“Don’t give me that look. We can’t stop.” Ian declared, he ran a hand through his hair and blew out a tuff of air out of frustration. He didn’t want to push everyone as hard as he was, but, he had too. Every time they stopped something unplanned happened.
“Babe, I want to get there in one piece just as much as you do. But, at what cost? It’s bad out. We need to stop, no, we have to stop.” She shifted her gaze to the road before them. She looked down at her hands and saw that they were shaking. She grabbed at her wrist trying to dull the sporadic motion, but no such luck.
“Sugar must be low,” She mumbled barely loud enough to hear over the rain.
“I think I need to eat too. I can’t stop this damn shaking!” She huffed as reached down for her bag and pulled out a bag of chips. She quickly opened them and crammed a handful into her mouth. She savored each bite.
“And besides we almost died just now!” Sam emphasized, smacking her lips. She leaned in closer to Ian and batted an eye.
“Please. I need to pee, and we need to rest.” Sam pleaded, kissing him gently on the cheek. That was the first contact she’d had with him in hours.
Ian mulled over the idea of stopping. He knew that everyone was tired. But, was it worth their safety? It was hard battling with what to choose. On the one hand, they could die in this storm if they kept on going. But, stopping allowed that same happen-stance. Ian was torn. After a few moments of running it over, Ian nodded his head.
“Okay. I guess we can stop. We just need to find someplace to…”
“There!” Charlotte cried. She was pointing at a rest area on their side of the highway. Ian tried desperately to focus on the building. Most of the outdoor lights had burned out so; he couldn’t see very much of the outside. From what Ian could see, there were a couple of vehicles parked. This could signal trouble. He decided he would need to check the area before allowing the others out of the car.
“Get the food, water and bedding ready to go. That’s all we will need for as long as we stay. I’m going to check it out and then I’ll come for you.” Ian assured them. He pulled into the parking lot nearest the rest stop’s front doors and turned out his lights accordingly. It was raining too hard to walk far in so, Ian threw on his jacket and hid his gun underneath, so as not to get it wet. It wouldn’t fire if he got the inside of the barrel soaked. . He threw a long and presumptuous glance to the back at Charlotte. He could barely make out her silhouette. But, he knew she could see him better than he could her. He finally locked eyes with her for a moment. Hoping she would understand not to try any funny business.
“I’ll be back.” Ian grinned as he lightly touched Sam’s belly through her rolled down window. The first time either of them entertained the idea of accepting him/her. With his other hand, he caressed Sam’s face, opening his palm and cupping her cheek with a soft motion.
“Stay here.” He warned, brushing a few rogue strands of blonde hair behind her ear. Sam leaned in and kissed him longingly. He was taken aback by her sudden urge. So, Ian held her tightly, keeping in mind to be mindful of her stomach. Something he would have to learn to remember. Ian said his goodbye’s to the rest of the group and made his way to the building.
He fervently ran through the rain, clutching the gun as close to himself as possible. He bunched up a few extra shirts he’d been carrying over the gun, to keep it safe. So far, it was working. Ian came to the rest area’s walkway. It was a narrowed cobbled pathway, lining the entire building. Ian turned towards Sam in the car, lifted his flexed arm and waived at her. She waived back complacently; he could see that she was worried. Ian couldn’t afford for her to stress. It wasn’t healthy for the “baby”. Excited jolts of joy riveted throughout his body as he thought the word baby. His heart was becoming used to the idea of a little one bouncing around.
Ian decided he would clear the restrooms first. He reached for the handle of the women’s door, a large metal fixture that had been painted woodland brown; and swiftly pulled it to. Inside, Ian could see gobs of toilet paper strewn across the floor. “Someone had been here.” Ian figured. He also noticed one of the faucets had been left on. It was overflowing on to the bathroom floor. If there hadn’t been a drain in the floor, the whole room would have been flooded out.
