by Joseph Souza
“There’s got to be an explanation for it.”
“Oh, there’s an explanation all right,” the man’s wife said. “It’s the end of times, and it says so in the Bible. Satan’s come to collect what is rightfully his.”
“Shut the hell up, Delia. You’re scaring the kids with that damn religious talk,” the man said. “Swiftley’s right. There’s an explanation for all this. And he should know, being a goddamn bigshot scientist at one time.”
“How’d you know that, Gunner?” Rick asked.
“Hell, everyone in this small town knows everything about each other, Swiftley. You think we’re all bunch of stupid-ass bumpkins?”
“I never said that.”
“It’s all good, man. Let’s clean Emily up. You got some medicine to take care of this bite?”
“You seem to know everything about me, so I assume you know that I do. Come on, let’s get the kids inside.”
“Much obliged for taking us in,” Gunner said. “A couple of them crazy-ass dogs busted in our house and wouldn’t leave. Didn’t have time to get my gun, so we jumped in the car and came over to your place.”
Rick shot me a look as if to say that this was going to be a long night.
Chapter 5
THE KIDS WERE HYSTERICAL BY THE time we managed to gather them inside. Rick retrieved his medical kit and tended to the girl’s wound while her mother cradled her on her lap, trying to calm her down. He cleaned the cut and dabbed it with ointment. Dar carried the infant into the other room to distract her from the chaos. The girl’s father paced back and forth, watching as Rick worked on her hand. The girl screamed in agony, burying her head in her mother’s chest. After cleaning it off, Rick took the gauze and bandaged it. Once finished, the girl rested her head on her mother’s shoulder and sniffed back the tears.
“What’s her name?” Rick asked.
“Emily. And the baby’s name is Amber,” her mother said.
“Well, Emily, you should be all right now. The cut is not too deep and should heal properly.” Rick stood up and turned to the father. “Why’d you drive over here, Gunner?”
“I told you, Swiftley, got scared when I seen them dogs tearing through our house. I was out tending to my rabbits at the time, and all of them were acting strange and going crazy in their cages, attacking each other left and right. The girls were playing outside when a bunch of them coyotes come off the hill. Tried like hell to scare them off, but they kept coming like they wasn’t even scared. Good thing I had my shotgun nearby. Brought the girls inside and then went back out, but them damn coyotes wouldn’t leave, so I blasted away. Thought they was dead, but then a few minutes later them bastards got up and ran away.”
“It’s a sign, Gunner,” his wife said. “A sure sign of the devil.”
“Thought I told you to shut your trap,” Gunner snapped.
“What else did you see out there?” Rick asked.
“All the animals seemed out of whack, even the birds. And did you see the color of that sky? After I shot them coyotes, a couple hawks swooped down and tried to attack me. Nearly took out my eyes. Lucky I ducked at the last minute or else they would have.”
“That’s because they were sent by the devil himself.”
“For the last time, Delia, shut up!” Gunner shouted, pointing his finger at his wife. After regaining his composure, he said, “I never seen a coyote get up after being shot like that. Them things raised up from the dead, I swear on my mother’s grave.”
“Now we have to figure out why.”
“Which means if it can happen to them animals, then it can happen to all of us,” Delia said.
“Who’re them two?” Gunner asked.
“This is my brother, Thom. Thom, these are my neighbors Delia and Gunner Clayton.”
“Please to meet you,” Gunner said, extending his hand.
“Wish it could have been under better circumstances.” I shook his calloused hand.
“Me too, man. Me too.”
I looked over at Delia, but she was in some sort of a trance. She was a pretty girl, not much older than Dar, with long blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. She had a hardened look on her face, a result of many years surviving in the rugged hills of northern Maine. She cradled Emily in her arms, rocking her gently. Upon returning to the room, Dar introduced herself to the family.
“Your daughter is asleep now. You want me to take her sister so you can take a break?”
“Sure, and thanks,” Delia said.
Dar took Emily by the hand and led her into the other room.
