Colleen kept moving, weaving through the racks, keeping one hand free to feel where she was going. She made it through, crawling under clothing as the fabric brushed against her face, further obscuring her vision. There was a hollow thud against something towering over her to her left. She looked up to see a legless body as it slammed into her, pinning her to the ground. Screaming and yelling, Colleen flailed her legs, trying to push the lifeless body off of her. She delivered several blows to it with her knees and elbows.
“Get off! Get off!” she said, almost growling.
Quickly, Colleen realized she had been attacked by something less terrifying. The foam and fabric monstrosity rolled off her—a mannequin. Smiling, she shook her head, but the smirk didn’t last long. The realization of what had just happened set in. This was no accident: something had pushed it onto her. And that something, or someone, was now stalking her.
Jackson remained by her side as she kept moving. Her searching hand slapped something solid, and she reached up, wrapped her fingers around a handle, and swung the door open. Colleen scurried inside and turned around, trying to catch her breath. Another growl resonated, just feet from them. As she was about to close the door, Jackson pulled away from her and darted into the racks of clothes, disappearing.
“Jackson! no!” she bellowed, her stern voice quickly melting into fear. “Get back here! Please, Jackson. You were supposed to stay with me.” Her staccato breathing made it hard to focus.
Colleen pushed the door closed and pulled her feet up to her chest. The room was ridiculously shallow, with barely enough room to sit. The door had a person-sized gap at the bottom, not completely sealing her off from what was outside. No matter how hard she had tried to keep her feet from sliding forward, Colleen couldn’t gain enough traction.
Lito has to hear all this going on, doesn’t he? How far away can he really be? He had only gone up a floor or two. How could he not hear something bursting through the ceiling?
A sniffing sound approached the door as the click of nails tapped across the floor. The familiar smell of mildewy fur and rotten meat permeated her nostrils, nearly blocking out all her other senses. Even knowing what she was up against gave her no solace.
The heavy, laborious breathing grew louder, turning into wheezing that crackled with every intake of air. Colleen held her breath as she waited for it to pass. Whatever it was, was not afraid of her.
The door rattled as the heavy beast pressed against it, presumably testing what it was going to have to go through to get to Colleen. The door shook a few more times, increasing in strength with every jiggle.
Colleen couldn’t hold her breath anymore and gasped. She slapped a hand over her mouth. The sounds stop, but she didn’t dare look down to see the huge nails just peeking out from under the door gap. Thirty more seconds ticked by of complete silence.
Stupid dog-beast thing. It either lost interest or was too dumb to figure how to—
As she pushed herself up to stand, the door exploded in front of her. The door jamb splintered away from the lock, slamming the door into Colleen’s face, knocking her back against the wall. It bounced back, swinging out in the opposite direction, revealing her attacker’s terrifying visage.
The last time Colleen had faced something like these abominations, she hadn't been able to see its face. This time, there was enough light from the filthy glass revealing its patchy, crimson-colored fur. One ear stood straight up, while the other hung down, sticking to its triangular-shaped head, with nearly half of it missing. It puffed its chest up, making it appear almost three times as wide as Jackson ever could be. While it was undoubtedly a type of canine, this animal had very little in common with her beloved pet.
It lunged forward. The door was in its way and caught the edge with its snout. It swung back into Colleen’s face, and instantly she could taste warm blood pouring down onto her lips. She tried to push it back, but the beast’s nails dug into the metal as it put all of its weight against the wooden, flat surface—pinning her helplessly. Pain shot through her nose and into her forehead as she struggled to breathe in.
“Help!” she screamed out, but the words came out in a garbled mess. Her attacker let up just enough for her to push back and reposition her hand in front of her face so that she could breathe. Colleen kicked her left foot, making contact, but the animal kept pressing. She kicked again, this time contacting what felt like a foot. She stomped down, and it yelped out, letting off the door. Colleen ducked down and exploded against it, throwing it off balance.
