THEM Gabby's Run: Paranormal Apocalypse: A Zombie Apocalypse Military Novel (THEM Paranormal Zombie Apocalypse Series Book 4)

by M. D. Massey

  THIRTY

  SUNLIKE

  I never took my eyes off the creature as he released his grip on John Smith and followed me inside, dragging that twisted leg along as he hobbled toward me.

  “Just wait, girl‌—‌wait until I get my hands around that pretty little neck of yours. I’m going to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze until you feel like you’re going to die, and then I’ll let go and do it again and again and again. Then, when you’re ready to die, I’ll tie you up and peel strips of skin off you and fry them for a snack.

  “Oh, that frightens you, does it? Well, I’ll have you know that I do it to all my children. You see, if they die too soon I don’t get to savor their pain and fear. Fear‌—‌now that’s what really feeds me. Well, that and the greasy little gibbets their skin and flesh yield to me when I slice them apart, slice‌—‌slice‌—‌slice!”

  I shivered again as I backed into the kitchen. Keep coming, you sick twisted cabron. I got something for you.

  I’d figured that Tío Saín was attracted to fear, and I also knew that the very real fear I felt now pulled him after me into the kitchen. I didn’t have to pretend that I was afraid. In fact, I was literally pissing my pants. I lost control of my bladder, and felt the hot warmth of urine trickling down my leg with every step. Now I knew why Tony always joked about putting on his combat underwear before a really hairy mission. Thankfully I was too distracted by the sinister creature from hell in front of me to be worried about pissing myself in public.

  “Yeah, well, I don’t care what you do to me,” I said with a quivering voice. “I’ve already set all those kids free, and there’s nothing you can do about it now, you freak.”

  His eyes turned into wide black holes that leaked smoky darkness around the edges. He let out a low-pitched whine that sounded just like a bobcat yowling at night.

  “I’m going to make you pay for that, little girl. I’m going to keep you alive, for days, even weeks, while I hunt those children down and butcher them in front of you. The last thing I’ll do before I kill you is pluck your eyes from your skull, one at a time with these two fingers.” He clicked the claws on his thumb and forefinger together. Click-click, click-click. “And I’ll pop them between my teeth until the juicy-juicy-juice runs down my chinny-chin-chin.”

  My back hit the kitchen counter and I burned my arm on the pot of grease boiling on the stove. I didn’t even notice my skin sizzling like the grease inside the pot, still spitting and popping from the moisture released by April’s flesh. I reached back and grabbed a dishtowel from the counter, wrapping my hand in it while keeping my eyes on Tío Saín.

  “Yeah? Well, good luck getting any fat off me, you sick assclown of a boogey man.” I turned and grabbed the pot handle with the hand I’d wrapped in the towel. “This is for all the kids you killed, pendejo!”

  I hurled the hot pot of grease at him with all my might. It splashed full on him, coating him in boiling grease from his hat to his waist. Where it struck him, his flesh sizzled and burned. His skin peeled back and away from his wounds to reveal more of that wicked darkness inside.

  He screamed in pain as his skin bubbled up and blistered, and he blinked and rubbed at his now ruined eyes and face. “Arrgghh! You stupid little witch‌—‌I’ll kill you for this and suck the marrow from your bones.”

  Tío Saín stumbled and groped about, lunging this way and that in his blindness. I dodged his attempts to grab me, and snatched the weapon I’d chosen for this moment off the counter. I spun the dial on the propane brazing torch and my shoulders slumped a little in relief as the hiss of propane echoed off the kitchen walls.

  I waved the tip of the torch in front of the fire still burning on the range, and it lit with a whoosh into a six-inch long blue and yellow gout of flame. Tío Saín lunged at the sound, and I back-pedaled to avoid being caught.

  I pivoted around and danced behind him, ducking his arms as they swung blindly for me.

  “And this is for April. Burn in hell, Tío Saín.”

  I held the torch to the hem of his shredded, greasy jacket, and it lit like a wick in an oil lamp. Within seconds, the flames spread and his body became an inhuman bonfire before my eyes.

