Caldera

by Heath Stallcup

  Darren continued to stare off into nothingness, his breathing increasing in rate until Mitch feared he would pass out. “Hey! Darren!” Mitch slapped the man and snapped him out of it. “I need you with me right now!” Darren turned a shocked face toward him and Mitch held his stare. “You’re the only one to see this bitch, so you can ID her. I need you with me, you understand?”

  Darren nodded and began to control his breathing. “I’m with you.” He nodded and began pulling his feet under him. “Give me a hand up.”

  As Mitch pulled him up, he heard feet fast approaching and he turned to see two figures stomping down the hill toward them, their flashlights jerkily jumping about as they navigated between the trees. “You called for assistance?” one of them called out as they slowed their approach.

  “Yeah, but I think you’re too late.” Mitch cast his beam where Mike lay. He turned the beam this way and that, but Mike was no longer laying there. “What the hell?” he muttered as he turned and crossed back to where he was sure the man had been laying. “He was right here.”

  The EMTs flashed their own beams around the scene, and one let out a low whistle. “What the Sam Hill happened here?” he asked. “It looks like this guy got put through a wood chipper.”

  “Yeah, man, there’s nothing we could do for him,” the other replied.

  “It wasn’t him. It was a different guy.” Mitch approached the spot where Mike had bled out. “He was right here.” He pointed to the spot where blood had stained the ground. “But he ain’t here now.”

  The two EMTs glanced at each other and shrugged. “Looks like he walked off somewhere then.”

  “I’m telling you, the man was dead,” Mitch said through clenched teeth.

  The lead EMT held his hands up in defense, “Okay, bud. I’m just saying, he ain’t here. Maybe somebody carried him off.”

  “What about you, pal? You look like you could use a hand,” the second EMT offered as he set down his kit and began opening it.

  Darren shook his head and waved him off. “Naw, I’m okay. It’s just a bite.”

  “Could get infected. You might ought to let us take a look at it,” the lead tech said as he donned gloves. “We can clean it up and have it dressed in no time.”

  “Let them look.” Mitch’s voice left no room for argument. He helped Darren toward the EMT’s, then started scanning the area around where Mike had been. He sifted through the pine needles and tried to read which direction his body might have been carried. Shaking his head, he just couldn’t figure out how anybody could have walked down there, picked him up, and carried him off without making any noise or being seen.

  “Hey! Watch it!” Darren barked as he jerked his hand back. “That fucking hurts!”

  “Easy there, big guy. I have to clean out that wound. It’s pretty nasty,” the tech tried to explain. “The human mouth can carry a lot of bacteria and—”

  “You really think I give a fuck?!” he exclaimed as he gave the tech a hard shove. “Leave me alone!”

  “Stand down!” Mitch yelled. He watched as Darren took an offensive stance, and he knew that things were about to get ugly. “You will let them do their jobs or you will deal with me!” he warned.

  Darren slowly turned and stared at Mitch, his head cocking sideways as he studied him. Mitch took a step toward him, then paused when he noticed the man’s eyes. “What the hell?”

  “Jesus, you can feel the heat coming off of him?” the tech said as he slowly pulled away. “Dude, you’re burning up.”

  Darren’s head jerked toward the tech as if he had just noticed he was there. He opened his mouth and a high-pitched screech came from him as he launched himself at the man. Darren’s nails clawed at the man’s face and neck as his teeth snapped with a clicking noise. The second EMT literally jumped back and away from the surprise attack and dropped the wound kit he held in his hand.

  “What the—” he exclaimed at the surprise. “Holy crap. Give me a hand here!” he yelled at Mitch as he tried to pull Darren off his partner.

  Mitch advanced and grabbed the smaller man around the waist, pulling him up and off the EMT. It took all of Mitch’s strength to pull Darren off the man and throw him aside. Darren hit a nearby tree with an audible crack, but was back on his feet as soon as he hit the ground.

  Mitch paid him no mind as he helped the EMT to his feet. “Are you okay?” he asked, seeing the rivulets of blood run down the man’s face and neck.

