Playing with Fire (Anthology of Horror)
Page 5
Kalen tried to pull it off, but it only dug deeper into his flesh, intensifying the throb in his leg. Dragging himself forward, he reached for a shovel and used the sharp edge of it to stab the shell. It ricocheted and sliced open his calf. He growled and lashed out with his hand, piercing the shell with his three-inch claws. The beetle squealed, releasing his thigh, before dying.
He carefully snapped the four bolts into place, securing the door--the hinges had almost rusted shut--against another one of those 'little' beetles from getting in before he found an old first aid kit, and bandaged his wounds. The only thing new in the utility room was a duffel bag placed by the door. Inside, he found clothing, shoes and money. He changed his bloodied biker shorts for a pair of jeans. An old, long winter jacket caught his eye. He threw it on.
His body jerked at the banging sound coming from the trapdoor behind him.
Taking along the duffel bag, he swung open the exit door and waited a few seconds as he scanned the nearby woods. He limped forward, favoring his damaged leg.
Tears streamed down his cheeks.
I never harmed anyone. Why is this happening to me? He prayed there was a cure to change him back.
Kalen laughed with relief at the sight of his red Hummer. From a distance, shrieks echoed. The door was unlocked, the keys in the ignition. He tossed the duffel bag into the backseat and got behind the wheel.
As soon as the engine turned over, the GPS alerted him to his next destination. It led him into the city. The place was a war zone. Debris lay scattered in heaps. There were no dead bodies, but splattered blood left nothing to the imagination.
How did those things get here so fast and cause so much damage?
His Hummer came to a stop before a huge building. After a brief search, he found a blueprint on the floorboard of the back seat. A room in the basement area was circled red, along with six numbers. His father's security card was attached to the paper with a paperclip along with directions to a place inside the building. Behind the document was another group of numbers and instructions: use one every three hours.
He made it to the basement floor without any incident. The place was empty; yet an eerie presence filled the air. He punched in 7-3-8-2-1-0 and swiped the card--the door's locking mechanism buzzed and blinked red. A loud thud sounded, causing him to jerk his head to the side.
Down the hall, something was dragging its way towards him. He tried the number again, only to get a negative response. His hands shaking, he read the numbers on the paper again. This time he changed the seven into a one. The door hissed opened and he slipped inside.
He flattened himself against the wall, watching through the door's security surveillance feed the large form of a winged creature stop outside the closed door. Kalen held his breath. The monster sniffed the air, and then continued down the hall. He looked at the map again before settling his gaze on a see-through shelf full of fluorescent yellow tubes. Collecting them into a nearby metallic case, Kalen held the last one, admiring it. He placed it in a gun used to administer shots and pressed the end against his neck. He pulled the trigger.
His body shuddered. Electrical currents ran through Kalen's body, fortifying him with strength and energy. He leaned his head back, succumbing to the euphoria it provoked. Taking deep breaths, he came back to reality, placed the gun in the briefcase and shut the lid. He became still at the sound of metal being torn.
Kalen turned his head, hoping his mind was playing tricks on him. But it wasn't. A large, winged, gargoyle beast stood in the room. It dropped the twisted metal door with a clang. It tilted its head from side to side, as if curious to understand who or what Kalen was. The thing's skin reminded him of a fire salamander.
Kalen swallowed hard, digging his claws into the briefcase. The creature stood there, watching his every move. He shifted his body to the left. The monster leaned to the right. He took a deep breath, trying to fight a melancholy feeling that overcame him when he looked at it.
He charged the beast, yelling, his elongated jaws turning the sound into a deep growl. The creature flapped its wings enough to prevent from being stabbed in the chest. Kalen's claws raked its leg instead. The monster retaliated, clawing Kalen's back.
