Zombie Con

by Derek Ailes

see storm clouds in the distance. The weather station had predicted severe thunderstorms for their area. He liked thunderstorms. He always sat on his porch and watched the lightning while drinking his beer. Every time lightning struck, he took a large gulp from his beer. His favorite drinking game. He had plenty of beer stocked in the fridge for an all-nighter.

  “Nature bring your worst!”

  Within an hour, the sky was filled with dark black clouds and lightning. He could see a funnel cloud in the distance. This was going to be a storm worth talking about for weeks to come. He opened up another beer and hail started to fall. He watched as the hail bounced off the grass in front of his porch. It started out small, but got bigger as the minutes passed. Fork lightning was striking down repeatedly, making this the greatest storm he’d witnessed in years.

  “Only in Texas!” He screamed.

  Another bolt struck down. He could see a large shadow in the distance, and it was coming closer. A large smile crossed Alex’s face. Was an animal coming his way? He grabbed his shotgun that was hidden behind the refrigerator. The animal was coming closer, and it grabbed one of the broken down cars in his yard.

  “What the hell,” Alex mumbled. He pointed his shotgun toward the animal. It was no ordinary animal; it was the creature he had seen the other night. The one the Democrats had sent to the town. Tonight the Democrats had sent it after him. The president hadn’t sent a drone to kill him; he had sent this creature.

  “In the name of the Republicans, I will destroy you!”

  The creature lifted up the car and threw it toward the porch. Alex jumped out of the way as the car crashed into his front porch. He lifted his shotgun and took a shot at the creature. He was having a hard time seeing it through the thick pouring rain. The creature moved closer. It was only a few feet away from him, and it was huge. Its wingspan was the length of a small car. He had seen something like this in a horror film once. The creature snatched the shotgun away from him and threw it to the side. Alex tried to walk backward, but the creature was on him within seconds. It grabbed Alex’s head with both of its claws and ripped it from his body. His torso fell to the ground. The creature threw his head onto the roof of the house. It turned its attention to the Confederate flag hanging from the front porch. It ripped it to shreds and then vanished into the distance.

  The next morning, Deputy Miller and the coroner, James Tancer, were standing in the yard of Alex Horton. The paper carrier had discovered the decapitated body of Alex. Dennis pulled up in a squad car and walked over to them. He leaned over the body and looked up at them.

  “Where’s his head?”

  The coroner pointed toward the roof.

  “Find me a ladder,” Dennis said.

  “There are claw marks all over his body.”

  “Claw marks?” Dennis looked closer at the shoulders. He was debating whether he should tell them about the gargoyle or not.

  “I can’t think of any type of animal that can completely rip a man’s head off. I first thought it could either be a cougar or a mountain lion. The claw marks don’t match,” James said.

  “A gargoyle?” Dennis asked, looking straight at him.

  “Going the supernatural route?”

  “Just a thought.”

  “Let’s stick to reality.”

  “Any idea how his car ended upside down on his porch?

  “No clue, Sheriff.”

  The deputy walked over to them carrying a ladder that he had found in Alex’s shed.

  “Want the honors?” Deputy Miller asked.

  “Might as well,” Dennis said and climbed the ladder.

  “Got to love this job,” the deputy said.

  Dennis climbed down the ladder holding the head by the hair.

  “That’s nasty,” the deputy said.

  “Martin, wait until we find whatever animal did this. Now that will be nasty,” Dennis said and placed the head next to the body.

  The sheriff spent the day talking to the media about the incident. He held a press conference, assuring everybody in town that they were safe and this was a random animal attack. He didn’t want a panic on his hands. In the back of his mind, he knew better. There was a gargoyle on the loose, and he didn’t know how he was going to deal with it. He had found very little information about killing a gargoyle on the internet.

  After reading the coroner’s report on Alex, Dennis decided it was time to head home for some sleep. He hoped that when he awoke, there wouldn’t be another gargoyle victim waiting for him.