  “What the hell is wrong with him?” The EMT yelled as he got to his feet and glared at Darren. “He’s fucking crazy!”

  Mitch turned to Darren just as he was tackled and taken to the ground. The man’s strength was amazing and shocked him. The speed that his arms flailed and his teeth snapped caught him off guard, but Mitch was able to grab him by the wrists and hold him just out of reach.

  “What the hell’s wrong with you?”

  He stared at Darren and noticed that his eyes were blood-red. The red that had occupied the whites of his eyes just a moment before had now pooled in the irises, creating an eerie, demonic look that sent shivers to Mitch’s very core.

  “Talk to me, man!” Mitch pleaded.

  Darren wailed and gnashed his teeth at the larger man as he flailed about trying to break free. Mitch rolled to the side, taking Darren with him and ended up with Darren on his back, Mitch straddling him. “You got anything in your bag of tricks that can knock his ass out?”

  “Not in here,” the tech said. “We got some stuff in the ambulance.”

  “Get it!” Mitch yelled. “He’s a helluva lot stronger than he looks!”

  “I’m on it!” The tech turned and began hoofing it up the hill.

  “I could get a big stick and we could use it to knock his ass out,” the other EMT offered.

  “Not funny,” Mitch replied, trying to hold Darren down without getting bit.

  “We could…” the tech trailed off.

  “We could what?” Mitch asked, obviously exasperated.

  “There’s a naked woman watching you.”

  “What?” Mitch wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly.

  The man pointed over Mitch’s shoulder, and Mitch’s eyes turned, following his arm. Sure enough, there sat a naked woman, her head cocked to one side, staring at him as he held Darren to the ground. She looked like she was studying him, trying to figure out what she should do with him.

  “Lady? You need help?” Mitch asked, instantly regretting it. Obviously, she needed help if she was traipsing around the woods naked and dirty.

  Slowly, she stood, her eyes widening as she got to her feet. She opened her mouth and a mournful wail emitted that caused goosebumps to rise on Mitch’s arms. Mitch stared at her a moment, then shook his head. “Aw, hell. Not you, too,” he muttered.

  Darren became totally enraged as her voice rose in tempo and Mitch did all he could just to hold him. Mitch only shifted his attention for a moment to keep Darren from getting away, but the woman had started her advance. The tech screeched as his arm extended and pointed, his body trying to crabwalk backwards from her sprinting form. Mitch dropped his shoulder at the last possible moment and rolled, pulling Darren up and pushing him into the air just as she sprung. She collided with Darren and the two rolled away and into the darkness.

  “What the hell?” the tech screamed as he backed up to the trunk of a large pine tree. “She’s got the crazy just like him!”

  “Shut up, will ya?” Mitch yelled as he came to his feet. He pulled his weapon and flipped the safety off. “Bring it, you bitch!”

  “If that didn’t sound human, what do you think it was?” Bill asked as he dug through his duffle bag for his high-powered lamp.

  “I have no earthly idea,” Richard answered quietly. “I’ve been coming to these woods for years, and I’ve never heard anything that sounded like that.” His eyes scanned the area around the campsite trying to pinpoint the location of the scream.

  “Surely it was some kind of animal,” Bill asked hopeful
ly. “Maybe a cat of some kind?”

  “No cat I’ve ever heard sounded like that.” Richard shook his head. “Even if it smoked three packs a day.”

  “Okay. So what’s the game plan?”

  Richard shrugged. “I don’t know.” He tossed another chunk of wood onto the fire and ignored the sparks that rose into the air as the wood crackled higher with renewed life. “Even if that was some kind of wildlife, I can’t see them coming this close with all the noise going on over that hill.” He indicated the concert that still sounded to be going full tilt.

  “So, what’s your gut tell you?” Bill was a firm believer in gut feelings. His hadn’t failed him in nearly three decades, and he doubted they would fail now. But this wasn’t his gut he was counting on.

