Precipice: The Beginning (16 page)

“No shit, Sherlock!” Russell shouted, backing away from the door. “We’ve got the tall daddies and their dogs.”

“These doors are shatterproof, right?” Veronica needed to know that there was more between them and this approaching monster than just a thin pane of glass.

“It’s bulletproof too,” the shopkeeper said with a sigh of relief.

The beast obviously hadn’t heard the old man’s confidence in the strength of the glass. It sprinted the remaining distance and leapt forth, smashing through the glass without effort. It cornered them, blocking their only way out. With a deep growl emitting from its thick throat, the dark beast moved in.

33

T
wo days spent cooped up in her house with nothing but the continuous drop of the rain. Thudding on the wood shingles without pause. Annie sat at the window by the front door as Erica put the two kids to bed. They’d decided to take shifts, knowing someone should always keep watch while the children were safely tucked away up stairs. So Annie sat watching the water rise. It had gone from a minor annoyance to a massive catastrophe. Soon they wouldn’t be safe in their own home. The water level had now spilled over the curbs, creating a river down the street. Two days spent in the dark. No power since Erica and Abby had showed up. More frightening than that was there was no news. Not even on the radio or the digital broadcaster. Nothing but static on every channel. Rain could be to blame for knocking a tree into a power line or some flooding, but not from stopping broadcasters from delivering the news. Whatever was happening out there was happening everywhere.

More gunfire. Much closer this time, making her jump with every pop. Crazies always scattered once the power went out, operating under the cover of darkness as if they were shadows. Annie absently ran a finger over the gun in her hand, soothing herself with its presence. It wasn’t much, but a bullet was a bullet. Erica’s gun had sure proven that point on the poor bastard lying on her floor. Maybe he’d deserved it, maybe not. Bullets don’t slow down to reason. They just do their job without thought.

“They’re finally asleep,” Erica said with exhaustion. She grabbed a chair from the kitchen and joined Annie by the window. “Anything interesting come sailing by?”

“No, nothing but the rain.” Annie didn’t want to say what she was about to say, but they needed a plan. “If the rain doesn’t let up soon, we’re going to have to leave.”

“Go where?”

“I don’t know. Maybe there’s an emergency shelter set up at the high school or the fire station on River Road. On second thought, River Road doesn’t sound like our best bet.”

“Anything on the radio?” Erica was hopeful.

“No, not a goddamn thing.”

“That isn’t possible.”

Annie agreed, but what good was it going to do them. They needed a plan. Aside from the rising water they’d run out of basic supplies. It was hard enough to get Logan to fall asleep, but doing so without his nightly apple juice/water was an impossibility. There wasn’t a whole lot she could make them for dinner without the power being on and the items in the fridge and freezer were starting to turn south. They needed to go somewhere with a working generator and some food, some place situated on higher ground.

They both looked out the window as something screamed nearby. It was like nothing they’d ever heard before, ear piercing and beastlike.

“What the hell was that?” Erica stood from the chair and pressed her cheek to the window, cupping her eyes to see through the rain. There was nothing out there but the raging river that had once been the street.

Erica hurried into the kitchen and unlocked the box on the counter, filling the gun with the few rounds she had. She hurried back to the window and swayed, anxiety taking a hold on her.

“What the hell could make a noise like that?”

“It could have been anything.” Annie wasn’t convinced. It had definitely been some kind of beast, but nothing they should be able to find around here. “Maybe something’s broken loose from the Woodhaven Zoo; it’s only fifteen miles up the road.”

“It didn’t sound like a bear to me?” Erica fell back on her paranoia, one of her most annoying traits. Every cough and rash became a life-threatening flu or outbreak. “Something unnatural is happening here.”

“This rainfall is unnatural.” Annie looked up into the black clouds. “I’m waiting for God to give us building instructions so we can board the ark.”

