Creatures

by Michelle Khonsari

  CREATURES

  © 2016 by Michelle Khonsari. All Rights Reserved.

  DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, either living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon, sending rays of magnificent light over the valley. There were not many homes in the area, as it was mostly farmland. A small town in the center, referred to by the locals as Midtown, provided a few small shops, a grocery market, a diner, and a movie theater in desperate need of upgrading and repairs. It was a good five miles to the rest of civilization. In this early morning hour, the citizens were just beginning to stir. Breakfast was being cooked in the kitchens, the lands and animals were being tended to, and children were hurrying to catch the bus for school.

  Cassie Rickers glared disgustedly out her window as she procrastinated rising from her bed. She could hear her mother calling her from downstairs. Cassie had only lived in the old farmhouse for six months, and not very happily. She had been born and raised in the city, but then her paternal grandmother had died and willed the house to her father. So they packed up their little apartment and headed to the God-forsaken farm town. Cassie made no effort to befriend anyone in her new town or her new school.

  “Cassie!” her mother yelled with exasperation as she slung Cassie’s bedroom door open. “Get up this instant! You’re going to miss the bus!”

  Cassie gave a slight smirk at how little effort it took to antagonize her mother. She had no desire to make her parents’ lives peaceful. They had ripped her from her roots, her school, her friends… and for what? A little more square footage? A yard no one used? Cassie climbed out of bed nonchalantly and dressed. She inserted her earbuds before leaving her room. Without a word to her mother, Cassie grabbed her backpack and went out the front door. Her younger brother, Trey, hurried after her.

  “Why do you gotta be such a bitch, Cassie?” Trey asked loudly.

  Cassie just grinned at him. They walked together in silence, Cassie’s music blaring in her ears. It was a ten-minute walk into Midtown where the bus picked up. When they reached the bus stop, Cassie plotted herself away from the others against the brick of a building and pulled out a cigarette. Trey sat down next to her and stared at her expectantly.

  “Get your own,” Cassie snapped after a moment, noticing his stare.

  Trey was eleven, five years younger than Cassie, and, deep down, looked up to her a lot. He would never admit it out loud, of course, but he made an effort to be her friend.

  “Give me one or I’m telling Mom,” Trey threatened. “I’ll call her as soon as I get to school.”

  Cassie stared at him momentarily.

  “You’re such a brat,” she replied as she handed him the lit one in her hand.

  They shared the cigarette without any further communication until the bus arrived. Trey sat down next to her in a middle seat, but she made no objections. It prevented anyone else from sitting next to her.

  The high school and middle school sat in the same lot, sharing a gymnasium in the middle, which is where the buses dropped off and picked up. They went their separate ways without a word to each other. Cassie went straight to her homeroom and plopped lazily into her seat, her earbuds still blaring out music into her eardrums. She turned up the volume and laid her head down. She watched the teacher take her place at the front and start calling roll. She couldn’t hear her, but she could see her mouth moving. Cassie’s homeroom teacher kept her focus on her, seeing that Cassie once again had her earbuds in. When she called Cassie’s name, she stared hard at her. She started to come towards her, and Cassie sat up quickly, pulling the earbuds from her ears and shoving them into her pocket.

  “Give me those,” the teacher demanded.

  “No,” Cassie snapped back. “You didn’t pay for them.”

  “Why must we go through this every morning, Cassie?” the teacher asked.

  “Because you choose to,” Cassie answered calmly. “You know my name, you stare at me the entire time you’re calling roll, you know I’m here. Are you that callow you need to hear me say ‘here’? Fuck, grow up. This isn’t elementary school.”

  Some of the other kids laughed a little in disbelief and watched anxiously for the teacher’s reaction.

  “Get out of my class,” she ordered sternly. “You can wait for me in the office.”

