by Heath, Joel
“What’s wrong?” Gretchen asked.
Spencer stayed quiet for a long moment before he replied. “Nothing, let’s go.”
Spencer put his car in gear and returned to the road with Louis and Lester following. He got to I-10 and started working his way west, away from the rising sun.
With every passing mile, he felt a foreboding feeling grow like a plague spreading.
Crossing the border into Mississippi he anticipated a quick transition into Louisiana. As they neared Shreveport, they saw what looked like the site of a skirmish. As they passed they noticed the area was littered with weapons and bodies. The strange thing was that there were human bodies and demon bodies. Spencer decided to stop and investigate. Getting out, Spencer approached one of the demon corpses.
“No way.” Spencer exclaimed. “Are you seeing this?”
“I’ll be damned, they can be killed. But how?” Louis wondered, approaching the motionless body.
A soft moan carried on the wind. “Y’all hear that?” Lester asked.
“Hear what?” Gretchen asked.
“Sounds like someone moaned.” Lester explained as he listened for more to help pinpoint a location, but he didn’t need it; a hand in the air signaled the cavalry to come in.
“What the hell happened here?” Spencer asked as he knelt at the man's side.
“We kicked their asses back to Hell.” The man replied weakly, a significant portion of blood leaking through the man’s shredded shirt indicated a fatal wound.
“How did you kill them?” Spencer demanded.
“The ‘queen’. Every hive has one.” The man choked out, “You need to find and kill the queen.” The man explained before exhaling his last breath.
Spencer stood; everybody knew what he was thinking. “You’re nuts, we should make for Arizona.” Lester suggested.
“These guys killed an entire ‘hive’ of demons. We should get as much information as we can. Maybe we can find other survivors and mount a counterattack.” Spencer offered.
“Louis, I know you’re with me.” Lester said. His fear was showing for the first time in days.
“No, this city boy’s right. We should find others, figure out how to find the queen and find out how they killed it.” Louis said. “If we actually find the queen here, we might be able to see how they did it. That would help as I really doubt anyone else is left alive here.”
“Then let’s spread out and find it.” Spencer ordered.
Everybody started looking. Spencer was worried about Gretchen. How would she handle death on this scale? They continued searching for another twenty minutes before Lester found a demon corpse that was significantly different from the others.
“I done found it. It ain’t got no head, but I done found it.” Lester cheered triumphantly.
Spencer, Louis and Gretchen came to investigate the corpse. Spencer found a body that had suffered numerous gunshot wounds and most severe of all, decapitation.
“Wow, she didn’t go down easy.” Spencer observed, then he noticed something in the queen’s hand. It was a kind of sword. The blade was three feet long and the edge of was smooth and slightly curved. The sword itself exuded darkness which swirled just around the entire blade.
“You think we should take this with us?” Spencer asked, staring at the blade.
“I don’t know, that there’s bad hoodoo.” Lester objected.
“I think we should take it,” Spencer said before reaching down and prying the demonic queen’s hand open to release the sword. Then he noticed a strap across the queen’s chest and turned the headless body over to find a sort of scabbard. He removed the scabbard and placed the sword inside.
“Check for other weapons and supplies, then meet back at the cars in ten minutes.” Spencer said. Louis and Lester nodded before heading off in one direction while Gretchen and Spencer went in another.
Spencer strapped the sword to his back and headed out away from the cars where a Humvee was parked. Spencer figured taking the vehicle with them would give them one more weapon; inspecting under the hood he found that the engine seemed to be in working order. He jumped into the driver’s seat and tried to start the engine. It whined as Spencer turned the key in the ignition and refused to start so Spencer looked at the fuel gauge; it was empty.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Spencer mourned. Then he got out and realized why there was no longer sufficient fuel; there was a gash in the vehicle just below the window, and it looked deep. On the ground some fluid had spilled out. From the smell Spencer realized it was gasoline. The fuel line or gas tank must have been breached during the fighting. It was no use trying to find out who had done it or if they could possibly fix it. Spencer had only four minutes until he had to meet back at the cars so he opened the back of the Humvee to see if there was anything useful left inside. Bingo, Spencer hit pay dirt: four cases of MRE’s and two large containers markedwater. There was also a small arsenal of weapons. A couple FNP-90’s, an MGL 140 grenade launcher, each with limited ammunition, and a pair of single fire AT-4 missile launchers.
Lester, Louis and Gretchen were congregated around their vehicles waiting for Spencer to return. When he did, he was packing two cases of MRE’s and the AT-4’s.
“Where you done found all that?” Lester asked.
“In a Humvee, it's over there.” Spencer said pointing in the direction of the hummer. “There’s more, I need help getting it back here.”
“Lester, let’s give him a hand,” Louis offered.
Spencer led the way back to the Hummer where the rest of the food, water, and weapons waited.
Before hitting the road Spencer offered Louis and Lester one of the water containers, two of the MRE’s cases, and one of the P-90’s, loading the rest into the trunk of his GTO. Before closing the trunk Spencer removed the sword from his back and placed it into the trunk, not knowing if it was wise to use it, at least not until he knew more about it.
