by Lowry, C. L.
“Over here,” Marcus yelled out as he forced open the front door to an old row home. Although the home appeared outdated, it was one of the only homes on the block that wasn’t exposed due to shattered windows or missing doors. Kyle was the first to enter the home with the barrel of his Springfield Saint leading the way. He cleared the living room and dining room, which was unoccupied. Kyle signaled for Marcus and Candice to take the second floor. Marcus was the first up the stairs, with a nine-millimeter Ruger he found in the trunk of an abandoned car. Candice followed behind with a steak knife. Despite being almost raped and murdered, she still had an innocence about her. It was something about guns that made her uncomfortable, so she refused to take one of Kyle’s many handguns.
“Looks like someone’s already been through here,” Marcus announced after noticing the jewelry box, safe and closets had all been emptied.
Candice was in another bedroom and discovered a large pile of empty shell casings and gas canisters. She crept into the remaining bedroom, while Marcus checked the bathroom in the hallway. Who the hell was in here, Candice thought as she peeked under the bed and inside the closet. The bedroom was cleared, but Candice noticed Marcus was still in the bathroom. She walked by and saw him kneeling down towards an air vent.
“What is it?” she asked.
He raised his hand but didn’t say a word. Candice stayed quiet and allowed her eyes to explore the bathroom, wondering what required her boyfriend’s immediate attention. Marcus didn’t change his position and remained in front of the vent. CLANK! CLANK! The soft sound of a banging pipe traveled up the vent, which caught Marcus’ attention. The clanking suddenly stopped, and the two decided to run downstairs to notify Kyle.
“Yo Kyle,” Marcus yelled out as he ran down the stairs. “There’s a noise coming from the —”
Kyle was holding his index finger up to his lip. Marcus didn’t say another word and slowly approached him. He was posted in front of a door in the kitchen. He knocked on the door three times and looked at the other two. CLANK! CLANK! CLANK! The sound of the banging pipe was louder and clearly coming from behind the door. Marcus immediately raised his gun, letting Kyle know he was ready for whatever surprise was waiting for them behind the door.
“Candice come here,” Kyle whispered. “On three, I want you to pull the door open.”
Candice nodded and placed her shaking hand on the doorknob. The rattling from the knob revealed the current state of her nerves. She was shaking uncontrollably and could not help it. Opening the door could have unleashed a number of dangers, especially knowing someone had recently been in the home before them. In the back of Candice’s mind, she always flashes back to the night she was almost taken from Marcus and thinks about the type of evil that is roaming the streets. Back when the country was in order, you would be able to call the police and let them deal with criminals, but now the responsibility falling on each individual citizen was hard to cope with. Her deep, blue eyes were locked on Kyle as she waited for his signal.
“Now,” he whispered as he watched her pull the door towards her body. His rifle was up, as he inched towards the opening. Cutting each angle like a pie, Kyle was able to safely get a view of what was behind the door. A set of rickety steps led down to a dark basement. The strong stench of blood and flesh overpowered Kyle’s nostrils. He knew the putrid odor immediately, which is that of a rotting body. He ran into this familiar odor plenty of times, back when his unit would clear homes and find houses full of Iraqi citizens that had been victims of terrorist attacks. Their rotting corpses would bake in the house like an oven, and once the door was opened, the aroma of death attacked your sense of smell. Kyle carefully shined his flashlight down into the basement, but could not spot anything but old clothes thrown about the floor. He would have to go into the basement to investigate the suspicious clanking noise but wanted to make sure the others were comfortable in doing so.
A surge ran through Marcus’ gut, causing him to tumble towards the kitchen wall. He folded over at the waist and placed his hand over his mouth, attempting to stop the contents of his stomach from exiting. He was not used to the smell of death, and his reaction clearly showed it. Vomit seeped through the spacing between his fingers and suddenly exploded out his mouth. A combination of expired baked beans, moldy bread, and canned fruit cocktail coated the kitchen floor. Kyle looked over at Marcus who was bent over at the waist. If they were in the home alone, he would have burst out in laughter at the site of Marcus puking his brains out, but he was currently on a mission. It seemed a tad bit too quiet in the basement, which made the hairs on the back of Kyle’s neck stand up. The first step he took down the basements steps let out a loud creak, which could be heard on the top floor of the house. Each subsequent step followed suit, just barely sturdy enough to support his weight.
ARRGGHH!