  Richard continued to stare into the gloom, his eyes narrowing as he tried to read the darkness. He didn’t speak as he tried to get a feel for the woods around them. Bill sat patiently and watched Richard as stared into the surrounding woods and slowly turned his gaze toward the campsites around them. “Something isn’t right,” he said softly.

  Bill cocked his head to try to listen. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the noise of the concert as it thumped and screeched over the hill, but he couldn’t isolate it. He grunted in frustration and opened his eyes. “Is your gut telling you that?”

  “There’s no noise out there.” Richard stood and stepped in front of the fire, putting the light of it behind him.

  Bill stepped beside him and stared out at the other campsites. “There’s plenty of noise, pal. I can barely think for it.” He chuckled nervously. Bill’s hand automatically went to his side, and he suddenly felt very naked without his sidearm strapped to his waist.

  “I don’t mean the music,” Richard’s eyes narrowed and continued to stare. “I’m meaning the other campers. The wildlife that would ignore the concert and close in on the area at dark.”

  “I’m not following you.”

  Richard turned to him and opened his mouth to explain when another scream shattered the night, sending goosebumps up both men’s arms and the hair on the back of their neck standing on end. Richard turned back to stare into the blackness and saw a figure running along the edge of the woods, ducking and weaving through the brush. “There!” he whispered loudly. “Do you see that?”

  “Yeah, but who’s he running from?” Bill asked.

  “Not from…” Richard replied, “…but chasing.” He extended his arm in front of the figure, and Bill just caught a glimpse of something moving through the brush before the figure leapt through the air and dove for whatever rustled the brush.

  “What the—” Bill breathed as he craned forward to see better.

  The figure in the brush screamed and leapt up, holding something in its hands. It stumbled forward and brought the object to its mouth, ripping shreds from a small furry body with its mouth. As it stumbled farther from the brush, both Bill and Richard stifled a gasp as the figure tripped and fell, still clutching the remains of a rabbit in its hands, the broken and bloody remnants hanging in shreds.

  The man came to his feet unsteadily and jerked his head around, suddenly noticing both Richard and Bill standing by the fire. The shredded mouthful of rabbit fell from his teeth as his eyes widened and he screamed with feral ferocity. Richard stumbled backwards and nearly fell into the fire as his fight-or-flight response kicked in. Bill bent down and picked up a longer stick of firewood and turned to a tactical forty-five degree angle.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” he cautioned as the man lowered his center of gravity and prepared to launch himself toward them.

  Bill knew he had only a moment to react. With barely twenty-five feet between them, the man could quickly close the gap. Bill tried to watch his eyes in order to read his intent and was unprepared when the man threw the handful of shredded rabbit remains at them at the same time he launched himself in attack. Bill dodged the bloody rabbit and was shocked at how quickly the man pushed past him and went after Richard.

  Richard had ducked behind the large pine tree beside the campsite, and when he saw the man leap, dove to one side, then ducked up the other to emerge next to Bill’s Jeep. The attacker blurred by him, screaming the entire time, and nearly causing Richard’s bowels to cut loose.

  Bill rolled off the ground and scooped up the stick of firewood in one fluid motion. “Son of a…” he cursed as he scanned the campsite.

  He saw Richard dive from the side of the pine tree to the Jeep and roll under the vehicle for safety just as the crazed man came around the other side of the tree and tried to grab him. As Richard continued to roll, the crazy man crawled on all fours after him and bashed his head against the passenger door of the vehicle as he continued to chase him under the Jeep. Bill used the distraction and took an overhead swing while running toward the crazed man. He brought the firewood down solidly across the man’s shoulders and fully expected him to fold then and there as the wood bounced from his hands and left splinters in his palms.

  Bill fell to the side and rolled away, finally coming to his hands and knees a good ten feet away from the crazy man. He coughed away the dust from the forest floor and slowly began coming to his knees. “Damn that hurt,” he moaned.

  A bloodcurdling scream to his left caught his attention, and Bill’s head snapped to the side. The crazy man was coming to his feet as well. He seemed unharmed, but severely pissed. He gnashed his teeth together so loudly that Bill’s own teeth hurt, and he feared that the other man would soon break his. “Fuck me,” Bill muttered as he began crawling away, attempting to put some distance between himself and the crazed attacker.

