Wormwood Dawn (Episode IX) (10 page)

“Jesus Christ,” she cursed.

“Careful,” Dan said. “Speed up before they hit the corner.”

The Jeep sped up behind them, coming parallel to their positon. Jake was sticking out of the sunroof, the rocket launcher in his hands. Eric sped up, passing Dan and Toni and ramming the truck from behind. Though Jake was jolted, he managed to maintain his upright position as the truck screeched around the corner. He fired, and the rocket blasted its way through the air, catching the truck’s back right corner.

“Shit!”
Toni shouted as she slammed on the brakes.

The car swerved and spun, stopping right in the intersection. The truck was flipped, and began tumbling end over end into the grassy area next to the highway. Dan got out just as the Jeep squealed to a stop. Drew hopped out, and the two of them sped down into the hollow where the truck had come to rest. It laid there on its side, flaming and smoking. A single body was nearby, crushed to a pulp and saturated in blood.

They approached the overturned vehicle cautiously, hearing the sound of someone coughing and wheezing inside. As they reached the passenger window, Drew’s face erupted into a dark smile. Seth was there, trapped inside, bleeding and broken.

“Hey there, Seth,” Drew said. “How’s it going?”

“You… fucking… prick,” Seth stuttered.

Drew reached in, grabbing Seth by the front of his shirt, pulling him halfway out the window. He reared back and punched Seth square in the jaw. Dan could hear the cracking sound of bone giving way to Drew’s clenched fist.

“That was for me,” Drew growled.

He punched Seth again. “That was for making Eric kill three of you fuckers.”

Drew began laughing as Seth spit blood through his broken mouth. Drew reached into his belt, pulling out his Glock and placing it right on Seth’s forehead.

“Any last words?” Drew asked.

“Fuck… you…”

Drew pulled the trigger, blowing Seth’s brains out. Dan sighed, happy that the man was dead. Drew stood, keeping his eyes on Seth’s corpse. He sneered, stuffing the Glock back into his belt. He looked at Dan with a stern face. Dan nodded his approval.

“That was for Gena,” Drew said.

The others came stumbling down the hill, and Dan turned to greet them. They looked rough, but pumped and eager to continue dealing death. “It was Seth,” Dan said. “He’s dead.”

Eric went to the window, looking down at Seth’s body. With a growl, he kicked it, splitting Seth’s skull completely open, and spat a giant wad of “fuck you” right on his shattered face.

“Assface,” Jake said. “Good riddance.”

“Alright, guys,” Dan said. “Fuck these assholes. Let’s go home.”

Cliff ducked and dodged the giant scavenger’s blade, waiting for the opportunity to hack at it with his machete. The others were engaged in gunfire with the bulk of the other scavengers. He could see Toby duck in and out of the billowing smoke, appearing and disappearing to attack like some fifth grade ninja.

Cliff was impressed with his ferocity.

The leader swiped his giant blade, and Cliff ducked, hearing the crude thing whizz above his head. He countered with a horizontal swipe, catching the leader’s knee with the dull tip of his makeshift weapon. The giant blade came down near him, and he dodged just as it crashed into the gravel.

“You’re pretty quick for a troll,” Cliff taunted it.

The creature growled, baring its crooked and stained teeth. They were almost as ugly as its skin, which was brown, withered, and pock marked with sores and scabs. It was the ugliest thing Cliff had ever seen.

The giant blade came crashing down again, and Cliff dodged, countering with another swipe of his machete. He didn’t connect, and was knocked off balance just long enough to catch a fist to the face. He was knocked to the gravel, winded and dazed. But, as the creature raised its blade to finish him off, a burst of automatic gunfire threw it staggering back.

Max pulled Cliff to his feet, dropping his empty mag and loading up another.

“Thanks, buddy,” Cliff said.

Max strafed around the creature, popping it with short bursts. The leader staggered, swiping its huge blade behind it. Max dodged, backing away just as a few scavengers came into view. He turned and finished them off with a long string of rounds, and disappeared into the smoke again.

Cliff charged the leader, hacking at its blade arm with his machete. Though he connected straight on, the blade did very little damage. The creature howled with rage, backhanding Cliff to the ground again. He rolled away just as the blade smashed into the ground.

Gun fire erupted behind him, and he turned to see Bill, Linda, and Grace emerge from the trail. Bill fired repeatedly, sending the creature into a rage. The blade was knocked from his hands, and Cliff took the opportunity to charge again, this time at the creature’s abdomen. He sliced as hard as he could, barely putting a scratch in the leader’s tough skin.

