This Land of Monsters

by Tim Gabrielle

  “How close are they?” asked Sullivan.

  “I have no way of knowing,” he said. “I didn’t just leave the Mansion, I escaped. The fire was out of control and Duncan and his people were aggressively trying to stop me. He’s quite mad at me, as well as all of you. I don’t see any scenario where he isn’t far behind me.”

  “Why should we believe anything you say?” asked Dietrich. “All those people you killed when we left. Dianna, Sherry…”

  “All Duncan,” he said as he unraveled the bandage on his foot to readjust it.

  “That’s bullshit,” said Nash. “There’s no way he pulled this off himself.”

  “You’re right. He didn’t. When Duncan caught you that day, it was the beginning of his takeover of the Mansion. He didn’t even come to me first after finding you. He grabbed a machete and went for Dianna and Dietrich’s house. He threw their heads at my feet when he came to tell me. Made a terrible mess of the floor, if I may say so.”

  “You shut your damn mouth!” yelled Sullivan as he remembered Dianna’s dead eyes staring at him as he looked through the binoculars.

  “And the rest of the residents from the Treefort that you had beheaded?” asked Emma.

  “Duncan had apparently been planning this for some time. All the while you were planning your little revolution, he was planning his. Duncan had a lot of men working with him and your people were dead before he came to me that day in the church.”

  More storm clouds began to sprawl across the sky above them as a roll of thunder rattled the town.

  “You can kill me now,” said Fletcher who looked exhaustedly into Sullivan’s vengeful eyes.

  Chapter 42

  “If he tries anything, shoot him,” said Dietrich, as he handed his gun to Nash before he exited the schoolhouse with Sullivan.

  “Do we believe him?” asked Dietrich in the darkness, rain lightly falling around them.

  “Yes,” said Sullivan, looking back inside through the double doors as Nash continued to train the gun on Fletcher. “His information helps us. I think Duncan wronged him and he’s simply looking for revenge before he dies, which from the looks of things, won’t be too long from now.”

  “Are you okay going out on a night patrol? If he’s right, Duncan could be right on his heels.”

  “I’m already on it,” said Sullivan. “I’ll bring Derek with me.”

  “We’ll work up some plans for the morning to amp up security…”

  “Shhh,” hissed Sullivan as he strained his ears through the darkness. The two of them listened intently, as a soft humming sound got louder and louder.

  “What the hell is that?” asked Dietrich as the sound continued to amplify.

  “Go get the guns,” said Sullivan and took off into the darkness. “Tell everyone to keep inside and try not to panic!”

  “Good luck with that,” Fletcher said.

  “Something’s coming!” said Dietrich as he closed the double doors behind him.

  “Everyone wake up! Stay inside and arm yourselves! Be alert!” yelled Sullivan in the distance as he banged on the doors throughout the town.

  “Dietrich, what is it?” asked Emma as she looked out the window into the darkness.

  Dietrich pushed the lectern over, letting it crash loudly onto the ground as he tore open the hatch.

  “Everyone, take a gun and a knife. I’m not sure what’s coming, but I think we’re in for a fight.”

  “Listen!” yelled Nash as he strained his ears to listen to the hum as it radiated loudly through the town. “It sounds like a motorcycle. Something else too but I can’t figure out what it is.”

  Everyone jumped when Sullivan banged loudly on the door. Nash opened it and let him in before he closed it tightly again.

  “Here we go,” said Fletcher as he held his arm with a delirious look on his face.

  “Did you see what it is?” asked Melissa with a panicked look on her face.

  “It’s a four-wheeler,” he said as he took a couple handguns from the hatch. “It’s dragging people—they’re using the bodies and the noise to lead a pack of howlers here.”

  “Oh, that’s smart,” said Fletcher while he laughed through a heavy coughing fit.

  “How many?” Nash asked. He stared out of the window as the headlights of the ATV illuminated the street.

  “A lot,” said Sullivan.

  The moonlight cascaded the town with a fiendish glow as the howlers descended on the town. The motorcycle rider flew quickly past the schoolhouse, leaving the town as a bolt of lightening illuminated the crowd of monsters in the street. They all watched from the windows of the school house as the howlers banged and screamed at the doors of the houses while they broke windows and poured inside to the screaming of the townspeople.

