Scarlet Memories (Book 2): Metamorphosis

by Jessica T. Ozment

  “Circa 1992.”

  “They’ve had this place for a while,” Jeremy noted as he turned around. He spotted a desk with a large, exquisite arm chair behind it.

  Jeremy soon saw dark blood splattered all over the wall. He traced the stains down with his eyes, to the armchair. It was so large that he couldn’t see what was sitting inside it. Jeremy crossed the room and to his dismay saw a dead man with a handgun in his hand, sitting in the chair slumped over. Further examination showed Jeremy that the man shot himself. But, not before leaving a note.

  Jeremy grabbed the blood speckled letter and opened it languidly. The paper had been sitting for so long in the dust filled room that it had a thick layer of film covering the top of it. He earnestly blew on the yellowing paper and dust shot into the air. Squinting his inquisitive eyes, Jeremy began to read.

  “To the unlucky traveler who finds me in this terrible state,

  I realize this is the worst scene you will probably ever come across in your lifetime. Yes, I have given up. My hand was forced to do something I never intended to do. I had no choice…And now, I cannot go on. I feel that I have a good idea as to where I am headed. So, I must confess my sins.

  My wife came to the store today, as she does every day. But, today was different. I had the doors locked because of the monsters outside. Those retched, vile creatures almost broke into the store! I don’t know what they are or where they come from. But, I didn’t want them getting inside. They must be demons from hell. I saw them kill three people only moments ago from my store’s window.

  I sat there watching as my wife stumbled up to the door. The other creatures were distracted with a distraught customer who’d left ten minutes earlier. When she banged on the front door, pleading for help… I ignored her.

  I didn’t have the strength to give into to her cries. I didn’t want to die. I saw the bite on her arm and just knew she was done for. I feared for my life; please forgive me. I can no longer go on in life because of this terrible sin…The monsters carried her off, ripping her body from limb to limb. I didn’t know what to do.

  So, I am giving a life for a life. I am truly sorry that you will never forget what you have seen today. But, I just couldn’t go on knowing what I did to my beloved. Please do me a favor and burn this place to the ground once you leave. I want our bodies cremated.

  Regretfully yours,

  Charles Preston Owner and proprietor of Preston Pharmaceuticals”

  “Even in the end, he still has a business side.” Jeremy smirked with a disgusted smile.

  The letter stopped there and Jeremy suddenly didn’t want to be in the Pharmacy any longer than he needed to. His skin crawled after reading the suicide note left by the departed owner. He hurriedly shut the door to the office without looking back. Jeremy wanted his mind far away from the scene he had just walked up on. It was proving to be a hard task as the smell of the rotting carcass would not leave him.

  He contemplated what the owner of the Pharmacy had asked of him in his letter. Without much hesitation, Jeremy threw the letter to the ground with a flick of his wrist and spat on it. He had decided that he wouldn’t burn the place down.

  “I don’t give a shit what you want Charles. You made your bed, now you lie in it… Coward.” He voiced as his anger dissipated. Jeremy was never good with showing others kindness.

  Jeremy took his foot and with a heavy black boot, ran the letter into the floor of the pharmacy. He didn’t have time to show emotion. All it had ever done for Jeremy was bring anger and heart ache. He pushed his emotions to the side now. He felt things were better that way. He no longer felt anything, numb to the world and dead inside.

  Jeremy decided that he would find another place to sleep. He was tired of the Pharmacy and the dreadful stench filling his nose. Since he opened the office door, it smelled disgusting throughout the entire facility. Not to mention it wasn’t sanitary. He would find another place to sleep tonight, even if it meant that he didn’t sleep at all.

  Jeremy gathered some supplies in his bag and headed for the front doors. As he came to them, he could see the wife of the pharmacy owner stretched across the front lawn. Her body was badly mangled and ripped apart, just as the owner had described. Jeremy couldn’t believe that he hadn’t noticed her body earlier, it was hard to miss. Her white clothing was stained heavily with deep red blood and her skin was dried and leathery.

