by Greg Dragon
James nodded at her and pulled up his legs. “If you don’t mind, Tracy, I need to stay here for a while. I just feel … tired, and it’s not so much because she attacked me, but well, as you know, we haven’t slept in about thirty six hours.”
Tracy knew James was right. When she saw the darkness moving, she had thought she was hallucinating from lack of sleep, but when the men saw the same thing she knew it was real. Until now, there had been no moment when they could afford to be sleepy. They had been fighting all night against the rushing demons, trying to keep them away from the bunker.
The three of them had forgone the luxury of going back to their bunker beds to fall asleep. Alysia’s revelation about the demon’s ritual was a top priority for them. So, they had set out to catch the demons in the act and here they were, reeling from the aftermath. It wasn’t as if they had much of a plan coming out there, but at the same time, they needed to see what the demons were doing. Tracy’s thoughts moved towards the bigger picture.
What could the demons do with a form that looked as human as the one that attacked us? So now, we have giants, flying creatures, kreples, demons, and now a version in the form of a beautiful woman. In this last thought, her mind took her to a scenario where the demon managed to get into the bunker. She thought about how most of the people would accept and defend her because they had not seen a demon like her before. What if she could stop her eyes from glowing? What if she could speak their language? Who would be there to show the others she wasn’t real? On top of that, she thought, what if there were already demons within the bunker, within the government, and within the military, making key decisions? How do you combat that?
She looked over at her friend and it suddenly dawned on her that he wasn’t wearing his helmet.
“James, your mask is off!” Tracy exclaimed, as the old Seal sat up and made himself more comfortable in the grass. The clearing seemed eerily serene and there was a light mist settling in around them. It felt strange having to wear a mask as if she was on another planet. She looked down at Donald with the memory of his death fresh in her mind. That could have easily been me, she thought and then she looked over at James, who had suffered a portion of the shadow’s attack himself. The creature had shredded his mask and suit, and she could see the dark red wounds on his body that bled freely from the cuts.
Tracy removed her helmet and gloves, determined to suffer the same fate as her friend. She inhaled the stench of sulfur and death that was all around her, then turned her phone on, took a photo of herself with a forced smile, and sent it to Alysia, asking for an update. She wondered at the so-called chemicals in the air. Had they even deployed them to kill off the creatures?
“What do you think, Jimmy? This whole ‘bombing the creatures to save the country.’ Is it a crock of crap or what?” she asked and James looked over at her with the same expressionless glance he always had.
“Of course it is. There’s nothing in the air save for demon stink. Whoever was on that broadcast wasn’t the President. I’m starting to question everything about this operation too. The missing troops, giants popping in whenever they want. Now we have this foolishness. It’s like we’re in a horror movie now. Screaming ghosts?”
“You know, the whole premise of random monsters storming the coast with minimal military personnel to fight back is a little strange. Have you tried calling out to anyone beyond state lines?” Tracy asked.
“No, I don’t really know anybody that ain’t here. A few war buddies, and Kendra has some family in Florida, but I haven’t tried.”
“Kendra. Is that your wife’s name?”
“Yep, that is her name. I keep thinking she was the lucky one in that attack. She was a good, God-fearing woman. Not the way you’re thinking, bopping people over the head with her bible or throwing around scripture to trump out arguments, but really a genuinely good woman. For her to see the world turn into this, despite who or what is behind it … I don’t know, Tracy, this nonsense is enough to make someone lose their religion. I know how much her faith meant to her, so maybe she was spared all of this for a reason.” He chuckled and looked off to the side, and Tracy saw emotion come across his face for the first time since she met him. He looked as if he would cry but he dug deep and steeled himself against it.
“Are you not a Christian, Jimmy?” Tracy asked, since his words were hard to take from someone who actually believed. Raised in the church, Tracy still believed very much in the kingdom of heaven, but James sounded like a cynic, so she wondered where he was spiritually.
“I’m an old war dog that has witnessed and committed acts that would make any god cringe, Tracy. It’s not for everybody – religion, I mean. I’ve seen guys with their guts on the floor, crying for their mothers to help them instead of their god, and before all of that they could recite the whole damn bible. We fool ourselves with stories of make-believe. Nobody wants to hear that when you die you just take an extended sleep that you don’t wake up from. They want white, cloudy highways, an eternal father to be proud of them, and someone to forgive them when they behave badly as human beings.” He smiled when he said this last part, as if he was proud of himself for the speech.
“Okay,” Tracy said. “You still haven’t answered my question. Are you a Christian?”
James looked at her with ice in his dark brown eyes, and she could tell by his posture that he was getting weak from the blood loss. “I’ve been baptized, Trace. Let’s just leave it at that.”
So, I’m Trace now, Tracy thought and it pleased her to have James drop his formality with her, even if it was just a name. She got up to administer aid for his wounds and she found that most of them were treatable, even with what they had there. Her phone came to life and Alysia’s name was on it, so she stopped wrapping James’ leg to answer it.
“Alysia, did you get my messages?” Tracy asked, hoping the reply would be something along the lines of “yes, actually we’re on our way to you.” What she got instead was a long pause, and she could hear shuffling in the background as if she was moving.
