by Maxey, Phil
His heart beat in his chest, which was larger than he remembered it being. As was everything about him. His limbs felt more solid, but equally lighter. He still didn’t understand what had happened to his arm, or the strange shapes which protruded beneath his torn shirt and jacket. Problems for another day. For now he needed to keep moving onwards.
He almost walked into the remains of a vehicle, its front end looking as if it had been through a meat grinder.
The things have already been...
Disappointment mixed with anger flushed through him. He staggered forward, his pace quickening.
No… They are mine to deal with. The town needs justice for what the Keller’s have done…
He stood in front of stone steps. The heat from what was left of the residence still strong enough to melt any falling snow that landed on its beams and melted plastics.
Are they dead? Had he come all this way for nothing?
He let out a roar which rattled the pines and echoed down the valley, then slumped to his knees…
He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there before his ears picked up the sound of repeating thunder. Soon it was deafening and with it came light and wind. He looked up into a blinding light and for a moment he was convinced the ice cold had taken him. But then he heard the voices, and the dark suited humans started to fall from above.
*****
10: 15 p.m. Highway fourteen.
Jess’s eyes were heavy. The constant rhythmic sound of the wipers accompanied with the falling white dots weren’t helping, but she preferred driving to being a passenger. It kept the memories away. Couldn’t be thinking about death and the end of the world if a loss of concentration meant everyone dying in a crash…
Her bottom lip quivered as the magnitude of what her children had gone through over the previous twelve hours attempted to push its way into her mind.
Keep driving. Five more days…You need to look at the fuel gauge.
She refused to. They had enough. They had to have enough. After Walland it was decided, no more towns. So now here they were, almost certainly lost. Her old map being of little assistance as they drove along a forgotten track which was surrounded by nothing. No buildings, no vehicles, no monsters. An infinite nothingness…
Her eyes flicked open. Had she been asleep? What was that noise… Coughing was coming from behind her. From more than one person. She glanced over her shoulder, while pushing on the brakes. “What’s happening!” she shouted.
“They’re—” Landon coughed. As were the children. “Changing, Jess!”
No… no…
She sprung out of her seat before the vehicle completely slid to a stop on the side of the narrow white lane, and ran to Josh who was doubled over, Landon leaning over him, himself equally burdened by pain. “Oh god, no. Josh…” Her son looked up at her with eyes that belonged to something else, but the rest of his face was one of anguish. Blood and sinew exploded from those around her with roars…
“Jess!”
Her sleeping eyes flicked open again. Landon’s hands were on the large steering wheel. She looked up at him, still in her driving position, blinking. “I…”
His foot was across hers, easing down on the brakes. “It’s okay. I got it,” he said.
Dream…
She swallowed as her heart beat in her chest. The horror of the images still clung to her vision. Her mouth was dry and she was covered in sweat. “Shit… Sorry.” The motorhome crawled to a stop as she realized there was no engine noise. She glanced at the fuel gauge. The needle rested completely at the bottom of the red zone. “We’re out of fuel…”
Landon nodded, pulling back to the space between the seats. “Yup.”
A new panic came to her. How long had she been close to sleep? She looked at her watch.
’10: 34.’
She fell back against the weathered fabric headrest. “Okay.” Then as the nightmare began to fade looked at her husband. “Were will we get fuel?”
“Maybe there’s a farmhouse around here?” shouted Daryl, overhearing the question.
She looked down at the central aisle, which was lit by a single overhead light. Everyone was sat either side, wrapped in winter clothing with gloves and hats. Most were looking at her and Landon for answers, but Meg was looking through a gap in the drapes covering the side window.
“Must be ten below out there,” said the older woman. “And I’m not seeing any lights of houses. They must be out there, but you would have maybe thirty minutes max to find some fuel and get back before you froze to death.”
Arlene sat back. “So stay here and turn into a monster, or go out there and freeze to death.”
Jess caught the fear in her children’s eyes at the young woman’s unhelpful comment. Despite her exhaustion, anger warmed her. “We will find a place around here. There has to be a farmhouse not too far. And there will be vehicles with fuel.” Her words were aimed at Josh and Sam who nodded in reply but the others just looked away from her, not wanting to believe the optimism. She stood and walked to the stove and hit the ignite button while turning the dial. A small blue flame immediately thrust from the metal ring. She turned with a smile. “Now we have heat.” She had no idea how long the gas bottle in the cupboard would last, but it didn’t matter for in that moment, the camping stove offered something far more important than refuge from the icy cold. She walked back to her seat, leaned down below it and grabbed her map then brought it back and placed it on the fold down table. “I think we’re somewhere here…” She prodded a place between highways and towns. Nothing was indicated to exist there.
“Least there are no monsters…” said Sam.
Jess briefly smiled at her.
“Daryl and I will continue along this road,” said Landon. “We will find what we need then head back.” He looked at the younger man who nodded then stood.
“Better get going th—” Arlene sprang to her feet and threw her arms around Daryl, which took him somewhat by surprise. “Er… yeah. Well, I plan to come back.”
