Sam steered her towards his truck. She wasn’t sure what they were going to do next or where they were going to go, but any place was better than here. She heard a sniffle and looked over to her left. Leaning against the wall, Jenny was buried against Dolores, crying. Dolores patted her back and whispered soothing words. She looked up and smiled.
“You getting out of here?” she said.
“Yep,” Sam said. “You should get Tom and do the same.”
“I will,” Dolores said. She rubbed Jenny’s hair. “We’ll take her with us.”
“You want us to wait? We could caravan out together. There’s strength in numbers,” Sam said.
Dolores nodded and steered Jenny back inside with her.
“Tell Tom to get some guns from the sheriff,” Sam said. He turned back to Sadie and looked her in the eye. “You okay?”
“Are you kidding?” she said. “Peachy-keen.”
He smiled. “I can’t believe what’s happened. I don’t know what to say.”
She shook her head. “There’s not much to say. It’s all so crazy.” She hugged him tight. “But I tell you one thing, we get out of this, and you and me are going to bump uglies, mister.”
“What?”
“Bump uglies,” She said. “It’s something the kids say.”
“I got no idea.”
She smiled and leaned back so she was looking him in the face. She stuck a finger out and thumped his chest with it. “You and me, we’re going to do it. Wherever, however, I don’t care. We are going to get naked and get nasty.”
Sam blushed. She grinned harder. He was so precious.
They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment.
“Well, I’ll be,” came a craggy old voice. Sadie and Sam turned as Aggie ambled from just down the road, limping slightly, shotgun cradled in his hands. Parked just down the block was his old, beat up truck. “It’s about goddamn time you two got together. And look, all it took was a fucking crisis.”
“Aggie!” Sam said. “You’re alive!”
“Of course I am,” Aggie said. “Why the hell wouldn’t I be?”
“You heard what’s going on?”
“Burke’s dead,” he said. Silence fell over them. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I think we need to get the fuck out of Dodge.”
Tom, Dolores, Jenny, Mayor Reed and Hazel exited the station, none of them had guns. Sam looked at them, at Sadie, and then at the emerging Sheriff Monroe.
“Why the hell didn’t you give us any weapons?” he said.
Sheriff Monroe spit a wad of tobacco juice. It slapped the pavement, wet and hot. “Weren’t none to give. I ain’t the National Guard Armory here, Sam. I got my gun, a spare, and a shotgun. That’s it.”
“Shit,” Sam said.
“Let’s just go,” Sadie said. She didn’t like not having a weapon any more than Sam did, and not for the first time did she wish they’d taken her shotgun with them when they left her house. But hell, who could have predicted the guy they’d shot dead would come to life in the dead body of Tate Stevens and start chasing them down the road?
She had the funny feeling that if that creature, Spring-Heeled Jack, hadn’t gotten distracted by that guy in the car when he was coming after them, then she and Sam probably wouldn’t be here, alive, talking about any of this.
“I’ll drive you all to the city limits,” Sheriff Monroe said. “Then I gotta come back here.”
“Why?” Sam said. He and Sadie were walking to his truck.
“I got a duty here,” Sheriff Monroe said.
Jacob and Mandy walked out of the station and headed towards Jacob’s car, parked just off to the right of everyone. Sam looked at Sheriff Monroe.
“Who let the jailbird out?”
Sheriff Monroe chuckled.
“You trust them?” Sam said.
“I got no choice,” Sheriff Monroe said. “They’re the only one’s that seem to know what’s going on.”
“They’re crazy, Sheriff,” Sam said.
“Be that as it may, you didn’t see all them dead bodies like I did, strung up as they were. It was sickening. I guess it could just be some kind of devil cult at work here, but you and me both know, deep down, it’s more than that,” Sheriff Monroe said.
“Say you’re right,” Sam said. “Call the State Police, get out of here. What good can you do?”
