Dark Creations: Dark Ending (Part 6) (17 page)

“Don’t let him goad you,” Anna said and Jack couldn’t help but notice her voice.  Unique and velvety, it was huskier than he’d remembered.  “He wants to rile you.  Don’t let him,” she continued and goose bumps arose on his flesh though seconds earlier, the room
had felt stifling. 

“Hmm,” was all that he could manage.  His mouth was suddenly dry, his throat parched and burning. 

Her thin fingers gripped his forearm more firmly and she pleaded with her pastel eyes.  “Please, let us go.  We won’t tell anyone about this.  You have my word,” she promised and from the set of her jaw and the square of her shoulders in spite of the direness of her circumstances, he believed her. 

He swallowed hard and his throat felt tight.  “I believe you,” he said finally.  “But it’s too late for that.”  Then he gestured with his thumb over his shoulder to the mayor and sheriff who sat just behind him and added, “Besides, you think they would keep quiet?”

Anna did not answer his question as it was less of a question than a statement.  Her eyes locked on his for a split-second then she lowered them, as well as the hand that remained on his arm, to her lap.

“They’d be running their fat mouths all over t
he place,” Alexandra chimed in and addressed Anna.  “You can hate us all you want, for now, because when you find out what’s happening you’re going to thank us.”

“No one is going to thank you for holding them hostage,
young lady,” the mayor spat and looked to Alexandra then Daniella.

Seeing the mayor’s eyes rest on Daniella and the look of disdain scrunching his bloated
features, Ryan pounced like a panther.  Within seconds, his large form loomed over the portly mayor. 

He placed his face inches from Mayor Sheldon’s and said,
“How about you shut your mouth before I shut if for you?”

Ryan was a mountain of a man.  Broad-
shouldered with a barrel chest and thick arms, he had moved with speed that betrayed his considerable size.  He stood at nearly six-foot-four-inches and dwarfed Daniella when he stood beside her.  He’d been quiet, content to observe and listen until recently.  He’d proved extraordinarily useful during their current undertaking.  Jack had liked and respected him then.  But now, seeing him threaten the mayor who looked as if he were about to soil himself, Jack felt a renewed respect and fondness for him. 

He could see that Mayor Sheldon had succeeded at riling Ryan.  Hell,
Mayor Sheldon had succeeded at riling all of them as far as he could tell.  And rightly so; neither Jack nor the others appreciated being called crazy, especially not when they were trying to save the lives of those who were calling them crazy.  True, what they had done had been unorthodox and, well, crazy, they had been desperate.  But Jack, Alexandra, Daniella, Ryan and his men had seen firsthand what they were up against, had witnessed monsters and members in action. 

He was about to say as much, about to unload in an attempt to stop the comments when his walkie-talkie crackled to life in his hand.

“Jack, come in.  Jack, do you copy?” James’ voice echoed and his tone was urgent.

“What is it, James
?” Jack answered without delay. 

“They’re coming,” James
replied.  “I see four men on motorcycles about a quarter of a mile.  Wait, hold on.”  James paused and Jack could hear a rustling sound. 

“James
, do you copy?”

“I’m still here, Jack,” James
answered.  “I’m just watching and the four riders have left their bikes.”

“Left their bikes,” Jack
repeated.

“Yes, they’re advancing on foot and are now on the edge of the property.  And they are heavily armed.  Looks like th
ey have automatic weapons,” James concluded.

“Thanks,” Jack said soberly.  “We’re in place.”

Silence had befallen their group.  Even the mayor and sheriff had quieted and Ryan had settled back against the wall.  All Jack could hear was the solid thump of his heart and the sound of his ragged breathing. 

“I take i
t you all heard that, heard James say that they are here,” he scanned the faces of everyone present.  Anna and her mother nodded, but the mayor and sheriff’s expressions remained dubious.  “I need everyone to lay flat on their bellies and whatever you do, do not make a sound,” he warned.  Then to Joe, Ryan, Daniella and Alexandra he said, “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” the mayor said a
nd was now indignant.  “This has gone on long enough!  I demand to know what is going on this instant!”

Jack felt his anger
swell dangerously.  “And I demand that you shut your damn mouth
now
,” he growled.

“Yeah, keep your head down and shut the fuck up or we’re all dead,” Alexandra hissed then looked to Daniella.  “You okay, sweetie?” she asked her friend and rubbed her arm warmly.  “Can you do this?”

“Damn right I can,” Daniella shocked him by answering as she gripped the gun in her hand.

Jack marveled at Alexandra
and Daniella.  They were tough, tougher than he would have ever guessed. 

“All right, guys, this is it,” he said.
“Everybody stay low.”

