by catt dahman
“And all sorts of bad people know the kids aren’t being watched and protected. Perverts and this time…Peri, I mean what’s going on here all over this place?” Shan asked. “This feels and looks all wrong. It’s like we stepped into a nightmare or a sick joke we aren’t in on.”
Peri told her, “I have no idea. I get the feeling the hotel people aren’t surprised by this, but I also get a feeling it isn’t what they…expected? I don’t know. I know it’s all connected but can’t see how. Maybe the infection makes some people go insane and become violent.”
“Lisa isn’t.”
“Lisa. Oh, Shan, her face…she’s not gonna be okay,” Peri said.
“We’ll make sure she’s okay,” Norman said.
“I may be wrong. I don’t see any other injuries like bites or anything. She’s just hit on the head,” Peri looked up from the child.
Shan shivered, “How can you even look, Peri?”
“I don’t know. It’ll hit me later, probably. You check the playground, and we’ll get the springs.”
“Splitting up is always a bad idea,” Ricky muttered, taking Shan’s hand, “but I guess we need to for this situation.” He looked unsure.
“I don’t know what we’re even doing out here. I think those men may be right,” Peri admitted.
As their friends went to the playground, Norman and Peri went to the springs, looked around, and searched behind trees and rocks. She couldn’t explain, but Peri knew it was best not to call out. Yelling in this quiet place would scare her badly enough she might just run away. Ricky was right in saying they should stay together. She should never have come out here anyway.
Shadows and dark places were very creepy.
Steam rose off the hot pools of water, making it foggy and hard to see clearly. Norman grabbed her arm and held her back for a second, his head cocked to the side. He looked at her with a questioning glance and she nodded. She heard the moaning, almost like a humming chorus. It was the most frightening sound she had ever heard; it was the sound of hell.
Someone was close.
Very quietly, they walked around a wall of rocks and in the moonlight saw something from a terrible dream. A little girl lay on the pine needle-covered ground, with a black, messy hole in her throat that was still leaking blood. She was on her back, and her little stomach was ripped open and partially missing. Her jeans were blood caked, but her shirt was ripped away so her stomach was bared in all its gory mess. The opened bowels smelled terrible.
Peri stared, shocked. It was as if some wild animal had ripped the child apart, but then that theory didn’t coincide with what they saw. The tableau was confusing, even horrible. In the back of her mind, she understood this. Nick Hoyt had told the truth.
Another little girl, her hair obscuring her face, sat back on her feet, knees bent and legs tucked underneath her blue dress. Her chest and lap were covered in maroon gore, and her arms and hands were filthy; she complacently moaned a little as she ate a thick stream of intestines like a sausage, chewing and gorging herself.
Smacking and chomping greedily, she ate as pieces of her meal fell from her lips to her lap. She didn’t notice but continued to feed ecstatically, her eyes rolling back in her head so that only the whites showed.
Peri clenched her fists so her nails hurt her palms. This was the most horrible thing she had ever seen or been around, and she didn’t know whether she should vomit, run, or faint. Probably all three.
The second girl crouched like an animal and picked out choice bits from the mess that she stuffed into her mouth. Her long, knobby limbs stretched behind and before her. A dirty Band-Aid was taped over one knee. At times, she leaned forward and lapped at the blood like a dog. She also smacked and snarled as she chewed.
The noise made this far worse.
Peri covered her own mouth with one hand, gagging. Though it was dark and they had only moonlight, Peri’s eyes had adjusted enough so that she could see Norman go pale. He looked a little puzzled by what they were seeing.
“Hey,” Norman said. He really didn’t know what to say to the two girls feeding on human flesh. He wanted to grab Peri, who was amazingly brave, smart, pretty, and fun, and run like hell until they were safe; he wanted to get out of this place. He knew he had to ignore his revulsion and fear and see what he could do to help the circumstances, but this was a bad situation.
