Reign of the Buffalo: Book 1

by Nathan Jay

  “Are you my Great Grandfather?”

  “You need a key.”

  “Where do I find it?”

  The man turned and pointed back towards Grandma Noya’s house.

  “Back there. Through the forest. I buried it in the only place I could hide it.”

  “In my Great Grandfather’s house?”

  The old man smiled.

  “He can’t touch you there. The ground is blessed. It is hallowed soil.”

  Wilson turned and started walking back towards Grandma Noya’s house. After taking one step, he fell into a deep hole. As Wilson fell, he heard voices whispering in his head.

  “Wake up…wake up….wake up…”

  Chapter 27: Truth and the Wall

  Wilson woke up to a fight. Dustin parked on the side of the road, and his parents were in the front seat, yelling and screaming. Michael sat silently beside Wilson in the backseat, staring out into the darkness with a look on his face so sad that Wilson thought he was going to cry. The look on his face told Wilson how much the argument had damaged him.

  “Fuck you, Dustin!”

  “There you go! Incapable of seeing any other viewpoint except your own!”

  “You hid this from me for years! How long have you and that old bitch known about Wilson?”

  “Don’t disrespect my mom!”

  “That’s right. Noya’s so precious. God forbid anyone says anything bad about your mommy! You two hid this shit from me for years! You’re lucky I don’t go to her house and confront her about it.”

  “Yeah, let your kids see their mom threaten their grandmother. That’ll go over real nice.”

  Wilson opened the car door and slammed it shut. He hated when his parents fought. Michael and Wilson were always getting caught in the middle. He heard the car door open on the other side, and soon Michael was standing beside him.

  “This is stupid. Why are mom and dad fighting when they know what’s going on?”

  Wilson shrugged his shoulders. After looking down the empty dark road for a few minutes, he spoke.

  “We have to go back to Grandma Noya’s house.”

  “Dude! Are you serious? That’s where the…”

  “I know. That’s where the entrance to hell is. But that is what the dreams are telling me. It’s telling me there’s a place for us to hide.”

  “In Grandma Noya’s house?”

  “In the house in the forest.”

  “There? Why?”

  “I don’t know. There’s something about the land that makes it hallowed ground.”

  Michael twisted his face.

  “Hallowed? What does that mean?”

  “I think it means blessed.”

  “Well, whatever it means, you need to tell them so we can go. I don’t feel safe here.”

  Both the boys climbed back in the car. Their parents were still arguing.

  “…told you to go off and fuck him!”

  “I’m a stranger in my own house!”

  “Hey!” yelled Wilson. Both parents turned around to look at him. “Either we get out of here, or something bad is going to happen.”

  Dustin took a deep breath.

  “Where are we going, son?”

  “Grandma Noya’s. That’s what the dream said.”

  Julia snapped.

  “Noya’s?! That’s the last place I’m going. Fuck that!”

  Angrily, she climbed out of the car, slammed the car door, and started walking down the long dark road. Both Wilson and Michael looked at one another in horror.

  “Dad! You’ve got to stop her!” Michael pleaded.

  “Get her now!” chimed Wilson.

  Dustin angrily kicked open the door and climbed out.

  “Julia!” he forcefully whispered. “We need to go! Come on!”

  But Dustin couldn’t reason with Julia. She angrily walked down the road yelling back at her husband.

  “Fuck that! I’m not going to that bitch’s house! She’s been controlling this family for years! I’ll be damned if I go anywhere near her!”

  Dustin stopped walking.

  “She’s dead.”

  Julia froze in her steps.

  “What?”

  “She died when all of this weird stuff happened.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because she told me it would happen.”

  “And you believed her? Did you confirm it?”

  “No.”

  “Then how do you know she’s dead? She’s probably at home drinking tea and laughing at you.”

  “My mother has been guilty of many things, but she’s never been a liar.”

  Julia started walking back toward her husband.

