Hell Gate

by Josh Matthews

  Jason moved his horse alongside the Russian. “What’s up?”

  “Do you get one of your sixth senses about that thing?”

  Jason closed his eyes and concentrated. He could not detect any aura coming from it. “I want you to check it out. If it moves, take it down with your crossbow. Slava, go with him to provide back-up. Don’t use your weapon unless you have to.”

  The two moved forward, cautiously approaching the Nachzehrer. Jason placed an arrow in his crossbow. Slava held the automatic weapon in his lap, ready to fire if necessary. The horses grew skittish as they approached, and Jason had to rein in his and spur it along. When they got to within ten feet of the Nachzehrer, they paused. Despite their being so close, it remained still. Jason saw that the awkward appearance of its head resulted from it missing the top portion of its skull. Chunks of bone fragment littered the ground, and several strands of shredded skin dangled from the head, covering its face and neck. The brain was exposed.

  “It looks like someone shot it,” said Jason.

  “A bullet doesn’t make a wound like that. If someone had shot it, how come the brain is still intact?”

  Despite their conversation, the Nachzehrer still had not acknowledged them. Jason hooked the crossbow onto his belt and withdrew his machete. “I’m going to go in closer. Cover me.”

  Slava moved his horse a few feet to the right to get a clear shot and raised his FAMAS into the high ready position. Jason inched closer, the machete pointed outwards and ready to stab if need be. He maneuvered his horse directly in front of the Nachzehrer, yet it still didn’t move. Extending his foot, he nudged it in the abdomen. It bent forward. A brown, viscous liquid flowed out of the front part of the skull and splashed over Jason’s leg. Jason pulled on the reins, and the horse retreated several feet.

  “Are you okay?” called Slava.

  “Yeah.”

  Jason heard hoof steps and maneuvered his horse to see Andre and Doc riding up. Sasha followed close behind them.

  Andre stopped beside Jason. “Is everything all right?”

  “Its head is filled with fluid. When it bent over, it spilled out onto my leg.”

  Doc withdrew a canteen of water from his saddlebag and handed it to Jason. “Wash that stuff off right away. It’s probably infectious as hell.”

  Andre moved his horse so he wouldn’t get splattered as Jason cleaned his leg. “What do you make of it, Doc?”

  “I haven’t seen anything like this before. The top of its head exploded.”

  “Why?”

  Doc shrugged. He walked his horse behind the Nachzehrer and leaned to one side to peer into the open skull. He winced and moved his head away. “It smells horrible. I think the liquid is pus.”

  “Like from an infection?” asked Slava.

  “It seems that way. Whatever happened, it destroyed any motor function this thing had.”

  “So an infection is killing off the Nachzehrer?” Andre seemed hopeful.

  “I can’t say for certain without studying it further. This pus zombie doesn’t seem to pose any threat.”

  “Pus zombie?”

  “Can you think of a better term?” asked Doc.

  Jason only half heard the conversation as he slowly poured the water down his pants leg, washing away the noxious fluid.

  Sasha drew up alongside him. “Are you okay?”

  “Your boyfriend’s fine,” answered Andre. He pointed to the pus zombie. “Bait, take care of that thing. The rest of you, move out.”

  The others fell into line behind Andre, everyone giving the pus zombie a wide berth as they passed. Jason drew back ten feet, aimed his crossbow at its skull, and squeezed the trigger. The arrow shot into the exposed brain with a squish. The demon shot up straight, the pus sloshing over the side of its skull. It convulsed for several seconds before collapsing to the ground with a thud. Jason stared at it for a moment before racing ahead to join his place in line.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The next few hours passed without incident. After encountering the swarm of Nachzehrer yesterday in Ger, Andre opted for caution over speed and led the group south along the D962, the major roadway that skirted town a mile to the south. Stalled cars and trucks blocked the road for as far as Jason could see. He stopped counting after he reached one hundred in the first quarter of a mile. As the group made its way between the vehicles in single file, everyone kept a watchful eye both on the road and the town limits for any signs of Hell Spawn. Lucifer and Lilith ran on ahead, scouting for danger. As they approached the roundabout where the main road that ran south from Flers merged into the D962, the only signs of life were five rabbits munching on dandelion heads. Lucifer and Lilith gave chase, yet even the werehounds were not fast enough to catch the rabbits before they disappeared down their warren.

