Beneath the Veil (15 page)

He would shoot first and the others would follow. He adjusted his aim and zeroed in on a male creature wearing a torn coat. When its brand was centered in his scope, he fired and the creature tumbled forward across a table. Pitchers of red liquid spilled onto the ground as the ringing echo of the shot faded. Bobby and Jimmy began firing and others fell. Doc took down a female glaring up at his window. The shot to the base of her throat pierced her spine and exited through the brand on the back of her neck.

He stopped to reload with his ears ringing from the noise of the gunfire. The crowd was thinned quickly with a few of the injured still alive and thrashing on the ground. Bobby took the tough shots and finalized the kills. Eventually, the shooting stopped and the house was quiet again. Bodies were scattered across the stone floor with wine and blood pooled around them. Everything was still except for two dark shapes moving in unison across the lawn. Doc trained his scope and lined up a shot.

“Doc?” Willow stood in the shadows behind him.

Startled, he smashed the back of his head on the window frame. “Dammit, you nearly scared the life out of me.”

“We need to go.”

He took a look through his scope and saw the faces from the painting. It was Evangeline with Ezra walking beside her.

Jimmy came running up to the second level breathing rapidly. “You see em?”

“Yep,” Doc answered. “We need to get out of here.”

“Come on!” Jimmy yelled up to Bobby. “We need to go!”

“I can hit em, Jimmy. I just need em a little closer.”

“Boy, move your ass down here!”

“Git the truck and meet me out front. I’ll cover your retreat.”

Jimmy and Doc grabbed the gear and climbed down the stairs. Willow led the way through the house looking for stragglers. When they exited the front door, shots began to ring out behind them.

Upstairs, Bobby aimed and fired. He hit both Ezra and Evangeline multiple times with no effect. When they reached the veranda, Ezra stopped to pour a glass of wine, giving him a clear shot. He adjusted his scope, found Ezra’s brand, and then placed a round to the base of his skull. Ezra fell to the ground like a puppet with cut strings, but Evangeline was gone. Bobby pulled his gun inside and was preparing to leave when a clawed hand shot through the window and smashed his face against the window frame. Shards of glass hung from his cheeks as he fell to the floor.

Outside, Doc and Jimmy waited with their weapons aimed over the hood of the truck while Willow watched from the back seat. It had been several minutes since any rounds were fired inside the house.

“He should be down by now.” Jimmy reached into the truck and hit the horn.

Evangeline appeared in the doorway, dragging Bobby behind her. She lifted him upside down and held him in front of her. He was horribly injured with the lower half of his face missing. A guttural sound came from the open space where his mouth had been. Doc aimed his rifle, took a deep breath, and prepared to put him down. But before he could fire, Evangeline became a black silhouette and absorbed Bobby into her. They scrambled into the truck and then sped away from the mansion, mindless with fear. They had seen their enemy in its true form.

C H A P T E R  S I X T Y - O N E

J
ackson paced along the front porch of the cabin, while Jen sat wrapped in a blanket with a revolver on her lap. She insisted Jackson show her how to use it and practiced shooting cans. She put the gun down, then stood up and stretched.

“Jen, get down.”

“More coffee?” she asked, ignoring him.

He nodded and she poured him a second cup. Jackson aimed a shotgun over the barricade when he heard the sound of a vehicle in the distance. Jen put the thermos down and picked up her revolver, suddenly not feeling as confident with the weapon. Lights shined down the road as the Rover approached moving fast. The truck swerved to a stop, and Jimmy leaped out of the passenger side door.

“She’s coming! Get everyone up and into the vehicles.”

“What happened? Jackson asked. “Where’s Bobby?”

Doc walked over to them with a frightened look on his face. “We need to go now.”

Jen ran into the cabin to wake the others, while Jackson put supplies together. Doc grabbed him by the shoulders.

“I said now. You drive the Rover.”

Marie and Jen came out with the younger children. The two boys, Daniel and Max, climbed into the back, sleepy and confused. Jackson closed the door behind them as Doc walked up.

“Give us a push. Then stay close behind.”