“We have to stop their pernicious plot,” Jacob said, stepping forward. “You may run, and it is a smart idea. The more of you that get killed, the stronger they become. But you can only run so far if they unleash the hell they plan.”
Sam stared at Jacob. “You are some piece of work, mister.” He turned back to Sheriff Monroe. “We’ll get going, then. Thanks for the escort.”
Sheriff Monroe nodded and ambled over to his car. As he did so, Jacob turned his attentions back to his own vehicle. He popped the trunk and started rummaging through the contents. Sadie watched him for a moment, fascinated by the fellow.
He was weird and liked to throw around big words, but for some reason, she trusted him. There was something sincere about him, and something that was more than a little sad. He knew what he was talking about, she was sure. That woman behind him, though, the one she’d shown to the Mayor’s Office earlier that day, she wasn’t so sure about. Mandy seemed righteous, but there was something off about her.
Sam’s hand slipped into hers. “Come on,” he said. She turned around and followed him to the truck.
The ground shook as something heavy rumbled down the street. Sadie looked up as the Bone Sniffer galloped towards them, snout snorting steaming hot breath. She froze, paralyzed by fear, as it blasted past her and Sam and soared towards Hazel.
Nobody else reacted. They were stuck, like Sadie, standing still and watching as the Bone Sniffer ran between them, punched Hazel in her gut with its nose, knocked her to the ground, then picked her up in its jaws and ran away, back where it had come from.
At the last second, Aggie raised his gun and fired, but the buckshot peppered the back end of the creature and bounced off, doing no damage whatsoever.
The night went quiet again, the only sound the ringing of the shotgun blast as the Bone Sniffer disappeared in the distance.
“You’re next,” Jacob said He pointed at Jenny, who had fallen to her knees and was holding her head in her hands, her whole body shaking. She screamed, hysterical.
“We should get in our cars and leave her alone outside,” Jacob said. He pointed at Jenny again. “Wait for the creature to return, and when it snaps her up, we follow it.”
“Use her as bait?” Dolores said, outraged.
Sam let go of Sadie’s hand and moved so quickly across the street that she almost couldn’t believe her eyes. He covered the distance between him and Jacob in what seemed like two strides. Sam’s fist snaked out and he punched Jacob, who fell to the ground, stunned.
“You’re a real asshole,” Sam said.
“Perhaps,” Jacob said. He rubbed his jaw and looked up at Sam. “But we cannot concern ourselves with the needs of one when the entire world is in peril.” Jacob wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth with his shirt sleeve. “And besides that, she is a whore.”
“What?” Dolores said. “Sam, punch that little shit one more time.”
“Tell them, girl,” Jacob said. “Tell them of your frolics outside of wedlock.”
Jenny moaned and Sam punched Jacob again, this time clipping his shoulder. Jacob, who’d sat up, tumbled to the ground again.
“That’s enough out of you,” Sam said. He turned and faced the group outside on the street.
“Let’s get the hell out of here.”
IV
Hazel
It was like she was in a dream world. This entire night had gone by so fast and been so weird she had a hard time believing any of it was real. After all, it wasn’t every day you went to a barbecue, had some good food, and got attacked by a demon from hell.
She knew that�
��s where it was from: hell. That pudgy little man may have called it the Other Side, but he was wrong. The Bone Sniffer was evil and sent from hell itself. Nothing so vile, so horrible, could come from anywhere else.
It carried her in its mouth like it had Martin before her, only for some reason it hadn’t snapped her hips. She could move and try to fight back, if she wanted, but there was no more fight left in her. She’d survived the barbecue, the flight from the cookout, and the house where she stole the car. She was tired now, and ready to quit. After all, what was the point? She was chosen, apparently, and every time she tried to get away, she got caught again.
So she lay in its mouth and let it carry her out to the sacrificial site. She offered no resistance, just flopped like a broken doll until they reached the woods and sliced through them, coming to a halt in the clearing.
She didn’t say a word as she looked around and saw the other Men of Perdition there, although she did nod slightly, as if to agree that the weird little man had been right about who and what they were.
