The Shadow Box: Paranormal Suspense and Dark Fantasy Thriller Novels

by Travis Luedke

  Ben slowed to a stop, and I pulled up next to him. Holly and I watched, dumbstruck, as the soldiers fired on the car.

  “They’re trying to kill them!” she said.

  But they were shooting at the tires. The car spun out and crashed. Armed soldiers surrounded the vehicle as the stunned driver crawled out. They ordered everyone else out—including small, crying children—and made them lie on the ground face down.

  The car ahead of us made a U-turn and shot past us. We decided to get out of there too. Down the road, we pulled over.

  “So much for leaving,” Aaron said.

  “We need to hunker down and rest,” Landry said. “Looks like it’s going to be a long fight.”

  “What about that grocery store?” Ben said.

  “Too hard to secure,” Landry said. “We need a place that has cooking facilities and a minimum of exits.”

  “The motel,” I said. “The rooms have a hot plate and a small refrigerator.”

  “The motel sounds good,” Holly said.

  A death shriek tore through the darkness.

  “Let’s get moving,” Landry said.

  * * *

  One thing I learned in dealing with Ram Chakravarthy was that if he did anything extra for you, it always came at a price. And there was no negotiation. The price was the price—take it or leave it. But he ran a clean operation, and I was good with that.

  “Hi, Ram. I’m back,” I said. “We need three rooms next to each other.”

  “I charge you ten dollars extra per night,” he said without looking up from his laptop. Then he tapped the screen. “Bloody Internet is down again.”

  “Wait a second,” Ben said. I gave him a look.

  “That’s fine,” I said.

  “Do you take credit cards?” Ben said. I heard the irritation in his voice.

  Ram smiled pleasantly. “If I take, there will be a bank charge which I must pass on to you.”

  “Right,” Ben said as he handed over his card.

  Our three rooms were on the second floor. Once we were settled in, we stood on the balcony and looked out at the town. The streets seemed quiet, though I couldn’t see much because of the tree line. In the distance I saw flames. I imagined looters and weirdos turning the town into a perverted block party and cursed them.

  We agreed not to make any decisions till we’d gotten some sleep. Each of us had food that we prepared in our rooms. The plan was to rise early, get some coffee and reconvene.

  Holly and I had canned goods, but we had also gotten cheese, lunch meat and bread, figuring we could eat that up before it went bad. As she fixed sandwiches, I flicked on the TV and clicked around until I found the local news.

  Evie Champagne was on the ground reporting that Black Dragon was burning bodies in huge pits, trying to keep the disease from spreading further.

  “Felix, I’m standing just yards away from a vacant lot,” she said. Her mouth and nose were wrapped in a silk scarf. “As you can see, a makeshift pit has been dug into the ground. And it’s filled with burning bodies. The smell is indescribable—overwhelming. I’ve asked Black Dragon officials to confirm numbers, but either they won’t say or they don’t know. From where I’m standing, it looks to be in the hundreds so far.”

  “Evie, are these mostly civilians?” Felix said from the newsroom.

  “Unknown.”

  “Has Black Dragon given any indication whether things are under control?”

  “No. I’ve asked a number of people, and the answer is always the same. ‘We’re still securing the area, and we’ll have an official update later.’”

  As names and faces of some of the dead and missing scrolled past on a news ticker, I looked for a place for us to eat, settling on the bed. Holly set down plastic plates and water bottles.

  “I’m sorry about your mom,” I said. Her eyes stayed focused on the TV.

  I wasn’t sure about the sleeping arrangements since Holly wanted nothing to do with me in that department. I kept eyeing an overstuffed chair and wondered if there were any extra blankets. Then I remembered Ram would charge for those.

  “… reporters were not allowed into the area. The cell-phone video you’re seeing was taken earlier this evening. Additional unconfirmed reports are coming in saying that looters are being shot on sight. We will update you as we learn more.”

