Hatched

by Jason Davis

  There was something else. She couldn't place it at first, but just knew that something was different. He was acting wrong. No, it wasn't just him. There was something in the way he walked that was just not right. She couldn't place it. There was just something…off.

  Had his skin somehow gotten paler, and were those gashes on his arms? They couldn’t be. They weren’t bleeding, but they looked deep. She didn't remember them there earlier. His eyes seemed sunken, and his lips had less color to them.

  Of course, the manager didn’t see any of this. He was on the phone talking to what sounded like another infuriated customer. This one seemed to be having some issue with their computer and didn’t seem to understand why they couldn’t just return it. Amanda didn’t understand it, either. It seemed perfectly logical to her, but she was staying out of the discussion.

  The boy rounded the last display and came to a stop just behind the portly manager. He didn’t pay him any attention at first, and the young man just stood there.

  She kept looking at him. She had been smiling smugly, but as she watched him, her smile faded. His lips didn’t so much look pale as they actually looked like they had started to turn blue and had grown chapped. That wasn’t possible. Not in the fifteen minutes since she had last seen him. Was it a trick? Had he been in the back putting on some kind of stage makeup? He stood there, tense. He kept reaching around his back, then his hands would twitch and come resting back to his side. He swayed back and forth, as though standing in one place was something that took a tremendous amount of strength.

  Then the manager slammed down the phone. As though he had known Billy was standing behind him, he had turned, already talking.

  “Billy, this woman here says that you had been very rude to her and were–” The man stopped and looked at Billy. “What the hell is wrong with y–” He never got the chance to finish. Tim, or maybe his name was Tom, never even put his hands up in defense as it seemed like the young man was falling forward. Then Billy’s hands came up, grabbing for the manager. However, it wasn’t like he was trying to keep from falling. He reached out and grabbed the man, pulling him closer, sinking his teeth into the manager’s throat.

  The manager was too shocked to move. The world around them continued to go on as normal for the first few seconds as Amanda watched Billy bite into the man’s throat, tearing away at the flesh. Blood sprayed up. It flowed strong, the heart beating a rhythm that made it spurt out like a fountain.

  Then the floor rose up to meet Amanda, her feet deciding they didn’t want to keep her upright. She landed hard, looking up. She watched the young man as he leaned forward again, biting deeper into the man’s flesh, ripping more of it away around his throat, and...

  Is he really eating it?! She didn’t know. As the rain of blood enveloped her, her world went red until it darkened to black as she fainted.

  ****

  Blood. Flesh. New sensations danced along and around in the fleeing and whirring of motion. When their host had found new flesh and they reached out for it, they had been starving. Their current host had become stale and they had him nearly picked clean. His usable inner substances had nearly all been devoured and he became theirs.

  Then they had come upon the new host and they had reached out, moving much of their brethren over. They had all been starving and had all hoped to move over, but there were too many of them. Many would either starve or find a new host. They knew that most would starve. Maybe they would just sleep and go back into hibernation.

  When they had reached forward and bit into the new host, their world changed. New flesh and blood had flooded into their host’s mouth, their brethren fighting through the stream to move to the new host. Many were washed back, but others found their way into their new home. They had great numbers. There were always many to move back and forth. However, those who stayed were surprised. New food was flooding in. It wasn’t from their current host, but they realized that their current host could get food from new hosts.

  The sensations were wild as they devoured the new flesh. Billy continued to tear away and eat at the large man’s flesh. Sure, they might be destroying the new host for their brethren, but they were hungry and now they had food.

  Chapter 3

  Bryan knew he had probably said too much to the group at the diner. He knew it the second they started asking more questions. And then that officer had seen his security pass. Why the hell was he even wearing it? He hadn’t gone into the office. Was he that programmed that he clipped it to his belt without even noticing it?

  Label that reason number fifty-six as to why he was not working in the field. He was a lab tech, stuck behind microscopes and test tubes all day. He hated people. People asked questions. People got sick and died while you worked on cures that never came. He was not a people person. He was a microbe person. They never talked back or asked questions. They only answered them. He had to admit that he was damned good at his job.

  Why had he let his sister talk him into taking time off just so she could marry some damn factory day laborer out in wherever this damn place was? Damn, she could always get him to do things he didn’t want to do. All she had to say was, “Come on, little Bry.” Ever since they were kids and she would watch over him, she never had to worry about him being naughty. All she would have to do is say it and he followed her command. Not that it surprised him. He was the nerd, a bookworm before he was even born.

  His father had once joked that he had come out of his mother’s womb carrying a copy of A Farewell to Arms. His dad had made the joke at Bryan’s eleventh birthday party and it freaked him out. His father had to calm him down and explain that the book was not about him losing his arms. Shortly after, Bryan had read it and it has become one of his favorite books..

  His dad once had to tell the story to Bryan’s uncle as he didn’t understand why Bryan hadn’t been excited about the gift of the shiny new Chicago Bulls embalmed basketball.

