“I’ve got it, Dad,” she said.
He patted her on the back and rushed to the stairwell just as gunfire erupted from below. He took the stairs two at a time, his breath ragged.
Meredith and John clung to their rifles, taking turns firing through a broken-out window in the back of the dining room. Two boards had given way; the nails had been ripped out of the wall. One by one the creatures poked their heads through the hole.
“We need to board it back up!” Meredith shouted.
“On the floor!” John shouted to Dan.
Dan put down his rifle, scooping up a box and the tool, and walked toward the opening.
“Hold your fire!” he shouted. “I need help!”
With the last burst of gunfire, the window had been temporarily cleared. Dan grabbed hold of one of the loose boards and put it back in place. Meredith scooted over next to him and held it while he fumbled with the nails. A pair of grotesque hands pushed against the other side, and Meredith lost her hold.
“Dammit!” she cried.
Dan swung the hammer through the window frame, battering it against the creature’s skull, and the thing toppled to the ground.
“Try again!”
Meredith resumed putting it in place; this time Dan was able to get ahold of a nail and begun pounding. The board continued to shake. Undaunted, he grabbed an additional nail and hammered it into the wood. With one board in place, he reached for the next, dodging a pair of mottled gray hands.
He swung the hammer through the opening again. This time he caught the creature with the claw-end, and the metal dug into the thing’s scalp. He pulled upwards and pried it loose, spraying the room with a stream of fluid.
After another minute of struggle, Meredith and Dan had repositioned the second board and covered the window. Even still, others were beginning to give way; it was only a matter of time before one broke.
“This isn’t going to work for long!” Dan yelled.
“How many of them are there?”
“Too many! We need a better plan!”
John had taken hold of the knife, and had returned to jabbing it through the cracks in between the boards. Dan swiveled around the house. In each of the gaps, indiscernible masses flitted back and forth. Occasionally he saw an eye, an ear, or a nose, but he was unable to tell one from the next.
Dan grabbed a knife and joined his companions, watching the scene with increasing dread. With the windows covered and the lights on, he felt like an animal in a cage, the subject of a failed science experiment. For the past week, him and his daughter had been able to cheat death, staying one step ahead of the carnage that followed them.
Now they’d painted themselves into a corner.
Or rather, he’d painted them into a corner.
We shouldn’t have stayed here. We should’ve left.
Try as he might, Dan was unable to dispel the thought that he’d made a mistake. And this time, that mistake was going to cost them.
29
Meredith cringed as she thrust the blade between the boards. Each time she stabbed, the knife made a sickening crunch, and every time she pulled it back it contained a new smattering of fluid.
Just a week ago her greatest worry had been producing enough vegetables to haul to the local farm stand, now she was engaged in a struggle for her life, sticking a kitchen knife into the townspeople’s flesh. The thought made her sick to her stomach.
At the same time, there were no other options.
It was Meredith’s own hubris that made her stay, and now she’d put others in danger as well. She should’ve agreed to leave the farm. She shouldn’t have stayed. A house could be replaced, but there’d be no replacing the ones she loved.
I’m sorry, she thought.
Rather than speak, she continued to stab through the window, thrusting and plunging while the others next to her did the same. If she let up for one minute, the creatures would prevail, and she wasn’t about to let that happen. Not willingly, at least.
Not while I have any fight left in me.
A gunshot rang out from upstairs, and she jumped at the sound. Dan fled his post at the window.
“I’ll be back!” he yelled.
She watched him disappear upstairs, saying a silent prayer that Quinn was all right. In spite of all the little girl had been through—in spite of losing her mother—she possessed a resilience that Meredith couldn’t believe. She could already tell that Quinn would grow up into an amazing woman.
She just hoped they’d all be there to see it.
I have to figure a way out of this. There must be a way to get rid of these things.
Although it was possible they’d lose interest, she wasn’t banking on it. The more likely scenario was that they’d get in the house first. Sooner or later they’d break through the doors and windows.
There had to be a way to distract them somehow, to lure them away.
Think, Meredith, think.
She wracked her brain, searching for an answer. Behind her, Ernie’s nails clicked the hardwood as he paced the house, running from window to window. His bark filled the house. Meredith turned to check on him, then returned her gaze to the window.
There was no way they could shoot all the creatures, not with their limited ammunition. But what if they could lead them away and contain them?
A thought struck her.
“Dan!” she shouted.
She heard several more gunshots from upstairs. The noise echoed through the house. Afterward, the voice of her brother-in-law wafted down the staircase.
“We’re all right!” he said. “Just holding them back!”
She looked next to her at John, who was thrusting his knife through the adjacent window. He met her eyes, perhaps sensing she had an idea.
“What is it?” he asked.
“We need to lure these things away from the house.”
“How are we going to do that? We can’t even get outside.”
“If one of us can get out, maybe we can lead them to the barn. Maybe we can trap them inside.”
“I love you, Meredith, but that’s the craziest idea I’ve ever heard.”
