by C. G. Mosley
Cochran took a deep breath, closed his eyes and said the word. “Three!” he said, as he simultaneously pulled the trigger. “RUN!” he thundered.
They did run, amid the sound of a barrage of bullets as the sheriff unloaded his gun into the chest of the dark one that was towering over him. With tears in her eyes, Marie made a beeline for the door. She assumed the others were behind her. The wood apes that had not been shot seemed to be overtaken with fear and confusion. Marie thought, as crazy as it was, that the sheriff’s plan just might work. She was nearly to the door when a flash of something gray darted through the opening, bumping into her just hard enough to send her sailing against the wall. She howled in pain as something in her left shoulder popped.
“What was that?” Tony asked, as clearly he’d seen whatever had zipped into the room too.
There was no opportunity for anyone to answer. At that very moment whatever had entered the room began tearing into the five remaining wood apes. Sheriff Cochran had stumbled backwards as he emptied the magazine in his handgun. He’d landed on his bottom and then frantically reached for another magazine. He was struggling to find it and had just about accepted he was going to die when the horrific scene began to unfold in front of him.
At first, he was unable to see anything, but he could hear plenty. Something large, and swift was moving from one wood ape to another, viciously tearing into them with teeth, or claws or both. He could hear the splatter of blood and what he thought could be the breaking of bones. The wood apes that were dying barely had enough time to emit a yelp before they were cruelly executed in some sort of otherworldly fashion.
Cochran retrieved his flashlight and quickly shined the beam on to the carnage in front of him. What he saw was horrifying and made his jaw drop. The creature stood as high as the wood apes—at least eight feet in height. The skin covering its body was a deep gray and completely hairless. The head was large and round, as was the black bulbous eyes on the face. There were two slits for a nose and the mouth opened to reveal a frightening maw of needle-like teeth which at present were all stained red with blood. The body was humanoid in appearance and there were no clothes on the creature’s back. As if the face was not frightening enough, it was the hands and claws that had truly rattled him.
Each hand comprised of five digits, much like a human hand. What was unlike a human hand, however, were the jagged claws protruding from each finger. There was blood and tissue dangling from the claws and the sheriff began to understand that these were the instruments of death that he’d heard ripping into the wood apes.
He’d only had a second to take in the creature’s nightmarish features before the thing moved onto the next wood ape. With his mouth agape, the sheriff looked on as the creature thrust its clawed hand forcefully into the chest of its next victim and in the blink of an eye it had retracted the hand with a bloody heart clutched in the palm.
Cochran resisted the urge to scream in horror as the creature quickly tossed the heart into its mouth as if it were feasting on nothing more than a piece of popcorn chicken. The thing went on to continue the same act until all the wood apes in the room were no longer living. Cochran looked around at the corpses surrounding him and then his gaze slowly moved to the gray being breathing heavily in the center of the room.
“It’s alien,” Julie called out from a darkened corner. “It’s the monster you kept asking about.”
Cochran didn’t reply. He instead began to fumble around in search of the other magazine for his handgun. The creature watched him curiously as it continued to breathe heavily. Cochran finally found the magazine, but his hand was shaking so violently he struggled mightily to get it into the gun.
Just when he’d nearly gotten it, the alien hissed at him loudly, startling him so badly that he dropped it. The magazine clanged loudly on the tile floor and the sound seemed to anger the alien as it hissed again loudly in response.
“You three get out of here,” he said, his voice trembling. “What are you waiting on? This is your chance to get out of here!”
The alien began walking toward him, its clawed feet slapping hard against the tile as it walked. It seemed to be taking its time which was a stark difference from how it had handled the five wood apes minutes earlier.
“I mean it,” Cochran called out. “You three get out of here. Don’t watch this!”
The alien had finally stopped a mere two feet away from him. Cochran slowly moved the beam of his light up the creature’s legs and abdomen, finally settling on the terrifying face. Its mouth opened slightly, and a silver strand of saliva hung from the lower row of teeth. The alien then reached down and snatched Cochran off the floor by the collar of his shirt. The sheriff closed his eyes and waited for his heart to be ripped out. He prayed it would be quick and painless.
