by R. Brewer
“You can’t fight that thing by yourself,” Nick whispered. “The only chance we have is to kill it together.”
The thing circled, facing Evan on the other side of the room, then spun back toward Isaiah, not seeming as if it knew what to do next. The floor underneath its feet was wet with the slime pouring from its mouth.
Evan started sliding out of the bed. “How about I give you boys a hand?” he said, talking quieter than before.
The thing turned in Evan’s direction. Ever so slowly, it crouched, lowering itself, about to spring. Dipping its head, it inhaled deeply, drawing so much air into its lungs that Isaiah could see its body expanding to twice its size. Then, it screamed. An ear-splitting, terrifying sound bellowed from its mouth, blasting toward Evan, the force of its breath so powerful that Evan was flattened against the wall. The fetid stink of decay and feces filled the room. The thing dug its talons deep into the floor tile and sprang as Evan dropped to the floor and pulled the gurney in front of him.
Isaiah leapt toward the thing, jumping on its back as it clawed at the gurney. Nick came up behind him and grabbed the thing by the neck, snapping its head back, and Isaiah saw his opportunity. Its thin, exposed spine was right in front of his face. Gripping it around the neck as tightly as he could with his left hand, he drove the scissors into its backbone with his right, releasing a stream of puss and blood.
The thing twisted, flinging him off to the other side of the room as Nick lost his balance and landed on the floor. It spun in circles, spraying a putrid mix of fluids as it frantically tried to reach the scissors. Finally, it fell to the floor, apparently dying.
Isaiah wiped the muck from his face and gagged. The smell was overwhelming and the fluid left his skin red and raw. He felt his body shaking wildly. Knowing he needed to wash himself off, he tried to stand, but felt his vision starting to close in and thought better of it. “Nick, are you okay?” he managed to gasp out.
Nick pushed himself off the floor. “Yeah. Yeah, I think.”
“Evan?” Isaiah asked.
The gurney landed on the floor with a crash as Evan pushed himself up. “Ever so grateful, my friends,” he said, trying to catch his breath.
Stepping around the puddles of gore, Evan walked over to Isaiah. “Let me help you up, Isaiah. You look a little shaky.”
That’s an understatement, Isaiah thought, thinking he suddenly didn’t feel well at all. He reached out and grabbed Evan’s hand, finding it difficult to stand. “That took a lot out of me, I guess,” he said, wobbling to his feet. "I need to wash this off." Isaiah held out his reddening hands. "It feels like it's burning my skin."
Nick stepped over to his side and steadied him. Together, Evan and Nick helped Isaiah to the sink.
“That thing was crazy," Christy said. "Noah, don't let Hunter get anywhere near that ... whatever that is on the floor."
"Looks like it scared the hell out of Hunter, too," Nick said, pointing to the puddle of urine snaking its way toward the floor drain. "What the hell is that thing?" He gestured toward the dead creature on the floor. "It looks like a cross between a bug and Godzilla. Good shot with the scissors, by the way, Isaiah.”
Isaiah scrubbed at his face and hands, trying to get rid of every last trace of the creature's blood. He hoped washing himself would be enough. The stinging feeling on his skin was gone for now, at least, and he was relieved. Drying himself with paper towels, he said, "Thanks. I'm just glad it worked."
"That stench in here is unbelievable," Evan said.
"We have to get out of this room," Christy said. "That odor is burning my eyes."
Isaiah could feel the irritation in his own eyes. Whatever chemical the thing had excreted, it was harsh, becoming stronger by the minute. He looked past Nick to see how Noah was faring and the boy had his eyes and mouth covered with his t-shirt. Hunter, on the other hand, seemed intently focused on the hole in the ceiling, his ears pricked again. Suddenly, he began to back up into whatever little space was left between him and the wall.
"We should try the door --" Nick stopped mid-sentence as Isaiah gestured to him to be quiet.
Seconds later, he heard it. The scratching and clawing in the vent. Another thing was coming for them.
* * *
"Well, Billy, your ten minutes are just about up," Chuck said, following the pantsless young man down the hallway. He reached out and grabbed Billy by the arm, spinning him around. "Do you have any last requests?"
Billy looked up at him, his lower lip quivering. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "We're almost there. Really."
"Well, I don't believe you," Chuck said. "In fact, I think you're probably leading me right into a trap, aren't you?" Chuck grabbed Billy by his collar.
"No, man," Billy said, grabbing onto Chuck's arm as he was lifted off of the floor a few inches. "It's just around the corner."
Chuck set Billy down. "Show me. Now."
"Yeah. Yeah, sure," Billy said, scurrying ahead, covering his bared crotch as he trotted along. "You'll see. It's--"
A screech so incredible rang out that the sound wave it generated shook windows and doors as it bounced down the hallway. Billy turned and ran a few steps backward, edging along the wall. “Oh, man. Oh, man. What the fuck was that?” Billy spat out, his voice shaking. "Sounds like one of your friends."
Chuck felt his metal frame vibrating. He hadn't heard anything remotely like that noise since leaving the creatures back in the tunnel. “Keep moving, Billy. Show me where Christy is. Right now,” Chuck bellowed. He knew she would be in trouble if whatever was making that noise was anywhere near her.
