by Maxey, Phil
“Landon!” she screamed to her husband. A groan came from the front as she tried to move in that direction again, but instead the single light above, died.
She scrambled forward but her world violently jolted again by an impact which crumpled the back section of the motorhome and white flakes surged through a gaping hole. In the complete dark, screams and the squelching sound of torn flesh filled the air.
Get out.
It was the only thought in Jess’s mind and she threw her arms out into the darkness at where she remembered her children to be and grabbed who she could, dragging them to her right, to the side door. Amongst the cries and shouts, she fumbled for the latch then handle, kicking the door open. Icy cold air blasted her face as another piece of the motorhome was ripped away from behind her. Not being entirely sure who she was holding, she pulled them with her, falling forward into the dark, down the steps onto the snow. Vaguely hearing Sam’s voice, she grabbed the smaller person, sweeping them up in her arms, while pulling the young girl with her. They staggered onwards into the void, away from the carnage and certain death. Her shoulder clipped something, a tree maybe? She kept on running.
Get out. Landon… Run. Survive… Landon…
The ground felt different, solid. She looked up at glass doors, one which appeared to be open, and started to run forward again, when a wave of heat and light was quickly followed by an almighty explosion, which threw her forward. Even in her fall, she managed to throw her other arm out catching herself, and landed on her side, while the young boy in her arms spilled out.
She realized she could see before her brain concluded that the motorhome had just exploded. She spun around. What was left of the vehicle was ablaze and something almost the same size as it, staggered backwards, equally engulfed in flame. The creature roared and screeched. Limbs grew and stretched from an amorphous body, then fell back, shrinking against the intense heat. It collapsed in a truck sized heap on the snow, quivering.
“Where’s Josh?” screamed Sam.
Jess turned to face Sam then followed her gaze to Tye, a fleck of blood on his cheek. His tears reflecting the burning vehicle behind them. Her mouth fell open and she whipped around to the vehicle and began to run forward.
“Mom!” shouted Sam.
Jess’s daughter was pointing into the wall of darkness surrounding them, and the darker shapes moving amongst it. Even if Jess had been aware she wouldn’t have cared and she sprinted towards the flames, but a few yards from it the thing that was a burning mound of flesh, sprang new limbs, bursting from the snow and ice. A clawed arm flew towards her, slicing the air just inches in front of her face making her fall back onto the ground.
Arms grabbed at her shoulders then dragged her backwards, towards the entrance of the school building behind them.
“We… we have to hide!” screamed Sam.
Run… hide… live…
Within those three thoughts, Jess’s emotions were cauterized. She turned, pulling her daughter then the boy with her and ran through the open entrance.
CHAPTER SEVEN
3: 45 a.m. Trailstone.
Pain pulsed through the egg-sized lump on Landon’s forehead, but he ignored it and pulled Josh’s collar up around the boy’s neck. The single flashlight lit his son’s face, which was bruised, and the back of his own hand which was red and blistered from the flames.
Alive…
In the motorhome he had awoken to darkness and chaos, but just about heard Josh’s cries next to him, his son shaking his arm, pleading for them to get out. He then smelled the gas as he heard the shots, and instinctively pulled Josh with him, out of the driver’s door. The rest was a blur, but he threw himself over Josh when night briefly turned into day.
He lightly placed his hand on Josh’s head, hoping for a smile from the boy, but his face remained frozen, his eyes looking to somewhere beyond the small room they were in.
He looked to his right at Daryl, whose face was bloodied, the young man’s eyes white and open, his head shaking.
“I saw her get… it… it changed her… or tried… her face… it couldn’t… but she…”
Landon kneeled next to him, placing a hand on Daryl’s arm. “Grace is gone. But I need to go back out there. Need to find the others.”
Daryl looked at him. “I didn’t see Jess or Sam, or the other kid. Maybe they got out?”
“Yes. I’m sure they did.” He didn’t know if they had. But refused to believe any different. “That’s why I need to go—”
Daryl grabbed Landon’s hand with his other, shaking his head. “No, man. You can’t. There are more of the things. You can’t.”
“Daryl. I need you to look after—”
Daryl continued shaking his head. “No, no. You can’t. You’ll die.Then what will we do?”
Shit.
“I have to go back outside! They could be hurt!”
“Why don’t you wait until daylight,” said Arlene, her tone flat.
Landon whirled around to face her. “I’m not waiting!” He moved closer to her. “I need you to look after Josh. Will you do that?”
She frowned, glancing at the kid. “And what if you don’t come back? I gotta look after some kid, in a town full of monsters?”
Rage threatened to bubble up within Landon, but he needed her. He couldn’t leave Josh alone. “Just give me thirty minutes. And I’ll come back. Okay?”
She frowned again. “Fine. But I ain’t staying here forever. We need to get that vaccine.
Daryl looked at her. “You’re immune, you don’t need the vaccine.”
“I don’t know that, do I?”
He frowned as winds continued howling outside. Neither of them were too sure of what type of building they had managed to stumble into, in the dark, but the room they were in was some kind of office. It was buried behind a few narrow corridors.
