“Keep your voice down.”
Phil took a deep breath. The behavior was odd, even for Ralph. He’d never seen the man act like this in all the years he’d known him. They had come up through boot camp together. Served in the military together. Sure, Ralph could be classified as odd, but he didn’t spook easily. Phil studied his old friend. Their gazes locked for several seconds.
Ralph began nodding. “You saw it, didn’t you?”
“Saw what?”
“The eyes, all glowing and shit.”
Phil thought back to the flashes of lights in the woods. He said nothing.
“That’s what they looked like last night, too. Back at camp. Worked themselves up into a feeding frenzy, and those eyes started glowing bright.”
Phil had a couple encounters with the sick in the first days after the outbreak. He hadn’t noticed any glowing eyes then. Those recollections weren’t enough to discount Ralph on his word, though. Since making it to camp, he’d remained out of touch with those
afflicted
. The possibility remained that they had evolved.
He shuddered at the thought.
“So you gonna tell me what happened?” Phil asked.
A twig snapped behind them. Both men whipped their heads in the direction of the noise. Phil pulled the pistol out and aimed it toward the sound.
Derrick stuck his head out from behind a different tree. Phil hadn’t noticed his son approaching. Too distracted? Or had Derrick become stealthier?
“Stay put,” Phil said.
Ralph turned toward Phil. “I was taking a dump when I started smelling something. Then I heard the muffled screams followed by a ton of rustling through the leaves. People, you know. Not deer or bear or turkey. It was people. I couldn’t tell where they come from, and it’s impossible to make heads or tails of most things in here, so I started moving. Once I saw those eyes, I tucked in behind the tree, waiting for it all to stop.”
Phil pressed back against the bark. It scratched his exposed arms as he eased around the side. He no longer saw the streaking flashes. The eyes, as Ralph had said.
“Going for my gun,” he whispered, dropping to his hands and knees in order to make himself small and less noticeable. His pistol disappeared under a layer of leaves with each shuffle forward. The rustling sounded like an eighteen-wheeler. Every time he stopped, the whoosh of his heart was just as deafening. He wondered if those
things
heard it, too.
After what felt like a thirty yard crawl, Phil reached his rifle. Sweat dripped from his face. He kept his focus on the shadowy trees in the distance while kneeling. He shoved the pistol back in his pants, then rose to his feet, aiming loosely ahead. The woods were silent. In all his years as an avid outdoorsman, he’d never heard such a void in nature.
Then he saw them.
Two eyes.
Glowing reddish in color.
A couple hundred yards away, blanketed in a veil of shadows. They didn’t move side to side. They didn’t advance or retreat. They stared right at Phil.
He was sure of that. He felt it.
His heart and breath caught in his throat. It felt as though his stomach had twisted then turned. The man had seen a lot in his life. Weapons had been aimed at him. A helicopter crash. He’d witnessed downright horrific scenes of men with machetes, hacking up the captured children of their enemies, while he was restrained with chains and unable to do anything about it. None of that had left him in the state of fear and panic he felt now.
A low-pitched hum swept past the men like a wave. Phil looked around in an attempt to locate the source of the noise. He couldn’t determine where the persistent buzzing originated.
He glanced forward again in search of the eyes. The glow that had seemingly burned through his body had extinguished. Shadows remained, wavering.
“Let’s start heading back,” Ralph said.
Phil took three steps back, then moved to the side, next to Ralph. The whole time, he kept his eyes and his rifle aimed at the shadows.
The hum intensified in both pitch and volume.
The hell? Cicadas? Some other insect?
It was unlike anything he’d heard before. Not in the rain forests and jungles of South America. Not in Africa. Not in the Middle East.
And sure as hell not in Virginia.
The men backtracked twenty yards. The noise intensified. The pitch grew higher. It sounded as though someone was running through the leaves. Toward them. Past them. Always out of sight.
Phil couldn’t determine how much further they would have to go. His surroundings disoriented him. While everything around him sped up, it felt like every step he took moved him mere centimeters.
The fear that gripped his core eased with the clearing in sight. Sunlight penetrated the tree line with an almost blinding effect. Through the haze stood the idling ATV. Phil looked back over his shoulder and was unable to see more than twenty yards back, an effect of the sun and shade.
Derrick broke into an all-out sprint. The young man flew through wispy branches and over land obstacles with ease. Ralph followed at a slower pace. Even Phil picked up his pace, knowing escape was close.
Near the edge of the clearing, Phil noticed that the buzzing had stopped. Or had he gone far enough that he just couldn’t hear it anymore? He halted at the edge of the clearing and glanced back. A dozen eyes stared at him. Red. Green. Yellow. Glowing slits that radiated anger, evil, and pain.
The ATV engine roared as Ralph put it in reverse and starting backing up toward Phil.
“C’mon, Phil,” he called out.
The fear that gripped him held tight. Every nerve and muscle burned and screamed at Phil to make it to the ATV.
He recalled the layout of the land. Farmland. Wide open. Country roads that snaked and stretched on for miles.
They’re gonna come. Gonna follow us out. Be able to see where we go.
Ice coated his body, freezing him in place. He had to do something to stop them.
He hefted his rifle and married his eye to the scope. Making slight adjustments, he located two burning red orbs. The magnification was enough to reveal the outline of a human face. A female with slender features.
Take one out, the rest will be too scared to advance.
It would work for a few moments at least, and would buy enough time for them to make it out of the clearing. The things would spot them, but would not be able to make up the distance.