  “They’re the champions!” his uncle had explained when he saw Bryan’s confused look and furrowed brow. Thankfully, Bryan had the good manners to not say what he had been thinking. He had kept his mouth shut, forced a smile, and thanked his uncle.

  Then he eagerly went on to his next gift and had enjoyed the smooth hardness of a hardcover book. It had been the Hardy Boys. One of the classic editions, not one of the paperbacks he had saved up and bought himself. His dad had given him his old collection. He had saved them, and they were now Bryan's.

  Then his older sister had gotten involved. She grabbed the basketball off the table and had rushed to the door with it.

  “Come on, little Bry!” she had yelled. “It’s time to play some basketball.”

  He just wanted to read the books. Why couldn’t she leave him alone? But, just like all the other times, he found himself chasing after her

  And now he was stuck chasing after her again. This time to her wedding. Sure, he should be happy for her. She found someone. Someone other than a test tube, which he still claimed would always be his soul mate. She found someone who was real and, Bryan hoped, someone who would take care of her. He had better, or Bryan would inject him with smallpox and launch him down a well.

  Bryan pulled his car into the small parking lot and parked under the fiberglass sign that read “Doctor’s Office”. The drab building looked like it tried to mimic a log cabin. It was not what he would have expected or desired for this to be anything credible.

  He wasn’t kidding when he had told the locals at the diner that they got thousands of crank calls a day. They were usually discredited right over the phone. Interns were given a series of questions to ask and, most times, nothing more was needed. They were instructed to have the doctors rush a sample over to their offices so they could test it.

  And they did test the samples when they came in. Some would even be rushed through, depending on the answers given over the phone. The interns were not reliable as to what might actually be something the CDC needed to get involved wi
th because they were often young kids who were swayed by the emotions of whomever had called. Cold, hard data, the questions and answers, were always what lead to prioritized results.

  Many times, small doctor’s offices called, like the one he was at now, where a young doctor thought that a little bump on someone’s arm mixed with the flu was some new strain of swine flu. Little things and new doctors clogged many of the phone lines, but occasionally there were the ones who did report something curious. These samples would be hurried through, an intern breaking them down and bringing them to him. He’d look them over and see if there was any need to study them further. If they needed to send someone out into the field, they had specially trained people for it who were better with locals than Bryan was. That was for damned sure. He detested people, so how could he ever get them to warm up to him?

  This wasn’t going to go much better. He could tell that already. This was a mistake. It may even have been a practical joke. He had no idea why Christian felt the need to call him and ask him to check it out.

  While it was highly uncommon, it wasn’t unheard of that they would get pranked. Usually, it was caught by the simple fact that the phone call wouldn’t come in from a doctor’s office, or that there would be red flags pointing toward it. Well, there were red flags on this case and they ranged from the absurd to the severe.

  His boss had been concerned enough to talk him into it. Not that he fought too hard to get out of the groom’s bachelor party later today, but he had put up the show of a fight. Somehow, this doctor had known Bryan’s boss, and Chris had felt concerned enough by the doctor's phone call. Still, Bryan should have pushed for them to at least have a field op here, someone who could talk down to these hicks.

  Look at this place. It’s a crap hole. What kind of doctor puts his practice in what looks like a log cabin? Is there going to be a cozy little fireplace in the corner, old men reading newspapers in front of it? This isn’t a doctor’s office. It looks more like a fishing lodge.

  Bryan opened his door, not caring that he had parked across three parking spaces. There wasn’t another car in the lot, but he wouldn't have cared if there had been. He parked directly in front of the door, even taking the handicapped spot and blocked the wheelchair ramp. He figured he’d be in and out.

  He stepped out and listened to the crunch of gravel under his polished shoes.

  “Didn’t these people believe in paving the whole parking lot,” he muttered to himself.

  He walked across the lot, not enjoying the crunch beneath his feet. The sound of the gravel in the early morning reminded him of eating shrimp. He figured it must have had something to do with the sound that made him think of breaking open the shell to get to the meat inside.

  Shrimp and lobster… He could really go for that right then. Sure, it was a little early in the day, but it would make a nice brunch. He doubted there would be anything good in that craphole of a town his sister was choosing to live in, but maybe if he drove the rest of the way to Chicago, he could find a decent place.

  Was he really thinking of driving all that way just for a decent lobster? If he did, his sister would kill him. Plus, it was only putting off the inevitable. Somewhere inside him, he knew he was just trying to put off going to his sister’s wedding.

  People. Damn, how he hated dealing with and being around people. How did he let himself get roped into this?

  He felt the pang of revulsion and tried to wave it off. People. He’d have to deal with them here, as well. Why couldn’t he just go back to his lab?

  Though the place looked empty, the windows dark. If he was at his lab it would be comforting not having anyone around. Here the silence seemed to be part of the building, as though it was warning him away.

  After taking a quick glance at the front picture window, he reached out to pull open the door. It was locked, solid in its frame, as if there weren’t hinges that allowed it to open. It was sturdy, well-crafted, and elegant.

