He pulled out the phone and keys and dialed Kathie one last time for good measure. Busy signal—again. Either the lines were jammed with a flood of calls or the lines were down all together. He hung up and dialed 911 just to see. With the phone to his ear, he scanned the lot, and used his right hand to unlock the door. He was able to use his right hand, but it definitely didn’t feel pleasant.
The parking lot seemed empty enough.
He went for it.
With his phone in one hand and the keys in his other, he thought of turning to lock the door. He didn’t care. There was no time for that.
The door swung open and Frank darted toward the white 1982 GMC Jimmy. His eyes shifted hard to the left, and then to the right. He saw the mangled remains of what had been that man those creatures had eaten and dragged off to God-knows-where. The pavement was stained with a large portion of blood. Rank chunks of meaty stuff lay scattered around it, parts the monsters had missed or discarded during the feast. Frank didn’t want to think about it and looked away.
He was almost home free.
Only a few feet from the car, he heard something start to give chase off to his left. An odd series of noises erupted in that direction, a language maybe. He didn’t look. He didn’t want to know how many there where. Just as he reached the door, jamming the car key into place, he felt something wiz past his ear. Just as the gust of wind whooshed by, the sound of wood dropped to the cement near his feet.
They were throwing spears at him.
He yanked the door open and jumped into the vehicle. The driver side door’s window shattered. Just before Frank yanked the door closed, he had watched the slender object crash through. Broken glass fell in his lap as the door slammed shut. He cranked the car and looked up. His gold and green senior tassel was draped from the rearview mirror. But that’s not what he was looking at.
There were five of them, all bearing down on him with anger and malice. Another spear flew past the windshield.
“Fuck you, motherfuckers!” Frank crammed the shifter into drive and slammed the accelerator to the floor.
The Jimmy jumped forward, taking a split second to catch traction. When it did, the car bolted forward toward the hair-covered attackers. Frank gripped the wheel and turned toward them with intent. Two of the creatures jumped away just in time. The others weren’t as lucky.
He braced for impact, felt the car jerk hard toppling over one of them while he watched another slam into his windshield before disappearing over the hood.
He didn’t stop. Keeping the gas pedal to the floor he compensated the wheel and got himself realigned toward the street.
His school tassel swayed with each sharp pull of the wheel.
“I love you, baby.” Frank said, easing up on the gas to a more manageable speed. “I’m comin’ home. Just hang tight.”
Tim slammed the phone down.
“The damn thing is still busy!” Tim shouted, the sound of the police siren clearly getting on his last nerve.
Joana had never seen him look this worried in all their time together. Just seeing him like that made her weary and even more afraid than she already was. He was normally the calm, cool, and collected type. Right now, he was none of those. He darted out from behind the register’s counter and started walking away back toward the back of the store.
Joana looked back out to the street then at Tim, who was walking away.
“Where the hell are you going?” Joana’s said with a pleading voice.
The front area of the store near the register was still illuminated in a hue or red and blue flashing patrol car lights. Now, aside from the totaled cruiser and her mom’s pulverized car in the street, there was nothing.
Right after they watched that cop crash his car and then both of the men in blue get dragged out and eaten, a few things happened. Shortly after their little feast on the two cops, Joana and Tim watched the humanoid bears drag the two lifeless corpses across the street toward the swirling rift. A few cars drove by at ungodly speeds, not bothering to stop. Joana didn’t blame them one bit. She wanted to get home, make sure her mom and dad were okay, and get the hell out of town. That was probably where those other cars had been headed. Checking on their loved ones or skipping fucking Dodge.
Joana didn’t want to think about what was on the other side of that portal.
“Hey…” Joana said, finding confidence. “I asked you a question.”
Tim turned to her. “We can’t get a hold of anybody. We need to do something. We can’t just sit here.”
“Well, I’m all for getting the piss out of town, but I sure as shit ain’t walking out there.” She threw a thumb up over her shoulder toward the front of the store.
Tim just looked at her, and then went back to digging through the rack of outdoor supplies on the shelf.
“Will you talk to me, please? I need you right now. Show a little compassion and just explain what the hell you’re doing… what you plan to do.”
“Look!” Tim slammed both fists into the shelf, the rack of canoe paddles shook. “I don’t know… okay. I’m just looking. That’s all.”
Joana lowered her head, ready to cry.
“It’ll be all right. I promise.” Tim said, not even taking the time to look at her. “There’s got to be something in here we can use for protection.”
“Like weapons?”
“Yes… like a weapon.” Tim said with a sarcastic inflection. “Now quit standing there and help me look… please.”
Joana rolled her eyes, then just dropped the subject and started searching with him. All she wanted was an embrace. A little comfort. To know that he actually cared. But she should have known better than to expect that from him, because the last time he had proved all he really cared about was himself.
“What are we going to do once we find something useful in here? I don’t want to back out there.”
“We’re gonna have to.” Tim said, stepping away from the shelf with a machete in hand. “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about.”
He grinned, taking it out of the package, and then swinging it for good measure.