Phil drew in a breath, held it, then exhaled slowly. His rapid pulse settled a little. His heart pumped hard, but not so much as to disrupt his shot.
Another breath. Another hold. Another exhale.
The buzzing returned.
He took the slack out of the trigger, and breathed again.
Thump-thump-thump.
His index finger pulled tight. The round tore through the air between Phil and the woman. The shot echoed through the woods, silencing the hum for a moment.
Phil re-sighted through the scope. The woman was gone.
Then the wailing began.
Phil’s muscles contracted and his body recoiled violently in response to the piercing screams. They were unlike anything he had ever heard. Even the night before, the attack on the camp, hadn’t produced sounds like that.
Phil’s instincts told him to both fight and take flight. He backpedaled through the final few feet, lifting his feet high to prevent tripping on a root or log. In the distance, eyes flashed, but none advanced. The screaming continued. They echoed in the same way his discharged round had, knifing through the tranquil silence.
Once clear of the woods, Phil fired twice more, then abandoned his watch of the woods. He turned toward the ATV and raced to it.
Taillights illuminated as Ralph hit the brakes. Derrick sat in the back seat. He aimed an M4 at the woods. Another rested on the seat beside him, the barrel pointing at the clouds. Derrick noticed his father. He nodded, then fired three rounds into the darkness of the woods.
Another round of screams erupted. Had Derrick managed a lucky shot and hit another of those
things
? Or were their shrieks a reaction to the sound of gunfire? Terror? Anger? A sort of war cry?
Whatever the reason, Phil pressed on. The high-pitched sounds had less of an effect this time. Probably due to his objective of getting the hell out of there.
He glanced to his right, toward the trees. Shadows moved into the light, approaching the clearing.
Derrick fired three more times. He grimaced against the pain in his arm with every squeeze of the trigger. Blood flowed from the wound.
The last line of trees acted as a barrier, it seemed. The afflicted stopped their advance. Another round of screams enveloped the area, this time louder than before.
Derrick switched to the second rifle. Phil followed his son’s aim.
The shadows were gone.
The damned souls were close enough now that he could see them in the flesh.
Or what remained of it.
They were horrid, haggard creatures. Some missing limbs. Some missing an eye, or half their face. Black, dried blood coated their lips. The same blood stained their hands, necks and chests. Most wore no clothing to cover their battered and bruised bodies.
And they were close.
Phil’s knees went weak. His right ankle rolled slightly, sending him tumbling to the ground only four feet away from the ATV.
“Dad!” Derrick shouted.
The dozen or so afflicted turned their attention toward him. He fired twice into the crowd, hitting one afflicted and sending it sprawling backward.
Phil rolled onto his side. He aimed his rifle into the group and fired. The shot nailed a man in the head. The afflicted dropped to his knees then buckled forward.
The ATV flung dirt in the air as Ralph hit it in reverse. He placed the vehicle between Phil and the afflicted.
“Can you get in?” Ralph asked.
Phil crawled forward and dragged himself off the ground and into the backseat next to his son.
Derrick emptied his weapon into the group. Another one dropped. He took Phil’s rifle and emptied that, too, nailing another two afflicted.
The ATV’s engine drowned out the screams of the remaining. They lurched forward, cruising down the hill at top speed.
The leftover afflicted chased after them, falling further behind with every passing second. Would they give up the chase? Or would their hunt never cease?
Phil glanced at his son. “Nice shooting, Derrick.”
The young man looked at the gaping wound on his upper arm. His grimace morphed into a smile. It was the first compliment Phil had given his son since Derrick was ten years old and had hit a walk-off home run. “Thanks, Pop.”
Phil climbed over the front seat and sat down. He placed his hand on the GPS unit. “They still there?”
Ralph nodded. “Almost a straight shot there. Might as well take advantage of some of these country roads. If things look bad, we’ll just slip into the woods.”
“The other camp is close.”
“Yep.”
“I was in touch with them when this shit went down. We should go there first, see how they fared, how many made it. Might be able to scrounge up a few more men and leave him behind.”
The both glanced at Derrick, who sat with his head back and eyes closed. If the community was intact, it would be the best place for him. Somewhere he could heal up. Then work to keep things going.
“You good with that?” Phil asked.
Ralph said nothing. He had family who were slotted for the southern camp. His ex-wife, along with his two children. Unfortunately, the communications system they had planned to use had failed, so the fate of the group was unknown. Sometimes it seemed as though the thought of Ralph’s family making it to the camp and being alive was all that kept him going.
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Phil said.
Ralph nodded. “I’m sure.”
Soon enough he’d find out.
Chapter 7
Turk spun toward the front of the room in search of the source of the screams. Skinny stood in the doorway, facing outside. His head turned as if it were attached to a swivel, whipping left to right and back.
Stepping around heaps of trash and using the empty racks for cover, Turk made his way forward.
“What’s out there?” he asked Skinny.
The guy said nothing. Either he saw nothing, or was too scared to speak.
“What’s going on?” Turk said.
No response.
Turk approached the door from the right side, staying clear of the flood of light that splashed across the concrete floor.
The air went still. Only the ticking and cracking sounds of the building expanding in the humidity were audible. That, and Skinny’s rapid breathing.
“You see anything?” Turk said.
Skinny shook his head. His lips trembled. He might not have seen who or what screamed, but he knew what had happened. Turk did, too. A scream like that meant one thing.
“Okay, look,” Turk said. “You can stay here or you can come with me. If you do, I need you to stay right be-fucking-hind me and keep your mouth shut. Got it?”