  “Fine! Let’s go! I’ll bet you any amount of money she’s not even dead. It’ll be worth it just to show you how much she manipulates you. Let’s go!”

  Inside the car, Wilson looked at his mother and father's silhouettes, walking back to the car in the darkness.

  “Good. Mom and Dad are walking back.”

  Michael stretched his neck to see his parents.

  “It’s about time. Why is mom acting all crazy like we did something to her? She’s the one that ran off and cheated on Dad.”

  “She feels guilty, I suppose. It’s lonely when you’re the only one guilty of crashing the car with everyone inside.”

  Michael shuddered.

  “Dude…you sounded just like Grandma Noya when you said that.”

  As his parents approached the car, Wilson tapped his eye without realizing it. There was a flash of light, and then he almost screamed. There were thousands and thousands of long-clawed black demonic creatures everywhere. They were all crawling on their bellies towards his parents from both sides of the road. Each monster was hissing and snapping their mouths filled with sharp teeth.

  “Holy shit!” yelled Wilson as he opened the car door.

  “Mom! Dad! Run!”

  Julia was confused and began turning around in all directions. Dustin grabbed Julia by her arm and started running.

  “Hurry!” Wilson yelled. “They’re right behind you!”

  Michael climbed to his knees and looked around.

  “What is it? I can’t see anything!”

  Wilson dove into the front seat and started the car. Just as his parents reached the vehicle, the monsters let out a scream and extended their wings. Thousands of them flew towards the car.

  “Dad! We’ve got to get out of here!”

  Dustin peeled out onto the highway, but it was too late. They could hear the thud of thousands of the creatures smashing into the car. Although she couldn’t see anything, Julia listened to the monsters' sounds crashing into the car, and she started screaming.

  “We’re going to die! Oh, my God! We’re all going to die!” she yelled hysterically.

  “Mom! Shut the fuck up!” yelled Michael. “I’ve got this!”

  Michael turned to his brother.

  “Okay, bro. You have to tell me where to shoot.”

  Wilson shook his head.

  “Not on this one, Mike. This time it’s all me.”

  Wilson extended his arms and slammed his hands together. Although he was the only person that could see the demons, everyone in the car saw mounds of black goop splash everywhere. Again, he slammed his hands together, and black liquid covered the windshield.

  “I can’t see!” yelled Dustin.

  “Use the fucking wipers, you idiot!” screamed Julia.

  Soon the car accelerated and took off down the road, with Wilson killing the demons on the road behind them.

  “Ow! My neck!” screamed Michael. Wilson looked over at his brother and saw three large claw marks on his neck. Suddenly one of the creatures lunged at Wilson, and he ducked. He grabbed the snapping creature by the neck and twisted until the monster’s neck broke. Wilson lifted the beast and tossed him out of the hole in the roof of the car.

  “Mike! You okay?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be alright. It’s just a scratch.�
��

  “My fault. I forgot about the hole in the roof.”

  Julia had stopped screaming and was staring at Michael’s bleeding neck. After looking through the hole in the roof, she gingerly climbed into the backseat and moved between her sons.

  “Here, let me take a look at that.”

  When Julia tilted Michael’s neck to look at his wound, she jumped back.

  “Ahhhhh!” she screamed. Dustin swerved the car on the road.

  “What is it?” he yelled into the back seat. Wilson peered over his mother’s shoulder at his little brother’s neck. There were hundreds of pulsating bumps covering the area where the monster had scratched him.

  “Dustin! We have to get Michael to the hospital!”

  “But…I don’t know where we are.”

  “Look! He’s going to die if we don’t get him to a hospital.”

  Wilson looked at Michael’s face. He was starting to sweat, and his breathing was labored.

  “Stop…making such a…fuss. I’m fine.”

  Dustin slowed the car down and pulled over to the side of the road.

  “Wilson. Come with me.”

  “But Dad! What about those things out there?”

  “We have to find some Sage. I know mom taught you about its power, so get out of the car and help me search in the woods.”

