“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Casey glared at the smaller girl, “I heard you giving him that big “thank you” for leading you here while I was draining the oil. Now you’re complimenting him for fetching wheelbarrows? What are you up to?”
“I’m not ‘up to’ anything,” Ashlyn sighed as she started cutting the flags into strips. “I just thought that since he hasn’t done anything bad so far, and has actually helped save our butts a couple of times, it wouldn’t hurt to be nice to him. And the wheelbarrow really was a good idea.”
“I suppose…but about the nice thing…”
“C’mon, try. It won’t kill you.”
“You sure about that?”
“I’m sure. I think he’s the least of our worries tonight.”
“If you say so,” Casey replied with a doubtful look, “but I don’t think I would ever be comfortable getting chummy with the guy. He really does make my skin crawl.”
“I’m not saying you should,” Ashlyn soothed. “I’m only saying we should try not treating him like a leper that we’re only keeping around because he happens to be useful. Just treat him like a human being. That’s not so bad, is it?”
Casey didn’t appear very convinced, but then gave a defeated shrug.
“Fine,” she conceded with a grumble. “You win. But don’t come running to me if he sticks you in a pot and makes a stew out of you.”
“Fair enough,” Ashlyn laughed. “Now let’s make some torches. I want to see if these things work.”
So we got busy. Ashlyn cut the flags into strips, while Casey and I started wrapping them around the top of the copper tubes and then using the hose clamps to tighten them on. It was busy work, and it improved my mood in general to actually be doing something constructive. Sid, being one handed, settled for standing watch since torch making pretty much amounted to a two handed job.
Tommy rejoined us, and after a couple of minutes of quiet observation suggested we wrap the handles of the torches in duct tape since copper conducted heat. That earned him another cheery thanks from Ashlyn, and even a grudging acknowledgement from Sid and I.
I could tell Ashlyn was simply being nice, but she also meant it. I guess she numbered among the upbeat, “glass half full” type of people…not at all like a certain redhead sitting right beside her. At least Casey didn’t seem to be pointedly ignoring him, merely busy with her own task.
But Tommy’s return and watching Casey wrap a torch made me think of something else.
“Hey, Casey? Just curious, but how are we set for bandages now?”
“Low,” she muttered at her torch. “Nearly out. We probably should have saved some of this cloth, but I didn’t think of it. I don’t know how long torches last and I guess I wanted all we could make. I suppose we can use duct tape in a pinch. We have a lot of that.”
Damn. Exactly what I thought. And considering how many of us already sported bandages, our track record suggested “low” would probably not cut it.”
“So let’s get more cloth.” Sid shrugged as if stating the obvious.
“I don’t know,” I muttered while staring off into the darkness. “I don’t want to get too far from the lantern.”
“No problem, we’ll go the other way from Darla’s house, toward the opening to Chambers Circle. I know that’s where we got the ones to cover the bodies with, but there should be a couple more before it gets too dark.”
I hated to admit that made sense because I really didn’t want to go back out there. It felt like tempting fate.
At the same time, I knew those bandages could mean the difference between life and death. Not to mention, it would be the most effective way I could make myself useful right now. Ashlyn and Casey had the torch-making covered, and taking Sid allowed him to be useful as well.
So I reluctantly decided to agree and venture forth once again.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the last decision I would end up regretting that night.
Chapter Nine: Blood and Fire
Sid and I left the van, he with the tire iron and me with my pole and apprehensions.
We passed in front of Darla’s house and the light from the lantern cast long shadows of us that stretched to the small island with the dead lighthouse. Sid gave a brief wave in the patio’s direction where I could see Darla at the barred window, watching the pair of us walk past. Behind her, I heard an agonized howl that had to come from Mrs. Treadwell and then the murmur of Ed’s voice.
“Where are you going, Sid?” she managed to sound both vexed and worried.
“Me and Mark are getting a couple more flags. We won’t be but a minute, then I’ll come back here with you. Okay?”
I don’t know if he noticed the cross look on her face, but I suspected when he got back he would find her less than pleased he had already put himself on a first name basis with the guy who had accused her of having a malfunction.
She didn’t answer him, although another loud groan came from behind her.
The patio sounded like an unhappy place, and I gave silent thanks I didn’t have to be in attendance. Ed must have had his hands full in there. I briefly wondered why he didn’t have Casey assisting him, but then suspected he wanted to keep her and Darla separated.
What a shiny little group we were.
With a light tap on the shoulder, I urged Sid onward. Once again, the pair of us left the light behind and headed into the growing darkness. Since they had already taken the flags from Darla’s house, and the house on each side for covering bodies, my first target hung barely visible farther up the road. I knew our eyes would adjust to allow us to go a house or two farther, but it still looked ominously faint.
We took our time approaching it, mainly so our eyes could adapt to the thinning light. Once we reached the flag I looked back at the van, now a dim white ghost on the other side of the lantern. I realized then that part of my reluctance to do this came from the fact we would be farther from the others than before.
“What do you think, Sid? We’re only getting bandages so maybe one flag might do it?”
“Nah, better safe than sorry,” he replied. “But if you’re worried about it, we’ll settle for just getting one more and calling it good.”
