“Bessie,” she called out. She wanted to see her little one. Hold her once more and stare down into her beautiful brown eyes that were so innocent and pure.
More laughter, then the sound of small feet hurrying down the stairs.
Feeling as if in a haze, Mathilda drew herself out of her bed and drew on her robe. Her steps were unsteady as she made her way to the door, but she felt stronger than she had anticipated after a month of bed rest. Opening the door, she ventured out into the house.
Every window was cast open, sunlight streaming in. There was no more darkness to terrify her or make her mad with loneliness and anger. Her babies were of Egypt now, buried in a graveyard nearby, and for once, she felt at peace with all that she had endured.
Carefully, she descended the stairs and walked down to the parlor. She could hear Roland laughing and Bessie talking. There was the clink of china and silver and hot, fresh air flowed around her as she stepped into the parlor.
“I only wish to love you,” Bessie’s voice said softly just as Mathilda entered.
Roland reclined in his chair as Bessie leaned over him. Her tiny hand pressed against his cheek as she placed her lips over his in a kiss that was neither chaste nor child-like.
Mathilda gasped, stumbling back to fall against the wall.
Slowly, Bessie raised her eyes to regard her mother. They were as blue as a robin’s egg.
The Zombies
Most of the people reading this collection of short stories probably discovered me through my zombie trilogy AS THE WORLD DIES. Stop Requested does not take place in that universe though. It actually exists in the same world as my young adult novel THE LIVING DEAD BOY AND THE ZOMBIE HUNTERS. The surviving characters from this short story make a brief appearance in that book.
Zombies continue to terrify me. They always have since the first time I saw Night of the Living Dead. It only seems fitting that this collection have at least one zombie story in it.
I originally conceived this story for The Library of the Living Dead Press’s first anthology called ZOMBOLOGY. I was very excited to be included in the anthology and it was my first real challenge to fit a story into a very small word count.
Like all the stories in this collection that were in previous anthologies, Stop Requested has been revised for one simple reason. Word counts are very restrictive. Sometimes vital descriptions or mood setting sentences are trimmed away. I’ve gone over the story and fleshed it out just a little. Not in plot, but in making it a richer read.
I hope you enjoy this short story and read THE LIVING DEAD BOY AND THE ZOMBIE HUNTERS novel as well.
Enjoy!
Stop Requested
When the bus began to slow down, Bonnie the Labrador perked her ears and quickly adjusted her stance, shifting her weight onto her front paws. It always amused her how the humans lurched forward when the bus came to a stop and she flashed a wide doggy grin at the passengers.
“Not yet, Bonnie,” Rachel, her owner, said softly. Her fingers tangled in the Golden Retriever’s fur to hold her steady.
She had clearly misunderstood Bonnie’s movements.
The dog tried not to look annoyed, but sometimes her owner completely misinterpreted her actions. Bonnie knew their stop. It always smelled of Thai food and laundry detergent due to the small restaurant and laundromat that was nestled next to their house in the Hyde Park area of Austin, Texas.
Seated in the handicap area in the front of the bus, Rachel had Bonnie tucked between her legs. Bonnie’s owner wore huge dark glasses that hid her pale green eyes and her dark hair was twisted up into a knot on top of her head. Her tanned hand gripped a book bag and a canvas tote full of groceries to keep them from sliding off the seat. Bonnie could not wait for the groceries to be unpacked when they reached the small house they shared. She could smell bacon inside.
She loved bacon.
Bonnie gave the smelly old woman getting off the bus her best wide smiled and received a little scratch behind one ear. After four months of commuting with Rachel, Bonnie had formed small friendships with the regular passengers. Bonnie observed the passengers on the Capitol Metro bus, smiling her doggy grin, and drooling just a little. The young couple that sometimes gave her cookies was snuggled up with each other in a seat nearby. The man was very dark and the girl was very pale. They both had hair that Bonnie wanted to chew on. It was thick and tangled into massive tentacles all over their heads. It smelled exotic and delicious.
