The Loki Variation

by James Riley, Sabrina

  All three of them sat in silence, not knowing what to say or do anymore, as Derek sat up against the inside wall of the Mauler. Sasha moved from her position in front of him to beside him, leaning on the wall next to him, resting her head on his shoulders. She could feel his body quaking. Nora moved in as well, to Sasha, and curled her legs up underneath her.

  Hud was still driving, looking back at them every now and then, with an unexplainable look on his face. Sasha felt unusually peaceful, even after the overwhelming events of the day, and Nora was calmer as well. No one said a word for a long time.

  After several stops for bathroom breaks along the Interstate, and while eating another meal of cold food right out of the can, Derek, Hud, and Sasha began talking about their trip, the plans, and the change that had occurred to Derek.

  “Well, we made it into Georgia. I’ve never had to drive this slow before, it took us 3 times as long as usual to make it this far.” Hud said between bites.

  Derek was eating, but was having a hard time swallowing. The scent of the canned vegetables was overpowering, but not unpleasant. He felt hungry, but his throat fought him every time he tried to get a bite down. He forced himself. Sasha noticed, but didn’t say anything.

  “We are coming up on Savannah. I haven’t seen a living person yet, everything looks the same. Less cars, but there will be more in the city.” Hud continued, “I think we should stop in Savannah, see if we can find anything. Anyone.”

  Sasha nodded. She had hoped that by leaving their immediate area, they would learn that the outbreak of whatever this was has just been isolated. It looked more widespread with every mile they traveled. She wanted desperately to find other survivors, but also wanted desperately to get to the cabin and try to salvage some resemblance of a normal life; sleeping in a bed, taking a shower, eating hot food.

  Derek was still shaking, still flexing, but he seemed to be relaxing a little. Or maybe he was just getting used to it, he thought. His heartbeat was still pounding, but it wasn’t making him near panic. He was watching Ripley as she ate from a paper plate that had been filled with canned macaroni and some beans. Her ears moved at every sound, Derek could hear what she heard. When Hud moved to stand, one of his joints cracked, and Derek and Ripley both looked in Hud’s direction. He watched her sniff the food, knowing she could smell the pasta and the cheese sauce separately, and she could tell by the scent of the beans that they were close in make up to meat, but not quite. He was beginning to understand her world.

  Once Hud was finished eating, he drank a whole bottle of water, and returned to the driver’s seat. It was beginning to get dark now, and Derek, with the sunglasses on, was able to clearly make out almost everything outside the front windshield. Hud kept a wary eye on Derek as he sat next to him in the passenger seat, but didn’t resist his company. Sasha and Nora took their places on the seat behind him, and Ripley curled up beside Nora, enjoying the girl’s petting.

  As Hud drove, Derek looked out of his window in awe. The darker it got, the clearer everything became. He removed the sunglasses, and was able to see far ahead of the Mauler, objects that were not even within range of the headlights yet. The moon and few stars were the only other light, and he could not imagine how he was able to read license plates on cars he normally would barely be able to see.

  He had told Sasha and Hud about it, and they were testing him.

  “What does that sign up there say?” Sasha asked, pointing far into the distance. She could make out the shape of a sign on the side of the road, but the lettering on it was nowhere near readable at this distance.

  “Savannah 14 miles.” He answered without hesitation.

  A few moments later, when the sign came into the headlight’s glare, Sasha and Hud could clearly read that he had been correct. Sasha was thrilled and worried at the same time. Superpowers were one thing, but what about when they were the result of an attack by another person, or some virus?

  Eventually, Hud pulled off of the Interstate, slowly, onto an exit ramp that led into Savannah. Streets were dark, cars were stopped everywhere, and debris and bodies were scattered, just like in Jacksonville. Everyone’s hopes diminished a bit, but Hud pressed on, pushing the Mauler up one street and down another. They passed rows of housing, obviously deserted, and once busy shopping areas, ghostly quiet now.