It was massive with glaring red eyes that seemed to be looking through Kyle. It held in its sharp claws a thing that had once been a man, gnawing at the head as if it were a stick of sugar cane with sweet juices emerging from the flesh. “What the fuck,” Kyle subconsciously muttered, as he watched the creature devour what was left of the human corpse it had been feasting on. Its position was kind of slumped over to its right side, and Kyle noticed a gaping wound on the beast’s right leg. The injury obviously didn’t stop it from partaking in what could have possibly been its last meal. Pieces of a shotgun were sprawled about the basement floor. Only that weapon could have inflicted that type of damage to the beast at such a close range. Kyle just assumed the entrée the beast recently consumed was possibly the shooter. What struck him as odd was the lack of the beast’s concern of his presence. He felt that at the moment he emerged from the stairs, it should have dropped its present prey and sought out the fresh morsel that stood amongst it. But for some reason, both man and beast did nothing more but carefully observe each other. The creaking from the steps served as a diversion. The dogface of the beast turned away from Kyle and towards the feet that were cautiously stepping down into its domain. CLANK! CLANK! CLANK! The sound of the metal chain dragging against the water pipe it was affixed to, confirmed that the beast made the noise that caught the scavengers attention. The chain was tied around its next and was the only thing, besides its injury, which prevented it from advancing towards Kyle. With its pointed ears, dark fur, bloodshot eyes, wet nose, sharp teeth, and blood-covered lips, it stopped Candice in her tracks.
“The werewolf,” she muttered, recognizing the similar features it had to the beast that clawed at her front door.
The beast watched Candice intently, as she sidestepped towards Kyle. She had a tight grip on her knife but knew there was no way she was getting close to the creature that sat in front of her. It would be no different from wrestling with a grizzly bear since the beast was identical in size. Candice looked over and noticed Kyle hadn’t said a word or blinked. His rifle was down by his side when she would rather have him pointing it at the beast. She nudged his arm, in an attempt to disrupt him from his current state of temporary paralysis, but it was to no avail. Kyle’s attention was fully on the beast, which now appeared to be relaxing. It's furry head rested on the ground, next to the remains of its meal. There was no concern about the two people that were watching it. Even when Marcus emerged down the creaking steps, the beast did not move. Marcus didn’t last long in the basement because once he glanced over at the human remains left by the beast, the remaining contents that once sat in his stomach erupted from his mouth and sent him running back upstairs.
CHAPTER 13
“Star, they are still in the house.”
It had been hours since he watched the three enter the home across the street. A gust of wind pushed the curtain to the side, as cool air entered the room. He dug his dirty fingers in the can of chicken noodle soup he had cooling on the floor. Using his index finger to stir the soup, it was the right temperature for consumption. Using a lighter to heat up the soup was a method he had not tried before, but it seemed to be effect
ive. Ignoring the dirt particles that floated at the top of the soup, he placed the rim of the warm can against his crusty lips and sipped on the warm soup. It had been weeks since he had anything other than cold cans of mixed vegetables to eat, so the warm sensation that filled his belly was almost euphoric.
“Oh my gosh Star, this is like heaven in a can. Do you want some?” He poured the remaining contents of the can into his partner’s mouth. She wasted no time consuming the tender noodles and salty broth. “You had a long day girl, try to get some rest.” His hand rubbed his best friend’s back, but his eyes were focused on the movements he observed across the street. The cool breeze against his face was enough to put him to sleep, and that is exactly what his body yearned for.
THUD! THUD!
“Oh Star, it looks like our guest wants something. I’m going to go see what the bastard wants.” Being lazy, he used the AK-47 assault rifle he was holding as a crutch to stand from his crouched position. He sashayed to the back room, with the rifle dangling from its shoulder strap. The flamboyant man was not one you would expect to handle such a powerful weapon, but he was not naïve to the damage an AK-47 could cause. THUD! The sound of a woman banging her head against the headboard annoyed him greatly. This was going to be her third warning not to make any noise, but clearly her only concern was being disobedient. She watched him walk towards her. Wearing a small, pink t-shirt, a pair of gray H&M skinny jeans, and white Jordan sneakers, she could not believe he held her fate in his hand. Cursing him out was pointless because he placed a sock in her mouth and wrapped duct tape around her face to secure it. She wanted to rip his head off but unfortunately, her arms were tied to the bedposts.
“Listen, honey, I told you to stop making noise in here,” he said as he ran the barrel of the AK across her stomach. She flinched as the cool metal glided across her bare skin. She was only wearing a bra and panties since the feminine man that stood before her was now sporting her outfit. He didn’t even have the decency to give her the old clothes he was wearing or something out of a closet from the home they were in. He placed the AK down on the bed, at her feet.
“I have a surprise for you darling. I’m going to make you look beautiful,” he said while admiring the brown-haired woman’s natural beauty. Unzipping the pink fanny pack around his waist, he removed several cosmetics and placed them on her stomach. Using her body as his own personal workstation, he sorted the products and began dolling her up. He began singing the lyrics to Run the World (Girls) by Beyonce and started applying primer to her face. His touch made her skin crawl while on the other end, he was mesmerized by her soft skin. “This is how they made me. Houston, Texas baby,” he sang as he brushed concealer across her forehead and chin. He was delicate when applying the foundation and highlights. “Who run this motherfucker, who run this motherfucker,” he continued singing. He stood up and began dancing to the tune in his head, occasionally glancing over and admiring his work. Tears began to form in her eyes as he applied eyeliner and mascara. He was not bothered by the fact it was running down her cheeks. Reaching back into the fanny pack and pushing items aside, he finally found what he was looking for. The delightful scent of Daisy by Marc Jacobs filled his nose, as he rubbed the perfume stick across her neck. He slowly leaned into her neck, which caused goose bumps to rise on her body. With a deep inhale, he sniffed the strong aroma until the smell was trapped in his nostrils. “Last but not least my dear,” the man muttered as he slowly applied the bright, red Revlon lipstick to his own lips. He leaned in slowly for a kiss, but she abruptly turned her head, which left her cheek exposed for the soft pucker. He sat back and laughed at the woman’s gesture. “You are such a bitch,” he snarled before gathering his cosmetics and returning them to the fanny pack. “But don’t worry you will be the most beautiful bitch ever to cross the gates of hell.” He slung the AK over his shoulder and opened the closet door.