Bonnie’s other favorite people on the bus was a sweet young woman named Melissa and her little human puppy, Oscar. She had huge dark eyes and very long dark hair. Oscar was nestled into her side eating cookies. Bonnie couldn’t help but lick her chops at the sight of those yummy sugary cookies. She tried very hard not to beg. It wasn’t good to beg and she knew that Rachel would give her cookies later.
The smelly old woman’s name was Flo and she rode the bus every day. She always had the most awful perfume on her. It hurt Bonnie’s nose and sometimes made her sneeze. Bonnie definitely preferred the smell of the young man in the back of the bus. He never took a bath and he always smelled of wild, feral things.
“Good girl. You’re such a good girl,” Rachel murmured, scratching just the right spot on Bonnie’s neck.
Bonnie thumped her tail happily.
The bus lurched into motion again. Bonnie once more shifted her weight to keep her balance. The big metal beast rumbled beneath her feet and she leaned against Rachel’s legs to keep her balance.
Yawning, the dog looked around at the emptying bus. It had been a long day for her and Rachel. They’d been awake early in the morning. Rachel attended the University of Texas and they had to catch the bus early. Bonnie didn’t mind the bus ride. People liked her and made a fuss over her. Being in Rachel’s classes wasn’t the hard part either. She usually napped throughout the lectures. The hard part was maneuvering Rachel across the campus. Rachel couldn’t see and was completely dependent on Bonnie’s guidance. She was still adjusting to being blind and was not always as alert as she should be. Bonnie often kept her from taking bad tumbles or getting lost.
The bus came to another stop. Melissa and Oscar hurried down the aisle. Oscar shoved a cookie at Bonnie before he was yanked through the door. Bonnie chewed it thankfully.
“Almost home,” Rachel said, and ruffled Bonnie’s fur.
The bus roared forward again.
The dog was ready to get home. A nice nap in the waning sunlight would be nice. After some more cookies and maybe some bacon, of course.
The bus slowed again. Bonnie perked her ears and looked out the window. The bus was nearing their stop and her favorite tree slid past the window. She seriously needed to pee. They were getting to their stop just in time.
Taking a tight hold of Bonnie’s harness, Rachel rose to her feet. Reaching out, her fingers found the bright yellow cord over the window and pulled it.
“Stop requested,” a man’s voice said.
It annoyed Bonnie that she could never find the man speaking those words. Sometimes she wondered if it was the bus’s voice. She wasn’t too sure about the metal beast as it was. It had all sorts of wonderful smells in it, but she wasn’t sure if it was alive or not. Maybe it was like the TV and just pretended it was alive.
The bus came to a stop and Rachel let Bonnie guide her to the doors. Bonnie always liked this part where the bus settled on its haunches so Rachel could step off right onto the curb.
The bus finished lowering its front end and Rachel smiled at the handsome black man who sat in the driver’s seat. Bonnie liked him. He always winked at her and sometimes slipped her a doggy treat. They got to ride with him in the morning when he was a passenger going to work and he always drove them home in the afternoon. Sometimes he would give Bonnie pieces of his breakfast tacos.
“You be careful, Rachel,” the man said in a concerned voice. He wasn’t winking or smiling today. There was a distinct lack of doggie treats.
“I always am,” Rachel assured h
im. Her voice was a little defensive. She still sometimes tripped or walked into things despite having Bonnie and her cane. One time she fell when stepping off the bus and the bus driver had helped her up.
“I know you are, but there are crazy things going on today,” the bus driver said in a gentle voice. “There are some really bad riots up north and some weird stuff going down at UT. Might be terrorists.”
“I thought it was some crazy girl biting people that was the reason the police were called in at the university. Not terrorists,” Rachel answered.
“The news isn’t always right. Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s good. Hopefully, it won’t affect us, but just be careful.”
“You’re very sweet, Derrick,” Rachel said, smiling at the man. “Thank you for the warning.”
Bonnie’s gaze darted back and forth between them. She lifted one doggie eyebrow. It occurred to her that Rachel and the driver should mate and have puppies. She wasn’t quite sure how to relay this tidbit of wisdom to them since they both didn’t speak dog, so she let out a soft whine.