  After a few hours of searching in vain for any sign of life, Hud had driven away from town and into a more rural area. Sasha had protested meekly, she wanted to find anyone left alive. It was killing her to think that there could be others here, hiding, waiting for help. Hud, with as few words as possible, explained to her that it was probably useless, and that they needed to head towards the cabin so that they didn’t end up like everyone else in Savannah. She quieted.

  He was following a sign that had pointed to the nearest entrance ramp back onto the Interstate. Derek and Sasha were sitting in the front of the Mauler, near Hud, while Nora played with Ripley. Derek was trying to explain to Hud what it felt like, this change he had experienced after being bitten. He handed him the screwdriver he had bent into a “u” shape.

  “So you’re what, Superman now?” Hud was saying, turning the screwdriver over in his hand.

  “Yeah, guess so. Wonder what my kryptonite is?” Derek mused, sarcastically.

  “Sasha.” Hud answered immediately. Sasha went stiff, and Derek almost choked on nothing. There was silence for a moment, until Hud chuckled.

  “Oh, come on. I know we are all in constant peril and all that,” Hud waved his arms around to emphasize the peril, “but humans are humans and you guys are so into each other it’s disgusting. You could cut the sexual tension with a butter knife.”

  Derek looked at Sasha, his face in a state of horror, shock, embarrassment, and maybe a little hope. Sasha couldn’t help but burst out into laughter, the first real laugh she had had in a long time. Derek began laughing too, and Hud just sat there shaking his head.

  “I’m serious. It’s bad.” Hud said.

  Sasha felt an immediate wave of relief wash over her, after she had her laughter under control. She looked back at Nora and was surprised to see that she had been paying attention, and even had a smirk on her face, although she continued scratching Ripley.

  Sasha’s face was still red from being called out, but she realized that Hud was right. She thought about how ironic it was; she had lived a boring, common existence up until a week ago. She had never really been able to remain content with any man she had met so far. How typically Sasha it was that it would take Armageddon for her to find someone.

  She leaned forward in the second row bench, and rested her forehead on Derek’s shoulder, still smiling. He put his hand in her hair, gently, and chuckled.

  “I guess he told us, didn’t he?” Derek said, loud enough so that it was obviously meant for Hud’s ears too.

  Sasha nodded. For a brief moment, amidst all the chaos and death and destruction and despair that had consumed everything else in her life for the past week, the feeling of safety and comfort fell over her. It was foreign and unexpected, but she savored it.

  Derek was still holding her head, his fingers moving just barely through her dark hair. He was enjoying her closeness, her scent. He breathed deeply, and although his muscles were still tense and his heart was still racing, he let a wave of peace overtake him. A ridiculously strong desire to keep Sasha this close to him welled up in his chest, and his heart pounded even harder than it had been. He was overwhelmed with emotions, most of which he was not familiar with, and he turned his head to draw in a long breath.

  When he did, his eye caught a flicker in the distance. Most of Savannah had been pitch black, the only light source that had illuminated the dark streets had been the headlights of the Mauler. The only one who could see past the beams of lights was Derek, peering into the shadows to look for anyone still alive. Even his eyes had not been able to spot life.

  The light was white, and was bobbing erratically. Derek watched it disappear behind
trees down the road, and then breathed a sigh of relief when it appeared again.

  “Flashlight.” He said, and pointed, “There.”

  Sasha and Hud instantly became alert. They were both peering in the direction Derek had pointed, but still did not see anything.

  “Where? Are you sure?” Sasha asked.

  “Yeah, it’s a flashlight, someone’s carrying it.” Derek kept his eyes on the point of light, which grew as Hud drove towards it. It seemed to be coming closer to the road, away from the dark forest.

  At last, Sasha’s eyes found the light.

  “Hud! Right there!” She said, almost standing as she pointed to the left of the road.

  The light was jerking spasmodically, it was clear that whoever was holding it was running, jumping. As the Mauler approached, two men came bursting out of the forest, one was dragging a petite looking person by the hand. He was also the one holding the flashlight they could see, its beam crisscrossing the night, and the second man holding a flashlight as well, but pointing it behind him. They were only a few hundred yards up the road, and Hud let the Mauler come to a stop, and the small group was running towards it.