  Cassie smiled, picked up her bag, and headed out the door. She went out the main entrance and walked across the parking lot. When she reached the main road, she ran across and plopped down in an alley on the other side. She lit a cigarette and shoved her earbuds back into her ears. She tired of sitting there after a while and moved down the alley to the next block. She walked along Twenty-Second Avenue casually, looking into the windows of the clothing shops to see what might be offered. She turned down Hendricks Street, not really thinking about where she was headed, but just letting her feet take her. Hendricks Street ran into Maple Drive, and took a right toward Piedmont Boulevard.

  Her old high school was on Piedmont Boulevard, near the end, and just a couple blocks away now, she stopped in front of an apartment building. It was a building with faded red brick, obviously very aged, but Cassie knew the inside was decent enough. The grass was neatly cut, and the leaves sprinkled across it, falling from the few trees that stood in its yard. An old black iron fence surrounded the property. Cassie lit a cigarette and stared up at the apartment she once called home. Two of the apartment’s windows faced her, and sat four stories up in the seven-story complex.

  Cassie seemed to zone out as she smoked her cigarette and let the memories of her childhood flood her mind. She yearned to have this back; to have her friends, her high school, her neighborhood. After a while, her stomach begin to growl, and she started back the way she’d come. She made her way into a sandwich shop that was just opening for lunch and sat in a booth. The waitress took her order shortly, and Cassie laid her head back and stared out the window.

  She wandered around town after lunch, still listening to her music and ignoring the curious stares of strangers as they passed each other. She made her way back to the school that afternoon just in time to catch the bus home. Trey was already on the bus, and she sat down next to him. The ride home was uneventful, and they shared a cigarette for the walk home. Their mom was glued to the TV when they came in the front door. Cassie removed her earbuds, as this caught her curiosity.

  “What is it, Mom?” Trey asked.

  Their mom had a look of disbelief on her face, and she hushed him quickly. The news was on with a breaking story of a chemical explosion in the city. There seemed to be a lot of chaos and confusion going on behind the reporter as she frantically tried to explain what was happening. The explosion had apparently caused some type of reaction, causing survivors of the blast to violently vomit blood and fall into convulsions. Rescue personnel wearing hazmat suits were attempting to assist the affected.

  “Yeah, well, when’s dinner?” Cassie asked. “I’m starving.”

  Her mother looked at her with an unbelieving look. “Do you not see what’s going on here? This is serious.”

  “Well starving us to death isn’t going to change it,” Cassie returned.

  She made herself a microwave dinner and took it to her room to eat. An hour passed before Cassie’s mom came into her room.

  “I got a call today,” she started. “Where did you go?”

  Cassie shrugged. “I went to school.”

  “You didn’t stay there,” her mother returned. “You were supposed to go to the office for mouthing off to your teacher and instead you went missing.”

  “I didn’t go anywhere, I just took a walk,” Cassie answered.

  �
�This is going to stop,” her mother told her sternly. “Tomorrow, I’m walking you to every class.”

  Cassie felt anger from the threat and glared at her mother.

  “I don’t know why you’re being like this. You never had trouble like this before we moved,” her mother continued. “People move all the time. Get over it and move on.”

  “No!” Cassie yelled. “This is your fault! I didn’t want to move out to the middle of nowhere! You just had to jump all over moving here, all because our apartment just wasn’t good enough for you! You couldn’t just be happy with what we had!”

  “You are talking nonsense,” her mother returned angrily. “It was too hard to get this house sold, and we couldn’t afford to keep both. We listed both and the apartment went the first week. You think I didn’t have friends I had to leave? You think we didn’t worry about you and Trey having to change schools?”

  “School’s cancelled!” Trey suddenly shouted from the hallway, getting their attention.

  Cassie’s mom looked back at her, and Cassie gave a defiant little grin. “Guess you won’t be escorting me to my classes tomorrow.”

  By the next morning, there was a lot of panic in the neighboring city. The news played constantly. People were attacking each other, dying in the streets, completely losing control. Linda, Cassie’s mom, stayed glued to the TV. Her dad, Frank, had gone off to work, and the worry poured from Linda like a waterfall.

  “Why don’t you just call him, Mom?” Cassie asked.