Ian pulled his gun out and checked it over for water. It seemed dry enough so, he gripped it tightly and aimed it in front of himself. Searching down the gun’s sight, he walked up to the first stall. He took the butt of the gun and tapped it lightly. The sound of the gun rapping on the door echoed throughout the bathroom, bouncing sporadically off its walls. Ian jumped as he heard a noise stir from the last stall at the back of the restroom. As he landed, he splashed cold water all over his jeans, soaking his socks in the process. He began to shiver. Ian was already washed over with water from the rain.
Crouching down, Ian pressed himself to walk to the back where he heard the noise originate from. He looked in all directions, searching for anything trying to attack him. He assumed at all times that something was watching him. He felt that was the best way to prepare for the apocalyptic world today. Ian came closer to the stall door until he stopped right outside it, pulling the barrel of the gun eye level with the top of the door. He pulled his right leg up and launched the flat of his foot at it. Sending the particle board stall door crashing inward, hitting the Cold One that sat on the toilet.
” It’s been here for over a year like that?” Ian rationalized. He couldn’t imagine how bad that would be as a human, let alone a flesh-hungry Cold One.
Ian kept his foot pressed firmly down on the broken door holding the undead back inside the stall. He aimed his gun at the Cold One, steadied his grasp as best he could and fired. The bullet shot through the creatures head and splattered blood and brains all down the back of the toilet, with pieces of skull lodged in the wall as well. Ian pawed at his ears as the gun sounded off. It was too loud in such a small space. He thought the rain would muffle out the sound but, he was wrong.
Ian allowed his leg to abstain from putting pressure on the dead corpse any longer. He looked down and noticed he had also gotten blood and brains all over his pants and shoes. “He would just change later after they got settled in.” Ian decided. He checked the rest of the remaining stalls for any stragglers that might be hiding. Most of the doors were left open, so it made quick work. He found none and decided he’d check the Men’s bathroom next. He placed a rock a trash can in front of the Women’s door so that a Cold One couldn’t just wander in. They couldn’t use fine motor skills to do things like opening a door. This idea seemed like it would work to Ian. The Men’s restroom was much messier than the women’s bathroom. There wasn’t a water faucet left on, but the trash had gotten knocked over and the stalls were giving off a smell. Ian chose to just leave this room alone. No one needed to be in there with how unsanitary it was. He felt like he would catch a deadly disease just standing at the door. He plugged his nose and quickly jogged out of the bathroom and found something to wedge up the door so that nothing could come out if there were anything in there at all.
Ian looked down the hill to the car with the rest of the group in it. Sam and the others still sat inside. The rain hadn’t let up at all. In fact, it seemed to be falling harder than before. He would need to step it up if he wanted to beat the storm. He could hear limbs snapping and falling all around the parking lot. One very close to him, fell and nearly hit him in the leg. He half-heartedly waived at Sam and smiled. She smiled back at him and waived. Ian headed for the main lobby that most people used as a waiting room. He tried the doors, no luck they were locked. “This is a rest area…How are they going to lock the doors? Their supposed to be open at all times…” Ian mocked at the job fail before him.
“They had one job!” He mouthed as he picked up a particularly large rock from the gravel by the sidewalk. He pulled his arm back and threw the rock at the window of the door. The glass was shattered but, no alarm sounded. Ian sighed with relief. Seems he caught a break for t
he time being. He carefully scraped the remaining glass onto the floor so that no one got hurt when coming in later. There was a pool of glass surrounding the door. But, everyone was wearing shoes, so Ian figured they would be alright. He entered the building, crunching through it. The lighting inside was dark and the only thing he could see was a giant map on the wall. It showed a large red bubble where the rest area was situated. Ian couldn’t hear any noise from inside, but he still crouched down and shifted his feet quietly, just in case.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Reese stopped in his tracks, and he raised his many noses in the rain-filled air, taking in a deep whiff. He was trying to locate Charlotte. He had already followed the other clues of scent here. They had stopped only a few times before now and they were close. He could smell it. Even in the heavy blanket of rain. His smell receptors were extra sensitive because of the mutation. He could smell targets a quarter of a mile out. It was a heavily used skill he had picked up after the first few Cold Ones he raided for body parts. He found that the areas of his body that used one of the five senses became more enhanced after obtaining more than one (body part) through his raiding sessions. He would become unstoppable before too long.