The crouching girl looked up at the man and woman and got to her feet. She didn’t look ashamed or scared at being caught; she didn’t seem to care in the least. She was only casually interested in the newcomers and didn’t care human skin fell from her lips. Once past the body, she ambled at Norman in a shambling way, bloody hands outstretched; she was moaning and hungry.
He felt as if he had stepped into a horror movie. The word zombie filled his mind.
He pushed her back several times, getting rougher with each push. She didn’t stop launching herself at Norman. “Go away,” He hissed, disgusted each time he touched her.
Peri found that the second girl was on her feet too and headed her way. Looking into those feral but blank eyes, Peri was sure the girl was insane at the very least. It was like a shark: her eyes were soulless but very, very hungry. How could the child be on her feet with all of her wounds?
Grabbing a tree limb off the ground, Peri swiped it sideways into the girl’s legs so the girl fell; Peri battered her legs, terrified the girl would rip into her flesh as well. “Now stay down,” she ordered the child, but the girl didn’t react to the order, instead fighting and grabbing the tree limb and trying to get up again.
Peri couldn’t stand the thought of this creature touching her.
With the other girl snapping at his face, Norman took her in his hands, slamming her head first into a rock wall, smashing until her head lolled, and he felt her go limp. Sick relief flooded him. Peri was still swinging as the girl who was chasing her scrambled along, legs obviously broken; the girl wouldn’t stop snarling and forging ahead. Deftly, Norman ran over, grabbed the girl’s head, and snapped it, breaking her neck to protect Peri.
Peri bent over and baby-burped a little, crying. She swallowed hard to keep from puking any more. If Peri smelled her own vomit on top of the scents of blood, urine, feces, and infection, she thought she would empty her stomach for the next week solid.
“Are you okay?”
“Ummm,” Peri moaned.
“Peri? Are you bitten?”
“No. I’m not bitten. I just feel sick from that. I don’t think anyone could be okay…what are they? What is wrong with them?”
“It’s like the others said…they attack and bite. Well, this was worse, but what might they have done if Eddie hadn’t reacted as he did? Take some slow, deep breaths through your mouth, and exhale through your nose.”
“Right.” Peri walked over, climbed up the rocks, and leaned over to scoop hot water into her mouth to rinse it out. She hated the taste of almost-vomit. In a minute, she felt better and stood, looked around, and prepared to jump back down so they could get out of this place.
Instead, she stared, eyes going wide as she pointed dumbly. Literally not a word escaped her lips. Her body went cold as she tried to stop herself from passing out.
Beside Norman, the dead child wiggled on the ground, beginning with her toes and feet and then her legs. Her hands raised and lowered. Next, her jaw opened and closed, and it began dragging itself to its feet. It was an it because there was no way possible that thing was a child anymore. Parts fell from its stomach as it tried to moan but managed a gargle.
Peri and Norman watched it, unable to speak or move for a second. It was too unreal to be possible, but it was happening before their eyes.
Peri, not thinking, totally horrified, stepped backwards and fell into the spring.
Norman, hoping Peri was all right, moaned, too. He then lifted a large rock from the side of the spring and slammed it into the child’s face and head, making him feel nauseated. The sound of the rock smashing into the child’s he
ad sickened him to the bottom of his soul. When she fell, he still hit her for a long time, leaving behind mush.
Distantly, Peri was calling his name, he thought. If there were more creatures, then he and Peri were doomed because Norman didn’t think he could kill any more children right then.
He dropped the rock, hands shaking, as a deep chill enveloped his body.
If not for Peri’s leaning out of the water and calling him, he would have slumped to the ground, in shock; he stumbled and almost fell as he shambled over to the water. Once there, he climbed up and slid over against Peri and allowed her to pull him into the hot water. He was so cold and shaking from shock that he needed the hot springs badly. He wanted to be clean as well.
For a while, they stood in the neck-deep, hot mineral water, letting it softly caress them as it ran along the pool and overflowed into the next, cooler pool. The water was very hot, not quite uncomfortable, but nearly so, and it remained hot until their bodies became accustomed to the temperature. He held Peri close, and she cried a long time against his chest.
