by Lee Deadkeys
“Until, what?” Ox asked.
“Until they hatch or spawn or whatever they hell they do when they’re all grown up,” Jess said. “Right, that’s what you’re thinking, Rudy?”
Ox shook his head slowly from side to side as Rudy nodded gravely.
“It can’t be, it just can’t be,” Ox said slowly. “It’s bad enough to have this shit growing in someone, but then to have it hatch, bust out and do, do what… devour us whole?”
Rudy shrugged. “I could be completely wrong, you know.”
“Doesn’t sound like it,” Frank said. “It sounds disturbingly accurate, actually. It sounds like stages, like maggot to fly. I remember Jess learning about that in school, brought home a big color foldout detailing the process. She was fascinated. Me? I was horrified. It just seemed so, well, so alien.”
“You were a rancher? You don’t sound like any rancher I’ve ever heard,” Sam said.
Rudy squinted an eye at him, “Not dumb hick enough?” Sam started to shake his head.
“Oh, it’s fine, Sam, I don’t take offense easily. But to answer your question, ranchers deal with more parasitic invasions than you would ever want to know. There are things found in water, dirt, animals and people that would curl your toes and turn your hair white if you lived life looking through a microscope. Like the Gordian worm you mentioned earlier, Mason, or Horsehair worm as I call ‘em,” Rudy said as he looked over his shoulder in the direction of the corpse. “In fact, these things do kind of remind me of them, like a giant, toothy mutant version of the Horsehair worm.”
Mason lightly punched the post in front of him, “You know I’ve gone my whole life never hearing about these things. And now, now I hear about them twice, from two different people.”
“So are you saying that these are mutations of the Gordian worm?” Frank asked. “Why do they call them that, anyway?”
“They’re called Horsehair worms because long ago people believed that when conditions were right, a horse hair falling into a water trough would turn into a worm. I suppose they are called Gordian worms because they knot up in the host, like the Gordian Knot, from the story of Alexander the Great’s capture of Macedon.” Rudy scratched absently at his chin. “But I don’t see how they could be related even though they have things in common. First off, there are those boxes or chests they came in. Secondly, well, there really isn’t a second reason other than this feels like the first reason, like a delivery. Besides, the Horsehair worm is harmless to humans, as far as I know. It’s rough on the cricket or grasshopper it invades because it feeds off of them and then forces the host to drown itself so it can spawn. It’s quite awful for the bug, I’ve seen it happen.”
“Delivery? From where, and by who?” Ox asked.
“I don’t care where they came from, only that we can kill them,” Jess cut in. “And what kind of time frame we’re looking at before they hatch. How long do you think we have? Weeks? Months?”
“I’m thinking more along the line of days,” Rudy said slowly.
“Days? Why days?”
“Because I don’t think the host, the body, can take much more. Did you notice how much more discolored the skin is compared to a week ago? The skin even appears to be sloughing off in places. It’s quite gruesome and awesome to see what a body can endure.”
Ox held up a hand, “Please, enough with the vivid descriptions. I have another question, do you think the host is still alive?”
Rudy looked at him, puzzled. “Yes it’s still alive, how else would the invaders live? You’re not suggesting it’s some sort of zombie, are you?”
Ox shook his head. “No, of course not. I didn’t mean it like that. I guess what I’m asking is, is it still conscious and aware of what’s happening to it? Does it still feel pain?”
No one said anything for a long while, the possible answer too horrible for words.
“No, I’m sure there’s nothing left in there that’s human,” Jess said, finally breaking the silence.
“How can you be—” Ox began.
“Because there can’t be, there just can’t,” Jess said, looking at him directly. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore, it’s counterproductive. The only thing that matters now is what to do about this massive spawn Rudy believes is rapidly approaching.”
“I don’t see what alternative we have but to ride it out like we have been,” Frank said.
“Normally I would say let’s hunt them down, but I have to agree with you this time,” Jess said. “One more thing, the one that went into the water, I don’t like that. I don’t like how it went right for it. It’s probably nothing, but I think we should start boiling the water we draw from the wells.”