  “Noooooooo!” he screamed, bouncing off the walls as he stumbled all over the interior of the cabin. I walked calmly to a spot on the other side of the room, and yelled so he could hear me over the roar of his own body burning up like a match-head.

  “I’m over here, Tío Saín. Can’t you even catch one little girl?”

  He roared and sprang at me, but I anticipated it and moved just in time. His hands grasped at empty space. As he stepped forward, his foot plunged into the cellar opening and he tumbled down the stairs, screaming with rage and pain as he fell in.

  I slammed the cellar door shut and latched it tight, then turned the heavy table over on top of it. Soon the trap door and table rattled and shook with blows from below, but they weakened with every strike. Wasting no time, I used the propane torch to catch everything in sight on fire as I backed out of the cabin. I torched the furniture, the drapes, the rug‌—‌and whatever else I could light while I calmly made my escape.

  Finally, when the heat became greater than I could stand, I dropped the torch and backed out the front door, leaving it open for ventilation as I exited the cabin. I walked out to the center of the clearing and stood there in silence as I watched the place burn to the ground. The heat was intense, but I stood still, enduring it so I could bear witness to the fact that The Sack Man was gone, for good.

  Tío Saín’s screams ended long before the flames died out.

  THIRTY-ONE

  NIGHT

  The cabin was a smoldering heap by the time I stirred and gathered myself to make the trip back to the farm. But just as I took a step to leave, I felt a powerful, furred hand clamp around my ankle.

  John Smith’s voice spoke to me from below. “Child, we still have business to attend.”

  I looked down and realized the ‘thrope had been healing this entire time. He must have been watching me as I waited for the place burn down. John Smith was still a mess, and his arm had healed all crooked and wrong‌—‌but he was still very, very much alive.

  He yanked back and my feet flew out from under me. I landed with a whoosh as the air was forced from my lungs and my head bounced off the hard dirt. I shook the sensation off and tried to crawl away, but Smith still had my ankle. He dragged me to him, all while I clawed and tore at the dirt and weeds in a desperate attempt to escape.

  “That was clever, what you did. Crafty bit of work, that‌—‌brilliant, really. You pitted your enemies against each other, and got them to do the dirty bits for you.”

  He coughed, loud and wet, and hacked up what looked like a bit of lung covered in blood clots. It was grosser than gross, but after what I’d seen inside Tío Saín’s cabin, it barely freaked me out.

  Smith crawled on top of me, dragging himself with his remaining working arm and pinning me to the earth with his weight. He straddled me with his legs, a knee on each of my arms so I couldn’t move. I kicked and kicked, and still I couldn’t budge him. I did the only thing I could do; I bit him in the crotch. Gross, I know. But I had no other option for escape.

  He howled with pain and smacked me, hard this time. My neck snapped sideways and I saw stars.

  “Oh, you silly little bitch! I am going to torture you until you tell me where to find your boss, and then I’m going to give you to the punters and let them have their way. After that, maybe I’ll kill you. Maybe. Or maybe I’ll scar you up so you’re no good to anyone, not even to those punters. Or chop off your hands and feet and leave you there with them, so you can never escape. You’ll be their whore for life, girl, and I’ll‌—‌”

  John Smith’s rant cut off when his head exploded like a dynamited melon. He toppled off of me and I rolled up into a sitting position, head swimming and stomach roiling with nausea from the blow I’d just taken. I blinked and saw a figure limping slowly in
to the clearing, leaning heavily on a rifle for a crutch.

  “Not today, wolf,” Don Paco said in thick, perfect Spanish. “Not today, or ever.”

  Don Paco’s leg was splinted with branches and tied off with a combination of a leather belt and rope made from braided strips of tree bark. His face was scratched up and his clothes were torn, but he beamed at me with a split lip. He leaned his weight off his injured leg and balanced himself by holding the barrel of that massive hunting rifle of his, tapping the butt on the ground as he waddled closer.

  “So, leonita‌—‌it appears you have been busy in my absence, yes?” He looked around the clearing and gestured at the cabin. “El Viejo del Saco?”

  I laid back down on the ground, the world spinning. “Yep. He’s in there. Or what’s left of him, anyway.”