“Hey, watch out with that damn thing.” Joana stepped back so as to not get sliced by accident.
“Hey, there’s another one up here if you want it.”
She nodded, and Tim handed her the one he had already opened.
Grabbing the other one down and opening the package it was in, he said, “I’m thinking we can sneak out the back if we’re quiet enough.”
“And go back into the alley?”
“Yeah…” Tim nodded, setting his machete down on the shelf and loosening his belt to slip the sheath on. “When I pulled you in here I noticed a ladder going to the roof and the building across from this one. If we can get on the roof, maybe we can get a better idea of what’s happening around us.”
“Then what?”
“Well… then we get the fuck out of town before the field closes and…” He cleared his throat. “I mean, before we get killed or something.”
“Before the field what…”
“Nothing… its nothing.” Tim retrieved the machete from the shelf and stuffed it in the sheath on his hip. “Here, let me help you with yours.”
“No…” She said, pushing him away as he stepped forward to help her put on a sheath like he had done. “What fucking field… what are you talking about? Don’t pretend like you don’t know something. What the hell is going on?”
“Okay… look.” Tim stepped back and threw both hands in the air. “I knew the rifts were going to open up all over town. All right, I said it. But the bears. I didn’t know anything about that. I had no idea it would open up both ways like that. Let alone what would be on the other side. It’s not my fault. You should just be happy it worked. We can get out of here.”
“I already told you. I never wanted to leave. Now quit dancing around it and tell me everything. What else do you know that you haven’t said?”
“Well, now you don’t have any choic
e but to leave. Either by going through one of those portals or by skipping town. And from the looks of those crazy fucks covered in fur outside…,” he pointed. “The rift idea is out of the question. That would be suicide. But we need to figure out what’s going on out there. The sooner we leave the better.”
“And why is that?” Joana bit her lip.
“Because…” Tim swallowed hard. Joana watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down on that scrawny neck. “Those stones didn’t just open up the rifts. It’s closing up around us at the same time. The more of those things that open, the faster it’s going to happen.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Think of a dome.” Tim waved his hands in the shape of a rainbow. “Nothing can get in and nothing can get out. And it’s going to be like that until all those rifts close back up.”
“And when the hell were you planning to mention all of this?”
“I didn’t think it really mattered.” Tim shook his head, shoving his long black hair off of his neck. “We were leaving, remember. I don’t give a shit what happens to this dumb little town. Soon as one of those things opened, I was leaving. Remember? We were leaving.”
“So you were okay with all of the people we grew up with getting killed as long as you were able to get away?” Joana shouted, pointing a finger in his face.
“I didn’t plan all of this. I swear. I had no idea the Arktos was a real freaking creature!”
“You knew—”
A loud thunderous boom out in the street made them both jump in their skin. Out in the street two vehicles collided with one another head on. One was a red pickup truck, the other an ambulance with its lights flashing. Smoke and steam rose from the center of the wreck and Joana heard Tim gasp. She did the same as they watched with grief stricken terror. No one was climbing out of either vehicle. Had any one of them had time to climb out, that’s about all the time they would have had. More than ten Arktos’ descended on the wreck within seconds. From all sides they fell on the vehicles, some wielding spears, others brandishing large rocks, which they used to smash the glass in.
Screams of pain filled the street as those trapped inside were dragged from the wreckage and devoured on site.
“Wow…” Tim said, his eyes wide.
“I think I’m going to be sick.” Joana turned away, unable to stand the gruesome sight.
“We need to leave anyway.” Tim patted her on the shoulder. “With all of them busy with the crash we have a better chance getting to the roof unnoticed. But if we’re going… then we need to go.”
Joana lunged into Tim’s chest, wrapping her arms around him tight. “I’m sacred, Tim.”
“It’ll be alright.” Tim hugged her back, hard and long. “I love you.”
“I… I love you… too, Tim.” She wiped a tear from her cheek.
Tim nodded, forcing her to let go, then they made for the back door.
7
Joana and Tim watched the busy streets below from the safety of the rooftop.
When they hit the alley, it was empty. They didn’t waste any time and climbed the ladder to the top. The climb was easy for Tim, even with his side hurting the way it was. Joana watched him climb and was surprised that despite his injury it didn’t seem to have slowed him down any. She wondered if he was really in as much pain as he claimed. Joana was more out of breath when they reached the top than Tim.
Joana reached her hand out for Tim to help once she reached the roof. It didn’t surprise her this time when she didn’t get the assist. Tim glanced at her momentarily and turned his attention to the streets below.
Unbelievable, she thought, forcing her foot up beyond the comfort zone and she climbed onto the roof on her own.
The small two-story building they found themselves on, right next to the outdoor sports outlet, was littered with beer cans, beer bottles, cigarette butts, and a few stray used condoms. Whoever had been hanging out up here had partied hard more than just a few times and not bothered to clean up. Either that, or the one time they did party it was one hell of a night.
The air was cold. The wind blew slightly from the east.
