to hunt down Zoe and kill her with her own hands. Her struggle with walking away from the chase and shriveling into oblivion was not an option anymore. Samantha’s determination was revitalized. She would avenge Leah’s untimely death. She would punish the evil cunt who had taken her beautiful child from this world. Zoe would understand what a protective mother was all about. Zoe would wish she had never fucked with Samantha. The saying about sleeping dogs and letting them lie leaped to the forefront of Samantha’s mind. She had indeed been a sleeping dog all these years. Unaware of the peril that surrounded her daughter through her choice of friends. Unknowing of the danger that lurked across the street, the slutty neighbor sniffing around her husband’s body. Samantha had been asleep all along while the wolves circled her family, licking their lips and drooling from sharpened incisors.
Samantha was awake now. Slumber would be a distant memory. She would always keep her wits about her now that she knew she couldn’t trust the evil forces in the world.
But they didn’t count on me. The evil I am capable of. They have created this monster. They brought it out of the dark, into the light, where it could return the devil they had unleashed.
Samantha sped around the curve with watery eyes. She pounded a fist on the steering wheel. The shock of pain dried her teas away. Her heavy breathing traded places with the sobs for an angry rhythm.
Samantha would have Zoe’s blood. Even if it was the last thing she would do.
Nothing could stop her now.
Nothing.
Chapter 31
Aiden darted after Zoe.
He knew his instincts were correct. Zoe was covering all their old haunts. She was sticking to what she knew best. Aiden didn’t know why he was so surprised that he had the intelligence to figure out Zoe. He had been an excellent student all his life. He had smarts; he just lacked confidence.
Aiden skidded to a stop. He almost ran over a few bodies on his way to chase Zoe. The first body was Jordyn’s. She looked peaceful, almost as if she slept under the stars. Aiden knew she was dead. Otherwise, Jordyn would be joining him in the chase.
The second body was Todd’s. There was no doubt in Aiden’s mind about Todd. He was dead. Deader than dead. His face and shirt soaked with blood. Todd’s expression was a painful grimace. And his shorts were pulled down, exposing his privates. Aiden choked back some vomit. Not only had Zoe killed Todd, but she had used him in a sexual manner too. Had she raped him? Was he alive when it happened? There was no way Todd would have fucked Zoe while Jordyn lay dead just feet from them.
Aiden gathered himself and continued after Zoe. He caught movement ahead in the dark. Zoe’s skin was just light enough to refract moonlight so he could differentiate her from the darkness around them. He could see from her trajectory that she was heading to the athletic center. He had to reach her before she got there because she would have too many places to hide. Or attack.
He wouldn’t reach her in time. Zoe had had a decent head start from the beginning, in distance alone. Then when he had stopped to look at Todd and Jordyn, Zoe’s lead had grown. Aiden felt he could run faster than Zoe, however. His strides were longer and he was more of a runner than she was. He could close the distance somewhat even though she would reach the field before he would.
Aiden quickly looked behind himself to see if Samantha was coming too. He didn’t see her. He hoped she had taken the car around the school to keep Zoe from escaping. If she had, then Samantha would be closer to the athletic center. But she wouldn’t be able to pin Zoe in. Aiden wished Samantha had jumped the curb and driven across the schoolyard. She would have easily overtaken Zoe. No sense in wishing for that scenario anymore, Aiden told himself.
Zoe paused for a second before climbing over the short fence at the field. It brought Aiden closer to her. He closed the gap to about fifty yards. Aiden knew he could scale the fence qu
icker with his shoes than Zoe had in bare feet. He reached the fence and jumped it with only one foot squeezed through a link. On the other side of the fence, Aiden saw Zoe scaling down the bowl of the grass behind the goal posts. She was heading for the bleachers.
SHIT!
Aiden stumbled a few feet; the slope of the grass and his attention being focused on Zoe ahead caught him off guard. Aiden lurched forward, losing his balance. He tucked his chin into his chest and tumbled into a gymnast roll. His momentum carried him to the bottom of the bowl. His hands skidded along the track around the football field. Aiden brushed the scraped palms along his pants and started to run again.