  That night, he dreamed he was walking down the main street of town. Everything had a red glow to it. He was much taller than usual and when he looked down he saw two large gargoyle style feet. He tried to stop walking, but he didn’t have any control over the creature’s body. He was heading in the direction of the local bar. There were no cars or people out on the streets. According to the large clock hanging on the side of the barber shop, it was past two. The bar was closed and Kimmy would be heading home soon. He was heading straight for the bar. Kimmy was in danger, and he had no way of stopping his gargoyle self.

  Kimmy walked out of the bar and locked the door. She headed for her motorcycle that was parked on the side of the bar. Before she could reach the motorcycle, she saw the gargoyle heading straight for her. She quickly ran for her motorcycle and jumped on it. The gargoyle jumped in front of the motorcycle and stared at her.

  Dennis tried to move the gargoyle away from her, but he still had no control over its body. He tried to speak, but the only sound the gargoyle made was a loud growl. Kimmy’s hands were shaking, and she dropped her keys. The gargoyle grabbed her by the head and ripped her head away from her body. It threw her head backward. It grabbed the motorcycle and threw it through the side window of the bar. Dennis looked in disgust as he watch the blood flow from Kimmy’s neck. He hoped that this was just a dream, but deep inside, he knew he had just witnessed a murder. He also knew that he was an unwilling participant.

  A sharp pain in his left leg snapped Dennis out of his sleep. He was sitting in his squad car in his garage. He was completely naked. He looked down at his left leg and it looked like it was made out of stone. The pain was shooting up his leg. He got out of his squad car and screamed. His whole body was transforming into stone. The morning sun was shining through the window of his garage. He tried to move, but with no luck. Within seconds, he was completely encased in stone. He was a statue.

  “What the hell?”

  He was completely conscious. He couldn’t move at all. He knew now that he was the gargoyle. Gargoyles were alive at night and stone statues during the day. He knew in a matter of days his human self would be completely gone, replaced by the gargoyle. He hadn’t dreamed he killed Kimmy last night. She was really dead, a victim of the gargoyle’s rage.

  Deputy Miller looked at the carnage at the bar. He had been there since three a.m. after the security alarms at the bar started going off. He had found Kimmy’s decapitated body outside the bar with her head forty feet away. The windows of the bar were smashed in from the impact of her motorcycle being flung through. He wasn’t sure if they were dealing with an animal or a deranged serial killer hopped up on steroids.

  The deputy went to his squad car and grabbed his cellphone. He tried calling the sheriff again, but Dennis was still not answering. Dennis always picked up. His cellphone was always with him, even when he was in the bathroom. He had been calling nonstop since three a.m. The deputy went over to the coroner.

  “Still no answer?” James asked.

  “No. I’m going to go check on him. I hope nothing happened to him.”

  “I’m almost done here. Hopefully, I can find more clues with her autopsy.”

  “I’ll meet you at the station,” the deputy said and headed for his squad car.

  The deputy pulled into Dennis’s driveway an hour later. At first glance everything looked normal. Martin walked ove
r to the front door and started knocking. No answer. He tried to look into the front window, but he couldn’t see anything in the living room. He walked over to the garage door. It wasn’t closed all the way. He grabbed the handle and lifted the garage door upward. He stood in shock as he saw the nude statue of Dennis standing in the middle of the garage.

  The deputy walked over to the statue and touched it.

  “Martin, it’s me,” Dennis said, but he knew Martin couldn’t hear him.

  “Dennis, this statue is really scary! Whoever sculpted this for you exaggerated a little!”

  “Exaggerated! This isn’t a sculpture. It’s me.”

  Martin opened the door leading into the house. “Dennis, are you in here?” He entered the house and checked it room by room. He walked back out into the garage. Dennis’ squad car was there and his truck was in the driveway.

  Martin grabbed his cellphone and called dispatch.

  “Kelli, I’m at Dennis’ house. All his vehicles are here, but he’s not. There’s also a disturbing stone statue of him in the garage.”

  “Let me call his cellphone.”

  A few seconds later he could hear the ringing from Dennis’ cellphone. He looked in his squad car and it was sitting on the passenger seat.

  “His cellphone is here. He’s never away from it. Something happened. With the recent murders, I’m assuming the worse.”

  “I alerted the other deputies. I suggest we do a search of the town.”

  “Kelli, he