“Yeah, you’re right, Bonnie. We should go. Thanks, Derrick,” Rachel said.
Feeling a little grumpy that Rachel had misunderstood her yet again, Bonnie led her mistress off the bus. Together, they strolled along the sidewalk toward the small house where they lived.
Bonnie took a quick break under her favorite tree, making sure that the greyhound from two blocks down understood this was her territory, then went back to guiding Rachel.
The sidewalk was uneven. Trees along the walk had pushed their roots up under the cement creating huge cracks. Bonnie always made sure to guide Rachel over the more even spots. The breeze was crisp and cool, though the sun above warmed them with hot rays. Bonnie was glad they were past winter and that she didn’t have to wear her heavy plaid coat anymore. She thought it made her look dumb.
Bonnie caught a whiff of something that she had never smelled before. In fact, it smelled terribly wrong in a way she couldn’t even comprehend. It wasn’t a living smell or a dead smell, but something between the two. She barked in agitation in the direction it was coming from and stopped in her tracks.
“Bonnie?” Rachel’s voice was uncertain. “What is it?”
Bonnie looked around at the other people in the street. Two kids were riding their bikes, another was climbing a tree. A lady sat on her porch smoking a smelly cigarette. A couple of people about Rachel’s age were on a porch playing guitar music and laughing, but something did not smell right.
The dog looked around, her body tense and alert. Slowly, she looked back toward the tall building in the distance. It was the place where Rachel went to school. Something wasn’t right in that direction. She had caught just a whiff of it, but she did not like it. But, it was also not near enough for her to be too concerned with it.
Continuing to sniff loudly, she advanced down the sidewalk toward their small house. It was just around the corner behind a high fence with lots of pretty green ivy growing over it. Squirrels liked to run across the top and tease Bonnie. One day, she would teach those little squirrels a lesson.
They reached the narrow walk to their house and Rachel pushed the gate open. Together, they strolled to the quaint little house.
***
The small TV on the table in the corner of the living room was playing loudly again. Rachel sat on the sofa, reading a book, her fingers sliding over the tiny bumps on the page. Bonnie sat next to her, chewing on her dog toy, and occasionally glancing at the blur of images on the TV.
Rachel couldn’t see, but Bonnie understood that she had not always been blind. Humans talked around Bonnie freely and she knew they didn’t think she could understood what they were saying. She actually grasped a lot more than they thought she did. In fact, she was a little annoyed that they couldn’t understand her when she spoke to them. Now she wished Rachel did speak dog. The noise on the TV was upsetting her. The people were talking about fires, bad people, and scary things that made Bonnie anxious for Rachel. Bonnie loved Rachel completely and would do anything for her, but she knew she was limited in what she could do and it made her sad.
“…as the Houston fire rages, there are continuing reports of communication being lost with the emergency crews responding to the disaster. Already forty fire fighters, policeman and EMS respondents are being reported as missing…”
“The world is a weird, terrible place, Bonnie,” Rachel sighed. “So many bad things happening.”
Bonnie whined and kissed Rachel’s fingers. She knew Rachel had been in a bad car accident and had lost her vision. It made her sad to hear the pain in Rachel’s voice.
“At least I have you. You make it all better,” Rachel decided. She showered Bonnie with kisses and hugged her tight.
Bonnie grinned and licked Rachel’s nose. Rachel laughed, the pain fading from her voice, and said, “Oh, Bonnie. You’re such a sweetie.”
Bonnie felt the love she had for her special human fill her heart. They returned to what they had been doing before, and Bonnie gnawed heartily on her stuffed bunny’s ear.
The people on the TV continued to talk in calm voices about terrible things. But, much to Bonnie’s relief, Rachel fumbled for the remote and changed it to a different channel. People laughing and saying stupid things to each other was much better.
Bonnie caught a whiff of that nasty smell again. It wafted in through the open windows on the cool night air. It was faint, but it upset her. It didn’t smell right. She let out a low growl.
