Sunfall (Season 1): Episodes 1-6
Page 28
A small sliver of sunlight peeked over the trees.
“What are you going to do?” Malek asked, blood trickling down his upper lip and filling his mouth. “Let me burn? You'll burn, too!” He chuckled.
Soren clobbered him again, opening a cut above his right eye.
“I've never met a bigger fool!” Malek shouted.
“There's only one fool among us,” Soren said, “and I'm about to watch him burn.”
The glow from the sun started to fill the parking lot. Wisps of smoke rose from Malek's skin, curling into the atmosphere. Noah screamed. He rolled around the black top, back and forth, trying to smother invisible flames.
Soren set Malek down on his knees, forcing him to face the sun.
“I want you to look death in the eye,” Soren told him. “I want death to be the very last thing you see.”
He did his best not to show weakness, but Malek couldn't handle the pain any longer. He opened his mouth and roared, screamed until his voice-box broke. Flames materialized on his arms. They danced across his skin, forming bubbles and blisters. He glanced down at Noah and watched the crippled man experience the same effects. Fire cloaked his entire body. His screams had died as the flames toasted his flesh, reducing him to soot. Malek stared at Noah's blackened corpse and wondered how much longer his torment would last. Each agonizing second felt like a century. The white of his bones appeared where his flesh had been scorched away.
“That's it,” Soren whispered into his ear, “look upon death and die.”
Those were the last words Malek heard.
-20-
Inside the greenhouse, the group marveled at the unfolding scene. Whether they enjoyed human meat or potatoes and green beans, it didn't matter; everyone wore the same expression of shock and awe. First, they watched Noah's slender frame char, and transform from flesh to ash. A few minutes later, the fire that ravaged Malek's body began to smolder.
Neither event caused the silence that had swept through the greenhouse. The event that united the survivors was walking towards them, unaffected by the sun's usually virulent rays. The man strolled across the parking lot as if it were any ordinary day, occasionally glancing up at the sun, wary of its power.
No one moved. They couldn't. Fear captivated them. Fear and hope. The man who had defied everything they had come to believe over the past few months dominated their attention. Nothing could avert their eyes. They were witnessing a miracle and their hearts filled with hope.
“What are you people staring at?” Soren asked, stopping a few feet before the greenhouse. “You should all get some sleep. Our journey will be long, and we're leaving after sunfall.”
16 HOURS LATER
Sam knew they were too late before even stepping foot inside. They had passed three charred bodies in the parking lot. Unable to determine their identities, the group of fifteen pressed on, toward the store's entrance.
“I can't believe you took my children here,” Brenda muttered.
“Brenda, please,” Bob said. “Arguing isn't going change anything.”
Sam agreed with him, but kept his opinions to himself.
“Actually,” Matty said, “it provided us with everything we needed to survive.” His comment seemed to slip by unnoticed.
“Is there food inside?” a man asked. “Like real food?”
“Yes, Jarvis,” Sam said. “There's plenty of food. Help me with the door.”
The grungy middle-aged man they had rescued and Sam opened the front door. They stepped inside the apron and looked around. Trash was strewn across the area haphazardly. Sam's eyes immediately followed the speckles of blood on the floor. Brenda appeared beside him, setting her eyes on the same grim clues.
“What happened here?” Tina asked. She glanced around the front of the store, expecting monsters to jump out from behind the racking.
“That cocksucker Malek is what happened here,” Jarvis said.
“He was watching you for months, Sam,” Brenda said as if it were an answer to a question he should have known. “Planning an invasion.”
“What do you think he did?” Sam asked Jarvis, ignoring her jab.
“Probably killed everyone he didn't need,” Jarvis said.
“What about Dana and Becky?” Matty asked.
“Don't tell me that monster has my daughters.” Brenda put her hand over her forehead. “Please, God, tell me he doesn't have them.”
“Brenda, I'm going to fix this. I'll make things right again. I promise. They couldn't have gone far. We can find them—”
“Dad!” Matty shouted. “Look over there!”
Sam followed his son's finger toward the greenhouse. He ambled over to the doors leading into the secluded area.
“It looks like someone left a note on the door!” Matty informed everyone.
“Stay here,” Sam told his son.
He approached the doors and snatched the note off the glass. Peering inside the greenhouse, he spotted Chris Atkins's dead body soaking in a pool of blood.
“Christ,” Sam muttered to himself.
“What is it?” Brenda asked.
He waved her off. “Stay where you are.” He wondered what other surprises they'd find. While imagining the horrors they'd discover, he unfolded the note.
It was brief and to the point:
Dad,
If you get this, we're safe. Heading to Alaska. Come find us.
Becky and Dana
Tears needled Sam's eyes. He turned to the rest of the group and crumpled the message in his palm.
“Grab some food, water, and whatever else you might need to survive.” Sam strolled over to his ex-wife and placed the note in her hand. “We're leaving in five minutes.”
TO BE CONTINUED...
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Tim Meyer is an author working on several upcoming projects. He currently resides in New Jersey, near the shore. When he's not writing, hunting ghoulish entities, or balling hard on the basketball court, he's usually annoying the crap out of his wife, the most amazing person in his life. The two of them live with their cats (Gizmo and Mulder) and dog (Sookie), rambunctious monsters that destroy almost everything. You can check out his other books here.
Chad Scanlon is a jack of all trades, master of none. Now he's pretending to be an author. When he's not outside running marathons, he's inside avoiding work.
Pete Draper is an author currently residing in Ocean County, NJ. He considers his literary influences to be Stephen King, George Orwell, J.R.R. Tolkien, Richard Matheson, and H.P. Lovecraft. When not lost in the worlds his mind tends to create, he is a practicing attorney and lover of cats. Actually, most animals. Except bears. They're scary.