Betsy quietly mooed as Travis squeezed, and Herman suddenly leapt off the wall. The lizard glided around the barn once before coming back and landing securely in the middle of Travis’ back.
Travis screamed, causing Betsy to jump. She kicked over the bucket and bumped Travis off his stool. Herman jumped off Travis’ back as he tumbled over and soared to the middle of the barn, clasping onto a large 4 x 4 beam.
Travis jumped up and twisted around in all directions, desperate to see what attacked him. There was nothing there. “Who’s there?” he yelled nervously as his eyes darted around.
“Somebody grabbed me!” he said out loud, a slight tremble to his voice. As the realization hit him, he knew he needed to get out of the barn immediately. “It’s a ghost!” he declared with fright as he ran towards the barn door. “The barn is haunted! I’ve got to warn everyone!”
Exiting the barn, Travis spotted Chelsea, Maya and Kelly all moving in his direction. He rushed up to stop them. “I wouldn’t go in there,” he said shakily. “It’s haunted! I got attacked by a ghost!”
“What?” Maya asked, shooting a quick glance at Chelsea. Chelsea shook her head tightly. They had a pretty good idea who the ghost was.
“Something grabbed me in the back!” Travis said excitedly. “I turned around and nothing was there!”
“That’s horrible!” Maya said, trying not to laugh.
“I’d tell everybody!” Chelsea added, looking wide-eyed at Travis. “I think it would best if everybody just stayed out of the barn!”
Kelly watched her two friends slyly. “Something scared the hell out of me in there the other day, too,” she offered. “I’m scared of the barn. Really.” She tried to look convincing.
His heart now racing, Travis’ imagination started spinning as he recalled the event. “It was huge!” he exclaimed. “It felt like it was ten feet tall!”
Maya giggled for a split-second before getting herself under control. “You should tell Mace!” she said. “He should definitely know about this.”
The other two girls nodded in agreement.
“You’re right,” Travis said. “This is big!” He rushed off and the three girls broke into laughter once he was out of earshot.
“What a dork!” Maya laughed.
Walking into the barn, they all giggled at the absurdity of Travis. As soon as they entered, Herman pushed off the beam and glided straight for them. None of them saw the lizard. Maya screamed as Herman’s feet suddenly tangled in her hair as he attempted to land.
“Get him off me!” she yelled as Herman scrambled around on her head, trying to hold on as she jumped about.
“Stay still!” Chelsea yelled as she tried to grab Herman. He finally jumped off Maya’s head and glided back to the middle beam.
“What is wrong with your dragon?” Maya squealed as she ruffled her hair with her hands, trying to remove all traces of dragon cooties.
“Nothing’s wrong with him. He just likes people,” Chelsea said calmly as she watched him scramble up the beam. He stopped halfway up then turned around quickly to watch them.
Sitting across the table from Roger, Lisa said, “I still can’t believe it." Staring at him in awe, her head shook from side to side. Tom sat quietly next to her, listening closely to the conversation. They held hands under the table.
Lisa continued with her amazement over the fight. "I honestly don’t think I could have held back, and I’m a damn pot-head!” she added excitedly.
Tom squeezed her hand in understanding. He was completely baked.
Mace couldn’t help but laugh. “I wouldn’t want to try it again, Leese. It was pretty much touch and go, I’ll tell you that.”
“There was that one moment,” Roger said, smiling at Mace, “when you had that knife in your hand. I thought I’d totally misjudged the situation.”
Mace nodded as Jade broke in. “Even I thought you were dead, Roger.” She turned to Mace, who sat next to her, and she studied his face. “What changed? The moment I saw Bowie throw the knife in, I thought it was all over.”
Taking a few deep breaths, Mace felt oddly at peace as he tried to explain the situation. “I heard Jason’s voice in my head.”
Jade cocked her head at the mention of Jason's name. Mace saw the look and clarified. “Jason from the past. I heard him taunting me at the mechanical museum.”