Jack returned to his crouched position
, lowering himself slowly.  His back protested, as did his knees, and for reasons he could not explain, the house seemed darker than it had moments earlier.  The television was on and he could see the eerie shapes of the mannequins positioned on the couch, their backs to the entrance of the house.  Despite the light of the TV, shadows stole across the floor, reaching and stretching with sooty fingers and stroking everything in their wake.  The living room and dining room looked as if they’d been swathed in blackness, thick and sinister.  When the old grandfather clock downstairs rang slowly, Jack felt a faint twinge in his chest and could not help but notice how the clock sounded similar to the tolling of church bells at a funeral service.  He only hoped that the somber similarities ended there, that he and his friends, along with the mayor, sheriff, Anna and her mother, were not destined for death.  He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs as fully as they allowed, and strained his eyes against the gloom.

Minutes dragged, and the tension inside Jack grew taut, stretching and thinning like a rubber band about to snap. 
The muscles at the back of his neck bunched and smarted and for a moment, he wished he could set his gun on the floor and massage them.  But when the screen door rattled followed by a distinct click at the front door, likely the work of an electric lock pick, he was glad he hadn’t.

Every hair on his body raised and stood on end. 
He froze and double-checked the dummies on the couch.  They were in place, just as they had been seconds ago.  The members needed to mistake the dummies for Anna and her mother to prove to the sheriff and mayor that their town was, in fact, in grave danger. 

The door cracked open.  The faint creak of hinges would have been lost on unsuspecting victims.  But unsuspecting victims were absent in the house he currently stood in; unwilling, yes, unsuspecting, no.   A silvery sliver
of light streamed in and puddled in the foyer where it seemed to evaporate, completely vaporized by the dense darkness. 

The program flickering on the television set created a strobe effect on the facele
ss heads of the mannequins, and the bodies of the four members who had slunk in, stealthy silhouettes stalking in the shadows.  For a moment, the scene unfolded with infinitesimal slowness. Jack felt as if he were seeing it played before him in slow-motion.  Four forms moved in an organized fashion, unhurriedly, until they stood, feet from the mannequins on the couch, and raised their weapons.  At that point, the situation ceased having a gradual pace. 

They
did not waste time and began firing at the dummies immediately.  Bullets whizzed through the air, peppering the couch and the mannequins positioned on them.  Fiberglass heads exploded, splintering and sending shards spraying in every direction.  Clumps of foam rubber and polyester stuffing from the couch fell like snow.  Jack shielded his eyes with his forearm, but did not dare close them.  He would not risk losing sight of one of Terzini’s creations, not even for a moment. 

The acrid stench of sulfur and smoke filled the air
.  The second the firing stopped, Jack’s ears rang loudly and his nostrils and throat burned.  He sprung to his feet and aimed his gun at the uniform-clad figure closest to him.  Ryan and Joe followed suit, and Daniella and Alexandra leveled their weapons as well.  As soon as the floating debris settled and the smoky dust swirling in the air cleared enough for them to have a sure shot, everyone opened fire. 

Bullets ripped through the air and pelted each member.  Their bodies jerked violently as shot after shot from Joe and Ryan’s automatic weapons tore through them in a steady stream.  Jack picked off two with
gunshots to their foreheads, but watched as more slugs rained down on them, shredding their uniforms and sending them backward until they fell. 

When all four lay with their guns beside them, unmoving and in an expanding pool of blood, Jack shouted, “Enough!” and everyone held their fire. 

“Holy shit,” Alexandra mumbled and Jack could see that her hands trembled as they clutched her weapon tightly.  “We got them,” she breathed then said louder, “We got the bastards!”

A small celebration erupted among Alexandra, Daniella and Ryan. 

“Wow!” Daniella said.  “That was so…wow.  That was crazy and intense and, I don’t know what,” she rambled, her voice quivering.

“Yeah,” Ryan added.  “
Feels good to get the bad guys,” he finished in his deep voice.

Joe looked around them and met Jack’s gaze.  He nodded his head slightly and Jack knew what he’d meant to communicate.  They had killed four members, four in possibly four thousand.  So many more existed in the neighboring town.  But he would give them their small victory. 

“You see?” Alexandra spun with her hand on her hips and shot the mayor a withering look.  “Do you see what happened here?  Do you still think we’re crazy?”

The mayor’s expression had been one of shock before Alexandra addressed him.  But after she did, he pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes then said, “How do we know you didn’t orchestrate this whole thing?  How do we know you did not set this up?”

Jack felt bile burn up the back of his throat.  The mayor had just witnessed a dramatic home invasion wherein which the intruders intended to kill the home’s inhabitants, and would have had he not been there with the others.  He was about to say as much when the sheriff spoke, supporting the mayor’s theory. 

“Yeah, those men down there are probably followers who subscribe to your crazy, paranoid delusion,” Sheriff Baker accused. 

Anger unlike any he’d ever felt raced through Jack’s core.  He’d had enough for one night, for a lifetime.  He thundered toward the sheriff and gripped the collar of his T shirt then lifted him to his feet. 