  The old man grunted. “You have finished what I started, then. I owe you a debt that cannot ever be repaid. Now, my Lucia’s spirit can rest.” He sighed, and I opened one eye to look at him.

  “What happened to you, Don Paco?”

  “When I saw El Mantequero approaching the cabin after you, I knew I had to warn you of the danger. I took a shot at him, and missed. He chased me then, and I slid down the cliff to escape.” He gestured at his injured leg. “Only, my escape was not so gracefully executed, yes?

  “I laid at the bottom for a long time, at first pretending to be dead so the Sack Man would not follow me down and finish the job, and after because my leg was broken. I splinted the break and passed out‌—‌for how long, I don’t know. When I awoke I began looking for you.”

  I described the events that had occurred after I’d entered Tío Saín’s cabin, and he nodded. “I knew you had escaped because I found your tracks. But I could not catch up to you, so I began to head back to the farm to get the men there to help. That’s when I saw the flames in the distance, and I came as quickly as I could.”

  I closed my eye and grimaced in pain. “It’s a good thing you came when you did. If that ‘thrope would have smacked me again, I think he would have popped my head off my shoulders.”

  Don Paco chuckled. “Maybe. Or maybe he would have broken his hand on that thick head of yours, leonita.” I opened my eye again and my turned my head ever so slightly to protest, and the world started spinning again.

  “Relax,” Don Paco said. “You did just fine. I am only teasing you, and you should be proud of what you have accomplished here.”

  “That wolf would have killed me, though, if you hadn’t come along.”

  He shrugged. “A simple mistake. You have never fought werewolves before, have you? Of course you would make such a mistake then. But next time, you will know to throw the werewolf’s body into the fire as well, hmm?”

  I held a finger up. “Noted. Now, how are we going to get back to the farm?”

  He used the rifle to lower himself awkwardly to the ground next to me. “I think if we wait long enough, the boy will return from the farm with his father to look for you.”

  “Then I’m perfectly willing to sit here and wait,” I replied. “At least until the sky stops spinning.”

  THIRTY-TWO

  VISIONS

  The next morning I found Smith’s bag and took my crossbow from his pack, then I searched the clearing until I found my pistol. I helped Don Paco drag the ‘thrope’s corpse over to the smoldering remains of the cabin, and we tossed it on top to burn the remains.

  It was several hours later when Raleigh and Violet, their father, and the men from the farm came rushing into the clearing. I’d slept some during the night, but Don Paco had kept waking me up to make sure I wasn’t suffering from a truly serious head injury. I still felt exhausted when they arrived. I was also thirsty and ready to lay down in a real bed to recover, so I could head back to the Facility and find out what happened to Uncle Tony.

  The men made litters and they carried us both separately back to the farm. Raleigh’s dad questioned us for some time about the events that had occurred after the kids had escaped. I let Don Paco do most of the talking, but even so I caught quite a few of the men staring at me on the way back. Some of those stares were of admiration; others held suspicion. As for Raleigh’s dad, his expression was hard to read; but he thanked me and Don Paco both for getting Raleigh back.

  Raleigh chattered without pause from the moment he saw me, but Violet was strangely quiet the entire way back. As I laid in bed in the guest house for the next two days recovering, only Raleigh came out to check on me and bring me food and water. Don Paco limped by several times as well, and he sat with me for hours the second day, telling me stories in Spanish and sharing what he knew about the SNEs and how to hunt them.

  “You should come back and train with me, leonita,” he said to me that second afternoon. “I have much to pass on, and no one to pass it on to. I have no sons or daughters, and I’ve never taken an apprentice or helper. I could show you things that will be useful to you in days to come.”

  “I promise to come back and spend some time with you, Don Paco. But I have to find out what happened to my uncle, and I need to get word to my aunt about what happened to us.”

  He nodded gravely. “Family is important. But you, leonita, you are something special. You have abilities that others do not‌—‌do not think I haven’t noticed. But more importantly, you have a gift for this work. Call it instinct or a sixth sense, but not many have it. That is why I wish to pass what I know on to you.”

