“Try again.”
She dialed again, and then shook her head. “Same thing. I don’t have any service.”
Decker pulled his own phone out. “Me either. The storm must have knocked the cell tower out.”
“Great,” Nancy said. “She should be back by now if she went to the restrooms.”
“Don’t panic. Why don’t I take a look around and see if I can find her.”
“That would be great.” A look of relief flashed across Nancy’s face.
“Stay here.” Decker instructed her. “That way you will see her if she comes back.” He shot her a smile and took off, making his way toward the long wall, to the retractable gym bleachers.
The seating was fully extended to afford as much seating as possible. He climbed the stairs, stepping over people as he did so. A few glanced up annoyed, as he passed, but no one said anything. He mumbled apologies and continued on, reaching the top. He saw no sign of her. Frustrated, he climbed back down and circled back behind the seating. There were a few teenagers hanging out there. They moved off when he approached, the sight of his uniform enough to convince them to go elsewhere. Still he could not find her.
He came out the other side and walked the room, stepping between the groups of people who sat cross-legged on the floor, or huddled together talking. After a while he came to the conclusion that Taylor was not in the gymnasium, and returned to Nancy.
“I looked everywhere. She’s not here.”
“We have to find her,” Nancy said, a worried look upon her face. “She’s not doing well. She shouldn’t be by herself right now.”
“Don’t worry, we will.” Decker placed a hand on her shoulder. “She can’t have gone far, what with the storm and all. She’ll be in the school somewhere.”
“I know.”
“Try to think. Is there anywhere she would go, somewhere that means something to her?”
“I’m not sure.” Nancy shook her head, then looked up at him, wide eyed. “Actually, there is one place.”
“Where?”
“Jake’s locker.” Nancy tugged at his arm. “It makes perfect sense. Come on.”
Together they made their way out of the gymnasium.
“Do you know which set of lockers she would have went to?” said Decker.
“I have a good idea.” Nancy walked to the left, toward a set of double doors that led further into the school.
Decker half expected them to be locked, but when they reached them Nancy pulled and they opened.
“Jake’s locker should be this way.” She took off along the corridor.
“What are you going to do when we find her?” Decker asked. “Maybe it’s better to give her some space. After all, she can’t really get into much trouble in here.”
“I need to make sure she’s alright,” Nancy said. “Ever since what happened, the attack, I can’t help feeling that I’m lucky she’s still alive. If things had played out differently, if that beast had caught up to her, she would be gone. I’ve been so afraid of losing her.”
“You’re not going to lose her,” Decker said. “I promise.”
“You don’t know that.” Nancy’s voice faltered. “That thing, the monster that killed Jake, it came to our house. It looked in the window. I saw it. Why would it do that?”
“I don’t know.” Decker took her hand in his. “But
I do know that I have no intention of letting anything bad happen to either of you.”
“That’s good to know,” Nancy said. They reached an intersection with a corridor running in each direction. She pointed left. “I think the lockers are this way.”
Before Decker could respond, a loud bang echoed through the corridor, and the lights went out.
62
TAYLOR STOOD IN the darkness wondering what just happened. She waited, hoping the lights would come back, but they didn’t. The only thing that still seemed to work was an EXIT sign at the end of the corridor. The lettering glowed green, no doubt thanks to a battery backup inside the unit.
She reached out and felt for the lockers. Things would be fine just so long as she kept in contact with something, and she knew the school well enough, so she should be able to find her way back to the gymnasium.
She shuffled forward, taking slow, measured steps, fearful of tripping in the dark. It was amazing just how blinding the blackness was. She might as well have her eyes closed.
The scream caught her off guard.
It reverberated off the walls, a terrified wail that echoed down the corridor. Then, all of a sudden, as quickly as it began, it the scream was abruptly cut off.
She faltered for a moment, shocked, and then self-preservation took over. She took off and ran headlong through the dark, all thought of feeling her way along abandoned. She could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. Her breath came as short staccato pants. Her footsteps echoed down the empty corridors.
Her foot snagged an object and she pitched forward, landing heavily, the wind knocked from her in a great whoosh of expelled air.
Her head cracked down on the hard tile floor sending a sharp stab of agony cascading down her spine. She moaned and rolled over, staring up into the swirling blackness, afraid to move, knowing she needed to. She climbed to her feet, feeling a little unsteady. She checked herself for injuries as best she could, wincing as her fingers found tender areas, but she didn’t seem to have any broken bones, although she would be bruised and sore for a few days.
She reached out and found the wall once more, using it as a guide, hoping she was moving in the right direction, praying that she wasn’t moving toward whatever had elicited such a blood curdling wail of fear. She took a deep breath, doing her best to calm herself. She’d never liked darkness. At home she always slept with a nightlight, and now, alone in the pitch-black corridor, with no idea which way would take her back toward the gymnasium and safety, she could feel her panic rising.
There was no time for that now. She had to keep going. She pushed forward and mouthed a silent prayer that the lights would come back on.