Jade remained silent, watching him closely, waiting for him to continue.
“I always let him beat me at that stupid game. It never mattered how badly he teased. That moment made me remember who I used to be. Who I hope to be again.”
Lisa’s face grew slack as she thought of her own past. “You can’t return to your innocence, though,” she said quietly. “You can’t undo what’s been done.”
Remaining quiet through most of the conversation, Woody spoke as he leaned his back against the front door. He always felt more comfortable with a little separation. “No, you can’t,” he said, recalling his own actions in Kansas. “But you can learn to live with them. Become stronger because of them.”
Roger nodded. “Exactly. You can’t hate yourself for your past, only learn from it. You do the best you can until you know better. Forgiving yourself is sometimes harder than forgiving others.”
“I still feel like I’m living on borrowed time,” Mace said as he contemplated his condition. “I used to feel that way because of the things I did. Now, with the infected almost all gone, I feel a need to make sure this camp is safe in case it takes me down as well.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” Roger said in acknowledgement. “There may be another way, though. The original toxin was so strong it killed and then reanimated the dead, right? What if the toxin breaks down over time? In that case it may not be the toxin making them drop, but nature taking its course as the toxin weakens. In that case, you would actually get better, not worse.”
Jade’s jaw dropped at the statement. She’d never thought of that before. “Who are you?” she asked Roger incredulously. “Where do you come up with this stuff? That’s an amazing way to see it.”
Roger smiled in response. “I’ve always enjoyed looking at all angles and trying to determine the most positive outcome. If you look at life that way, it often creates pathways for positive outcomes to follow.”
"I love that," she said. "It's brilliant."
Watching them, Mace witnessed the chemistry between them. The peace he felt instantly turned to bile in his stomach. A part of him wanted to reach over and strangle Roger.
Several frantic knocks on the door stopped everything. Woody turned and opened it. Travis entered quickly, beside himself with excitement. “There’s a ghost in the barn!” he said frantically to Woody until he noticed all the adults sitting around the table. He suddenly shrunk back. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”
At the sight of Travis, Mace felt himself lighten up a smidge. Travis was the camp goofball. “What happened in the barn, Travis?” he asked, wanting to take his mind off the rage fighting to surface inside.
The boy lit up again as he told his story. “I was milking Betsy when a ghost attacked me from the back! It hit me!”
Seeing the look of doubt on everyone’s face, he repeated the statement. “I got punched by a ghost in the barn. I swear it. It hit me in the back and when I turned around there was no one there. It’s haunted I tell you!”
Mace decided to go investigate. After seeing sparks of interest between Jade and Roger, he needed to remove himself before he did something he'd regret, like murder the both of them. “Let’s go check it out,” he said to Travis. He turned briefly to his companions. “I’ll be back.” He found that he couldn’t look directly at Roger or Jade.
Inside the barn, the girls were plotting their adventure for the following morning. “You just need to sneak out before Roger wakes up. I do it all the time,” bragged Chelsea. “There is some cool stuff outside these walls.”
The barn door suddenly opened and Mace strode in. Trav
is hung outside the entrance, too scared of another run in with the ten-foot ghost. At first sight of the girls, Mace figured they’d pulled a trick on Travis. Walking towards them, he never saw Herman push off the beam above his head and glide around from behind. Herman smacked against his right shoulder, and he turned his head to spot the lizard right next to his face. “Yow!” he yelled out as he jumped away from it. The lizard hung tight.
The girls were in instant hysterics. They’d never seen Mace get scared before.
Slightly embarrassed, Mace reached up to grab the lizard. It hopped onto his hand and twitched its head as he pulled it closer to take a good look at it.
Chelsea suddenly jumped up from the hay. The sight of Mace with Herman sobered her up quickly. “Please don’t hurt him,” she said a little frightened. “He’s just a baby.”