  Twenty minutes later, the D962 merged with the east-west D924. The group left the road and again made their way cross country. They traveled for ten miles until the field inclined toward a country road. Andre maneuvered his horse up the embankment and abruptly brought it to a halt. The others spanned out alongside him. A field about five acres square spread out before them, with both flanks covered by woods. Nearly fifty pus zombies were scattered across the grass, each separated from the other by thirty to forty feet. Like the one they had run across earlier, these stood motionless. The only exception was that their heads were still intact. They reminded Jason of demonic scarecrows.

  The one closest to the road lifted its head a few inches and stared at them, but made no effort to move.

  “They don’t even care that we’re here,” said Jason.

  “There are still too many for my liking.” Andre slid the map out of his jacket pocket and unfolded it against his right leg.

  “Maybe we should go around them,” suggested Haneef.

  “That’ll take us hours out of our way.” Andre refolded the map. “These woods run for several miles in either direction.”

  “Why don’t we go through them?” asked Jason. “The one we ran across earlier didn’t pose a threat.”

  “You want to go down there and try out your theory?” Andre’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

  Jason felt his chest tighten and his face flush with anger. He was sick and tired of being treated like shit. No one had a problem sending him into harm’s way, yet no one would take his advice about the Hell Spawn, even though he interacted with them up close and could sense their aura. It was time to show Andre that he knew more about these things other than how to lure them out of hiding. Jason directed his horse down the other side of the embankment toward the closest pus zombie. Lucifer and Lilith trotted along beside him.

  “Bait, I was joking.” When Jason didn’t stop, Andre glanced over at Slava and motioned toward the pus zombie. Slava unslung his FAMAS and aimed at its head.

  Jason approached from the front so the pus zombie could see him. He kept the horse’s gait slow and steady so as not to startle the demon. If it felt his presence, it gave no indication. As Jason approached, he began to sense an aura distinct yet slight, a psychic version of a hum. Lilith inched her way toward the pus zombie, crouching when three feet away and leaning forward, sniffing. She backed away and glanced up at Jason, uncertain about what she had smelled. Jason pulled his machete out of its sheath as he drew closer and, when directly in front of the pus zombie, prodded its shoulder with the blade. Nothing happened. He maneuvered his horse behind it. Placing his foot on its back, he gently nudged. The demon swayed. Moving away ten feet, Jason positioned himself so he could keep an eye on the pus zombie and waved for the others to follow.

  “The kid’s got guts,” said Doc.

  “The damn kid’s an asshole.” Andre turned to the rest of the group. “Okay, people. Spread out and move out, and don’t get cocky.”

  Jason watched as Andre descended the embankment and entered the field. The others followed hesitantly, moving off to the right and left to put distance between them. When the lead horses passed, Jason and the werehounds
fell in behind Doc. He tried not to appear as smug as he felt. Andre had attempted to make him look like a jerk in front of everyone. Well, he showed them. Maybe now Andre would back off and the others would start showing him some respect.

  The group had gone only fifty feet when Jason felt the psychic humming increase. It did not concern him because the aura was still minimal, much less than that presented by a single Nachzehrer, yet he wondered why the sudden surge—

  Jason heard a loud pop that sounded like a large balloon bursting. Lucifer whimpered. Jason scanned the area to find the source and didn’t notice that Doc had stopped until the two horses bumped into each other. Doc stared off to the north.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “That one out there.” Doc pointed to a pus zombie one hundred feet away. “The top of its head is gone.”

  “So?”

  “It wasn’t that way when we started to cross.”

  “Are you sure you’re not imagin—”

  Another pop sounded to their right. A pus zombie stood thirty feet away. The top of its head was gone. Chunks of skull fragment fell onto the grass, and the shredded skin flaps dropped down across its face and neck. From inside the skull cavity, a white dust spread out, forming a small cloud ten feet in circumference around the shattered head.