She dropped her knife to the floor and bridged the gap between them, grabbing hold of the fabric of his shirt.
“If we don’t do something, we’re going to die in here.”
“Leaving now would be suicide.”
The boarded windows in front of them shook and rattled.
“And staying here isn’t?”
John stared at her, his face hardening with resolve. “I’ll go,” he said.
“No offense, but with your wounded leg you wouldn’t last a second. And I know this property like the back of my hand. If anybody stands a chance out there, it’s me. If I can lure them away, you, Dan, and Quinn can get to the SUV.”
John opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him. The groans of the creatures increased in volume, as if they were preparing to step through the walls themselves. She kissed him on the lips.
“I’ll be back.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, she darted from the dining room and up the stairs. John was right—the odds were stacked against her. Regardless, she owed it to her companions to try.
“I don’t like this idea one bit,” Dan said, shaking his head. “You can’t go out there. Not now.”
Meredith looked out the window of the second bedroom. Beyond it was a sloped roof about ten feet across that formed an overhang over the front porch. In the driveway were the two cars.
“I can get to the truck, Dan. All I need is a distraction.”
“There are too many of them. Even if we could draw them away, they’d be back in seconds. It’s just too risky.”
Meredith furrowed her brow. Below them, several of the creatures leapt up and slid down the vinyl siding. The overhang was about fifteen feet from the ground, just out of reach from their groping fingers. Dan clutched his pistol.
“How much ammunition do we have left?”
<
br /> “I’m not sure, but it can’t be much. Listen, Meredith, I wouldn’t feel right letting you go out there.”
She handed him the rifle she held in her hands.
“You’re the best shot we have. We need you in here to hold them back.”
He shook his head while she continued.
“It’s my fault that everybody’s chosen to stay here, Dan. If we’d left sooner, we could’ve gotten away. Now we’re all trapped. Let me make this right. I can get us out of this. You just have to trust me.” She grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye.
After a long hesitation, he nodded.
“Please be careful, Meredith. And don’t take any chances. If things get bad, just keep driving.”
“I will. I promise.”
Meredith lifted her leg over the windowsill and climbed onto the roof. She patted the top of her pants, verifying she still had a pistol, and then tapped her pockets for the keys. The creatures stared up at her, eyes glossed and hollow. She looked back at the window, taking in the worried forms of her brother-in-law and niece.
“Are you ready?” Dan asked.
“Go,” she mouthed.
She heard Dan and Quinn flee from the windowsill, then footsteps padding down the stairwell. Moments later she heard all three of her companions screaming and shouting from somewhere in the back of the house to create a distraction. She flattened herself against the vinyl siding.
The creatures below her changed direction, moving in tandem like a frightened herd. Were it not for their incessant moans and salivating mouths, it might have seemed like they were wounded prey fleeing an unseen predator, scared for their lives.
The yelling and banging continued. Meredith watched them leave, her heart pounding as she contemplated what she was about to do.
The ground was fifteen feet below her. If she were to twist or sprain something, that would be the end. Once she was on the ground, she’d be fair game for all of them. Even one would be enough to incapacitate her.
She clenched her eyes shut and thought of her sister.
You can do this, Meredith. You have no other choice.
Then, before she could have second thoughts, she crept to the edge and leapt off.
Meredith was only in the air for a second, but the sensation of falling seemed to last much longer. Before she could cry out, the ground sprung to meet her, and Meredith did her best to roll and absorb the impact. Her shoulder throbbed, but she was otherwise intact, and she was quickly able to roll sideways and away from the house.
When she came to a stop, she got to her feet and assessed her surroundings.
She’d made it to the ground in one piece.
Although the majority of the creatures had relocated, a few lingered, and they scrambled in her direction at the sight of her. Meredith withdrew her pistol and fired two rounds, striking the first in the head, the second in the arm. Without further hesitation, she broke into a run toward the pickup.
The shrieks of the creatures were even louder outside, and each one pierced her heart with a needle of fear. Within seconds, heavy footfalls thundered against the grass behind her.
She kept her eyes focused on the vehicle in front of her, knowing that she couldn’t afford to look back.
To stop moving was to die.
When she reached the truck, she fumbled with the key, trying to fit it into the lock.
Come on!
The noise from her pursuers grew louder. She found the opening and turned the key, listening to the door unlock. Then she grabbed the handle, wrenched it open, and jumped inside. No sooner had she shut the door than bodies slammed into the exterior. When she looked to the left, she saw three vacant faces staring through the window.
She locked the doors and started the vehicle. The engine purred underneath her, and she found herself filled with a new fear. What if the vehicle died?
Don’t think about that now, Meredith.
She threw the vehicle into drive and hit the gas, propelling the vehicle forward. The tires found purchase on something—either on asphalt or on limbs—and the vehicle roared up the driveway, slowly veering toward the grass.