“Good idea, we can’t be too careful until we know more about how they’re infecting people,” Rudy said.
Everyone nodded their assent.
* * *
Forty minutes later, they set about their tasks with Rudy volunteering to burn the remains. No one argued for the job. Frank and Jess gathered up the animals from the hunt, arranging them on the hardpan and then stood staring at the creatures while they waited for Annie and Ox.
“My God, that is the butt-ugliest buffet spread I’ve ever seen,” Jess said as she looked over the kills consisting of two Jackrabbits, a Javalina pig, a vulture and three rattlesnakes. “Can we eat vulture?”
“Sure,” Ox said. “They don’t call them Arizona chicken for nothing. But be warned, I’ve heard they taste like ass.”
Jess nodded, “I bet. Hard to believe these things will look more appetizing after they’re skinned.”
Annie approached, knife poised for business. “Okay, I can do this… well, I can skin and dress the rabbits. The other critters I’m not so sure about.” She bent, taking up one of the rabbits by the hind legs and then looked at Frank. “I have no right to ask this, but I’d rather feed the kids from the food stores, just until we know how safe these animals are.”
“I have no problem with—” Frank began and then stopped abruptly as a scream, directly followed by gunshots sounded from Claus’s camp.
“Oh what the fu—” Jess said as she moved with the others to the back of the cabin.
Rudy stood with his back to the smoldering carcasses, staring across the inlet and only turning when they jogged up. “Bloaties attacking the other camp, got one of the women. They blew one open, big eel has hold of her.”
Jess produced a small pair of binoculars from around her neck and scanned the camp. “Jeez, that one is bigger than ours.”
Frank didn’t need binoculars to spot the thing working away on the shrieking woman, its lower half coiled around her legs, obscuring them completely.
“Oh, she’s done,” Jess said coldly.
One of the men stepped up, leveled a shotgun at the things head and fired. Its head exploded in a shower of black goo and the woman fell silent and still.
“He killed her,” Mason said.
“Trust me, she was already dead. That thing was screwing its head into her, there were whole chunks chewed out of her in a matter of seconds,” Jess said, handing off the binoculars to Mason. He shook his head, refusing them.
Other men approached and began firing into a cluster of mesquite trees as four more infected shambled into view. The first three exploded as bullets found them, the forth quickly changed direction and headed for the water.
Another man ran after it and kicked the body in the back, shoving it closer toward the water and then fired as it tried to keep its footing. The body exploded, launching a huge black eel into the water where it disappeared into the depths even as he continued to fire on it.
More infected flooded into the clearing on the other side of the lake. Claus and his men fired until empty, only a couple the men had the presence of mind to reload, the others in their panicked state opting to throw their guns at the advancing horde. They fled, weaponless and screaming, into a wall of infected approaching from behind.
“Holy shit,” Jess breathed, the
binoculars scanning from one massacre to the next. “Those things are swarming in from all sides. The group is being overrun.” She lowered the binoculars, watching the carnage unfold through the naked eye. “My God,” she said, her voice heavy. “This is what happened to all the people, in all the cities. This is what happened to everyone else.”
“Behind you!” Someone yelled from the direction of the cabin. In the brief moment it took Frank to spin around, he recognized the voice as Rhonda’s, her warning coming too late. The large, impossibly bloated woman seized Annie by the throat with one hand; the other latching on to her arm and pulling her into a crude embrace.
Jessica reached Annie first, grabbing at the bloated mess and trying to pry it off. The thing was naked and leaking, impossible to get a firm hold of. Jess grabbed the arm that held Annie by the throat and only succeeded in tearing away a hunk of gelatinous flesh. She looked at the glob in her hand, flung it to the ground and began pounding the infected woman in the head with the butt of her rifle.
“Oh my God!” Sam yelled, pointing. “Look!”
Everyone froze, all eyes on the thing’s stomach. The skin and muscles danced and jerked as something inside readied itself for birth. Gasses and sticky fluids erupted from the mouth and anus. Frank looked Annie in her huge, terrified eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said as he grabbed Jess roughly by the arm and dragged her away.