  “Been out in the sun too long darling,” He whispered to the corpse with a deep southern drawl, as he crossed the lawn and headed down the road. He was exhausted, but he would find another place much more suitable for him to sleep.

  It seemed to Jeremy that he’d walked for hours before finding an open insurance building. He cleared it of any undead before settling down for the night.

  “Don’t’ want any problems before I get some shuteye.” He thought, fighting back a drawn out yawn.

  As he was propped a pair of chairs in behind the front door, Jeremy saw a haggard group of people walking down the street. From what he could see, there were three adults and a child.

  “That’s peculiar,” he realized.

  Jeremy ducked down as low as he possibly could and snatched up his gun. He pulled the scope up to his face and peered through the lens. Once he focused on the first person in the group he noticed it was a familiar face.

  “Sam?” He asked aloud redundantly. His voice echoed throughout the empty building, carrying down the halls like a fluid gust of wind. He was surprised to see her.

  “You always were easy on the eyes.” He thought as he zoomed in on the upper portion of her torso.

  “I could guess that blonde from anywhere.”

  She was beautiful and he’d always wanted her. But, of course, that was another thing that Ian had beaten him too. Jeremy shifted the scope to the next person in the group. It landed on a tall black-headed man. Jeremy zoomed in on his profile and sure enough, it was Ian.

  “I’m having serious thoughts about shooting you right now Ian…” Jeremy said perversely.

  “But, I think I’ll take a better opportunity to kill you. I want it to really sting and have meaning. He deserves all that I give him.” He stated coolly as his lips curved upward, revealing a crooked smile.

  Jeremy observed that the group was heading toward the police station’s front doors.

  “Looks like you will be bunking down the street from me. How easily my desire’s come to fruition.” He thought as he menacingly flicked at a roach that had landed on his knee. It flew off into a dark hallway, smashing against the frame of a picture depicting one of the Chiefs. There were tons of the annoying bugs around now that the apocalypse had truly taken over.

  “My mother always said there could be a nuclear holocaust and you bastards would still be around.” He scratched at his porous chin, flattening his hand out to touch his hot cheeks. He could feel the stubble of a five o’clock shadow growing across his weathered face.

  Jeremy watched as his old comrades made it through the doors of the station.

  “What a coincidence?” Jeremy mused.

  He’d hoped that the CDC would be overrun by now and that Ian would have been eaten alive. But, now he had the chance of taking him out his way. He had wished for this for so long! Every day that he was forced to stay that in that hell hole made him want to murder Ian in his sleep. He was so care free.

  “Ian let those damned scientists do whatever they wanted to him without question.” Jeremy spat on the ground next to him out of frustration and carelessly bit down on his lip, cursing the air at the mere thought of it.

  “I’ll have my chance, Ian. Just you wait.” He growled bitterly through the window. Jeremy could feel the old familiar feeling of his blood pressure rising. Ian always seemed to bring him to the edge.

  “That traitor!” Jeremy raged as he threw his hands into the air.

  “I want that son of a bitch dead at all cost!” He hotly yelled emphatically.

  Jeremy caught the rest of his thoughts in his thr
oat. He didn’t want the other’s hearing.

  “And I wouldn’t mind taking out that CDC lady either. What were they doing with her anyway? She’s just as bad as the rest of the people that were holding us captive. Ian’s an incompetent idiot. Sam could do so much better,” Jeremy thought muddled at the idea of Sam being with a worthless man like Ian.

  He would show her soon enough what a real man looked like. If he had to take the boy he would. But, he hated that kid. He made him a nervous wreck with his tantrums. First chance he got, he would let him wonder off. Then it would be just him and Sam. That’s the way he wanted it.

  Jeremy bedded down for the night. He stayed within arm’s reach of the door so that he could watch for Ian and the others leave. This would mean that he wouldn’t get a full night’s rest. But, if he could just take out Ian it wouldn’t even matter. He would get that sleep back one day. For now, he would patiently wait for the best opportunity.

