“Me too,” Cory said. “But first I have to find Marisol. She might need to go to the hospital.”
“We’ll go with you.” Todd bent down and picked up his pack.
“You don’t have to,” Cory said.
“No, we stick together. You were both there for us when we were in trouble, now we’ll be there for Marisol.”
Cory thanked them. Even though he felt a bit guilty about their postponing their much-needed showers and sleep, he was grateful for their presence. In truth, he was so exhausted he wasn’t sure he could drive into town without falling asleep behind the wheel.
They emerged from the crypt to find only seven hours had passed since they entered the hospital, which surprised Cory. It seemed like a lifetime. He climbed into his car without a second thought for the upholstery, even though he knew no amount of detailing would ever get the smell out. He figured a ruined car was a small price to pay for their having survived.
When they arrived at Town Hall the lights were on and the front door hung half off the hinges. Cory let out a startled gasp as he pulled over but Todd cautioned him not to over-react.
“Don’t forget Jack and the Mayor. This might be where they were attacked. It doesn’t mean Marisol’s not safe.”
Cory nodded but he still took his pistol from his belt. He noticed Todd and John had their water rifles out as well. They went up the steps slowly, alert for any dangers.
Movement caught Cory’s eye and he turned, already bringing the pistol up as the figure spoke.
“Miles? Is that you?” Travers’s voice. The shadowy figure moved again, raising its arms into a shooting position.
“It’s us Chief. We’re okay. And I think the...the problem is over.”
“Jesus, I hope so.” Travers lowered his gun and stepped into the light. “After you left that cave, all the...all those things suddenly stopped moving. Just stood there as I shot them. When I was done, I got your girl up and walking and we went back to my car. Drove here. I put her on the couch in the waiting room and I’ve been watching her ever since.”
“She’s okay?” Cory tried to see around him.
“Yeah. Asleep or passed out, I can’t tell. C’mon. And then I want some answers.”
“We’ve got answers but you might not believe them,” John said. said “I’m still not sure I do.”
Marisol lay on a well-worn, fake-leather office sofa that screamed Ikea. She had her head down and her arms wrapped around herself, even though the temperature in the office had to be in the eighties, thanks to the broken door.
Cory knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Marisol? Hey, honey, you awake?”
Faster than he imagined possible, she sprang up and slammed both hands into Cory’s chest, sending him hard into a coffee table. Magazines flew into the air and both the table and Cory slid across the floor until they crashed against the opposite wall.
Without pausing, Marisol leaped from the couch onto Chief Travers and sank her teeth into the side of his neck. Blood sprayed out in two distinct arcs, one splattering across Todd’s face and chest and the other decorating the door to the County Clerk’s office.
Travers let out a scream that turned into a bubbling whistle as Marisol pulled her head away, taking a huge piece of his neck with it. Inside the gaping hole, Travers’ shredded windpipe emitted frothy red bubbles with each breath he tried to take.
Marisol let go of his body and it fell to the floor, where it twitched and jerked as his brain struggled for oxygen.
With an animal growl, Marisol ran past John and Todd and into the main hallway.
“Hurry!” Cory fought his way free from the magazines and stood up. “We can’t let her get away.”
“What about...?” Todd pointed at Chief Travers, who’d stopped moving.
“It’s too late. But we can stop her from hurting anyone else.”
Cory ran down the hall and out the front door, his mind awhirl from everything that had happened. What was wrong with Marisol? She couldn’t be possessed; people always died when a Shade entered them. Or did they? Maybe death didn’t happen instantly. Maybe that’s why she’d been sick and weak. It wasn’t shock, it was the Shade taking her over.
He remembered the tendrils poking at her mouth and nose when they’d found her. Had it infected her? He’d thought they’d destroyed it in time. Was she a full zombie now, or on her way to becoming one?
Will I have to kill her?
Did he have it in him to do it? If she was possessed, it seemed unavoidable. His stomach churned at the thought, even as he took the Town Hall steps two at a time.
He never saw her come around from behind the side of the cement-and-brick staircase.
Marisol’s shoulder hit him right in the ribs, sending him hard onto the sidewalk. His gun flew from his hand, went spinning across the concrete path. Fire filled his chest as he fought to breathe. She appeared over him, her face deathly gray in the glow of the streetlights. The same lights turned the arcing waters of the Fireman’s Memorial Fountain into a silver sculpture behind her.