“I’m coming to help you.” Alysia said, and Tracy didn’t like the singularity in her promise.
“So, none of the others are willing to come out here to get us?” Tracy asked, her voice cracking with the disappointment she felt in the people of the bunker.
“No, it’s not that, Tracy, see … well, we took all of the suits. I turned mine in with Jaime when we got back but now those are missing too. Some soldiers went out to go look for their missing team. I’m pretty capable, so don’t think you’re going to be alone. They called in for help from the neighboring bunker, but you guys sounded desperate, so I’m coming out to help. Please don’t argue against me doing it.”
Tracy understood what Alysia meant, and so she didn’t object to her risking it. She had been in the wilderness longer than most. She had been a prisoner of the demons, had fought them up close, and even faced a giant or two. Alysia Knight was a barrel full of bravery rolled up into a small woman’s body, so who was she to tell her not to come out to rescue her father?
“Bring medical supplies if you can and hurry CeeCee,” Tracy said.
“Are you hurt? How is my Dad? Can I talk to him?”
Tracy handed James the phone and resumed her wrapping of his leg to cover the wound. She looked around for the demon, thinking it was at times like this when an ambush was likely. She pulled the rifle close and saw that James hadn’t released his. If anything tried to get the jump on them he would get a few rounds off, and this reassured her that he was doing better than he looked.
“Dad, how are you feeling?” Alysia asked.
“Better, loads better. Your voice helps, but a shot of Jack would do the trick.”
“I’m not bringing you liquor, Dad, but it’s good to hear you joking despite what I saw in that photograph.”
Tracy hadn’t realized that the photo she took of her face had also caught the mangled body of Donald on the ground. When Alysia h
ad seen it she panicked, thinking it was her father and that she needed to act immediately. It prompted her to rush out of the bunker without asking for anybody’s help. The suits were indeed gone and many people would not risk their health to step out without one, but the rash action of Alysia did not afford them that choice. She had snuck out and ran to the barracks, but forced herself to slow down to call Tracy for a better idea on their situation.
“Sit tight and I will be there soon,” she said to her father and then hung up the phone and looked around for supplies.
~ * ~ * ~
The moon was out. Alysia could still make out the bodies of the demons and soldiers, scattered around the entrance to the bunker. She gripped the handgun firmly and then looked behind her to make sure that nobody was following her. What are you doing CeeCee? This is crazy, she thought as she briskly walked towards the trees. They loomed like slim giants daring her to come at them, and the wind that made their limbs sway like mocking hands only added to the illusion.
The GPS on her phone led her to where her father was, but she felt foolish for coming out there alone. She thought about doubling back to get Jaime and Debdan, but she was too far now, so she pushed her fear as far to the side as she could and then slipped into the forest, trying her best to stay quiet.
Alysia wore all black clothes but there was no armor or mask to protect her. All she had on was a dress with a pair of combat boots and the gun that Jaime had given her when they first met. She cat-walked past the damp trunks of the shadowy maple trees, but the wet mud through which she sloshed made enough noise to warn anyone she was coming. She wished she could take them off and sneak along with her bare feet, but the fear of stepping on something sharp and crippling made her reconsider it.
Without a mask to filter it, the air smelled like rotten eggs. It was that same distinct odor of sulfur that the demons emitted, and it made her skin crawl at the thought of being captured again. She was a few minutes into her trek when she thought she heard a noise coming from behind her. She walked a few more steps and then spun with her gun out, pointing back at the source of the sound. All she could see was blackness, and the eerie silence was only broken by the sounds of crickets. She resumed her march until she heard it again, but this time she was quite sure that something was behind her. Is it walking in cadence with my steps in order to mask its approach?
She pulled out her phone and activated the flashlight, then stepped and spun while simultaneously bringing it up. This time her pursuer was revealed; four demons stood in front of her, covering their eyes from the blinding light. When Alysia saw them, she panicked and took off running. She could take on one demon if that was what was following her, but what she saw was a group and that meant she would be captured.
The GPS chimed, letting her know she was close, and she cursed herself for not setting it to silent. She held it up, wondering if the direction she sprinted had taken her off course. Does it really matter? The hellions were coming, and she couldn’t afford to get caught.
When she came upon a campsite, she slowed her sprint without looking behind her. In front of her and kneeling with her rifle aimed directly at Alysia was Tracy, and behind her was James—her father, lying on his back but still holding his rifle. Tracy’s shot whizzed past Alysia’s face and the first demon got it in the chest and fell down screaming. This prompted Alysia to dive and roll past the dead embers of the bonfire, and she shuffled to the area where her father lay. She saw the mangled body of Donald, and at his head were the rifle and sword he always kept with him. Tracy dropped the other three demons, but she could hear more of them coming off in the distance. Alysia did a quick check on her father and sighed in relief when she saw his eyes blink and then focus to look up at her.
“Baby girl,” he said, wincing, and she fought back the tears and touched his face.
“I’m gonna need you to help me out here!” Tracy yelled back at them.
“Yeah, we have to keep them off us,” James managed to say and then struggled to his stomach and brought the rifle up.
