by T. W. Brown
He grabbed the bucket of cold water with the remaining eight cans of the case bobbling in it. Garrett refused to look at the counter as he passed through the kitchen on his way out to the back yard. He would not look at those long, slender bones.
Once outside, he began on the beer. He could still hear them. His hands fished around inside the bucket. Empty. Looking around, he saw cans scattered about his feet. He didn’t remember drinking them all, yet here they were. He considered his choices. He had one more case left, or the bottle of Vodka. He decided on the bottle.
Returning inside, Garrett grabbed it and stood in the empty pantry. He took long pulls every so often. The images in his mind seemed to grow more and more clear as he drank. Lifting the bottle to his lips, he almost wept when nothing happened. The bottle was empty.
Anger came in a flood, and Garrett threw the bottle across the dark kitchen. He heard it explode in a shower of glass shards; some of the pieces flickering in the minute amount of moonlight coming through the windows.
Like a human landslide, he started through the house. Slow at first, but gathering momentum. He left a path of overturned furniture in his path; smashing or tossing aside anything that was unfortunate enough to get in his way. The stairs proved to be his most difficult obstacle. He made his way up, each slip or stumble adding to his anger.
He reached the doorway. The candles had long since burned out, but he could see the small, naked form outlined on the bed. He fumbled with his belt and kicked off his shoes. Allowing his pants to fall to the floor, he toppled trying to pull out his legs. With growing anger, he tugged and yanked until they finally came off. Casting them aside, he rose and approached. In shock, Garrett took note of the most recent betrayal. His body wasn’t responding. Normally anger had him fully aroused. Not this time. He tugged at the flaccid piece that dangled ineffectively between his legs. Nothing happened. He threw himself on The Toy and tried to stuff his impotent organ inside.
Nothing!
Furious, he rose up on his knees and tugged the line tied to the right arm and the headboard so hard that it snapped. He repeated his actions on the line secured to the right leg and the bedpost. It also parted, causing him to fall back. He heard The Toy cry out, Yes, he thought, cry. But still his body refused to respond.
He flipped The Toy onto its belly and grabbed its hips. Moving up behind it, he again tried to arouse himself manually. He tried to push himself into The Toy once more.
Nothing!
Garrett screamed his rage. He hit The Toy with one big fist in the small of the back. It yelped, but his body would not give him even the slightest twitch of arousal. His fists rained down with meaty thuds and even the occasional pop of a bone; sometimes from his hands, sometimes from The Toy.
Exhausted, he stopped. At some point, his bladder had let go. The room began to tilt and spin. In a daze, Garrett climbed off the bed. He stumbled down the dark hallway to his room and collapsed. Fortunately, he was on his stomach. His body convulsed twice as watery vomit sprayed from his mouth and nose. Then, the deep snore mixed with a bubbling sound echoed in the room.
***
Kirsten sobbed. Her body hurt everywhere. It felt as if she’d been placed in a giant vice and crushed. Each breath sent a new pain coursing through her. She tasted blood in her mouth and was having a terrible time getting enough air. Each inhale and exhale felt smaller, like her lungs were shrinking.
She tried to roll over, and it took a second before she realized it. Her right hand was free! The Big Man had left without securing her. So was her right leg! That meant…
Kirsten pulled what remained of her left arm free of the bindings. Only her left leg was still tied. She sat up and was hit with a bolt of pain so severe that she blacked out.
When Kirsten came to, it took her a moment to comprehend what had happened. Fear crept in. This was her one chance. If she blew it because of the pain, she would…
What? Kirsten thought. Live to regret it? Not for long she wouldn’t. The Big Man was going to cut her up and eat her. No, she had to do this and she had to do it now. She looked out her window. The slightest glow of dawn was beginning to show in the sky.
Very slowly, she sat up. Her breathing sounded strange. It reminded her of the pump in her dad’s fish tank in his office. Eventually, she was sitting up. Her vision narrowed, and once more the pain threatened to overwhelm. Kirsten gritted her teeth and fought through it. Wincing against the agony, she untied the knot on her left ankle. Once that was done, she took care of the ones on her right wrist with her teeth and the one on her right ankle.
She was free!
Kirsten struggled to her feet and made her way to her dresser. It seemed to take an eternity, but at last, she was dressed. Now she would slip out. She had an entire world to hide in. The Big Man would never find her again.
Stepping into the hall, Kirsten heard them: The Monster-people. Why were they so loud? she wondered. Had they slipped inside the gate somehow? She could also hear the snores of the Big Man. Fairly confident that he would remain fast asleep—she could smell the stink of alcohol on him from the hallway—Kirsten slipped into his room. Were the Monster-people out in the back yard?