  “But Mom and Mike. They’ll be…”

  “Get out of the car now, or your brother’s going to die!”

  Reluctantly, Wilson opened the door and climbed out of the car. Dustin reached into his jeans and pulled out his handgun.

  “Here, take this gun. If you hear anything, shoot. You can’t see the creatures, but it’ll tell us you guys are under attack. We’ll rush back to you.

  “What?! Are you leaving us here? Are you crazy?”

  “I don’t have a choice, Julia! Do you want our son to die?”

  “No, but I don’t want to die either.”

  Dustin shook his head in disgust.

  “We’ll be back shortly.”

  Dustin and Wilson took off into the forest on the side of the road.

  “Go ahead and activate the eye,” Dustin whispered. Wilson touched his eye and peered into the forest.

  “I don’t see anything there,” Wilson replied. Dustin paused and looked back at the car.

  “Look back at the highway and the sky. Do you see anything coming?”

  “No. Nothing yet.”

  “Good. We have three minutes, maybe two. Search over there for the sage. I’ll go over to the right.”

  The two men stepped through the forest, looking at the small bushes and swinging their arms. Wilson was having no luck. All he kept finding was poison ivy. He became nervous that eventually, he would find a snake or a spider.

  There was a snap in the woods 30 feet ahead in the darkness, and he paused. Next came another sound of someone stepping on a twig.

  “Daaaad,” Wilson whispered. “I hear something.” Wilson looked in the direction that he had last seen his father.

  “Daaad! Come on! Where are you?”

  Wilson jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

  “I’m here. What is it?” whispered Dustin. Wilson breathed a sigh of relief and pointed into the darkness.

  “I heard a noise coming from back there.”

  “I got the Sage. Let’s get back.”

  Wilson and his father turned and ran back to the car. As soon as Dustin opened the door, Julia fired the handgun into the window. Both Dustin and Wilson ducked as the bullet went flying into the darkness.

  “Stop shooting! It’s us!” yelled Dustin. Julia angrily tossed the handgun onto the front seat.

  “Shit! How the fuck am I supposed to know? Just get us the hell out of here!”

  Dustin and Wilson looked at Michael, lying on the backseat. His shirt was wet from sweating, and foam was coming from his mouth. He had large red bumps all over his face. Julia kissed her son and returned to the front seat of the car. Dustin pulled some leaves from the plant and shoved them into his mouth. After chewing them well enough to make them soft, he took the clump of plants from his mouth and shoved them into his son’s mouth.

  “Can you hear me, son?”

  Michael shook his head.

  “Chew on this and swallow.”

  Michael opened his eyes and grimaced.

  “Yuck. These plants taste like shit!”

  Dustin laughed.

  “How would you know? Have you eaten some?”

  Michael cracked a smile.

  “Such language,” complained Julia from the front seat. “When you get better, we’re going to need to talk about all the potty mouth. You’re too young to be talking like that.”

  “Mom! I’m sick, and you’re talking about curse words?” Michael asked feebly.

  “Look, guys, I hate to interrupt you, but we need to go.”

  Dustin hopped into the front seat and started the car. In a few minutes, they were back on their journey.

  Chapter 28: Changes

  “Everyone put on your seatbelts.”

  The words awakened Wilson and his brother, who was sleeping in the backseat. Their mother, who had also been sleeping, suddenly sat up and pulled at her shoulder harness until it clicked.

  “What is it?” asked Michael. Large spotlights were pointing in their direction from the road in front of them.

  “It looks like we have some company up ahead. You want to check that out, Wilson?”

  Wilson tapped his eyelid and looked ahead.

  “I don’t see any creatures.”

  “It must be the military or the police. The cops have blocked the road. Relax. I’ll do the talking.”

  Dustin slowed the vehicle.

  “Everybody, stay calm,” repeated Dustin.

