by Lukens, Mark
“It’s cool,” Doug would say with a smile, trying to pretend that his feelings weren’t hurt. “We’ll catch another game.”
“Yeah, sure,” Ray would say. But he knew he was going to turn Doug down again and again. But when Craig suggested catching a ball game or invited him to a cookout, Ray was right there.
Doug was annoying. There was no other kinder way to put it. Doug was so intent on gaining friends, so intent on being liked, that he would do just about anything to be liked. He would interject himself into conversations, offer unsolicited advice, or interrupt people. He would get too excited in a conversation, so excited that someone was actually conversing with him. And he talked fast, like he was afraid of being interrupted before he could express what he wanted to say; afraid of being interrupted like he had interrupted others. He got twitchy when he talked, and he got loud. He got expressive. And he would sometimes start to sweat, a line of perspiration on his upper lip, his forehead shiny, his face and neck nearly glowing red. Ray knew Doug couldn’t help it, but it still made him uncomfortable to watch.
And even after all the times Ray had declined Doug’s offers, after all the times that Ray had been rude or dismissive of Doug, the man had still offered his cabin to Ray and his family when the total collapse he’d worried so much about had finally come. Ray wondered why Doug had chosen him. Maybe he was the only one who would sit still long enough to listen to Doug’s rants. He often wanted to ask Doug why he worked for the government, a group that he distrusted so much. But he never did. Doug was a collection of contradictions, but it had never been interesting enough for Ray to warrant further investigations into those contradictions.
Had Doug embellished the details about his cabin? Had he lied? Well, Ray would find out soon enough. Just knowing a cabin was there—a place to lay low for a while until they could make further plans—was better than nothing.
Would Doug even be at the cabin? Had he even made it there? Had he turned into a ripper before he could get there? There was always a chance that Doug had somehow protected himself from the plague, maybe he had worn a gas mask and gloves. Maybe he had gotten to the cabin uninfected. But Ray wondered if he, his son, Emma, and Josh were infected. What if they were carriers of this plague, immune to it, but able to pass it on to others? Would Doug take a chance on being around them? Would he rescind his offer when they showed up?
But Ray couldn’t worry about that. He was driving himself crazy with different scenarios, but it was how his mind worked. It was one of the reasons he used to have so much trouble sleeping at night, maybe one of the reasons Kim said he was never “there” when he was home. He was often trapped in his own mind, working through problems, trying to turn them over in his mind, trying to see every angle, every possible outcome, trying to prepare for them.
They were going to have to at least try Doug’s cabin; it made the most sense. If Doug was there, then they would figure out what to do. If he wasn’t, then it would be easier. But at least it was a destination, and unless some other nearby destination offered more protection, they were going to have to make the best of it.
As he drove, Ray thought of the dreams he’d had last night. He had tried to stay awake most of the night. He hadn’t wanted to wake Josh up to relieve his watch, but he was going to have to trust the man at some point. Ray had fallen asleep during the night without even remembering it. And then he had dreamed about two new people, a man and a woman. The man was tall with gray hair and he had a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. He was a little chubby, but he still seemed powerfully built. The woman looked much younger than the man, maybe only in her mid-twenties. She had an air of strength about her, and a toughness borne on the streets, a toughness that Ray sensed immediately. He’d only caught glimpses of them in the dream before they were gone.
And then Ray was in that hell town—the shadowy man’s home.
Emma believed the shadowy man had created some place in their dreams to scare them; just like his shining eyes were just an effect, another trick of the dreams, a trick to make himself seem more powerful than he was.
He’s just a man. That’s what Emma had said before. And if anyone knew the truth, then it would be her.
Ray roused himself from his thoughts and realized that he had been speeding down the road through the woods without really paying attention to it, a self-imposed hypnosis while driving. It used to happen to him a lot on his way to and from work. He had driven the route so many times, he could drive and let his mind wander, part of his mind and body on autopilot, stopping at red lights and changing lanes without even remembering it. The sensation didn’t happen every time he drove, but it happened sometimes.
Now he made an effort to pay attention to what was going on around him. The road was clear, nothing but woods now, any buildings and signs of civilization long gone for the last few miles.
Josh was turned around in the passenger seat, talking to Mike. Josh had given Mike a new comic book—an Incredible Hulk comic book—that he’d taken from his nephew’s room before he left Pittsburgh; he’d given it to Mike, and Mike was ecstatic about it. Now they were debating superheroes. Ray found himself suddenly annoyed that Mike was having such a good time talking to Josh, but he had to push that anger back down inside of him. At least Josh kept Mike’s mind occupied, at least he took Mike away from this hellhole of a world for a few minutes at a time.
“Superman could totally beat the Hulk,” Josh said.
“The Hulk’s the strongest person on Earth.”