  “What the hell is that?” asked Jason.

  Doc’s eyes widened. He yanked on the reins, forcing his horse to the left, and pushing Jason’s out of the way in the process. As he did, he cried out, “Get out of this field now! And avoid the pus zombies! They’re carrying spores!”

  At first, everyone stared at Doc like he had gone mad. Even Jason wondered about Doc’s sanity. Then the head of a pus zombie in the center of the pack exploded six feet from Josh. The sound startled Josh’s horse, which reared up and threw the American to the ground before bolting for the safety of the far end of the field. Josh lay on his back, temporarily winded, as the cloud of spores spread in his direction.

  Andre spun his horse around to face the others. “Haul ass! Now!”

  Ray reacted first, directing his horse toward Josh. He reached Josh as the American stumbled to his feet. Offering his hand, Ray helped his friend up into the saddle behind him. They darted away moments before the spore cloud reached their position.

  Shocked into action, the others spurred on their horses. The group made a mad dash for the far end of the field, desperately trying to avoid the danger while not running into each other. One by one, the head of each pus zombie exploded, covering the field in spores. The horses panicked, making them harder to control. Luckily the animals were as desperate to avoid death as were their riders, so they maneuvered around the pus zombies.

  At the far end of the group, Christophe was passing by the pus zombie that Jason had goaded when he heard Andre yelling, although at this distance he could not make out the words. The top of the pus zombie’s head exploded. Christophe lowered his head so the flying gore would not hit him in the face, and didn’t see the white cloud of spores spreading from the shattered skull. He breathed them in and instantly began to cough. The terrified horse bolted back toward the road, throwing off Christophe. He fell to the grass with a heavy thud, his glasses bouncing to one side. Rolling onto his stomach, Christophe tried to stand but only made it to his knees. He bent over and hacked.

  Jason spun his horse around and set off toward Christophe, with Doc close behind. As they drew near, Christophe looked up at them. Or more appropriately, what was once Christophe. His eyes were milky and glazed over. His skin had started to shrink around his body, already adopting a leathery texture. Christophe detected the sound of the approaching horses and snarled. Climbing to his feet, he lumbered toward Jason and Doc.

  Jason raised his machete when Doc reached out and grabbed his arm. “We have to get out of here.”

  “I can’t leave him like this.”

  “We can’t risk sucking in those spores. Come on!”

  Jason and Doc maneuvered their horses toward the tree line to the right of the field, with Lucifer and Lilith staying between them and the pus zombies. Once they reached safety, they headed north and raced after the others. Jason scanned the field to check on Sasha, and his stomach clenched.

  Her horse approached a pair of pus zombies as one of their heads exploded, throwing spores directly into her path. Sasha took a deep breath, placed her hand over her nose and mouth, and closed her eyes as the horse dashed through the cloud. A dusting of white covered her face and hand. Slava raced up alongside and grabbed the reins, leading her out of danger. Once they were clear of the field, he yanked her horse to a stop. Sasha slid out of the saddle and fell to her knees. Slava dismounted. Grabbing a canteen of water from his backpack, he removed the cap and handed it to her.

  “Wash that shit off before you breathe it in!”

  Jason headed his horse for Sasha, terrified of what he would find. As he approached, he watched her pour water onto her face while using her other hand to scrub off the spores. She took a drink, swished the water around her mouth, and spit it into the grass. Placing one finger over her right nostril, she blew the contents of her left into the grass and repeated the process on the other side. Then Sasha bent forward and began hacking onto the ground.

  Jason jumped off his horse and ran up to her. Slava prevented him from getting too close. Jason tried to break free, but the Russian held him tight.

  “Sasha!” Jason yelled. “Are you okay?”

  Slowly she raised her head.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Wet, matted hair stuck to her forehead. Sasha’s eyes watered, and snot dripped from her nose. Jason sighed with relief when he saw her green eyes staring at him rather than the murky gray of a Nachzehrer.