Landon hoped if anything unnatural was in the building with them, the sounds would echo off the walls and alert them before it came close. That was the hope. He kneeled again next to his son. “I have to go out—” Josh grabbed him, throwing his arms around his father’s shoulders. “I have to go outside and find your mom and sister. And the others. I have to do this Josh.” He pulled his son from him. “You’ll be safe here with Daryl and Arlene. Okay?”
Josh’s face remained passive. His cheeks wet with tears, one of which Landon wiped away. “I won’t be long. And I’ll come back with them. I promise.” His son nodded and Landon stood. He briefly looked at the other two, trying not to notice their fear and walked to the door, listening for sounds outside. On not hearing any, he turned the handle and opened the door to a wall of black then waited a few seconds, allowing his eyes to adjust then turned back. “Put something up against this door when I leave.” Daryl nodded and Landon walked out into the corridor.
*****
Jess held Sam and Tye close to her. All were shivering but their combined body heat meant hypothermia would take longer to properly set in.
She had no idea where they were or how long it had been since… Since what? Something terrible had happened, but she couldn’t quite grasp what… each time she tried to fully form the thought, she felt sick and could feel the floor spinning beneath her, as if she was floating above it.
Run… hide… live…
Three words which she kept on repeating. Chains which were holding her sanity together.
“I’m so cold…” said Sam.
“We’ll… we…”
They’re dead… all dead…
“No… no…”
“Mom?”
Run… hide… live… think Jess… need heat… hide… life… avoid the things…
She turned to her left, where Sam was, even though all she could see in the absolute darkness was a shadow shaped person in a hood. “The things are outside.” They all had heard the sliding and scraping across the ice outside the building they were in since they staggered inside it. The creatures were out there, searching for them… or maybe
waiting for the three survivors to come out and make it easy to be picked off.
Not making it easy for them…
But staying inside, huddled together as they were, wasn’t an option either. Despite how jumbled her thoughts were, she was still able to calculate that they had maybe two or three hours before their body temperatures would fall to dangerous levels. The room they were in had no windows. That was intentional on her part, but she had no idea what was around her. Closet?
“I have to see what’s in this room with us.” She started to untangle herself from the other two, but they clung to her even tighter. “No… please, let me go. I have to know what’s around us. There might be something. A flashlight or something we can use for heat.” The hands gripping her released and she crawled forward, her fingers outstretched and soon they came across cold metal rods, then wood, dusty by the powdery feeling. “I think we’re in a closet. There’s a shelf here.” She pushed some metal tins around, then felt the fabric of cloth, then—
Her world became a blinding whiteness and water streamed from her eyes. “What…”
“I thought there might be a light switch,” said Sam. “You’re right, it’s a cleaning closet.”
Her daughter was just a blurry figure within Jess’s vision, but that did not stop her from frantically pulling her own scarf from her neck, and pushing it to the base of the door. She then quickly turned around pushing her back to it and looked up at Sam then to Tye who was sitting across the five feet of tiled space from her. Blood seeped from a gash on his forehead. “You’re hurt!” said Jess and sprang across the confined area to the boy. He reached up then looked at the crimson across his fingers, remaining silent. Jess stood, scouring the shelves, then found what she needed. Disinfectant. “This is going to sting, but I need to clean your wound. Okay?” He nodded.
“Here, use this,” said Sam, handing her a piece of rag.
Jess doused it with the clear, strong smelling liquid and wiped around the wound making the boy wince, but he still remained silent.
Not your son… your son is—
She shook her head, refusing to finish the sentence.
Run… hide… live…
The rag in Jess’s hand had already turned a deep red. She looked at the blood on her hands…
“Mom?” said Sam.
Her mother blinked then stood again, grabbing a longer, cleaner piece of cloth that was hanging from a hook. Dousing it with the disinfectant she kneeled and wrapped it tightly around the boy’s head. It was the only thing she could think of doing. “Your head will hurt, but this will help. We will look out for some pain killing pills.”
“We have nothing!” screamed Sam. “No food, no water! No—” Jess threw her arms around her daughter, pulling the young girl to her and absorbed the sobs.
“Run… hide… live…” she whispered to herself.
“What?” said Sam against her chest.
“There must be stuff in this building. We’ll find what we need, then we’re going to find a vehicle and leave this…”
Leave Josh, leave Landon…
Grief threatened to overwhelm Jess, but she pulled it back just in time to allow her rational mind to keep on functioning. She looked at the innocent looking door. She had no real idea what was on the other side. Or even what floor of the building they were on, such was her panic when they ran inside. But she was going to have to find out. She pulled back from Sam. “I’m going to need you to stay here with—”
Her daughter shook her head, causing black dust to fall from her hair which was waving in front of her face. Jess swept it to the side to better see her bloodshot eyes. “We can’t stay in this room forever. I’ll go outside. I’ll find what we need and come back. Then we’ll make a plan to get a vehicle. Okay?”
