Deathlings

by Ellery Fenn

  Deathlings

  Ellery Fenn

  Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter Forty-five

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Corrie

  There was only one thought in my head when I woke. I was dead.

  Gravel crunched beneath me, digging into my palms as I pushed myself to a sitting position. The moon gazed down like a lonely eye and cast its light over the tall grass that surrounded me. A dark forest loomed to my side.

  My head hurt. My arms hurt. Agony coursed through every part of me, desperately vying for my attention. Pain consumed me.

  A car passed. I recognized the road and the forest but had no memory of how I knew them.

  I struggled to my feet, weighed down by a blood-stained dress.

  I was dead. This much I knew, and little else. How I came to be lying by the road in a white dress was a mystery to me. How I was able to think, to move, to see and feel, all lost. My memory was locked in the gray matter of my mind and refused to give up her secrets.

  Pain shot through my legs and back as I took an unsteady step toward the forest. I grit my teeth and stumbled into the woods.

  The long skirt caught on the underbrush, throwing me down. I growled in frustration and pushed against the confines of fabric until the shoulder seams tore and I spilled onto the cold ground.

  Frost creeped across my skin. The earth was solid and large beneath me, as though I could feel the entire planet. I hastily stood and rubbed my stinging arms. Every sensation shocked me with its severity.

  The mottled purple-gray of my skin was barely covered by the thin slip I wore. Scratches covered my hands, and two fingernails were disconnected. I ripped them off. The breeze was vicious on the raw skin beneath.

  A deep breath did nothing to steady me. There was no relief in the action. No fog of breath formed before me. My temperature was the same as the air and ground. My heart was still.

  I clenched my fists and concentrated on my clumsy, barefooted steps. The forest swallowed me, drew me into its comforting arms.

  The night wasn’t as silent as I first thought. My ears pricked to rustling in the bushes, distant owls, my own uncertain tread.

  Ferns and moss covered every surface, the brightest green I’d ever seen, the only green I’d ever seen, verdant even in the dark. Green overhead, green beneath, and green on every side. Each leaf reflected moonlight. Each plant waved in the breeze. The sight tore through me, painful in its intensity.

  The cold smell of trees and soil was interrupted by another scent that rushed into me like a river. It was the most powerful of all the sensations I had felt, and the most pleasurable.

  The unrecognizable odor sparked a conflagration in my mind and body and excited every inch. My legs moved. The stiffness fell away as I ran, pulled toward the smell.

  Synapses that died hours before now lit up. Feeling roared through me. Every touch and sound was exciting, but none more than the scent. It was familiar and alluring all at once.

  The source of the odor lay at the base of a tree. I threw myself at it and tore it open with hands and teeth. I thought nothing could be better than the smell, but the taste was exquisite beyond imagining. My entire body partook of it. Muscles and bones savored it. Ligaments loosened. I was warm, energized.

  I ate until only bones were left. My mind kicked back in. I pulled a bone from my mouth and examined it. A mammal, dead long before I found it. That’s what the smell was. Death.

  I licked a maggot from my lip and stood, swaying in place. Pleasure raced through my body, softening and strengthening joints and muscles, restoring energy to all the long dead parts. I twirled my arms through the air. Death suddenly thrilled me.

  My vision was clearer, my hearing more acute. Each drop of dew showed itself to me in perfect clarity, each blade of grass. Pain was balanced by beauty.

  The muscles in my legs, my core, my arms, all were hard and strong beneath my touch. My face was covered in open wounds. I loved all of it except the pain and the thick mat of hair on my head.

  I searched through the underbrush. A piece of obsidian flashed in the moonlight. I forced the sharp edge through my hair, as close to my scalp as possible, and grinned as curly dark locks fell to the ground. My new bald head was perfect.

  I rocked on the pads of my feet, excited to test my new energy. Even the thought of running, jumping, climbing trees, sent shivers of delight through me.

  A wail in the distance stopped me in my tracks. The sound burned through me, agony beyond my experience. I broke into a run, heading deeper into the forest toward the sound of screaming.

  Chapter Two

  Lisa

  My eyelids fluttered open. Moonlight filtered through the thick canopy of trees overhead.

  I groaned and pulled a hair from my mouth. It didn’t taste like puke, which I took as a good sign.

  “If you guys left me passed out on someone’s lawn-” I pushed myself to a sitting position and blinked at my surroundings.

  Dense, damp forest on every side. Definitely not someone’s lawn.

  I took a steadying breath. Not someone’s lawn, not the school grounds, not anywhere I knew. I racked my brain, running over every woodsy spot in town. There was only one place this could be. Tryon Creek.

  “Haha.” My voice was shaky. “Very funny, Clarisse.”

  The silence was only interrupted by something flying above me. I pushed my hair away from my face.