Norman, his face in her hair, smelled green apple shampoo, and it made him think of sunshine and children’s laughter. He cried a little as he held Peri. He had just killed three little girls. That they were trying to bite and kill them made it no better. He knew one girl had been dead before they came into the clearing and didn’t understand how she got up and came after him, but it was horrible.
He raised his head as they heard a distant scream. “I can’t talk about it, okay? We know. We did it. Let’s find Ricky and Shan and get dry clothes.”
“Agreed. Thank you,” Peri said.
“Hmm? For what?”
Peri hugged him, “Without you, they would have gotten me. Without you, I’d be crazy having seen that. Without you, I’d be more afraid.”
He kissed her, “Remind me when this is over that we’re going on a real date.”
“Okay, I will. Those things…they weren’t people anymore, were they?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t know how to define that any more, but they were dangerous and contagious. They only want to feed and spread the infection.
“Like zombies?” Peri asked.
“I guess so.”
“Was that Shan who screamed?” she asked.
“I hope not.”
They got out of the water, feeling as if they were leaving a safe place. Neither wanted to get out of the hot water and found the outside air was chilly in comparison, but they were worried about their friends. They tried to wring out their clothing but were miserable in the colder air. Sloshing, Peri and Norman backtracked along the trail, refusing to look at the little, dead bodies.
Just as they entered the playground area, Normal again grabbed Peri’s arm to stop her. The scent of blood was strong.
A strange object lay before them, part of it shining darkly.
“What on earth?” Peri turned her head and tried to make sense of the object. It was long and dark and had things sticking out on the end. The things ended in bright pink lacquer. Something caught the moonlight and glittered. Norman said something soothing and told her not to look, but it was too late, and Peri went to her knees and sobbed.
The object was an arm wearing a thick, wide-gold bracelet that Peri had given Shan on her birthday.
All around her were shouts, people running, moans, more yelling, a scream, more footsteps, and blurs of movement. Bristol was suddenly there and looked at Peri, speaking, but Peri had trouble understanding the words. Patiently, Bristol spoke slowly and softly, brushing back Peri’s damp hair.
Bristol was willowy, had black hair, cut short across her forehead into bangs and then short again below her ears so she had the look of a pixie. As thin as she was, she helped Peri to her feet, turning her away from the carnage.
“Dead girls…one was dead and she came back, Bristol. They tried to eat us and Shan….” It had been too much at once. Peri was unable to find words as everything rushed in and out of her brain. She wondered what had happened to Shan. What was wrong with her? And as Peri thought about the biting children, her stomach flipped.
“It’ll be okay. Try to calm down, and don’t pass out.”
Peri nodded, “Okay.” She tried to listen to Bristol.
Norman’s friends and Bristol had gotten there just in time and carried items they had pulled off the walls of the lodge as weapons: a sword, a hatchet, several knives, a heavy pickaxe, shovel, and kitchen knives. Worried about their friends, they had run out to help.
The mother (Mama Biter) of the Baby Biters, one of the lost little girls, and two men and a woman were in the playground area; all but the first were two bitten and infected. Shan and Ricky were blind-sided but both fought back. Unfortunately, the biters overcame Shan, and they tore her apart. Ricky was alive but bitten badly.
Ricky spoke in fits and starts, his voice breaking with the pain of his wounds, the horror of the fight, and with seeing Shan torn apart. His eyes were big and sad. He couldn’t erase the sight of the attractive woman being stripped of flesh and eaten right before his eyes as they fought back. Once her neck was bitten, she collapsed fast, her eyes, beautiful and sad. She looked as if she felt betrayed and forgotten already even if Ricky fought to help her.
It was his guilt.
One of the men stripped off his tee shirt, ripped it apart, and bound Ricky’s wounds quickly. Ricky had bloody holes on his arms, hands and on his neck; the pain was excruciating.
