Bad Things

by Jasper Tripp

  Dibs closes his eyes and bites his lower lip.

  Kate’s mind churns. She moves over to the side and looks over the roof. The horde is almost entirely to the house. Some are scaling the walls. Fast.

  “Never thought I’d die in this town. Not the plan, ya know?” Dibs says, near tears. “This really sucks.”

  “Wait a second,” Kate says, running back toward the group. “Can that trigger go off from the Life Raft?”

  Walter and Stella look to each other. Didn’t think of that. “Maybe,” they say with a shrug.

  “We can still draw them in. Jesus,” Kate says with complete disbelief that nobody considered this option instead of blowing themselves up. “We can draw them in, dive into the Life Raft, and burn this thing down too. We don’t have to die, right?”

  “That’s a better way to go.” Dibs clucks his tongue. “Like that a lot.”

  More Grey Ones stick their heads up. Dibs and Kate pick them off like they were milk bottles at a carnival. One gets free, quicker than the others. The former stay-at-home-mother-of-three-yoga-queen runs like a banshee toward Kate. Dibs catches her in the shoulder with a shot from his Glock. Slows her some, but doesn’t stop her. The yoga queen dives hard, landing on Kate in a crushing takedown. Kate throws a punch, crunching her nose, but not before the yoga queen can drive her mouth toward Kate. Her jaws chomp down on Kate’s neck. Kate screams out.

  Dibs jams his Glock into the yoga queen’s temple and blows her brains out. The yoga queen slumps into a pile. Her tramp stamp peeks out along her back.

  “Come on,” Walter calls out, hurrying to the hatch.

  “You okay?” Dibs helps Kate to her feet. He eyes the nasty wound.

  “I’m fine.” Kate holds her neck as blood seeps through her fingers. “Let’s go.”

  Walter lifts the hatch and Stella slips down inside the house. More Grey Ones climb up onto the roof. With a steady stream of assault rifle fire, Walter provides cover for Dibs and Kate as they climb down into the hatch.

  Kate and Dibs find Stella in an all-out firefight with a team of Grey Ones who’ve worked their way inside. Stella has taken cover behind the kitchen island and is exchanging bullets with the former Stagstone High basketball team. Stella is pinned down and outnumbered, but giving them all kinds of hell. Screaming profanity at the top of her lungs. Veins popping along her neck and forehead. A woman on fire.

  Dibs and Kate join the fight, unleashing a barrage of lead with their Glocks. Stella sees that her new friends have joined the party. She spins out and up, laying down her own wave of hurt. The basketball team is chopped down in no time flat, falling like lumbering trolls in the living room.

  Walter comes down the ladder. “That’s not going to hold long.”

  Walter turns fast, opening up his assault rifle on the hallway where a line of Grey Ones is running hard toward them. Walter, Stella, Dibs and Kate keep firing, but they keep coming. The front door blasts open and another wave of Grey Ones pours in.

  Walter spins, keeps up the pressure. The assault rifle kicks hard against his shoulder. Kate reloads. Her blood-coated fingers slip and slide, jamming in a new magazine. Dibs plants his foot in the gut of a Grey One while putting his Glock to the forehead of another. Stella alternates blasts between the streams of the horde pouring through the door and hall running ripshit into the house.

  “They keep coming,” Kate calls out.

  “Gonna run out of ammo soon,” Walter says.

  “Where’s the Life Raft?” Dibs yells.

  “Under them,” Stella says, pointing to the rampaging horde coming down the hall. There are dozens of them crammed in the tight space. All working to get to them. “Don’t think we can get there.”

  The Grey Ones are closing in. Pulsating, sweating walls of alien horde. Former townsfolk. Now bloodthirsty assholes. Constantly moving forward like a crushing wave that cannot be stopped. Dibs, Walter, Kate and Stella will be overrun in seconds.

  Stella shows everyone the trigger device once again.

  They all nod. It was a good run.

  From the hallway, a Grey One is blown in half from the crotch up. A shotgun pumps. Another Grey One is cut into two meaty chunks.

  Mara rises up from the Life Raft covered in alien goo, shotgun in hand, fuck off smirk on her lips. A Goddess of War.