Crap. Now I was being shown up by the pizza guy. Somewhere deep inside, my rugged alter ego, Mitchell Notch, did a disgusted facepalm.
So on we went, maneuvering around a dead Subaru to reach the next flag.
Bandages or no bandages, I definitely didn’t want to go farther than this. I could barely see to unsnap the flag, and total blackness pressed far too close for comfort. We now moved down the straight part of the circle, meaning we had a shallow corner between us and Darla’s house. And since we had no straight line of sight to the lantern, that left Sid as a black silhouette crouching nearby in the street.
“Sid?” I asked in mild exasperation as I folded the flag over my shoulder. “What are you doing? Let’s go.”
“Wait a second,” he replied. “Check this out.”
“What?” I frowned in the darkness. “Check what out?”
“That,” his shadowy form pointed at a small white blotch in the middle of the street. “What is that?”
I really didn’t care, but realizing he intended to investigate with or without me, I gave a frustrated sigh and moved up beside him. I peered intently at the dim object as we crept closer.
“I think,” I whispered as I squinted at the thing, “it’s a hard hat.”
“A hard hat?”
“Yeah,” I stopped and tilted my head in puzzled discomfort at the sight of the thing, “a white hard hat like those electrical guys who work on the poles wear.”
“I think you’re right.” His shadow stood and looked around. He couldn’t have seen much. “What’s it doing in the middle of the street?”
“Beats me. Don’t care. Let’s go.”
Yes, I felt truly antsy now and wanted to get back to the others.
“Slow down, man,” he
admonished, “we’ll leave in a second. Besides, it could be useful.”
“For what?”
“Armor? Or something to carry things in?”
He crouched and started to approach the thing. I began to get a sick feeling as he moved up to the object, and then I realized what bothered me about it.
“Sid,” I cautioned as he knelt in front of the hard hat, “be careful. Something’s really wrong about this. That thing wasn’t there when Ed, Casey, and I came through earlier.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure,” I emphasized, really wishing he would just let it go. “We were walking down the middle of the street. There is no way we would have missed it.”
We both did another wary scan of the darkness but saw nothing. Considering the incredibly limited visibility, I didn’t take much comfort in that.
“Weird. I wonder how it got here then? It certainly didn’t walk,” Sid muttered as he reached out and tapped it with the pry bar.
And that’s when everything went to hell.
As it turned out, he was deathly wrong about his last statement, for in the next instant the hard hat raised itself a couple of inches off the asphalt, sprouted a large number of chitinous legs from underneath each side, and attacked.
“Holy shit!” he screamed, and stumbled backwards. “Get back! It’s alive!”
But it was already too late.
The hard hat/creature leapt after him. It fairly flew the short distance between them with its spidery legs spread wide, before making contact with his leg and latching on tight.
Sid cried out and fell to the ground with the thing clutching his thigh.
“Shit! Shit! Get this bastard off me!”
I rushed up with my pole, and struck the thing a blow across the top. Unfortunately, since it wore a hardhat, I didn’t accomplish much. The creature reacted to the blow by making a loud trilling that filled the air around us. It had to be like some form of hermit crab, something that crawled inside other items and wore them for defense
Only this thing acted like no earthly hermit crab.
A second later Sid started screaming in earnest, and in the dim light I could make out blood running from underneath the hard hat.
“It bites! Oh Jesus, IT BITES! GET IT OFF ME!!!”
Now desperate, I tried jamming the pole in the crack between the hardhat and Sid’s leg in an attempt to pry the horror off, but between his thrashing and the thing tightening its grip I couldn’t get it in there. Then I had to dodge Sid frantically slamming the pry bar down on it as he continued to scream in obvious agony.
I stared at the stricken man in helpless despair. I had to do something, but how could I help him?! I whirled around, hunting some other tool or idea to use, and as I did I saw something that made my blood run cold.
More of them scuttled out of the darkness from the street ahead. I could barely make them out in the murk, but I guess adrenaline improves your eyesight because I wouldn’t have even been able to see them a moment ago.
Now I could see all I needed.
They were closing in on us, and the lead monster wore a large, green trash bin as a shell. The giant must have had a leg span of seven or eight feet.
For lack of any other option, I grabbed Sid and pulled him to his feet…helmet crab and all. Throwing his arm over my shoulder I started pulling him back toward the circle. He staggered along for a few seconds, still grabbing at the creature on his leg, and we gained ground.
But that didn’t last long as he screamed again and the blood began to run down his leg in a torrent. The man screamed, thrashed and fell to the ground as we entered the circle proper.
“Get it off!” he sobbed. “Please, get it off!”
He writhed on the asphalt, now hammering tearfully at the abomination clutching his leg.
I bent to pick him up again, only to see the other creatures emerging from the darkness.
A larger one wearing the lid to a round barbecue grill leapt at me as I straightened up again. I barely managed to bring my pole around in time, but I swatted it aside before it struck. The monster landed on its back and struggled like an upended turtle to regain its feet.
From this angle I could see it had at least ten or twelve legs, and a horrible toothy mouth in the middle of where all those legs joined.