From that height, they could see the calamity happening around them. Keeping low so as to not be seen themselves, they walked around on the roof as quietly as they could. Joana felt uneasy with every step she took, the loose gravel under her feet crunched so loud she winced at each step. Tim didn’t seem to notice. She watched him take each step, the rocks under his feet flooding her ears with a sensory overload. Before she had the chance to bring up that they might need to walk a little softer, Tim pointed out into the street.
“Look… What do you think they’re doing?” Tim whispered.
Joana ducked low, hugging the guardrail beside her boyfriend. She felt the rolls of fat in her midsection folding over her shirt, creasing it into her gut. In any normal circumstance, she would have sat up straight and pulled her shirt out. This was definitely no normal circumstance. With her hands against the 3’ brick wall, her head poked up just enough for her eyes to scan the street. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She didn’t reply to Tim’s pervious question. She just watched. There was nothing else she could do.
Below them, where her mom’s car set smashed into the parked truck, the ambulance lights and the cruiser lights mixed to brighten the night with an eerie glow. The hydrant that the cruiser had bumped still spewed into the sky. Screams filled the air amidst the sound of the rushing water. They watched for a moment as the paramedics and passengers in the other car met their fate. It was a carnal blood bath, their unmoving bodies lying in the street.
These creatures were relentless. Fearless and filled with rage.
One of the several animal men had knelt down over one of the paramedic bodies. It was hard to see because it had its back turned to the building, but it looked like it was chewing on a severed arm. That was when Tim pointed at something else. Another one of those things walked up to the one eating on the dismembered arm and tried snatching it away. A fight broke out, each shouting in a language that neither Tim nor Joana could understand. The larger of the two bear-like creatures shoved the other to the ground, taking the meaty blood soaked appendage for itself.
Joana couldn’t bear to watch. She turned her gaze away, her eyes working their way down long narrow road.
Farther down the road, a white GMC Jimmy roared down the side street. It was in and out of view in an instant. Joana was surprised to have even seen it pass by at all. For a second she thought it looked familiar. In a town this small she knew just about everyone relatively close to her age.
Just as she was about to rattle off a name that might belong to the GMC, Tim pulled her along to check out what was happening on the other side of the buildings.
This side of the building overlooked one of the larger local playgrounds. Swings, merry-go-rounds, slides, a big sand box, and miniature rock climbing sets were scattered across the clean-cut grass. Beyond that was a basketball court with four goals; two on either side. None of the park’s lights were on. They were automated, set to go off at 9pm. Joana knew that because she and Tim used to visit the park at night back when they first started dating. They would spend all night out there on the swings just talking, getting to know one another. Back then she felt like she had known him her whole life. Now she wasn’t sure if she knew him at all.
At the back of the building, in the park, things seemed a lot calmer. Looking close enough, and forcing her eyes to see far out into the darkness of the playground, she saw a few of the crazy-bears walking around. It was as if they were hunting. They stabbed at the thick bushes as if expecting someone to jump out of hiding. They climbed into the tube-slides from the bottom up. With how they moved, she could tell that all of this was an unfamiliar world to them. Their actions were cautious and highly on alert. Even still, there were a lot less of them on this side and the important thing was that no one was getting eaten down there.
“I think we can make it on this side
.” Tim said.
“Are you out of your mind? There are bears down there!” She breathed between gritting teeth, not wanting to leave the safety of the roof, despite the fact that she knew he was right. She had just been thinking the same thing.
Tim scanned the grounds and then pointed.
When Joana’s eyes followed his hand and landed on what he saw, she wished she hadn’t looked.
A woman ran across the playground in full sprint headed toward the basketball court. She wasn’t wearing any shoes or pants. Her shirt was torn to shreds. Even in the darkness and from that distance, Joana could see one of her beasts was exposed. It bounced violently up and down as she ran. Once her screams reached the top of the building, the Arktos, as Tim had called it, came into view. Wild and ravenous, it gave chase with long strides that matched the fleeing woman. As it ran, its large rounded fur covered ears laid back to the side of his head. It reminded Joana of what a cat looked like when it was being protective, hissing for you to leave it alone. The woman stumbled, fell to her knees and cried out. She didn’t give up. She sprawled forward, regaining her footing and started running again.
Joana’s eyes darted from the creature to the woman and back to the creature again. She wanted desperately to shout. Tell the woman not to look back and to keep going. Tell that damn koala looking motherfucker to leave her alone. But she didn’t. Fear gripped her and she was thankful that it wasn’t her being chased.
The Arktos stopped dead in its tracks.
Joana sighed a heavy fit of relief. It was giving up. She has a chance. The woman was going to get away. That means we have a chance. We can outrun them.
Her heart sank when she realized what was actually happening. The bear didn’t give up on the chase. No. It was merely done running.
The Arktos pulled a sling from a bag tied to its hip. With the three rocks swirling over the creature’s head, it held onto the rope waiting for the right moment to release. Joana’s eyes went wide. The faster the rocks spun, something else started to happen. A light emitted from them like some type of tracer. The blue light was like the tail of a comet, spinning with the rotation of the rocks, waiting to catch up to its source.
Killer Koala Bears from Another Dimension Page 6