Many questions whirled in my mind. Was this crazy phenomenon happening in just this isolated area of Maine or had it spread far and wide? Were humans at risk or only members of the animal kingdom?
We heard a cry coming from the second floor. Susan! Rick bolted up the stairs, and I followed right behind. We entered the bedroom and saw Susan coughing and spitting up. Balls of sweat beaded up on her face and neck. She arched her back over the mattress as bubbles percolated out of her mouth and snaked down her throat. Rick felt her forehead and then turned to me with a look of concern.
“She’s burning up. Go in the bathroom and run a cold bath. Bring back a cold cloth to put on her head. Then put some ice cubes in a bucket and start dumping them in the tub.”
Once in the bathroom, I turned on the cold water and let it run. I found a towel in the storage cabinet. I soaked it in cold water until it was wet, wrung it out, and then ran back into the bedroom. Rick snatched it from me and started to wipe it across her head. “Strip her down,” Rick ordered. I removed her socks and sweatpants and tossed them aside. Then I pulled her shirt over her head. Susan wasn’t wearing a bra, which embarrassed me, but there was no time for that. Her face was beet red and her breathing shallow.
“Jesus Christ, I don’t have time to wipe her down. I need to get her into that bath right away.”
Rick scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom. As soon as he was inside, he fell to his knees and placed her into the running bath water, scooping up handfuls of cold water and splashing it over her face and chest. I ran downstairs, filled a bucket with ice and then ran back upstairs and dumped it in the water. Suddenly, Susan inhaled sharply and opened her eyes. Rick pleaded with her to hold on as I stood behind him, wondering what to do.
“We can still take her to the hospital,” I said.
“The hospital is forty-seven miles away. There’s no time for that,” Rick said. “There’s nothing they can do in that emergency room that I can’t do for her here.”
“You’re not a doctor, Rick.”
“Doctors make everything worse. How do you think that flesh-eating bacteria spread? Besides, I know more about the human anatomy than most of those idiots do.”
“Jesus, I think she stopped breathing.”
“Come on, baby, stay with me.” Rick began doing CPR on her. Bath water splashed over him as he clasped his hands against her chest in a rhythmic motion, alternating between chest pumps and mouth-to-mouth. But then her body slid back into the tub, and her head fell under the cold water. Rick continued to do CPR, unaware that this had happened.
“Get her head out of the water, or she’ll drown!” I shouted.
Rick scooped his arms under her body and lifted her out of the bath. He carried her back into the bedroom where he placed her down on the bed, resuming the lifesaving procedure. After twenty minutes, he realized it was all for naught; Susan was dead.
He collapsed onto his knees and placed his head on the mattress. I looked down at Susan, perfectly still on the bed. It took me a few moments to register the fact that she wasn’t coming back.
I placed my hand on Rick’s shoulder as he sobbed quietly for a few minutes. Tears spilled from my own eyes at the reality of my sister-in-law’s passing. It had happened so fast. Rick wiped away his tears and stared at his deceased wife. The look of vulnerability on his face was something I’d never before seen. I didn’t know whether to embrace him or simply let hi
m mourn in private. He’d been a scientist his entire life. He lived by reason and rationality, and those same traits had accounted for much of his success in life. They also kept him at an arm’s distance from everyone else.
“She loved this farm with all her heart. I’m going to bury her on the property when this is all said and done.”
“We all loved her very much.”
“She loved you guys too, especially Dar,” he said. “She’s gone, Thom, and there’s nothing else to do for her. I need to find out what killed her.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“By studying that cow tissue and comparing it to Susan’s DNA. This thing has to be eradicated before it’s too late,” Rick said, pulling the sheet up to her chin.
We stood there for a minute, staring down at Susan’s peaceful expression. She looked angelic in the light, almost as if she were sleeping off some bad dream. She was a beautiful woman, tall and thin, with blonde hair flowing to her shoulders. Her skin had a slightly yellow tint to it.