Mason, Ox, and Sam stood staring at the thing’s gut as it heaved and pulsed. They could hear it, standing this close, as it began to saw and chew its way out.
“She’s lost, get away from it!” Frank said, emotion choking the words. Jess screamed and kicked at him, landing every other punch, before breaking free. Ox snatched Jess’s rifle and picked her up before she’d even made it three steps, tossing her over his shoulder and running for the cabin.
Frank made eye contact with Annie as the thing erupted from the infected’s stomach. Annie nodded, trying to speak, but the hand on her throat killed the words. Frank didn’t need to hear the words to understand. Take care of my children. Frank fell to his knees, his hands covering his face.
Annie never screamed. The thing burst from the woman and opened up Annie’s stomach with two twists of its razor-lined mouth. Sam hurriedly approached, leveled the shotgun at Annie’s head, pulled the trigger and then fired all remaining shells into the creature.
Mason half-carried, half-dragged Frank toward the front of the cabin. Jess was screaming incoherently until they rounded the corner. Ox stood behind her, holding her by the arms. Frank met her eyes. She let out a wail of rage and pain before slumping in Ox’s grip, sobbing wretchedly. Ox turned her to him and held her.
Frank dropped his head. The sorrow inside took its own form, its own heartbeat. None of that was true, it just took him, entirely. He wanted to lie down on the bottom of the lake where it was quiet and dark and this pain had a limited existence.
He was vaguely aware of someone shouting, thought to listen and found he didn’t care.
“For Christ’s sake, Frank, snap the fuck out of it!” Sam yelled and shook him violently. “More coming, we got to get inside!”
“Give me my gun, I’ll kill every one of them!” Jess screamed, her voice sounding like sandpaper through her raw throat, and snatched her rifle from Ox before he could stop her.
Sam slapped Frank hard across the face. “Get your shit together, man, or your daughter will be worm food!”
That did it. Frank looked around and then out across the desert. All the world seemed to be a shambling mass moving in their direction. Mason yelled for everyone to get inside. Jess was firing blindly into the brush and trees until Ox grabbed her rifle by the handguard and wrenched it free. He grabbed her by the arm again and dragged her inside the cabin.
“Everyone into the bunker!” Mason yelled as they stumbled through the door. He held the trapdoor open, motioning for them to go first. There was a loud crash at the front as one of the infected tumbled through the window.
It rolled around on the floor, unable to get its mass into a standing position again. It finally settled for pulling itself along by its arms. Moving surprisingly fast, it dragged itself across the floor toward Mason, leaving a sludge trail of flesh and ick in its wake.
“Hurry! Hurry up!” Mason yelled as Ox pushed Jess through the opening and then jumped down himself. Mason didn’t wait for the big man to reach the bottom and flung himself down the steps, slamming the trapdoor shut behind him. Mason and Ox lay in a heap at the bottom of the steps, breathing hard as the thing upstairs pounded on the hatch.
“Can it get in?” Rhonda asked, her voice shaking badly. Mason hauled himself to his feet, climbed the stairs again and slid the padlock through the staple. The pounding slowed after a few seconds and then stopped. A moment later, they heard it drag itself back toward the window and then silence.
The children huddled together in the far corner, the boys crying softly as Alex stared at nothing, an arm protectively slung over each boy. Jess stood and walked to the back. One of the boys looked up, his eyes red-rimmed. “Where’s mommy?”
Jess sat heavily on the floor next to the children. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” She shifted uncomfortably, pulled a pistol out of her waistband and laid it on the floor beside her. Jess started to speak again but Alex cut her off.
“She’s dead, isn’t she? We heard you outside, screaming our mom’s name, and I knew she was dead.”
Jess’s breath hitched, she said nothing for a moment, and then ran a hand over her face. “Yes, I’m sorry.”
The boys cried a little harder, but Alex only looked away.
“Mom said you’d take care of the boys if anything happened to her. She said you’re a good person and they should listen to you.”