They both shared an uncomfortable laugh, the sound so full of despair and phoniness. But the laughter quickly faded as the same shriek sounded much closer. Then something stepped into view, walking down the middle of the road without any hesitation to being knee deep in rushing water. It stopped in mid stride, lifted its head into the rain and began sniffing. It stood perfectly still for a moment, hidden in the darkness of night and blurred by the rain, but they didn’t need a clear shot to know it was not human. No person could stand so tall with their chest jutting out so far. The beast turned and sprinted toward the house across the street, jumping in through the window. A split second later they heard gunfire and a woman screaming, then silence.

“What the hell is happening here?” Erica was shivering, the gun darting back and forth in her grip until she finally dropped it.

“Shush.” Annie held her finger to her lips and pointed. “It’s coming back out.”

The creature stepped out of the window and onto the grass. It reached back into the house and gripped something, pulling it up and over and finally dragging it behind. Annie didn’t want to be seen, but she couldn’t help but dart her head from side to side, agitated the power was out.

“It’s got old lady Watkins and her husband!” Erica shouted, instantly covering her mouth.

Annie looked up at her with cruel intentions, telling her in a single glare that if she put her son at risk again she’d toss her noisy ass out into the rain. Erica nodded, removing her hand slowly while taking a deep calming breath. They both looked back in time to see the creatures stepping out of view across the street, pulling the old woman and her husband along like a meat wagon on a string. Annie noticed that it had hold of their faces, dragging them along by their jaws. She couldn’t tell from this distance if they were alive or dead, but she hoped for their sake they’d passed on.

“It went into their home and just took them?” Erica took a seat. “What was that thing? It certainly wasn’t from the zoo.”

“Keep your voice down!” Annie warned.

A woman was screaming, sounding close. Her voice silenced with another shriek and then nothing. There was no telling how many of those things were out there, taking full advantage of the rain and darkness. Maybe these creatures and the rainfall were linked. Stood to reason since both were completely out of the norm. Annie put her thoughts aside as another beast, if not the same one, began down the street without any fear of being seen. It sniffed the air, searching for its next meal. Only this time, it turned its head and spotted them.

“Oh shit!” Erica couldn’t breathe. She fell to the floor and tried to pick up the gun, but her fingers had gone numb, losing all eye hand coordination as if the gun were nothing more than a hologram. Finally, she was able to grip the handle.

The creature raised its head and let out a deep snarl, sounding wet and full of rage. It lowered its head and made eye contact with Annie, its green eyes glowing. She couldn’t tell for sure, but she could sense it was smiling at her. She didn’t see any lips, just sharp teeth, but she swore it was smiling. It leapt forward and closed half the distance, breaking out in a full out sprint. Erica and Annie opened fire. Annie hit the beast three times in the chest and twice in the forehead, whereas Erica struck the creature three times in the chest and missed until her clip was empty. The creature slipped over its own feet and slid along the grass, colliding with the wall beneath the window.

“Fucking thing took all our bullets to bring it down!”

They both jumped as it stood and punched through the glass, grabbing Erica by the collar of her sweater. It pulled with unnatural strength, ripping the sweater off her back. Erica fell onto the chair, shattering it beneath her. She scrambled to get away as the beast jumped through the window and reached for her. Annie grabbed the metal lamp off the table and yanked the cord from the wall, slamming it down on its face. The creature lashed out and slapped her hard, knocking her over the couch and onto the coffee table. Erica, sensing a momentary lack in its concentration, took one of the wooden legs from the chair and stabbed upward. The beast recoiled with a deafening roar, gripping the protruding wood with both its hands.

“Here!” Erica tossed Annie a chair leg as she took one herself, plunging it right beside the first one.

Annie let out a savage roar of her own as she jammed the jagged piece of wood directly into its throat. She held it for a moment, turning it clockwise to inflict the most damage. She pulled the chair leg back out and prepared for another jab, but the creature fell to its knees, moaning for a brief moment before collapsing on its side, letting out its last breath. Black liquid seeped from its wounds, looking like oil.

