Gena kicked at the beast with her boot, waiting for an opportunity to swipe at it with her knife. Its face was horrifying with its gar-like jaws that snapped with the intensity of a crocodile. She growled with it every time it snapped at her, doing her best not to let it climb any higher.
Above her, she could hear Grace cry out just as the creature’s front tentacles whipped around and stung the tree trunk just above Gena’s head. Acting on instinct, she swiped with the knife, severing one of the tentacles. The creature cried out in pain, and the severed appendage fell to the ground, writhing and squirming on its own.
“Fuck you!”
she growled.
Then, out of nowhere, the tell-tale poof of a silenced firearm sounded from several yards away. The creature screeched, turning its attention to the area behind it. The gunshots sounded again, and the spray of blood told Gena that the creature was being pummeled with bullets.
A small group of people came out of nowhere, all armed and unloading on the creature. It pounced down to the forest floor, waving its remaining tentacles menacingly as the group surrounded it. The two in front stepped forward, unleashing a hail of suppressed, automatic fire. The creature cried out, backing away and pressing its body against the tree trunk.
Then, another one of them fired multiple rounds from two high caliber revolvers, taking the creature down in a splattering display. As the creature fell forward, another much larger figure shot forward with an axe, chopping the creature’s head in two.
Gena remained silent, unsure of whether their rescuers would soon turn on them. She held her hand up to make sure Grace was quiet, and waited.
“Hello,” a voice said from below.
The large man stared upward as another one stepped forward.
“Are you alright?” the voice asked.
Against her better judgment, Gena began climbing down. “We’re okay,” she said. “Thanks for the help. Grace, come on down.”
Dan studied the creature as the two women made their way down the tree. Jake helped the smaller woman get down safely, and everyone gathered around to join Dan. He took note of the second woman, a short and slim woman with highlighted brown hair and glasses. She looked like she knew things.
“Just what I thought,” the woman said. “Human type.”
“You know about these things?” Dan asked.
The woman nodded. “I do,” she said. “I’ve been studying them since this whole thing started.”
“Are you a scientist or something?” Jake asked.
“Microbiologist among other things.”
She turned and began looking around, and the woman in the military garb addressed the group.
“Are you all holed up somewhere around here?” she asked.
“We have a camp nearby,” Dan said.
“Were you drawn out by the crash?”
“No,” Dan said, shaking his head. “We lost one of our members. A small boy about ten years old.”
“Oh no,” the woman said.
“We saw the crash and decided to detour hoping maybe he saw it, too.”
“That was our chopper,” the soldier said. “We hit something in the air and went down like a sack of shit.”
“Are you Army,” Cliff said. “Or Guard?”
“Army,” the woman replied. “Not much of us left.”
“What are you doing in this area?” Dan asked.
The woman looked around to make sure her companion was alright. “We were going to land at Atterbury to refuel on our way to the impact site. That’s when we hit whatever it was.”
Dan looked at Drew, who had a look of recognition on his face. He thought back to the bat creature they had encountered in Oolitic. “Did it look like a bat?” he asked.
The woman shook her head. “Didn’t see it, but it was big enough to take down a chopper.”
“Found it,” the other woman said. She returned with a backpack, evidently happy to have found it.
“I’m Dan,” Dan said. “This big guy is Jake. This other big guy is Eric. This is Drew, Cliff, and finally Toni.”
“Gena Ramirez,” the woman said. “And Dr. Grace Hill.”
Dan smiled at Grace. She smiled back, but he wasn’t sure whether it was a shy smile or an “oh my god this dude’s a scumbag” smile. He didn’t care. She was pretty either way.
“Look,” Gena said. “I really need to get to the chopper. There may be some equipment left and I need it. We have no weapons.”
“We have plenty,” Dan said. “But we need to find this boy if it’s not too late. Eric and Jake, get Grace back to camp. The rest of us will go with Gena and find the crash site. Toby might be there.”
“Are you okay with that, Grace?” Gena asked.
Grace nodded, clutching her backpack. “Yes,” she said. “I’m freezing.”
“Thank God,” Toni said, smiling. “This group was turning into a sausage fest.”
Chapter Four
“What’s wrong, Toby?” Maynard asked from his mysterious hiding place.
Toby’s mind had been scrambled by his recent encounter with the strange monsters behind the glass. They were all frightening examples of his own nightmares. Though he had seen many of the moldy people, and even a whole horde of dead ones, the mutant things were just too much for him to handle; especially the one called that Maynard had called the Overlord.
