Abandoned

by Jay Harez

None of them would have connected the incidents had it not been for Pirogue’s comment but it made sense. The law in south Louisiana didn’t allow people to tether dogs outdoors because of alligators, but maybe alligators weren’t solely to blame.

  “Remember that Robins girl that went missing about three years ago? They never did find her,” Eleanor asked.

  They had all read or heard about her. Some people had blamed an alligator others suspected the parents. No charges had been brought against anyone and it had remained unsolved.

  “And the robbery of that hardware store in Abbeyville a while back. Cleaned that poor bastard out,” Lloyd Sr. said.

  The hardware store had also been burned to the ground and the police told the local paper that the fire may have been set to cover up a robbery.

  “What about that animal shelter that got broken into in Lafayette? Took almost every dog they had,” Tyonne added.

  Dozens of dogs had been taken from the shelter. People suspected animal rights activists but no cats were released, just the dogs. It was considered odd but not noticeable among the other things that routinely happened in the bayou parishes.

  “How could they be living here, right here, for so long and no one put any of this together?” Eleanor asked.

  The group was just beginning to give this serious thought when they heard the howl followed by gunshots.

  Major Brite was kneeling in a puddle of blood trying to find a target while relying on his headlamp. Something bumped his leg and he looked away from the darkness in front of him for as long as he dared to see what it was. The face of one of the EMT’s looked up at him blankly. Brite realized it was the man’s head.

  Five minutes ago they had arrived at a tunnel and at the very edge of the light seen what looked like a person lying on the ground.

  The two EMT’s sprang into action without orders. Major Brite didn’t fault them for it. They were only EMT’s and they didn’t have the training or discipline reservists did.

  The body that was laying on the ground came to its feet in an instant. It sliced upward with a small scythe and caught one reservist in the lower abdomen. The soldier reflexively grabbed at the massive forearm that held the scythe. The monster hoisted the soldier over his head and in an arcing motion slammed the EMT to the ground. The creature then looked over its shoulder at the other EMT.

  Major Brite watched something draped in rags peel itself away from one of the walls and drag the second EMT screaming into the darkness. It was if a shadow had come to life and it had claimed the medic.

  It wasn’t until he heard the first one scream that he realized his mistake. He was in command and he should have told them to wait until he gave the “all clear”. Now he was down two men with three more firing wildly in the dark.

  “Hold your fire! Hold your fire!” Major Brite shouted.

  Major Brite reached over and engaged the skip. It descended enough to make access impossible and then he disengaged the apparatus.

  “Major why would the miners attack us?” Alcott asked.

  “Do you think anyone, stranded at the bottom of Hell’s shithouse would attack their rescuers?” Major Brite asked.

  “Well who in Christ’s name was it killed them medics?” Wells asked.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t get a good look at them,” Major Brite said.

  Alcott was older than Major Brite and he resented the younger man’s rank. Alcott had come from a long line of military men. His great-grandfather was a West Point graduate and he was taking orders from a kid in a Louisiana swamp.

  Alcott knew he was far from the cold glory of the battlefield but he knew it wasn’t his fault. He had been passed over numerous times because of politics in his opinion. Regardless he wasn’t going to risk his life while this kid tried to figure out how to lead. And he wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to salvage the situation.

  “That’s fucking great! We know who’s down here but because you didn’t see them it wasn’t them.” Alcott said.

  “What do we do Major?” Ingram asked.

  “I’ll tell you what we…!” Alcott started.

  “Secure your cock holster Alcott! Check your ammo and get out your flashlights. Wait here, at the next tunnel I’m going a few yards in. If that other EMT is hurt…” Major Brite started.

  “Hurt?! Are you joking?! We need to get topside and report that we have engaged the enemy,” Alcott said.

  “I said shut it! I’ll be back in ten minutes, tops. If I am not or if you hear gunfire haul ass out of here and come back at battalion strength. Am I understood?” Major Brite asked.

  “Yes sir” all three men said in unison.

