Wormwood Dawn (Episode III) (5 page)

Vincent was impressed with the work they had done on the house. He was also glad to see that they had power, as little as there was. The first thing he did was shower. Dan gave him some clothes to wear since they were about the same size, and Vincent gladly disposed of his ratty and filthy garments in the fireplace.

Now, as they sat around on the living room floor, they chatted, smoked, drank, and ate junk food. Jake kind of seemed like the king sitting on the big easy chair he had dragged inside from the garage. He sat there eating chips, reclined and relaxed like a Sultan in the Arabian Desert. All he needed was a few naked slaves feeding him grapes.

Pauli was enjoying the company. He was cautious with the new member, as a dog should be, but warmed up to Vincent rather quickly. He stayed quiet as he lay near the group, munching on whatever the guys tossed him. He was especially fond of Cheetos.

Dan had given Vincent the stack of notebooks they found at the serial killer’s house, and Vincent perused them with shock and horror—along with the occasional
daaaaaamn.
He was just as mortified as the rest of them.

“This was one crazy mutha fucka,” he exclaimed. “I never seen no shit like this before. Goddamn.”

“He was dead when we found him,” Dan said. “He slit his own throat.”

“Dan pissed on him,” Drew said. “Then we set his house on fire.”

“Shit, I would have pissed on him, too, if I found pictures of
me
on his wall. But what do you think he was doing with that thing in his basement?”

Dan shook his head. Jake gave an opinion. “Maybe he was bangin’ it.”

Vincent scowled, laughing. “Aw, fuck. Fuck that shit.”

Jake, who had his laptop out, suddenly leaned forward in his chair. “I got a signal,” he said. “It looks like there’s another BBS somewhere around. It’s all text, though. No pictures or video.”

“Where is it located?” Dan asked.

Jake shook his head. “It doesn’t say. But the IP address looks like it’s somewhere in the Chicago area.”

He moved to the floor, setting the laptop on the coffee table so they could all see. He checked his phone for a signal to see if he could try to strengthen the connection. There were two bars, which was decent. The 2G network was slow as shit anyway.

“I got some cousins up in Markham,” Vincent said. “One of them is kind of a techie dude. If he’s alive, he’d be doin’ shit like this.”

“There are posts about the Chicago area,” Jake said. “Mostly encounters and questions. It doesn’t look like anyone official is running it, just keeping it open so people can communicate.”

One post entitled
Gephardt Battalion Defeated in Skokie
caught their attention.

National Guard forces slaughtered an entire battalion of paramilitary soldiers in the suburb of Skokie. They located a cache of WMDs guarded by higher ups within the security firm. The bombs were confiscated after the standoff and were taken to an undisclosed location.

The armory in Skokie had been secretly gathering soldiers to make an assault on Chicago’s occupying forces, who had locked down the city in order to round up the survivors. They were planning on taking them to a compound outside of town for possible execution. Gephardt’s plan failed.

The military is now scouring the streets of downtown Chicago, looking for infected and survivors who have locked themselves in their homes. So far, there has been little progress, as the citizens who have survived the infection are hiding from the military, too. Nobody trusts anybody. More and more bombs are being found by the day, and it looks like Gephardt had plans on completely wiping out Chicago if they couldn’t gather everyone up, which was what would have happened.

“Interesting,” Jake said. “No signature or anything.”

“Chicago’s a big fuckin’ city,” Vincent said. “It would take a lot of bombs to blow it up. Even more bombs than Indy.”

“Did you see the explosion?” Drew asked.

“Hell yeah,” Vincent said. “Me and Terry was around Terra Haute at that time. We saw that shit from there. Shook the fuckin’ ground.”

“Man,” Dan lamented. “With all this weird shit going on, I can’t believe that’s happening, too.”

“I say we take an oath,” Jake said. “We not only fight the infected, but take out these Nazis whenever we see them.”

“Word,” Vincent said, putting his fist in the center of the group.

The others stuck theirs out, too, and they all nodded in silent determination.

“Fuck those assholes,” Dan said.

“I’ll drink to that,” Drew said, raising his wine glass. Jake held up a Cheeto.

A few hours later, Dan was at the kitchen table with the meds sitting out in front of him. He had found a large art supply tote, with dozens and dozens of small compartments for holding tubes of oil paint and various other art supplies, and had it open before him. He had separated all of the meds into function, using a nurse’s reference as a guide.

He emptied each bottle into a compartment, labeled it with a Sharpie, and snapped it shut. Vincent sat at the other side, perusing another manual and assisting with the sorting. He seemed to be good at it, as if he had done it before.