“Broke into the wrong fucking house bitch!” Annie yelled, kicking her foot across its face. “Stupid –” Annie’s celebration was short lived as she looked up to the window and saw two more of them standing in the road, both of them staring at her. “Run!”

Erica stood, slipping in the creatures blood as they both ran for the stairs. They could hear the creatures snarling on approach, moving so damn fast. As they reached the top of the stairs they heard a thunderous crash. Both demons had jumped through the wall with ease, sliding into the living room after stepping in their fallen comrades’ blood.

“What’s going on, mom?” Abby sat on the top bunk of Logan’s bunk bed.

“What is that?” Logan was standing before the bed, tears running down his face.

“Come here!” Erica held out her hands to Abby and caught her as she jumped down, setting her down and shooing her away from the window. “Both of you, by the closet. Hurry!” Erica ordered.

Annie and Erica got on either side of the bunk bed, both of them tilting it toward the bedroom door until it fell to the ground with a mighty crash.

“My bed!” Logan covered his face and cried harder.

They pushed the top bunk into the door and then pushed the dresser on top of it. They pushed Logan’s thick art desk between the bottom of the bunk and the back wall, leaving no wiggle room for the door.

“Now we’re trapped up here,” Erica moaned.

Annie ignored her and ran to the window, dropping to her knees. She pulled the metal grating off the floor and pushed out the screen on the window. She took the rolled up ladder and tossed it out the window, letting it unravel on its way down. Annie could hear the creatures kicking open her bedroom door and it made her so angry. Those twisted monsters messing up her personal belongings. They had no right to be in her home.

“Get on my back and hold on very tight. Don’t let go,” she told Logan, leaning forward so he could climb on. She locked his hands beneath her chin and stepped over the ledge. The ladder was already slippery underfoot from the heavy rain, but she managed to get a good grip.

Annie was barely down three rungs before Erica kicked her leg over and stepped onto the ladder. They moved quickly, increasing their decent as they heard the creatures tearing through the upstairs. Annie knew that makeshift barricade they constructed wouldn’t take them but a moment to smash through. She just hoped it bought them enough time to reach the ground and run out of sight. Annie looked beneath her feet and saw there were only a few rungs left, but she heard the door splintering up above. She let go and landed hard, forcing herself to fall forward so as not to crush her son. Annie stood and stretched her ankle as Erica hopped off the ladder.

“We need to find a place to hide.” Annie left Logan on her back, gripping his small hands about her neck. She was afraid the surprisingly strong current of the water would carry him off. Plus after seeing that creature up close, she didn’t want to let her child out of her sight for even a second.

34

D
asher deserved better treatment than this. To be locked away in a cell with a moron that had wept in his bed for two days was just cruel and unusual punishment. At least the scrawny bastard was now silent, lying on the top bunk fast asleep. This had been his first peaceful moment since they’d locked him up. Well, as peaceful as it could get in a prison. The inmates were all at their bars, yelling out into the hall that they were starving. He too was hearing his stomach growl. They hadn’t had anything to eat since yesterday morning, but it had been a very odd day. They’d been pulled from their cells and marched down into the cafeteria as always, loading up their tray with brown this and grey that. Dasher sat next to a super fat white supremacist, but he didn’t bother him. He’d eaten in silence, watching the prisoners and guards. Their behavior caught his attention. Instead of standing over them on the second level, staring down with their usual smug authority, they stood next to each other, talking furiously with their hands. Something big was going on, you could tell in their demeanor. Then their conversation ended with a nod of confrontation. But that’s when it got rather strange. The guards kept their eyes low, looking at the windows when they should have been looking at them. He hadn’t thought too much about it at the time. They were sent back to their cells, locked in and left there. No sign of a guard since yesterday.