Aiden stopped.
In the fall, Aiden had lost track of his quarry. She had been running towards the bleachers. He knew she would find cover there. Literally, the high ground in this battle. But he hadn’t seen which set of bleachers she had gone to. The sections were enormous. Aiden might lose valuable time trying to find her under each section.
Without wasting another moment, Aiden slogged across the wet grass. The sprinklers must have been on overnight because the grass was soaked and smelled damp. His shoes splashed down into a few low spots, puddled with water. The noise echoed off the bleachers ahead of him.
Nothing like announcing you’re coming, dipshit.
It wouldn’t matter anyway. Aiden realized he was the only thing moving across a flat field. No matter where Zoe was hiding, waiting for him, surely, she could pick out his shape in the wide-open expanse.
He reached the nearest set of bleachers. Aiden slowed underneath the rows. He shot a look above to see if he caught any movement along the top side. Then he focused his vision across the underside. Nothing appeared to move as his eyes adjusted to even more blackness.
A giggle.
The noise reverberated around him. It came to Aiden’s ears from in front of him and behind. It might have come from his left, too. Aiden’s stomach muscles tightened. This would be trickier than he had originally anticipated. Aiden gingerly stepped forward. He shifted his eyes to and fro for any sign of a shadow. Something that might appear out of the ordinary. Zoe knew exactly where he was. So Aiden would have to try to goad her into giving up her position. It would be his only chance. Unless she already escaped out the other side of the bleachers, in which case, he would be wasting all his time and she would be lost for good.
“Zoe?” Aiden strained to hear a response. Only silence returned. “I know you’re here. And I know you want to kill me. So why don’t you just come do it already.” Aiden looked above. The sky was slowly lightening as dawn approached. “You’re running out of time. It’ll be morning soon.”
Aiden quietly stepped forward. He couldn’t fight the sensation that he was being watched. It reminded him of all the ghost hunting shows he had watched on television. The investigators and clients would talk about the feeling of being watched. Aiden listened.
Another giggle.
It had come from straight ahead and off to the right.
Aiden hurried toward the sound. He had to be cautious of running into the supports of the bleachers. They stuck out every few feet like an iron forest. Aiden snaked through a clump of supports. His eyes picked up some movement about thirty feet ahead of him. He dashed forward to catch Zoe before she got away. When Aiden reached the spot of the movement, he found it void of anyone. Aiden spun in a circle. Nothing stood out. He had been close. Closer than close. Yet, Zoe was nowhere in sight.
A giggle.
The sound was nearby. It was within feet of him. Aiden rushed in the direction of the laugh. He saw an extremely dark shadow. Aiden’s excitement flourished. He had found her. Now he would end the chase and finish the mission to rid the world of Zoe and her evil reign.
Aiden never saw it coming.
The pain in his forehead was so intense that the whole underside of the bleachers lit up in a bright, white light.
And then there was nothing but darkness.
Chapter 32
Samantha reached the far side of the school. She ignored the sign that declared “Faculty Only.” She didn’t think any teachers would mind at this hour. Samantha sped up for the last few hundred feet. She hit the brakes, causing her car to skid. The back end swung out, fishtailing a bit before Samantha got it under control. The front grill of her vehicle kissed the chain link fence behind the top of the bleachers. She scrambled out of the car, forgetting to kill the engine or turn off the headlights. As she hurried to the fence, Samantha saw Aiden run under the first set of risers.
She ran to the right for a while before concluding that the entrance to the field was too far down the fence line. She would waste too much time and effort to go all the way around following Aiden. Samantha disliked heights, but she steeled herself to jaunt over the chain links. Her trepidation slowed her pace, using her tippy toes to feel for the top row of bleacher bench. Even as one foot found the bench safely, she utilized the toe-tapping method to find safe harbor for her second foot. Samantha didn’t want to chance a fall at this height because it would negate her help and leave her as prey for Zoe.