“Jackson!” breathlessly she yelled out as she ran around the animal. She bolted and headed in the same direction Jackson had escaped, “Jackson! Help—''
Colleen stopped cold in her tracks as the straps of her backpack were pulled tight against her chest. With another swift pull, she was yanked backward off-balance. Grabbing for something to hold on to, her fingers slipped and she fell on her back, feeling like a helpless turtle. She scrambled to turn over, but before she could stand up, the animal immediately pounced on her back. Its nails tore at her backpack; strips of nylon and canvas littered the air. She planted her hands on the concrete floor and pushed up with every bit of strength she could muster. The animal slammed her down and snapped its jaws, only catching a small lock of her hair.
It shook its head, ripping the strands from her scalp, and she yelped out in pain. Colleen put her forearm up and blocked a second attack. She dug into her waistband, feeling cold steel on her fingertips She pulled the blade out in one motion and plunged it, hilt deep into the beast. A blood-curdling scream emitted from the animal and she stabbed again. The animal retreated, a trail of crimson blood dripping behind it.
“Jackson!” her attempt to call out was weak and paltry. She wanted to call out louder but didn’t want to regain the attention of her attacker.
Jackson should be back by now. She tried to keep her mind off the worst. Unless…
Colleen wound through the clothes racks, looking in every dressing room and corner. To her right, she heard a faint yelp, and her heart wretched down. She turned and darted in the sound's direction. There lay Jackson, his shallow breathing coming in rapid succession. Tears welled up in her eyes as she searched his curly-haired body for signs of a wound.
“Oh, my baby boy, Jackson,” she muttered as the tears fell from her cheeks.
Blood was everywhere, making it difficult to find the source. He yelped as her fingers finally found some ragged but mostly superficial lacerations. She pulled off her shirt and pressed it against the wound; he struggled only momentarily, allowing her to stop the bleeding. Colleen lifted Jackson up and carried him to an empty room. She covered him in thick coats and pulled the door closed behind her.
I’m sick and freaking tired of these stupid dogs. I’m going to make them wish they had never messed with us. She clenched her fists while her entire body shook with anger. As she stalked across the floor, Colleen heard her name called out, barely audible.
She panned around rubbing her eyes and saw Marisha coming towards her, her gait short and leaning to her left. Colleen exploded into a sprint and pulled up just short of slamming into her as Marisha recoiled.
“It’s me,” Colleen said as she brushed the hair away from Marisha’s eyes. For only a second, the person looking back at her wasn’t the same one she had seen just a few minutes before. The light had gone out. She enveloped her in a hug, just in time before Marisha’s knees buckled.
“I should be helping you,” Marisha said, with a faint laugh, “I’m not the one who’s pregnant.”
“I’ll be fine, don't worry about me,” she said with a crooked smile.
“Oh, my god,” Marisha yelled as she put a hand over her mouth, “You’re bleeding! Let me—”
“Don’t freak out,” she shot back, putting her hands out slowly, “It’s not all mine.”
“Then, whose is it?”
Colleen looked away and gently rubbed her neck, “Whose blood is it?” Marisha repeated.
; “It’s Jacksons. He's fine. It looks a lot worse than it is. I promise.”
Marisha sighed and exhaled in relief, “Do you think the—” she pointed to Colleen’s stomach, “is okay?”
“I’m sure it’s okay. The Blakey’s are hearty people, you know. It takes a lot more than some stupid dog to keep us down. This little one,” she said, playfully rubbing her stomach, “will be no different.”
“Speaking of stupid,” Marisha said, “Have you heard from Lito?”
Thirty
Lito
"Find the food, she said,” Lito mockingly mumbled under his breath as he tossed a plastic bucket across the room in disgust, “I promise there was some here last time, she said.”
He wrinkled his nose and peered into another empty bucket. He had searched almost fifty buckets since she had sent him on this, what he was beginning to believe was a pointless, task. It had been fifteen years since The Shifting; it was a pipedream to think that they would still find food hanging around.
