by Maxey, Phil
“Everyone hold on!” he shouted then slammed on the breaks. He knew at this speed there was a risk of the pickup flipping, but he banked on the fresh snow acting to stop that, and as they all lurched forward, the creature lost its grip, being thrown forward, a mass of legs and wings that tried to right itself midair, but instead hitting the ground, and tumbling. This was Landon’s chance. He hit the gas once more as the creature staggered upright, whirling around, just in time to see the large front end of the pickup slam into it.
The pickup bumped up and down, as clangs and thuds came from the underside of the vehicle, the thing still not dead, but injured enough not to follow and they sped down the hill. The kids watched out the rear window as it tried to stand.
“It’s… changing…” said Sam, watching more legs sprout, replacing the ones that lay broken in the snow.
“Next right!” shouted Meg.
Landon swung the pickup at the turnoff, moving up another hill. “At your place, you said you have guns?”
“Yeah, my late husband collected them.”
“Good.”
“Keep following this road,” said Meg as snow-covered evergreens passed by and through them a view of the town below.
“We’re going back, right?” said Josh to his father.
“Yes. We’re getting some guns from Meg, then we’re going back, and then to the new home.”
A large modern wooden house appeared between trees, perched atop of a small rise to their left.
“Next left,” said Meg.
They steered onto a slope and followed it a short distance as the expensive looking home with large windows and a series of triangular shaped roofs loomed overhead. Landon pulled the pickup into a small parking area in front of a double garage.
Meg didn’t waste any time and immediately got out and ran up the stone steps, but froze at the top. Those still in the pickup saw her standing still, then slowly continue walking up the remaining steps.
“Stay here,” said Landon, pushing his door open. “I’m going to lock the doors from outside.” The kids nodded as he got out and kept to his promise. The headlights blinked once and he moved to the base of the stairs as Meg moved out of sight. “What is it?” he said to the space above him, keeping his voice low. He glanced at the snow blanketed slopes around him. The lack of natural sounds was palpable.
He walked quickly up the steps, then once getting to the top saw the reason for Meg’s hesitation. Where there should have been wooden front doors was a jagged hole, with a spray of wood pieces, most buried under snow, just outside. She stood at the threshold.
“Carver?” she said into the gloom beyond.
Landon instinctively moved his hand to his holster, then stopped on remembering his gun’s magazine was empty. He moved forward, leaning down to pick up a good size chunk of wood. “Meg… let me go first…”
But as if she was lost to a dream, she moved forward, stepping over the remains of the entrance.
“Meg! Wait!” He said, following, and scanned the impressive hallway for any sign of danger, but amongst the log cabin style walls, and smart interior, nothing looked out of place.
She turned to him. “My dog… Carver, he’s not here.”
It had never occurred to Landon that animals could also be affected by the virus, but in that moment, as a tear ran down Meg’s face, a new level of terror threatened to overwhelm him. “I’m sorry about your dog. But I need those g—”
The pickup’s horn split the silence outside.
“Get me guns and ammo!” he said to Meg, then spun around, hoping over the refuse outside and looked at the pickup below. Sam and Josh were looking up at him, and frantically pointing to his left, to the steep banks of pine needles, frost covered trunks and…
His eyes moved straight past it, then as his brain shouted to retrace their steps, he took a step forward, squinting against the chill wind to see the misshapen thing, about a hundred yards away at a slightly lower elevation. Was it hunched over? A broad arched back sat beneath a head that looked… almost human… but with no obvious eyes, just folds of skin and a snout that small puffs of white mist were emanating from. Landon looked down to the car, then back to the creature. He had no doubt it could be on it within seconds if it wanted too, and there would be nothing he could do to stop it.
There was a crunching of snow and splintered wood behind him, but he dared not take his eyes of the thing in the woods.
“Here… take this. It’s fully loaded.”
He turned, not wanting to look away from his target, but did so for a second to take the AR-15. Fortunately this particular model came with a scope, which he raised slowly to his face, and looked through.
The creature was even uglier than he thought, and he almost wanted to lower the glass lens to remove the image from his mind. He felt to make sure the safety was off. “I think I found your—”
The creature scampered forward, eating through a few feet of snow, but still with speed, towards Josh and Sam who were screaming. Landon’s heart pounded in his ears. He breathed slowly and purposely, keeping his hands steady as he tracked the thing growing closer…
Eighty feet… sixty… its four muscular legs propelled it across the snow. Landon fired off a burst. Three shots, all of which slid into the ice, not causing the thing to even change course.
“Carver…” said Meg.
Pushing his children’s screams from his mind, he placed his elbow on top of the wall, aimed and fired again. Three more shots, one of which hit its mark. A small spray of blood painted the snow, leaving a small trail, but the thing seemed to increase its velocity. More determined to get to the two small humans. It smashed through a wooden fence as if it wasn’t there.
