Dead State Box Set [0-5]

by Shupert, Derek

  I remove the Remington from my shoulder, and make for the front of the house. Everything looks as we left it. Nothing is out of the ordinary or hinting that something’s wrong. Duke’s not growling either, which is a good sign.

  Before opening the door, my hand stops on the handle. A flood of panic washes over me as I think of telling Mom that Dad is dead because I shot him. Never mind the fact that he turned into something else which made me do it, but just saying the dreadful words out loud sounds horrible.

  I sniffle and my eyes water. I’ve got to try to get it together the best I can before Mom sees me.

  Duke licks my hand gently and peers up at me with those big eyes.

  “Thanks, boy!” Taking a deep breath, I open the door and step in. The house is quiet. Like middle of the night everyone sleeping quiet. No TV going or Cindy running around playing Space Invaders with her dolls.

  “Mom... Cindy?” I call out in a weak voice.

  Nothing but the cold dead silence and the wind whipping about outside to greet me.

  I wonder where they’re at.

  I glance out of the window, and notice that Mom’s car is still here. But where are they? Perhaps she got called into work, and there’s something wrong with the car, and she couldn’t drive it. Wouldn’t be the first time that hunk of junk gave this family problems.

  I settle on that reason as to why they’re not here. My imagination tries to get the best of me, conjuring up horrid scenes of them being chased by those creatures as they weep and call out for me and Dad. The mere thought of such a scenario does its best to rattle me, but I try not to let it.

  Dropping my pack to the floor, and laying my Remington on the bar top, I head for the fridge. My stomach growls loudly. Guess it read my mind.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m going to feed you.” I open the fridge. A mountain of food greets my hungry eyes. My stomach rumbles once more. I pull out the makings for my favorite sandwich since I can remember. It’s basic, but it always manages to hit the spot. Wheat bread with mayo and honey mustard. Next, add some deli sliced black forest ham topped with Munster cheese. Yum.

  Duke sits and just watches me. His eyes are fixed on all the food I’m bear hugging out of the fridge.

  “I know you got to be hungry too, boy.”

  Duke licks his chops. His ears stand on end. A serious expression rests on his face.

  I grab his bowl and container of food and pour a mound inside the silver dish. He scoops up large amounts of the moist gravy and beef mixture.

  I rub the back of his head and get back to my sandwich. I add a little more meat than I normally would and dive in.

  I wolf down both portions in what seems like seconds. My stomach finally feels at peace. Between a full stomach and the long stressful day that I’ve endured, I’m feeling the urge to sleep.

  Grabbing the Remington from the bar top, I head upstairs to my room. I lay the Remington on the floor and collapse on my bed. I dig my phone out of my pocket to find that the battery is nearly dead. I pull up Mom’s number and call her.

  Two rings and it goes directly to voicemail.

  “Hey Mom, it’s me. Just making sure you and Cindy are ok. Give me a call as soon as you get this and let me know where you are. Something’s happened to Dad. Love you.”

  I hang up and put my phone on the nightstand next to me. I attach the charger and roll back over. Before I know it, I’m out.

  Back at school already? Ugh! Where did the weekend go? It’s bad enough that I don’t feel good, but now I have to sit through hours and hours of boring dribble from these lame teachers.

  Standing in front of the school, I contemplate going back home. Sneak into my room and crawl back into bed. If Mom or Dad finds me, I’ll just tell them I wasn’t feeling good.

  James.

  I look around for whoever called my name. I don’t see anyone at first, but finally spot Kimberly leaning against the main building to my right. She looks right at me, smiling and motioning for me to come to her.

  Man, she’s so hot. That short, yellow dress she has on and her tan skin always has a way of making my thoughts drift. I better not keep her waiting.

  I forget about leaving school and make my way over to her. As I get closer, Kimberly pushes off the wall and spins around. Her dress twirls in the cool breeze as she continues to smile before she disappears around the corner.

  My pace quickens. My heart beats faster from the cat and mouse game she is playing with me. I’m liking school today. It should be like this every day.