He grabbed the handle to another door and let out an exaggerated sigh. Lito twisted the handle and pulled; the door moved a few inches but stopped, digging into the concrete floor. Another pull, and it moved some more, but not enough to make a difference. He stopped cold as his ears pricked up. Behind him, there was a rustling sound of boxes being shuffled about.
I thought she said this place was abandoned. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and slowly turned around. It was too dark for him to make anything out, and the sound had stopped.
This place is giving me the creeps. His heart kicked it up a notch. This is the last place I'm checking for these elusive rations. I bet they are having a great time laughing at me on this one.
Lito wrenched on the door one more time, this time with more anger behind it. Still just a few more inches of space. If he was lucky, he might be able to squeeze through. But why risk it just to open a few more empty buckets. I’m getting out of here. Clang! Lito looked back in time to see a ceiling tile pop free and drop into the pile of boxes on the floor.
God, this place is falling down around us. Who’s idea was this again? Oh, that’s right, Marisha’s. I knew we shouldn’t have stopped here.
Before Lito took another step, a low growling sound erupted out from in front of him. He backed up and placed his hand on his hip, drawing out his snub-nosed revolver. The next sound was a rhythmic click, click, click, against the concrete, coming closer to him. He aimed the gun toward the sound while pressing his back against the door. His arm rocked back and forth with the odor of death seeping into each ragged breath.
“Jackson?” he said, squinting his eyes, trying to get a view of something, anything, beyond the darkness.
The growling noise came again, not as loud but certainly closer. The awful stench of rotting meat and mold had become stronger, almost nauseating. Lito squinted again, keeping his finger firmly on the trigger. Something rushed at him, in a mass of red and brown. He squeezed the trigger but was way off target as it barreled towards him, unflinching. Before he could get another shot off, it was on him.
Lito dodged to the right, but not quick enough. The animal slammed into him, head first, knocking the breath out of his lungs the instant he tried to call out. The door bounced him back, landing him behind the giant beast. Lito gasped for breath as he tried to gain his bearings. He looked down to see the animal shaking its head, trying to recover from the collision. A trail of deep red paw prints led from where it first appeared. Whatever it was, it was hurt.
Lito sprinted back down the hallway he had used to get there. Off to the left, he could see stairs leading to the second floor and made a beeline in their direction. He didn’t dare look back to see how close his attacker was. He didn't need to; he could still smell its hot, putrid breath.
Bounding down each step two by two, Lito nearly tripped over his own feet as he yelled out, “It’s coming! RUN!”
Colleen
Colleen could see the beast only a few steps behind Lito. She took aim and fired, landing a perfectly placed shot to the animal's head, causing it to stumble, but only momentarily. It shook it off like it was just a scratch. She took aim again and got it in her sights. Holding her breath and controlling her swaying arm, she pulled the trigger. She was off as the bullet deflected off a metal pillar, burying itself in the nearest mannequin.
With it now only 50 feet away, Colleen quickly holstered her weapon and grabbed Marisha by the arm.
“It's like a freight train, and I’m not about to get run over,” she said, dragging Marisha behind her as she took off running.
With her missed shot, Colleen might not have killed the beast, but she had undoubtedly slowed it down. With each step, the gap widened between them and the animal.
“Where are we going?” Colleen called back to a breathless and terrified Lito.
“There, climb,” he said, pointing to the spindly, latticed, stainless steel structure that towered hundreds of feet into the air. From floor to ceiling, the elevator made anyone who looked up instantly dizzy.
“No,” Marisha said abruptly, “There’s no way I’ll make it up that.”
One wayward step was all it took. Colleen looked back to see Marisha stumbling forward. She put her hands out to grab her, but it was too late. In what felt like slow motion, Marisha was falling forward and violently face-planted in the ground; her chin ricocheting off the battered carpet. Colleen grabbed her hand in one felled motion, pulling her up as Lito blew past them.
Lito looked back and pulled up short, his head swiveling back and forth as if he was looking for something. Marisha doubled over, hands on her knees, gasping for breath.