As Cliff spun to get away, he felt the huge crushing arms of the leader grab him around his midsection. The strength of the giant’s grip was unbreakable, but Cliff managed to turn himself around to face the beast as it tightened its grip. Cliff’s breaths came in short gasps, his ribs unable to expand enough to get air. All he could do was growl, and stare the ugly creature in the face.

He struggled to break free, trying desperately to wiggle out of the leader’s grasp. He was running out of air, and he could feel the massive pressure on his ribs threatening to collapse him. The leader bared his teeth with a triumphant smile, slathering Cliff’s face with slime that shot from in between the rotten things. His vision began to fade, and he felt his last breath approaching.

“God damn it,” he whispered.

But then a hail of gunfire sounded, and the leader howled, letting Cliff loose to fall to the ground. As Cliff looked up from his position, he saw the leader fall to his knees. Bill and Max both came into view, firing multiple rounds into the creature’s already pulverized knees and legs. It howled and swiped its arms in an effort to kill its attackers.

Cliff slowly staggered to his knees, searching around for his machete. He found it a few feet away, and reached for it with a quivering arm. The gunfire continued behind him, and as he lifted the machete, he turned back toward the wretched beast. It swayed and drooled in place, nearly toppling over, but its will was too great to give up.

Cliff stepped in front of it, glaring at its ugly face as it looked up at him.

“Macha,”
the creature garbled, blood running down its chin.

The others emptied their magazines into the creature, plowing hole after hole into its thick flesh. Its foul blood sprayed everywhere, running out of every orifice it could find. When the gunfire stopped, Cliff stepped forward, flashing a grin at the creature before splitting its head open with his machete. He pulled it out of the hard skull, stepping back to ensure that no parasites would emerge and attack him.

“Stay back,” Cliff warned the others. “We need to go. We’re not sticking around to see what this fucker’s gonna do next.”

Cliff waved the others toward the trail, taking a moment to have one last look at his home. Travis, Max, and Toby hesitated too, and they all looked at each other with the same forlorn expression. Cliff knew they would all miss the camp. Despite the fact they had to deal with Melanie, it had been their sanctuary. And with Dan and Drew’s arrival, things had only gotten better. But now they would have to start again.

“Let’s go, guys,” Cliff said, sadly. “We’ll meet Dan and the others in Nashville.”

“Are we gonna find a new place?” Toby asked.

“We will, buddy,” Cliff replied.

The four of them joined Bill and Linda and descended the trail down to the RV. Cliff kept watch behind them for any surprises, but so far it looked clear. Though their home was burning to the ground, everyone was safe and accounted for, and they had all gathered a good amount of supplies and other important things.

They would make it.

The RV had a rough time ascending the hill toward the backroad, but Travis managed to get it going fairly well. After five or so minutes of cussing and banging his fist on the dashboard, the good doctor finally got them on the road.

Cliff was in the back, resting on the RV’s bed. He was sore and exhausted, and didn’t have the strength to do anything else. Thankfully, Linda had given him some painkillers and he now floated somewhat pleasantly in La-La Land.

“Did he break any ribs?” she asked.

“I don’t think so,” Cliff replied. “He sure squeezed the shit out of them though.”

Linda chuckled. “My uncle Barney gave some pretty intense bear hugs,” she said. “Not as bad as that, but when you’re a kid they sure seem like it.”

“It wasn’t just the crushing that got me.”

“What do you mean?”

Cliff scooted back on the mattress and propped his head up against the back wall. “There was something in its eyes, I think. It was like looking into the eyes of an animal. It still looked human, but it was nothing more than a wild beast. A caveman or something.”

“Grace told me about the experiments,” Linda said. “Frightening stuff. It sounded like they were some kind of super soldier prototype or something. An experiment that failed.”

“Super soldier,” Cliff repeated, shaking his head. “More like super monster.”

He looked out the window at the passing trees, thinking back to the encounter at the quarry. The fact that the scavengers ate human flesh was disturbing. It seemed to him that they actively hunted humans for food, among other things. And they had a leader; one that wasn’t present when he and Dan had attacked the settlement. Where had he gone?

Was he out on a run, gathering food for his people? Did the fact that they were cannibals really make them monsters? Or were they just wild animals who didn’t know any better? Who were the bad guys, really?

“The scavenger we killed up close told us the master would kill us all when he came back,” Cliff said.

“Back from where?”

Cliff shook his head. “Who knows?”

Travis was lost in thought as he carefully navigated the gravel road. Grace was in the passenger seat watching the scenery, knowing full well that Travis was worried about his son. Though Eric had gone on plenty of runs in the past, this was different. He had never been captured before. Knowing Eric’s nature, Travis was certain that his son’s docile nature would surely spell his doom.