A large number of demons burst through the trees but were dropped by the gunfire of Tracy and James. Alysia lifted Donald’s rifle and then whispered a prayer as she knelt near her father and readied herself for anything that would try to sneak up on them.
“Where are the others?” Tracy asked between shots, and Alysia felt foolish for coming out alone.
“The bunker’s on lockdown, so I had to sneak out,” she lied.
“Even with us out here dying?” Tracy asked, not believing that the soldiers of the bunker would abandon them to the monsters of the surface. “I find it hard to believe that Jaime would let you come out here by yourself, Alysia. Are you sure?”
Alysia grew quiet as she shot and caught a demon in the shoulder. She still didn’t have a handle on aiming and the recoil hurt her bicep due to the way she held it. After a while she spoke again, but she hoped that Tracy’s preoccupation with the rushing demons would allow the subject to drop.
“I came out alone when I saw your text and signal, Tracy. I was worried and wasn’t thinking. Nobody knows I’m out here. They probably think I’m in my room.”
Tracy didn’t answer her but she could feel the tension in the air from her disappointment. They all kept on shooting until fifteen demons were killed and the air was so thick with the sulfur that they couldn’t bear it.
“A one woman rescue squad, huh? Okay Rambolinda, Audie Mary, or whatever your real name is. How do you propose we get back to the bunker with your father like that?” Tracy said to her as she closed the distance on them and got in her face.
“Look, I screwed up. I’m sorry. I can call Jaime and Debdan to bring some help. We aren’t out of options,” Alysia said, desperately hoping that Tracy would believe her.
“Jimmy, Jimmy, look at me,” Tracy yelled, and she knelt over the big man to shake him awake. “You can’t sleep out here, Jimmy. I know you’re tired and losing blood. Get up, we need to get you walking,” she said to him as she reached down and grasped his massive paw.
Alysia wondered what had gotten into her to make such a foolish decision as to go after her father alone. She wished she had listened to her instinct when it urged her to get her friends. She reached down and grabbed the crude sword that was lying next to Donald and then untied its scabbard and wrapped it around her waist.
Tracy made to walk with James towards the trees, away from where the shadow had fled, but he stopped her short and turned around to look at Donald’s body. “Nobody gets left behind, Trace. We can’t allow him to die out here like a dog.” He struggled a bit and held his ribs, but he dug deep and pushed down the pain in order to finish what he was saying. “He is a United States soldier, and a hero. We need to bring him, give him a proper burial, and … honor him.”
Alysia and Tracy exchanged glances of helplessness at James’s request but they knew it wasn’t up for debate. Alysia used the sword to cut two long, wet branches into staves and then wrapped Donald’s cloak around them to make a hammock of sorts. She and Tracy laid his body on it and secured it as best they could so that he wouldn’t slide off. Tracy then helped James to walk into the woods and Alysia followed, struggling to pull Donald along with her.
“This isn’t going to work!” She yelled at them as Tracy’s pace grew too much for her to keep up with.
“What’s the matter, CeeCee? Think we may need some help to pull him? Like say, two young men that have actually gotten some sleep?”
Alysia ignored the sarcasm and stood her ground as Tracy looked at her with cold blue eyes before sighing loudly and stopping. “Here, help your dad and—”
“Stop the bickering. I can walk without help,” James said as he shook Tracy’s hand off his shoulder and hobbled forward, away from them. Tracy moved back and grabbed one of the sticks from Alysia as they took to dragging Donald’s corpse behind the wounded Navy Seal.
It didn’t take very long for the shadow to appear in front of them a
nd force James to stop and pull his rifle from his back. Tracy dropped the stick and moved up next to him with her rifle at eye level, ready to put it down. The shadow surrounded them in a matter of seconds and the chill took hold of them. Alysia was experiencing it for the first time so she exhaled a squeal quite loudly as it chilled her to her bones and forced her to drop her gun. Tracy again fought through it and began firing, and James followed her with his own shots, but the demon girl darted through them and came at Alysia with her fingers outstretched.
Alysia reacted to the charge instinctively and spun with an elbow catching the demon in her nose. The blow stopped her short, but Alysia was already out of the shadowy, cold smoke with the sword free and ready. The demon came at her again, leaving the shadows to occupy Tracy and James, but Alysia didn’t wait for her to strike, dashing in so fast that the demon couldn’t react. It was years of Kendo classes, tournaments, and drilling by her father that had given her these reactions. The sword was merely an extension of her arm, an extension she was more than familiar with, and she brought the blade down on the demon’s arm, then up again and down on her head with a resounding, “KIYAH!”
The demon had been wounded but it healed quickly and she slashed at Alysia, who stood with the sword outstretched, expecting that her coup de grace had done its job. She pulled away from the wild gestures of the creature and used the trees to put obstacles between them as she darted one way while swinging the blade and countering. New shots rang past her as James and Tracy fired at the demon with their pistols, and when one of the bullets hit her in the back, the demon decided once again to flee.
“Whoa, Alysia! Where the hell did that come from?” Tracy said in the particularly boisterous way she did whenever she was excited.