As if in answer, the emergency lighting suddenly kicked in, bathing the corridor in a dim, bluish light. She almost cried with joy, recognizing where she was instantly. All she needed to do was follow the corridor, turn right, then left, and before she knew it she would be back at the gymnasium. She was about to start forward once more when her eyes picked out a shape, almost invisible as it crouched in the shadows further along the corridor.
She froze, a choking fear paralyzing her.
The creature was about twenty feet away. It crept forward, keeping low, its eyes never leaving her. She recognized it immediately. It was the same monster that killed Jake, and that almost killed her, at the swimming hole.
It growled, a snuffling, snorting sound, low and menacing.
Taylor stifled a scream and ran.
The beast let out a roar of anger and shot forward. She risked a glance back over her shoulder and saw, to her dismay, that the creature was closing the gap. At the speed it was moving there was no way she could outrun it for long. If she stayed in the corridor the creature would catch up to her for sure. Her only chance was to lose it somehow, and then hide out until either the monster gave up or someone came looking for her. The question was, how could she evade it long enough to find a place to hide? And then the answer dawned on her, and it was so simple it just might work. Adjoining doors leading from one room to the next linked all the classrooms on this floor. She could use that to her advantage.
When she reached the next classroom door she ducked sideways, then ran between the rows of desks, toward the adjoining door. As she did so a nasty thought occurred to her, something she had not accounted for. What if the door into the next room was locked? She could already hear the beast approaching the classroom. If it was locked she was trapped, she would have no way to escape.
She reached the door and grasped the handle, praying that it would turn. It did.
She barreled into the room, slam
ming the door closed as she went, then weaved through that room into the next, where she dove under a desk, pulling a chair up so that she was masked from view.
In the room she was in moments before she could hear the beast searching for her, pushing furniture out of the way as it did so.
There was a moment of silence.
Taylor waited, hardly daring to draw breath, as the seconds ticked away, wondering if her plan had worked, but then, as if to prove that it hadn’t, the door burst open and the creature entered, snorting and huffing.
She peered out through a gap between the chair leg and the desk. Her field of view was limited, but for a moment the beast was visible prowling between the rows of desks. It moved with slow, deliberate steps, hunting her. Taylor stifled a sob and held her breath.
The beast stopped and sniffed the air, its nose twitching as it picked up on her scent. And then it turned toward where she was hiding, and looked right at her.
Taylor let out a desperate wail and stood up, tipping the desk over. It toppled to the floor.
A sudden anger flared up within her. This was the creature that killed Jake, took him from her.
“Go to hell,” she screamed, tears streaming down her face. She picked up the chair and threw it with all her might.
It did little good. The chair caught it a glancing blow and bounced off. All it seemed to do was annoy the beast even more. It reared and let out a growling roar and advanced toward her.
She backed up, tipping chairs and tables as she went, desperate for anything that would slow its approach. When she reached the classroom door she fled through it into the previous room and then to the corridor.
She was back where she started.
Out of breath, legs aching from the exertion, she pushed herself forward, ignoring the pain, fear driving her on.
The beast skidded into the corridor behind her and gave chase.
Up ahead she saw a restroom. Since she couldn’t hide from her pursuer, the next best thing was to slow it down.
She put on a spurt of speed and ran toward it, barreling through the door without bothering to slow down. It banged back on its hinges with a thud.
The restroom contained a row of three stalls separated by cubical walls. There was just enough space under each for what she had planned. If this didn’t work she would be trapped. She would be dead.
She raced to the furthest stall, entered, and pulled the bolt across. She stripped Jake’s jacket off with a silent apology and wiped her face with it, getting as much of her sweat on the cloth as possible. If the beast was tracking her scent, she would give it some to find.
She dropped the jacket on the ground, reached out, and pulled the flush. Might as well give it a hint.
Then she dropped down and squirmed under the partition, to the next stall, and pulled that flush also. When she reached the last of the three stalls, the one closest to the restroom door, she locked herself in and waited without flushing, barely daring to draw breath.
Moments later the beast was in the room. It took the corner fast, crashing into the doorframe as it entered.
It moved toward the sound of the flushing toilet.
She waited while it passed by, half expecting it to turn and find her at any moment, but it kept on toward the furthest cubicle. Trembling, she moved out from her hiding place and crawled under the last partition wall.
The beast was at the far stall.
It lowered its head and rammed the door, which gave way with a splintering crash. The beast stuck its head in and roared with frustration. It swung sideways, demolishing the next cubical.
That was all she needed. She sprinted forward, grabbed the door handle, and ran from the restroom, slamming the door closed as she went. The beast let out another angry bellow. She heard more splintering, which she assumed was the last stall giving way as the creature tried to extricate itself from the narrow space.
Taylor wasted no time in putting as much distance between herself and the beast as she could.
She reached the end of the corridor and hesitated. If she went left it would take her back toward the gymnasium, but if she went right she would reach the woodworking shops. There were tools there, hammers, chisels and the like. That meant she would be able to defend herself if it caught up with her.