“I used to sell pills,” he said. “So I recognize the names of a lot of them.”

Dan nodded, pouring a bottle of antibiotics into its proper compartment. “It’s good to know what you have in stock,” Dan said. “There’s a shit ton of meds here; some useful, some for fun.” He grinned.

“Yup,” Vincent said. “There’s gotta be a thousand dollars’ worth of shit here. Maybe more.”

“I don’t think any of us have any use for Cialis,” Dan said, tossing the bottle aside.

“Lisdexamfetamine,” Vincent said as he looked at another bottle. “What’s that?”

“Vyvanse,” Dan replied. “For ADHD. It’s basically speed.”

“Probably no medical need for that,” Vincent said.

“Nope.”

Vincent grinned, stuffing the bottle in his pocket. Dan chuckled.

“Hormone replacement?” Dan said as he found the name of another med in his book. “You got the menopause?”

Vincent shook his head, laughing at Dan’s falsetto voice.

“Trash,” Dan said, tossing the bottle aside.

“There’s a ton of pain killers here,” Vincent said. “There’s some methadone, too. That ain’t no fun, though.”

“We’ll save that for emergency pain,” Dan said. “Actual pain. I still have two big vials of morphine, too.”

Drew wandered in, taking another seat at the table and setting his beer down. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Sorting through the pills,” Dan said. “I’m separating them into function, in case we need them for their actual purpose.”

Two giant bottles were next. Metformin; a diabetes medication. He set those aside, meaning to give them to Jake.

“Any need for antidepressants?” Vincent asked.

Dan shook his head. “Not unless you’re feeling down and lonely,” he said.

Jake yawned from the living room and smacked his lips. “You guys are going to hell,” he said. “But at least I guess you’ll have a buzz.”

“Got some shit here for ya,” Dan said. “I’ll set it aside.”

Vincent froze suddenly, his eyes shifting left and right as he craned his neck toward the deck doors. Dan looked up.

“What is it?” he asked.

Vincent shook his head slowly, his brow crunching together tighter and tighter. “I don’t know, man,” he whispered. “I thought I heard something outside.”

Dan got up, moving to the doors and pushing one open slightly. He put his ear to the gap and listened. There was nothing but the wind and the rustling of the trees. He looked back at Vincent, then to Drew.

“I don’t hear anything,” he said.

Jake came in then, leaning against the table and waiting for the verdict.

Dan continued listening. He heard the occasional chuffing from their one and only horse, but that was it. It wasn’t a sound of fear or panic; just a random noise. Nothing to worry about.

“I think it was just the horse,” Dan said. “He’s making noises.”

Jake came closer, standing behind Dan and putting his ear to the gap, too. He towered over Dan, and was able to listen directly above him.

The horse made another chuff, this time more intensely. Pauli began to growl quietly, then turned and disappeared down the hallway.

“The horse sounds a little disturbed,” Jake said. “Maybe we should let him in the garage.”

“Probably a good idea,” Dan said. “You wanna stand guard on the deck?”

“Sure,” Jake said, going for his gun.

Dan grabbed a shotgun, and slipped on his boots. Vincent got up to join him.

“Stand at the door,” Dan said. “I’ll just open the gate and lead him into the garage. Watch my back.”

Vincent nodded, slapping a magazine in his AR and opening the door. Dan stepped outside, his shotgun pointing out in front of him. “Shoot anything you see,” Dan said, stepping down the concrete porch.

He saw Jake standing on the deck, his head poking above the OSB barrier and his rifle resting on the top. Dan crept toward the kennel, stepping lightly on the moist grass. The horse continued to make noise, and Dan could see it standing at the creek side of the fence.

Dan reached up to open the gate, calling to the horse softly. “Hey buddy,” he whispered. “Come on in.”

The horse turned, coming toward him hesitantly. “What’s wrong, buddy?”

There was another snort as the horse stopped, suddenly fearful and backing away. It swept its head from side to side desperately, its eyes wide with terror.

“What the fuck?” Dan said.

Dan raised his shotgun and backed away one silent step at a time. His eyes were locked with the horse’s, and he could see the animal’s fear. He looked over at Jake, who remained calm, shaking his head to indicate that he saw nothing. Vincent shrugged. Drew had joined him on the porch, and stood with his shotgun ready.

Nobody saw anything.

Dan scanned the area. The shadows revealed nothing but the skeletal trees, and the ghostly white tank of the propane truck in the creek. Yet there was something in the air that made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. He was torn. He didn’t want to leave the horse alone outside if there was something stalking the area, but he didn’t want to go in the kennel to pull it out, either.