  “There’s more.” Derek said, as still as a statue.

  He was right. A stream of half a dozen more runners came exploding onto the pavement, but it was instantly obvious that these were no normal humans. They were lower to the ground, moving impossibly, and whenever the flashlight beam crossed their face, they cowered and covered their eyes.

  “Derek!” Sasha yelled, and Derek knew what she was trying to say.

  “We’ll get them.” He was already moving to open the door. Hud was pushing the big Mauler, it was slow to start rolling towards the two people who were losing the chase. Derek let his whole body hang outside the passenger door.

  “Here! Get in here!” He roared to the two with flashlights. The two men both began sprinting, and as they got closer, Derek could see that the closest man was pulling a female. She could barely keep her feet under her, but was doing everything she could do to stay vertical. After a few short moments, they were jumping into the Mauler. Derek leaned back to let them get in the door, but when they were in, he leaned back out, giving him the opportunity to kick one of the seething monsters in the face. Hard. He could hear muscle and flesh tearing, although no one else could hear it, and he felt an odd sense of satisfaction when he realized he could also hear the quick exhalation of the air inside the beast’s lungs. It flew backwards, headfirst onto the road and Derek slammed the door shut.

  Chapter 24.

  When Derek turned to face the newcomers, he was met with 3 pairs of eyes. Two pair were alert, looking from Derek to Hud to Sasha, and cautious. One pair, the girl’s, were struggling to stay focused. Sasha immediately honed in on this fact.

  “Are you okay?” She leaned in closer so the girl might be able to focus on her better. Ripley was pulling against Nora, who was cowering in the back of the Mauler, waiting for a sign from Sasha that it was safe.

  “She’s hurt, really bad I think.” The green eyes belonged not to a man, but a boy, no older than sixteen.

  “Adam!” The other snapped. He was older, at least it seemed, and he was giving off a feeling of unease and anger.

  Adam apparently ignored the warning from the older one, and continued trying to give information to Sasha.

  “She fell, tripped. I went back for her, but those things were on top of her. I grabbed her and just kept pulling. I didn’t have time to stop and see what was wrong.” He said, in between breaths.

  Sasha caught Derek’s eye, and she immediately started searching for marks or cuts on the girl’s body.

  “Was she bit?” Hud asked, his voice demanding an answer from the boys.

  Both Adam and the other boy stayed quiet, as if waiting for Sasha to answer it for them.

  Sasha didn’t have to look for long. The girl’s back, up high near her shoulder and neck, had several jagged gashes. One was deep enough that Sasha could not see into it because of the blood that pooled up before it dripped. Sasha swore under her breath.

  Derek and Hud took that as the answer they were looking for, and before they could even begin to react, the girl went limp. Sasha was holding her up, her arms under the girls, but she quickly eased the girl onto the second row bench, and told the boys to back up.

  Without missing a beat, Hud became his detached, military self.

  “Derek, tie her up.” Derek was already hopping over the seat to find the ropes.

  “Who are you guys?” He barked without looking at the two boys, who were quietly watching the girl.

  The green eyed boy seemed to jerk back into reality.

  “I’m Adam. That’s Travis. She’s Kelly.” He said, in a very monotone voice. Sasha noticed that he seemed to be fighting back tears. The other seemed to be building into a quiet rage.

  “What happened to you?” Hud asked, a little more softly than before.

  Adam began recounting their story.

  “We were camping. Summer was almost over, school was supposed to start a few days ago. It was me, Travis, Kelly and 3 of our friends. We were in the middle of the woods, in the middle of nowhere. We were heading back to get more…beer.” He stopped, and looked around as if he was going to be in trouble. Sasha pursed her lips but nodded for him to continue as Derek helped her ease Kelly over the seat so he could tie her to the seat where he had once been restrained himself.