Behind her she heard the sound of splintering wood, and a loud thud. The restroom door must have given way. The beast was free once more. There was no time to waste.
She picked left. Sheriff Decker was in that direction, and he had the best tool ever, a loaded gun.
63
“WHAT WAS THAT?” Nancy asked. She reached out and held on to Decker’s arm, scared. “Why did the lights go out?”
“Most likely a transformer blew. Probably took out power to most of the town.” Decker said. “It was bound to happen eventually.”
“That’s just great. How are we going to find Taylor now? I can’t see two feet in front of me.”
“Just give it a moment, the school has a backup generator. It takes a few minutes, but it should kick in any time now.” As if to prove him right, overhead lights flickered and came back on, flooding the corridor in cool blue light.
“Oh thank God,” Nancy said.
“See, nothing to worry about." Decker motioned to Nancy. “Come on.” They started down the corridor once more, moving at a quick pace. Outside, Decker could hear the storm, hear the rain drumming on the roof of the building, and the wind howling. Occasionally something bumped along overhead, a branch blown in the wind perhaps, or some other debris.
When they reached an intersection Nancy led them left. They rounded the corner, and suddenly there was Taylor running toward them, a look of terror plastered across her face. Streaks of wet tears traced lines across her cheeks.
“Oh my god, there she is.” Nancy took a step toward her daughter.
“Wait.” Decker put his arm out, blocking Nancy’s forward movement. “This isn’t right.”
“What are you doing?” Nancy shot him a confused glance. “What’s wrong?”
Before he could reply Taylor answered for him. “It’s behind me,” she screamed, closing the distance between them and almost careening headlong into Decker.
“What is?” Nancy’s eyes roamed the corridor.
“That.” Decker pointed at the hulking shape that rounded the bend and appeared in the corridor behind the terrified teen.
“Oh my God.” Nancy recoiled in horror. “What the hell is that thing?”
“Damned if I know.”
“Don’t let it get me.” Taylor pleaded, placing the sheriff between herself and the approaching nightmare.
“It’ll have to come through me first.” Decker pulled his gun.
The beast slowed, slinking forward, its eyes never leaving Decker and the two women. It sniffed the air and snorted, sensing its prey.
Decker motioned to Taylor and Nancy. “Get behind me.” For a brief moment he wondered what he was looking at, which corner of hell dreamed up such a monstrosity, but then his training snapped in. He raised the gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The boom was deafening in the enclosed space.
The creature let out an enraged shriek, but kept coming.
“Run.” Decker back peddled, keeping the gun aimed forward. “I’ll hold it off here.”
“Not a chance. I’m not leaving you here alone with that thing,” Nancy said. “It will kill you.”
“Not if I get it first. Go, get Taylor away from here.” He racked the gun and squeezed off another shot. This one slammed into the beast’s shoulder. The beast pivoted backward, almost knocked from its feet by the impact. He turned to Nancy, his grim face telling her he meant what he said. “Now.”
“Alright, I’m going.” Nancy took Taylor’s hand and dragged her backward, knowing it was useless to argue, knowing Decker was right. She paused and looked back toward him. “Don’t die, please?”
“I’ll do my best.” Decker loaded another shot into the breach of the Glock.
“I love you.” She met his gaze, just for an instant, and then she turned and ran.
Decker planted himself firmly in the way of the approaching beast. If it reached the gymnasium there would be a bloodbath, and he couldn’t allow that to happen. He lifted the gun, aimed down the barrel, and squeezed the trigger. Only the creature was not there anymore.
It was airborne, hurtling toward him with its jaws wide and vicious claws outstretched.
He fired again and again, in quick succession, missing each time. It was just too fast.
At the last second, as the creature slammed into him, sending him sprawling to the ground, Decker wished he’d replied to Nancy, told her he loved her too. But it was too late now. He felt the beast’s fetid breath, smelt the rotting odor as it opened its jaws wide. He closed his eyes and waited for death.
The corridor erupted in a cacophony of ear splitting sound. The creature flew up and back, releasing Decker. It let out a howl of pain.
Decker opened his eyes and sat up, grateful to be alive.
The beast lay sprawled on the tiles several feet away, blood seeping from a nasty wound below the right shoulder. It tried to rise, fought its way halfway up. A second blast rang out knocking it back to the floor. Decker winced, his ears ringing.
Someone walked past him brandishing a large-caliber hunting rifle. The newcomer walked right up to the prone beast, lowered the weapon, and fired again at point blank range. “That’s for Terry.”
Decker recognized the voice of Jeremiah Boudreaux. He dragged himself to his feet, expecting to see blood seeping through his shirt, but there was none. Through some minor miracle he seemed to have escaped unscathed except for a few bruises.
Someone placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked around. Nancy was standing there, with Taylor behind her, a look of relief on her face.
Jeremiah walked back toward them, the gun at his side, his face blank and emotionless.
“Oh thank God.” Nancy said. “It’s over.”
What Vengeance Comes Page 16