  Major Brite stepped off of the skip and into the tunnel. He heard a scraping noise above him and spun around to see his potential attacker. At that moment the skip began to drop. As it passed him Major Brite saw hunched shape on top of the skip’s cage attacking the gearbox with a tire tool. The skip dropped two levels before the emergency brakes kicked in.

  Brite realized two things. One, he was cut off from his men and two, whatever it was that didn’t want them here would be concentrating on the skip. He checked his ammo and started out at a trot to look for a maintenance shaft and hopefully a ladder.

  “What in the hell is happening?” Tyonne asked.

  “They ambushed the skip,” Lloyd Sr. said.

  “Christ almighty why are we down here?” Eleanor asked no one in particular.

  “Ty, if they destroyed the skip we may have to find another way,” Lloyd, Sr. said.

  “Yeah,” Tyonne agreed.

  Pirogue, Eleanor, and Lloyd Jr. exchanged glances, Preet began to sob quietly. None of them were cowards but none of them were prepared for a protracted running battle while they searched for an exit. They all knew that they could get lost in the mine. Even if a full scale military assault was staged they could be dead long before help reached them. Nothing looked possible at the moment.

  “You up to a hike like that?” Lloyd, Sr. asked.

  “Yeah,” Tyonne said.

  “You’re not going to die down here are you?” Lloyd, Sr. asked.

  “I’ll live,” Tyonne said.

  “Well, if you change your mind I’d like your truck,” Lloyd, Sr. said.

  “Alright, but there is something I need to tell you,” Tyonne paused and rose to a sitting position. “If something were to happen to me and...I don’t make it out…she’s due for an oil change next month,” Tyonne said flatly.

  Then Tyonne and Lloyd, Sr. both laughed. Lloyd, Jr. watched the exchange vaguely comprehending what was verbalized versus what had been said. He understood that these two men had just agreed to fight until they couldn’t. They had each committed to the survival of the other and that meant the entire crew. Lloyd, Jr. felt a frisson of hope.

  SOLO

  Major Brite immediately regretted his decision to leave the skip. He was alone on unfamiliar terrain. He had no communication equipment, limited medical supplies and only one extra magazine. He didn’t feel he had acted quickly enough and blamed himself for the death of the EMTs.

  The only thing he knew was that he was looking for some stranded miners. He didn’t know who or what down here meant him harm. He didn’t know why anyone would be down here at all. This mine was supposed to be abandoned. That was the whole basis of the survey. But he couldn’t deny that someone didn’t want this mine explored and that would mean the miners were in more trouble than originally thought.

  He closed his eyes and listened for even the faintest sound. He heard nothing but he remembered how still and silent the thing covered in rags had been. He knew that no matter how long he kept his eyes closed they would never adjust enough to make him comfortable. Then he heard a sound that was faint and far away but it was clearly the sound of fighting. He adjusted his headlamp to its dimmest setting and walked forward into the darkness.

  the Brawl

  Lloyd Jr. heard more than he saw in those moments. The streaking helmet lights created do
zens of snapshot images. It made him distrust his eyes. He heard cries and screams from men, women, and children. The occasional report of Eleanor’s sidearm offered irregular deafening relief from the other noises.

  Each dimly lit moment captured one of the creatures in anguish or one of the miners in an equal state of suffering. Bones ground together, flesh was lacerated, hamstrings were snapped and eyes gouged. The melee stretched on for minutes.

  They had opted to make a break for it and were earning the privilege through combat.

  The area smelled of blood and waist, cordite and fear. Lloyd was flung against a wall and leapt to his feet ready to return to the fray. As he stood unsteadily the lights powered on and he lost his footing on something wet. As he fell Lloyd saw the writhing tangled mass of men and monsters.

  The undulating pile was covered in gore and Lloyd, Jr. couldn’t distinguish his father in the fracas. Time slowed and Lloyd, Jr. turned his head just in time to see three reservists, less than twenty yards away, kneeling in a line across the width of the tunnel. One of the reservists removed his finger from the trigger guard.

  Lloyd Jr., looked back toward the pile of human and subhuman in time to see a hand extending toward him. The hand was open, palm down and gestured as if it were pushing something downward. Lloyd Jr. recognized the hand as his father’s and for an instant made eye contact with the him. His father was telling him to stay down.