“C’mon asshole,” Dan whispered again.

“Fuck that horse,” Vincent whispered loudly. “It ain’t worth it.”

Dan pursed his lips, hesitantly closing the gate and latching it. At least it would be
safer
if the gate was locked, he supposed. He turned and quickly ran back to the porch, and the three went back inside and locked the door. Jake stood vigilantly on the deck, still scoping the garage area. Dan went out to join him.

“Do you see anything?” Dan asked.

Jake shook his head. “Nope. I don’t see shit. But something’s out there.”

Dan still felt the weight of terror. It was the same feeling he had when he saw the shadowy creature in the forest along 39; that same sense of doom and despair that had frozen him in place. It felt worse now since it was close to home. Had something tracked him; followed him?

Or was he just fucking nuts?

Drew and Vincent appeared at the sliding door; both of them wide-eyed and pale.

“You feel it?” Dan asked. They both nodded.

“Man,” Vincent said, “why you bring me here when y’all got monsters and shit?”

“There are monsters everywhere, dude,” Drew reminded him. “Us included.”

Jake suddenly jerked his head, raising his rifle to his shoulder. He froze, his finger hovering over the trigger as he slowly swept the barrel of his repeater from side to side.

“See something?” Dan asked, his heart twisting and turning in his chest.

“Thought I did,” Jake said. Vincent and Drew backed into the house. “A shadow or something.”

A shadow.

“What did it look like?”

“It looked like a shadow,” Jake replied. “Maybe a branch moving or something.”

He relaxed his posture, lowering the rifle. “Maybe we should just chill the fuck out and stay quiet,” he said. “You know, just in case something is listening.”

Dan nodded, turning back into the kitchen. Jake followed and slid the door shut. They stood there for a moment, watching the darkness through the gap in the OSB.

There was nothing.

“Let’s get some sleep,” Dan said. “Or try, at least.”

“I’m too freaked out to sleep,” Drew said, still gripping his shotgun.

“Ok then,” Jake said. “You take the first watch.”

The house was dead quiet. The only sound was the crackling of the fireplace, and the slight wind that blew outside. There were no more noises from the horse, or any of the four men. They all lay quietly on the floor, wrapped in blankets and staring into the darkness—too afraid to sleep.

Dan puffed on a cigarette, lying flat on the floor on his stomach. Everyone else was packed tightly together like a troop of girl scouts trying to keep warm. Nobody spoke, nobody moved, and nobody got up to take a piss.

The silence made it even more terrifying.

Dan contemplated telling them all about the shadow he saw the other day. Maybe it would explain what was outside, or maybe it wouldn’t. Jake had said he thought the shadows were bullshit, yet another person had written a firsthand account. Obviously, Dan wasn’t the only person who had seen one.

Fuck it.

“I saw a shadow person,” he blurted out.

“What!?” Drew said. “Where? When?”

“When we were being chased by the chopper,” Dan said. “Before we blew it up.”

He could hear Jake roll over.

“What did it look like?” Jake asked.

“It was just a shadow,” Dan said. “Standing by a tree. I only saw it because it moved. It backed around the trunk as we passed. I barely saw it.”

Jake grunted. “Other people have seen them,” Jake said. “But people have been seeing them for a long time, even before this happened. Whatever it is, it can’t be related. That wouldn’t make sense.”

“What do you mean?” Drew asked.

“The infection was caused by some kind of spore or something that existed on the comet somehow, then survived our atmosphere without burning up. How could shadowy things survive?”

“Maybe they’re alien ghosts or some shit,” Vincent suggested.

Alien ghosts?

“Hmm,” Dan said.

“There are all kinds of spores and things that cause hallucinations,” Jake said. “Maybe since you had read the post, it was already in your mind, so when you had some kind of spore-related lapse, that’s what you saw.”

“So you’re saying the spore can affect people in other ways than turning them into zombies?” Dan asked.

“Maybe,” Jake replied. “Maybe all of the survivors are seeing shit. They’re immune to the DNA altering effects, but not some of its other effects.”

“Then what the fuck was outside,” Vincent asked.

“It could have been a mass sensory hallucination,” Jake said. “We were all nervous when we went out. The feeling we all had only started because the horse was freaking out. The power of suggestion, maybe?”

The yipping of a coyote caught their attention, and they all froze.

“Shit,” Drew said. “More of those coyote things.”

Dan bolted upright, grabbing the flashlight. The rest of them sat up, reaching for their guns as Dan crept into the kitchen to crack open the sliding door. He heard the nervous chuffing of the horse, and splashing footsteps in the creek.