  If this was a prank, it was a stupid one. Clarisse wouldn’t do that to me. She knew how much this night meant. Pat wouldn’t have cared enough to, and Doug… no. Doug was a nice guy. He wouldn’t go out with me as a joke, would he?

  Shadows loomed as I wiped my stinging eyes.

  “Okay,” I whispered to myself. “First things first. How did I get here?” I went over the events of the evening in my mind and came up empty-handed.

  The last thing I remembered was Homecoming. I was so excited to go with my friends, rather than the ones Mom chose for me, and even more excited because my date was Doug Allan.

  Doug Allan. The hottest, most popular guy in school. I still couldn’t figure out why he asked me. I wasn’t anything like his other girlfriends, wasn’t even close to his social sphere.

  He picked me up at seven wearing a brand-new tuxedo. He was so sweet to agree to dinner with my
friends, even if he thought they were weird. We got to the dance a little late and had a great time. He danced with me nonstop. He made me feel like a princess.

  I’d have to have a talking-to with Clarisse. She nearly ruined it for everyone, drinking the whole time until she passed out and Pat had to take her home. She didn’t want to go to the dance, but did anyway for Pat. She’d do anything for him.

  We all planned on Oliver Thornton’s afterparty, but it ended up just being me and Doug. I’d never been on a date before, never drank, never kissed a guy. So, when he asked if we wanted to park for a while before the party, of course I said yes.

  “Oh no.” A sick feeling spread through my stomach. “Doug.”

  ◆◆◆

  I turned away from Doug to check my breath as he pulled off the road. Not exactly minty-fresh, but it would do.

  “Want a sip?”

  I took the bottle of Jack Daniels from him. My throat burned.

  The soft glow of the overhead light made him look like a painting in a museum. Or some kind of angel. “I had a great time,” he said.

  My dress crinkled as I angled toward him. “Me too.”

  “Never thought I’d go to Homecoming with a sophomore.”

  “And I never thought I’d go with a senior.”

  He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. “You’re prettier than all the senior girls put together.”

  I ducked my head to hide my blush.

  “Just look at that smile.” He turned me with a hand on my chin. I swallowed my nerves and closed my eyes.

  His lips were hard and warm and insistent against mine. My first kiss. The perfect evening, the perfect boy. The perfect beginning to the rest of my life. I smiled and leaned closer.

  His tongue probed at the entrance of my mouth. Ah. So it was one of those kisses. My heart beat a warning I ignored. His tongue slithered against mine like a fleshy snake. I pulled away instinctively.

  “Whoa.” I smiled and placed a hand over my pounding heart. Satin stuck to my sweaty hand.

  He laughed and lunged forward, undoing my hair as he kissed me.

  I pushed him gently away and tucked my hair behind my ear. “Let’s go slow, okay? I- I’ve never…”

  His eyes widened. “You’re a virgin?”

  My heart raced.

  “Huh.”

  “Is that okay?”

  A crooked smile sat on his face. “I never would’ve thought. Not with the way you’ve been teasing me all night. Must be pretty anxious to get that cherry popped.”

  Heat flooded me. My voice was quieter than I expected. “Teasing you? I wasn’t… I don’t-”

  “Cut the shit, Lisa.” He ran a finger along my ruffled neckline.

  I swatted his hand. “I’m not- I don’t want my, my cherry…”

  “Everyone’s nervous their first time.”

  “No. That’s not what I, what I thought this would be.”

  “You didn’t think we’d have sex?” He gestured around him. “We’re on a date.”

  I shook my head fiercely. This was supposed to be my Cinderella moment.

  I jerked away as he stroked my hair. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Come on, you know you’ll like it.”

  “No!”

  He grabbed my waist, pulling me against him as I pulled back. “Stop fighting. It’ll be over soon.” He groped my breast. “Your perfume’s great.”

  “Get off me.” I pushed him away with all my strength and pried open the door, spilling into the night.

  “Lisa!”

  My high heels twisted in the gravel. I bent to pull them off one at a time and tried to keep my balance. The car door slammed as he followed me.

  “What is this?” The smell of whiskey wafted off him.

  I forced my voice to sound calm. “This is me leaving.”

  “It’s three miles to your house. You really going to walk that far alone at night? You never know what kind of creepers are out there.”

  The shoe’s buckle was caught on my tights. “I’ll take them over the creeper that brought me here.”

  His hands were on my back, shoving me to the ground. Gravel stung my face and hands.

  “You’ve got a lot of nerve!” I pushed myself back up.

  “I’ve got a lot of nerve?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  There was no humor in his laugh. “I’m real glad I found out what kind of girl you are early on.”

  “What kind of girl I am?” His face looked extremely hittable.

  He raked his fingers through his hair. “Let’s just get back in the car and try this again.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “Why the hell are you acting this way? You’re blowing things out of proportion.”