  Wilson could feel his heart thumping through his shirt. There were dozens of men standing in the center of the road wearing hazmat uniforms and helmets like they were taking a trip to the moon. Spools of barbed wire were wrapped around wooden barriers preventing access to the highway. There were dozens of men on both sides of the road with large stationary guns pointed directly at them. Wilson took in small shallow breaths. He had a bad feeling about this.

  Dustin pulled up and stopped in front of the closest man to their car. After shining a flashlight into his face, the man motioned for Dustin to roll down his window. He was carrying a laser thermometer with an M-16 slung over his shoulder. Dustin rolled down his window.

  “Hello, sir. What’s going on?” Dustin nervously asked. The man ignored Dustin and shined a laser thermometer on his forehead. Seconds later, the thermometer beeped.

  “May I see some identification, sir?”

  “Sure.”

  Dustin reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet.

  “We’re just trying to get to my grandmother. She’s elderly and…”

  Suddenly the officer noticed the hole in the top of the car.

  “How did you get that hole in your vehicle?”

  “That? I’m not sure how it happened. We were driving along, and we must’ve hit a…”

  “And this sludge covering your car? What is that?”

  “As I was saying, we must have run into…”

  Suddenly, two other officers approached both sides of the car and shined a light into the backseat. After staring closely at Wilson and Michael, one of the officers pulled out a radio and started talking.

  “We have a 10-19 at the 95 South blockade. Send medical personnel.”

  Dustin was confused.

  “Send medical personnel? For what?”

  The officer speaking to Dustin took two steps back and raised his weapon.

  “Sir! I’m going to ask you to roll up your window. We’re going to quarantine you.”

  “Quarantine? For what?”

  “You have approximately five seconds to raise your window, or we will open fire!”

  “Okay! Okay!”

  Dustin raised the window and moved away from the
door. Just as he did, two men moved in with a large machine shaped like a circular microwave.

  “What’s that?” asked Julia. The man pressed a button, and the machine shot a purple laser into the car.

  “I can’t see!” yelled Julia.

  “Me either!” yelled Michael.

  Eventually, the light dimmed, and everyone could see again.

  “Oh my God!” exclaimed Dustin. Wilson looked at Michael and jumped away from him. There were thousands of tiny florescent worms moving beneath the skin of Michael’s face and neck. Julia turned to look at Michael and vomited into the backseat. Michael glanced from his father’s face to his brother’s.

  “Bro! What is it? What’s wrong with me?”

  “You’re…infected. There are worms everywhere.”

  Michael started crying and reached out his hand for his mother.

  “Mom…please. Help me.”

  Julia recoiled at the sight of her infected son.

  “I’m sorry, Michael. I can’t.”

  Suddenly the car jerked violently. Dustin turned to see a tow truck pulling their vehicle into a clearing on the side of the road.

  “What’s happening? Where are we going?” asked Wilson. Just as the car descended the small hill on the side of the road, Wilson spotted three men in uniforms standing with flame throwers.

  “Dad! They’re going to burn us!”

  “What?! No! They can’t!”

  Michael saw the men with flame throwers and fainted. Dustin turned to Wilson.

  “Did your grandmother show you all your powers?”

  “She told me about some, but there’s nothing I can think of that would help us.”

  Julia was sobbing now.

  “It’s okay. We’ll be okay,” Dustin continuously repeated.

  Wilson tried to remember everything Grandmother Noya had taught him. He looked at the men standing around their car and tapped his eyelid. The men shot flames of fire at the vehicle.

  “NOOOOO!”

  There was a burst of blue energy that extended from Wilson’s fingers. Suddenly the car was inside a large blue forcefield. The flames from the flamethrowers flew towards the glowing orb. They instantly bent back to the shooters and engulfed all of them in fire. Wilson continued squeezing his eyes closed. Thoughts of flying came into his mind. Slowly, the ball of energy lifted Wilson and his family into the sky. The soldiers on the ground all pointed their weapons at the car and started shooting, but their bullets couldn’t penetrate the forcefield. Wilson’s power was too great. The ball of energy kept rising until it was towering high in the sky.