She pulled back. “Yeah I know. Just helping you keep warm, that’s all…”
Landon scrunched Josh’s hair. “Going to need you to keep an eye on things. Keep watch. If you see anything outside, let someone know. Okay?” His son nodded.
CHAPTER FOUR
10: 38 p.m. Highway fourteen.
Landon stomped forward, slapping his gloved hands together, his small flashlight having been attached to a piece of string which dangled from his neck, providing a small pool of light at his feet. Each impact gave some momentary feeling back to his fingers, before the cold claimed them again. The snow was heavier. It had to be for now he had an even harder time seeing Daryl’s silhouette which was just a few yards ahead. They had been walking east for over ten minutes, the direction they had been driving, without even a hint of a structure in the gloom. He slammed his fist into his thigh, just to confirm it was still there as it gave him no feeling it was. His toes had long since become numb, and his feet were quickly on their way to joining them, but still he walked, trying to see through the slim gap between his hat and the scarf that was wrapped around his neck and the lower half of his face.
Where’s Daryl?
He paused, listening for footsteps, but the only sound making its way to his covered ears was his own breathing. Through the fabric across his mouth came a white mist which mingled with the falling flakes of ice. He walked forward, not even being sure he was still on the road, for the snow had risen to the height of the bank which bordered the track. “Daryl!” he shouted.
“Over here!”
He spun around to see a slight glow in the darkness. He walked forward as fast as he could, pushing his muscles to climb the slight incline. Daryl was kneeling next to a wire fence, his own flashlight pointing towards a mound of snow and something which lay beneath it. “What is it?”
Daryl focused his light on one particular nearby section of pink and white skin, teeth and remains of muscle. “A cow.” He lifted t
he beam a little, but it was enough to show the hints of other dark forms lying across what must have been a field.
“Are they changed?”
Daryl shook his head. “This one just looked torn apart.”
Landon looked at the surrounding void and the mesmerizing continuous flow of white particles from above. “So the things are out here too…”
Daryl stood back up. “Looks that way. How long we been walking?”
He looked at his watch, one that Jess had given him. “About twenty minutes.”
“Twenty? Feels like an hour. How far you think we’ve walked?”
“Maybe a few miles. I’ll quickly check in with Jess.” He held his radio to his mouth. “You there, Jess? Over.”
“Yes. Here. Have you found something? Over.”
“No.” He thought about mentioning what was lying in front of him, but thought better of it. “Nothing yet, but there’s a farmer’s—”
“Hey look…” said Daryl.
Landon turned around. At the edge of visibility sat a dark block-like shape in the distance. Across the field.
“What’s happening? Over.”
“Might be a house. We’re going to head over to it. I’ll check back in soon. Over.”
“Okay, be safe…”
He placed the radio back in his pack, then with Daryl stepped over the fence. The snow in the field was even deeper than the track, almost coming up to their knees. The colder ground allowing it to lay even higher. They trekked forward, moving around the mounds.
The silhouette of buildings were now visible against the lighter night sky.
“Think I see some vehicles,” said Landon, his breath easily visible.
Despite their limbs feeling like dead weight, they increased their speed across the ground, quickly arriving at another fence. This one consisting of wooden beams, which they—
A boom echoed out as splinters of wood sprayed across Landon’s face, a few making it through the fabric and into the skin of his cheek. Both men immediately threw themselves to the ground, becoming half buried in the snow, their packs and weapons rattling on their backs. A ping fractured more of the wood, another came with a thud as it sunk into the ice then mud.
“You hit?” said Landon.
“Err… no… I don’t think so. You?”
“Same.”
They both lay for a few more seconds. There were no more gunshots.
Landon gradually raised his head until he could see over the top of the ridge of ice he was encased within. There was still no light from the buildings, which were roughly fifty yards away. The largest, a house sat center with two smaller structures on both sides. But closer were two snow covered vehicles. A pickup and sedan.
“What should—”
“Sshh…” said Landon. “I think I… footsteps. Someone’s coming.” He reached for his rifle, pulling it closer to him.
“What should we do!”
Landon scoured the surrounding darkness. Whoever they were had them completely covered through whatever scope they were using. Going back the way they came wasn’t an option, but staying put wasn’t either. The outbuilding to the right, seemed the best hope. “Building close to you. We run for it. Maybe we get there before they get here.”
“Okay.” Daryl pushed himself upright with his frozen appendages then sprang forward, his pack jostling on his back, and ran over the snow as best he could.
Landon went to do the same, when a whoosh of a bullet split the air near the running younger man, but Daryl kept on trampling over the ice covered ground. Landon caught the flash. It came from the hood of the sedan. And then he saw the dark form of a person emerge and move forward, their arms raised as another shot exploded. Daryl was already around the outside of the building and Landon was sure he heard an expletive drift on the wind towards him. He tracked the man move towards the building.