Dasher turned toward the window, rubbing his stomach as he went. He was starting to get sick from a lack of food. Dasher had to stand on his tiptoes to get a good view of the world beyond, but it wasn’t something he had wanted to see. The rain was still coming down, harder than before it seemed. If that was even possible. He’d been in a week’s worth of rain before, but never when it hadn’t let up. The grassy valley between the prison and the woods looked like a lake. What was more disturbing was the shape of Norfolk just beyond the trees. The fire had consumed the city, spreading to every building despite the rainfall. Now the forest was ablaze. Dasher was thankful for the new lake between them and the spreading inferno, but he couldn’t help wonder why this was being allowed. Where were the firemen? Dasher didn’t give a rat’s ass for cops, he’d known too many crooked ones from his days on the street, but you had to respect firemen. They did nothing but put their ass on the line to save yours. But where were they now?

Something caught Dasher’s attention, running from the woods in the distance. It ran on all fours like a dog, bolting like lightening through the newly formed lake, heading directly toward the prison. Then three more came running out from the woods, splashing through the water without pause. Their speed made it impossible to see what they were; too large to be dogs. Dasher thought maybe the fires had sent some bears running for some new digs, but he’d never seen a bear haul ass like that. If he’d been allowed more than one call he’d go out and call National Geographic. Dasher turned away from the window, his mood now as cloudy and dark as the weather outside. He stood by the bunk and looked at the back of his cellmate’s head, his hair looking so filthy and unkempt. Dasher ducked down and lay on his bunk. He couldn’t keep the depression from a few days back out of his mind. It’s true; he’d been offered a phone call. But when he’d picked up the phone he realized there was no one to call. No friends that could come visit him. No family that would even give a damn.

Dasher looked on the brighter side, thinking about all those poor saps that lived within Norfolk. He could see them staring at their homes of twenty years, or their apartments, watching them go up in flame without anything they could do. They’d lose their decorative bath soaps and photo albums, expensive art, extra bed linen and all the other crap they’d managed to accumulate and stuff into a drawer. One thing about living on the street that he could pass along to all humanity was the ability to make do with the little bit he had. But it was sad to think of the all the children that would probably be homeless before the end of the day. That was something he didn’t wish on them. The fire sparked a new thought. He nodded as the idea planted an image within his mind. He could see all the guards outside the prison, spraying the rooftops with firehouses as an extra precaution. But deep down he knew that wasn’t the case. The rain had been soaking the entire building for days. Wherever they had decided to run off to, they’d better come back soon because his stomach was giving quite the lecture. It wasn’t like he could find something to eat in the kitchen. He couldn’t even open the door. Dasher thought of resorting to cannibalism and couldn’t help but laugh, letting a single “ha” burst through his tight lips. The last thing he wanted to do was wake up his annoying cellmate, but sometimes you needed a good laugh. There couldn’t be but a few bites of meat on his scrawny ass anyway. Not to mention he was sure it’d be stringy and tough.

Something dropped onto the back of his hand. At first he didn’t see anything but a dark mole, but when he turned his hand to the side the mole had moved. On closer inspection the mole wasn’t a mole at all, it was a bead of blood. Then another had dropped, spilling on the floor. Followed by a thin stream that began to pool. Dasher swung his legs over the side of the bed and leaned far to his right to avoid the blood. He stepped on the bottom bunk and pulled himself up, looking down at the pale flesh of his cellmate’s face. There was a large chunk missing from his right wrist. The blood had been soaking into the mattress for some time and was now starting to seep out from beneath.

Dasher hopped off the bunk and gripped the bars, pressing his mouth between them. “Hey! We have a dead man in here!” Dasher yelled.

The hallway was deserted. Dasher pressed his cheek to the cold steel and looked as far down as he could, seeing arms protruding from the other cells but no one in the hallway. No one. Something was definitely wrong here. Dasher had never heard of guards just up and walking out. Even if it were some sissy strike or something, someone would be in to look after them. They couldn’t just leave them here to rot. Dasher stepped away from the bars as a beastly growl echoed through the hallway. It was like nothing he’d ever heard before, definitely not human. Curiosity got the best of him, bringing him back to the bars for a peek at what could possibly make such a growl. Maybe one of those bears he’d seen earlier had wandered into the cellblock.