She looked out the window and her entire body seemed to go numb. She went into the bathroom, and peeked out the window. Her mind struggled with what she saw. There were so many.
Realization crashed down on Kirsten and she cried. Now she knew. She knew why there had been no more meals. She knew why The Big Man had started in on her. There would be no escape.
Kirsten thought long and hard until she came to a decision. Calmly, she went to her dad’s office. She knew exactly where he kept the key for times when power was out and an emergency arose. A few times, a voice in her mind tried to talk her out of her plan.
No, the voice would plead.
Yes, Kirsten thought, it is the only way.
Steeling herself, Kirsten struggled her way down the stairs. Reaching the front door, she cast one look up the stairs. She could still hear him snore. Stepping outside, the cold air threatened to steal what little breath she could take in. Kirsten walked the familiar path to the driveway.
She reached the gate and stared at the wall of horror that stared back. She didn’t recognize any of the faces. All her friends…their families…gone. The electronic mechanism that opened this gate was useless. However, at the bottom was a lever. In case of an emergency, during a power failure, of course there had to be a way to open the gate.
Fighting through the pain, Kirsten knelt. The Monster-people were smashed in so tight that none of them could follow her; none of them could reach down and grab her. She fumbled with the box. Kirsten was thankful that The Big Man had shown no interest in her dad’s office. The key had been right there in the top drawer where he always kept it. It slid into the lock and turned. The box opened and she tugged at the lever. It barely budged. So many of those things pressed against the gate.
Her frustration mounted, but she kept at it. Through the tears and the pain she felt it budge. Then it popped free. Normally it took two men to pull open each gate manually. Not this time. It literally flew open, slamming into Kirsten and sending her tumbling backwards.
The pain was white hot and instant. Sheer force of will kept her from losing consciousness. The horde had stumbled forward. Many of those in front fell, and a huge tangled knot of the horrible creatures piled up in the entrance. That was the only thing that saved Kirsten for the moment.
She made it to her feet as a dozen or so of the creatures began to stagger her way. Kirsten clutched at her sides as she made for the house bringing a tsunami of undead in her wake. They followed, arms outstretched, mouths open; wailing, moaning, and crying out for her flesh.
Once she reached the halfway point on the stairs, the first one made it through the doorway. Kirsten noticed that this one was a girl…almost the same age. Like her, this one was missing the lower half of one arm. It was also missing one eye and had ugly and jagged punctures in its
body. Its head tilted up to Kirsten and it made a strange mewling noise before it started towards the stairs.
The Monster-people really struggled here. But in droves they came in pursuit of the young girl just out of their reach. Kirsten saw many wander into the house, but it didn’t matter. It looked like a hundred of them were slowly making it up. It was like a ship slowly filling with water.
Eventually they were on the landing, the one-armed, one-eyed girl leading the way. Kirsten could still hear the snores of The Big Man, but they were being swallowed by the cries of the Monster-people.
She led them into the bedroom, only pausing briefly. She spat on the still-sleeping form in her parents’ bed; then, she opened the door to the balcony. The yard was a roiling sea of dead faces, heads bobbing as they all came through the gate in front. There were too many for the house to hold and they were overflowing around it now.
So many.
They came into the bedroom. The Monster-girl paused, glancing first at Kirsten, then at the snoring mound that was The Big Man. It seemed to come to the conclusion that more was better and headed for the bed. Some followed, others locked onto Kirsten. She stepped out onto the balcony and made her way to the rail.
A noise behind her made her pause. At first it was muffled. Then…it became a scream. The scream held equal parts fear and hurt. Down below, the sea of faces looked up. Kirsten slowly made it over the rail, fighting off the pain. But the screams from inside seemed to help, almost acting like an anesthetic. Closing her eyes and holding her arms out, Kirsten pushed away and reveled in the few seconds where the wind rushed to her face.
I’m free!
Other Titles by TW Brown
The DEAD Series:
DEAD: The Ugly Beginning
DEAD: Revelations
DEAD: Fortunes & Failures
DEAD: Winter
DEAD Special Edition
DEAD: Steve’s Story
DEAD: Vignettes
DEAD: The Geeks
DEAD: Special Edition Compendium
Zomblog
Zomblog
Zomblog II
Zomblog: The Final Entry
Zomblog: Snoe (coming October 2012)
Miscellaneous
Gruesomely Grimm Zombie Tales Vol. I
That Ghoul Ava
Dakota (as Todd Brown)