The Texas boarder was soon behind them and daylight was starting to fade. As they approached Dallas, the radio crackled to life.
“Can anybody hear me?” a voice pled. “My name is Brock Walton. I’m in Dallas, Texas. There are some demon-like creatures outside. I don’t think they’ve seen me, but I don’t think I can stay hidden for much longer.”
Gretchen turned to Spencer. “Should we go try and help him?”
Spencer returned the glance, and briefly considered going into the city. “Let’s do it,” he agreed. He veered off the eerily uncluttered highway towards the city. Louis pulled his truck alongside Spencer’s GTO and yelled through an open window.
“What the hell are you doing?” Louis hollered from the safety of his truck.
“We’re going into the city.” Spencer replied.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“There’s a survivor trapped in the city. Are you coming?” Spencer hollered back.
“Hell no, we ain’t goin’ in there.”
Spencer swerved onto the exit that plunged into the heart of Dallas, Louis and Lester took to the dirt and foliage until they could get back onto the highway.
Spencer pulled onto South Ervay Street just off Main Street before coming to a stop. Getting out in the canyon created by the lining of massive skyscrapers they saw them. They littered the ground as far as the eye could see. Pale, cold and beginning to decay; they were human bodies. Most had died suddenly, but a few were dismembered.
“Why did they dismember some of these people?” Spencer wondered aloud.
“Maybe the survivors tried to mount a counter attack.” Gretchen suggested.
Then the voice called from the GTO’s radio, but this time it was no longer pleading, it was taunting.
“Help, please help. They’re coming to take my soul down to Hell.” The voice finished with a fit of maniacally evil laughter.
“I think we shouldn’t be here.” Gretchen urged, wanting to get the hell out of there. It was then that they saw her, a feminine figure
standing down the street. She was the embodiment of darkness. Pulsing with evil, she drew a sword just like the one Spencer had nabbed from the dead queen.
“Get into the car, I have a plan.” Spencer said as he climbed into his car. Gretchen got in. “What’s your plan?” Gretchen asked,
“This.”Spencer replied as he floored the gas pedal and began accelerating towards the hive queen.
“Are you insane?” Gretchen asked and Spencer pointed at the P-90 in the back seat. “You know how to use one of those?”
Gretchen reached back and grabbed the weapon and racked it before she leaned out the window and fired half a clip into the queen. Then Spencer hit the brakes and turned the wheel so hard he was afraid the car would roll. The car swung around, hitting the queen with the rear of his GTO leaving a hefty dent in the car’s left side. Spencer took the P-90 from Gretchen, got out and finished the clip, but the queen just wouldn’t die. Spencer reached inside his car and while the queen was stunned. He tossed the empty weapon back to Gretchen. Spencer was apprehensive about using one of their weapons but it was either that or die so he popped the trunk and grabbed the sword.
By the time he unsheathed the blade this new queen had recovered enough to defend herself with her own blade. She swung wildly causing Spencer to duck and dodge each attack, occasionally having to parry the queen’s attacks with the dark sword. One such parry left Spencer wide open for an unseen foot that came out of nowhere and knocked him to the ground. The queen raised her sword high for the finishing blow when the sound of a P-90’s rapid firing mechanism ripped through the air accompanied by dozens of rounds.
Spencer got back to his feet, charging after the queen who was writhing on the ground and took a final cut. The queen’s head fell to the ground. Her lifeless body hung on another couple of seconds before joining the head. The sound of thousands of demons realizing their queen had been killed rang through the streets.
“I think it’s time to go,” Spencer said, putting the sword into the back seat before he got in and sped away. The sound of the shrieking demons echoed through the once heavily populated city that would forever more be a ghost town. Spencer turned onto Elm Street and pressed the gas pedal, accelerating toward the riverfront where Elm turned into Commerce Street and connected back up to I-30 and headed west. Spencer’s speedometer was reading ninety miles per hour, but it wasn’t fast enough. He didn’t want to stop until he could no longer see Dallas in the rearview mirror, and he just kept driving until long after the sun vanished beyond the western horizon.
It was several hours before they stopped near Tesco, which was nothing more than a power plant on County Road 131, just off of I-20. There wasn’t much in the way of foliage, but they did the best they could do in going about and hiding the car from sight.
“We’d better get some sleep while we can; I want to get to the safe zone before sundown tomorrow,” Spencer urged.
“Where did you learn how do that?” Gretchen asked.
“Do what?”
“You were pretty good with the sword,” Gretchen commented.
“I think you mean lucky. She almost killed me.” Spencer began, and then explained his experience. “My uncle and I were close. He knew a lot about fighting, knives, swords, guns. You name it he taught me…or tried to anyway.”
“My father taught me the same before he died. My real father did anyway. My biological father was killed when I was twelve; I was sent America to live with a friend of his.”
“Where are you from?” Spencer wondered.
“I was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland. So, where are we going?” Gretchen asked, changing the subject.
“According to Louis and Lester the safe zone is in a town in Arizona called Prescott. We’ll head there first thing in the morning.”