He had been following Ian’s scent from a time when they pulled over 20 miles back. Reese kept up with the vehicle pretty well. They were going slower because of the storm. This gave him a bit of an advantage. The Wasteling took in a deep breath once more, letting it out slowly. He wanted to pick apart the different smells he was intercepting to find Charlotte’s. Straightaway he caught her scent and she was close, much closer than the last time. He was going to have his little reunion soon. Reese relished the thought.
The monster ran as fast as it could towards Charlotte’s scent. It was just down the highway about half a mile up. The wind had carried her scent right to Reese. The Wasteling allowed its sharp claws to extend once more. He was ready to take her this time and nothing would stop him. The beast snarled and let out a deafening growl as he rushed the remaining quarter mile to Charlotte. He could smell her scent heavy in the air. Although, its sight was worse for wear out in the rain. Reese could barely make out the shape of a building before him. He ran up to the back of it and sniffed the air once more. Charlotte’s scent was heaviest at the front of the building. Suddenly, a voice in Reese’s head spoke out.
“No, we are going to kill Ian first!” It roared, charging into Reese’s subconscious. The Wastelings eyes shifted back and forth looking confused. It had never experienced anything like this before. Sharing its own subconscious was something it would never do.
“I said Ian first.” The brute voice warned.
Reese abruptly lost control over his massive legs; they were stuck planted in the very spot he stood “Noooo I… want… Charlotte!” Reese answered back weakly. He struggled against Jeremy’s hold on his lower extremities, pushing back at the force holding him. It was no use. The other voice inside his head was too strong and compelling him to change his course. He couldn’t regain his own thoughts, feelings, or emotions. He could no longer dictate where he went. His body had been hijacked by the one called Jeremy. His thoughts and emotions bombarded Reese’s conscience and before long Reese was stuffed in a box somewhere deep inside his mind, unable to dictate anything happening to his body. Jeremy had taken over completely.
Jeremy tested out his new body. It was large and awkward to handle. He was having trouble keeping balance with all of the extra body parts hanging off of the creature’s frame. Soon, he got the hang of it. He had practiced slinking around the back lot. He still couldn’t entirely take control over the monster’s body. There was a part of his mind that was dark and inaccessible. It hurt him to try and force his way through mentally. So, for now, he decided to leave it alone. Ian was close; he could smell the sweat building above the weak human’s brow. His senses were impeccable now. And his sense of smell gave off a taste in his mouth now. He could remember the way something smelled by its taste, too.
The colossal creature geared up charging towards the building. It had a rough start because the ground was profoundly moistened in certain areas. The creature got hold of his balance and sauntered up the woods to the back of the building. He could sense a cool draft coming from an open door not far from where Ian was. Jeremy rounded a corner and came to the front where the glass had been broken into for entry.
“This was way too easy…” The creature breathed. Curling up its crooked mouth into a smile.
As Jeremy stalked in, the creature’s bare feet were sliced open by the broken glass on the ground around the door. Jeremy felt the glass needling its way into the flesh on the bottom of the monster’s feet. He didn’t care. The pain was nothing to him but a flea bite. Sure, he felt them, but it wasn’t his body getting damaged. It was the monsters. He shrugged off the lacerations on his feet and continued on inside the lobby. Bloody foot prints were left visible in his wake, eerily following the creature to the inside of the building.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Ian was busy walking a room in the back of the building marked “supplies” when he heard a faint noise come from somewhere in the back. It was so light he couldn’t tell where it was coming from. He stealthily retraced his steps, walking back through the dirty, neglected supplies room and out into the hall. He couldn’t see anything, nothing but a bucket and mop sitting precariously in the middle where anyone could trip over it. His eyes had finally adjusted to the lighting, and he could see a good ten feet in front of him.