She eyed the moving masses in the rearview. Even with the speed of the vehicle, she wouldn’t gain much ground on the creatures. As soon as the pickup stopped moving, they’d narrow the gap.
This isn’t going to work, she thought frantically.
But it was too late. She’d already come this far. She had to try.
When she cleared the house, she saw where the bulk of the things were located—the majority of them were in the backyard. From inside, it’d been impossible to gauge how many of them there were. Now, she had a clear view of their situation. There had to be at least fifty of them. Things were looking grim.
The creatures pounded their fists at the boarded-up windows, their faces gnarled and gruesome. It looked like several pieces of wood had caved. She stopped the vehicle about twenty feet from the barn and honked the horn, keeping her eyes on the house. A few of the creatures began to follow the noise, but most remained in place. She needed to lure them away from the property, to the fields behind it.
“Come on!” she screamed.
She rolled down the window and stuck her head out. In the driver’s side mirror, she could see the things behind her getting closer.
“Over here, you pieces of shit!”
She waved her left arm out the window, pounding the horn with her fist. The creatures moaned louder, and one by one they fled the house and moved toward her. At this point she’d gained the attention of almost all of them. Once she’d led them far enough away, Dan, Quinn, and John could escape out the front.
Here they come. Be ready.
She glanced in front of her. The barn door was shut. She shook her head at her earlier idea. There would have been no way to corral the things inside.
She revved the gas, keeping one foot on the brake, watching the cluster of creatures grow closer. At this point they were almost on top of her. She eyed the fields off to her right. If she waited any longer, they’d be clawing at the pickup.
She was just about to take her foot off the brake when she heard an ear-piercing scream from the house. She turned her head just in time to see one of the boarded windows cave. Through the opening, she saw that Dan, Quinn, and John were still inside. Not one of them had escaped.
Behind her, a stream of creatures turned back for the house.
No! Wrong way!
Despite her efforts, Meredith had failed. The things swarmed the rear windows; a few wandered back to the front. The remaining creatures were closing in on the pickup, preparing to lunge. She had to move. She had to keep going. Dan’s words echoed in her head.
“If things get bad, just keep driving.”
But she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t leave them behind.
I need to do something. I can’t let them die in there.
She glanced back at the barn. There had to be something she could use inside, something to deter them. Out of nowhere, an idea struck her.
It was a long shot. Probably even more so than what she had just attempted. But they were running out of time, and it was all she had.
She had to act.
Meredith let her foot off the brake and barreled forward, crashing against the doors and caving them inward. She drove ten feet into the barn and ground to a halt. Then she threw open the door and leapt out, the engine still running.
Her pursuers were gaining ground. She could hear their feet plodding against the grass. The barn was dark and shadowed, but there was no time to turn on the lights. She moved forward by memory, skirting around an ensemble of lawn equipment and hay, and felt for the two things she’d come to find. Her hands finally graced the side of one of the objects. She grabbed the two five-gallon metal canisters and hefted them back to the car, then jumped inside.
The creatures had reached the barn entrance, and they crashed through the doors, as if sensing that their window of opportunity was closing. She
heard hands on the back of the pickup, but before the things could progress any further, she slammed the car into reverse, knocking them backward. The vehicle rose and the tires crushed something beneath the tread.
Suddenly she was out in the open again. Dusk was closing in, and so was the horde.
Thank God she’d gotten to the propane. She just hoped Dan was as good of a shot as he claimed.
The back of the house was flooded with creatures. Meredith drove a few hundred from the barn, honking the horn, keeping an eye on the window where she’d seen her companions. In the rearview mirror, she saw a flood of the things chasing behind her.
This isn’t going to work. There’s no way.
She ignored her inner voice, filled with fear and doubt, and concentrated on leaving a buffer zone from the house. Even if she couldn’t get rid of all of the creatures, maybe they could get rid of enough to escape. When she’d reached a distance of several hundred feet, she stopped the vehicle and grabbed the propane. Then she jumped out of the truck and placed the canisters on the ground.
Dammit. She needed a lighter.
She dove back into the truck and tore through the glove box, remembering there used to be one in there. Come on. Where was it? She remembered seeing one—an old red one that her father used to use. She’d left it in the glove compartment, thinking it might come in handy some time.
And now that time had come.
She pushed aside several bundles of paperwork, finding nothing, and then suddenly it was in her hand. She grabbed hold of it and leapt back outside, fumbling with the canisters.
She opened each of the nozzles. With the gas was flowing, she flicked the lighter, lighting each one and watching the flame take hold. Once they were lit, she hopped back in the truck and looked back at the house.
The first-floor windows were empty. No sign of Dan. Where was he?
She watched as several of the creatures wormed their way through the open window where she’d seen her companions before.
Dammit!
A mound of creatures raced toward her. She scanned the upper windows, hoping for a glimpse of her brother-in-law, but there was none to be found. Chances were that he was preoccupied, battling the creatures that were trying to break in. If that were the case she was out of luck. Too late.
Contamination (Book 4): Escape Page 18