by Maxey, Phil
“This is great,” said Josh to Mavis, finishing up his last slither of pastry and fruit filling. She smiled.
“Thank you for the hospitality,” said Jess. “We didn’t think there were any people left out here…”
Mavis was leaned back on a country style cabinet, containing crockery and frame photos behind glass panels. “We saw the news reports on the television, heard the same on the radio from the president,” she sneered. “Didn’t think it was real until the commotion from the field out front.”
“What did it look like?” said Sam.
“Nasty looking thing, big as the cows, maybe bigger!” She shook her head, sighing. “We drove it off, but not before it got all of them. A hundred head of cattle, slaughtered in ten minutes… if that. It didn’t even eat them. Just chopped them up and moved on to the next. Strangest thing I’d ever seen… like it was angry at them or something.”
“It couldn’t absorb them…” said Jess, then regretted her internal thoughts becoming loud.
“Uh?” said Mavis. The kids also looked at her.
“The virus changes life forms… but not just… changing, also absorbs. Takes the material and builds something new with it.”
“Right…”
Jess could tell none of what she had just said made any sense to the older woman. She smiled. “I’m glad you and Noah chased it off. There are others out there though. More might come this way.”
Mavis snorted and started to reply when the kitchen door opened and Landon and Noah came in, shaking the ice from their hats. Both had bundles of clothes.
Noah nodded to his wife. “These fancy winter clothes going to come in real handy. I gave them a few gallons of fuel for them. Seemed fair.” She nodded back her approval.
Jess looked at her watch. It had been a few hours since the motorhome slid to a stop, and they weren’t any closer to Missouri.
Landon saw her concern and turned to the couple. “We better be getting back on the road.”
“Wait right there,” said Mavis. She disappeared into a nearby hall, then descended into the basement.
“Where you folks heading?” said Noah.
“East,” said Landon without expanding on the sentiment. It seemed enough for the old man.
Labored footsteps came from the stairs to the basement and Mavis appeared with three more plates wrapped in foil. “Here’s two beef and another apple.” She noticed her husband roll his eyes. “We got enough to feed a small army down there, Noah. We won’t miss it.” She handed them to Jess, who was now standing.
“Thank you again.”
*****
3: 05 a.m. Outskirts of Trailstone.
Flurry’s of white swept past Landon’s view of the road they were on. The howling gales and the hum of the engine being the only noise as he was fairly sure everyone else was asleep. Even the kids. He glanced over to Jess, her head to one side on her puffy winter jacket, eyes closed and felt relief at seeing her get some rest.
He looked back into the raging winter storm outside and blinked. It hadn’t been the first time he had been awake for more than a day. During the past year, his first as a detective he had pulled double shifts on a number of occasions to get a case closed quickly, something Ben… emotion started to take a hold in his stomach so he pushed the memory of his old friend to one side, and focused on the plan.
Drive east…
It was a simple and yet he had almost died twice during the last few hours.
We’re not going to make it…
He shook his head again. “Going to make it,” he whispered under his breath. “Got no choice.”
He still didn’t quite believe that candy had saved him and his family, although he didn’t have a better answer as to why they hadn’t changed like everyone else. Perhaps they were all naturally immune. Jess said some of the population will be. She also said the virus might target certain genes, making some people more susceptible to it than others, but without a lab and hours slaving over a microscope she wouldn’t know for sure. He glanced at her again. He admired her almost as much as he loved her. When they first met he bought her a T-shirt, with the slogan ‘All this and brains too!’ which she refused to wear, apart from once on his birthday. It should have said ’All this and brains and humility, too!’ he thought.
She’ll figure this out… just need to protect her and the kids… Get to Missouri… Take one day at a time… Just four and a bit left. We can do it…
He eased down on the brakes as they approached a crossroads. Two routes were just visible within the headlights. He steered to the left and continued. A white fence almost buried under the snow came and went, as did the dark tubular shapes of grain silos. He looked at his watch which told him they still had eight more hours of driving. At least. Which would put them near the twenty-four hour mark from when they last ate the chocolate.
Cutting it close.
He wanted to increase their speed, but it was taking all of his concentration to keep the hulk of a vehicle moving in a straight line. If they ended up in a ditch, in the storm, it would mean the end. Literally. So he kept their speed as close to thirty as he could.
As he focused on the road, he missed the first few buildings sliding past in the gloom. When one showed up in the cones of light, only a few yards to his left he told himself he was at the edge of a town and kept on driving, but then he caught glimpses of silver plating from a modern store and its parking lot.
Should have turned right, not left. We’re in a town…
He glanced to his right once more.
Still asleep. Could turn around…
It was an idea, but he also knew there was a very real chance of getting stuck. He looked at the speedometer.
We’ll drive through. Be on the other side before anyone…
Dark mounds became visible at the edge of the main beams and his heart rate spiked. He thought they were moving, but as he slowed he could tell they were stationary. Vehicles which were blocking his path forward, and to the left. He slowed some more, almost to a stop then took the only option open to him, the road to the right.