  The twins fly out wielding Samurai swords. Their teeth bite down on knives stuck in their mouths like storming pirates. This is their time to shine. Their moment. They slice, dice and carve their way down the hall toward the rest of the Stagstone Seven. Their little faces are coated in the gore of their enemies. Their eyes are hard slants focused beyond reason. Two pint-sized killing machines let loose from their cages. Bred for this. Forged from crazy. Born to raise hell.

  A Grey One’s head rolls on the floor. An arm flies. A leg flops.

  “Hell yeah!” Dibs screams.

  Walter and Stella could cry from the overwhelming surge of pride.

  Mara pump-blasts her way through the horde. Jumping over a pile of body parts, she spins, blows a hole in a Grey One, then lands in front of her team. Her tribe.

  “I started some coffee down there,” Mara says. “How about we get the fuck out of here?”

  The Stagstone Seven cut, blast and stab their way toward the Life Raft. Walter breaks the neck of a science teacher before pulling shut the reinforced steel of the Life Raft door. The air sucks in a like a bank vault closing tight. The door thuds and thumps. Sounds of hands and fists pounding at the steel. Feet racing. The muffled noise of the horde going apeshit upstairs can be heard. Sounds like the worst white noise ever.

  Walter looks to Stella. “Do it.”

  “Wait,” Dibs says. “Did anyone see King Cody out there? The wives? Are they in—"

  Stella doesn’t blink. She pushes the red button next to the cartoon mushroom cloud.

  Nothing happens. A long beat of nothing.

  Eyebrows raised, everyone looks at Walter and Stella.

  Stella holds up a finger.

  “Wait for it,” Walter says, holding on to the wall, bracing himself.

  The world above them booms and shakes. Teeth rattle inside their skulls. Lights flicker off and on, then off again. The loudest, most violent thunderstorm ever rages above them. Sounds like a dump truck has dumped an entire junkyard down onto the Life Raft. There’s a faint sound of screaming. Fire crackles. Pointless patter of running. Then…

  Darkness. Silence.

  The eerie quiet almost echoes inside their heads. So peaceful after so much destruction.

  A faint scent of something somewhat familiar fills the air.

  “Smells like we’re under a shitty barbeque joint,” Dibs says with a grin.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Walter leads everyone by flashlight through a long hallway.

  Seems to stretch on forever. An extended corridor that turns and twists, with sharp slants down then even sharper inclines up. Parts of the floor are carpeted while others are only creaky boards, some open slabs of cold concrete. Walter apologizes for the terrain.

  “We were still building this out. Homeownership, right? There’s always something, ya know? Not enough hours in the— Oh, here we go.”

  Clinking as Walter fumbles with his keys. A few missed attempts at the keyhole. A few sighs from the Stagstone Seven.

  “Oh, just hang on,” Walter says.

  Then a door opens, leading up a small set of stairs. Walter goes up first with his assault rifle, ready for anything. He scans the area, seeing no movement of any kind. The rest of the Seven comes up the stairs nice and slow with guns tracking.

  Outside, only carnage. Dead bodies of Grey Ones litter the land, their open wounds steaming in the cold night air. Scattered piles of clumps of meat and bone. Moving out deeper into the land, the Seven turn and look back toward the compound. At least what used to be the compound.

  All that remains is a smoldering mess of fire, steel, rock and rubble. Stella and Walter hold one another, their
minds reviewing the time and care taken to build their home. The hours of effort spent on the place. The memories of raising their psychotic children there.

  “Thank you,” Kate says, walking to them.

  “What?” Stella says.

  “Thank you for your home,” Kate says with a warm smile, holding her neck. “What you built saved us.”

  Walter and Stella nod, tears welling. No one had ever appreciated what they’ve been doing, let alone thanked them. Only years of mocking. Jokes behind their backs. To their faces.

  “She did good,” Walter says, looking over the remains of the house.

  Dibs keeps moving, searching the dead. Scanning the tree lines.

  Mara moves toward him. “What are you doing?”

  “King Cody. The wives.” Dibs turns over a body with the barrel of his gun. “Where are they?”

  The rest of the Stagstone Seven, the tribe, join them. Each of them searching. Each of them still in a daze of sorts after what they’ve been through. Their eyes glassy. Their minds scrambled.