I found myself staring, afraid to break the solemn respect we were paying her. But something happened that stunned me. Her eyelids began to flutter. I took a step back and shuddered, placing a hand on my brother’s arm.
“She’s still alive!”
“No, Thom, it’s a post-mortem reflex.”
I didn’t want to believe it. I’d seen dead people at wakes and funerals, but I’d never actually witnessed someone dying right in front of me. It had always been scrubbed and sanitized behind closed doors or in a hospital room with doctors and nurses in attendance.
Her eyelids opened, and I jumped back in shock. Even Rick seemed taken aback by this development. He stepped away, surprised. Was it possible she hadn’t died? Maybe the CPR had worked after all. She stared up at the ceiling. Her lips formed into a beatific smile, and she seemed happy and at peace.
“Susan? Is that you?” Rick said, falling to his knees. “Is that you? Please talk to me, babe.”
I stared in awe at this miracle. The smile on her face grew wide, and she looked so beautiful that I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I felt so happy, I wanted to cry. Her eyes seemed as blue and clear as the Atlantic Ocean.
“Please, Susan. Talk to me, sweetheart,” Rick begged.
“I was so close to bliss before being brought back to this realm,” Susan uttered.
“Thank God you’re alive, Susan,” Rick said.
“Oh, silly, but I’m not. I’ve just visited the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. We will all be there someday, dear, you and I together again.”
“You’re talking nonsense. You’re delirious from the fever.”
“I’m delirious from the love that exists all around us, and everywhere in the universe,” she said.
She turned to face him, the angelic smile beaming across her scrubbed face. She took her right hand and ran it alongside his cheek. “There’s not much time left on this plane. This is merely a phase, dear, so don’t get too used to it.”
“Who told you this?”
“It doesn’t matter who told me, dear. You have to know that I have loved you more than anything in this world. We were sent back for a reason.”
“Goddamnit, Susan, you’re hallucinating. You’ll be fine now that your fever has broken. Now try and get some rest.”
“I feel blissful and at peace. Listen to me now because there’s not much time. Things will soon change. You must be brave and know that all will be well, and that everything happens for a reason.”
“She’s delirious, it’s to be expected,” Rick said, turning to me. He took her hand and kissed it as she reclined on her back and stared up at the ceiling.
“I’m so glad to have loved you, and in return, to have been loved by you. I feel so blessed to have been born and to have experienced all the joy that life has to offer. Enjoy happiness before it sets in. All will be well, my love.”
“What the hell is she talking about? Before what sets in?” Rick asked.
I had no idea what was going on or what Susan was talking about. Susan had always been a refined and articulate person. But in death—or whatever this state was that she now labored under—she seemed like a spiritual alien sent down from the heavens. I debated going downstairs and getting Dar so that she could say her last goodbyes. But instead, I remained perfectly still, conflicted about exposing my daughter to such a strange specter. Dar appeared to have recovered from the initial shock of this experience, and I did not want her to plunge back into that troubled state.
I watched Susan closely. Her smooth abdomen sat flat and unmoving. I thought it odd for someone so close to death. She cupped her translucent hands over the sheet and remained perfectly still. Her chest did not undulate with the rhythms of life-sustaining breath. I contemplated the message she had conveyed to us. It made sense, especially after witnessing how all those animals had come back to life. But the undead did not act this benign and loving. Literature and cinema told a different story of flesh-eating zombies feasting on blood-rich organs and ropes of intestines. I would have never imagined a peaceful spirit conversing with us about the afterlife.
Rick stood next to me and stared down at his wife, who seemed to settle back into a state of rest. He appeared confused by his wife’s last words. Public displays of affection had not been his strong suit, and although Susan had been much more relaxed and comfortable with people than her husband had ever been, professing her undying love for him was not something she did in front of others. With Dar it had been different. She and Dar had always shared a bond throughout their lives. The fact that Susan had never borne children probably accounted for her affinity to my daughter. She could say things to Dar that she would never say to anyone else.