I’ll take the next left, get back on track. Will be okay. Small town, not a lot of people. Shouldn’t be many monsters and in this—
He caught the mass of shadow out of the corner of his eye too late.
CHAPTER SIX
3: 15 a.m. Trailstone.
Sound and fury erupted in Jess’s brain before her eyes flicked open. Something sticky was running down her forehead, but as she raised her hand, she glanced to her left, seeing Landon lurched forward, his head up against a crack in the windshield.
“Landon!” she shouted then immediately turned in her seat as groans and screams were coming from the living area behind.
“It’s trying to get in!” shouted Sam.
A single light flickered in the roof of the cabin, and the air was thick with the smell of rotten eggs. Jess scrambled to undo her belt, moving out of her seat while her right hand shook Landon’s shoulder, trying to wake him to consciousness. Her focus was on getting to her children, one of whom was buried under backpacks and plastic plates that had fallen from above. Rushing forward she fell to her knees and pulled the fabric bags from Josh who sheepishly looked up at her.
“It’s coming back!” shouted Daryl.
Just as she turned to look at the window, glass shattered with a roar that was more than just the gale force winds, and barbed appendages of moist skin sliced through the air above her head, smashing into the wall behind her.
Meg and Daryl both fired simultaneously at the octopus-like arms that flailed through the narrow room, while Jess screamed at them to stop. But the air was thick with more than gas as the noise from the creature, storm and panic was too much for her to be heard.
Bullets tore chunks from the thing which whipped across the space, tearing through the flimsy walls and cupboards. Suddenly its arms withdrew, taking with it the entire side window.
“Gas! The pipes ruptured! Stop firing!
” screamed Jess.
Meg and Daryl looked at her, their eyes wide.
She turned back to the driving cabin, Landon was still slumped forward and began to move in that direction when something slammed into the side of the vehicle, shunting it sidewards and throwing everyone inside against the left wall as if they were dolls.
“Landon!” she screamed to her husband. A groan came from the front as she tried to move in that direction again, but instead the single light above, died.
She scrambled forward but her world violently jolted again by an impact which crumpled the back section of the motorhome and white flakes surged through a gaping hole. In the complete dark, screams and the squelching sound of torn flesh filled the air.
Get out.
It was the only thought in Jess’s mind and she threw her arms out into the darkness at where she remembered her children to be and grabbed who she could, dragging them to her right, to the side door. Amongst the cries and shouts, she fumbled for the latch then handle, kicking the door open. Icy cold air blasted her face as another piece of the motorhome was ripped away from behind her. Not being entirely sure who she was holding, she pulled them with her, falling forward into the dark, down the steps onto the snow. Vaguely hearing Sam’s voice, she grabbed the smaller person, sweeping them up in her arms, while pulling the young girl with her. They staggered onwards into the void, away from the carnage and certain death. Her shoulder clipped something, a tree maybe? She kept on running.
Get out. Landon… Run. Survive… Landon…
The ground felt different, solid. She looked up at glass doors, one which appeared to be open, and started to run forward again, when a wave of heat and light was quickly followed by an almighty explosion, which threw her forward. Even in her fall, she managed to throw her other arm out catching herself, and landed on her side, while the young boy in her arms spilled out.
She realized she could see before her brain concluded that the motorhome had just exploded. She spun around. What was left of the vehicle was ablaze and something almost the same size as it, staggered backwards, equally engulfed in flame. The creature roared and screeched. Limbs grew and stretched from an amorphous body, then fell back, shrinking against the intense heat. It collapsed in a truck sized heap on the snow, quivering.
“Where’s Josh?” screamed Sam.
Jess turned to face Sam then followed her gaze to Tye, a fleck of blood on his cheek. His tears reflecting the burning vehicle behind them. Her mouth fell open and she whipped around to the vehicle and began to run forward.
“Mom!” shouted Sam.
Jess’s daughter was pointing into the wall of darkness surrounding them, and the darker shapes moving amongst it. Even if Jess had been aware she wouldn’t have cared and she sprinted towards the flames, but a few yards from it the thing that was a burning mound of flesh, sprang new limbs, bursting from the snow and ice. A clawed arm flew towards her, slicing the air just inches in front of her face making her fall back onto the ground.
Arms grabbed at her shoulders then dragged her backwards, towards the entrance of the school building behind them.
“We… we have to hide!” screamed Sam.
Run… hide… live…
Within those three thoughts, Jess’s emotions were cauterized. She turned, pulling her daughter then the boy with her and ran through the open entrance.
CHAPTER SEVEN
3: 45 a.m. Trailstone.
Pain pulsed through the egg-sized lump on Landon’s forehead, but he ignored it and pulled Josh’s collar up around the boy’s neck. The single flashlight lit his son’s face, which was bruised, and the back of his own hand which was red and blistered from the flames.
Alive…
In the motorhome he had awoken to darkness and chaos, but just about heard Josh’s cries next to him, his son shaking his arm, pleading for them to get out. He then smelled the gas as he heard the shots, and instinctively pulled Josh with him, out of the driver’s door. The rest was a blur, but he threw himself over Josh when night briefly turned into day.
