Earthweeds

by Rod Little

  Softly they crept back up the dirty staircase. Sam was happy to leave the musty smell behind, but feeling foolish now – at least one of them should have stayed upstairs to guard the door.

  Have to think smarter, or soon we'll be dead... or worse.

  At the top they could see shadows move across the wall, but nothing more. Then a voice muttered words in an irate tone, and a second voice answered. It sounded like a girl. The voices were too low to make out specific words, but at least they were human.

  “People,” whispered Sam.

  Caught between the horrors of the basement and the unknown voices in the lobby, the boys stood motionless for a full minute. Shane was first to move, taking up the front again, and stepped over the top stair and into the lobby, gun raised at eye level. Sam noticed sweat trickling down his neck.

  At the lobby table sat a boy and a girl, university students. They were intently poring over a map. When they saw Shane, they jumped up, startled, and spilled a chair. The girl pulled out a large knife, and the boy grabbed a shotgun, which he immediately brought to his waist and leveled at Shane.

  “Take it easy,” Shane said, lowering his own gun.

  The other two boys appeared behind him. He motioned for them to lower their weapons, too.

  “Look, we're in trouble, same as you,” Shane said. “We're not a threat to you. We just didn't know if one of those things had gotten in.”

  The boy lowered his shotgun. He had short black hair and wore a skin tight t-shirt with a cartoon that said: I'm not drunk, I just act that way. “I'm Ken. This is Tina.”

  The girl had long blond hair. She was beautiful. That's all Sam noticed. That and she had a great knife – a ten-inch hunting knife and a leather sheath on her belt. She wore a blue flannel shirt that roughly matched Sam's, a pair of pink sneakers and tight bluejeans. He felt a tiny spark at his fingertips, and fought to suppress it.

  “We heard the shots,” she said.

  “Yeah. My girlfriend and I came over as soon as we heard. Been trying to find more people.”

  Tina flinched at the word 'girlfriend' like it wasn't entirely mutual, but she said nothing. She sheathed her knife, brushing aside a small feather dreamcatcher that also hung from her belt.

  “You seen any more of those lizards?” Jason asked.

  “Yeah, we've been running into them for a couple days now,” Ken explained, sparing a glance out the window. “We killed four already, over on the South Side. We came back to check the dorms, and that's when we heard your shots. What about you?”

  “We've only seen two, so far,” Shane said.

  “Three,” Jason corrected.

  “But the basement is full of cocooned people. Must be forty or fifty of them. All lined up, like some kind of animal is saving them for a rainy day.”

  “It's messed up,” Jason said. “Total freak show.”

  Shane looked back toward the stairs. He closed the basement door and secured the lock.

  “I don't think three of those things could have done all that,” Jason added. “Must be more of them around here.”

  “What do you mean: done all that?” Ken asked.

  “I mean, three lizard mothers couldn't have cocooned fifty people. I don't think so, anyway. Must be more of 'em out there somewhere.”

  Ken shared a curious frown with Tina, and then stared back at the others. A bemused look crossed his face, like he knew something they didn't.

  “The creatures don't cocoon people,” he stated grandly like Sherlock Holmes revealing the murderer. He looked back at his girlfriend.

  “So, what does?” Shane asked.

  “Those cocoons are the creatures,” Ken said. “They hatch from the silk wraps and become those unholy hell hounds, or hell dragons, whatever you want to call them. And they're hungry at birth! Hungry and mean.”

  That took a moment to sink in.

  “You mean the people down there, our classmates, are gonna hatch into... those?” Shane pointed outside. “Our friends and relatives are gonna become lizard things?”

  Ken and Tina both nodded.

  “We've seen it,” she said. She raised her hand to her hair, and Sam noticed she wore about ten leather bracelets of various colors. “We saw a few hatch.”

  “Holy hell,” Sam murmured. Again he felt his hands warm up, but this time for a different reason. He palmed a marble of electricity, then quelled it. This was his coping mechanism.