Kalen groaned. There was only one way out of this without killing or getting killed. He bashed the winged freak's face with the side of his briefcase. Picking up the round, broken doorknob, he tossed it towards the far wall. As the knob hit the target, he rushed out the opened doorway. The emergency door fell with a quaking thump behind Kalen. The creature wailed at its escaped prey. The clawing wasn't fast enough to break through the thicker metal door in time to catch Kalen.
He made his way to the Hummer and secured himself in it. The GPS alerted him again. It led him this time to the countryside and a military facility. Dried blood was splattered all over. Large puddles with smeared stripes leading off into the distance showed the direction where bodies appeared to have been dragged.
The GPS directed him to a ten-story building, the largest in the facility. Kalen threw on the hood of his coat before stepping out of the vehicle. Something in the air made him take a big whiff. Apart from the coppery scent, a powerful, addictive aroma drove his senses mad. From the deep gashes on the door at the building's entrance, it seemed he wasn't the only one affected by it.
Again he found a blueprint of the building on the back floorboard. A hidden entryway through the building's cooling system was marked in red. Another security card from a doctor that wasn't his father was attached to the blueprint, along with a few numbers. A grunt of disapproval escaped his throat. His last venture nearly got him killed. At least the wounds on his back were healing quickly.
Kalen found the ventilating system, which was a tight squeeze for him. The scent grew stronger with each inch he crawled closer to his target. After a good fifteen minutes, he found the room.
Inside, there was a laboratory with three cells. Each held two people, one male and one female, except the last one. After seeing Kalen, a frightened brunette ran to one corner and curled into a ball. She was the source of the aroma.
Kalen opened the cell doors. The two couples rushed out, seeking Kalen's side, waiting for something. He ignored them. The lone female interested him more. He crept towards her, scrutinizing every inch of her.
"Please don't hurt me," said the girl in her late teens, body shivering.
He shook his head.
Why would he want to hurt her? He didn't intend to do her any harm. He never understood the whole sexual attraction thing and had never been enticed enough to even lose his virginity. Could this finally be it? he thought. Was she the one made just for him?
What bothered him the most was that he didn't understand why her aroma caused his saliva glands to work overtime. Each inhale caused his senses to roll. She was healthy, too healthy. He pulled his head back.
It was too late. Something inside clawed its way out and took over. His incisors grew, while his throat emanated a rumbling growl. Kalen tried to fight the pull, but the beast in him took over. Her screams traveled back to him as if from a great distance. He attacked, biting her tender flesh. Bite after bite, he savored the torn meat of a fresh kill.
Drumming footfalls forced the beast away from its prey. His gaze fell on the open doorway. The group of four had fled. Kalen's beast gave out a loud, piercing shriek, before going after its live prey. They were headed for the roof. Kalen's beast forced him to take four steps at a time, determined to keep them from escaping.
Kalen wanted to stop the monster in him. He didn't want to hurt anyone else, but the beast wouldn't let up. It broke through the barricaded door and found its prey huddled together and shivering. They backed away from his snarling until they reached the building's ledge. Then they leaped.
The beast ignored Kalen's pleas to stop. Instead, it followed after them. The monster shrieked in victory. The two lumps in Kalen's back tore open his flesh, becoming large wings. He flapped them and glided down after one of them, a male. He caught
the prey and in mid-air, tore open its jugular.
Kalen sat in the blood of his latest victim, hugging his legs as he rocked his body. He tried to vomit, but his body wouldn't deny itself nourishment.
Remember who you are inside. His father's words helped him to reel the beast back into place. He wished this was all a nightmare. All he wanted was to wake up and undo what he had done. The GPS beeped a constant toot-toot. He had one more destination.
His new, black wings wrapped themselves around his shoulders as he entered the Hummer. The last trip was several hours away. There he would get the answers to his mind-boggling questions. He shifted the car into gear and drove off.
The GPS led him to the opening of an underground cavern. He ripped away his shredded coat and shirt before injecting himself with his fourth dosage of the yellow liquid. His body shook violently, causing his jaw to rattle. His stomach cramps were so intense he crushed the steering wheel.