  “I tried. It’s just a busy signal,” Linda replied blankly.

  “Call his freaking cell phone!” Cassie shouted. “We are in the twenty-first century.”

  “You can stop being such a little smart-ass!” Linda retaliated. “It’s going to voicemail right away. Regardless of what you may think, I’m not a complete moron.”

  Cassie rolled her eyes and headed out the front door. She lit a cigarette as she walked down the horribly paved road. She walked in the direction of the city. After about fifteen minutes of walking slowly and casually down the road, a familiar car came toward her, stopping as it reached her.

  “Dad,” Cassie replied, surprised to see him, but unadmittedly a little happy to know he was okay.

  “Get in, Cassie,” he ordered urgently. “They’re coming, we gotta go.”

  “Who’s coming?” Cassie asked.

  “The creatures,” he whispered.

  Frank frantically ordered them to pack up, insisting that the creatures were headed their way. He was genuinely frightened, and he visibly trembled as he quickly applied Neosporin and bandages to several wounds on his arms and chest. Cassie had noticed his hair was disheveled and he was unusually pale as she had gotten in the car, but hadn’t asked. Cassie stuffed a duffel bag with several changes of clothes, bathroom products, her CDs and portable CD player, and some extra batteries.

  “There’s hundreds of them, Linda,” she heard her dad say as she headed back downstairs. “They swarmed me when I came out. And they bite. One bit my arm.”

  “What are they?” Linda asked.

  “Creatures,” Frank answered. “They’re like human form, but not human.”

  Cassie finished her descent down the stairs. “You got bit?” she spat out.

  “It’s fine, Cassie,” Frank assured. “I doctored it up so it won’t get infected. When we get to another town, I’ll have a doctor take a look.”

  They piled into Frank’s SUV, tossing their bags in the back, and Frank drove quickly away from the city. Once they passed through Midtown, he clicked on the radio. The news reporters were urging people in and around the city to stay inside and lock their doors. They, too, referred to the things as creatures. Cassie watched her dad closely and could tell he had started to perspire rather heavily. She unfastened her belt and leaned over the back seat to the exposed trunk area. Her parents had thrown together a cooler in the packing process, and Cassie retrieved a bottled water from it.

  “Here, dad,” she offered, handing it over the seat to him. “You’re sweating.”

  He smiled at her and took the water. “Thanks, sweetie.”

  Frank attempted to drink the water, but showed great difficulty in the attempt. The perspiration thickened and he was growing even paler. Linda suggested they go to the hospital, but Frank shook his head no. When they reached the next city, he pulled into a hotel and went in to rent a room. He splashed water on his face when they got to the room, then laid on the bed. He was starting to moan as though in pain, and he became extremely restless. Linda attempted to comfort him, but her efforts proved useless. Cassie turned on the TV to check the news. Footage of the creatures filled the screen. Cassie’s eyes grew wide.

  “Dad, is that the creatures? Is that what bit you?” Cassie asked.

  Frank looked at the screen and nodded. “Yeah.”

  He began to vomit blood violently, and then the convulsions started. Linda became frantic and grabbed the phone to call 911. The line was busy, and she desperately kept redialing. Cassie watched her father in horror. Trey was visibly upset and asking Cassie what to do.

  “Those creatures…they’re fucking zombies!” Cassie blurted out. “He’s turning! He got bit, and now he’s going to turn into one of them!”

  “Cassie, stop it!” Linda shrieked.

  “Come on, have you never watched a zombie movie?” Cassie asked in a panic.

  The convulsions stopped, and Frank lay still on the bed, not breathing.

  “Frank!” Linda screeched.

  She immediately started to perform CPR. Trey was crying now, and Cassie watched with fear, her mouth hanging open. She then hurried back out to the car and dug into her dad’s bag. She retrieved his pistol, checked that it was loaded, cocked it, and ran back into the room. Linda was still performing CPR to no avail. She cried as she did so, begging him to take a breath. Trey was now trying to reach the 911 dispatcher, also unsuccessful in his attempts.