Doc walked to the flatbed and slid onto the torn vinyl seat next to Jimmy. Jackson rolled forward until the two vehicles touched bumpers and then pressed the accelerator pushing the flatbed. Jimmy popped the clutch and the engine started with a belch of black smoke from its tailpipe.

“What happened?” Jen turned to Willow.

The girl looked as if she were shaken from a dream.

“They killed them all, except for Evangeline.”

“That’s good, right?” Jackson asked in a nervous voice.

“Evangeline is coming for us. She cannot be killed like the others.”

“Well, how do we kill her?” Jen asked.

“I don’t know. It may not be possible.”

“It’s got to be possible!” Jackson looked back at the girl.

Willow didn’t answer. She sat looking at the children huddled in blankets next to her.

C H A P T E R  S I X T Y - T W O

J
immy pulled onto a dirt road blocked by a rusted gate. Doc got out and opened the gate, then climbed back in and nodded. The two hadn’t exchanged a word since they left the mansion. Jackson and the others stayed close behind as they drove through a grassy field. When they reached the top of a hill, they parked both trucks side by side.

“Can the fly fight the spider and escape the web?” Doc stared down at a valley surrounded by dense woods.

“Come again?”

“Nothing, Jimmy. I think we oughta lay low tonight and then head up to Mills Creek in the morning. We need to find where this all started.”

Frost formed on the grass around the trucks as the temperature dropped. Jen, Marie and the children were huddled together trying to stay warm. Jackson climbed out, then walked over to the flatbed.

“Damn, it’s cold.”

“Go on back, Jackson,” Doc said. “We need to stay here tonight. Leave the engine idling for warmth. I’ll take the first watch. Jimmy will take the next and you can finish it out. If you see anything, don’t waste time shooting. Hit your horn and then high tail it out of here. If we get separated, we’ll meet back at the quarry.”

“Got it.” Jackson walked back to the Rover and climbed inside.

Lighting flashed across a black sky illuminating snow falling across the field.

“Looks like a bad one coming,” Doc said.

“I flew into a whiteout a few years back that looked like this. The storm that crash landed me here.”

Doc wiped fog from the windshield and looked up at the sky. “She’s trying to flush us out. I am sure she’s been to the cabin by now and knows we’re out in the open.

“We’ve got enough fuel to make it through the night,” Jimmy said. “But tomorrow we need to get back to the VW. It has a full tank. But when that’s gone, we’ll be walking.”

“Who would have thought it?” Doc asked. “We have guns, ammo and a mine full of gold and it’s all but useless. I’d trade it all for a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk.”

C H A P T E R  S I X T Y - T H R E E

S
unlight reflected through the ice covered windshield and Doc woke with his face pressed against his cold seat. The truck had stalled during the night and was encased in snow. He pushed hard against the door and then struggled out onto the frozen ground. The Rover’s motor was still running with puffs of smoke rising from under its bumper. The truck’s windows were clear and Jackson waved as he approached. A piece of canvas was taped across the back replacing broken window glass.

Jackson stepped out into the cold to greet him with his breath a misty cloud in front of him.

“Ready to move?” The cold air stung Doc’s lungs as he breathed.

“We’re ready. The kids are getting pretty hungry.”

“We can stop back at the cabin first. I think it’ll be safe to leave them there for the day. Then we can get up to Mills Creek and look around.”

“Sounds good.”

Willow left the Rover and joined the two men. Her bare feet were nearly transparent in the snow.

“You should get back inside,” Jackson said.

“Something is wrong. I can feel it.”

“What is it?” Doc asked.

“They are out there.” She pointed towards a group of trees. “And over there.” She gestured towards the valley.

Wind whipped across the field blowing a mist of snow into the air. Doc pulled a pair of binoculars from the cab of the truck and wiped the lenses.

“What’s wrong?” Jimmy came out of the truck with his arms crossed for warmth.

There’s something out there,” Doc answered.

“It’s the damn daytime. What could be out there?”

Doc focused the binoculars. “Wolves.”

“Look over there,” Jackson said.

“More of them and they’re moving fast.” Doc handed Jimmy the binoculars.

“Their eyes are black.” Jimmy lowered the binoculars. “She’s gotten to ‘em.”

“Jackson, help us start our truck!” Doc shouted, and then climbed behind the wheel of the flatbed.