  “So who is cocooning them?” Shane asked. “Who, or what, is doing all this? What could put a million people into cocoons, in basements, and cause them to hatch as a totally different... thing?”

  “Some serious genetics bull going on here,” Jason said. “It's the damn government!”

  “We don't know who, what or why,” Ken chided flatly, clearly thinking Jason's conspiracy theories were ridiculous. “We just saw them hatch. No idea what's causing this.”

  “The government, it's a covert lab experiment gone wrong,” Jason ranted. “Or maybe it's the Russians!”

  “Why didn't we get... you know, mutated?” Sam asked. “Why are we still human?”

  “Because we weren't around, or awake, to get stung,” Jason spouted. He was on a roll.

  “Maybe some of us are immune?” Sam said. “Like a virus.”

  “And what stung them?” Shane asked. “If that's the running theory. Some giant insect from Mars?”

  “We saw something big in the sky,” said Sam.

  “We didn't see anything like that,” Ken stated.

  Jason shook his head. “Ain't seen nothin' up there.”

  “I watched a dozen classmates go into the cellar of my dorm and fall asleep,” Ken told them. “I watched them just go, like in a delusional state. They crawled into a ball and slept. Then the cocoons formed. After about a week, they hatch as... whatever these are. But I had no urge to join them. I wasn't affected by whatever made them do it.”

  “And I was away,” Tina said. “I was locked in the...” She interrupted herself. “I was in a hospital for evaluation. And after all this, Ken came and got me out. The staff had been gone for days. I was just locked in a room.”

  “You were locked up? In a hospital?” Sam asked. He imagined a straight-jacket and padded walls. This was probably no ordinary hospital. He sent a look to Shane, who sent it back: loonies, be cool.

  “So we're immune,” Shane said to relieve the awkward moment. “Or we were away at the right time, when the green cloud was sprayed, or whatever. Good news. But we won't be alive for long if all those people hatch.”

  “We should find other people,” Ken said. “I mean the whole world can't be like this. It's just this area, right?”

  “Sure,” Sam said, trying to sound positive. “But where? Any ideas where to start looking?”

  Ken pointed to the map. “Maybe a bigger city. Chicago. Or New York. Better chance of finding people.” He paused, then added: “Human people, that is.”

  Shane shook his head. “No. That's the opposite of what we should do. We need to get out of the city, go to the country.”

  “He's right,” Sam agreed. “Pittsburgh is bad enough, a few thousand raptors ready to hatch. Maybe a couple hundred thousand. But imagine Chicago with three million lizard creatures. New York with six million lizards. All trying to eat us.”

  “We need to get away from people. Far from any city.”

  “But we won't get answers in the countryside,” Tina argued.

  “For right now, answers take a back seat to survival.”

  “Regardless of where, we gotta move now,” Ken said. “More of them are gonna hatch soon. By tomorrow, I'd guess. They have a six to eight day gestation period. This is all just by my observation. No science to it. But, it seems a week is all they need to transform.”

  “So tomorrow the streets might be filled with lizards,” Sam murmured, staring outside.

  “And in here too.” Jason motioned toward the basement, reminding them of the cellar full of potential problems. “Maybe in e
very building that has a cellar.”

  “Back near the mountains, we passed the Peak Castle Lodge,” Sam recalled. “It's a hotel, but it's also a damn fortress. And it's on high ground. Easier to defend.”

  Shane nodded. “And far from most people. Except for the resort guests. But that can't be too many this time of year. It's not ski season. Might only be a few.”

  “I think it's closed for summer,” Jason said. “My cousin worked there over Christmas last year. There might not be anyone there at all right now.”

  “By the way,” Ken snorted. “Those creatures outside are just dogs. Cocooned dogs, after the change. The changed people are much bigger.”

  Shane looked outside at the dead creatures. “Awesome.”

  Ken and Tina exchanged a whisper then agreed to come along.

