Garbarino pushed himself up with a grunt. “Thanks,” he said, and then ran in the opposite direction of the two killers. Mia followed. The killers fought each other as they untangled and scrambled after them.
“We have to get out of here,” Mia said. “We can’t outrun them if they fill the entire system.”
Garbarino knew she was right. Every turn could lead them headlong into a line of killers. But would the city streets be any better?
Light streamed out of a tunnel ahead of them.
“Looks like an opening ahead,” Mia said.
“Run!” shouted a voice from behind them. The two killers were gaining.
“I don’t want to!” The second voice was in front of them. A shadow moving through the tunnel on the other side of the light.
“Hurry!” Garbarino said, pushing toward the light.
Mia moved her legs as fast as she could, adrenaline blocking out the pain. But she knew it would be back, and far worse than before. She could feel the sinews of her ruined muscles snap with each step. If they survived, she’d have a limp for life.
As they approached the light, the three killers were only ten feet away on either side. Garbarino rounded the corner fast, yanking Mia with him. They squinted in the bright light, unable to see, but still moving.
The killers entered the light behind them and shrieked in agony. The noise sounded unlike anything Mia had heard before—pain-filled and horrified. What could make them react like that? Mia thought, and then the tunnel dropped away beneath their feet and she fell into the light.
53
Coffee. Mia smelled the most delicious coffee. It drifted past her nose and pulled her from sleep. But the warmth enveloping her fought to keep her asleep. She felt peaceful, like never before, and safe. More than that, she couldn’t remember ever feeling unsafe.
She rolled over and felt a cool breeze brush across her face. It carried a trace of ocean air, cherry blossoms and earth. The scents invigorated her. She blinked her eyes open, squinting in the bright light of day.
She placed her hand down on the soft bed beneath her and smiled. The bed wasn’t a bed. It was grass. Green and lush. The warmth came from a light above, like the sun, but too bright to see clearly. She lay beneath a cherry tree, thick with pink blossoms that drifted away with the breeze.
The sight made her laugh.
She didn’t wonder how she got there.
She didn’t question what happened to Garbarino.
These things and the horrible state of the world were no longer known to her.
She sat up and leaned back on her arms. The grass grew on a slope that led to a stand of tall reeds. Beyond the reeds was a sandy beach that led to the ocean where waves crashed, filling the air with the hypnotic sounds of roaring water followed by the sifting of sand.
Seagulls called.
And then a voice. Distant and high pitched. But familiar.
A shadow fell next to her and she found a wolf sitting in the grass beside her, its tongue hanging out as it panted. It glanced in her direction and then back out to the ocean. She felt no fear at the wolf’s presence and saw no hunger in its eyes.
She held a hand out to the wolf and it scooted over to her. She petted the predator’s head and squeezed it to her side. The stiff hairs tickled her.
She was naked.
Mia stood when the voice called out again. She headed down the hill toward the beach. The wolf followed her.
A worn path cut through the reeds. Mia walked through slowly, admiring the streaks of green as they reached up toward the sky and glowed in the bright light. She ran her hands through them as she walked, feeling the contours and listening to the gentle hiss of the reeds against her skin.
Then she stood on the beach, her feet sinking into the sand. Warmth spread from the sand and coursed through her body. The grains were smooth and caressed her feet as she walked.
The voice grew louder, coming from the water. A woman was there, concealed by waves as she danced in the water.
Mia called out, “Hello!”
A tall wave crashed, revealing the woman’s naked back and flowing blond hair. She turned around with a broad smile that Mia recognized—Elizabeth, older and stunning.
She raised her hand to wave, but the brightness above exploded with white. The images around her disappeared. As Elizabeth’s face was washed out, Mia’s heart broke open and poured fear into her body. She shook, as the light became unbearably hot. The sand scorched her feet. The wolf growled and barked. The reeds behind her caught fire and blackened.
And then she was back.
She knew it by the smell. Death and destruction mixed with the dirty penny scent of her own blood. The pain returned next, pounding her body with each beat of her heart. Her vision cleared. The blue sky was now full of gray clouds, flashing with heat lightning.
Then Garbarino stood above her, his face twisted with worry. “You okay? You were just staring straight ahead.”
But she couldn’t answer. She had tasted freedom. From this world. From hate, fear, and pain. And she wasn’t sure how, but she knew it was real. Dreams were never that powerful. Never that tangible. She could still hear the waves and smell the cherry blossoms. And the memory of the place hurt her more than the gash in her leg, the end of civilization or the death of Elizabeth.
She had never experienced such intense and all consuming despair. She had tasted paradise only to have it yanked away.
But the feeling slowly ebbed as reality drowned out her memories of the place.
“Where are we?” she asked, but her voice sounded like someone else’s. Rough and dry.
Garbarino looked from side to side. “We’re in the crater. We fell a few feet and rolled a few more. The good news is that the killers won’t come in here.”
Mia had begun to detect the bad news before Garbarino said anything. Voices surrounded them, but no one spoke. She heard weeping and wailing, screams of agony and remorse. They were the very emotions she’d felt when she returned to the real world.