  “Give me time to find my uncle, and I’ll come back and train with you,” I said.

  “Good.” He smiled. “Now, get some rest.”

  I slept after he left, and dreamed as I dozed. I saw myself in front of Tío Saín’s cabin, an older and taller version of myself. I no longer looked like a little girl; instead, I was nearly a full-grown woman. I was still lean and rangy, but at least I didn’t look like I was in junior high anymore.

  In my dream, I helped a man with a scarred face. He fought a great battle against overwhelming numbers of Them; some I could see, others I could not. He was bruised and battered, and in the dream he kept getting knocked down. But each time he’d get back up, either with my help, or Lorena‘s help, or help from people I didn’t recognize. Every time he did, more people would join him in his fight.

  Even though he had help, the outcome of the battle he fought was still unclear. Off in the distance I sensed there were greater things to fear than just the army of undead and other SNEs this guy was fighting.

  I became very frightened for the man with the scarred face, and I shouted at him to escape. That’s when he turned to me in my dream and said, “Remember, kid, we’re not just fighting for each other‌—‌we’re fighting for them, too.”

  Then he pointed behind us, where I saw what looked like all of humanity cowering from the creatures he fought. That’s when I realized that we were all that stood between Them and what remained of humankind.

  I screamed and woke up.

  I realized that someone else was in the room with me and sat up. It was Violet, sitting where Don Paco had sat before I’d nodded off to sleep. It was dark and quiet, and moonlight shone through the small window at the front of the cabin.

  “You’ve been tossing and turning in your sleep for a while,” she said.

  I rubbed my eyes and shrugged. “Nightmares, I guess.”

  She looked out the window. “About the boogey man?”

  “That, and other things.”

  Violet breathed deeply through her nose, then exhaled in a sigh. “Raleigh has been having them too.”

  “He’ll be fine. He’s stronger than he looks.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and for the first time I realized how angry she was with me. “Don’t tell me about my own brother. I know him better than you do.”

  Well, that threw me for a loop. I had no idea what she was angry about. I mean, hadn’t I done just what I’d promised and brought him back?

  Then, it hit me.

  “You blame me for that thing taking your brother.”


  “Lots of people around here do‌—‌it’s not just me. We were fine before you came along. Then you appeared, and all of a sudden Raleigh gets taken. If you ask me, I think you brought that thing here with you.”

  “What‌—‌I mean, how could I? Oh, never mind. I’ll be leaving in the morning anyway, so you won’t have to worry about me bringing anything else down on your heads.”

  She sneered. “It’ll be good riddance. Don’t get me wrong‌—‌I’m thankful that you rescued my brother. But people like you always seem to have trouble following behind, and we don’t want any part of it.”

  “So you’re speaking for your dad? And Raleigh? And all the other people here?”

  She nodded. “Most of them. Of course, Raleigh thinks you hung the moon. But Dad and most of his men say they want you gone as soon as you’re well.”

  “And what about Don Paco?”

  “That old man? He’s good with the pigs, and Dad says he’s harmless.”

  I held in a laugh, and kept my thoughts to myself on that point. “Do me a favor. Tell Raleigh I said goodbye.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell him. I think I owe you that much.” She stood and walked to the door.

  “Violet.”

  She stopped and turned to look at me. “What is it?”

  “Do you think‌—‌do you think we ever could have been friends? I mean, if all this hadn’t happened?”

  She shrugged. “I guess, maybe. But that’s not how things are, Gabby. Anyway, Raleigh doesn’t see it, but I know you’re a freak. I saw the way you climbed that wall, the night he got taken. No one human could have done that. And that’s why I don’t want you around me or Raleigh any longer.”

  She walked out and shut the door. I sat there in the dark a long, long time, thinking about what she’d said.

  THIRTY-THREE

  DISSEVER

  I left in the middle of the night, without saying goodbye to Raleigh or Don Paco. Don Paco would understand, and to be fair I’d pretty much already said goodbye to him anyway. Raleigh wouldn’t, but I hoped Violet would tell him for me. I doubted it, but it didn’t hurt to hope.