Sam nodded. Tye ran forward and threw his arms around both of them, somewhat taking Jess by surprised. She lightly placed her hand on his head, looking down at him. “How’s your head?”
“It hurts… but I think I’m okay.”
She smiled, tears wanting to come to her eyes then turned and scanned across the shelves once more. “There must be something else—”
A noise echoed around the walls beyond the door, making everyone in the small space pause their breath. Sam shivered but Jess crept across to the wall and clicked the switch to the single bulb above their head, plunging them back into darkness. She reached out to both kids, holding their hands.
The creak of another door beyond their own was followed by silence…
The handle jostled, making Sam yell. Jess threw herself against the door, just as a voice came from the other side.
“Sam?” said Meg.
CHAPTER EIGHT
4: 11 a.m. Trailstone.
The light from the dying embers within the carcass of the motorhome hardly extended more than a few feet. It sat like a lantern within the ice flakes swirling around it, and Landon could see the things that were drawn to the glow, moving in the nearby shadows.
They could be in there… inside… burned… d—
He cut the invasive thought short, not allowing it to take root. He had no time for doubt or grief, his focus needed to remain on finding those who were alive. He was sure there were some. Sure that included his family. He had relayed news about the deaths of others countless times. And despite his efforts to not become numb to the delivering of such information, had become so anyway. A professional mechanism that his mind had used to stop the grief of others becoming his own. It wasn’t a matter of choice. If he wanted to be able to help those that were the friends and families of the victims, it was a necessity. His emotions he tried to keep for his own life, for his wife and children…
Something moved somewhere behind him, within the dark internals of a house he could just about make out against the lighter sky. He swore in his mind. He needed to remain focused on finding who he could, not drift off into self-pity. His memories were a trap to avoid if he was going to live through the night.
To the right of the motorhome was a large building. Standing at least three stories in height, and from its shape he was sure it was a school. But the things were surrounding it, as if they knew something… or someone was inside.
They have to be in there. If he had more sense when he fell out of the driver’s seat, he would have run in its direction as well. Something snapped behind him again. He couldn’t stay where he was. Maybe the things could see in the dark, or smell? Who knew.
His eyes had adjusted just enough for him to make out the sidewalks, fences, trees and he plotted a rough path between each, and away from the other misshapen things that were moving. He moved out from behind a bush, being painfully aware of the crunching his boots were making across the snow, which was at least a foot thick and tried to keep a fix on the closest of the monsters. There was at least thirty-feet between him and it, but he had no doubt if the thing knew he was there it would cover the distance in an instant, and his pocket knife wasn’t going to be much use against it. Luckily, like moths to a flame, it remained facing the…
Heat… they want the heat…
The smoke still bellowing from the plastic and metal framework, would probably disguise his stench, which even he was beginning to notice. He quickly moved across the road, crouching as he went and arrived behind a row of cars, parked at the start of a path which led all the way to a side entrance. He had no real idea what lay to his right or behind him, the darkness was thick with potential, but he ignored it, instead trying to see any movement beyond the double doors, some twenty feet away.
Waiting until he was sure nothing was aware of his presence, he walked forward, traipsing through the snow, but keeping from the path as the snow covered grass was quieter.
He was now close enough to the glass of the side entrance to see the reflections of the glimmering fire to his left.
They’re inside here. Sure of it.
Over the years he spent on patrol, he developed an instinct for when a building was inhabited or not. A sixth
sense which had kept him alive on more than one occasion and he was—
An engine fired up to his right, around the back of the building. Not knowing who or what had caused it, he ran in that direction, stomping through the snow which was even higher and arrived at a chest-high wall, which was lit by the red glare of tailgate lights.
The rear wheels of a 90s silver sedan, some three car lengths away, were spinning in the snow. He waved his arms trying to get the occupants attention. Were there four people inside? A silhouette of a woman in the passenger’s seat, looked…
He almost didn’t hear the breathless sound of galloping, a repeating thud from behind him before it was too late, but threw himself to the side into branches and snow as something foul smelling vaulted over him and the wall, towards the car, whose engine was roaring, but equally fading in volume.
She’s alive… and leaving…
He stood, peering over the wheel just in time to catch a four-legged creature which lacked any clear head, clambering after the vehicle which passed out of sight.
She’s alive…
Screeches and roars filled the air, thicker than the ice flakes and movement was all around. He ducked back into the bush as things thundered past, all on a seemingly lost cause of trying to capture the annoying human machine which had disturbed them.
After what felt like hours, but had only been a few minutes, the night returned to silence. He checked best he could there were no more unnatural sounds or shapes amongst the wall of black surrounding him and ran back the way he came.
CHAPTER NINE
4: 53 a.m. Highway 18, heading east.
The old sedan was encased in darkness as it made its way across a barren landscape. The ground beneath the headlights was only powder white, and Meg was able to keep at a constant fifty miles per hour. She glanced at the young woman to her right, who appeared to be sleeping, then switched her view to the rear mirror and Jess’s daughter who was doing the same, but the boy, he was awake, looking out into the night, the bandage across his head covered in spots of dark red.