by Eve Langlais
We were one of them, trading all the apples in my cart for eggs, cured ham, and a promise from a fellow, name of Roland, who would deliver two chickens the following week.
I was ridiculously excited.
As the swapping happened, elation and the hum of animated conversation filled the air. I didn’t see the avarice and violence from the city. Nor the desperation.
Hope shone in these faces. Life flourished. I saw more than a few pregnant bellies and babies. Children darted around all over, laughing with the joy of youth.
They’d yet to understand everything they’d lost. And frankly, as they grew older, they’d never know any different.
This was the new normal.
We were in this together.
And together, we were horrified when a child came screaming at the top of his lungs, “Monster took Cassidy!”
Chapter 18
Immediately, Xavion left me with our stuff and ran to the group forming around the boy. As they questioned him, the hum and mood of the crowd changed. People began packing up and moving away rapidly.
But not everyone.
Xavion stood with a group of fierce-looking people and one sobbing woman being held by a man.
Xavion’s gaze met mine, and he excused himself to get close enough to mutter, “You need to stay here.”
“Seriously? I can help.”
“I know you can, but if you stay, you can help guard those left, and our stuff.” I glanced at our loot. A tragedy didn’t mean everyone turned into a saint. The temptation to steal might be too strong.
“Come back safe. Please.” I kissed him, and while I wanted to beg him to say, I wouldn’t. Because he’d do this no matter what. The chances of the child being found alive were slim, but the armed group, led by Xavion, weren’t about to let the monster keep her.
As the sun crept farther across the sky, I began to worry for my own safety. It took us over an hour getting here. I didn’t look forward to making the same trek at night.
With the sun beginning to dip, and my panic getting close to full blown, especially as every one but the parents of the missing girl took off, the search party returned, shoulders down. And a few less than what had left.
No little person with them. The mother who’d lost her child playing tag in the field sobbed.
Xavion said nothing as he neared me. His haunted face, the blood on his clothes, said it all.
“Bad?” I asked.
“The only good news is we killed them all so they won’t be taking any more children.”
As we rode hard for our house, our damned carriages feeling more like a weight than treasure, I couldn’t help but notice how intent Xavion was. He didn’t speak, only rode hard, slightly behind me, guarding my flank.
Him worrying worried me and pushed me past my usual limits of endurance. We didn’t make it to the house before nightfall, and the dark was full of spooky noises. I was soaked in an acrid sweat by the time we arrived. But that didn’t stop me from helping him unload and put our shit away.
Only then did we lock ourselves inside. The cistern he’d rigged on the roof meant I could run him a bath. I tossed some fragrant herbs I’d swapped for in the water and stripped Xavion.
I washed his tense body until the words finally spilled from him. “There were fifteen of them.”
The number staggered.
“And that little girl wasn’t the only one,” he added softly. “The others were taken on their way in by the looks of it. They didn’t even need that little girl. They had enough food. She was taken to taunt us.”
The claim made me pause for a second. “What makes you say that?”
“Because they killed the child but didn’t eat her. They left her in a clearing for us to find as bait.”
“Wait, they set a trap for you?”
“An ambush, only it failed and only because we caught on. Had Franklin not realized we were being herded, we might have all died.
“Once we killed them all, we stumbled across their camp. They’d taken over a house by a river. Were sleeping in the barn. They had thrown the bodies they were done with in the old pig sty.”
I put my hand over my mouth. “And no one knew they were there?”
He shook his head.
“I thought they didn’t leave the city much.”
His lips pursed. “Not usually. Why does any animal leave its territory?”
Food.
And we all knew what the mutants liked to eat.
“What does this mean?”
He sighed and leaned his head back, eyes closed. “It means tomorrow we need to track down the stragglers from the ambush and start sweeping for others.”
Knowing he would leave made our lovemaking extra special that night. Slow. We remained eyes locked the entire time. Connected on a level that I’d never imagined and didn’t want to lose.
“I love you,” his last words to me as he set off to rid the world of monsters.
He returned. Dirty, bloody again, but with good news. They’d found the hiding spot of some mutants, an even dozen this time. and cleaned them out.
Given what they found, the next day, they planned to sweep in a different direction lest a nest of mutants fester still nearby.
I armed myself. “I’m going with you.”
He shook his head. “We can’t both go. The last of the crops have to be harvested. The coop built before the chickens arrive.”
I arched a brow. “And you think I’m qualified to do that?”
A rueful grin tugged his lips. “Is it sexist to want you here where it’s safe?”
Yes, but also sweet, and loving, too, which was why I retorted, “I’m a better hunter than farmer.”
He dragged me close. “I can’t lose you.”
My voice choked as I said, “You think I don’t feel the same way?”
I knew I’d won when he sighed. “Fine. But you stay close to me.” Something he reiterated as we entered a dense forest just as the clouds rolled in, darkening the land.
In the city, I only went out on sunny days. Out here? I had nowhere to lock myself in. But I’d asked for this. Demanded to be a part. I couldn’t turn coward now.
Part of our group, Leroy with the golden beard and bald head, said, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
We all did.