I barely recovered to hear another scream from Sid, and looked over just in time to see him die. Another creature, this one wearing a flower pot, had latched onto his arm, and the big one in the trash bin now moved in to finish the job.
I backpedaled to avoid being flanked as the big monster raised its bin by a foot and then crawled over Sid. He gave one last, feeble cry as the horror settled on top of him. His legs thrashed a couple of times, and then went still.
A second later a huge puddle of blood began to spread out around the both of them. I never knew the human body had so much blood. And even as I watched, several of the smaller creatures immediately rushed in and lowered themselves into the pooling gore to feed.
Shouts sounded behind me and I turned to see Casey running my way. Tommy had followed a short distance then stopped, obviously wavering between continuing after her or staying behind to guard Ashlyn who remained at the van.
I realized none of them could really see what had happened here and Casey was about to make a critical mistake.
“Casey, get back!” I yelled as I sprinted in her direction. “Tell the others to grab the torches and anything else you can carry! We’ve got to get out of here! NOW!”
To my amazement, she actually didn’t argue or stop to demand an explanation, but wheeled and ran back toward the van. As she did, I changed course and ran for the patio.
“Ed! Grab everybody and get out now! Just do it! We’re about to be overrun!!”
Darla opened the gate right as I got there. She took one look behind me, gave out a strangled “Oh god!”…then fled in the direction of the van. I guess she decided that staying here didn’t seem such a hot idea after all.
I heard another cry of pain and looked in to see Mr. Treadwell hurriedly lift his wife into the wheelbarrow then start pushing it my way. Her leg had been splinted with duct tape and a large amount of PVC pipe, causing it to stick straight out behind the vehicle. Somehow he managed to hold the leg under his arm while keeping his grip on the handles. Still, I knew this had to be hurting her terribly. I stepped aside and held the gate wide to let him through. As he passed I could see his sleeping son also lay in the wheelbarrow, half under his mother.
It was dead weight he shouldn’t be wasting strength to carry, but I knew better than to tell him that.
“Ed, come on!” I snapped as the older man grabbed the lantern and first aid kit before staggering my way. He looked so exhausted and drawn it frightened me, but we had to go.
I stayed with him, taking the lantern, and keeping a weather eye on the approaching horde as he limped toward the van.
The top of the circle now seethed with overturned flower pots, planters, trash cans, and one titan that had arrived wearing a plastic play castle from some kid’s backyard. Fortunately most crowded around where Sid had fallen, but there wouldn’t be near enough for all of them and several had already started to spread in our direction.
And they were spreading fast.
We had been fortunate for the pause, but the circle would still be overrun in the next sixty seconds.
Ed and I reached the van in time to see Casey thrust a pouch of tools at Darla. The elder woman growled something, but took off running with Casey close behind her. At the same time, Tommy scrambled out from under the van just as the sudden smell of gasoline assaulted my nose. I looked down in alarm to see a stream of the volatile liquid flowing down the driveway and into the gutter. I also noted a plastic tube hanging from a now open flap to the gas tank, but judging from the small torrent he must have also found a way to puncture the gas tank from the bottom.
Apparently Tommy had been busy while I had been gathering more flags.
&nbs
p; “What are you doing?” I gasped, while stepping over the flammable stream.
He didn’t answer me, instead reaching over and touching Ashlyn on the shoulder. She had just picked up a bucket of torches and turned to run.
“Here, take this with you.” He handed the surprised looking pixie his bow, while pulling a torch out of her bucket.
“Ooookaaayyy….”Ashlyn replied in a dubious tone, then glanced back at the oncoming creatures. A bunch swarmed over Skull’s corpse next to the lighthouse while others now started crossing the street toward us. Without further ado, she sprinted for the asphalt path.
Darla, Casey, and the Treadwells had reached it and now paused to wait for somebody with a light.
Tommy then reached down to a plastic shopping sack he had sitting below the gas tank flap and pulled out one of those butane utility torches some plumbers use. With a click of the trigger, the focused blue flame sprang to life and he applied it to the homemade torch.
“You should run,” he stated in his flat voice as the oil soaked rags caught fire.
He didn’t have to tell us twice.
Ed and I hustled toward the others, the light from the lantern swinging wildly as we went. Behind me, the trilling of the alien crab things grew frighteningly loud. Ahead, I could see Casey in the process of lighting a torch of her own while ignoring Darla who shrieked at her to hurry up.
Ed and I had almost reached them when she got it lit and turned to plunge down the path. Darla and Ashlyn followed hot on her heels, with a panting Mr. Treadwell pushing his stricken family along right after her. That left Ed and me bringing up the rear.
I worried we might be diving into the unknown with too much haste, but the loud trilling of the creatures and the sudden “fwumph!” of something catching fire reminded me that time was of the essence. I glanced back to see the plumbers van go up in flames and a wall of fire running down the gutter between us and the street.
A second later I spied Tommy’s silhouette as he walked down the curb toward a car parked about halfway between the van and the asphalt path. He carried the bulging shopping sack looped over the forearm of the hand holding his torch, and in his other it looked like he grasped a hammer.
Nightwalk Page 16