  Andre rode up and tossed her another canteen of water from his rucksack. “Wash that shit off your clothes.”

  Sasha caught the canteen and removed the cap. Holding her breath, she slowly poured the water across her chest and arms, wiping away the last of the spores. Only when Slava gave her a thumbs up that she was clean did Sasha breathe, gasping for air. She continued to kneel in the grass, trying to calm down.

  Jason was at a loss for words. “Are you okay?”

  Sasha forced a smile. “I’ll be fine.”

  “No thanks to you, Bait.” Andre dismounted and stepped over to Sasha, helping the woman to her feet.

  “What do you mean?” Jason felt his cheeks flush with anger.

  “You led us into that field by being a cocky little ass. We almost lost Sasha and Josh.” Andre walked Sasha over to her horse and helped her back into the saddle. “And Christophe is now a Nachzehrer.”

  Christophe. Jason had forgotten about him. He turned back to the field to see their former companion shambling toward the group, its arms stretched toward them, still a good fifty feet away. Andre was right. Because of him, Christophe was dead. Worse than dead.

  When Jason faced forward, the others had gathered around. He couldn’t bear to face them. Nevertheless, he felt their reproaching eyes boring into him, blaming him for what had happened. The only ones not visually condemning him were Sook-kyoung and Petra because they were chasing Josh’s horse. He kept his head bowed, wishing he had been the one turned into a Nachzehrer rather than Christophe.

  After Andre helped Sasha back into her saddle, he faced Jason and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re no different than your suka of a mother.”

  Jason’s head shot up at the insult. “Leave my mother out of this!”

  “No.”

  Sasha wiped the snot from her nose. “Andre, please don’t do this.”

  The Russian waved her off with a flick of his hand. “It’s time he learned the truth.”

  “What truth?” A knot formed in the pit of Jason’s stomach.

  “Everyone told your mother that her experiment was dangerous and could have unpredictable consequences. She ignored the warnings and conducted it anyway because she wanted to make a name for herself. She was reckless and narcissistic, an
d thanks to her we now have to deal with the Hell Gate.”

  “That’s a lie!” Jason looked at each of his team members, hoping someone would refute what Andre had said. No one did. Jason turned to Doc, hoping for support. “Tell him it’s not true.”

  Doc said nothing. He stared at Jason with pity in his eyes and then averted his gaze. The harshness of Andre’s words struck home as reality set in. In an instant, what remained of Jason’s world crashed around him. He felt his chest tighten, as much from anger as from shame.

  “This little stunt of yours proved you’re no better than her.” Andre stepped up to Jason and jabbed his finger into the teenager’s chest. “You do something like that one more time, and I’m sending you back to Mont St. Michel. Understand?”

  Jason nodded, his movement barely perceptible.

  “What?”

  “Yes, sir,” Jason croaked.

  “Good.” Andre walked back to his horse and climbed into the saddle. “Let’s move out. We need to make Falaise by nightfall.”

  “What about him?” Slava gestured toward Christophe. “Should I put him out of his misery?”

  “No. Let Bait do it. He can pick up his own mess.” Andre nudged his horse’s flanks and headed out.

  Everyone fell in behind the Russian. No one acknowledged Jason, not even Doc. Sasha mounted her horse and called for Lucifer and Lilith to fall in beside her, which they did. Soon the only one left was Jason. He mounted his horse and moved as close to Christophe as possible while avoiding the pus zombies in case any spores remained inside their heads. Loading an arrow and raising the crossbow, he centered the crosshairs on Christophe’s face. Jason’s eyes momentarily locked onto Christophe’s. He hoped for a sign of forgiveness, that the man didn’t hold his undeserved fate against him. Instead, he saw only the lifeless gray eyes of a Nachzehrer. Jason wouldn’t receive any absolution, nor did he deserve it. Focusing his attention on Christophe’s forehead, Jason slowly squeezed the trigger. The arrow shot forward, striking Christophe directly above the nose and shattering the skull. A blue eddy of light flowed up into the sky and dissipated. The body dropped to the ground, finally at peace.