Another burst, and another, and another. Landon kept firing. The shots were hitting. Was it slowing? It was now at the edge of the road which led to the property. It scampered forward… its path now more meandering, but still with one aim in—
A boom echoed out around the cement and wood log walls, and the thing’s head exploded, rendering the rest of it lifeless. It collapsed at the start of the drive.
Landon looked down at Meg who was holding a large handgun with both hands, then walked down the steps, passing her at the bottom and walked cautiously across the parking lot. The thing quivered. It was trying to reform… trying to find another solution to what it wanted. A dog-like leg emerged from the carcass, growing before his eyes.
“Shoot it!” shouted Meg.
He did, ripping it apart, but with every projectile that slammed into it, another piece tried to grow. A claw or an eye, each organic part trying to become something else.
“Fire…” The word came with white mist from Landon’s mouth. He flicked his head around to her. “We need to burn it!”
She nodded. “Throw me the keys, I need to get into the garage.”
He did, then looked back at the thing which was a series of appendages, growing and sprouting, scratching and gnawing within the orange-pink slime that it lay on top of.
“Here,” said Meg, handing him a canister of gasoline.
He walked forward, not wanting to get too close and tossed streaks of the strong smelling liquid onto the seething mass of organs and limbs, then backed away quickly, as it squealed at the substance being absorbed into its skin. “Light it up!”
Meg was already one step ahead, and with a lighter, lit a piece of old rag and tossed it onto the creature which immediately lurched away, prototype legs pulling it across the lot. But the fire burned strong and after a few steps it collapsed again, flailing and roaring from newly formed lungs, until even they fell silent.
The pickup’s doors opened and Sam and Josh got out, walking to the side of their father.
“It’s dead… it has to be dead,” said Sam.
Landon nodded. “I think it—”
Crackling came from the back of his belt and the radio he had forgotten was back there. He almost raised his hands ready for an attack from another unknown thing
, but instead pulled the black box from his belt and held it up.
“Jess? Are you—”
A voice came from the speaker. One he didn’t recognize.
“This the husband of Jessica? I got something you want. And you got something I need.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
8: 29 a.m. Town of Rocky Pine. The Rapid Bear apartment block.
The throbbing pain came in waves across Jess’s skull, and each time it ended in a crescendo that made her think she was going to be sick. She had awoken in a small room at the back of the complex, her wrists and ankles tied, her mouth covered and overall bound to an office chair. She was fairly certain she had a mild concussion, but that wasn’t what concerned her. Soon after she regained consciousness she overheard muffled words outside the door, and was certain Landon’s name was mentioned. Which meant they were going to try to reclaim the chocolates.
Me for the chocolates…
An impulse to laugh almost made its way to her mouth, but instead the pain banged at the back of her head and she grimaced, biting into the towel that was partially inside her mouth. Between the bouts of pain her mind tried to unpick how Amos would have known in advance that the Nasa probe would crash. And even if he had, how did he have a vaccine from whatever the probe brought back with it?
Nothing made sense, and she hated that. She had scored so high on her SAT that she was awarded a scholarship, and was attending university a few years earlier than her peers. Soon being courted by some of the top private companies in the state. She wanted answers and had a feeling her family’s future would depend on them.
The sound of footsteps came from outside the door which was then unlocked and opened. Daryl stood with a small plastic bottle in his hand.
She turned away from his gaze.
“Thought you’d be thirsty. And maybe want to use the restroom. If I untie you, you going to try and run? Cos if you do, those downstairs might shoot you.”
She sighed through the gag, then shook her head.
He stepped forward, closing the door behind him. “Cool.”
She held her hands up, and he quickly untied them. She gave a few seconds of serious thought to lashing out at the first chance her hands were free, but she wasn’t getting far being bound to a chair.
Keep calm, Jess, calm…
He pulled the rag from her mouth, and offered her the already opened bottle, which she took, gulping down a few mouthfuls. “Why are you doing this? They’re crazy, you know that, right?”
He looked away. “The whole world’s gone crazy.” He looked back at her. “People becoming monster’s. You don’t think that’s crazy?” He looked away again before she could respond. “And you don’t know what it’s like out there. Thing’s have gotten a lot worse.”
“Worse? Where?”
“Everywhere! People leaving the country in the thousands. Some heading to Canada, some Mexico. The ports are packed with people leaving by ships, although most other countries won’t allow them to dock, so they’re just sitting a few miles out at sea. And all the planes are flying twenty-four seven.”
Jess momentarily forgot about her own circumstance. “The virus has spread across the whole country?”
He nodded. “Yup. Those things been showing up in all the major cities. Military gave up on Denver. Too many of those creatures. Government saying they are researching the virus, and should have some answers today as to how to stop it or something… I don’t know. But everything’s gone to shit.” He looked with more intent at her. “But you know something about what’s happened, don’t you? I mean, you gotta. You had those chocolates. Stopped your family from turning. Stopped me from turning.”