  “We have to do something!” yelled Nash as a dozen howlers slammed against the sides of the schoolhouse.

  “Gun?” asked Fletcher as he held his hand out to Sullivan.

  “Go to hell,” he said and slapped his hand away harshly. “Melissa, guard the hatch. If he tries anything, kill him!”

  “This should be interesting,” said Fletcher as the howlers shattered the windows.

  Melissa watched from where she was standing as the howlers broke down the front door and came screaming inside. She raised her pistol and fired. Each of them squeezed off shot after shot as the tide of dead clamored toward the living.

  Townspeople were being forced from their homes as the monsters crashed through doorways and forced their way through windows. Once they were in the street they were overpowered by the masses of the dead.

  “What’s the plan?” Emma screamed over the angry screeching of the howlers.

  A flash of light erupted into the sky as the first home burst into flame. The first blast was followed by a dozen more as Duncan’s men firebombed Hillcrest.

  The schoolhouse was filled with dead bodies as the group stood untouched, formed in a line against the back wall. Sullivan opened the hatch again and handed out the remainder of the guns to everyone as the shrieking continued in the streets.

  “You stay here! If I see you outside I’m putting a bullet in your gut,” yelled Sullivan into Fletcher’s face.”

  “Like it matters at this point, Sullivan,” Fletcher said, listening to the carnage all around them.

  The group poured out into the chaos as the dead, now courting new members from their community, ran wildly throughout the muddy street. Fires had spread from house to house and gave the town a hellish glow. They watched as a silhouette in the distance threw a flaming bottle through a window and the bottom floor erupted into flames.

  “If you see someone you don’t know, kill ‘em!” called out Sullivan as he shot a man with a flaming bottle in the distance and watched him fall, screaming in agony as the bottle erupted around him.

  “Nash,” Melissa said, horrified.

  “What is it?” His gaze followed her pointed finger. Sally stood in the middle of the street, her cheek torn open to reveal her teeth behind it as she stood looking lazily into the sky.

  “Damn it,” he whispered.

  By the time they’d killed most of the howlers, all of the buildings were ablaze and the town was illuminated by the bright firelight. Duncan’s men had used the chaos of the howlers to distract them long enough to set fire to their town, and forced the Hillcrest residents out into the open to either be bitten or shot.

  Sullivan’s group took cover the best they could, hiding as they listened to the fires burn in the empty streets. They could hear sporadic screams from the monsters in the distance, followed by gunshots as Duncan’s men finished them off. Sullivan fought the waves of guilt he felt, reliving the fall of the Treefort and wishing they’d kept moving the day they’d met Sally. He found Nash and Melissa’s gaze and saw they same guilt in their eyes.

  “I know you’re out there, Buddy Boy,” called Duncan as he stood in the middle of the street with his men. “Why don’t you come on out, and nobody else has to get
hurt.”

  Nash looked across the street at Dietrich and Sullivan who were hiding behind a building as it burned. They both shook their head no at Nash.

  “Alrighty then! You always were a chicken shit! What about you, Dietrich? Sullivan? Emma? I know for a fact Fletcher’s here somewhere! Daddy’s home! Come on out and give me a big hug!”

  “Where are the twins?” whispered Melissa into Nash’s ear.

  “To be honest, I’m not here for any of you. I’m just here to fuck that tight little blond my boy has been porking since we lived in that forest shithole!”

  Melissa squeezed Nash’s hand even harder, the sound of her name coming from Duncan sending chills down her spine. The group stayed quiet as the fires continued to burn.

  “Come on out, sweetheart. We both know you want it.”

  His men chuckled as they stood in the middle of the street and waited for them to come out. Duncan squeezed the trigger of his rifle and sent a barrage of bullets into the night sky. Each of them tensed in fear as the gunshots echoed through the air.

  “Have it your way, fuckers!”

  They listened as Duncan’s men dragged two figures into the middle of the street. The twins were huddled together on the ground, Jessica’s lip bleeding as Courtney cried loudly beside her.