Something was out there; probably a coyote thing.

Dan slid the door open enough to slip through. He crept over to the OSB, flicking on the flashlight and shining it through the gap. The creek was gurgling and flowing rapidly; surrounded by the pale trunks of the autumn trees, and broken up by rocks and fallen branches.

He swept the flashlight around, looking into the weeds. He caught sight of the reflective glow of the eyes and the grayish fur of a coyote as it slipped away and back into the darkness. He was startled for a moment, but was relieved when he realized it was just an animal.

“An actual coyote,” he said. “Nothing to worry about.”

He could hear the three of them come onto the deck behind him. He continued sweeping the creek with the flashlight, looking into the forest behind it. There was nothing else to be seen; only weeds, dead trees, stumps, and the twisted white trunk of a birch, maybe?

He focused on the trunk, not remembering a birch tree being that close to the house. He lifted the flashlight, slowly following the trunk up its length. It was knotted, but smooth, bent in one place about halfway up; maybe six feet or so. Strangely, it got wider as he went up, ending in a bulky white mass where another white trunk extended into the creek.

It wasn’t a tree.

Dan’s heart jumped when he saw the crocodile-like maw that opened wide to bare its razor sharp teeth. Above it, two hollow, black eyes glared back, staring into his very soul.

“
Fuck!”
he said as he turned to flee.

The others were already in the house, and Dan followed, slamming the door shut.

“Jesus Christ!” he said.

“What was it?” Drew asked, desperately.

“I have no fucking clue, but it was huge!”

A deafening growl erupted from outside, followed by the shrill cry of a terrified horse. Dan ran to the window just in time to see the creature burst forth from the creek and barrel toward the kennel. The horse bucked and thrashed in terror as the skeletal, dragon-like beast tore through the fence and clamped its jaws around the poor thing’s neck. Dan turned away as the sound of crunching bone and ripping flesh followed.

“Aww, damn,” Vincent said, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

“Dude,” Drew said, his eyes even wider, but in realization as well as terror, “the other fucking horse.”

“No…
shit!”
Jake said, running to the window. He cocked his repeater, glaring out the window as Dan backed away.

“How the fuck we gonna kill that?” Vincent said.

“Jake,” Dan said, fetching his Barret, “you might wanna grab your LMG and that grenade launcher.”

“It’s in the Hummer,” Jake said. “All strapped up in the back.”

“Fuck,” Drew cursed. “Do you have any more of those incendiary grenades?”

“Maybe one,” Jake said, going for his pack.

The thrashing and growling continued outside as the creature gobbled up the horse. Dan returned to the window, seeing only the huge white shape as it moved around in the shadows. He couldn’t make out any details, other than the occasional glint of its teeth. But, from what he could tell, it was twice its original size, and much more deadly.

“Obviously, a horse isn’t a predatory animal,” Jake said, pulling one more red, can-shaped grenade from his pack. “So there goes that theory.”

Dan reached out to slide the window open, pushing up slowly to avoid making too much noise. If he could get off at least one shot, and hit the creature’s flank, maybe he could inflict some major damage. Then again, he might just piss it off.

“Wait,” Jake said. “Let me get out on the deck and get a shot lined up.”

Dan nodded as Jake quietly slid open the deck door and stepped outside. He got the white shape in his sights, zeroing in on what looked like the front haunches. He couldn’t see its head, as it was buried within the horse's carcass, ripping out organs and devouring them. Jake knocked on the OSB lightly to signal he was ready.

He squeezed the trigger.

The Barret was loud inside the house, and Dan’s eyes shot closed as the round was fired. But he heard the creature howl in agony, followed by several shots from Jake’s repeater. Dan chambered another round and peered through the scope again. The thrashing white shape of the creature was gone, but he could still hear its growls.

“I think it went around the garage,” Vincent said from the boarded up window in the living room.

“Drew,” Dan called. “Where are you?”

Drew came running into the kitchen, going to the sliding door to join Jake on the deck. “Had to grab more shells,” he said. “Sorry.”

Dan turned back to the scope. There was nothing visible, even in the infrared spectrum. There was only the fading heat of the mangled horse left, and the trail of blood that went around the other side of the garage.

“Do you see anything, Vincent?” he asked.

“Naw, man,” Vincent replied. “I don’t see shit.”

Dan shouldered his rifle, going out to the deck. Jake and Drew stood vigilant, keeping their weapons trained on the kennel.

“Where did it go?” Dan asked frantically.