Ray knew how much Mike loved the Hulk. Mike had a stack of Hulk comic books back at home. Or at least he used to have those. They were all gone now, so far away. Maybe they were even burned to a crisp as a bomb hit their neighborhood or the fires from the bombs spread through their city.
“Superman’s just as strong as the Hulk is. And he’s a lot faster. And he can fly.”
“But no matter what he does, he can’t hurt the Hulk. Besides, the Hulk would just get some kryptonite if he had to battle Superman.”
“Where’s the Hulk going to find kryptonite? All the Hulk knows how to do is smash.”
“Well, Superman’s lame.”
Josh laughed and turned around in his seat to face forward again. “You win.”
Ray glanced at Mike in the rearview mirror. He was smiling at his victory in this debate. And Ray couldn’t help smiling, too.
“Hey, what’s that?” Josh asked.
Ray’s eyes whipped back to the road. There was somebody sitting in the middle of the road, their body slightly camouflaged by the speckled shadows from the trees covering the road, the sunlight filtering down through the canopy of branches and leaves. He slowed the SUV down.
“It’s a kid,” Josh said.
Ray slowed down even more as they approached the person, but he kept glancing at each side of the road, looking for any rippers.
“It’s a little girl,” Josh said in astonishment.
And Ray saw it now. A little girl sat in the road with her back to them, her long blond hair spilling down her back. It looked like she was sitting cross-legged, staring down at the road in front of her. It looked like she was crying.
CHAPTER 20
Ray
“Should I go around her?” Ray asked. He had stopped the SUV and was now parked in the middle of the road, fifteen feet away from the little girl, the truck’s engine idling. She had to have heard their vehicle behind her, but she hadn’t turned around yet.
“I had a dream last night about a woman and a little girl,” Josh said in awe as he stared out the windshield. “A girl that looked a lot like that one out there. Same age. Blond hair.” He looked back at Emma in the back seat. “You think that’s her?”
Ray shifted into park, but he kept his hand on the gearshift, ready to shift into reverse if he saw any rippers. He felt nervous, but he knew they might need to help this girl. He had seen the same little girl and the woman in his dreams that Josh was talking about. If this was the girl they’d seen in t
heir dreams, then they needed to help her—she needed to be with them. But where was the woman he’d seen with the girl in the dream?
“You think that’s the same girl?” Josh asked Emma again.
“I . . . I don’t know,” Emma said.
Emma sounded nervous. She sounded unsure. Ray had to remind himself that even though Emma appeared to have some kind of psychic powers, she wasn’t a computer that spat out readings on command. She was feeling her way along through this new world just like they were.
Josh turned back around and stared out the windshield at the little girl. “I think she’s crying.”
Before Ray could say anything, Josh had his door open. He got out and he was at the front of the SUV in a flash. He had been in such a hurry to get out that he hadn’t even grabbed his shotgun from the floorboard.
Ray pulled his handgun out. He still wasn’t comfortable at all with it, holding it gingerly like it might explode in his hand. Josh had shown him where the safety was, and the safety was on right now; all he had to do was flip the little button to turn the safety off so he could shoot. He knew he would have to become more familiar with this gun, and with other guns.
“Hey,” Josh said as he stood at the front of the truck, his voice carrying easily down the shadow-speckled road. “Little girl.”
The girl didn’t turn around or answer him.
Ray watched the dense woods all around them as Josh concentrated on the little girl, but he couldn’t see anyone among the brush crowding the trunks of the trees.
“Hey,” Josh said, taking another step closer to the girl. “Are you okay?”
Ray grabbed his doorhandle and turned around to look at Mike. “You stay here with Emma.”
“Dad, this doesn’t seem right. I think something’s wrong.”
Ray saw the concern in his son’s eyes. He would have rather had Josh wait inside the SUV. Maybe they could have driven forward a little, pulling up beside the girl. But Josh had gotten out too quickly and now he was halfway to the girl, out there alone beyond the front of their Chevy. Ray needed to be out there covering Josh in case there were some rippers—or other survivors—in the woods.
Mike tried to protest again, but Ray got out of the vehicle. He left the engine running and left his door halfway open. He walked to the front of the SUV. “How did a little girl get way out here by herself?” Ray asked Josh.
“I don’t know,” he answered without looking back at Ray. “But I think this is the girl I’ve seen in my dreams. The one you’ve seen, too.”
“Maybe,” Ray said. “But maybe not. Maybe she’s infected. Or she’s turning.”
“I don’t think so,” Josh said. “Listen. She’s crying. Can you hear her?”
Ray didn’t answer. He watched the little girl. Her body was shaking, trembling with her quiet sobs. Her head was lowered, her hands up to her face. Maybe she wasn’t infected. Maybe she was lost. Maybe her whole family was dead. Maybe she had been running through the woods and she found this road. Maybe she had sat down in the middle of the road, giving up, too traumatized to care anymore.