Billy turned and moved forward, sliding along the wall, ducking when he came upon doors with windows, until he stopped abruptly. “It’s this one. Right here,” he said, pointing to the next door.
Chuck could see the light was on in the room. It was what he could hear that troubled him. A low growling, almost a rumbling, then something that sounded like scraping along the floor. “You stay right here,” Chuck said, pushing past Billy.
He bent down and peered through the window, seeing one of the creatures inside. Although he couldn’t see Christy, he recognized a large man standing in the center of the room, trying to ward off the creature with a scissors. It was Nick, the EMT. He reached down and grabbed the doorknob, pulling so hard that he tore the knob off. Tossing it to the side, he turned back toward the room, raised both of his fists and punched at the metal door slab, flattening it to the floor.
The creature in the middle of the room crouched as if it were going to pounce on Nick, but its head swiveled in Chuck's direction after the door fell. Its mouth dripped long strings of brown saliva as it lips pulled back, revealing its greyish black teeth.
Chuck met its gaze and it responded with a low growl. He stepped into the room, seeing Isaiah and another man he didn’t recognize standing behind Nick. Christy, Noah and Hunter cowered in the corner. Everyone, including the thing, stared at him. Just about when he was going to nod to Christy, the thing spun on its haunches and leapt.
Chuck moved ever so slightly to turn his body sideways as the thing flew toward him. He caught it in mid-air and body slammed it to the floor, sending up a shower of foul-smelling fluid. Chuck quickly flipped its body over, punched his hand through its skin and grabbed onto its spine, yanking as hard as he could. The creature screamed and convulsed so violently that its spine snapped with a loud crack. Then it was silent.
Chuck shook the gore off of his hands and looked around the room. Nick faced him, his knees shaking and face very pale. He held onto the scissors like a dagger and Chuck realized what he was witnessing was true bravery. Chuck put his dripping hands up. “Nick, it’s me, Chuck,” he said. “Chuck Wending.”
CHAPTER 16
No security system, no handprint readers, nothing. Just two armed guards had been at the top, securing the gates to hell. Jodie punched the lone button and the elevator jerked to life, moving down. It came to a st
op and she stood at the ready, the automatic weapon she held pointed ahead. She carried two handguns, a Colt automatic rifle strapped across her back, and all the ammunition she could stuff into her pockets, expecting the doors to open up into a room of Gypsum guards, all taking aim at her. The elevator came to a stop with a loud clang and she stood off to the side a bit, where she would be shielded from view. The doors opened to reveal what looked like a warehouse lined with shelves and filled with equipment. The amber glow of overhead lights dimly lit the area. Exiting the elevator, she ran behind a stack of boxes and listened while her eyes adjusted to the low light. She could hear voices coming from somewhere in the warehouse, but couldn’t make out any of the conversation.
The shelves towered over her as she sneaked down an aisle. She stopped to check out the contents of the boxes, peeling one of the lids back to reveal packages of dehydrated meals. This was Gypsum’s store. They had food, and lots of it. Not surprising, given how many people her father had told her were part of the Gypsum group. Seventy-five thousand people, apparently all working toward the same end. After the explosion in California and the massive devastation on the east coast, their numbers had likely been significantly reduced. Jodie wondered if the Nevada installation was all that was left of Gypsum. If so, this was where it would all end for them. She would see to that.
As she crept through aisle after aisle of loaded shelves, the voices seemed louder, like she was nearing a group of men. A shadow crossed the aisle ahead of her and Jodie stood still until it passed. As quickly as she could, she moved to the edge of a corridor intersecting two aisles and crouched, listening. No one seemed aware of her. She wondered how that could be. Clearly, the freight elevator hadn't arrived unannounced. Why weren't they looking for her? Or were they?
Jodie moved closer to the voices, darting behind boxes and equipment, to get a view of the men talking. She almost laughed out loud at what she found. A small TV sat on one of the boxes, playing loudly. Three empty chairs were clustered around the TV. It seemed innocuous for a moment, as if three people had been watching a movie on their break and had been called away. Then, she saw the puddles of brown slime leading away from the chairs.
Something behind her made a scraping sound and Jodie turned slowly to see what it was, but nothing was there. A feeling of dread washed over her, heightening her awareness of her surroundings. She started looking for places to hide and exits. A tall shadow passed through the aisle next to her, scraping the floor as it went. Whatever it was, she felt as if it hadn't seen her. Jodie crept around the area where the television blared on and slowly peeked around the corner. From her vantage point, she could see an exit on the other side of the room. It was out in the open and she would have to reveal her position to get to it, so she waited and listened. The scraping continued, but now it seemed as if it were coming from more than one area of the warehouse.
The noise grew louder and Jodie could no longer tell where it was coming from. The entire warehouse sounded like it was filled with things scraping along the concrete. It was time to move.
Jodie stood and glanced behind her, shadows advancing on her. A scream threatened to escape her mouth as she started to run toward the exit. Behind her, the warehouse exploded into mayhem. Shelves toppled and slammed into the next aisle, the domino effect smashing them to the ground, sending boxes skittering across the floor.