Keep moving to the right, go on… keep going…
Landon got up slowly, his eyes straining to see the shape moving in the dark, then stepped to his left as the man moved further right. Moving as discretely as he could, he kept a fix on the man, moving around behind him, until he was on the more solid ground of a front yard. Just as the man reached for the door of the barn, he jogged forward.
“Uh uh,” said Landon. The man swore again, freezing his movement.
“Thought I saw two. Should have trusted my gut.”
“We’re not here to hurt—”
A click came from behind Landon. He sighed, recognizing the sound of a gun being cocked and was sure the man in front of him was smiling.
“You might want to lower that rifle,” said an elderly woman to Landon.
The older man started to walk forward when a crunching of snow came to the side. Daryl was pointing the barrels of his shotgun directly at the man’s chest.
“You ain’t gonna shoot me, son.”
“Nobody’s shooting anyone!” said Landon.
“Why you fella’s here?” said the woman.
“Looking to steal from us, that’s why Mavis!” said the man.
“No. Not steal. Buy, barter. We need fuel for our vehicle.”
“Pfff… you ain’t got anything we need,” said the man.
“Hold your horses, Noah. We don’t know what they got, do we?”
“I’m going to lower my rifle,” said Landon. “I’d appreciate it, if neither of you shot us… but if you do. Probably a good thing you know that I’m an officer of the law. Out of Denver. I can get my badge out if you need to see it…” he shivered, but it didn’t bring any more feeling to his body. He lowered his gun and nodded to Daryl to do the same, which he did. Landon turned to the woman. She was dressed in thick black winter coat, with long gray hair tied in a ponytail.
“I’m going to need to see that badge,” said Mavis.
*****
“I won!” shouted Josh. He showed his cards to Grace, who smiled then to Tye who frowned.
“That you have,” she said. “One more game, then I want to get at least thirty minutes of sleep before the next crisis.” She looked at Owen sat on the other side, leaned back, his eyes closed. She wanted to help him, but his wounds went far deeper than the physical. She turned back to the table and picked up her cards.
Jess sat in the driver’s seat, looking out into the constant steam of white flakes.
He’s out there… anything could happen… Can’t do this without him…
Her knee bounced up and down, with her hand grasping the radio. She looked at her watch. It was almost time for him to check back in. Almost. Despite the fact that they were marooned in the middle of a blizzard, lost in a forgotten part of Colorado. That monsters literally were roaming the countryside, and her husband had left them looking for fuel. Despite all of that, she still fought to keep her eyes open. Like most she had been awake for over twenty four-hours, something she hadn’t done since Josh was born. Luckily Sam slept well as a baby, but her son cried throughout the night.
You could have killed everyone. Falling asleep at the wheel…
She shook her head to rid herself of the thought and to try and stay awake, then looked at her watch. Another minute…
The cab’s drape moved back. She looked up at the smiling face of the doctor, who reached forward, placing a hand on her forehead. “I’m fine,” she said. Grace then moved her fingers to Jess’s neck and studied her watch.
Jess looked at the red marks just visible at the top of the doctor’s hand. “You’re immune. I’ve seen those marks on somebody else…”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” said Grace pulling back and sitting in the passenger’s seat. “But you’re exhausted. You need to get some rest.”
“Maybe when we’re back on the road.” She caught the doctor’s anxious expression and smiled. “Someone else can do the driving.”
Grace looked out through the ice encrusted window to the darkness. “I still can’t quite believe it. It all seems so—”
“Unreal?”
&nbs
p; Grace nodded. “There were many good people at the center. People I’ve worked with for years…”
Jess noticed the lack of a ring on the doctor’s finger. “Do you have someone?”
Grace smiled again, but this time it was not the smile of a doctor to patient but more awkward. “Ah, no… well not for a while. But friends…” she sighed. “Been in Rocky Pine for over a decade.” She shook her head again, then looked at Jess, leaning towards her slightly. “You’re doing a good job.”
For a moment Jess wasn’t sure what the doctor was referring too, but then saw her gesture towards Josh. “Thank you. It’s not been easy.”
“Parenting never is.” Grace looked back to the darkness. “And in this situation…”
Jess went to talk again but the words got stuck in her throat which tightened as tears came to her eyes.
Grace briefly squeezed Jess’s hands, who then wiped the wet from her face with her sleeve and both women sat in silence for a moment until static came from her radio which she immediately raised to her mouth. “Landon? Are you—” Two small sparkling dots of light appeared in the distance.
“On my way back. Over.”
CHAPTER FIVE
11: 51 p.m. Highway fourteen. Coopers’ farmstead.
The mug of coffee was almost too hot for Jess to hold, but she did so anyway. The brown liquid was not enough in itself to keep her awake, she needed the slight burning sensation as well. She was sat with everyone else in the large kitchen which belonged to Mavis and Noah Cooper. An elderly couple that had lived in the farmhouse for over fifty years, and oddly, despite both of them seeing a monster lay waste to their cattle did not become one as well.
Josh, Tye and Sam all eagerly ate their second piece of apple pie. Mavis had informed them all that this year had been a good harvest for the orchard, and they still had plenty left in the cold storage below.