  Richard suddenly appeared near the front of the Jeep and waved his arms while jumping up and down. “Hey! Shit for brains! Over here!” he yelled animatedly, getting the man’s attention. “Yeah, you! I’m over here!” Richard edged around the other side of the Jeep, trying to keep it between him and the attacker.

  The crazed man turned and studied Richard a moment, then jerked his head back toward Bill. As he turned back toward Bill, he was hit in the head with a stone that Richard launched from behind the Jeep. “Yeah, YOU, you ugly mutha!” he yelled. “Got your attention now?” The crazed man screamed again and turned his interest toward Richard, throwing dirt and pine needles as he tore off toward the other man. “Oh…shit!” Richard squealed as he tore ass around the back of the Jeep.

  “What are you doing?” Bill screamed.

  “Trying to keep…him away from you!” Richard yelled back between breaths as he ran in circles around the Jeep. He kept looking back over his shoulder to see the crazed man starting to catch up to him. “Screw this!” He dove for the ground and rolled under the vehicle once more. As he came up from the other side, Bill saw him glance about wide-eyed until he saw the crazy man slide around the rear of the Jeep again, then Richard rolled back the way he had come.

  Bill fished in his pockets and pulled out the keys to the Jeep. “Richard!” he yelled. When Rich looked in his direction, Bill tossed the keys to him. They landed in the dirt right next to the Jeep. “Get in and lock him out!”

  “He’ll bust the glass!” Richard yelled back as he rolled over and grabbed the keys, then rolled back under the Jeep and to safety.

  “Start the damned thing and come get me!” Bill yelled back.

  “Come get you?” Richard repeated. “Where are you going to be?”

  Bill pointed back toward the other campsites, “Leading his dumb ass that way!”

  Bill stepped out from behind the tree and screamed at the crazed man as loud as he could, then ran for the clearing as quickly as his knees would carry him. He kept trying to listen for the sound of his Jeep starting, and for the life of him couldn’t understand why he didn’t hear the motor roaring to life. He prayed that Richard would arrive like the cavalry and save his ass.

  He chanced a glance over his shoulder and saw the crazed man hot on his heels. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, Bill pushed himself harder, trying to put m
ore distance between himself and the crazed man, but that burst of adrenaline was short-lived, and he felt his muscles burning, his body slowing, and his lungs gasping for more air than he could possibly suck in.

  He had no weapon to use, and his body was all but worn out. Time had taken its toll on him and whatever this camper was on, he obviously felt no pain. Bill’s mind wandered in its oxygen deprived state and he could only assume his pursuer was on LSD or some other hallucinogenic. He felt himself slowing and was just about to surrender when a familiar roar pulled next to him.

  Bill grabbed the door handle and stepped up onto the running board of the Jeep as Richard gunned the engine and pulled away. Bill stepped back and pulled the passenger door open and quite literally fell into the passenger seat. “Thank God you showed when you did,” he gasped, clutching his chest. “I had nothing left.”

  “Yeah, about that,” Richard answered sheepishly. “I may have dented your front bumper.”

  Bill gave him a puzzled look and shook his head. “Whatchu mean?” he gasped between breaths.

  “I sorta had to run that crazy fuck over to get to you.”

  Bill continued to suck in air and nodded. “That’s cool.” He glanced over his shoulder and couldn’t see anything in the darkness. “I’ll just swear a deer jumped in front of me or something.”

  Richard slowed down as he approached the Y at the top of the road. “Now we have a problem,” he said as the lights illuminated the road ahead.

  “Another one?” Bill asked, his breathing still ragged. “What now?”

  “Look.” He pointed to the cars lining the edge of the road. “No way out.”

  “Out? Shouldn’t we find a ranger station? We should notify someone about the druggie that attacked us.”

  Richard lowered his eyes a moment and shook his head. “About that. I have a sneaky feeling that…” he trailed off.

  “What? Don’t leave me hanging here, pal. If your gut is telling you something, you need to share it.”