He was a giant teddy bear, and in this new world, that was a death sentence.

For most of Eric’s adult life, Travis had watched him being berated and emasculated by his ex-wife. The woman was a shrew if there ever was one. She was controlling, bitchy, and entitled, and she treated Eric like her slave. It angered Travis to see his son treated that way, but what frustrated him more was that Eric never stood up for himself. He just allowed himself to be controlled, all for the sake of avoiding a fight.

This situation was very similar.

“Dan will bring them back,” Grace assured him.

Travis nodded, forcing a smile. “I know,” he said. “I just worry about Eric himself. If he’s going to survive, he’ll have to learn to defend himself.”

“I think he knows,” Grace said. “It just might take him longer to realize that.”

“That’s what worries me. By the time he figures out the way this new world works, it could be too late.”

“Well,” Grace said, putting a hand on Travis’ shoulder. “He has you as a teacher. I’m sure he’ll figure it out.”

“Hell, what do I know? I’m just an old hippie.”

“You’re a doctor,” Grace corrected. “A hippie doctor.”

Bill squatted in between the front seats, his eyes on the road ahead. “Where are we heading?” he asked.

“Nashville, like Dan said,” Travis replied. “From there, who knows? Got any ideas?”

“Well, there are quite a few abandoned warehouses out in the boonies,” Bill said. “Warehouses, barns, the police station in Nashville might be a good place.”

Travis grunted. “Maybe,” he said. “But it would probably be better to stay outside of any towns, even small towns like Nashville.”

“I was thinking about Camp Atterbury,” Bill said. “Not only is it secure, but there would be weapons.”

“I think Atterbury’s lost,” Grace said. “That’s about where we got hit in the chopper.”

“Got hit?” Bill asked, raising his brow. “By what?”

Grace shrugged. “No clue,” she said. “But we went down near the camp, and that’s where we met Dan and the others. I’m sure Gena could tell you more, but it happened so fast I don’t think any of us really knew what was going on. I’m just thankful the captain was a good pilot and got us over the woods before the chopper crashed.”

“Interesting,” Bill said. “It wasn’t a weapon or anything? A missile?”

“We’re both pretty sure it was some kind of malefactor.”

“Malef—what?”

“Malefactor,” Grace said.

“Bad guy,” Travis clarified. “Monster.”

Bill nodded. “There are plenty of those nowadays. Hell, there always was.”

“You got that right,” Travis said. “But every day that passes makes me wonder who the monsters really are.”

“Holy fucking shit,” Dan said as they pulled up to the camp.

The whole camp was still in flames, and the smoke that covered the lot was like a thick fog. Everything was gone, even the sheds out back. Dan stopped in the front parking lot and got out. Eric pulled the Jeep up next to him, looking at him with a horrified expression.

“What the hell happened here?” Jake asked, stepping out. “It’s like a fucking war zone.”

He was right. The parking lot was littered with the bodies of dozens of scavengers. Whatever had happened, the group had dealt plenty of death to their attackers. But as he scanned the bodies, Dan realized why the attack had occurred. The scavenger he executed had told them that the master would return and kill them all.

Obviously, the master had returned.

“Holy shit,” Dan said. “The scavengers kept their word.”

“Nasty fuckers,” Jake spat.

“We should check and see if the RV is still down in the hollow,” Toni said. “If it’s gone, then we know everyone’s alright.”

Dan nodded, staring at the burning rubble the same way he had stared at his own house. Eric seemed troubled, too, as it had been his home since the beginning. Now it was time to find a new one. But first, they had to find out if everyone else was still alive.

“Alright,” Dan said. “Let’s check the trail, then head to Nashville.”

Everyone got back in the vehicles, and Dan led the way down the trail. They passed a larger scavenger near the edge of the parking lot; one that Dan guessed was the leader. The trail itself was rough and rocky, and there were a few bodies scattered around. There were shamblers and even a stalker. Something had gone down here on the trail, but it looked like his friends had triumphed.

Ahead, the familiar wall of foliage that was used to hide the RV was strewn about. Beyond it, there was nothing but trail. The RV was gone. The rest of the group had made it out successfully.

“Thank god they got away,” Toni said.

“Let’s just hope they
all
made it out,” Dan added.

Dan rolled over the branches and vines, beginning the ascent up the hill toward the road. He felt a sense of relief knowing that the RV was gone. But now the group would have to find another safe place to settle. Someplace safe, secluded, and far away from Enoch and his group.

Wherever that was.