  I make the corner, and see her waiting in the opening of the school’s utility shed on the opposite end. I wonder how she got down there so fast.

  Trying not to make it look like I’m so anxious, I walk down to the utility shed at a slower pace. I look in every direction, waiting for a teacher to yell, “What do you think you’re doing out here, James?” Not sure if they would like the answer.

  “Come on in, James. I’m waiting for you.” Kimberly giggles as I reach the entrance.

  I strain to peer through the black spots in the congested structure. Gaps of light from the outside sneak in, illuminating small portions of the shed.

  “Where are you?”

  “Follow my voice, stud. I have a surprise for you if you can find me.”

  She’s baiting me in like a mouse going after cheese. I bite and start my hunt. Forget the musty smell of lawn equipment and other tools, my only thought, at the moment, is finding Kimberly.

  “You’re getting closer, big boy,” she playfully taunts.

  I nearly trip multiple times over shovels and racks that have fallen to the ground. I hope Kimberly didn’t see any of that.

  “Oh, my, you’re so close that you’re on fire,” she softly taunts in a seductive voice.

  The excitement is on the verge of erupting inside of me, but I try to play it cool.

  There she is. Leaning back against a pillar, part of her dress slips off her shoulder. I quietly move in.

  “Where are you, stud? I’m waiting for you.”

  Sneaking up behind her, I gently place my hand on her shoulder. I lean in and whisper in her ear, “Here I am.”

  Kimberly turns around. Her face is contorted and her eyes are bloodshot like Dad’s. She’s breathing heavy, fluids dripping from her once beautiful, soft pink lips which are now cracked and torn.

  I scramble backward, and fall over some racks and shovels in the darkness.

  “What the hell is this?”

  “What’s the matter, James? Do you not want me now?” Kimberly asks in the most demonic tone I’ve ever heard.

  I try to get up and run away, but I’m frozen from fear. Before I can lift myself off the floor, she jumps on top of me.

  “AWWWW!”

  I awake in a fit of panic. My arms are outstretched in front of me as I defend myself from my own tainted thoughts. I gasp, and expel the pent-up air from my lungs as I sit up from the mattress. It takes me a moment to realize it was just a bad dream, and that I’m actually in my bed. Duke just stares at me with a bewildered gaze as I try to calm down.

  Man, what a way to mess up a great dream.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Running my hand over my face, I take a deep breath. Stupid nightmare. True, I was going to possibly hook up with Kimberly in a dream, but it would still be something.

  I feel beaten down and tired. I grab my phone to see if I have any missed calls. One from Mom about five hours ago.

  Crap!

  It’s after 7 P.M. I didn’t even realize the time. I might have heard the call if I hadn’t had the ringer set to vibrate. Looks like she left a voice mail, though.

  “James! I only have a few minutes before I lose my signal, and I can’t get a hold of your father, but if you get this, don’t go... We were seeing... fields. Your sister and I... are heading to our cabin. Tell your father and ...careful. I want the two... here with us. Love...”

  The call ends abruptly, but leaves me feeling relieved that I have heard from them. Mom
sounded stressed and frantic. I hope they’re all right. I try to call Mom back. I punch in her number when I hear something downstairs. My hand freezes. My ear listens intently to the disturbance.

  Duke instantly gets to all fours. His ears stand on end. A low growl emits from his throat. I wrap my arm around his neck and pat his side. I whisper into his ear that’s it’s ok and to settle down. I don’t believe that it is, especially now that I know that Mom and Cindy are a long way from here. There is someone in the house, and I need Duke to be quiet.

  I slip the phone back into my pocket. I slide out of my bed and gently place my feet on the floor. The dried mud caked to my boots chips off in chunks as I grab my Remington and head toward the door. I pause and listen.

  From my room, I have some visibility to the downstairs area, but it’s limited. Holding tight, and with Duke by my side, we notice something quickly dash pass the staircase. It disappears into the hall that leads to the kitchen.

