Outage 5: The Change (13 page)

"I can't get loose," Maria whispered frantically.

"Me, neither," Tom said.

"We're going to die!" the ruddy-faced man yelled in response, loud enough to startle the circling men.

Curtis and Harold paused, looking at the prisoners. Their attention immediately roamed to the sky, where the moon had appeared from behind a cloud. It cast a thin veil of light over the landscape, adding to the light of the fire. Lana cried.

Hit with a wave of last-minute indecision, Harold asked, "What should we do with the baby?"

"I'm not sure," Curtis replied.

"If we take her, we'll need her things."

"Shit."

Sweat pooled on Tom's forehead. Whether it was the result of anxiety or the change, he wasn't certain. Maria's fear-stricken face suddenly turned hopeful.

"Is it happening again?" she asked.

"Yes," he whispered.

"You can control it," Maria said, "like you did before. When you saved us."

Her eyes were wide and manic. Or maybe it was the dizziness, preventing him from seeing clearly. Tom blinked as he continued tugging at the ropes, trying to channel some hidden strength while fighting the force that was taking him over.

Kelsey looked up at the sky, shuddering as the moon emerged from behind the clouds. Her hands shook on the rifle. She'd gone from a place of relative safety to a place of danger by leaving the bunker. She questioned the logic of that decision several times, wondering if she should retreat back to it. But the greater part of her knew she couldn't leave the others behind, especially when there was a baby among them. She turned to Joseph.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to the bunker?"

He shook his head as he trudged next to her. "No. I need to be here."

Despite the tremor in his voice, he remained convicted. Kelsey swallowed as they followed Joseph's trail back to the field. The few bullets in her gun—loaded with the intention of killing the creatures—would work just as well on the men. If she could get the jump on them, maybe she could save the others.
 

She clung to that desperate thought as they rounded one of the houses. Her legs ached as she pulled her booted feet in and out of the snow.

Her thoughts turned to Silas and Katherine.

She recalled their frightened faces as she'd left them in the bunker, passing them the key. That gesture might be the last they'd receive from her.
Don't think about that. Concentrate on saving the others.
 

Summoning courage, she forced herself onward. The fact that she'd survived several nights already, including those nights at the hospital, gave her the courage to survive another.

"I see the fire!" Joseph cried as he led her around a gray house.
 

Rounding the corner, she saw it, too.
 

Thick tendrils of smoke wafted into the sky, mingling with the clouds. Flames lapped the air. The din of voices reached Kelsey's ears as they got closer.
The captives were alive.

"They're still there," Joseph whispered excitedly.

Kelsey nodded but didn't answer. The instinct to be quiet was a nagging voice she couldn't ignore. They hovered between two houses on the edge of the field and peered across it. Two figures paced the edges of the fire, talking animatedly, guns in their hands. Near them was a set of metal bleachers; tied to them were the survivors.

"We have to get them out of there," Joseph hissed.
 

"I know…I know…"

Dread washed over Kelsey. In the moments preceding this one, her focus has been on getting to the others. Now that she was here, she realized she was no closer to a plan than she'd been before. The area around the men was open. What was she going to do? Charge in and fire? The idea was as ludicrous as it was stupid. She'd never get close enough to get off a shot. She knew only the little that Officer Flannery had showed her.

"Have you ever fired a gun?" she asked Joseph.

"No," Joseph said miserably.

"We won't be able to hit them from here," she said. "We'll have to—"

The cry of a baby stifled her sentence. They stared into the field, watching one of the men pick up Lana from the bleachers and bring her closer to the fire. Seeing the baby renewed their urgency and hopelessness. They couldn't risk a shot with Lana around. Their only chance was to sneak up on the men, trying to free Tom and the others. Kelsey scanned the field, but the bleachers were surrounded by snow. Taking a wide berth would mean traveling in the open, and she and Joseph would likely be seen. Both options were easy ways to end up tied to the bleachers.
 

She looked at Joseph.

"Do you have any ideas?" she asked, swallowing the defeat in her voice.

"Maybe we can distract them. Call their attention to us."

"How?"

"If we lure them over, maybe we can figure out a way to attack them." Joseph pointed to the neighboring house. "They won't be expecting you, but they wouldn't be too surprised to see me. Maybe I'll go over there and make noise."

"Then what?"

"I'll draw their attention, and when they get close, you can fire at them."

"What if they threaten one of the others until you come out?"

Joseph reflected on that. "That's a good point. Maybe they won't know for sure that it's me. It's worth a try."

Kelsey nodded as she thought through the plan. It seemed far-fetched. What were the chances they could lure both men over? At the same time, she couldn't think of any better options. The moon was a deadly presence, looming above them.
 

"All right," she said with a swallow. "Let's try it."

Trepidation filled Kelsey as she watched Joseph go. One moment he was standing next to her, the next he was crunching toward the next house. She kept a vigilant eye on the men, afraid that one of them might hear, but their gazes never lingered. They seemed as fearful as Kelsey and Joseph.
 

Maybe they're coming to their senses.

She couldn't blame them. The moon was an ominous threat. In mere minutes, it'd created an eerie gloss over the landscape. Kelsey scooted to the edge of the front of the house, finding a new position that would hide her from the men. She listened for the beasts. That fate would be worse than any other. She tried to tell herself they had time, but in truth, it was probably too late already.

She had no idea how long it took the beasts to change. She'd seen what they'd done afterward, but she'd never seen their transformation. She stared at the shadows by the bleachers, trying to determine which one was Tom. It was hard to tell.