The Bone Sniffer carried her over to a spot near Martin and laid her down at a forty-five degree angle from him. Martin looked at her, offering a small, weak smile. She could see that he, too, was weary and ready to get this over with.
Hazel didn’t even protest when the Bone Sniffer chomped on her lower legs, breaking them in four places so that she couldn’t try to escape. All she did was look up into the night sky, sob from the pain, and wish that they’d get on with it, already.
V
Sam
Everyone packed into their cars and trucks, ready to caravan out of Constance and down the highway. Sam looked over the scene, still not believing any of this was happening.
All he wanted was to take Sadie out and have a good time. He shook his head, a bitter grin spreading across his face. Maybe he just wasn’t meant to be with anyone. His wife and child died and he should have left well enough alone, but instead he’d gone ahead and asked Sadie out and now here they were, barely alive in a town decimated by murderous creatures. All of them killed by things that belonged in some horror movie somewhere, not here, not in real life.
And the thought exploded through his head: if there were all these bad things out there, evil entities bent on death and destruction, then didn’t it also mean that perhaps there was a force for good, as well? A God, or whatever you wanted to label it?
Jacob pulled a shotgun from the trunk of his car and loaded it. Sam watched him for a moment as he perched at the open door of his truck. What a strange man. Sam didn’t like him much, not because of his smug attitude, but because of his utter lack of doubt. What kind of man had no skepticism? Sam couldn’t wrap his mind around it, but like so many other things that he couldn’t understand about the last few hours, he had to accept it and move on. The important thing was to get on the road, get out of town, and survive. The rest could take care of itself.
“Sam?” Sadie said. He felt her cool hand on his arm and he slid inside the truck next to her. She was so pretty. He smiled and took her hand in his and met her eyes.
“It’s okay,” he said.
“Can we go now?” Aggie said. He was sitting on the other side of Sadie, next to the door, and he had a sour look on his face. Good old Aggie; he could ruin Christmas if you let him.
“My pleasure,” Sam said. He started the truck just as the Bone Sniffer lumbered around the corner. “Oh, Jesus!” he cried.
It dashed forward, honed in on Jenny, who was getting into the back seat of Tom’s car. Nobody had seen the thing yet, which was hard to imagine because it was so big. But it crept up and was nearly on her before Sam screamed a warning and jammed on the gas.
The truck lurched forward and he threw his arm across Sadie, yelling, “Hold on.” He aimed straight for the creature, which looked up at the last second, slits for nostrils sniffing the air, as Sam rammed his truck into it.
It was like hitting a brick wall. The truck’s tail flew up into the air as the front end crumpled and bent around the Bone Sniffer. Glass shattered from the windshield and Aggie tumbled through the open window, skittered across the hood, landed on the creature and then rolled over it and across the pavement.
“Aggie!” Sam said.
The Bone Sniffer looked up at Sam and snorted. It charged Jenny, who was standing outside Tom’s car, hands raised to her face, a silent scream coming from her open mouth. Steam hissed from its nostrils as it galloped towards its prize.
Sheriff Monroe stepped between the creature and Jenny, service revolver raised. He fired three shots into the head of the monster, each bullet careening off its skull like it was a bolder, not the head of a living thing. The deflected bullets ricocheted across the parking lot, two striking the side of Tom’s car and the third pinging off Sam’s truck and striking the ground next to Aggie’s head.
“Motherfucker!” Aggie yelled. He rolled into a ball and covered up.
The Bone Sniffer hurtled forward, unaffected.
Sheriff Monroe, eyes wide and tobacco juice dripping off the edge of his chin, emptied the rest of his bullets into the creature. Each one struck home, bounced off, and bit the ground or crashed into Tom’s car.