“I didn’t know anything about that! A friend of mine gave them to me, as a leaving present. I got fired yesterday. I don’t know how Biochron is involved.”
“How many you got left?”
“Two…”
“Two!”
She nodded.
He looked at the door. “Fuck… that’s a problem. They think you’re going to fix all of them. And you just got two? Shit…”
She leaned forward, her eyes flicking to the door, then back to him. “Help me get out of here. You owe me that much.”
He turned away, shaking his head. “I dunno. These people… they’ll kill us both. Pretty sure of that.”
She scrunched her face up. “Where’s the police in this town? How’s he being allowed to get away with this?”
“Yeah, well, you already met the local police sheriff. That was Matt.”
She sat back, letting out another sigh.
“They said a lot of people in the town died to those that changed. Luckily it was off season, and there weren’t many up here. Or it would have been even worse. But they are convinced that you are part of all of this…” He sighed. “That’s on me. I didn’t know how crazy they were. After what happened at the medical center, they said I could stay here. That they would help me. Kind of hard to turn that offer down, when you’re in an unknown place with monsters running around.”
“Did you see Abby, Owen and Ray again?”
“Briefly… just saw them jump in Ray’s pickup and drive away. Not since then. Why? They got more chocolates?”
“No, there’s just the two. Look, just untie me, and leave the door unlocked. I’ll figure out the rest. That way you’re not—”
The boards creaked outside, and Daryl pulled back, standing upright. “So you need to take a leak, or not?”
“Er…”
The door sprung open. “She giving you any problems,” said Charles.
“Nope. Just waiting to find out if she needs the restroom.”
The man smirked. “Hurry up, there’s been developments…” He turned and closed the door.
*****
8: 43 a.m. Town of Rocky Pine.
Meg’s elbow was beginning to get sore. But the lofty position she had over the parking lot, trees, river and then the Rapid Bear apartment block, made it worth it. She looked down the rifle’s scope, which was perfectly lined up on the pathway which led to the building’s main entrance. The point at which those inside were going to hand over Jess to her husband, and where he was going to give them the candy. She had never been a fan of Colm, nor had her husband, and had had run-ins with him and his administration over the decades, but she never expected him to act like this. To hold an innocent woman ransom to get something that she still wasn’t sure was real? A vaccine inside chocolate? Sure…
Liam, her late husband, was the one for the late night documentaries about ghosts and conspiracies. She had no time for that stuff. She had a business to run. No time for nonsense. But she was still alive. Many in the town were not, and who knows, maybe those that had come from Denver were telling her the truth. Maybe the candy did save her life.
She was sad to hear that the police chief’s wife had passed. Vera was a good woman. She deserved better.
They had both grown up in the town at the base of the Rockies, and it was because of a few times they had sneaked up on top of the roof of the old theater that she had thought of it again as a good vantage point to help with the handover. Last time she was up there though was over thirty years ago, and her joints and muscles definitely complained more this time, when she climbed the ladder.
The sound of an engine heralded her pickup being driven by Landon. His kids were in the building below her, safely tucked away in a small office behind the ticket counter.
A click came from her radio.
Showtime…
Landon spotted the brown three-story building immediately as he drove into the long road which headed south. He had been part of a similar situation a few times over the years, but each time was backed up by a SWAT team, with snipers perched on nearby roofs, not a middle-aged, tourist holiday owner, whose husband had an obsession with guns. Still, it was all he had, and it was better than nothing. He had also seen how Meg handled the Magnum. She knew how to handle a weapon. There was no doubt about that.
“We see you, Keller,” Colm’s voice came from Landon’s radio. “Drive up to the front, real slow. Over.”
He scanned the sky, rooftops and snow-covered streets again, making sure there was nothing moving amongst them, and turned at an intersection into the street which ran along the front of the apartment complex. There was movement beyond windows on the second floor. No doubt, there own snipers.
Hope you’re as good a shot as you say you are, Meg.
He stopped outside the wide entrance, which was a series of planks of wood, applied with nails, covering what used to be double doors.
“I got what you want. Over.”
“Get out and hold it up. Then leave it in front of the main entrance. When we have it. We’ll—”
“No. That’s not what we agreed, Colm. I need to see her. Then you get it.”
There was a slight pause before a creak accompanied one of the barricaded doors opening, and Jess was pushed forward, her hands bound as well as something covering her mouth, with a man crouching behind her, holding her like a puppet. Rage simmered inside Landon. He picked up the small plastic bag from the other seat, pushed his door open and got out.
“Walk forward slowly!” shouted another man, who was standing behind the building’s door. He recognized the voice as Colm’s.
Landon looked at the picturesque town once more. Nothing stirred, then walked around the hood, holding both hands, including the bag up, and walked onto the start of the path. He was now close enough to see Jess’s eyes, and he forced a smile as did she. There was a small line of blood across her neck. It was all he could do to not pull the Glock and shoot. He was an excellent shot. He could hit the guy trying to use her as a human shield. But… there had to be others.