“Didn’t see,” Drew said. “It looked like it went around by the propane tank, but I’m not sure.”

Dan raised his rifle again, moving to the outer corner and peering through the IR scope. He swept from side to side, but still saw nothing. He wasn’t sure whether that eased his mind a little, or made him even more nervous.

“What did you see with the flashlight?” Drew asked.

Dan shook his head. “Not sure, man,” he said. “It was horrible. Horse-shaped, only bigger. All twisted and alien looking. It was like something from a Giger painting.”

“Lovely,” Jake said.

A loud scraping sound came from behind the garage, followed by a heavy thump on the garage roof. Dan pointed the rifle toward it, seeing the green glowing shape of spider-like limbs clawing their way upwards over the peak. Dan swallowed, his heart thumping wildly. Jake and Drew raised their guns again, waiting for Dan to act.

“Rooftop,” Vincent said from inside the house. “I see that mutha fucka.”

Dan’s fingers were sweaty. He squeezed the pistol grip tightly, his breathing becoming quick and raspy. As he watched, the creature’s head slowly came over the peak, oddly shaped and a blur of green. He lined up a shot, waiting for just the right moment, and fired again.

The creature howled, and the scraping sounds increased. Dan threw back the bolt, slamming another round in the chamber, just as the creature leaped into the air and cleared the distance between the garage and the house. A heavy thud sounded as it landed on the roof above them.

“
Fuck!”
Dan said, backing away toward the doors.

Vincent came outside, his AR pointed upward. “That fuckin’ thing jumped all the way across!”

There were shuffling sounds from above as the creature scrambled around, and the four men stood with their backs against the doorway. They held their guns out in front of them, ready to fire if the creature came down and landed on the deck. Dan reloaded.

“You ever read
Black Beauty?”
he asked. “Well, this is
White Ugly.”

“Janeane Garofalo?” Vincent joked.

Dan smiled as he slapped the magazine in. “Hillary Clinton, maybe.”

“Oh, we’re fucked,” Jake said.

Drew crept forward with his shotgun up. He neared the edge of the roof, walking sideways to keep an eye above him.

“What are you doing?” Dan whispered. “Are you fucking nuts?”

Drew leaned out to peek up. He stood for a moment, watching, his eyes darting from side to side. He suddenly dropped to the ground just as a massive set of jaws shot down and snapped at the empty air. Gunshots erupted as Drew rolled out of the way. Then, all was quiet once more.

“
Jesus Christ!
” Dan shouted. “Stay away from the roof.”

Drew stood, backing toward them. “I think I shit my pants again.”

“Get it to jump down into the yard,” Jake said, holding up his red grenade. “And I’ll burn him.”

“How the fuck we gonna do that?” Vincent asked.

Good question. Dan had an idea.

Without a word, he set his rifle down against the wall and charged toward the OSB barrier. He leaped up, grabbing the edge of it, and vaulted himself over, landing hard on the ground. Pain shot up his ankle as he rolled away from the house.

“
What the fuck?”
he heard Drew shout.

Dan turned and looked up at the roof. The creature was nowhere to be seen. He raised his arms in the air, waving them around and yelling, hoping to catch the creature’s attention.

It was a really stupid idea.

From over the peak, the horrifying beast raised its grotesque head between two massive claws. It was truly an abomination from Hell itself; demonic in appearance, with smooth, white, veiny flesh that was almost translucent. Its head was horse-shaped, but sinister and glaring. Its giant mouth opened and closed with a snap, oozing slimy fluid that dripped in long stringy glops.

Dan swallowed hard, continuing his flailing. “Get ready,” he called to Jake.

Jake stood poised with one hand holding the grenade, and the other holding the pin. Dan was breathless with terror, but stood still as the creature stalked down the slope of the roof with its long, spindly legs. They stuck out like a lizard’s legs, and the thing’s tail snapped around like a scorpion’s.

“Come on, you ugly fuck,” Dan whispered.

When the creature reached the gutter, it stopped, lowering its head and releasing a growling hiss that shriveled Dan’s balls like a freezing shower. It was like looking into the face of Satan himself. From the corner of his eye, he saw Jake pull the pin and raise the grenade, keeping the spoon pressed with his thumb.

Then, the creature pounced.

It sailed in a low arc, heading straight for Dan as he dodged and rolled out of the way. As soon as he heard the creature impact the ground, Jake shouted, “
Incoming!”
Dan leapt into the creek, allowing himself to plunge into the cold water. Behind him, he heard the boom of the grenade as it released its flaming fury. He felt the heat wave rush over him, and heard the shrill cries of agony that came from the creature.