  He stepped back to take another look at the front of the building. It was actually a lot nicer than he originally thought. The wood was finely carved and the frame solid.

  It led into what could be mistaken for a log cabin at first glance. He originally thought it had been some kind of cheap imitation to cover aluminum siding or some other material. He wasn’t knowledgeable about construction, but he had seen enough bad neighborhoods here and there to know that there were many tacky ways of trying to make something look better than it was.

  This was no imitation. It was all solid, and it wasn’t a small hand-crafted cabin. This was a nice building with excellent craftsmanship. It was cozy, and while he had a hard time believing any doctor would set up an office in such a building, he could see the appeal.

  At the same time, it didn’t really match the tone of the buildings around it. The one just past the bushes to the right was an aluminum-sided construction garage with large machinery cluttered around the yard.

  He stepped down the front stairs and looked around. The bushes were right up to the right side, so even if he wanted to go that way, he couldn’t. He would have to follow the wrap-around driveway to the back.

  He went back to his car and popped the trunk. Time to get to work and take this seriously, he thought. He didn’t have much with him, and the stuff he did have, he purchased from a Walgreens on his way here. He knew the little face mask, which you held on by an elastic string and came up to just below his eyes, really wasn’t going to be much protection, but he knew it was at least better than not having anything at all

  He put on the tight gloves, feeling the chalk-like texture of the powder inside, enjoying the comfort in them. At least those felt more like what he was used to. If he closed his eyes, he could almost fool himself into thinking he was back in the lab.

  Maybe now he could start taking this threat seriously. What the hell had he been thinking when he tried to just walk in the front door? He lowered the hood, listening to the hiss as the hydraulics in the truck hood kept it from coming down too hard or too fast.

  He heard a dog barking somewhere in the distance, kids laughing. He even watched as a pair of them rode by on their bikes, racing each other. One screamed out, “I’ll beat you to the school!”

  They were already past him when he heard the other, the one already behind the smaller boy on the bigger bike. “No, you won’t!” Then they were gone.

  He saw a few cars here and there, but the town wasn’t that busy. It felt as though it were dying, fading away into a lost existence. What had that waitress said? He thought he heard her make a comment about the factory laying everyone off. She had said the cookie factory was still going, but the glass place, the business that had been the lifeblood for much of the town, was shut down. Yeah, but the cookies were still being made. He didn’t know how far away the factory was, but he could smell that sweet smell as it hung upon the air. It was a gentle aroma that touched the tip of his nose.

  Damn, he hoped this was all just a mistake and could report that nothing was going on here. Hopefully, the doctor was just ignorant and this wasn’t a hoax on the taxpayer's dime. Maybe this could just be written off and all would be forgotten.

  ****

  Denise watched as the man approached from around the side of the doctor’s office, suspicious as to why anyone would be sneaking around out there. She especially didn’t like that she didn’t know him. She knew nearly everyone from the area, and while she knew that she wouldn’t remember all of them on the street, she did know that she had never seen this man before.

  A tall, black man stood out in this town. Okay, to say that he stood out was an understatement. It wasn’t just the race card, though Hammond had very few black people who lived in town. In fact, she couldn’t think of too many coloreds who lived in any of the surrounding towns, either. However, this had much more to do with how the man carried himself. It was obvious that he wasn’t from anywhere near here.

  It didn’t take much more than just a quick l
ook at his shoes and how he walked. Sure, she knew many of the lawyers in town would wear fancy shoes and suits, but none of them were as nice and as fancy as the leather loafers this man wore. Plus, this man was sweating through his thick, white shirt and was obviously supposed to have a suit jacket on, as well. He was meant for air conditioning, not the blazing Midwestern summer heat. She wondered who he was and why he was there?

  And why was he sleuthing around her husband’s office? He didn’t look sick, so he probably wasn’t there for an exam. He wasn’t local, so he didn’t have an appointment. Besides, she had done like her husband had asked and called all their patients who had appointments for the day. They were all upset, but she had canceled them. If there were to be a walk-in, they would usually drive the thirty minutes to an hour and go to the hospital, so it wasn’t likely to be that, either. She didn’t like it. She didn’t like that she hasn’t heard anything from her husband even more. It had been hours since he had told her to leave and to call everyone. Since then, she hadn’t seen any sign of life. She had heard sounds earlier when she walked around the side of the building, but she was afraid to look in.

  Her husband, the man she had known and shared a bed with for the last ten years of marriage, had never before looked as scared as he had been when he told her to get out. She knew he was trying to protect her. From what, she had no idea, but it had to be something bad. It must have been something highly contagious, and from the way he hid from her, must be something deadly.

  And how did that make her feel? She knew she should feel sad and that tears should be streaming down her face. Her heart should have been broken. She should barely be able to stand from the knowledge that she would probably never see her husband again. Either that, or she should at least have some hope he was just being overly cautious and that all of this was for nothing.