Suddenly, a thunderous boom rang out from the opposite side of the room and a bullet tore through the alien’s abdomen. The creature hissed and shrieked loudly. Cochran whipped his head around and could barely make out Marie standing to the right, the gun in her hand smoking slightly.
“Keep firing!” he yelled.
She did, and every single bullet tore through the creature’s body. Its blood appeared to be black—as black as its eyes. Abruptly, Cochran was dropped to the floor and the wounded alien zipped across the room to dispose of Marie.
“No!” Cochran screamed out. “Come for me you son of a bitch!”
If the alien heard his pleas, they were ignored. The creature thrust its arm forward, the dagger-like claws leading like the tip of a spear. Marie screamed as she knew what was coming.
Chapter 16
When the alien’s claws stopped in mid-air, Marie guessed there could not have been more than of inch of space between them and the skin over her heart. The alien hissed loudly in anger as it glared over at the beast that had grabbed its arm and prevented the killing blow. There was a large hairy hand around the alien’s forearm. Marie followed her savior’s arm up until she met the creature’s eyes. Even in the darkness she could see that they were green.
“Kurt!” she shouted jubilantly.
The alien immediately turned its attention to the wood ape that was Kurt Bledsoe and the two of them then engaged in a fierce battle to the death. The alien, now wounded by the multiple gunshot wounds it had taken, was no longer able to move as swiftly as it was used to. Despite its wounds, the creature was still fiercely strong. It grabbed Kurt by his right arm and leg and swung him through the air like a frisbee. He sailed through the air, crashing through a large pane of glass and finally stopping after contacting the wall on the opposite side of the hallway.
The alien jumped through the broken window and attempted to thrust its claws into Kurt’s chest, but he was ready for the attack. The clawed hand was caught again in the same fashion that Kurt had caught it to save Marie’s life. This time, however, Kurt used the power of his new body to bend the alien’s wrist backward, breaking it with a sickening crack. The alien shrieked in pain and instinctively thrust its free hand forward to pierce Kurt’s abdomen from the side. Kurt sensed the attack and moved slightly, avoiding a killing blow, but he was unfortunately unable to avoid the alien’s claws altogether. They instead raked across his side, penetrating deep enough to contact his ribs. Kurt howled in agony and then thrust his other hand forward to grab the alien by the throat.
The alien attempted to remove Kurt’s grip from its throat with its good hand. It used its claws to try and rip the hairy hand around its neck to ribbons, but to no avail. It seemed the harder it clawed at the hand, the harder Kurt squeezed. The act went on for at least a solid minute before the creature’s black eyes bulged and then its body went limp. With the alien dead, Kurt collapsed to the ground. His right hand was bleeding profusely.
Marie quickly moved to his side to examine the hand. “Kurt,” she said as she knelt beside him. “I knew you were still in there…I knew it!”
Kurt looked over at her, his green eyes shimmering. If Marie didn’t know better, s
he’d have sworn that he smiled slightly.
“I need something to wrap his hand!” she called out.
Tony suddenly emerged from the darkness, dropping beside her. “Here,” he said, handing her a white towel.
She went to work wrapping the hand and applying pressure. Julie then appeared and had a roll of medical tape in her hand. “Found this in one of the drawers,” she muttered. “Keep the towel over the wounds and I’ll wrap it tight with tape.”
Marie nodded and the two women went to work with what they had. Once they’d finished, Marie looked at all the blood on her hands and the floor.
“He’s lost a lot,” she said worriedly.
“Not enough to be worried about,” Julie replied. “As long as that bandage holds, and he doesn’t lose more.”
Suddenly Kurt reached over with his good hand, placing it lightly over Marie’s. She looked at him, her eyes welling with tears. “I’m going to get you out of here,” she said. “I don’t know how, but I am.”