Was she a ripper? Would a ripper cry? Maybe not. It didn’t seem like rippers exhibited any kind of emotions at all. Except rage.
“Hey,” Josh said to the girl again. “It’s okay. We can help you.”
The girl still didn’t turn around or answer him.
“What’s your name?” Josh asked.
The girl still didn’t answer.
“My name’s Josh. And this is Ray. Emma and Mike are in the truck. Mike is only a few years older than you are.”
None of Josh’s words seemed to be getting through to the little girl.
Ray looked around, still searching the woods for any sign of movement, listening for any noises. But everything was so quiet. Even the birds and insects were quiet.
Mike was right, something felt wrong.
*
Mike watched his dad and Josh walk towards the girl. He knew something wasn’t right about this. He had tried to tell his dad, but he wasn’t listening.
“What are they doing?” Emma asked.
“They’re just standing there.” He looked at Emma. She seemed to be looking towards the windshield as if she could see out through it. Even with her dark glasses on, Mike could tell her eyes were scrunched in concern, her mouth dipped down into a slight frown. He body was tense, like she was bracing herself for an explosion.
“Are you okay?” Mike asked her.
She shook her head no, just a slight shake of her head. “I think you’re right. Something doesn’t feel right about this.”
“This is like a scene from a horror movie,” Mike said. He wasn’t supposed to be watching horror movies, but he had watched a few of them at Eric’s house, the same place where he played Zombie Takeover. His parents had never approved of horror movies, especially his mom. They never watched horror movies, and maybe that’s why Dad couldn’t see that this was a classic set-up in a scary movie. To Mike it felt like they were all trapped in a horror movie, so maybe he should tell Dad the rules of horror movies. There were certain rules in horror films; one of those rules was that you never approached someone who was facing away from you, someone with their back to you, someone who wasn’t turning around, like they were hiding their face. Someone who was waiting for you to come closer.
But what if it was just some little girl out there who needed help? What if it was the girl Josh claimed to have seen in his dreams? Mike had dreamed of other people, but he hadn’t dreamed of the little girl and the woman like Josh had. Mike had seen Josh in his dreams, so maybe the people Josh was dreaming about were just as real. And maybe this girl was one of them, one of the people meant to be with them.
But Mike still felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, like when he would plummet down the tracks on a roller coaster. He still couldn’t help feeling that this was a set-up. He watched Josh walk closer to the girl. Dad was still hanging back a little, still only a few feet in front of their truck. He had the pistol in his hand, but he looked like he was scared of holding it, uncomfortable with it. And now he was looking around at the woods like he’d just heard something, or seen something.
Emma looked to her left like she’d just heard something too.
“What is it?” Mike asked, looking out the window that Emma was facing, trying to see what she’d heard.
And then he saw it—a flash of movement in the woods. The person was far back in the woods, at least twenty yards away, but it was definitely a person. Then he saw another one. Now that he’d seen them, he couldn’t un-see them. They were moving out from behind the trees, standing up from the brush, revealing themselves.
Rippers . . . rippers in the woods.
Emma grabbed Mike’s arm hard. She turned to face him. “They’re coming,” she said. Her whole body was trembling. “Tell them to get back inside now.”
At that moment Mike knew that his gut feeling had been right on the mark. This was a horror movie set-up. This was a trap.
*
Ray watched as Josh moved a little closer to the girl, moving slowly like he was walking towards a skittish animal that might bolt away. He was only ten feet away from the girl now.
“Hey,” Josh said. “Are you okay? We just want to help.” He took another step closer.
The girl still hadn’t turned around. She still seemed to be crying, her head hanging low, her blond hair down in front of her face, her shoulders shaking with the sobs.
“Josh,” Ray said.
Josh didn’t answer or turn around.
There was something about the way the girl was crying. It sounded strange to Ray, maybe not like crying but . . .
“Josh, wait.”
Josh still didn’t turn to look at Ray.
Ray heard the snapping of a twig in the woods and he spun around, staring at the trees on that side of the road.
Another noise, like something large moving through the brush. Something coming closer.
Josh took anothe
r step towards the girl. “It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you.”
The back door of the SUV swung open.
Ray turned to look at the SUV. Mike was standing outside of it with the back door open. His eyes were so big, so full of fear.
“Mike, get back inside!”
“Dad, it’s a trap!” Mike yelled. “Come back! There are rippers in the woods!”
Ray looked back at Josh just as the girl turned around with a savage smile on her face, her eyes hungry, a low growl in her throat. And Ray realized now why her sobbing had sounded so strange in these last few seconds—she hadn’t been sobbing, she had been laughing.
The girl was on her feet, charging at Josh.
For a second Josh was frozen in shock.
“Come on, Josh!” Ray yelled at him.
The woods erupted in a cacophony of noise as dozens of rippers revealed themselves on both sides of the road, standing up from the brush, rushing towards them.