“Any of you boys see what the hell that was?” Dasher yelled to no one in particular.

“Sounds like a fucking lion,” the man in the next cell said, his voice shaken.

They all fell silent as they heard a shriek from just outside the cell door, loud and painful. Dasher stepped away from the bars and covered his ears, winching from such a high frequency. He jumped from a metal crash, a cacophony of twisted bars. Dasher ran to the bars and looked down the hallway, seeing the back of something very tall and green as it entered the first cell.

“Help me!” A man screamed, shrill and full of terror.

His words were cut off with a heavy thud, followed instantly by another shriek. Dasher lowered his hands in shock as the creature emerged from the cell, snarling at him with sharp fangs. It turned toward the hole it had made and walked out, pulling the unconscious body of the prisoner behind it.

“Oh sweet Jesus.” The man in the next cell began to cry. “What the hell is that?”

“It pulled the cell door off,” Dasher spoke to himself, trying to comprehend the strength it would take to do that. “Ripped it right the fuck off, like a damn screen door.”

Three more creatures entered through the hole in the wall, darting their heads about like birds. They leapt onto the bars of the next cell and tore it open, pulling the bars free from the wall. Again Dasher was subjected to the horrific screams of a man in torment. He could hear the wet tearing of flesh as one of them bit into the prisoner’s abdomen, sampling some white meat before pulling him out by his ankle. Dasher backed himself into a corner, his head turning from side to side in disbelief. This was some new form of torture approved by the senate. A new “scared straight” program or something. But the creature’s shriek in the next cell expelled that theory. Dasher looked up to the body of his cellmate and wondered if he had known this was coming.

Dasher broke his paralysis as the creature’s elongated shadow spilled across the hallway before the bars of his cell. He leapt forward, grabbed the thin mattress from his bunk and pulled it back with him into the corner. He shivered beneath it like a child hiding under the covers from the boogeyman. Dasher held his breath, clamping his top and bottom teeth together with mental superglue. It was impossible not to cringe as the door to his cell was pulled free. The loud clanking of metal as it was discarded in the hall. The thud of approaching footsteps made him shiver. Its breathing was harsh, sounding labored and wet. A slight gurgling expelled from within its throat. Against his better judgment, he lowered the corner of the mattress. The beast gripped the bottom bunk and paused, sniffing the air. It stepped into Dashers bunk and leaned over his dead cellmate. It pressed its snout to his back and took long, savory sniffs.

This was it, his one and only chance. Dasher laid the mattress on its side and hurried toward the opening. He didn’t bother looking back. What good could it have done him? He slid in the hall, slipping in a prisoner’s blood and other mysterious fluids. Dasher fell hard on his butt and collided with the wall. He quickly gained his footing and ran through the hole in the wall. There was no sign of the other creatures, j
ust the smears of blood on the floor, leading him through the prison like a painted line. There was another hole on his left that led outside into the rain. Despite the immediate terror, Dasher couldn’t keep himself from pausing ever so briefly to lift his face into the downpour. It awakened his senses, washing off the dirt and grime and maybe even his guilt. He felt reborn, stepping into a world that had changed and might make a place for him. Some higher purpose. The moment was broken as he heard a roar from behind. Dasher dove behind some shrubs, splashing down into a six-inch puddle of water. He pressed his face into the icy water and lay still, holding his breath as the creature emerged with his dead cellmate’s foot in its grip. It stood in the opening they’d made, lifting its snout into the air for a good sniff. Dasher kept perfectly still, barely making out the creatures form over the water and through the shrubs. This tense moment seemed to last forever, lying there in a cold puddle as some kind of beast stood just a few feet away, smelling his scent. Dasher pleaded with whatever God there might be to just let it pass on by. The random deity must have heard his pleas because the beast gave out a final snort before running off toward the woods.