“The bad news is we’re not alone,” Garbarino said.
Mia turned to her side and saw a row of people. They would have looked normal enough if they weren’t all naked and half buried in the ground. There were a mixture of races, and the ratio of men and women seemed equal. But what unified them was their despair. They all stared straight ahead toward the center of the crater, which was blocked from Mia’s view by Garbarino—arms stretched out, desperately reaching for something. They screamed and cried for it. Tears streamed down their faces. They wanted something so bad, but it dangled just out of reach, taunting them with its closeness.
But they would never have it.
That’s how the world worked now.
“What are they reaching for?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Garbarino said. “I don’t see anything.”
He stepped aside and Mia looked down to the center of the crater. She saw a bright light and caught a scent of ocean water. Then it was gone. Loss and regret consumed her. She reached for the light, her voice crying out for it.
A shadow extinguished the light.
Garbarino stood in front of her again. “What the fuck was that?”
“You can’t see it?” she asked, desperation filling each word. “Take me back. Please, take me back.”
Garbarino looked over his shoulder and saw nothing but a football stadium-sized crater packed with people, all reaching down toward an empty swatch of blackened earth. If there was something there, he couldn’t see it.
He pulled her up, careful to stand between her and the crater bottom. “We need to get out of here. They’re not coming in, but they’ll be on us as soon as we’re out.”
Mia looked back. The shattered sewer tunnel gaped open, a black hole into the earth. She could hear the shouting voices of killers within, but they stayed back from the light. Fifteen feet above that she saw the surface, a charred black rim of scorched pavement and the melted remnants of city buildings.
There were voices up above, too, but they weren’t getting any closer.
“They’re afraid of the crater,” she said.
“Actually, I think they’re afraid of whatever they, and you, are seeing at the bottom.”
Mia tried to look around Garbarino. She wanted to see the light again. To feel that taste of paradise one more time. More than anything, she wanted to run down to it, jump in and return to the beach with Elizabeth.
And Matt, she decided. She didn’t see him there, but she had no doubt she would. “I want to go back,” she said.
Garbarino looked her in the eyes. “You’re not ready.”
Having tasted the place, she didn’t believe him. “Maybe you’re not ready.”
They stared at each other for a moment. Then a voice interrupted. It came from above, speaking quietly, but the word struck like an atom bomb. “Peace.”
A second voice followed. “Life.”
Mia turned around and saw Austin and Henry Masters standing at the edge of the crater. The pair seemed irritated by the light at the center of the crater, but were otherwise immune. The pair stared down at them, eternally smiling.
“Run,” Garbarino said.
“Where?”
“Where do you think, Carol Anne? Run to the light!”
Nothing sounded better to Mia at that moment, so she turned and ran, looking into the light and reaching out for it as she ran. The empty patch of sloped earth beneath open sewer tunnel was congested with half buried people, but Mia pushed past them even as they reached out for her, jealously fueling their screams. Mia was headed toward the light. And as she neared it, she felt escape was at long last possible.
After pulling herself free from the swarm of reaching arms, Mia reached the bottom of the crater. The light hovered five feet above the ground, a glowing blue-white sphere. She stepped toward it and thousands upon thousands of voices roared in response. The sheer volume of the sound made her stumble. But she was almost there.
“Head to the other side,” Garbarino said as he kicked loose of the crowd. “We can probably reach the top before—” He noticed Mia was no longer listening. She continued toward the center of the crater, arms outstretched. “Mia...”
The light was right in front of her. She reached for it, feeling its warmth, and closed her eyes. She stepped forward, into the light and felt its warm embrace.
For a moment.
Then it was gone.
She opened her eyes.
She stood inside the light. White haze surrounded her. A mirage. Nothing more.
Despair dropped her to her knees.
The combined howl of Austin and Masters put her on her stomach.
54
Mia felt her stomach lurch. She was starving, desperate to leave this world. The combined roars of Austin and Masters shook her insides. She convulsed, her body out of control. She lay below the sphere of light, but no longer desired it. Its allure had vanished with the realization that it wasn’t really there.
Was it all a delusion?she wondered. The grassy hill. The wolf. The ocean. Elizabeth. It all felt so real. She wanted to go back more than anything she’d desired before.
The question was, how could she get there?
It became the background soundtrack in her mind on which she could never fully focus. I had years, she thought, why didn’t I think about this before the world went to hell?
She tried to focus on the question of God, Hell, forgiveness and eternity, but the world around her drew her attention away.
“Get up!” Garbarino shouted at her. He grabbed her arm and pulled, but she just slid across the rough crater floor leaving a trail of blood behind her. Garbarino looked at her and his facial expression changed to that of a family member waiting by the bedside of a terminally ill family member. The look said, you’re not long for this world.
He lowered her to the ground. “Don’t take long.”
He stepped away and she wanted to follow, but found herself rooted in place. She couldn’t move. She could only watch.