“What if…” Gretchen stopped herself; she didn’t want to think about the possibility.
“What if the safe zone isn’t safe?” Spencer asked. “I guess I’ll head for Vegas, there’s a military base near there. We might be able to hold out for a couple weeks. Get some rest.”
Gretchen soon fell asleep. Spencer looked at Gretchen, and he didn’t realize it but he was smiling. It was crazy, he couldn’t be developing feelings for Gretchen, she was rather young – or could he? Society had all but collapsed, did the laws that society was governed by still apply? He decided to try to get some sleep.
It was early in the morning. Light had just begun to appear in the east; the sun was rising. Spencer awoke to hear the sound of a car’s engine. It was coming from the Interstate. Spencer got out of the car grabbed the M-16 Lester had given him two days earlier and quickly made his way to the interstate trying to remain hidden.
Seeing Louis’s truck driving erratically he stepped from his hiding place and tried to flag Louis down. The truck screeched to a dead stop and Louis emerged, he was seemed terrified, his left hand gripped his right arm above the elbow, there was a gash. He was heavily winded. Spencer looked into the cab and did not see Lester.
“Oh ,thank God.” Louis praised. “I never thought I’d see you two again.”
“Louis, how did you find us?”
“I wasn’t lookin’, I just, oh God, Lester.” Louis mourned.
It was then that Spencer noticed Lester wasn’t gone. “Where’s Lester?”
Crying, Louis replied, “Dead…they got to him and almost killed me.”
“What the hell happened?” Spencer asked.
“We was takin’ a detour through Waco when they came out of the woodwork. They pulled most of ‘im outta the winda while we was tryin’ to get away.” Louis explained with tears in his eyes.
Spencer glanced into the truck and found an arm severed below the shoulder.
“He’s dead.” Louis wept.
Chapter 2 – Alone again A brief but meaningful service was held for Lester as his severed arm was buried behind the power station. After the service, Spencer walked to his car, put his hands atop it, and stared down at the ground.
“Are you okay?” Gretchen asked. Spencer remained silent for a split second. “Are we just postponing the inevitable?”
“What do you mean?” Gretchen asked. “Are they going to get us in the end?” Spencer asked.
Gretchen momentarily thought back to
her stay in Dunn North Carolina, and her meeting
Spencer. She was about to answer when
something on Spencer’s back seat caught their
attention. It was a book, but not just any book; it
was his Bible. Spencer reached into the back seat,
grabbed the volume of scripture, and felt
compelled to look within its pages. The first
verse he came to was in Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in
the Lord with all thine heart and lead not into
thine own understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him…and he shall direct thy path.” Spencer looked up from the biblical
pages. “Get in the car. It’s time to go.”
“Spencer?”
Spencer paused and looks to Gretchen. “If
it is the will of God that we die, then I’m going
down fighting.”
Spencer went to check on Louis and
found him by the bed of his truck. He was
holding a hand grenade, a finger latched onto the
pin.
“Louis, what are you doing?” Spencer
demanded, concern bubbling to the surface. “I can’t go on anymore.” Louis replied
indolently, staring at the grenade in his hand. “That’s crazy talk. Once we get to
Prescott we’re going to find an army of survivors
ready to take the fight to the demons of Hell, and
avenge your friend.” Spencer compassionately
explained.
Louis turned on Spencer incensed.
“Lester wasn’t just my friend, he was my
brother.” Louis snapped.
&n
bsp; Spencer flushed with embarrassment. . “A lot of people were killed this week. I
lost a friend that was like a brother. I’m sure
everybody I ever knew is dead. You’re still alive,
but if you want to throw in the towel fine, go die
in the trees. But I’m not giving up.” Spencer said
before he turned to walk away.
Spencer got twenty yards before he heard
the chink of the pin leaving the grenade and the
spoon popping. It was just a few seconds before
the grenade exploded killing Louis. Spencer
closed his eyes in reverence, but at the same time
cursing Louis’ choice to take the quick and easy path. His death left them weaker. Left the whole
human race weaker.
Spencer felt uneasy about taking supplies
from Louis’ truck, but every bullet or MRE
would get Spencer and Gretchen that much closer
to the safe zone.
After Spencer finished loading the last of
the supplies he climbed into the GTO’s driver’s
seat. Gretchen was already seated in the
passenger seat.
“So, what are we going to do now?”
Gretchen asked.
“I think the best thing for us is to continue
on to Prescott, we’ll-”
Spencer stopped when he heard a sound
coming from the direction of the abandoned
truck, a sort of scraping and hissing sound. “Did
you hear that?” Spencer asked turning toward the
source of the noise. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Spencer reported, gazing into the driver’s side
mirror.
“Spencer!” Gretchen shrieked, drawing
Spencer’s full attention.
Out the passenger window Spencer saw a
demon like the one he saw in Dunn latched onto
the exterior of his car, shrieking and hissing as it
raised its head. Spencer drew his Glock and
aimed. As the demon’s cold red eyes settled on
the weapon it leapt from the side of the car and
quickly disappeared.
“Where do you think it’s going?”