Turned out, we should have yellow-bellied and run.
Chapter 19
There was no warning, just mutants suddenly dropping from trees. So many of them, and taking us by surprise. Mutants were supposed to hide in darkness during the day.
Someone forgot to give these ugly fuckers the memo.
I fired wildly before losing my gun, knocked aside by an arm that ended in a spidery tip. Around me, I heard more shooting, lots of screaming, and I could taste the fear in the air.
I’d pulled my knife and stabbed anything that got near, too panicked to make sure it wasn’t an ally.
“Cecilia!” I heard Xavion yell my name, but turning to look for him proved a mistake.
The blow to my head dropped me, and when I woke, I thought I must still be having a nightmare because I’d have never put myself in the dank dark place that chilled me to the bone.
I pushed myself to a sitting position, my head aching, my senses spinning. Something lay across my legs pinning them, and I reached to push. My fingers met flesh. Dead flesh.
My stomach emptied, so hard I almost popped my eyeballs. Great, just fucking great.
I struggled to my feet and swayed. Where was I?
Pit of Hell came to mind. The rancid smell made me think of rotting meat. The whispery and scratchy sense of movement around didn’t reassure.
The sudden light in the darkness had me blinking to adjust. I wish I’d remained blind.
I’d not been far off the mark. I was in Hell.
Mutant Hell. Surrounded by them, their human eyes, at odds with the alien features.
The light, a simple solar-based lantern, sat on the base of a pile of bon
es. Human judging by the skulls. Atop it perched a monster. Its exoskeleton a deep red with dark streaks. No hair on its head, its lips black and thick.
“She wakessss.” The voice didn’t sound right. Probably on account the mandibles gave the mutant an accent.
“What do you want?” I swear, if he said eat me alive, I’d probably piss myself. Would they consider that flavor?
“Want the hunter.”
“The what?”
“The hunter. The one who kills us. He and the others musssst die.” A sentence ended on a sibilant hiss that his entourage repeated.
They wanted Xavion. Holy shit. He must have been doing more damage than even he realized. I took a closer look around me, at the monsters staring upon me with hunger. Now that I paid attention, I could see the age in many of them. The damage.
But it took my mind a moment to comprehend the bulging belly on an obvious female with pendulous teats, the flesh of her abdomen roiling as if alive, the skin pushing and pulsing.
“Dear Lord, what’s wrong with her.”
“She carries my children.” Hissed with glee.
Gag. This was wrong. So fucking wrong. Surely the mutants couldn’t procreate? Even Xavion assumed they couldn’t. How could we have been so wrong?
“That doesn’t look healthy,” I pointed out at the skin stretched hard enough I expected it to split.
“One for the many.” The monster king’s chuckle grated like nails on glass.
“That’s harsh.”
“Harsh is your hunter. Killer.”
“Because you’re sick.”
“Not sick. The future.” The word hung in the air.
The future was a spider baby, sporting too many legs, a bobbly head, and a drooling grin that suddenly scrambled up the pile of bones to visit its daddy long legs.
Maybe a braver person wouldn’t have fainted.
That person wasn’t me.
Chapter 20
I’d been kidnapped midday, and when I next woke, I had no idea how many hours had passed. What I could be certain of was Xavion would be an idiot to try and save me.
The mutant monster king had an army, and even if these were bottom of the barrel, they had the numbers to overwhelm.
The realization I’d die should have sent me into hysterics. After all, didn’t I deserve a good cry? This sucked. I’d finally found happiness, and now I’d end up as a mutant dinner.
Would I just give in to my fate?
I remained in the same place as before, I could tell by the vomit. The mutants hovered on the outer edges, just out of the light that kept glowing.
The monster king had left his throne, but spider baby remained perched on it, hanging with its spindly limbs. Terrifying with its curly mop of hair and very alien face.
When it hissed, its mandibles spread like flower petals and I saw the layers of teeth inside.
No surprise, I’d lost all my weapons. Knife, gun, other knife. I had nothing to defend myself—or to end my life in a way that didn’t involve teeth or claws.
Oddly, in the face of hopelessness, I found courage and determination. There had to be a way. As I stirred in my nest of filth, I realized it was comprised of remnants. Clothing scraps, left on the ground, stiff with dried blood and other fluids.
What excited me? Seeing a pack of cigarettes partially expelled from a plaid shirt pocket. Where there were smokes, there was usually—
A lighter. I didn’t waste time and ignited the piece of cloth closest to me.
It didn’t go unnoticed.
“Fire!” Apparently not just the monster king could speak. Someone noticed the flame I lit. Before they could swarm, I lit some more stuff, not all of it catching as well as I’d like, but as the little flames began to flicker, and the light increased, I noticed something interesting.
The mutants recoiled.
And then they began to leave.
Animal Kingdom 101. Fire equals run.
As the flames grew brighter, I realized we were in a movie theatre, the concession area to be exact. No windows inside, and the whole thing surrounded by doors to go inside theatres. And if I knew one thing, all theatres had a door to the outside in case of a fire.