The creature dipped its head and rammed Sheriff Monroe as Sam watched, the whole ordeal developing in some sort of weird slow motion, like time was composed of molasses all of the sudden. He stared as the fat from Sheriff Monroe’s belly rippled back and up as he was bucked high into the air. The sheriff soared backwards, tobacco wad spitting from his mouth and slowly arcing upwards and down, spattering on the forehead of the Bone Sniffer, until he slammed into the car behind him, his back shattering and his neck snapping from the impact.
Sheriff Monroe sank to the ground, dead, streams of sticky blood and tobacco juice splashed against the grill of his car, mixing and dripping leisurely onto the ground.
“Jesus Christ,” Sam said.
Jacob appeared by the side of the truck, shotgun raised.
“You really must stop taking the Lord’s name in vain,” Jacob said. He aimed the shotgun and fired. The pellets struck the Bone Sniffer full in its rear, slashing the skin and melting the flesh. The creature howled and stumbled back, turning to face its attacker.
Jacob stepped forward and fired again and again, the pellets striking its face and shredding the skin, peeling it back like a steamed artichoke. The Bone Sniffer leaned its massive head up to the sky and wailed, its keening cry ringing through the night, before reeling and falling to its side, dead. Dozens of holes peppered its side and head, oozing yellow pus and brilliant red blood. Jacob stood over its corpse and stared, waiting to see if it was going to move again.
Sam looked over at Sadie.
“You okay?” he asked. She nodded.
“You sorry son of a bitch!” Aggie said. He sprang to his feet and, other than a few scratches on that ugly old face of his, seemed alright. “Next time warn a motherfucker before you do something like that!”
Sam couldn’t help but smile. “I’m sorry.”
“Goddamn right,” Aggie said. He turned and stared at the corpse of the Bone Sniffer, intrigued at the sight.
Sam and Sadie got out of the truck and walked over to join the others who’d gathered around Jacob and the dead creature. Tom and Dolores, having flung themselves to the floor to avoid the melee, exited the car, inspected the damage from the bullets, and looked over at Jacob.
“So you just shot it and it died?” Tom said. “How come it didn’t work for the sheriff?”
Jacob held his shotgun up. “I use special shells.”
“Blessed by a priest or something?” Sam said. This time he wasn’t being sarcastic. At this point, he wouldn’t put anything past anybody.
“No,” Jacob said. “I filled the shells with items that demons find abhorrent. Silver, iron, bits of garlic, and salt.”
“Wow,” Sadie said. “You knew it would kill it?”
“Actually? No,” Jacob said, smiling slightly. “But I hoped it would at least wound
the creature. To be truthful, I’m surprised it’s dead. I thought at best I could hurt it, keep it at bay, but not kill it. Perhaps these creatures are not as powerful as I initially thought.”
Smoke hissed from the mouth of the Bone Sniffer and the crowd stepped back. Jacob raised his shotgun and pointed it down at the monster as its flesh sizzled and popped like bacon frying in a pan. The skin bubbled and boiled as a strange yellow liquid, resembling pus but not as thick, poured from underneath the dead creature, pooling by the body.
“Good Lord,” Sam said. The secretion stunk like rotten milk mixed with Sulphur. “What’s it doing?”
Jacob said nothing but the expression on his face spoke volumes. He took a step back and everyone shrunk away with him.
The Bone Sniffer transformed. The large, heavy and vicious creature slowly faded and melted, becoming the body of a naked old man with wrinkled skin and a receding hairline. Black blood poured from the bullet wounds as the yellow substance underneath him evaporated into the air in waves of thick steam.
“What’s going on?” Tom said.
“It is reverting,” Jacob said, his voice tight.
The sizzling stopped and within seconds, the body of the old man lay on the ground as if the Bone Sniffer had never been there at all. Nobody said a word. They were too astounded by what they’d just seen. Finally, Tom broke the silence.
“I’m getting the hell out of here,” he said. He grabbed Jenny. “Get in the car, hon.”
Jenny nodded and leaned into the car, still freaked out. Sam knew how she felt. He turned to Tom.
“I guess we could use a ride,” he said. “Ours is done for.”
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