  The night seemed to drag on forever. Jeremy checked a watch he’d found on the ground in front of the insurance store, at least once every 15 minutes.

  “I was kidding myself when I thought I’d fall asleep. But, this opportunity was way too good to pass up and I didn’t want to miss it.”

  Soon after, Jeremy drifted off into a light sleep. That was all that he could allow himself. He’d been waiting for this day for far too long to let it slip through his fingers. When early morning broke through the clouds, Jeremy sat awake looking quite ragged from the lack of sleep. His hair was matted on one side, from where he had laid in the same spot the entire night.

  He had studied the building so long; he knew everything about it. Its colors, how many windows it had, the type of truss used on the roof, you name it he could point it out. Jeremy knew that he was obsessing over Ian and he didn’t care. This man caused him many problems over the last two years and was the most arrogant person he’d ever met. Jeremy couldn’t stand him from the moment things started getting tough. He was meant to lead and he would take that right.

  As Jeremy focused the scope of the gun, he could finally see movement in the police station. He traced the windows, watching for any opportunity to shoot Ian in the head. Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy. Ian never came into view. In fact, the group didn’t seem to be inside anymore. They must have gone through the back. Of that, Jeremy didn’t have a good view. He decided he would move locations to try and find them before they got out of sight. Jeremy swiftly removed the boxes from the front door and slid out unnoticed.

  As he left the insurance building, Jeremy heard a loud roar. “ It was something big.’ He ducked for cover behind a car on the street next to the Police station.

  “What was that?” He worried.

  Jeremy allowed himself to peer over the top of the hood to check the back of the station. He could see Ian alright; he was checking the tires on a police van. It looked like they had just rammed their way out of the gate.

  “So, they’re going to be mobile now… “Jeremy’s lip twitched significantly as his anger boiled higher.

  He wasn’t going to let them just slip away. He was too close to getting them. He’d just have to hot wire a vehicle. He knew a thing or two about it and it wouldn’t take him long and he’d be right on their tails. They would never have expected him to have followed them.

  Jeremy jumped into the car he had been hiding behind. He didn’t bother with the seat belt; he ripped the part of the dash underneath the steering wheel open. He looked for the appropriate wires that he needed to cut and thread together. Jeremy soon found them and was about to start the car when he saw a creature coming after Ian. Jeremy ducked down into the cars seat and slightly stared out of the window. It was a huge ugly beast with many legs and arms.

  “It was probably some experiment gone wrong.” Jeremy decided. He let go of the wires momentarily to grab his gun.

  Jeremy saw Ian jump into the van and take off down the street, with the creature chasing after him. He could hear gunshots cracking from Ian’s side of the car. Only a few even hit the undead, though. It didn’t seem to be phasing the beast too much.

  The creature eventually slowed and fell off to the side of the road. Jeremy took his chance to start the car. He would head out of town on a street parallel to the street Ian took. And cross back over to his street once he passed the creature in the road. It didn’t look dead. It just needed time to recover. He would follow Ian until he stopped and then he’d confront him. Jeremy hoped he would get the chance soon.

  Jeremy drove on, barely staying out of view of the van. He didn’t want to be seen. But, now and then he would catch up to make sure he was going the right way. Now that there weren’t other cars on the road, this proved to be a difficult task. He stuck out like a sore thumb.

  “I’ll keep my distance for now.” He chuckled as he let off of the gas pedal gently. The vehicle slowed a tad as he fell out of site of the speeding van that was racing down the highway.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Sam had been driving for hours. She did all that she could to avoid nodding off in the middle of the road. She even slapped herself several times, leaving her cheeks slightly swollen and red. She sighed deeply and peered out into the road before her; she hadn’t spotted another car in miles. Not even on the side of the road. Staying alert had become a bit of a challenge. She didn’t have much to look at to keep her mind preoccupied. She wanted to put as many miles between the group and the monstrosity as she could. It would surely kill them if it caught back up.