“What is it, Bonnie?” Rachel touched the dog’s back gently.
Bonnie sat up and stared out the window into the backyard. The garden was just a jumble of weeds and grasses. A fence surrounded the backyard and tall trees stood guard behind it. Thick ivy was growing up over the fence and it was hard for Bonnie to see into the yard behind her home. But something smelled wrong out there and she didn’t like it. Bonnie bristled.
The TV snapped off and Rachel put the remote on the table. She carefully climbed off the couch, her head cocked, listening.
Bonnie growled low in her throat, alerting anything out there that she was on watch, and she would attack. She perked her ears up as somewhere, in the distance, someone screamed.
Rachel slowly walked over the open windows, also listening. Whether or not she heard the scream, Bonnie was unsure. Humans didn’t always hear the things Bonnie could. The dog rushed past Rachel to the window. She stood on her hind legs, front paws on the windowsill to look outside.
“What is it, Bonnie?” Rachel’s voice held the hint of a tremor in it. “What is it? You’re scaring me.”
Bonnie growled again when her sensitive ears picked up the sound of a fight. It was not extremely close, but it was more than just a cat and a rat fighting or a raccoon tussling with a dog. It sounded like people.
Another whiff of that horrible dead-yet-living smell hit her.
She barked.
Rachel fumbled with the windows and started slamming them closed. Her fingers trembled as she searched for the locks, then twisted them. She almost fell over Bonnie in her haste to close the windows and drapes.
Bonnie darted through the house, listening intently, making sure all the doors were closed, and that the windows were secure. She barked into the bedroom and Rachel stumbled through the hall after her. Tears streamed down her face and Bonnie felt bad for frightening her, but something was wrong out there. She had to protect her mistress.
Rachel hurried to the windows and banged them shut. After locking them, she pulled the curtains shut and fumbled for her phone. With shaking fingers, she dialed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Rachel tried to steady her nerves. Bonnie pressed close to her, trying to comfort her mistress.
“Kelly? It’s Rach. Hey, is something going on? Bonnie is acting weird and I thought I heard someone screaming.”
Bonnie rested her head on Rachel’s knee and stared at her.
“You think it’s them again? It makes sense. The last time he chased her
down the street. I don’t know why she keeps going back. I just got scared.” Rachel laughed nervously and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’m still...you know...adjusting.”
The next door neighbor’s voice sounded strange and small emanating from the phone. Bonnie liked Kelly. She gave Bonnie cookies and let her play with her human pups.
After a few minutes, Rachel hung up and sighed with relief. “We’re okay, Bonnie. It’s just that couple down the street fighting again. We’re okay.”
Bonnie whined softly in her throat, knowing this was not the case, but unable to communicate that truth to Rachel. She finally settled on following Rachel around as she prepared to go to bed. The dog didn’t smell that terrible scent in the house, but she still felt very uneasy.
Finally, they settled into Rachel’s big bed together. Rachel wrapped her arms around Bonnie.
“I love you, Bonnie,” Rachel whispered.
Bonnie snuggled close to Rachel, lovingly licking her face.
Finally, Rachel fell asleep. Bonnie slowly wormed her way out of her grasp and took up a sentry position at the end of the bed. Ears alert, sniffing deeply every once in a while, Bonnie sat guard through the night.
***
“Shit! We’re going to miss the bus,” Rachel exclaimed. She rushed around the kitchen, her hands skimming over the surface of the counter, trying to locate her keys and phone.
Bonnie finished gulping down her breakfast and lapped up some water. The night had been rough for her. She had fallen asleep a few times on watch only to be awakened by a scream somewhere in the distance. She didn’t want to go outside, but Rachel didn’t seem to understand that something very bad had been happening all night.
“Okay, I got my things. Let’s get going, Bonnie.”
The dog stood patiently while Rachel fitted the harness on her and fumbled with the straps.
Bonnie licked Rachel’s fingers and looked warily toward the front door. The bad smell was stronger this morning. Not in the house, but somewhere nearby.
Cthulhu's Daughter and Other Horror Tales Page 8