Jodie ran as fast as she could, but she could hear whoever or whatever was behind her gaining ground. She turned and fired just as a clawed hand reached out for her shoulder. Jodie spun to get loose and landed hard on her back, finding herself face to face with a terrifying creature, obviously intent on killing her. She emptied a clip into the head of the thing, watching it squeal and thrash wildly in front of her. Finally, it stopped moving and fell the floor, limp.
Scrambling to her feet, she pulled a handgun out of her pocket and sprinted for the exit. Jodie turned the knob and opened the door, entering a hallway as another clawed hand reached out and grabbed her leg. It yanked on her hard, pulling her off her feet. She landed face down on top of her gun. Jodie's cheek slammed into the concrete and the thing dragged her, trying to pull her back into the warehouse. Her arms trapped beneath her, she kicked frantically until the thing let go of her leg long enough that she could turn over and shoot. Her first burst went wide, scattering across the warehouse. The thing grabbed her again and pulled her closer as she swung her gun toward it. Its mouth opened wide and a horrific scream blasted at Jodie's face, covering her with foul-smelling saliva. She shoved her handgun in its mouth and pulled the trigger, the blast smattering the back of its head across the room.
Jodie was already up and back at the exit door by the time the thing slumped to the floor. She could hear what sounded like many more of the things crashing through the warehouse toward her and knew the door wouldn't hold them back. She had to find someplace to hide and do it quickly. As fast as she could, Jodie ran, not knowing what was waiting for her ahead.
* * *
David's headache was growing stronger with every second. Shooting the lock off of the containment box he was in had seemed like a good idea. That was, it had seemed like a good idea until he pulled the trigger and the percussion wave created by the gunshot hit his eardrums.
After he'd discharged all of the remaining bullets, he'd kicked at the door with all of his might. Sweat, mixed with blood from his ears, drenched his collar. Although he hadn't run out of air yet, breathing was becoming difficult. The acrid odor of gunpowder filled the box, burning his eyes and nose. David kicked at the door with everything he had left. It moved ever so slightly with the force of the impact and he kicked again. A sliver of light peeked in and suddenly, David could feel cool air washing over him. He breathed deeply, regaining his strength and kicked again as hard as he could. He'd just have to keep working on it.
Thinking he heard something other than ringing in his ears, he stopped kicking for a moment. Although he couldn’t make out all the words, he could tell a woman was talking to him from outside the containment box. “Please get me out of here. I’m locked in,” David called out.
A burst of cool air filled the box and he felt himself moving as the tray he was on slid out. As his head cleared the cabinet, he came face to face with Jodie Watts.
“David?” she asked. “David Martin?”
David watched as she leveled her gun at his forehead. Then he noticed the smell coming off of her.
“Oh, my God. What is that on your clothes?” David asked, covering his nose with his hand. She looked like she’d been chewed up and spit out. A yellowish phlegm-like substance covered her hair and clothing. She bled from her forehead and cheek. “What happened to you, Jodie?”
“Some of your little creations greeted me when I got off the elevator,” Jodie said.
“Some of my what?” David asked. “What did you say?”
“The insects . . . the hybrids, whatever they are. They’re running the place now,” Jodie said. “Kind of fitting that the new cockroaches are taking over the place where the old ones left off, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I have to go. I have to find my wife and son. I have a lot to explain to you, I know.”
“Where is everyone?” Jodie asked. “What did you do with them?”
“They’re being held by the Gypsum guards.” David said, knowing he shouldn’t take the time to tell Jodie everything at this point or they’d all die in this underground tomb. “Jodie, I had to leave Nick’s house for a very good reason. I’ll explain on the way, but we need to go right now.”
* * *
Chuck didn’t know if Nick would ever put the scissors down. “I’m telling you, I don’t remember anything except riding on that train. Then, I woke up and my whole body was changing. I’m still me, though,” he said.
Nick finally lowered the scissors.
Chuck felt relieved that they could move on to more important things.“Where is Jodie?”
A man
he didn’t know stepped closer to him.
“We don’t know,” the man whispered. “She was with us and went to look for some gas. Then, those ruffians from Gypsum came and we were separated. We don’t know if they’re listening.” He pointed to the ceiling. “Best not to let them know too much regarding her whereabouts. If I know her at all, I think it’s pretty safe to say that she’s either here by now or on her way.” He held a bitter look on his face.
Chuck nodded.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Officer Wending,” the man said in a normal voice. “I’m Evan Watts. Jodie’s father.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Watts,” Chuck said, noticing the family resemblance.
“Good to see you again, Chuck," Isaiah said, moving closer.
“Good to see you, too, Isaiah,” Chuck said, extending his hand.
Isaiah hesitated as if he didn’t know what to do.
“I know. I’m probably a little scary looking,” Chuck said, about to retract his hand.
Isaiah reached out and grabbed it. “Actually, you’re the best-looking thing I’ve seen all day.”
Chuck laughed and shook Isaiah’s hand, careful not to crush it. He turned, seeing Noah in the corner of the room. “Hi, Noah. I found a friend of yours on the way here.”