“They’ll never let him leave this building alive,” Tony said, disheartened.
“Who is they?” Cochran said suddenly from the shadows. “Franklin?”
“That’s exactly who I mean,” Tony replied. “I’m sure they’ll be waiting for us on the ground level.”
Marie shook her head. “No,” she said angrily. “Not when we’re this close. Sheriff, we’ve got to get him out of here!”
“If we’re going to do it, it’ll take all of us, and we’ll have to move now,” he replied. “If the government is involved you can bet there will be lots of soldiers with firepower arriving if they haven’t made it here already.”
“I’m in,” Julie said. “I feel some responsibility for what has happened here. I want to help get him out.”
“Good,” Cochran said, he then glanced to Tony and Marie, shining the light on both of them.
“What do you need us to do?” Marie asked.
“First,” Cochran replied. “We need more firepower.”
“And where do you suggest we get it?” Marie replied, and she looked to Julie. “My best guess would be that any guns in this building would be found upstairs somewhere.”
Julie considered the question, and then her eyes lit up as something occurred to her. “Three guards were killed on level three,” she said. “I heard about it from one of the other employees. The wood apes killed them, and they were armed with handguns.”
“Perfect,” Cochran said. “Get Kurt up and let’s move!”
Julie and Marie both worked together to get Kurt on his feet. They then all followed behind Cochran, who led the way with the flashlight, to the stairwell and eventually on to level three. Upon entering the cell where the vicious wood apes had once been contained, the sheriff immediately noticed the gory remains of Lynch and his counterparts.
“Wait out here,” he commanded, not wanting the others to see the grisly scene. He quickly collected the guns and made his way back into the hallway.
“Okay,” he said, handing a gun to both Julie and Tony. “Here’s the plan. Marie and I will lead the way when we get to the ground floor. We’re going to quickly make our way out of the front door, but if we encounter anyone along the way, no one uses these weapons unless I say so…got it?”
“There’s no way it’s going to be that easy,” Tony said as he stared at the gun. “I don’t even know how to use this thing.”
Marie snatched it from him and turned off the safety. “All you’ve got to do, is point it and pull the trigger,” she explained. “Don’t point it at anything that you don’t intend to kill.”
“Right,” Cochran said. “Keep that thing pointed at the ground unless we get into a situation where I tell you to use it. As far as it being easy…no, it’s not going to be easy,” he admitted. “It’s gonna take a lot of luck, and I’ll say this: If the National Guard is already out there, all bets are off. We surrender.”
Marie glared at him, somewhat surprised.
“I’m sorry honey,” he replied. “But that’s the best I can do. I’m not going to get you all killed.”
“So, let’s say we get outside, then what?” Tony asked. “Kurt isn’t fitting in your car!”
Cochran sighed as he realized he hadn’t thought that far ahead. It was true. In his new form, Kurt was much too large to fit in his patrol car.
“I’ve got a pickup truck,” Julie said suddenly.
They all looked at her simultaneously and Cochran smiled. “As I said, we’ll need a little luck,” he replied. “So, we’ll use Julie’s truck to get him out of here and then we meet up at the old Dunn Cemetery on the outskirts of town.”
He glanced up at the ailing creature that had once been Kurt Bledsoe. He looked weak and exhausted. The blood loss seemed to be taking a toll on him. And then he noticed something else. His eyes seemed to be darkening and no longer seemed as green as they once had been.
Chapter 17
When they reached the ground floor, Sheriff Cochran was pleasantly surprised to see that there was no longer a need for his flashlight. The beige hallway and white tile floor were lit up nicely by the usual fluorescent lighting and he was pleased to be free of any flashing red strobe lights. They moved along the corridor as quickly and as quietly as possible. It was quiet—eerily quiet, so much so that Cochran couldn’t help but feel a sense of impending dread.
They rounded a corner that would lead them to the lobby and their eventual freedom but were stopped dead in their tracks by the appearance of Dr. Franklin and two armed guards standing in their way.