  After half an hour, Linda stopped, collapsed on Frank’s chest, and wailed. Cassie felt tears escape her eyes and run down her cheeks. Trey sat in the floor a few feet from the bed, sobbing heavily. Cassie focused on her breathing, keeping her stare on her dad and her grip on the gun. Another twenty minutes passed before Frank opened his eyes. Cassie could feel her heartbeat increase and her adrenaline rush through her blood. He made a gurgling moan sound, and Linda shot up to look at him.

  “Frank!” she blurted.

  He took hold of her and pulled her to him. She didn’t resist, and he immediately bit into her shoulder. Linda let out an ear-piercing scream.

  “I’m sorry, Daddy,” Cassie choked out through her tears as she placed the gun near his temple and pulled the trigger.

  He immediately went limp. Trey had gone into a state of shock and Linda screamed hysterically.

  “I had to, Mom,” Cassie insisted. “Now you’re bit, too!”

  Linda ignored the wound and held tight to Frank’s limp body, sobbing uncontrollably. Blood poured from the broken skin and began to cover Linda’s blouse.

  “Mom!” Cassie yelled. “Look at me!”

  “How could you?” Linda cried. “You killed him!”

  “He was already dead!” Cassie yelled back. “He turned! Look what he did to you!”

  After a while, Linda had gone quiet. Trey hadn’t moved, and Cassie was on her knees, still holding the gun and watching her mother. She had relaxed her body now, but still had her arms around Frank. She had lost a lot of blood from the brutal bite and was perspiring profusely.

  “Mom, you’re sweating,” Cassie replied, almost in a whisper. “You’re going to turn, too.” Linda didn’t respond. “Mom, please,” Cassie begged.

  She got up and went to the bed. She put her face close to Linda’s, tears running from her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Mom,” Cassie sobbed. “I’m sorry for everything. I love you, Mom.”

  Linda blinked and fresh tears filled her eyes. “I’ve waited six months to hear you say that. I love you, too, baby girl. I can feel it n
ow. You take care of Trey.”

  Cassie nodded. “I will.”

  With that, Cassie kissed her mom’s sweaty forehead, rubbed her hair, and smiled sadly at her. She then took a step back and looked to Trey.

  “Trey, give Mom a hug now,” Cassie told him. “Trey!”

  She went over and gave him a shake. He looked blankly at her.

  “She might be okay,” he said, sounding more like a small child than an eleven-year-old boy.

  “I don’t think so,” Cassie replied. “Come on now, before it’s too late.”

  Trey approached his mother and hugged her tightly. Linda kissed his forehead and stroked his hair.

  “I love you, son,” she whispered in his ear. “You and Cassie stay together, take care of each other.”

  When he finally stepped back, Linda took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Cassie took aim and pulled the trigger. She fell to the floor then, sobbing heavily, and dropped the gun at her side. Trey came over and wrapped his arms around his sister. It was a long time before either of them spoke.

  “We can’t stay here,” Cassie said.

  “We can’t leave them,” Trey argued.

  “They’re dead, Trey,” Cassie returned. “We can’t cart them with us. Come on, we have to go.”

  “We should get Dad’s wallet,” Trey replied after a moment. “We’ll have to pay for another room somewhere.”

  Cassie had to move her mother over in order to roll her dad onto his side enough to get his wallet. Once she retrieved it, she placed her dad back onto his back, and placed her mom back against him, with her head and left hand on his chest. She kissed them both on the forehead, grabbed the keys and her mother’s purse, and headed out the door with Trey in tow. She dug out her cigarettes from her bag before climbing into the driver’s seat. She offered one to Trey, lit her own, and passed the lighter to him.

  “Where should we go?” Cassie asked as she headed to the road.

  “Wherever the creatures aren’t,” Trey replied.

  They drove in silence for the better part of half an hour before Cassie switched on the radio. The news of the creatures was on every station, and she shut it back off with aggravation. Trey climbed to the back and retrieved Cassie’s bag from the trunk area. He pulled it back to the front with him.