  “You’re one to talk.”

  He grabbed me roughly by the shoulders. I’d never known baseball could make someone so strong. I didn’t have an inch of wiggle room.

  “Listen kid. I’ve been a perfect gentleman. The least I can expect from my flirty little date is a blowjob.”

  Terror sped through me. He lifted layers of my skirt. No matter how hard I fought, I couldn’t be stronger than him. He shoved me to the ground and pinned my body under his.

  “Aha!” He reached under the last layer of tulle and slid his hand up my leg.

  “Help!”

  He clapped a hand over my mouth. “Shut up.”

  An eternity passed as he peeled away my tights and caressed every inch of my legs, working higher and higher. A tear dripped down my cheek and onto his hand.

  I’d rather be dead than this.

  I bit his hand as hard I could. He yelped and drew it to his mouth, giving me a chance to punch him in the face and crawl from underneath him. I stumbled to my feet and ran.

  He launched himself on me, punching my head once before flipping me onto my back. He pinned my arms beneath me and spread my legs with his. He hit me. Stars spiraled in my vision. His fist collided with my skull. Blood dripped down my cheek.

  “You think you can treat me that way, bitch? You think you’re special? I could’ve had any girl in school, and you’ve got the gall to push your luck. You’re not the first girl I’ve gotten what I want from, and you won’t be the last.”

  I spit blood in his face.

  He exclaimed in disgust and raised both hands to wipe it off. I jabbed my fingers in his eyes. He recoiled with a scream.

  I slid out from beneath him. The tree line wasn’t far. I stumbled toward it, but my head split in two and the ground kept tilting to meet the sky. It threw me into the grassy ditch.

  My lungs heaved. No air came.

  I forced myself to my feet. The woods were so close. I could find somewhere to hide and wait until morning, then walk home.

  My body weakened. I leaned against a tree to keep my balance. Almost there. I could make it, if only my legs wouldn’t buckle, if only my head would stop spinning.

  The grass in the ditch rustled. I turned at the exact moment Doug brought a rock down on my head.

  There went my perfect night.

  ◆◆◆

  A horrible scream tore through the air. I fell to the ground. Was that my voice? It didn’t sound like me at all.

  How could this happen to me? I did everything right, went to church, didn’t swear, didn’t talk to back. And the one night I broke the rules, had a drink, kissed a boy, that was the night the world turned against me.

  I clenched my fists in my hair, pulling until it was tight against my scalp.

  How could I be so stupid? He had three girlfriends in the past year. Why else would he want to park before the party? He was handing me drinks all night. Why was I so blind?

  And now my virginity promise from Sunday School was broken. How could I ever show my face in public? My parents would be able to tell, my teachers would be able to tell, anyone would be able to tell when they looked at me that I was a soiled, ruined slut. The cupcake that got licked.

  Sobs c
aught in my throat, shaking my body. What was I supposed to do?

  What did I do? How did I get here from the road? Where were the cuts and bruises? What about the rock he hit me with?

  I gingerly touched my face. No pain, no blood.

  A rustling in the trees interrupted my trembling sobs. I grabbed a heavy branch and jumped to my feet.

  “I swear to God if that’s you Doug, you’re going to wish you’d never been born.”

  Shadows obscured whatever it was.

  “Who’s there?”

  A figure stepped from the cover of trees into moonlight. Their face flashed into sharp relief, emphasizing each open wound, each slice of bone, each drop of blood.

  There was a zombie in Tryon Creek.

  Chapter Three

  Corrie

  Blurry memories of my life bombarded me, prompted by the face of the ghost in front of me. I knew who I’d been. I knew who she was.

  I knew how I died. My wounds roared fresh, burning through me, desperate to swallow me whole. I froze, overcome with agony.

  The ghost bunched up her skirt with one hand and held her crude weapon with the other.

  “Just stay back.” Her eyes were like a wild animal preparing to run.

  I pushed past the pain and spoke my first clumsy word.

  “Wait.”

  She tugged at her skirt. Its translucent fabric was snagged on a thorn, despite being immaterial. She grabbed another stick and held it at an angle to the other.

  “I have the power of Jesus on my side.”

  I crossed the clearing and unhooked the dress from the thorn it was caught on. She backed frantically into a tree.

  “Who are you?”

  The pain of my death stole through me, vying for my attention. I was not the girl I’d been in life. I was new, born again in death. A corpse. I tried to say the word, but my voice failed halfway through.

  “Cor-ieee…”

  “Corrie.”

  I carefully nodded, watching her face for signs that she might run. Corrie. I didn’t mind the name.

  “Are you a zombie?”

  I furrowed my brow. The word had some meaning I once knew. I searched through my brain until the image of the living dead appeared in my mind’s eye. I nodded.