Jess looked away, absently wiping at a tear. She put a fist to her mouth, strangled a sob and covered it with a cough. She cleared her throat and turned back to Alex. “Yes, I’m going to take care of you all from now on. I promise.”
“We all will,” Ox said, not bothering to hide his tears.
Something thumped upstairs, bringing them back to the seriousness of their situation.
“Is it back?” Rhonda whimpered.
Mason went to the trapdoor and quietly removed the padlock. He eased the door up, peeked out and then quickly closed it. Everyone stared at the ceiling as they tracked the thing’s progress across the floor.
It must have snagged on something, judging by the muffled whomp they heard, immediately followed by a splattering sound and a large thump as the eel-thing hit the floor and began to slither toward the trapdoor.
Mason took another step back down. The thing stopped moving above them and they all held their breath. Mason quietly left the last step. “Maybe it will go away,” he whispered. At the last word, a blast of splintering wood showered down as the eel snaked down the steps.
Mason covered his eyes and stumbled back, but was a second too late. Rhonda screamed as the thing coiled around Mason’s leg. Its slick black skin glistened as it viciously constricted around his knee and thigh. Mason scrambled backward, hitting the wall with a grunt. The thing reared its head back, preparing to strike, its powerful coils wrenching Mason’s leg into a crooked mess. The sound of joints popping rang out in sickening clarity. Mason’s agonizing scream was cut short as he collapsed to the floor, his ruined leg unable to support him.
Ox was moving before Mason had landed. He used his rifle as a bludgeon, swinging with all his strength at the head. Dazed, it slumped momentarily before recovering and turning to screech at Ox, a tendril of black goo dripping from between its rows of teeth.
“Fuck you!” Ox yelled, as he jammed the barrel of his rifle down its throat and pulled the trigger.
Jess ran to Mason, uncoiled what was left of the thing and then roughly flung it toward the opening. It was heavier than expected and only landed a few steps up before flopping back down. Mason groaned, regaining consciousness. His eyes opened, fixed on the twisted ruin of his le
g and then he groaned again.
“We have to get the children out of here,” Frank said as he handed Jess her rifle. “Mason, can you walk?”
“I don’t know,” Mason hissed through clenched teeth. “Knee’s broken and it hurts like hell.”
“I got him,” Ox said as he bent beside Mason. “Brother, this is going to hurt like a mother.”
Mason nodded, “I think I can take it, but if it comes to it, you drop me, Ox. You hear? You leave me and get Jess safe.”
Jess squeezed Mason’s hand and stood.
Ox nodded once at Mason. “Ready?”
* * *
“We need to make a break for the vehicles,” Frank said from the top step. “It looks clear to the door. We should pack some food and water in blankets, enough to last us a few days, and make an ammo grab on our way out.”
“I can help Jess with the boys. Rhonda, you stay right behind me,” Rudy said.
“Good,” Frank said. “Sam and I’ll bring up the rear.”
Sam nodded. “Load up, everyone. We’ll probably have to shoot our way out.”
Jess left Mason and began piling food and bottles of water onto a cot. When she’d finished, she grabbed the ends of the blanket and knotted everything together.
Sam poked his head through the hole in the trapdoor. “It looks clear for now. If we’re going, we should get.”
“Rudy, do you think you can carry one of the boys? I’ll get the other,” Jess said and bent beside the children. “Alex, you’re going to stay right with me, okay?” Alex nodded and stood.
“Stop crying,” Alex said to her brothers. “You have to be brave and do as you’re told.”
They heard distant gunfire as they quietly left the bunker and realized other survivors must be waging battles of their own.
“Holy shit! Stay down,” Ox whispered urgently. Through the window, they could see countless infected standing shoulder to shoulder in the yard, all between them and the vehicles.
Frank fanned to the side of the door, careful not to slip on the remains of the carcass. He felt strangely calm and wondered absently if he was suffering from shock. Jess hunkered down by the open bookcase and began stuffing loaded magazines and boxes of ammunition into a near-bursting blanket Rudy and Alex held open.