  What we saw made us sick. The news anchor reported that the epidemic was spreading. In faraway communities there were isolated reports of attacks. Some attributed them to mass hysteria, others to the end of days.

  “There are also reports of so-called survivalists clashing with Black Dragon security forces,” he said. “We’re being told that a group calling itself the Red Militia has been attacking soldiers and stealing their weapons. Their motive is unclear so far.”

  After a few minutes, Holly switched off the TV and looked at me. There was a deep hurt in her eyes that I’d never seen before. I tried touching her hand, but she pulled it away. Her expression reminded me that what I had done to her was far worse than any mass army of the undead.

  I wasn’t a bad person, I kept telling myself. I made a mistake. I wanted to be better. I was not a bad person.

  “I know you’re not,” she said.

  “What?”

  “I know you’re not a bad person.” Shit, had I said that out loud? “Look, you can sleep with me in the bed, but that’s as far as it goes.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “I mean it.” I took off my shoes and lay on top of the covers to show my good intentions. “See? No funny business.”

  I might have imagined it, but I thought she cracked a smile.

  * * *

  I don’t remember falling asleep. When I opened my eyes, it was night and I was on that lonely forest road where I’d crashed my car. I was walking alone. I couldn’t hear anything, but up ahead in the distance, I saw Jim’s dog.

  It stared at me with hot, red eyes, its head low and menacing. It looked huge. Behind the dog, in the middle of the road, was Bob Creasy, the man who’d given me a ride that night. He stood in front of his van waving, silhouetted by the glaring headlights.

  I turned to run, but as often happens in dreams, I couldn’t move very fast. I was unable to look back, but I knew the dog was gaining on me. I felt a tremendous force on my back that knocked me down onto the pavement, which was like liquid tar. I felt the animal tearing at my back through my clothes. It didn’t hurt.

  I stood and looked at my surroundings. It was day, and I was in the middle of the street in downtown Tres Marias, staring at the Beehive. Cars went around me, honking their horns, the drivers swearing unintelligibly.

  I saw Jim and Missy through the plate-glass window. They sat in a booth drinking huge schooners of beer. They looked dead. Dry, bloody grey flesh slid off their faces and neck into the beer, like they were molting. Though their eyes betrayed no emotion, they acted as if they were filled with life, telling each other jokes and laughing.

  As I moved towards them, I noticed everyone around me was dead—even the passing drivers. I continued towards the bar. Jim and Missy leaned into each other and tongue-kissed. A black sludge squirted from the edges of their gory mouths as kidney worms lay writhing on the table. They stopped kissing and looked at me. In the window, I took in my own reflection.

  I was one of them.

  As I looked closer, someone touched my shoulder. When I turned, I saw Detective Van Gundy smiling, the flesh on his face oozing downwards like warm cake frosting. His eyes were dark crystals.

  “This was your fault,” he said in a small, faraway voice. “All of it. I know about Jim and Missy and the dead woman in the forest. I know about Fred and Stacey and Holly’s mother. All your fault, Dave.”

  “No,” I said, in a milky vacuum.

  I woke up to the sound of a shriek. I thought Missy had tracked me down. My heart was beating fast, and I found myself in a cold sweat. When I looked over at Holly, she was asleep. I tried closing my eyes again, but each time I did I saw M
issy’s face crawling with maggots, her angry eyes red, almost on fire.

  In the morning I opened my eyes and saw Holly getting dressed. Her hair was wet from a shower, and she smelled wonderful. I tried not to think about it.

  “There’s coffee,” she said.

  She sat on the bed and watched the local news while I showered. Usually I would come out naked and put on my clothes. Instead, I dressed in the bathroom.

  A short time later we gathered outside on the balcony. There was no safe place for us to meet. We were concerned that the undead might have wandered into the area. The balcony was a good place from which to observe.

  All of us except Holly had weapons. Instead of a gun, I decided to hold on to my axe.