Mace looked carefully at the lizard. “I wouldn’t dream about it, Chelse. He’s actually a cool little dragon.” He smiled at her and she beamed.
Travis now stood at the entrance of the barn. “You really do have a dragon?” he said in complete amazement. “I thought it was just a story.”
“Great,” Chelsea said as she glared at Maya. “Now everybody knows.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Marching with an overstated sense of importance and purpose, the Plaguers goosestepped in union behind Marty and Stephen. The men led the pack forward on horseback. Sixty-two men, women, and children, all connected by the effects of the new virus, remained locked in synergistic communion. They considered themselves an army, born to stamp out the Curse from the face of the earth.
Their steady clomping through the main street of Kirby, TX, caught the attention of a large group congregated in a dilapidated Catholic Church in the middle of town. The old woman behind the pulpit, a new seer named Joline, spewed a message filled with paranoia and madness.
“This world is a cesspool of death and curses!” she yelled loudly. “In order to survive, we need to destroy all witches and evildoers! ” She pointed towards the large crucifixes behind her. The crowd was enthralled.
She stopped her sermon as the noise drew closer, her ears pricked for any sound of wickedness outside their sanctum’s doors. “Quiet!” she yelled to her congregation as they murmured to themselves in uncertainty. The noise drew closer.
Joline moved quickly around the pulpit, straight down the center row of the church towards the large double doors to the street. Everyone watched her pass, anxious for her to discover the meaning of the approaching noise.
Thrusting the church door open, Joline watched as Marty and Stephen led the soldiers of paranoid righteousness right up the middle of her street. They were almost to the front door. “Stop!” she commanded as they made eye contact.
Marty held his hand up and the crowd behind him stopped in unison. They all stared at Joline, waiting for the signal to destroy the evil.
“Kill, kill, kill, kill...” The chanting started low, ready to grow to shouting level if the word was given. The crowd grew restless. They needed blood.
Sizing each other up for a few long seconds, Joline scrutinized Marty and Stephen carefully. “You don't appear to be sorcerers,” she declared slowly.
“We aren't,” answered Marty. Still not completely sure about her, he said, "You don't appear to have the curse in you."
The chanting behind them ended. Studying Joline carefully, Stephen added, "There's a curse. We've all felt it. We're trying to find its source.”
Joline's eyebrows raised. “There is evil all around us. We've been praying to Gozer, the God of Destruction, to guide us."
“I'm not familiar with this Gozer," stated Stephen uncertainly, "but there must be a reason why we've met."
"Gozer is powerful. We pray for his return in form to stomp down on our enemies." As her mind twisted in infection, it somehow latched onto the dark deity from the movie, 'Ghostbusters.'
They stared at each other for a few long seconds and the bonds of infection strengthened. Gozer became the new and powerful God for all of them.
“We’ve won some battles," Marty said proudly as he stared at Joline, thankful they'd met. "In order to win the war, we should fight together.”
“My people are ready to kill for Gozer,” Joline said in all seriousness.
“Do you feel it?” Marty asked her as he pointed in the direction of San Antonio, TX. “It comes from there. The curse originates from there.”
“I do,” answered Joline, surprising herself and growing excited at the realization. “We’ve been waiting for a sign. You must be it."
“Join us, then,” said Stephen, "and help us destroy it for Gozer." His eyes looked completely mad.
“Come,” Joline declared. “We'll wage this war together. But first we sacrifice the witches.”
“You caught some?” Stephen grew instantly more excited.
“Inside the church. They are being crucified.”
“Can we watch?” asked Stephen.
Joline smiled. “Of course. Their deaths bring us power. If we kill enough, Gozer will return.”
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
The big biker gripped the man by the throat. With his head pressed against the wall, the man squirmed against the pressure. Squeezing with all his might, the biker’s forearm shook as the man’s eyes rolled back in his head.
“I want to know what the hell is going on!” the big biker said, his filthy, overgrown beard inches away from the man’s face.