  The quiet hum of the wind passing over the van had easily caused everyone to fall fast asleep. Jamie ended up lying across the back seat with his head in Charlotte’s lap. Her head was leaning to the side as she fell asleep sitting up. Ian was the last to drift off. He had been fighting it for a while, not wanting Sam to drive alone. He was curled up in the passenger seat, breathing heavily in a deep slumber.

  Sam smiled as he stirred slightly, kicking his feet to the floor and then quickly fell back to sleep. His arms were folded neatly across his chest, and his feet were back to being crossed.

  “He looks quite peaceful,” Sam decided.

  She hoped that Ian was getting good enough rest and dreaming sweetly. They had both been through so much already and couldn’t imagine anything worse happening to them.

  Sam finally decided that it was time to stop for gas. The meter showed a quarter of a tank was left and that they had thirty miles until the tank was empty. She reached over and gently patted on Ian’s shoulder.

  “Ian…Ian…Babe…” She urged as she pressed a little firmer on his upper arm. He stirred slowly, giving himself time to wake up properly.

  “What?” He gradually questioned. He sat up in the seat and replaced his belt buckle over his lap.

  “We are getting low on gas and the last time I saw a gas station was about twenty-five miles back,” She revealed disappointed. She grimaced at the idea of turning back.

  “Keep going. I’m sure we will see another station soon.” He smiled, trying to keep things positive. He didn’t want Sam worrying about anything.

  Sam was just about to respond when the car let out a loud bang. It consequently began to knock and slow down considerably. Smoke began rising in thick, white and heavy plumes from underneath the hood of the van.

  “Damn!” They said in unison as the car came to an expedited halt and they both gave each other a look of defeat.

  “I’ll go check it out,” Ian muttered to Sam as he unbuckled his seat belt and opened the car door. He made sure to shut the door lightly as he stepped out. He didn’t want to wake the others. He cautiously checked around the vehicle looking for any Cold Ones that might be heading towards them.

  The night sky was just bright enough to see about twenty feet around the van. Once he was satisfied that they were in the clear, he pressed on; motioning for Sam to pop the hood. He pulled it up as he placed the stand underneath it. A large cloud of smoke rushed towards his face. Ian threw his hands in front of his eyes and f
anned the smoke away from his face. He could easily hear a hissing noise come from the cooling system.

  He decided that the best place to start was to check the car’s radiator. It was definitely shot. It looked like it had suffered from a giant puncture at the bottom of the radiator. Basically, pouring all of the coolant out underneath the car.

  “It probably happened when we broke through the gate. We’re lucky to have made it this far.” Ian thought as he checked the water reservoir for any coolant that might have survived.

  There wasn’t any left of course. Ian came to the conclusion that they would have to trek back to the previous gas station and look for another vehicle. The downside to that was it would be 25 miles to walk.

  “It’s bad…” He mumbled to Sam through his window. He reached for the door handle and opened it, sliding back in without a noise.

  “We are going to have to go to the gas station a few miles back.” He said taking a second to look around the cab of the truck.

  “I don’t think we need to leave until dawn, though. There could be a fair number of Cold Ones out there and we need the visibility. I won’t let us take that chance.” He stated bluntly as he wiped at his nose.

  It was much chillier outside than in the cab of the truck. The weather was beginning to change to a much cooler temperature.

  “Summer must be almost over,” He thought. He would be glad to see the heat go. It was making this whole ordeal less bearable.

  Ian and Sam discussed what they needed to put on a check list for the gas station. Ian wanted to make sure they didn’t miss anything. They needed to find a new vehicle and Sam mentioned that she saw a few cars sitting out front of the station. She also mentioned that she was a bit tired and could be thinking of the gas station before the 25-mile marker behind them. They wrote down various things, deciding to go over them several times. Before they knew it, the light from the sun rising had begun to fill the interior of the truck.