  Five seconds had passed since the lights had come on. The reservists were trying to comprehend what they were seeing when three large creatures came charging from the far end of the tunnel.

  The first creature stood on two legs and was covered with hair. It was almost seven feet tall and carried a billhook in one hand. One of its eye sockets was a black hole singed around the edges and one of its arms was withered to the size of a twig.

  The second looked female and the fingers on its hands were fused together and formed pointed hooks. She screamed as she ran toward them. Her shriek reminded Lloyd, Jr. of the stories of banshees that haunted the swamps.

  The third creature was just an upper torso. Its shoulders were broad and Lloyd, Jr. saw that it’s biceps were bigger than his own thighs. The creature ambulated on two hands like a primate without the counter-weight of a lower half. Its face was fixed in a permanent grin and its eyes were opalescent. It snorted and grunted as it approached on its hands and the muscles of its massive chest rippled with every movement.

  The reservist’s training and discipline were lost in the chaos, and without an order being given, they opened fire.

  The reports from the rifles made everyone cover their ears and for some reason close their eyes as well. The salvo lasted less than a minute and then stopped as the reservists reloaded.

  When Lloyd, Jr. opened his eyes a thick haze of gun smoke, salt and dust hung in the air. The tall hairy creature had several holes in its chest and stomach. It lay convulsing on the floor. The female monster had lost the left half of her face. Her throat was a gurgling hole and she lay on her back unmoving.

  “Hold your fire!” said a voice unfamiliar to Lloyd, Jr. It came from the direction of the charging trio.

  The reservists weren’t certain what to do. The smoke and dust limited visibility so the source of the command was a mystery.

  “On whose authority?” came a voice from reservist’s side of the conflict.

  “Major Brite, Louisiana Army Reserves. Is that you Alcott?”

  Captain Brite asked.

  “Yes sir, it’s us, Ingram and Wells are with me. You hurt?” Alcott asked.

  “No. Confused as fuck but otherwise unharmed. Any sign of the miners?” Brite asked.

  “Yes...we’re here.” Lloyd, Jr. said. He heard the bolts of the rifles being thrown and prayed. “My name is Lloyd Dougette, Jr., I work for Months Bay,” Lloyd said to the haze.

  “Keep your hands up and don’t move,” Major Brite said.

  Ten minutes later the reservists led by Lloyd Jr. were busy separating the bodies of the miners from the Grunchers. A few of the wounded creatures made a final desperate effort to attack and some tried to escape. They were dispatched by the reservists without mercy.

  Eleanor had a hole in her stomach that looked as if something had burrowed into her. She lay curled in the fetal position. Preet’s skull was caved in from the top. His eyes bulged and his tongue hung out of his mouth further than seemed possible.

  Pirogue was nowhere to be found.

  They found Lloyd, Sr. barely alive. Tyonne, his friend, was on top of him riddled with bullets and covered in claw marks. The reservists were silent about the innocent dead. There was nothing to say.

  “Medic!” Major Brite shouted.

  Major Brite and Lloyd, Jr. rolled Tyonne of Lloyd, Sr.

  “Son, these friends of yours?” Lloyd, Sr. asked.

  “Well, they’re as close as we got at the moment. How you feeling?” Lloyd, Jr. asked.

  “Fair to middling I guess. Anyone else?” Lloyd, Sr. asked.

  “Not that we’ve found. Dad...what the hell?” Lloyd, Jr. asked.

  “That is a valid question.” Major Brite said.

  “I wish I had some answers but I lost consciousness about the time you boys started expending rounds in my direction.” Lloyd, Sr. said.

  “Yeah, that part was…” Major Brite paused slightly ashamed.

  “I know friendly fire from both ends major. Don’t let it get ya sidetracked from the mission,” Lloyd Sr. said.

  Major Brite immediately looked relieved. Then he took on a more serious expression.

  “Which is to get you out of here,” the Major said pulling out a laminated and folded document.

  “What is that?” Lloyd Jr. asked.