  “So what’s the plan?” Ben said.

  “Normally I would advise driving to safety,” Landry said. “But after listening to the news this morning, it’s sounding like there may be nowhere left that’s safe.”

  “What about getting ahead of it?” Aaron said. “We could try LA or San Diego.”

  “That’s assuming the roads are clear,” Ben said.

  “It might buy us time,” I said. “But if they can’t stop this thing, it’ll spread everywhere.”

  “And you’re forgetting that the town is under quarantine. That means no one gets in or out,” Landry said.

  “Even if we’re not infected?” Ben said.

  “Tell me, Ben, what does infection look like? How do we know we’re not carrying the virus?”

  “There must be tests,” Holly said.

  “Afraid not. Looks like we wait it out.”

  “Is that possible?” Aaron said. “I mean, what are our chances?”

  “Not good,” Landry said. “Eventually there might not be power or fresh water or food. Things we take for granted.”

  “And we’ll have to make sure we don’t get sick,” I said. “I don’t mean bitten—I mean any other kind of illness.”

  “Right,” Landry said. “Who knows what medicines will be available.”

  “Or doctors,” Ben said.

  Landry continued. “Our weapons will hold out for a while, but we’ll have to maintain a steady supply of ammo. Not just to fight the undead. There’s going to be a lot of desperate people. Worse than what we saw at the grocery store.”

  “You mean like the Red Militia,” I said.

  “Right. And with desperation comes more violence. And don’t forget, right now there may be thousands of people like us planning what to do next. And there’s only so many resources.”

  “I’m guessing most people will try to leave,” I said.

  “And they’ll be shot,” Landry said.

  “What about the back roads?”

  “I don’t think so. The authorities can’t afford to let this thing spread any more than it has already.”

  “Do you think Black Dragon will be able to contain it?” Aaron said.

  “Hard to say,” Landry said. “You saw what happened at the high school. No, I’m thinking we’re on our own.”

  Holly was quiet during the discussion. I kept looking at her for clues.

  Ben said, “Holly, what do you think?”

  She looked at the others, then at me. “I want to stay,” she said. There didn’t seem to be any doubt in her mind.

  I was surprised and very afraid. I didn’t want to remain here. Like any rational human, I preferred to take my chances on the road. “Why?” I said. It came out angrier than I intended.

  “Because I grew up here. And I guess I’ll die here.”

  She went back into our room and closed the door. We saw her through the window, sitting on the bed.

  She was praying.

  * * *

  “I need you to talk some sense into her,” I said to Landry.

  We were in Ben and Aaron’s room, which was the furthest away, so Holly couldn’t hear us through the thin motel walls. Ben made tea for us. I stood in front of the bed with Aaron and Landry. We were all edgy.

  “Sounds to me like her mind is pretty much made up,” Landry said.

  “It’s crazy staying here. This town is like—”

  “The epicenter, I know.”

  “So you need to tell her,” I said. “There’s got to be a way out of here.”

  “Let’s look at it from the other side,” Landry said as Ben handed us our tea. I hated when he did that. Considering the other side meant it had validity. “We could pull together more supplies and find a way out. You already know the main roads are blocked. I assume the fire roads are blocked as well.”

  “I got through before.”

  “They were just starting to secure the area then,” Ben said. “Now they’re everywhere. And what about the helicopter patrols?”

  Landry blew on his tea. “Never mind. Let’s say by some miracle we did make it out. Where do we go? North? South? East?”

  “I was thinking south,” I said.

  “Why?” Aaron said.

  “How the hell should I know? Maybe LA isn’t infected yet.”

  “Dave,” Landry said, “there are tons of tourists here in August—many from LA. All it would take is one who’s infected to return there and spread the disease.”

  “But we’d have more of a chance to survive. It wouldn’t be as widespread.”

  “And what about getting there? You think we’re the only ones trying to leave this place? You think there won’t be criminals and psychos of every shape, size and creed on the highway? Did you ever think it won’t be the undead who kill us, but ordinary people?”