  “It was really weird at the store. There was no one working there, in the middle of the afternoon. There were cars there, but no one inside. We tried to find someone to give money to, but Travis just told us to put the beer in the truck.” Adam was pointedly trying to avoid looking at Travis; Travis was glaring at Adam.

  Derek was very gently tying the girls ankles to the bars under the seat, and remembering how easily he had broken through the restraints, doubled the loops.

  “We were getting in the truck, waiting for the girls to come out of the bathroom, then we heard them screaming. Donnie and me and Travis ran back in, Mike was waiting by the truck. When I got back inside, the girls were cornered against the wall, and this huge fat guy was blocking them. Before we got over to them, the guy just leaped forward. He was on top of Katie, and she tried to scream, but I don’t think she could because the guy…” His voice trailed off and he shivered. Even Travis looked a little nauseous.

  Derek had brought Nora up front, and was letting Ripley investigate the boys. He was investigating too, just a little more subtly. Adams heart was still racing, although his breathing had slowed. The other one, Travis, smelled like old cigarettes and beer. And blood.

  “Donnie freaked out. Katie was his girlfriend. He started beating the crap out of the guy, but it wasn’t doing anything. I grabbed Kelly out of the way. Travis picked up this big metal sign and just nailed the guy in the head, really hard.”

  Hud turned to look at Travis after that one, sizing him up. Travis met his eye, unafraid. Sasha wondered if maybe Hud had met his younger match.

  “He went down and we grabbed Katie and put her in the truck. It was over an hour back to a hospital, but we had to try, even though it – it didn’t look good. She was…her throat was…really hurt.”

  Nora flinched. Sasha knew it had brought back an image that she had been trying to forget.

  “Before we even got to the next town, Katie started having a convulsion or something. Donnie was trying to help her, and then she just jumped up and attacked him, too. Then Mike. Me and Travis and Kelly jumped out of the truck and started running back out to the woods.” He had to force the last sentence out.

  Travis’ neck was craned backwards, looking at Kelly. She was limp, her head hanging to the side. Derek was staying near her. Travis looked interested in why Derek was not afraid of Kelly.

  “What happened to them?” Sasha asked.

  “We went back, later. They were gone. All of them.” Adam’s eyes were down. He was definitely feeling guilty about leaving them. Sasha didn’t jud
ge him.

  Adam remained quiet for a few moments. Hud continued driving in silence, Sasha was running her fingers down the bridge of Ripley’s nose, lost in thought. She felt that something was right there in her mind, ready to explode, but either she wasn’t letting it surface, or it was hiding on its own.

  She forced her mind to focus on another subject, and looked at the newcomers in the Mauler. Adam seemed like the average teenage boy. Naïve but not admitting it, generally good hearted. And now, in the midst of this, teetering between a scared little boy and a man fighting for his life.

  However, Travis was harder to read. He kept his face as blank as possible, his jaw set and his eyes were always moving. He wasn’t happy with Adam, but Derek didn’t know why. Lines around the boy’s eyes made him look older than he was, but also hinted at an unusually stressful life. Too many frowns for his age.

  Derek was watching Kelly, trying to put a puzzle together. He had been bit himself, and had survived as himself. What had made him different from the countless others who had suffered the bite, and then woke up as a monster? Was it something he had done? He replayed all the events that preceded and followed his convulsion. His memory was blurry, it was like trying to look through a frosted window. There was nothing he could grasp onto that seemed to have made the difference between his reaction to the attack and everyone else’s. He wanted, so badly, to save Kelly. He just didn’t know how.

  Then a thud startled everyone in the vehicle, including Derek. Kelly had jerked her head back hard enough to bang it on the wall behind her, and every muscle in her body seemed to be flexed. The veins on her neck stood out, her eyes closed and jaw clamped shut. Hud began to stop the vehicle, Derek was instantly beside the girl. Maybe she would come out of it just like he had, and not one of them.

  While Hud moved towards the back of the stopped Mauler, Sasha and the boys and Nora edged closer to the front. Travis had his hand extended, ready to reach for the door if he had to. Adam’s were both clamped into white-knuckled fists on his lap.