  “Microfiche map of this mine all the way from Baton Rouge.” Major Brite said.

  “Damnit,” Lloyd Jr. said.

  “Son?” Lloyd Sr. asked.

  “I think I’ve been perforated,” Lloyd Jr. said.

  The three looked at the trail of blood on Lloyd, Jr.’s jeans. He had been grazed by something.

  “Indeed you have. Funny I was about your age the first time I got shot. It’ll make a great story for that little clerk,” Lloyd Sr. said smiling.

  “I’ll be fine…” Lloyd, Jr. started.

  “Let one of us take a look. It can’t hurt, and if it’s something to know about, then sooner is better.” Major Brite said.

  Major Brite’s map indicated a route to a ventilation shaft that the rescue team above was setting up on in case they could not exit the way they had come. No one wanted to go back toward the original skip wreckage. They had no idea what else waited for them if they went back so they opted for the alternate route and minutes later the group was on the move.

  Lloyd, Sr. was on a makeshift gurney being carried by Reservists Wells and Ingram. His abdomen was wrapped in duct tape with a torn undershirt underneath. Lloyd, Jr. limped alongside him. Major Brite led the party and Alcott was on rearguard.

  The lights went out for the second time. They all turned on their headlamps.

  Along the way Lloyd, Jr. filled in the reservists on the events of the past twenty hours.

  “...and that’s about the time you fellas shot the place to hell,” Lloyd, Jr. concluded.

  “You’re saying a troupe of inbred circus freaks have been occupying an abandoned mine for almost two decades and no one noticed?” Ingram asked.

  “It’s not out of the question,” Lloyd, Sr. said.

  “How many are we possibly talking about?” Major Brite asked.

  “No tellin’,” Lloyd Jr. said.

  “Help me! Help me! Oh Lord Jesus save me!” was the scream they heard. And it was getting closer.

  In the distant darkness of the tunnel they saw the bobbing head lamp moving in a zigzag pattern toward them. Whoever was wearing it was running at top speed while trying to evade their pursuers. The baying of hounds could be heard over the screams of their prey. Every man in the group new the sound of hounds that had d
riven their quarry up a tree or cornered it in some fashion. It was a bark unique to hunting dogs.

  “Oh God do not let me die down here!” the voice was clearer and even more panicked. The baying of the hounds was louder too.

  “That sounds like college,” Lloyd, Sr. said.

  “What? Who?” Major Brite asked.

  “His name is Pirogue. He came down with us. Must have been separated when it hit the fan back there,” Lloyd Jr. said.

  “Kill all lights, establish a line. Lights and weapons hot on my signal,” Major Brite said.

  The men took up the same positions they had earlier with Lloyd, Jr. and Lloyd, Sr. behind them. When the footsteps sounded to be just a few yards away Major Brite gave the order and the reservists turned on their head lamps.

  Pirogue tried to stop and began skidding forward on his heels. The dogs behind him were large and determined. Pirogue slid to a halt on his back-side and the reservists opened fire on the animals. It turned out to be seven in all.

  “Are you Pirogue?” Major Brite asked.

  “Yes. Who are…?” Then Pirogue caught sight of the Doggett’s.

  “I am damn glad to see you all!” Pirogue said. “I think I stumbled into their main nest or commune.”

  “How many did you count?” Lloyd Jr. asked.

  “Maybe a hundred but most were women and children or elderly folks. I only saw a few dozen that could give us any real trouble,” Pirogue said.

  “Only a few dozen huh?” Major Brite said to no one in particular. Then he called his men aside to talk.

  Major Brite returned to the Dougette’s and Pirogue.

  “Well the good news is we are extremely close to a possible extraction point maybe one or two hundred yards,” Major Brite said.

  “And?” Lloyd Sr. asked.

  “And we are down to about ten rounds apiece, three grenades, and our bayonets. We really weren’t prepared for a combat mission,” Major Brite said.

  “Good news though, no fast water since you fellas murdered that tunnel. But I gotta ask you to keep those grenades on lock because that could change in a hurry,” Lloyd Sr. said.