Once over the fence, Samantha ran along the boards toward the staircase. She felt an immediate sense of vertigo. Between the utter blackness and the shadowy lines of benches and boards, Samantha did her best to remain upright. The struggle wasn’t enough to keep her last meal down. She bent with hands on knees and spewed the contents of her stomach. Samantha hoped Aiden wasn’t below her or else he would be showered with a sticky, parmesan-smelling mixture. She quickly regained her pace. Samantha found the steps, making a hard left and heading down as fast as she could. It felt like an hour had passed since they had left the park. She realized her sense of time and distance was out of whack from all the stress.
Samantha reached the bottom of the bleachers. She stopped in her tracks, unsure of the thick darkness creeping out from under the rows. She took several steps, entering the underbelly of the beast. She thought she heard shoes shuffling along the gravel. Samantha refused to call out for Aiden in fear of giving up his position. Or worse, her own. She walked forward some more, arms outstretched to feel for poles before she walked smack into one. Her fingers found the cool iron of a set of support beams. The thought of being lost in a darkened maze of bleachers frightened Samantha. She pictured a minotaur waiting at the end for her. Memories of Jack Nicholson getting lost among the snowy hedges in The Shining also flashed across her mind.
Chills broke out along her spine. Samantha backed out of the darkness. She made her way back to the front of the risers. The dim moonlight and slowly-brightening sky relieved her paranoia. Samantha tried to figure out how to help Aiden. If she could run along the front of the bleachers, using the track, then she could get to the far side and come in behind Zoe. But that would only work if Zoe were all the way at the opposite end. What if she were in the middle? And Samantha would still be faced with the blackness under the benches. It wouldn’t matter which side she entered from, it would be blacker than a witch’s asshole under there. And she was too scared to get trapped inside.
Another idea came to her. Samantha thought how Aiden could flush Zoe out from under the bleachers. And where would Zoe run to? She would make her way up the hill of grass, scale the fence and try to cross the faculty lot towards the train tracks. That’s what Samantha would do if she was Zoe. It would give her a clean shot out of town and plenty of egress access.
Samantha turned on her heels. She ran back the way she had come. The vertigo returned as she hurried up the bleacher steps to the very top. Each row slid past her vision like unfinished beams of construction on a high-rise building. More puke threatened but Samantha bit back. She reached the top step, gasping for air. She had run more tonight than she had in the last five years put together. Her heart hammered in her chest. Since the parking lot was just on the other side of the fence, Samantha threw her body over the top with little care about landing. She was too tired to worry about nailing a perfect landing. She crumbled to the asphalt,
scraping her elbow open. Samantha felt the hot blood dapple the scrape mark. Without wasting time to tend to the wound, Samantha hurried back to her car, which was still idling.
Samantha plopped into the driver’s seat and closed the door. She took several deep breaths, trying to recompose herself, before pulling the gear shift to throw the car in reverse. She quickly backed the car away from the fence and then gunned the engine to the far side of the lot. She hoped her decision to wait top side to cut off Zoe was the right choice. Self-doubt crept in about Aiden’s ability to fend for himself. What if Zoe bested him? What if he has her within his clutches but he can’t close the deal? With two on one, Aiden and Samantha stood a better chance of overwhelming Zoe. But part of her brain insisted they still needed the insurance policy. Someone to watch the back door, so to speak. The ace in the hole to cover the escape valve.
Unless Zoe doubled-back the way she had come.
FUCK. Now what?
Samantha chewed a fingernail, afraid she had done the wrong thing. There were many options for Zoe out there. How could she think it was so easy to corner the rat? Creatures like Zoe ALWAYS had a backup plan to the backup plan. Samantha realized Zoe would never put herself in a compromising position with little room for escape.
Samantha backed up the car yet again. She was just about to drive back the way she had come, to the student parking lot, when her mind reassured her to stick with her game plan. Samantha stopped backing up. She killed the headlights. This would be the perfect spot to surprise Zoe should she come over the bleacher fence like Samantha hoped.
When. When she comes over the fence like I expect.
Samantha took another deep breath and settled into the driver’s seat. She prepared herself for the moment when she would swoop in and give Zoe a taste of her own medicine. But the wait was killing her. Samantha wondered how killers could lie in wait, the anticipation swarming all around them. Nervous energy and adrenaline pumping.