“What...how...where did it go?” Colleen said, noticing the same thing Lito had—the beast was gone.
“He, I mean, it was just there,” Lito said, pointing into the blackness. The sun had started to go down, casting more of the building into shadow. He paced around in a circle, his body stiff.
“I don’t know about—” Marisha gasped, “you, but—I’m not waiting for—that thing to come back.”
“I say we still stick to the same plan,” Lito said.
“Plan? I’m not sure this—” Colleen said, making circles with her hands, “—qualifies as a plan; you pointed and said climb. Now we just need to get out of here. Cut our losses.”
Lito’s shoulders stiffened as he sucked in air through his teeth. “If you've got a better one then by all means, lay it on us. Whatever that thing is, isn’t letting us out of here easy.”
Colleen had dealt with these same creatures just 6 months ago, realizing now wasn’t the time to underestimate them. Through the crisp late afternoon air, a pained howl interrupted the silence as their hearts ramped up.
“I guess your plan it is,” Colleen said as she darted towards the metal structure. She leaped, grabbing the first rung, and started traversing up. Lito was already twice as high and still climbing, his eyes focused on the top.
Colleen looked to her left, then her right, not seeing Marisha. As she looked behind her, she found Marisha frozen, her eyes like giant orbs, unblinking.
“Babe,” Colleen yelled, “What are you doing? Let’s go!”
“I can’t do it,” Marisha said, shaking her head.
Colleen gritted her teeth and reached out her hand, “Yes you can. It’s just like climbing a tree. You did climb trees, right?”
“No...” Marisha's words barely a whisper.
A booming sound, like a boulder crashing through a wall, resonated as Colleen turned back to see the red and brown abomination barrelling toward them again. Taking long strides, its claws dug into the carpet. This time it wasn’t alone. Two more trailed only a few yards behind, while another came from the opposite direction, cutting off any possible exit. Marisha stood there frozen in fear, still not budging from the floor.
“Well, gotta learn sometime!” Colleen stepped back down and grabbed her hand, pulling her up. Marisha finally began to climb. Hand over hand and side to side, she traversed
up.Lito was already several floors above them, never once looking down.
Boom!
The beast collided with the elevator tower, bouncing back. The bars rattled, nearly causing them to lose grip. It staggered around, snorting and shaking its head. The other three took notice and pulled up just short, circling the tower, as if planning their attack.
“They can’t climb, can they?” Marisha asked.
“I highly doubt—” Colleen’s words were cut off as she braced for impact.
One of the beasts, not much larger than Jackson, launched itself towards the tower again, aiming higher. Legs flailing, it tried to grip something, but eventually slipped off. Its thick body crashed to the ground. Not deterred, the other two tried the same, launching themselves up. On the third try, the smallest one hooked a steel girder and held on, letting out a thunderous bark. It clambered again, pulling up another rung, then another. Marisha had froze again, stared ahead, gripping tighter, her knuckles turning white.
Colleen slapped the steel girder connecting her to Marisha and yelled, “Snap out of it!”
Marisha jerked back and shook her head, as if trying to clear the fear that had taken hold inside of her. She reached up a few feet and pulled herself up slowly. The animal below was closing the gap, its momentum increasing. It would be on them in seconds.
Colleen wrapped her left leg around one of the metal braces, then the other. She leaned out and reached back into her back pocket, pulling out her slingshot. In one smooth motion, she loaded the slingshot, pulled back, and aimed. Letting it go, the steel ball buried itself in the animal's soft black nose with a wet pop. The stunned creature nearly lost its grip, then wailed a terrifying cry. With another well-placed shot right above the eye, it fell back and slammed into the floor. Its muscles twitched for just a second before its life was extinguished. The two remaining pursuers circled their fallen friend, heads bowed as if mourning. They then stared up at Colleen and Marisha and sprinted toward the stairs.
The Maddening: Book 2 in the Terror Saga Page 15