Rick turned to walk out of the room. He stopped and leaned against the doorframe in mourning. I inched closer to Susan, standing above her body and watching as she rested in repose. Her blue eyes flickered in the light, and her beatific smile never wavered, even in death.
It was then that I noticed the subtle transformation that began to take place. Her skin began to slowly change from its pallid complexion to something darker and more sinister. Hairs sprouted along her body, and her features began to broaden, particularly her eyes. Her breasts beneath the sheet began to shrivel into tubular pouches. Her stomach expanded outward like one of those malnourished African children I was used to seeing on television ads. I shouted for Rick to come over as Susan’s teeth mutated into solid rectangular blocks. She began to moan and wriggle madly on top of the mattress. She lifted her hands, which appeared thick and blocky, and sat up in bed. A faraway look came over her eyes as she directed her gaze front and center. Rick and I stood back in shock as she slid her feet off the bed and faced us. Her pink underwear snapped against the growing weight of her midsection and broke off, falling to the pine floor until she stood there completely naked. But it wasn’t Susan.
“Susan! No!” Rick shouted.
Susan—or what remained of her—grabbed hold of Rick and tried to pull him into an embrace. Foam bubbled out of her mouth. She bared her teeth, leaning forward to take a bite out of his cheek. Her movements were slow and lethargic, allowing Rick time to escape her grasp. He backed out of the bedroom and retreated down the hallway. The newly formed creature raised its arms and brayed loudly. Its ears grew longer, course, and more hirsute.
“You need the gun,” I said to Rick. “It’s the only way to put her down.”
“I can’t do it,” he said as we retreated down the stairs. “You need to do it for me. Please, Thom.”
I heard hooves clacking against the oak floor.
“You have to do it, Thom. I can’t kill her.”
“Get me the rifle, then. That monster isn’t your wife.”
Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, I ordered Dar to take the two children into the living room and shut the door. She asked what was going on, but I shouted for her to do as she was told. She gathered the children in her arms and ushered them into the li
ving room, and then shut the door behind her. Rick passed the rifle over to me.
“Get into the living room,” I told Gunner and his wife.
“You ain’t the boss of me, mister. I’ve got Jesus, the real boss, on my side,” Delia said, pulling out the metal crucifix that hung around her neck. “Jesus will defeat Satan. Jesus will overcome all forms of evil.”
“Ignore my wife. Delia’s one of those religious freaks. I’ll stay and help you,” Gunner said.
“Ignore me at your own peril, for I have Jesus Christ by my side,” Delia mumbled.
“I can’t bear to watch,” Rick said, looking back one last time as the creature emerged into the dining room. I positioned myself behind the long oak table and aimed the rifle at her.
“Hurry up and shoot that goddamn thing!” Gunner shouted.
“Shoot that devil!” Delia screamed, holding the crucifix up to the light. She approached the creature. In her other hand, she wielded a butcher’s knife.
“Get the hell back, Delia!” I shouted.
“I’m invincible with Christ!”
Gunner tried to restrain his wife, but it was too late. She broke free, raising the knife up over her head and stabbing the creature in its leathery chest. She plunged it repeatedly into its hardened flesh, shouting in righteous indignation. Its thick skin prevented the knife from fully penetrating. The creature wrapped its arms around Delia’s body, leaned in, and took a bite out of her neck, removing a large chunk of flesh. Delia cried out in agony as blood sprayed into the air and spattered along the floor. She held the crucifix up to its head, but it had no effect.
I aimed the rifle but couldn’t get a clear shot. If I fired now, I would certainly hit Delia in the head. The creature leaned in and tore another chunk out of her shoulder. Tendons and muscle hung from its discolored mouth, pink, striated flesh glistening in the overhead light. Delia struggled to remove the knife from its chest.
“Move out of the way, Delia!” I shouted as the beast gnawed off the tip of her nose.
Delia screamed in agony, and her knees buckled. Her body slumped just enough for me to fire a bullet through the creature’s skull. It fell back against the bottom of the stairs, pulps of skin and blood spattered around its offal-colored mouth. I walked over and pumped another round into its head for good measure