Footsteps pounded down the cement and Marisol looked up and away for a moment. Taking advantage of her distraction, Cory rolled away, each movement sending fresh agony through his right side, along with a grinding feeling that let him know he’d cracked or broken at least one rib.
He got to his knees just as Todd and John reached them.
“What do we do?” Todd asked.
Cory was about to say he had no idea, when cool moisture drifted across the back of his neck.
And he had a sudden, desperate idea.
“Todd! The fountain. Bless the water!”
Without hesitation, Todd ran to the fountain and dipped his hand into it.
“O Lord, hear my prayer, and pour forth your blessing. May this water be endowed with your grace and serve to cast out demons and banish disease. May everything that this water touches be delivered from all that is unclean and hurtful; through your Holy name. Amen.”
As he finished the prayer, Todd pulled a Communion wafer from his pocket and dropped it into the water.
Although he felt weaker than he ever had in his adult life, Cory summoned his last bit of strength and charged Marisol, who was making her way towards Todd. He hit her right in the back and landed on top of her, unable to hold back a scream as something else snapped inside him.
“Help!” he shouted, and then John was right there, grabbing his arm.
“Not… me. Marisol. Into the fountain,” Cory gasped. He took one of Marisol’s arms and started to pull her up. John did the same on her other side. She kicked and growled and whipped her body back and forth but they hung on and dragged her towards the water. Todd joined them, grabbing one of her legs and holding it off the ground.
At the edge of the fountain they didn’t hesitate. As one, they swung her forward and into the water, so the top half of her was submerged. Cory immediately climbed in and pinned her head below the surface.
“You’re killing her!” John cried.
“I have to.” Cory put all his weight into it, fighting against her struggles and the slimy cement of the fountain’s bottom. After a minute, her thrashing slowed and then stopped.
Still he held her under.
Then it came - flashes of white light burst from her eyes and mouth as the thing inside her succumbed to the Holy water.
Praying it wasn’t too late, Cory lifted her from the fountain and laid her on the sidewalk.
“Breathe dammit!” he said, giving her chest a strong push. He repeated the motion several more times and then paused just long enough to draw a lungful of air and exhale it into her mouth. Then he resumed CPR compressions.
“It’s not working,” Todd said.
It has to work. C’mon, Marisol, breathe!
On the fifth cycle, just when Cory thought he might pass out from his exertions, Marisol’s body jerked under his.
Cory tilted her head to one side.
The
re was a pause - the longest pause of his life.
Then she gasped and coughed out a mouthful of water.
Chapter 10
Cory looked at his watch and stood up.
“Sorry fellas, I have to get going.”
Across the table, Todd gave him a big grin and nodded, and John’s lips twitched in his version of a smile.
“We’re still on for Friday, right?” Todd asked.
“Eight o’clock sharp at the bowling alley. I’ll see you then.” Cory grabbed his jacket and headed out to his car.
On the ride home, he was surprised to see a few of the leaves were already starting to change.
Fall’s coming early this year. Wonder if it’s because of the extra-hot summer we had.
As he opened the front door, he was greeted by the enticing combination of Marisol’s soft lips and the intoxicating odors of garlic bread, baked chicken and fresh string beans.
“Mmm, now that’s the kind of greeting a man likes when he comes home from work.”
“Work?” Marisol gave a sarcastic laugh. “You call bullshitting with Todd and John work?”
“Hey, that’s not all we did! I also finalized all the bank transfers for Todd. His mother’s estate is officially settled.”
“Well, as long as it was work...” she gave him a wink. “Why don’t you grab a glass of wine and relax. Dinner’ll be ready in about fifteen.”
“Sounds good.” As he headed into the dining room, he heard her say ‘Pour me one too.’
Opening the bottle of wine as he savored the lingering feel of her lips on his, Cory smiled to himself. Two months of living together and things were still wonderful. After everything they’d been through over the summer, it was like being in heaven. John and Todd had found work, he’d set up his practice in town, and Marisol had her job back. They’d even begun discussing marriage.
How could life get any better?
Wine glass in hand, he went into the living room and turned on the TV. Time enough to catch the last inning of the Mets.
Maybe things can get better. Maybe they’ll win for once.
In the kitchen, Marisol was stirring the sauce when movement by the back door caught her eye. She pulled the curtain aside, revealing a dark gray shape with fiery red eyes.
With a welcoming smile, she opened the door.
***The End***
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Cemetery Club Page 29