  The land is still. Peaceful even.

  “We did it, ya know?” Kate says, checking the face of a body. “We really did it.”

  “What did we do?” Dibs says, defeat all over his tone. “Exactly?”

  “We saved the town, dumbass,” Mara says.

  Everyone takes a moment to let that sink in. Even Dibs. The sounds of crickets fall over the area. Stars and moon burn brightly over the Tetons. A cold wind wraps around them as they all look to the sky, taking in how gorgeous this place truly is. Perhaps looking at it through new eyes.

  In the distance, less than a mile away, three circular objects rise up from the woods and hover above the trees. All three the length of an eighteen-wheeler and about as tall.

  “What in the sweet name of donkey dicks?” Dibs asks.

  The unidentified objects light up. Orange and red pulsing at the bottoms of the hovering crafts.

  “It’s them.” Kate holds her neck. Pulsing pain firing through her. She begins to tremble. “King Cody. He’s in there.”

  “Shit.” Dibs swallows hard. “You’re probably right.”

  Two military fighter jets scream through the night from out of nowhere. They cut through the sky, headed straight toward the circular ships. The Stagstone Seven watch on, mouths hang open, eyes wide. Their hearts race. They’re not alone in this fight. There’s a blip of hope.

  Kate’s body shakes from head to toe.

  “Look.” Walter points to the sky, loving the glory of the fighter jets. A teaching moment for the kids. “F-15E Strike Eagles. Went operational in late ’89. Thought they might go with the F-35 in this situation. I mean these are fine, but still—”

  Missiles rip from the Strike Eagles tearing up the night. Screaming toward the smaller of the three ships. Explosions pop and expand along the ship’s sides. The ship shakes, then jolts as the missiles relentlessly pound away. The ship breaks in two, splitting open like a fiery loaf of bread, and bursts into two separate fireballs.

  “These ships they stole. They’re not battle cruisers.” Kate holds her neck tighter. Eyes closed as if she’s reading the situation; it’s being explained from someone unseen. “Defenses aren’t as strong as King would like, but they can still fight.”

  The rest of the Stagstone Seven cheer. Fists pump in the night air. A flash of an idea that this is truly all over. Their lives can be put back together and they can go back to normal. Perhaps even be happy again.

  Kate’s body shakes harder and harder. Her skin begins to change color.

  The remaining two circular ships glow brighter. They tilt slightly toward the fighter jets.

  The F-15E Strike Eagles are incinerated like mosquitos in a bug zapper.

  The two ships hover. Paused in midair as if giving the Stagstone Seven the finger.

  Dibs shakes his head, then looks to his ragtag crew. His police force. His tribe, all covered in cuts, bruises, blood and alien goo. They stand together, side by side, watching the circular ships haul ass past the Tetons, heading deep into the dark, starry night.

  “Well, shit.” Dibs sighs huge, turning back to King Cody’s ships. “Appears we need to go kill them ourselves.”

  The Stagstone Seven nod together as one. All except one of them.

  Kate drops down to her knees. Her hands land on the ground, bracing her fall. Fingers dig into the grass looking for a hold on stable ground as her body trembles. Dibs moves to her side. Kate raises her hand, holding her palm out stopping him.

  “Kate—” Dibs stops.

  She looks up toward him. Tears roll from her red-streaked eyes.

  Chapter Forty

  Dibs stands back.

  His heart skips a row of beats. Helpless while processing his worst fears. Kate is changing, turning into something new in front of his eyes. He wants to hold her. He wants to tell her everything is going to be okay. He wants to fix this, make it all better, but has no idea how. He can only get one word out, barely above a whisper.

  “Kate.”

  Walter, Stella and Mara now turn and see her. See the change that’s well on its way. They stand frozen next to Dibs. Minds spinning. Thoughts running, tumbling.

  What is happening?

  What is going to happen to our friend?

  Dibs shakes his head. Hard. Trying to knock loose the paralyzing thoughts. He knows panic doesn’t solve anything. He’s got to pull it together. It might be too late, but if they don’t do anything they will lose her forever. And that’s not something Dibs is interested in.