While backpedaling, he slid open the mirrored closet door and watched as a beast emerged from the darkness. It was relatively small and would be considered a cub if it were another animal. A metal chain was wrapped around its neck and affixed to the metal closet rod. The beast initially locked eyes on the man that let it free and began advancing. He raised the AK and continued backpedaling until he was in the threshold. The little beast continued advancing until the slack was out the chain and it could no longer close the distance between itself and the prize it had its eye on. The small brown-haired beast began sniffing the floor. Drool dripped from its little fangs, and its claws tore the carpet as it stepped towards the bed. It continued sniffing until it got to the woman’s leg. Ironically, the chain was long enough for the beast to reach the tied up woman. Once she saw the creature mounting her, she squirmed like a fish but nothing she did loosened the restraints on her ankles and wrists. The beast took a chunk out of her arm as it plunged forward for the first bite. Despite her mouth being covered, the woman’s shriek could be heard as it slightly escaped the duct tape. Blood trickled down, and pain shot through her arm, as the beast feasted on her body. The male walked out and closed the bedroom door behind him. A devilish grin ran from ear to ear.
CHAPTER 14
“Ok now someone needs to tell me what the fuck that thing in the basement is,” Marcus yelled. He paced back and forth in the living room. Kyle and Candice sat on the couch, chuckling at Marcus’ dramatic reaction. He vomited approximately four times, and the odor still lurked from the kitchen. His concern about the situation became their amusement for the night.
“What the fuck are yall laughing at?”
“Yo man, calm down,” Kyle replied, noticing the frustration on Marcus’ face.
“Calm down? You want me to calm fuckin’ down? There is a fuckin’ monster tied up in the fuckin’ basement, and you want me to calm down.”
“It’s a werewolf,” Candice said, as she couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer. Kyle joined along in the laughter, and it sent Marcus over the edge.
“What the fuck,” he screamed. “They think this is a fuckin’ joke.” He stormed into the kitchen, stepping over his puddle of vomit and began digging through the refrigerator.
“That thing down there is scary. I mean it was scary before, but up close it is terrifying,” Candice stated. “Was it like that the first time you saw it?”
“Not really,” Kyle replied.
“What? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The first time I saw one of those things, it was let out of the back of a U-Haul truck. It sort of looked the same with all the fur, but it moved differently. It walked on two feet and supported itself with its hands, like an ape, and that thing down there was on all fours like a dog.”
“Oh great, so there are different types of those things out here,” Marcus chimed in from the kitchen.
“I have no idea. It definitely looks the same, but the movements and mannerisms weren’t the same at all. That thing down there didn’t even try to attack us.”
“Yeah because it was all tied up. I bet if it wasn’t, it would have had all of us for dessert,” Marcus said. “And speaking of being tied up, who the hell do you think put that big ass monster in the basement?”
“Probably the same people that left all that crap upstairs,” Candice replied, referring to her findings in the upstairs bedrooms.
“What crap?” Kyle inquired.
Candice led Kyle and Marcus up to the bedroom where she found the shell casings. Kyle immediately noticed the large pile of empty casings on the ground and began going through them. With a handful of the differently sized casings, he meticulously went through the mixture of the rifle, shotgun, and handgun casings. “Forty cal, two-two-three, shotgun slugs and AK forty-seven rounds,” he mumbled while conducting his inventory. He also noticed a pile full of live rounds and gas canisters that were in close proximity to his current location in the room. Candice didn’t know the difference between live and spent rounds, so she never collected the live rounds. Kyle wasted no time stuffing his duffel bag with the
discarded ammunition.
“What are these for?” Marcus asked, holding up a few canisters that were also discarded.
Kyle grabbed one from him and examined it. An identical match to the canister that was thrown into his home. He knew the metal housing once contained the deadly chemical gas, but couldn’t figure out why the housings and ammo were in this particular home. “These are the canisters the gas is stored in,” he informed the two.
“Well I think it’s some still in this one,” Marcus replied. He noticed a distinguishable difference in the weight of the two canisters that were in his hand.
“This one feels like something is in it,” Candice stated as she checked the weight differences of the remaining canisters on the floor.