Dasher rolled onto his back and let out a long breath, not caring that he lay submerged in a muddy puddle. The sensation was invigorating, tingling his flesh. It took a distant roar to bring his mind back to the present, shedding away some of the lingering shock of seeing the beast. Never had he imagined such a creature, something so strong and evil. It had pulled the door to his cell free and clear as if ripping off a band-aid. Why they had come into the prison in the first place, whatever they were, was still a mystery. Easy prey he guessed. Grown men standing behind easy to remove bars, like a living buffet. Dasher fell forward onto his hands and knees and began to crawl, keeping low besides the building. He was so thankful for the heavy rainfall and the dark, heavy clouds above working together to conceal his progress. Dasher lifted up onto his feet, breaking out into an all out sprint. He felt like Jesus, running on water at times.

“Make for the trees. Make for the trees,” Dasher repeated as he ran up a slight slope, remembering the forest across the meadow and the burning city beyond it. “Oh shit!” Dasher slid to a stop, losing his footing on the wet grass to go tumbling forward onto his face.

Dasher had remembered the valley had now become a lake, separating him from the coverage of the woods. He looked back over his shoulder as a creature stepped out of the prison. A prisoner slung over its shoulder like a sack of dirty clothes while it pulled two lifeless bodies behind it. Dasher crawled into the lake, shivering from the icy water. He dug his fingers into the muddy bank and inched himself along, allowing his body to float just beneath the surface. He felt like a child playing some kind of submarine game in the tub, only instead of a loving parent taking notice it was a tall reptilian creature. Dasher pulled himself along, his mouth beneath the cold water with only the top of his head visible. His plan was to pull himself along, moving stealthy like a floating leaf atop the surface, hopefully going unnoticed until he reached the woods. But it was slow goings, looking like a floating sloth, pulling himself along for what felt like an eternity. The shrieks of those creatures made him jump repeatedly. They sounded a bit too close for comfort.

Dasher pressed his fingers deep into the loose earth and held his breath, pulling himself beneath the icy water while holding perfectly still. He’d heard something splashing in the water just behind him. His body trembled uncontrollably, waiting there without any visual confirmation of what might be closing the distance. The splashing grew louder until a three-toed reptilian foot passed by his face, walking by without taking notice. It dragged behind it the shredded remains of a prisoner, one Dasher hadn’t seen before. The man’s head was being pulled along the lakebed; his eyes open. Dasher looked him directly in the eyes as he passed, staring into his glossy, dead eyes. It took every ounce of his being not to lift up his head from the water and run, to free himself of such horror. The water turned a dim pink as the man’s head passed by; blood trailing from countless gashes and tears throughout his body. Dasher let out a mental sigh of relief as the beast disappeared from view.

Dasher lifted his head above the water and coughed; an explosion of stale water erupted from his mouth. He bit his lip and looked about the water, thankful to see the creature entering the woods without hesitation. Dasher couldn’t take the pressure. He stood and bolted toward the nearest batch of trees, his feet splashing through the water. He felt incredibly exposed; the only thing moving in a vast valley now covered with water, moving dinner to any creature that might happen to take notice. Thankfully nothing saw him rise up from the water and make a mad dash through the open air, his prison-issued outfit clinging to his skin. The air chilled him to the bone, numbing the flesh. His thighs chaffed from the wet fabric and the friction of his full out sprint. He made it into the trees and kept going, unable to stop his legs from pumping. Fear had taken a tight grip over his motor functions, moving him through the dense forest and uneven ground. Heavy rain and low branches made it hard to tell where he was going. For all he knew he might burst out of the trees and splash back into the same water with a view of the prison. His foot snagged a root, tripping him hard. Dasher fell flat on his face and slid along the damp leaves as if he were in a water park. The long slide through the woods came to an abrupt stop as his right shoulder collided with the base of a tree.