  He turns to the two ships holding their position in the air about a mile from Walter and Stella’s compound of a home. The ships float above the trees causing them to gently sway. Simply parked in the air without a hint of direction. Almost as if they are waiting for something. Dibs squints. Processing.

  “They aren’t leaving. They aren’t attacking,” Dibs says through his crackling voice. He looks to Kate. “They’re waiting.”

  He watches Kate’s expression change. She’s shifted from a face locked in deep, dark fear to a smile that is spreading across her face. The calm look of crazy. Mara moves to wrap her arms around Kate. To comfort her friend. Stella holds her daughter back.

  “Hi,” Kate purrs. “I’m okay.” She extends her hand, inviting Mara to come to her. “Let her go, Stella. It’s cool.”

  “They’re waiting for one of their own.” Dibs points toward the ships. “They want Kate.”

  Walter’s and Stella’s eyes go wide realizing what he’s saying. Watching Kate, they see the change in her. Acceptance sets in that their friend, a member of the Stagstone Seven, is one of them. One of the Grey Ones. Dibs pushes back the thought of Kate becoming one of King Cody’s play things. He thinks of the morning at Kate’s house. The candlelight moments before everything went horribly wrong. His sadness is turning, shifting to rage.

  Let it turn, he thinks. He balls his fists tight. Grinds his teeth.

  “Wait.” Mara thinks it all through. “She’s not one of them. Not yet.”

  “Holy shit.” Dibs snaps his fingers. “You’re right.”

  “Yes,” Walter says. “She has to eat one of us—"

  Kate lunges at Walter. Her mouth is open wide, locked in bite mode. She pushes hard toward Walter’s meaty throat. Mara dives in, wrapping her arm around Kate’s shoulders and pulling her back. Trying to tear her away from her dad.

  “Damn she’s strong.” Mara winces.

  Kate whips her head back, smacking the back of her skull into Mara’s face. Mara falls but jumps to her feet. Kate tries another chomp at Walter. Stella screams like a goddess of war. She sticks her foot into Kate’s ribs with a crunch of bone.

  A scream wails from behind them.

  The twins rage toward Kate. One has an axe. The other a butcher knife. Murder in both their eyes. Stella whistles loud. The twins freeze like attack dogs getting a command from their master. They breathe in and out between gnashed teeth. The now Stagstone Six circle one of
their own, hands down by their sides not wanting to be threatening, but also wanting to keep Kate at bay.

  Dibs looks to the ships. They are still holding their position. He breathes deep in and out. “Let’s work through this.”

  “All ears,” Walter says. “Your special lady friend tried to eat my face.”

  “She’s not herself, Dad.” Mara defends her friend.

  “Bitch.” Stella is still pissed.

  “Okay now.” Dibs tries to bring it all down a notch. “What do we know? She has to chew on one of us to completely turn, right?”

  They nod. Including a grinning Kate.

  “They’re waiting for her.” Dibs thinks out loud. “Maybe that’s a thing with them. A tribal thing. Family dynamic type shit. Can’t or won’t leave one of their own behind.”

  Kate nods.

  Mara looks to Dibs, their minds forming the same question: Is Kate confirming?

  “If we keep her from feeding on us, or anyone for that matter…” Mara says, testing that idea. She glances to Dibs then Kate. “If we keep her from chewing on people, then she won’t turn into one of them?”

  Kate nods.

  Dibs and Mara nod to her then one another.

  Stella and Walter don’t get it. The twins don’t care.

  “And King Cody?” Dibs takes a turn. “He won’t leave Stagstone without her.”

  Kate, once again, nods.

  Walter’s and Stella’s eyes go wide. As if a lightbulb exploded over their heads. They understand now too. Mara nods to her parents. They nod too.

  Dibs can see it in Kate’s eyes. Beyond the red streaks. Beyond the alien crazy. Kate is still in there somewhere. Buried under what they’ve done to her. She hasn’t turned. Not completely, at least. There’s enough of his special lady friend still in there to help them. Enough left of Kate, the badass cheerleader coach, to help them put an end to all this bullshit.

  Dibs thinks. Looks to the hovering ships.

  “Hey.” Dibs leans in close to Walter’s ear. “You think you can get to the Cougar all quiet-like?”