Jackson got into the Rover, pressed the accelerator and nudged them forward. The wolves closed half the distance, running in machine-like unison. Doc lost control of the truck when the rear wheels broke loose on the icy ground. The truck slid into a gully, tipped over and came to a rest on its driver side. Doc was pressed against the door and Jimmy hung sideways, held in place by his seat belt.

“You alright?” Doc asked.

“Yeah. I’m gonna go out to have a look.” Jimmy opened his window and climbed out onto the front fender.

Jackson and the others were idling nearby getting ready to help them. “Go. Get out of here!” Jimmy shouted and then slipped back inside the cab and pulled out his pistol. He rolled the window closed and braced himself against the seat.

“Looks like it’s just us,” Doc said.

Jimmy jumped when Willow’s face appeared outside his window.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry,” the girl replied. I don’t think they can hurt me. But I need to use that man’s body.”

She pointed to a blue tarp peaking out from under the snow. Doc and Jimmy looked at each other. They had both forgotten Owen’s body was still strapped to the bed of their truck.

“What exactly are you going to do with it?” Doc asked.

“I am going to wear it.”

When the wolves reached them, one leaped through Willow and hit the underside of the truck.

“We don’t fire unless something breaks that window, agreed?” Doc asked.

“Agreed,” Jimmy answered. His throat was so dry he could barely get the words out.

The truck shook as Owen’s body thrashed under the tarp, fighting to escape the ropes. Willow was successful. She stared in at them with Owen’s eyes turned inky black, then climbed off the bed of the truck, staggering like a drunk in the rotting body. If they weren’t so scared, they might have found it humorous. Willow was trying to control Owen’s body which had spent so little time walking straight.

The wolves formed into a pack totaling thirteen animals. They moved as one, assessing the odd variety of smells emanating from the borrowed body. Willow reached into the truck’s tool box, pulled out a pick and took a few swings to get a feel for the weight of it. One of the wolves leaped and locked its teeth on her leg. She swung and missed with the pick glancing off the truck’s fender. She raised the pick again and came down with a hard blow, splitting the wolf’s skull wide open. Another animal leaped forward and was quickly dispatched. Soon two and three came at a time, but she was able to fend them off. She felt no pain, but knew the body was taking serious damage with each attack. All the fingers on the Owen’s left hand were gone and his knees were buckling, making it difficult for her to move.

“He...I mean she don’t look too good,” Jimmy said.

“She’s doing fine, only five more to go.” Doc watched intently out the back window.

Suddenly, the rotten tendons in Willow’s borrowed left knee snapped and she fell to the ground. Seeing an opportunity, two of the wolves leaped onto her. One grabbed her left arm and ripped it off at the shoulder while the other grabbed the back of her neck. She swung the pick and stabbed the first animal. It collapsed, oozing black blood into the snow. She was then able to dispatch the second with a blow to the throat. She struggled to stand, but couldn’t regain her feet. It would have to end nose to nose on the ground with the three remaining beasts.

They came fast and before she could swing, two of them ripped into her remaining arm. Within moments the arm was off with the pick still gripped in its lifeless hand. The wolves knocked her backwards and ripped off Owen’s face. Blinded, she attempted to exit the ruined body, but was unable to escape the confines of the ravaged corpse. Suddenly, a series of shots were fired and the wolves stopped mauling her prison of flesh.

“Willow,” Doc said. “You still in there?”

She heard his voice, but could no longer move the battered body. Everything was quiet inside the black void encasing her. She rocked from side to side until she was able to slip out of the body and onto the snowy ground. She stood, holding her hands in front of her face. They were normal now. She looked up at Doc and Jimmy. Her eyes were pale blue and no longer the black eyes of a monster. She reached for the knotted brand on the back of her neck, and it too, was gone.

“You okay?” Doc kneeled beside her. “Jimmy, fetch me that blanket from the truck.”

He walked past the dead wolves strewn around the stranded truck. The animals had brands at the base of their skulls where the fur was missing. He returned with the blanket and wrapped it around the girl’s shoulders. She shivered violently while Doc checked her over.

“Willow, how do you feel?”

“Cold and a little hungry.”

“Well, we’ll see what we can do about that,” Doc said.