  “So what are we supposed to do? Wait around to die?” I felt everyone was against me.

  “No, we have to find someplace safe.”

  “So you agree with Holly.”

  “I didn’t say that.” Landry looked at me with those piercing blue eyes I knew all too well from countless science lectures. “I’m simply weighing the options.”

  “Let’s look at the other side,” Ben said. “Suppose we stay and can’t find someplace safe. What if it’s one day after the next fighting hordes of undead and the Red Militia on the weekends? This place is swarming. How long do we think we can survive here?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “And I vote we get out.”

  “Hold on, Dave. This is too important a decision to vote on without giving this some real thought. I for one need the night. Ben?”

  “Yeah, me too. I want to talk it over more with Aaron.”

  “Fine,” I said. “You guys sleep on it, and meanwhile the gates of Hell are opening wider.”

  “Let’s not overdramatize,” Landry said.

  “Shit, I can’t believe you guys.” I threw my teacup across the room, where it splashed the wall and bounced onto the carpet. Then I left. I knew Ram would send me the cleaning bill. Screw it.

  * * *

  “So did you guys come to a decision?” Holly said as I sat on the bed, motionless, stewing in my own juices.

  It was evening. I’d spent the day walking in circles around the motel, trying to convince myself there was a way out of this. I knew it was stupid to be outside. I could have been attacked.

  “No,” I said. “They want to think about it tonight.”

  “Look, Dave. I don’t expect you to stay with me. I’ve made my decision. You need to do what’s right for you.” Her face betrayed no emotion. Her eyes were red, and there was a small, bloody scratch where she’d chewed her lip.

  “You mean, you’d go it alone here?”

  “Yes.”

  I saw that she was holding a rosary she must’ve picked up at St. Monica’s. It was made of blue plastic, with a little white crucifix at the end—the kind they give away at the Children’s Mass.

  “You still remember how to use that thing?” I said.

  “I do. Want me to show you?”

  “Maybe later.”

  I went outside and stood on the balcony, looking at the night sky. Every instinct, every feeling in my body told me to run. There was nothing holding me here a
nyway. Holly and I were done. She had absolved me from the need to stay with her and protect her. She’d said it. I was free to do what was right for me. And I wanted so much to take her up on it. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had no home. I was, like the song says, free fallin’.

  Landry must have seen me, because he came out and joined me on the balcony. He patted my shoulder and gazed up at the stars.

  “Pretty, aren’t they? Can you show me where Ursa Major is?”

  “I think I was sick that day.”

  “It’s right over there,” he said, pointing. “And there’s Ursa Minor.”

  “Little Bear.”

  “See? You do remember.”

  “What I remember is, a time when I could look up at the stars and not worry whether some creature from Hell was sneaking up behind me.”

  “Me too.”

  “And I remember what it was like to be young. Without any worries other than being late for hockey practice. I don’t feel young anymore.”

  “We all have to grow up. Sooner or later.”

  “Not like this.”

  “Looking back, do you remember what it was like being at your best?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “When was that?”

  “On the ice with a stick in my hand.”

  “Do you remember what it felt like?”

  “Like I ruled. Nothing could stop me—not a broken nose or a bigger opponent. It was the one time in my life I can remember not being scared.”

  “You need to get that feeling back, Dave, and soon.” Landry touched my shoulder again, then left me on the balcony.

  I looked at the stars, trying to find my courage. But all I could do was contemplate a bleak, lonely future without Holly.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The Company You Keep

  How did they find me? When I opened my eyes, I was on the floor of Jim’s kitchen, in a sea of empty beer bottles. I had drunk everything in the refrigerator. From the smell of me, I must have pissed myself. I had a blinding headache and a very real urge to puke. The sun was not yet high, and I felt the cool of the morning from a breeze blowing in through the open front door.