  “Oh my God…” said Melissa as she placed her hands over her mouth.

  “I’m not fucking around!” screamed Duncan, as he put the barrel of his rifle to the back of Jessica’s head and pulled the trigger. The shot rang through the town as she fell face first into the mud with her arms flailed to her side like a ragdoll. Courtney screamed, clawing at her sister’s body.

  “No!” Courtney sobbed, tugging on her sister’s arm. “No, no, no!”

  “Stop!” Sullivan yelled. He stepped out from behind the brick wall, his hands in the air. “Leave her alone.”

  “The rest of you, come out now, or I’ll shoot this one too!”

  Nash gave Melissa’s hand a quick squeeze before he stepped out from his hiding spot as well, Melissa tucked tight against his back. Dietrich and Emma each stepped out from their own hiding spots; hands in the air.

  The street was littered with the bodies of the townspeople, mixed with the howlers that had been ushered into the town. Derek stood on the sidewalk in his army fatigues, a bloody gouge out of his arm as he absently smiled at them. Duncan fired another shot into Derek’s head, which sent his limp body backward into a burning building.

  “That’s better,” he clapped. “Hiya, Nashy!” Duncan moved forward, his men close behind; only one didn’t move, instead keeping his gun trained on Courtney.

  Nash looked at Duncan through the rain and hardly recognized the crazed man in front of him. He stood tall, hulking with a rifle in hand, with six other armed men behind him. For as long as he’d known him, Duncan had always been clean-shaven, but he settled himself in front of Nash with a scraggly, dirty beard.

  “Cat got your tongue?” asked Duncan and smiled as he leaned in close to Nash. “That’s fine. I expected so much. So…let’s drop our weapons and get down on our knees.”

  The group hesitated for a moment before they tossed their weapons in front of them and knelt in the muddy street. Nash watched the smile on Duncan’s face continue to widen at the carnage all around him. As usual, Duncan carried himself with a theatrical bravado and spent more time entertaining himself with his prey than actually taking action.

  “Tell me…where’s Fletcher Crawford? I’m sure he filled you in on our little spat.”

  “He was in the schoolhouse when you came into town,” said Dietrich.

  Duncan walked slowly and crouched down in front of Dietrich. He stared into his face, revealing his teeth as he smiled fiercely.

  “I very much enjoyed killing that slutty wife of yours. Took her for a spin before I cut her head off, too. Dry as a bone, as I’m sure you remember, but nothing a little lube couldn’t fix.”

  He moved down the line but stopped in front of Sullivan and gazed into his stern eyes.

  “Even more, I enjoyed cutting off the head of that husky bitch you were after,” he said as he smacked Sullivan’s chest two times with the back of his hand. “Big, strapping guy like yourself! You could’ve done much better!”

  “What exactly is it that you want, Duncan?” asked Nash.

  “You, you, you, you, and you…all dead, at my feet!” he said as he pointed to each person in line while he spoke. “Oh, and Fletcher…Fletcher’s gotta die too, but before that, I made Nash a promise a long time ago, and I intend to keep it.”

  “No…” whispered Nash, looking up at the horrible shell of the man Duncan had evolved into.

  “Oh, yes!” Duncan cheered, standing in front of Nash as he looked down with a smile.

  Duncan snapped his fingers and two of his men stepped forward, pointing their guns at Dietrich and Sullivan as another of his men tore Melissa away from Nash.

  “No!” Nash lunged forward to grab her but she was out of range. Duncan stepped forward and fired four rapid shots into the ground in front of Nash. Mud and water shot into the air as he fell backward in shock.

  “You keep your distance, Buddy Boy, and keep your eyes open,” he said as he unzipped his pants and waved his erection around in the rain. “Let papa show you how it’s done!”

  Like a horn blast indicating the start of a great battle, a gunshot rang out in the darkness. Nash looked into the darkness to see Fletcher holding a gun in front of him. The man who guarded Courtney fell to the ground clutching at his throat. Blood sprayed from beneath his hands. Fletcher moved further into the street and fired another shot, connecting with the shoulder of the man who held Melissa.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake!” screamed Duncan as the man holding Melissa fell to the ground and brought her with him as Duncan fumbled for his rifle.