Once he regained control, he stepped out of the vehicle. His body went into full alert. He sniffed the air. Catching the scent of his father, a ray of hope glimmered. Despite how angry he was at being a lab experiment, he hoped his father held a cure for him. He had to. For that reason alone, he was going to do everything in his power to find him and free him from these monsters.
Wails and shrieks resounded in the cavern, warning him of the danger he faced. He kicked off his sneakers, which were torn from the transformation.
Kalen paced the entrance like a wild animal trapped in a cage. The monster rose within him. This time he didn't fight against it. He needed his beast to have the slightest chance of gaining the upper hand. The fiend in him arose, roaring his warning call to the wind. He was ready for the hunt; determined to destroy his enemies.
He entered the cavern. The earlier racket died down. His father's scent drove him on, but the beast in him wasn't fooled. There was danger nearby. Monsters circled around him at a distance.
Watching him.
His beast-side didn't bother to acknowledge them; there was only one that set off warning bells. The tallest stood before him, challenging him to a battle. Kalen wanted to retreat. He remembered what this one had done to his mother, but the monster in him wouldn't allow it. This enemy had signed its death sentence the moment it had killed his mother.
The enemy pounded its tail against the ground. Kalen stood unfazed by the taunting that challenged him to approach. Not even the size of this monster, which doubled his, deterred Kalen from his goal.
The monster sat on his heels, and then bolted to the right. Kalen quickly rushed forward, only to be jumped from behind by two other monsters. They clawed and pounded his body with such ferocity that Kalen was certain he'd soon be turned into a lump of raw meat. Beaten and bloodied, the creatures ceased their attack and backed off to allow their leader its turn.
Kalen glared at him, keeping pressure on a deep gash on his leg. The beast in him beckoned him to retaliate. It kept a close watch on the movements its enemy made as it neared them. Its eyes were beaming with victory.
Images of his mother being beaten by this thing infused him with the edge he needed. With a roar, he rose and shoved the monster against the cavern wall. It fought back and pushed him against the sharp stones of the wall, which scraped his back. They clawed at each other. Kalen fought back, but he knew his strength was failing.
The loss of blood caused Kalen to lose his balance and fall flat against the ground. The enemy rose, howling in victory, wings opening wide as it positioned its body to deliver a death-blow.
Kalen caught sight of a human bone, which could have been used by one of them as a toothpick, but it was a little far from his reach. Frostbite came into mind. He could remember him so clearly--how they would lay belly upon the grass and roll simultaneously to the side when his dad would call them to come inside. A tear escaped his eye. He wasn't going to go down like this.
He summoned all his strength and rolled twice, gripping the bone as his enemy pounced on him. He drove the bone into the monster's side, causing it to fall to the ground next to him. Kalen managed to stand, watching with satisfaction as its enemy struggled to breathe. He must have pierced its lung. The beast in him wanted more; it urged him to rip its head off.
A shot rang out and his monster's control retreated to its inner corner. Kalen once again regained full control. The sound of nearby clapping echoed in his ears as his body went limp and heavy. His father came into view, a tranquilizer gun hanging over his shoulder.
"My son, I knew you'd come through. Welcome to your kingdom." He urged someone to come closer with his hand. "Take your master to his room."
Kalen stared at his father in shock as he was dragged away by two creatures. His father smiled. "You are my greatest achievement, Kalen. This will be the next step in evolution. I offered it the nudge it needed to continue its process. Think about it, Son. With this new flesh you will be able to endure the harsh climate changes expected in the near future. The food needed to nourish your body is also cheap and easy to come by."
Kalen grimaced. He didn't believe in evolution, despite scientific claims. And if it did exist, this wouldn't be the next step. This new species was an atrocity, not a blessing. Cackling laughter reverberated in the cavern; his father followed after him with a syringe in his hand.