The night grew quieter. Joseph had stopped walking and reached the next house. He was hovered by the siding, looking over at her. His face was a featureless white oval. She didn't need him to speak to tell her he was preparing a move. That scared her more than the silence.

Without warning, Joseph rapped on the side of the house. The noise was loud and abrasive, echoing onto the field. He followed the noise with a violent curse. She realized why he'd done it: the men were expecting the beasts. He needed to let them know he was human.
 

The men stopped moving and swung their weapons in Joseph's direction. Excited chatter hit the air as they tried to determine who was lurking nearby. After a few moments of peering and talking, one of them broke off and headed toward the noise.
 

Kelsey swallowed as she realized what that meant. She'd have to be ready. She ducked out of sight and around the front edge of the house, peering out just enough so that she could see the man on the field. He swept his weapon back and forth as he progressed toward them. She held her breath, afraid she might alert him to her presence. When he was a hundred feet away, the man stopped. He peered into the darkness.

Kelsey's stomach hitched. Should she fire? Should she wait? He seemed too far away. She felt a swell of anger inside her as she pictured Flannery and Mike lying in the snow. Even her nurse's training had been useless when faced with two obviously dead men. She could still see their lifeless blue lips, their bloodstained coats. These men had killed them in cold blood.

She felt no sympathy for them.

At the same time, she doubted she'd hit the man from this distance. If he'd get closer, maybe she'd have a chance at landing a bullet. She wished she could signal Joseph to make more noise. Get him to come closer. The man peered into the shadows; for a moment, it looked like he was going to retreat. The voice of his companion rang through the air.

"Harold! Get the fuck away from there!"

The man swiveled. "What's going on?"

"Look!"

Kelsey stared across the field. It didn't take her long to see what the other man was referring to. Several dark shapes had emerged from the corners of the field, stalking the man in the field.

If Tom was standing up, he might've keeled over. Somewhere in the background of his mind, he heard shouts. But he couldn't focus. His mind was consumed with overwhelming urges. His body surged with incredible heat.

Once again, his skin was stretching and contorting, succumbing to a will other than his own. Looking next to him, he saw Maria writhing against the ropes. This time she wasn't trying to break free.
 

She was trying to get away from
him
.
 

The flickering flames of the fire felt like they were burning him up. Needles of pain coursed through his skin and his head, like shards of glass cutting through the outer layer of his skin. He tried to scream, but he couldn't breathe.
 

A gunshot ripped through the air.

Squinting through his pain, Tom saw Harold battling off one of the creatures. The beast had him in its mouth, shaking him back and forth. Harold's legs dangled beneath him as he tried to find footing. His rifle lay useless underneath him.
 

That beast wasn't the only one.

Several others raced through the night, dark silhouettes in the moon. The survivors screamed and bucked against their bindings, knowing they'd be next.
 

A jolt of pain ripped Tom back into his internal struggle. He felt the same way he had before he'd passed out at the house, right before he'd gone inside.
 

Only this time he didn't black out. He stayed cognizant.

With a roar, Tom broke free of his bindings, as if he'd never been bound at all. The noises and actions around him—the crackle of the fire, the screams of the survivors, of Harold—converged into one, and yet he was able to separate everything at once, possessing a keen perception of everything around him. His body was a large, vicious force. He carried much more mass than before, but he wasn't hindered by it. His body was suited for his weight, as if he'd been bred for his physique. He lunged for the nearest dark shadow, tackling a creature to the ground, tearing its flesh. He ripped at its neck, tasting blood, burrowing long enough to determine it was dead before moving on to another.
 

A second creature reared back in surprise, cut off on its way to Emily. The little girl's screams rang in Tom's ears as he swung his claw, slicing open the creature's stomach, prompting an agonizing shriek from the other beast. Standing in front of the screaming survivors, Tom roared as two more creatures approached. Seeing what he'd done to the others, they crept with caution. Too late, he realized they were distracting him.
 

Another creature barreled into Tom, knocking him sideways. He hit the ground with a snarl, rolling and taking the thing with him. His ferocity was fueled by the screams of the survivors. Protecting them was an innate urge leftover from his conscience self. Tom was remotely aware of who he was and what he was doing, but actions had taken over for explanations. He bit and clawed until the beast on top of him went limp, rolled out from under it, and regained his feet.

He spun toward the survivors.

One of the beasts had dragged the ruddy-faced survivor from his bindings, leaving pieces of skin behind. It buried its maw in his gut and pulled out his insides, taunting Tom. Realizing the man was lost, Tom ran at another beast approaching Maria. It scratched her face as she strained to free herself from the ropes. Tom dove. One second he was ingesting the smell of the creature's musk, the next he was bashing into it, sending it reeling.

They landed in the snow. They sunk. For the first time since the change, agony burst through Tom as the creature dug its claws into his side. He snarled, fighting back with his teeth. The beast was more experienced than he was. Years of killing had honed its skills.
 

But Tom was angrier.

His maw clashed with the other beast as they searched for each other's necks. He felt the beast overpowering him. Pain sparked his eyes as the creature bit his nose.
 

A brief flash of fear went through Tom's head.

Was this the way he'd die?

Kelsey watched the commotion in a panic. Joseph surged through the snow to get back to her. The beasts had invaded the field. Furred bodies whipped into the open, illuminated in the glow of the fire. They raced for the survivors. Several roared at the man in the field, who was shooting at them.