  What the hell was that?

  Oh, crap!

  Instantly, my palms become moist. My breathing goes into overdrive. I duck back into my room. The walls feel as though they are closing in around me.

  Get it together, James. Come on. This is no time to chicken out. You don’t have that luxury anymore.

  Not the best pep talk in the world, but it’s all I got.

  Duke sits in the doorway next to me. His eyes are focused dead ahead as he keeps a watchful guard. The perfect sentry. He looks over at me and groans.

  “Yea, yea. I know, Dad.”

  This dog takes after Dad. That’s for sure.

  “Stay!” I whisper to Duke, whose groaning and getting antsy. He moves his legs in place. He takes a step forward, but then suddenly stops and moves back.

  Cautiously, I creep out of my room. I pay attention to my footsteps while keeping an eye out for whatever’s making the noise. Each room I pass, I carefully peer inside to make sure it’s clear.

  With the daylight fading away, and the house now becoming darker with what seems like every step I take, I can’t help but become more worried. I can’t risk turning on any lights for fear of alerting whatever might be down there, or in the house in general. It could be nothing more than my bad dream still haunting me, but I don’t think it is.

  Some rustling and banging around below stops me cold. I take a gulp of air. My hands tremble. My heart feels as though it wants to explode out of my chest and run the other way.

  Man, I wish I had a flashlight or something on me, but that stuff was left in my gear downstairs.

  I look down to the bottom floor. I train my ears and listen for the noise so I can pinpoint where it’s coming from. There’s nothing at first, but then it starts again.

  Sounds like it’s coming from the kitchen, which is only accessible down a hallway that runs under the stairs.

  Slowly and cautiously, I descend down each step. My footsteps are steady. I take great care to be as quiet as possible. A few of the steps squeak as I put pressure on them. The noise makes me pause and cringe. I listen for a reaction. There is none.

  Making it down to the bottom rung, I peer over our large living room. Sometimes, I wish we didn’t have so much furniture in here. It’s so congested and makes it hard to see anything clearly.

  I’ve told Mom and Dad they need to sell some of this crap off ’cause they’re looking like a bunch of hoarders, but they just ignore me.

  A thin shred of light catches my attention down the hall from the kitchen. I step off the stairs and onto the hardwood floor.

  The front door is wide open. The crisp, cool air blows in leaves from the outside. I know that was shut when we came in, wasn’t it?

  A part of me says “Get out now while you have the chance,” but I can’t. My gear is in the kitchen. I need that pack.

  I train the Remington dead ahead and push on. One cautious step in from of the other, I move toward the hallway. The house gets darker with every second that ticks by. I remove my cell phone from my pocket and turn it on. I sweep the room from left to right, bringing light to the void of darkness.

  Nothing appears to be out of the ordinary or hinting that someone or something is loose in the house. Still doesn’t mean that I’m going to let my guard down. Not till I have my pack in hand, and me and Duke are out of here.

  I approach the hall slowly and turn about. The light breaches the blackness lurking in the corridor. There is still nothing. Maybe it was my imagination playing tricks on me. Seems as though my fear got Duke all worked up as well. He’s in that ready to pounce stance.

  My cell phone vibrates, startling me. It’s a text message from Dawson.

  Dawson:

  Dude, I told you this was real. Have you not been watching the news? You’re not a flesh-crazed psycho, are you? Lol.

  James:

  Not really a good time. Kind of in the middle-

  I hear some clanging noise in the kitchen. I drop my phone. It hits the wooden floor hard, making more unwanted racket. Dang it.

  I wait for something to explode around the corner in search of the source, but nothing comes. I grab my phone from the floor, then slip it back into my pocket.

  As I near the kitchen, I hug the wall and peer around the corner. I don’t notice anything, but hear some commotion coming from the other side of the kitchen island. I can’t see what’s causing it, but it really doesn’t matter.

  There’s my pack. Just where I left it. On top of the kitchen counter.

  I tell myself to get it and go. No extra BS.