Ian’s feet took him to the front of the lobby. It was just as quiet as before. No one was there hiding in the shadows that he could see with the naked eye. He peered around the room; he was sure that nothing had changed.
“It just looked like a normal rest area waiting room.” Ian decided after a moment.
Unanticipatedly, something caught his eye on the floor of the lobby, where there was something red and wet. Ian leaned down and tried to make heads or tails of it. He gave in and pulled his flashlight out with a click of the button a bright light kicked on and Ian focused on the ground. It was footprints! Bloody footprints! “What the hell?” Ian thought alarmed. He followed the large footsteps down the hall to an office marked, “miscellaneous.” The door was shut. Ian raised his gun and checked how many bullets he had left, popping out the side of the chamber.
“Four.” He bit down on his lip sternly and popped the chamber back into the gun.
“I can deal with that.” He frowned. It wasn’t the best of odds. But, he could manage. He honed the barrel of the gun at eye level and turned the knob, pushing the creaky door open. It slowly slid agape, making what almost sounded like a laughing noise as it went. Ian had the faint feeling the door was mocking him; telling him to turn back.
The door opened fully and Ian got a good view of the back of the Wasteling. It was rough and hairy with different types of overlapping skin. It didn’t look natural at all. Ian shuddered at the sight of it. He aimed his gun at the giant creature. The Wasteling ripped its massive head around to rest on Ian. It dropped its menacing jowls and let out a huge tumultuous roar; slops of spit flew at Ian hitting him in the face and arms.
Ian hastily wiped his face with his sleeve and tried to focus his eyes back onto the gigantic creature. It was charging at him with its hands outstretched towards him, its salient nails threatening Ian as they got closer. He didn’t think twice. He pulled the trigger of his gun and watched as the bullet struck the monster in the cheek. A good sized hole ripped through its flesh and tore muscle from the bone. Ian could see the inside of the horror’s mouth. The teeth were much more apical than any humans. It stopped in its tracks and howled with pain as it scratched the air with its claws. But, it didn’t give up. It would never give up. It kept coming at Ian.
Ian threw his gun to the floor. It was completely useless; he no longer had any bullets. He would have to think of something quick. He fumbled around with his pockets, finding a flare, smoke bomb, and grenade. He didn’t think the flare or
the smoke bomb would benefit him in this situation. Ian dropped the other two to the floor and gripped the grenade in his hand tightly. Ian felt this was his only option; he didn’t want the Leviathan to get to Sam, Jamie or his precious baby. He could care less about Charlotte.
“It was her damn fault that he was in this situation, anyway.” Ian thought disconcertedly.
“She would get what was coming to her anyways.”
The Wasteling threw its head at Ian as it neared him, snapping its jaws and teeth at Ian, taunting him. At last, it reached him. The mammoth clinched Ian’s side with its duplicitous claws. Freezing him where he stood, causing him to let out a mouthful of blood. The Wasteling had punctured one of his lungs and the pain Ian felt was unimaginable. The creature pulled up on his arm and lifted Ian into the air, sending shockwaves of torment down his side. The creature brought Ian’s eyes level with his own and Ian glowered back at the monster. Something about them was prominently familiar. The longer they gawked at each other, the easier it was for Ian to guess it.
”Jeremy?” Ian muttered languidly. The creature popped its head slightly cocking it to the side to stare at Ian questioningly.
“Jeremy was in there? But how?” Ian wondered. He looked the creature over, but there was nothing that let on to it being Jeremy trapped inside. Ian had no time to surmise what happened. The creature popped its jaws out of place, opening them as wide as it could to get ready to bite Ian.
Ian lifted the hand with the grenade in it and hurriedly pulled the pin shoving the grenade into the Wastelings mouth. It immediately swallowed it and bit down on Ian’s hand. Ian didn’t know what to do. He reared back his free hand and punched the creature in the face until it released him. He then kicked the grotesque head of the monster unyieldingly, sprinting off as far as he could before the grenade went off in the creatures throat.
Scarlet Memories (Book 2): Metamorphosis Page 15