At the top of the crater, Austin and Masters jumped over the edge. They landed amid the crowd of people buried waist deep in the hardened ground. Those beneath the giants were crushed. The rest paid them no attention, their focus on the globe of light absolute.
Don’t take long. Garbarino’s words echoed in her thoughts. Her time had come at last. She would escape.
You’re not ready, her inner voice said.
But a new voice, this one more confident, replied, I’ve been there. I saw Liz. I’m going back. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.
She had no doubt about it. She was a good person. She’d done bad things, but nothing like Collins. If God was real, he would see that. If God was merciful, he would understand. He had already shown her paradise. It was a gift. An incentive. She felt peace. And life.
Peace and life.
Masters and Austin charged down the hill. They tore bodies from the ground, ripping them in half and tossing them away. Others they simply stepped on, crushing them into the ground. A river of blood preceded them down the crater’s bowl. When they roared, the people around them leaned away, a shockwave moving through the masses, like a crowd doing the wave at a baseball game.
Garbarino stood between her and the two approaching juggernauts. He held his gun in his hand. She knew it held only one round. It wouldn’t even slow them. He turned back toward her.
“Are you ready?”
She started to say yes, but some part of her wasn’t so sure. Was she forgetting something? The chaos around her kept her thoughts from solidifying.
Bodies flew.
Desperation filled the crater.
Monsters roared.
Her body quaked.
Ask, she thought.
Ask what?
“Are you ready?” Garbarino screamed it this time.
Austin and Masters were nearly through the crowd. She had ten seconds. Maybe less.
Ask what? Ask what!
“Please,” she said. “Let me see Matt again.”
“You’re out of time!” Garbarino said.
“I’m ready!” she shouted.
Garbarino spun around and faced her. His face was full of fear, but his eyes burned with determination. She saw his hand come up, weapon steady.
One bullet left.
He’d been saving it, she realized.
For her.
Better to die by the bullet than torn apart by Austin and Masters. He was going to kill her—a final act of mercy.
She had just begun to mouth the words, “Thank you,” when he pulled the trigger.
At the same moment the gun fired and kicked in his hand, Garbarino was struck from behind. The gun tilted down slightly as the bullet left the barrel. He looked up and saw Mia kneeling, her face twisted in pain. The bullet had struck her chest instead of her head. It was a kill shot for sure. Punctured lung. Close to the heart. She’d be dead within the minute.
But the anguish she felt at that moment was for Garbarino.
He looked down. A large hand had pierced his back and come out of his stomach. As it pulled back out, he could feel the thick arm scraping against his spine. Once back inside his body, he felt the fingers flex. A mixture of pressure and pain registered in his mind before he felt the hand pull back out. He felt his insides unravel in him, pulled out through his back. Numbness claimed his body. His thoughts drifted away. And he was gone.
Mia shook with sadness as Garbarino’s body fell to the ground, dead.
But she couldn’t cry. Not really. Her left lung was filling with blood. Each breath was shorter than the last. She’d drown in the stuff soon. If Masters and Austin let her live that long. But she was determined to last the minute, to make sure Garbarino had escaped. She pushed away from the monsters as they walked slowly toward her. They sensed the end coming and were in no rush.
She stopped moving when they reached her. They stood on either side, looking down at her.
Her mental count to sixty en
ded.
Garbarino was not coming back.
He’d escaped.
“Peace,” Masters said.
Austin raised his fists. She thought she saw him give a faint head shake, as though disappointed. “Life,” he said.
“Please,” Mia said. “Let me see him again. Let Matt be there when I open my eyes. Please.”
Four massive fists slammed into her body. In that split second of impact she felt her bones break, her organs burst and her life escape. Then everything went black.
55
Black became white.
Her body had returned, hale and healthy again. The broken bones, the wound in her leg, the fatigue and exhaustion were all gone. Warmth tickled her face. She smiled. Alive again.
As her thoughts returned, she could feel her body moving. Running. It felt wonderful.
There was dirt beneath her feet. Bare feet.
She smelled earth all around, and something else. Onions.
The white began to fade.
A breeze caressed her skin.
She saw colors. Dashes of orange.
Her eyesight returned in full. She blinked and elation filled her to the core. Matt lay beneath her, smiling, staring up into her eyes.
“Matt,” she said, dripping with affection.
“No, no, no,” he replied.
“Matt, it’s me,” she said. “It’s Mia.”
He screamed and she realized what she had taken for a smile was actually gritted teeth. His face was covered in grime and dried blood.
“No,” she said, looking down. Matt’s stomach was open. His guts were in her hands.
He screamed again and she realized her hands were yanking at his insides, eviscerating the fiancé she’d betrayed.
“I’m sorry,” she screamed turning her head to the sky. “Make it stop! God, make it stop!”
But she didn’t stop until Matt’s body stopped moving and his own screams of pain faded. Then she was up and moving. She spotted several other killers and headed for them. She didn’t want to be with them. She didn’t want to hear their voices mixed with hers, but her body, and its actions, were not hers to control anymore.
TORMENT - A Novel of Dark Horror Page 27