  They gathered supplies: food, water, weapons and extra gear, such as binoculars, walkie talkies and batteries. They even raided the sporting goods store for knee pads and bulletproof vests. While they had no idea how effective these might be against rabid dragons, they wanted the extra protection. Sam's idea – he always favored a good defense.

  At the sporting goods store, they scanned the shelves for anything else that might be of use. Sam was overpowered by the smell of Tina's perfume, which aroused him. It was a relief when she moved outside to help Ken load the jeep parked at the next corner. Sam went back to searching the shelves and packing supplies. He stayed focused on the task at hand: finding useful provisions.

  Suddenly, Tina punctuated the air with a scream.

  Sam and Shane ran outside to find a lizard ambling toward Tina and Ken. This one was bigger than the others, more than five feet long. It snarled and leaped forward. Tina stumbled and fell. Ken ran ahead and fumbled with his gun. The lizard went right past Tina and aimed straight for Ken. It was frenetic, taking long strides and baring its teeth. Just as it reached Ken, Shane let an arrow fly. It sank into the creature's neck, and the creature collapsed. Jason stepped out of the store and shot two rounds into its skull.

  Tina picked herself up and joined her boyfriend. Despite a few scrapes, they were unhurt.

  “It went right past her,” Shane said. “Does it only eat men?”

  “It's her perfume,” Sam suggested. “They can't smell her. They can hear and smell us, but I think their eyesight is poor.”

  “Let's get back inside.”

  Back in the shop, they bandaged the scrape on Tina's knee. The incident had succeeded in making them aware of a great big hole in their supplies: first aid. They now added some bandages, antiseptic and first aid kits to their backpacks. Sam wanted some aspirin, but the first aid kits were all Ted's Sporting Goods had in stock.

  “We should hit the drug store. There won't be any in the countryside.”

  A thud shook the room. Something hit the back door hard – the door to the storage room. The door shook again. Something was hitting it from the other side with a serious measure of brute force. Dirt shook from the hinges; it wouldn't hold for long.

  “I'd guess something hatched in there,” Shane said. “We should go. Now!”

  “Come on.” Sam slung his backpack over his shoulder.

  A loud crash from the front stopped them cold.

  They turned in time to see two lizards throwing their bodies against the front doors. The weight of their fury shook the double glass doors, and one pane cracked. Both creatures made another volley, hurling their weight against the door frame. Behind them, a dozen more lizards could be seen running at full speed to join them, their powerful tails thrashing side to side. A few looked more than six feet long – massive creatures. Their fangs might have been seven inches by Sam's guess.

  The glass doors cracked again.

  “Upstairs!” Shane yelled.

  They slung their backpacks, grabbed their gear, and headed up the narrow staircase to the second floor. Ken closed and locked the door behind them. They passed up further to the third floor, and then to the roof access hatch. It was stuck. Shane thrust his shoulder against it. It opened a few inches and stopped.

  Below them they heard the front doors give way. Glass could be heard shattering.

  “Something's blocking it. Help me!”

  Sam and Jason threw their weight against the door. The three boys were able to get it open wide enough for Shane to crawl through. He spilled out onto the roof, landed on his hands, and then scrambled back to his feet. The roof was clear, nothing up here but the debris blocking the access hatch. He kicked some of it aside.

  “Come on!” He urged frantically, and helped the others get through. Sam, Tina next, then Ken and Jason crawled through and pushed the door shut. They arranged the debris to block the door once again.

  The roof was flat, empty. Shane ran to the edge and looked down. Below them lay a terrifying sight: the entire street was filled with lizard creatures of all sizes from two to six feet long. All of them looked angry and hungry. Their black scales gleamed under the late afternoon sun, almost blue at times, and their eyes glistened red. Now hundreds, maybe even a thousand, swarmed the streets. They burst forth from other buildings, from every dark corner and basement.

  The great hatching had begun.

  Chapter 4

  A few of the lizards snapped at each other savagely, fighting for a chance to get into this one building that held the five students: the meal. The sound of gunfire had drawn the creatures here. And the smell of fresh meat.