  Quietly, I move to the island and grab my gear. I slip it on. I turn to leave and my curiosity gets the best of me. I know I shouldn’t, but I kind of want to know if I am losing my mind here or not.

  Gripping the Remington a hair tighter, if that’s even possible, I move around the island to the other side. I pause for a brief second before committing to my actions of seeing what it is.

  Hesitantly, I slowly peek around to see what it is. It’s a raccoon that suddenly comes into view, which scares the piss out of me. I jump and gasp. It rummages through the tipped over garbage. I breathe a sigh of relief and lower my gun.

  “Man, you had me scared shi-”

  I catch wind of heavy breathing. I know it’s behind me somewhere, but I’m not sure where. I cut my eyes to the right and twist my head some, trying to see if I can see it. My heart pounds hard. A tingling sensation courses throughout my body.

  The wood floor creaks slightly in the dead silence as dense footsteps creep up to me. I turn around and fire. I completely miss whoever it is and hit one of the lamps in the living room. The light created from the muzzle shows a man’s face in all of its disgusting glory.

  Half of the right side of his face has been scratched severely. Deep claw marks have ripped his flesh open, exposing the inside of his mouth.

  He pins me against the kitchen sink. The only thing between me and his disgusting, rotting breathe is the Remington.

  I struggle to get him off. He presses the Remington closer to my chest with his blood covered arms. Duke rushes in, grabs his leg, and pulls. His teeth rip flesh from bone. Duke manages to get the chaser off me and give me some space. With strips of meat laced between his teeth, Duke stands there poised to strike again.

  Growling and his row of fangs being displayed, Duke lunges forward. He latches onto his arm and pulls, trying to drag the man away from me. Blood drips to the floor below as he peers back in my direction.

  Fumbling with the Remington, my hands shake. I finally bring it back up and take aim. Ripping his shredded arm free from Duke’s mouth, the man comes for me once more.

  Boom!

  One shot this time and I don’t miss. Dead center and right between the eyes. The back of its head erupts in a mist of red. The wall behind him is painted in a mural of his blood. He drops to the floor before my feet, lifeless.

  Duke gives himself a good shake and eases off. He trots over to my side and licks my hand.

  “Thanks, boy.”

&nb
sp; I rub his head and turn to the sink. I get some cold water and splash my face with it. It feels good. A part of me wishes I could go back to sleep and continue my dream. Well, without all the weird stuff.

  Wiping my face down with a towel, I catch movement through the window.

  “Come on, boy, we need to get out of here, now.” Stepping over the dead body, we bolt for the front door. I pause and take a peek, trying to get a good idea of where I want to go.

  I know Mom and Cindy are heading for our cabin, but that’s a long way away. For the moment, we just need to get out of here, and find some place safe so I can have a few moments to plan out our route.

  “Ok, Duke, when I open the door, you stay by my side and follow my lead. Am I understood?” Duke looks up at me and licks his mouth. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

  I peer off into the woods on the right. There’s a trail that leads back some to a secret hideout that I used to play at way back when. I haven’t been there in some time and don’t know if the trail still exists, but it’s the only thing I’ve got.

  One of the windows in the living room shatters. A body slams hard against the floor. I throw open the door and bolt out of the house with Duke by my side.

  I try not to look around, and keep my eyes focused dead ahead. The grunting and rustling in the grass around us sends my head swiveling about.

  A handful of chasers are going inside the house while one must have caught a glimpse of us, and is now in pursuit.

  My legs are on fire again. Running as hard as I can with this pack on my back is making it challenging. The tree line seems so far away compared to where that chaser is behind us, but I keep going as hard as I can. Lungs combusting and limbs like Jell-O, we hit the woods.

  “Yes,” I mutter, finding that the trail is still here.

  Duke and I make our way up a bit and get off the beaten path. We hide from our stalker in a thicket of bushes. Sitting there, I try to catch my breath. I’m so winded and tired still that I just want to go back to sleep and forget this nightmare.