Turning blue as the life drained out of him, the man stared at him pleadingly before his eyes faded to a far-away distance. The large, rough looking convict released his grip and the man’s body slid slowly to the floor.
“He’s not going to tell us anything now,” Dawson said sarcastically from behind him. “He was the last one, Razor.”
Razor looked angrily around. She was right. He’d already killed the rest. “Doesn’t matter,” he said as he glanced down at the body. “He didn’t know anything anyway.”
Six other bodies littered the floor of the abandoned store. Razor had felt an instant connection with all of them upon entering. The gang had ridden into town twenty minutes earlier, forging for food and supplies. They'd found the people hiding inside.
“What are we going to do?” Dawson asked, confused herself. “This shit isn’t normal.”
As soon as she and Razor walked in, the people’s fear ended and they'd smiled at them in recognition. She’d felt the connection, too. It didn’t make any sense.
At the sight of the smile, Razor instantly pulled his knife, slashing the two closest-ones throats, unnerved by the feeling. Dawson reacted similarly, punching the first one who'd smiled at her in the face.
The others dropped their jaws at the act, looking up at them like it was some great betrayal. They'd tied up the rest and tortured them to try to get them to reveal the secret. None of them could. None of them knew the answer.
Motorcycle engines started to rumble and roar out front. The gang prepared to move on.
“We leave,” Razor said in answer to Dawson’s question. “Figure it out on our own.”
As they walked back out into the street, they felt the pull grow stronger. They were being drawn to something.
“You feel that?” Razor asked Stitch as he sat on his motorcycle out front, prepared to pull out. Several bikes rolled away and the engine noise grew louder.
“What’s that?” Stitch asked loudly over the grumble of the engines.
“It feels like something is calling us.” Looking out at the horizon, Razor looked to be in a state of shock. “There’s something going on. Something’s out there.” With the joining of the two Plaguer groups in Kirby, TX, the Plaguer connection grew stronger. Their magnetic pull reached farther.
“Damn,” Stitch said as he watched the trail of bikes roll away. “I do feel it.” He looked confused. “What the fuck is that?”
"I don't know. But we're going to find out."
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Chelsea pulled the p
iece of plywood away from the hole. “C’mon,” she whispered to Kelly. “Just follow our lead. You don’t want to trip a mine.”
Kelly looked uncomfortable. “If I blow up, I’m going to come back and haunt you.”
Chelsea laughed quietly as Maya climbed through first. “Don’t worry, nobody’s blown up yet.”
The three girls rose early to explore. It being Kelly’s first time out, Chelsea and Maya had much to show her. Herman clung to Chelsea’s back as she ducked through the hole. Buster brought up the rear.
The night before, they'd exchanged their stories. Connected by the pain of their pasts, their bond grew tighter.
"I watched both my parents get killed," Kelly shared as they sat together in the barn. Chelsea and Maya stayed quiet, nodding in understanding as she relayed her tale of loss and horror. "We got overrun in this little house we were staying at. We were all being really quiet. I still don't know why it happened." Kelly's face turned blank as she shut her emotions off, and her voice became more monotone. "The area was getting more active at night and we knew we needed to leave soon. We were going to leave the next morning." Feeling the need to clarify, she added, "This was when those fuckers were still really fast." Chelsea and Maya both responded with a nod. They remembered all too clearly.
Describing the situation exactly as she remembered it, Kelly continued solemnly. "My mom pulled the curtain back an inch to look. I swear it was just an inch. Literally, like three seconds later, one just crashed through the window. It grabbed her and she screamed as it tried to pull her through." Kelly's voice trailed as she finished the sentence. That was all she would say about her mom. They all remained silent. A few seconds later Kelly cleared her throat. "My dad," she said, finally ready to continue, "they got him because he tried to get her back. Big mistake," she laughed uncomfortably as she tried to block the images from her mind. "They all came in at that point. Just broke down the doors. Crashed through the windows. You name it."
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