He lightly placed his hand on Josh’s head, hoping for a smile from the boy, but his face remained frozen, his eyes looking to somewhere beyond the small room they were in.
He looked to his right at Daryl, whose face was bloodied, the young man’s eyes white and open, his head shaking.
“I saw her get… it… it changed her… or tried… her face… it couldn’t… but she…”
Landon kneeled next to him, placing a hand on Daryl’s arm. “Grace is gone. But I need to go back out there. Need to find the others.”
Daryl looked at him. “I didn’t see Jess or Sam, or the other kid. Maybe they got out?”
“Yes. I’m sure they did.” He didn’t know if they had. But refused to believe any different. “That’s why I need to go—”
Daryl grabbed Landon’s hand with his other, shaking his head. “No, man. You can’t. There are more of the things. You can’t.”
“Daryl. I need you to look after—”
Daryl continued shaking his head. “No, no. You can’t. You’ll die.Then what will we do?”
Shit.
“I have to go back outside! They could be hurt!”
“Why don’t you wait until daylight,” said Arlene, her tone flat.
Landon whirled around to face her. “I’m not waiting!” He moved closer to her. “I need you to look after Josh. Will you do that?”
She frowned, glancing at the kid. “And what if you don’t come back? I gotta look after some kid, in a town full of monsters?”
Rage threatened to bubble up within Landon, but he needed her. He couldn’t leave Josh alone. “Just give me thirty minutes. And I’ll come back. Okay?”
She frowned again. “Fine. But I ain’t staying here forever. We need to get that vaccine.
Daryl looked at her. “You’re immune, you don’t need the vaccine.”
“I don’t know that, do I?”
He frowned as winds continued howling outside. Neither of them were too sure of what type of building they had managed to stumble into, in the dark, but the room they were in was some kind of office. It was buried behind a few narrow corridors.
Landon hoped if anything unnatural was in the building with them, the sounds would echo off the walls and alert them before it came close. That was the hope. He kneeled again next to his son. “I have to go out—” Josh grabbed him, throwing his arms around his father’s shoulders. “I have to go outside and find your mom and sister. And the others. I have to do this Josh.” He pulled his son from him. “You’ll be safe here with Daryl and Arlene. Okay?”
Josh’s face remained passive. His cheeks wet with tears, one of which Landon wiped away. “I won’t be long. And I’ll come back with them. I promise.” His son nodded and Landon stood. He briefly looked at the other two, trying not to notice their fear and walked to the door, listening for sounds outside. On not hearing any, he turned the handle and opened the door to a wall of black then waited a few seconds, allowing his eyes to adjust then turned back. “Put something up against this door when I leave.” Daryl nodded and Landon walked out into the corridor.
*****
Jess held Sam and Tye close to her. All were shivering but their combined body heat meant hypothermia would take longer to properly set in.
She had no idea where they were or how long it had been since… Since what? Something terrible had happened, but she couldn’t quite grasp what… each time she tried to fully form the thought, she felt sick and could feel the floor spinning beneath her, as if she was floating above it.
Run… hide… live…
Three words which she kept on repeating. Chains which were holding her sanity together.
“I’m so cold…” said Sam.
“We’ll… we…”
They’re dead… all dead…
“No… no…”
“Mom?”
Run… hide… live… think Jess… need heat… hide… life… avoid the things…
/> She turned to her left, where Sam was, even though all she could see in the absolute darkness was a shadow shaped person in a hood. “The things are outside.” They all had heard the sliding and scraping across the ice outside the building they were in since they staggered inside it. The creatures were out there, searching for them… or maybe waiting for the three survivors to come out and make it easy to be picked off.
Not making it easy for them…
But staying inside, huddled together as they were, wasn’t an option either. Despite how jumbled her thoughts were, she was still able to calculate that they had maybe two or three hours before their body temperatures would fall to dangerous levels. The room they were in had no windows. That was intentional on her part, but she had no idea what was around her. Closet?
“I have to see what’s in this room with us.” She started to untangle herself from the other two, but they clung to her even tighter. “No… please, let me go. I have to know what’s around us. There might be something. A flashlight or something we can use for heat.” The hands gripping her released and she crawled forward, her fingers outstretched and soon they came across cold metal rods, then wood, dusty by the powdery feeling. “I think we’re in a closet. There’s a shelf here.” She pushed some metal tins around, then felt the fabric of cloth, then—
Her world became a blinding whiteness and water streamed from her eyes. “What…”
“I thought there might be a light switch,” said Sam. “You’re right, it’s a cleaning closet.”
Her daughter was just a blurry figure within Jess’s vision, but that did not stop her from frantically pulling her own scarf from her neck, and pushing it to the base of the door. She then quickly turned around pushing her back to it and looked up at Sam then to Tye who was sitting across the five feet of tiled space from her. Blood seeped from a gash on his forehead. “You’re hurt!” said Jess and sprang across the confined area to the boy. He reached up then looked at the crimson across his fingers, remaining silent. Jess stood, scouring the shelves, then found what she needed. Disinfectant. “This is going to sting, but I need to clean your wound. Okay?” He nodded.