“You think four of my men would volu
nteer to let us do that to them?” he growled through his teeth then yanked the sheriff’s neck, forcing him to look over the balustrade at the carnage below.  “You think anyone would volunteer for that?  Is that what you’re saying?”

Jack waited for Sheriff Baker to retort, or to defiantly lock eyes with him at the very least, but he did not.  He was riveted by what he saw in the living room. 

“Jack, do you copy?’ James’ voice sizzled from the walkie-talkie.  “Jack, come in.  Are you there?  You guys all right in there?” 

“I’m here,” Jack said into the transponder.  “We’re fine.  We took them out.”

“Good,” James replied, but his voice was hollow.  It lacked conviction. 

“James
, what is it?  What’s going on?”

“I don’t know how to,” James
began, but his voice trailed off.  “You need to get up here.”

Jack did not delay.  He dashed down the hallway then bounded down the staircase two steps at a time.  He sidestepped pieces of the sofa, mannequin limbs and chunks of gore he avoided looking at until he reached the front door.  He did not stop until
he arrived at the ivy-covered trellis near the front of the house then scaled it and scampered onto the roof.  James waited there with various binoculars and a tripod set up.  James did not say a word.  He gulped loudly and handed Jack binoculars he held in his hands.  Jack peered through them.  The high, day-like clarity of the night vision goggles was stunning, and so was the image they produced.  He felt his jaw fall open at the sight in the distance.

“
Oh my God,” Jack whispered.

Roughly a half-mile away from where he stood on the roof of Anna’s house,
a tide of black swept over the hillside.  He did not know how many members advanced, for there were too many to count, but guessed their number to be in the thousands.  Marching in military formation, they moved as one, and each gripped a large automatic rifle. 

Jack had served his country
and, after multiple tours of duty, had spent close to ten years battling insurgents.  He was not a stranger to war.  But the wars he’d fought had occurred far differently from the one he and the others were currently engaged in.  He did not have stealth bombers and he did not have tanks.  He did not even have ranks of men to fight alongside.  What he did have was a small group of loyal friends willing to die for their right to live, and he wondered whether that would be enough to unite more like them, to overtake the many headed toward them that intended to kill them. 

“What is it?” he h
eard Joe ask at his side followed by protests from the mayor and sheriff down below. 

“Bring them up here,” Jack said.  “Get Mayor Sheldon and Sheriff Baker up here.”

Joe placed his hands on his hips and looked over the ledge the gutter that lined the roof.  “I doubt that fat bastard can climb,” he chuckled bitterly.  “Start climbing, you two.”

“H
ow can we with our hands cuffed?” the mayor griped.

“Take their handcuffs off,” Jack said to Ryan.

“Are you sure?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure.  They need to see this,” he said gravely. 

Mayor Sheldon made it up the lattice work far faster than Jack would have expected.  Sheriff Baker followed.  When they both stood at his side, he handed the night vision goggles to the mayor who promptly gasped then handed them over to the sheriff.

“There’s no way,” Sheriff Baker breathed.  “There’s no way I’m seeing this.”

Jack shared the sheriff’s sentiments exactly.  He felt as though his mind could not properly process what his eyes were seeing. 

“What is it?” a throaty voice said behind him.

Jack turned, and though he could not see Anna’s ice-blue eyes watching him, he felt them boring into his skull, nonetheless.  The sheriff handed her the binoculars and Jack waited for her shocked response before he spoke.  When she took in a breath sharply then lowered the lenses, he knew the time had come to tell her what was happening, to reiterate what he had already shared days earlier with Mayor Sheldon and Sheriff Baker.

“We are being invaded,” he said bluntly.  “And if we can’t get the people of this town out of bed and prepared to fight back,
all of them will be dead by morning.”

The group was silent.  No one protested or called him crazy.  They seemed to wait with bated breath for his instructions. 

“We have three vehicles among us.  We have to move now.  We have to warn the people of Eldon,” he began outlining his plan.  “Keep the headlights off until we’re out of view.  Once we’re out of range, down the end of this street, turn them on and hit each house.  As soon as those members out there reach this house and see the bodies of their own kind laid out, things are going to get ugly, and things are going to start happening fast.”

James
nodded solemnly then began gathering his equipment.  Joe helped the mayor to the lip of the roof and over the gutter to the trellis.  But Anna held Jack captive with her stare.  Wide-eyed and more frightened looking than before, she hung back while the others prepared to leave. 

“Better get going,” he said softly.  “There’s no time to waste.”

“I know,” she said and her bottom lip quivered.  “It’s just, I don’t know,” she began, but her voice faltered, overcome by emotion.  “This is how it’s going to end, I mean, is this how I die?”

She sounded lost, her voice haunted by regret.  He wanted to comfort her, though he wasn’t sure why.  Everyone was going through it together.  She was no different
from the mayor or the sheriff or her mother, yet he did not want to soothe them as he wanted to soothe her.