"Don't worry, Son. The final stage of your new life is about to commence. When you're fully turned, you'll forget who you were. You will embrace your new life. Welcome to Project Homosaurus.
How do you feel, son? Are you ready for the future?"
Table of Contents
Devil of a Ghost Tour
by
Coral Russell
1885
His black robe billowed out around him, exposing the red satin lining. In one hand he held a hazel wood wand, polished and consecrated in blood; in the other hand was a ceremonial knife with a black hilt. Both were engraved with the symbols of his faith.
Shoulders relaxed, feet slightly apart, drawing air in through his nose and releasing it with a soft whistle, he spoke: "O Sadai, most holy and most powerful, vouchsafe to consecrate and bless this circle to contain the demon I am about to invoke. O most holy Sadai, to whom be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." He drew a circle with his knife on the dirt floor, still speaking: "I invoke and conjure Thee...." The point scratched through the fine sand and rocks as he carved a large outer circle and then an inner circle, filling the space between the two with ceremonial writing. "Choronzon, appear forthwith. Show thyself to me...." He drew three obtuse triangles and continued the writing at the corners and insides of the triangles. "Choronzon, come and do not tarry; Choronzon come, fulfill my desires; persist unto the end, according to mine intentions."
He stood in the center and waited.
Present
Lynn and Lee Hoyt parked their car as the sun shot its last fading rays across Cleveland Square in front of the El Paso Downtown Library. Lynn pulled Lee along at a brisk pace, even though she was the one who almost always made them late.
Two men, dressed in black, approached them as they drew near and introduced themselves as the tour guides, Hector and Marcos. Both wore t-shirts with the El Paso Ghost Tours logo. Hector motioned for them to join the other couples of various ages and persuasions standing around a park bench.
"Tell me again why we're here?" Lee asked.
"I went on one of these ghost tours in Charleston. They tell you the history of the city and point out the famous buildings, plus elaborate on any local, popular ghost stories," Lynn answered.
"Great. You, me and a history lesson. You know how much I hate this stuff. Wait, when were you in Charleston?"
"Believe it or not, I did a lot of things before we were married."
"That's not my fault."
Lynn playfully slapped his arm. "It was a lot of fun and we can always start season four of Pawn Stars tomorrow night."
"So, that means there are no real ghosts on this tour? What a rip-off."
Lynn nudge
d him with her elbow as they approached their first stop - the library itself. She listened as Hector told numerous ghost stories about the library, which opened in 1904 and was built on top of an old military cemetery. Hector and his investigators even experienced a book falling off a shelf for no apparent reason while trying to do an EVP session.
"For those of you that don't know," Hector informed the tour group, "EVP stands for Electronic Voice Phenomena. Basically, you catch something on this digital recorder." He held up a thin electrical device. "You may not hear anything during the investigation, but when you go back and review the recording, you might hear voices or unexplained sounds." Lynn caught Lee's skeptical glance as she wrapped her arm around his waist.
Hector continued, holding up a gray device with a rainbow of colors at the top. "Another device we use is called a K2 Meter. We've passed a couple out to the group. Ghost hunters believe these devices can measure the magnetic field given off by ghosts. Sometimes you can use the lights to ask 'yes' or 'no' questions."
Lee's warm breath close to her ear tickled as he whispered, "You so owe me for this." She snuggled into his side as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.
She smiled and whispered back, "I know, I know."
They passed by the Plaza Hotel, which towered over downtown El Paso like a dark, silent sentinel. Lynn and Lee learned the new owner had intended to restore the building, but was currently behind bars for tax evasion. The restored Plaza Theater, a bright spot downtown, hosted the world's largest Classic Film Festival and also claimed long-since deceased patrons still wandered the aisles.
As they approached the seven-story Caples Building where Pancho Villa plotted against the U.S., Lynn imagined, in the prevailing darkness, that the building had been drawn from negative space. She turned to Lee. Her jaw dropped in disbelief. He was snapping pictures. "Honey, what are you doing?"