Franklin eyed them carefully and then allowed a smile to creep across his face. “I’ve got to hand it to you,” he said. “I never dreamed you’d be able to make it out of there alive.”
“Are you saying you were actively trying to kill us?” Cochran asked, his eyes narrowed.
Franklin huffed and showed his teeth. “I can’t let you leave this building, especially with that,” he added, pointing to Kurt.
“Just what are you going to do to stop us?” Cochran asked, raising his gun. Marie did the same.
The guards flanking Franklin responded by raising their own firearms.
“Okay, slow down,” the doctor said, a hint of worry in his tone. “No need for there to be any more blood shed than what has already occurred.”
“I agree,” Cochran replied. “So, get the hell out of our way.”
Franklin opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Kurt unexpectedly collapsed to the floor behind Tony. Marie whipped around and dropped down to the floor beside him.
“Kurt!” she said anxiously. “Kurt, open your eyes. What’s wrong?”
Franklin shook his head with a look of forced empathy. “Can’t you see he’s succumbed to his injuries?” he asked. “The best place for him to be is here. If you care anything about his well-being, you’ll step aside and let us tend to him.”
Marie gently patted Kurt’s face, and then looked up at Franklin. “Absolutely not,” she hissed. “You stay the hell away from my brother!”
Sheriff Cochran felt his heart sink when he realized that Kurt had collapsed to the floor. He kept his gun pointed forward but barely noticed the armed security guards moving closer to him. He seemed to be frozen, and unsure of what to do.
If Kurt is dead, all is lost, he thought. What would be the point in keeping this going? No one needs to die…
Slowly, reluctantly, Cochran lowered his weapon.
“Drop them on the ground,” Franklin ordered.
The guards moved past the sheriff as he did indeed drop his gun to the floor.
“What are you doing?” Marie called out when she noticed what he’d done. “Why are you giving up?”
“It’s over Marie,” he said, defeated. “Tony, Julie, do as he says and drop your guns.”
“No!” Marie screamed, but it was to no avail. Their guns clattered to the ground and they stepped aside as the guards moved to where Marie and Kurt were on the floor.
For a mome
nt, Marie considered fighting them—after all, she still had her gun. When she glanced at Kurt’s eyes, however, she noticed something quite troubling. It was something she’d noticed before when they’d been locked in his cell together. The green color had dissipated and been replaced with a dark brown that was almost black. She knew at that moment that Kurt had, at least temporarily, checked out. Marie dropped her weapon to the floor and stood.
“All four of you step over here,” Franklin said, motioning for them to step toward the lobby. “I assure you, you’ve made the right decision. Let my men take Kurt back downstairs where they can resume—”
Suddenly, without any warning at all, the wood ape that shared a body with Kurt Bledsoe sprang to life. It grabbed the guard closest to him by the throat and twisted its wrist, resulting in a sickening cracking sound of breaking bones in the man’s neck. The guard’s lifeless body dropped to the floor and then the wood ape turned its attention on the other man. He managed to fire off one shot that hit the creature in the shoulder, however it did nothing to slow him down. The wood ape grabbed the guard’s right arm around the bicep and jerked hard, ripping the appendage from the rest of the man’s body. The guard screamed in agony as a shower of red blood sprayed wildly from the gaping wound. In mere seconds, the guard passed out from the pain and blood loss, dropping to the tile floor next to his dead counterpart.
Sheriff Cochran shouted for Julie and Tony to exit the building and get to his car. They wasted no time doing as they were told and rushed past him, too shocked to speak or scream. Cochran then turned his attention to Marie. She was just standing there watching as the wood ape killed the two guards right before her eyes. There would be no reasoning with her, he knew, so he did the only thing he could think to do in the moment. Cochran rushed to her from behind and grabbed her around the waist. She screamed and fought at him as she realized he was trying to physically remove her from the building. Hard as she tried, Cochran was too strong. There was no way she could wrench free of his grasp.