“They’re all…well…dead again,” Bristol told Peri. Peri was a little stunned by her friend’s demeanor. In this situation, Peri thought Bristol would fall apart and be helpless, but she was showing a lot of strength. That was good because Peri really needed her friend’s strength right then. She looked like a real fighter.
Peri admired how her friends were staying strong. She looked at Ricky’s injuries, and it felt as if a lot of information flittered through her mind, and she knew there was something they were forgetting, but she couldn’t concentrate.
As they took the back stairs, they saw guests of the lodge beginning to roam around, asking questions because they heard the screaming and shouting. Some still slept behind the closed doors, but many had been awakened and were wandering, worried and curious.
Norman said they wanted to get everyone into the dining room so they could tell the story once and be done; he urged people to go downstairs and meet in the back room so everyone could be updated. He and Peri were itchy and chilly in the night air and their wet clothing; the soaked cloth also felt heavy and rough on their skin.
How he would tell those people that the two lost girls and one other were dead, he didn’t know. If they went to look, they would find the girls ripped apart and bitten and their heads smashed. Maybe he would lie about them. For now, anyway.
Peri changed into loose, faded jeans, her comfortable hiking boots, and a pale green tee-shirt, and Norman changed into similar clothing, and they went back downstairs fast; there was no time to spare. As soon as they reached the ground floor, they could tell that something horrible had happened while they were away.
David Dallas and Nick Hoyt stood in the hallway, supposedly on guard duty, but they admitted they were mainly trying to keep people out of that area as the injured were there.
They weren’t in place to help those inside the area.
And some of the patients had attacked.
Chapter 6
Safe Sex is Best…The Bar…Explanations…Old Time
Texas Ass Whoopin’…
Sheila continued to complain about pain and stayed in a fetal position as her internal organs throbbed with infection, and she filled a basin with vomit. Both Dana and Susan checked on her often, but she knew they were flummoxed about how to treat her. They explained kindly that everyone was under quarantine, which to Sheila, meant, they were in deep trouble.
At least she was.
To kill time, she fantasized about ripping Mike’s testicles off for infecting her.
Whi
le she was sick to her stomach, she also felt a wave of hunger rolling through her belly. She tried to keep the images from her head, but she kept thinking of raw steak and then of blood, red and coppery, oozing from her lips and delicious. As she glanced at the wrapped woman and the child who were in the room with her, she had a terrible vision.
She imagined biting into the little girl’s flesh, seeing it white and dented before it popped open beneath her teeth. Crimson liquid bubbled from the punctures, and she swept her fingers through it, enjoying the texture. The sounds were similar to duct tape being ripped from a roll as she yanked her head back and away and a strip of skin tore free.
She chewed.
A little rubbery, the flesh slid around until it was shredded. Juices filled her mouth, and she swallowed, letting the meat take the hunger pangs away. It was so delicious that she wanted, no demanded more, ignoring the child’s ineffectual slapping and kicking. Screams filled her head as well as some type of garbled language that she didn’t understand.
Blood. Meat. Good. Those words had a little meaning to Sheila as she took another bite; her brain and stomach told her to fill her belly. The meat wasn’t perfect as it was infected, but it was good.
Then she didn’t know what red was or what a belly was. She ate more because it stopped the cramping and it pleased her. In another second, it didn’t please her because she felt nothing. Her eyes turned dull, and her mutterings became a low moan.
She heard more food.
Dana slid to a stop in her tracks. Before her, the woman named Sheila was bent over little Nina, chewing and swallowing flesh from the girl’s arm, moaning. Lisa sat with her hands up before her as if to ward away the sight, but she was only silently screaming, her mouth open.
The bandages had fallen away as Lisa struggled to sit up and as she watched; her face was almost fully bruised purple and green, the blisters and skin on her cheek were gone, leaving a gaping hole. Her nose and eye looked gelatinous and rotten, as if they might slough away at any time. Fluids ran down her face in ugly trails, soaking her shirt. At least the pain was more of a numb irritation now.