Given it would be dark, and dangerous, I sought out a weapon. I grabbed a leg bone and tried to ignore the fact it appeared gnawed on. I wrapped the plaid shirt that had the smokes around it. I lit it like a torch from my still sizzling first fire. It went suddenly from the cloth I’d lit to the carpet. The same carpet I stood on.
Time to leave. I aimed for theatre number eight. The door for it opened easily, and with my fiery wand waving ahead, I entered.
The rows of seats marched down to the floor in front of the stage. Most theatres still placed the screen upon one.
I saw no one, but I didn’t trust the shadows. As I walked, my skin prickled, convinced of the eyes watching. The way I tensed, surely they ganged up behind me, preparing to pounce.
The belief led to me whirling and waving my torch. Nothing. Just in case…I lit the carpet behind me on fire.
I just hoped I’d not fucked myself if I had to go back out that way. I ran down the rest of the steps and had almost made it to the bottom when a door to the outside opened and I was confronted by none of than the hissing baby mama.
She didn’t look human at all. Her eyes black and multifaceted, her mandibles rouged and lined in sharp jagged points.
“I don’t suppose you’ll step aside.” I kept moving, waving my torch in front of me.
Despite the roiling belly in front of her, she led with clawed fingers and hissed as she dove at me.
I dodged and swung my torch, drawing a squeal. But she didn’t heed my warning.
I’d be honest, monster or not, I didn’t want to kill baby mama, so when she came at me again, swinging and spitting, I waved my torch, only to try and get her away from me.
Only she danced out of reach, and too late I realized she played the part of distraction.
Arms—legs, something!—wrapped around me from behind. I screamed as my limbs were pinned and felt the heat of my own torch against my leg. I couldn’t swing it, only drop it.
The carpet caught fire as if waiting for this moment. Baby mama squealed and scurried, and my captor might have carried me along, only I went into a frenzy of motion. Legs kicking. Head slamming back. I got the mutant to let go, and I hit the floor, close enough to flames that I might not have any eyebrows left.
I ran for the exit, with only a glowing X left to mark it. The push bar gave easily, and I spilled outside, gulping the fresh air. Wanting to sob in relief.
I’d done it. Escaped.
Almost. I should get away from the building. Quickly.
I had no idea where I was. So I just started running, following the pavement of the parking lot, figuring it would spill onto a road eventually. I didn’t get far.
Something landed in front of me, with a bend of springy legs. Judging by his snarl, the monster king wasn’t happy with me.
“Take her!” he bellowed.
Boing. Boing. It began to rain Arachans, the name that began trending on social media before it went dark forever.
Six of them surrounded me. Not weak like those I’d seen before. They had all their parts and appeared strong.
I wouldn’t be able to outrun them. As to fighting? Not successfully without a weapon.
I eyed the door behind me. Perhaps the flames would be preferable.
It was then I heard the most unexpected, and beautiful, thing.
“Let her go or I put a bullet in her head.”
Xavion had come for me.
Chapter 21
The belly emerged before Xavion did. He held the pregnant Arachvid mommy-to-be by the hair.
She hissed and twisted. But he’d wrapped her hands behind her and shoved her ahead, while keeping out his gun.
“Do anything stupid and she dies.”
If the monster king cared for her, this could work.
But monsters didn
’t have feelings. “Kill her. I’ll find another mate.”
Baby momma didn’t look happy at the answer. And ran for the king, hissing. He batted her aside without any regard.
I couldn’t tell if she lived or not, given how quickly scurrying bodies carried her away.
Didn’t care. I focused on the important.
Xavion had come for me. Romantic and stupid and I loved him for it even as I feared for him.
One man against an army of mutants. It didn’t look good, but I wouldn’t give up. He’d defied odds to save me. Now I’d have to do my best to save us both.
Could I count on dawn to save the day?
Inside the building, I’d been unable to tell time. Outside, all I knew was dawn didn’t hint at all yet in the sky. Night gripped the land, which meant the mutants spilled from the burning movie theatre in numbers that didn’t bode well for me or my man.
Only he’d not come alone.
“Now!” he yelled.
I wondered at his plan when I was blinded by the light. Literally. The brightness of it must have held some UV strength because I heard screeching, and even better some of the mutants retreated, some back into the burning theater, others to the shadows past it.
The monster king was one of only a dozen that didn’t flinch in the light—the most human seeming of the bunch, who were also armed with big knives and even a gun.
“Get him. Kill the hunter,” hissed the monster king. Points for him recognizing the threat posed by my man. But apparently, a misogynist in life remained one as a mutant. The monster king had forgotten about me.
I didn’t need anything fancy. I didn’t know where the twisted hunk of metal came from, didn’t care other than the fact it made a most excellent club.
I swung and connected, knocking the spider king but not taking him out. He whirled on me and spat. Like literally, a gob of goo that I barely avoided.
It hit the ground, and I swear I heard it sizzle. Even if that was my imagination, nothing good would come of being slimed. I faced off against the monster, weapon in hand as he advanced, flexing his claws.