  “Holy crap!” Ken rubbed his hands on his neck. “We are screwed!”

  Tina backed away from the edge, squatted down and held her arms to her chest. Vertigo paralyzed her.

  Jason leaned over the side and fired a shot from his newly acquired hunting rifle. He aimed through the scope and fired again into the street below, into the mass of chaos.

  “Stop it!” Sam said, “You're just attracting more of them.”

  Jason ignored him and fired again at the swarm.

  Shane grabbed Jason's shoulder and pulled him back hard.

  “Look, we don't have enough ammo to kill them all. And you're just riling them up! We can't shoot our way out of here.”

  “He's right.” Sam said with forced composure. He held out a hand to stop Jason, who looked like he might throw a punch at Shane. “Relax. We need to think.”

  The creatures were loud in the street below. Some black, some brown, some changing color, they struggled to clamber over each other and gain access to the building. It didn't appear they could climb up walls. A few tried, but failed. That, at least, was a blessing.

  Ken sat down next to Tina and put his arm around her while Jason laid down on the roof, rested and caught his breath. Looking down at their fate below wasn't helping. The late afternoon waned and began to weave into evening. The night loomed ahead, less than an hour away, and with it: darkness.

  Without speaking, Shane shot Sam a look that asked if he was okay. He was always able to understand his little brother, and always able to look out for him. Tonight would stretch the limits of that ability.

  Sam whispered, “There's no way out down there. Unless they get bored and go away.”

  “Which isn't impossible.” Shane reminded him. “Dogs get bored and stop barking. Animals usually move on, look for food. If they can't get it here, they might move on.”

  “Or they smell us and don't give up.”

  “Our options are limited, Sam. We have nowhere to go.”

  “Rescue helicopter?”

  “You really think someone's coming to rescue us? Sammy, I think that ship has sailed into the rocks. No one's coming.”

  “Yeah.” Sam bit his lip. “Yeah.”

  Hours passed. The night closed in, until the envelope of darkness was complete. That made it all feel worse, scarier. In the dark, the hissing and growling from the street below sounded demonic. The moon offered only the smallest bit of light – just enough to make the eyes of the creatures glow red. Sam looked over the edge, and imagined falling. He shuddered.

  “Don't
look, man,” Jason warned.

  Good advice. Sam scooted back and looked up at the moon.

  Then fresh sounds came from the floor beneath them. Several of the creatures had made it to the top floor and were destroying it. Something metal fell over with a clatter, then something made of glass shattered.

  Shane stood up. “We need a plan. We need to get out of the city. We can't fight our way out.”

  “There's none of 'em near that jeep,” Ken said. “Not yet, anyway. But it's a block down. How do we get to it?”

  “That's our jeep.” Shane pointed to the next roof. “We can jump roof to roof. They're only two feet apart. And then shimmy down the fire escape at the corner. The jeep isn't far from there.”

  Jason shook his head. “Look. Even if we do make it, and even if the princess here makes it too, how do you expect to drive out of here without leading those things behind us?”

  “They might follow us all the way to the Peak Lodge,” Ken agreed, “...if that's where we're going.”

  Tina stood up again. “I'm no princess. I can make it to the Jeep. Can you?”

  A thud shook the roof access door. Their guests inside had found the roof, could smell the human meat. Another thud, followed by snarling and hissing. Dirt particles shook from the door frame.

  “We don't have a choice,” said Sam. He backed up, then ran forward with his arms swinging. He jumped to the roof of the next building and landed on his hands and knees, picked himself up and looked back. He made it look too easy. “Come on!”

  The roof door cracked open. The debris partly blocked it, but a claw came through. It raked at the air. Then a creature popped its head out and growled – the low pitch growl of a crocodile. A smaller creature climbed on top of it, and pushed its way through. It ambled toward them, and Jason put it down with one shot.

  Tina and Shane jumped next. Then Ken. Jason kicked the dead creature and joined them last. He jumped just as the bigger lizard shattered the door into a pile of shards. Three more beasts lumbered onto the roof.