  Nash lunged forward, grabbed his gun, and planted a bullet in the temple of the man still holding on to Melissa. Blood sprayed across her face as she fell backward with a scream, landing on the wet ground. Sullivan sprang toward Duncan and punched him hard across his face. Duncan squeezed the trigger of his gun as he fell and sent bullets wildly into the air. Melissa screamed in pain as one of the bullets connected with her leg, just below the knee.

  “Get her out of here!” screamed Sullivan as he held Duncan to the ground. The rest of the group scrambled for their weapons and opened fire on the remainder of Duncan’s men. A bullet zipped close to Sullivan’s head and tore his ear into jagged shards, as Nash picked up Melissa. She groaned in pain as Nash hurried her to the schoolhouse. He kicked the door open and set Melissa down on the floor inside.

  Sullivan wound up for another solid punch, but Duncan’s knee came up hard between his legs. Sullivan hesitated just a moment, before his fist connected with Duncan’s nose with a sickening crunch. Blood spilled from Duncan’s face, and he flailed about, kneeing Sullivan twice more in rapid succession before he wiggled out from beneath him.

  Duncan went for the rifle as Sullivan slowly recovered from the previous blow, but Dietrich was gaining on them. A loud pop echoed nearby and Duncan released a screech of pain; blood blossoming on his shoulder from the bullet wound.

  “Oh fuck you, Dietrich!” yelled Duncan before he sprinted into the darkness between two houses. Dietrich disappeared after him as Emma ran to Sullivan’s side.

  “Come on!” she said and tried to help him up.

  “No!” he coughed through the pain. He pointed to Courtney, who was hunched over her dead sister in the rain. “Take her to the schoolhouse. Help Nash.”

  Sullivan remained on his back in the mud and looked up into the dark sky, a flash of lightning illuminating the dying town. The fires slowly descended from the heavy rain, and returned them to the darkness that had started the skirmish. Dietrich joined him in the street and knelt beside him.

  “He’s gone.”

  “It’s fine,” said Sullivan as he let Dietrich help him stand. “We’ll find him.”

  The
two of them hobbled their way toward the schoolhouse, going quickly up the walkway, Melissa’s cries of pain echoing inside.

  Chapter 43

  The group left the schoolhouse together as the sun crested over the horizon, shedding light on the true amount of carnage from the night before. Bodies were sprawled about in all directions and a few slowpokes were left standing confused in the mud. Dietrich and Sullivan walked through the town and collected the dead bodies of those who had lived with them, finding a few survivors who had waited out the night in hiding. They laid the dead in the schoolhouse, carefully placed next to each other on the floor.

  Sullivan personally gathered the few slowpokes that were hanging around and laid them down as well, placing a covering over their face before he slid his knife into the side of their heads. The final slowpoke he put to rest was Sally. The bodies of Duncan’s men were left to rot in the streets, a silent decision they had all agreed upon.

  “Sullivan,” said Dietrich as he called him over to the side of the road. The two of them looked down into a small ditch at the body of Fletcher Crawford.

  The two men looked down at the man who caused this madness, and the man who helped save them in the end. Without saying a word, the two of them reached down and picked him up, water and blood cascaded from his body as they carried him from the ditch and placed him with the others inside the schoolhouse. The others watched them lay him down, some conflicted with the decision to lay him to rest with the other Hillcrest residents.

  Dietrich grabbed a shovel leaning on the inside of the schoolhouse and walked out, followed by Sullivan who stopped and stood in the doorway, looking back at the blanket of dead bodies in front of him. He felt incredible guilt as he gazed at them, each with a cloth covering their faces, and knew he could have done more to protect them. He took a lighter and lit a Molotov cocktail and tossed it into the room. He shut the door and joined the rest of the survivors in the street.

  They stood together as the old building caught fire, each of them making their own sort of peace with what had happened there. Sullivan walked up the street, stepping around the soggy bodies of the dead, and covered Jessica’s body with a sheet, before he picked her up.