“What did you mean that the Overlord was our future?”
“These creatures, of which I have seen only a few, are the ultimate lifeform. They are adaptable to change, unlike the other creatures. They are still sentient and can speak, also unlike the others. These will be the creatures that will rule us all. They will be our gods, and our masters.”
That was disturbing to Toby. He didn’t want to be ruled by monsters. It was bad enough having to live on the same world with terrifying beasts that were once human, but to be ruled by an evil new race? That was a worse thought than anything he could imagine.
“Why did those other people become scary animals, but that person became something different?”
Maynard chuckled strangely. “Some people are just destined to be greater than others,” he said. “It all depends on how your body is made. People like you and I didn’t get sick and die, right? We didn’t turn into monsters, did we?”
“Why?”
“Well, my little friend,” Maynard said. “Perhaps we already
were
monsters in a way.”
“I’m not a monster,” Toby said.
“Of course not. Not yet anyway. But we eventually become monsters, all of us. Some people are just a different kind of monster, I suppose.”
Toby thought back to his own father. He remembered how cruel and evil the man was, even though he was supposed to be a good guy. He could see his father being a monster like the Overlord, having always been mean and bossy. He would even laugh when he hit Toby and his mother. He would laugh with that empty look in his eyes, like there was nothing inside but evil.
“So quiet,” Maynard said. “Yet so inquisitive. What is going on inside your head, Toby?”
“I don’t want to be a monster,” Toby said. “My dad was a monster. I don’t want to be like him. I don’t want to hurt people.”
Maynard was silent for a moment, but then sighed loudly. “I know you don’t,” he said, finally. “Sometimes, though, even people who want to be kind and generous become monsters. It is human nature. That nature is what determines what kind of monster you become. These evil men who have become Overlords are the biggest monsters of them all, and they always have been.”
“What about you?” Toby asked. “Are you evil? Will you become a monster?”
“Perhaps,” Maynard said. “But I prefer to make them.”
“Make them?”
The thought was frightening. What did Maynard mean he
made
them? How can someone
make
a monster?
“Yes, Toby,” Maynard said. “I have made them. I have found people who were monstrous, and made them into real monsters. Do you understand?”
“No.”
“When infected, some people simply die. Others change. Still others, like our scary friend down there, become the biggest monsters of them all.”
“How do you know?”
“Because, Toby,” Maynard said. “I infected them, and watched them become what they were meant to be.”
Toby’s heart began pounding. Was Maynard going to infect him? Would he become a monster? Why would Maynard want to infect people? Was he some kind of mad scientist?
“Why?”
“Because, Toby,” Maynard said. “I became infected myself. I wanted to see what would happen, and if I could stop it. So far, I have been successful. I am still a human. Or, at least, I still
look
human.”
“Can you cure it?” Toby asked.
“No. But I can slow the process.”
Toby thought about Melanie and Mason’s men; how they had become monsters even though they weren’t bitten. They just rose from the dead, became ghouls, and then went somewhere to become monsters. Maybe Maynard would know why.
“How could a dead person become a monster after they die?”
“That is an interesting question, Toby. I’m glad you asked. Sometimes if a person is immune to the illness, they can still turn when they are killed. They may never show any signs of being infected while they are alive, but they are still infected. When their bodies die, the infection takes over and soon brings them back in another form. Then, they will seek a place to rest until they become whatever it is they will become.”
“What were the four monsters that were with you when you found me?”
“Ah, yes,” Maynard said. “They were once men. But when they died, they became the… larvae, so to speak. I was able to control their urge to build cocoons and keep them in their present form. They are much like the fungal humans in that manner. They are easily controlled when you can alleviate their urges.”
“Did you stop them the same way you stopped yourself?”
“No,” Maynard said. “I stopped my own change by repeatedly injecting myself with the blood of those who are immune. Those… like you.”
Toby’s eyes went wide, and his heart began pounding.
“But don’t worry, Toby,” Maynard said. “I won’t take
all
of your blood. I only need a little… at a time.”
“So,” Toni asked. “Why send Eric and Jake back with Grace?”
“I don’t want Jake out here straining too much. None of us have anything for him in case his blood sugar drops.”
“And Eric?”
Dan shrugged. “We might run into some humans who also saw the crash.”
He turned to Toni, who nodded slowly. “Right,” she said.
Eric wasn’t good in a firefight. Though he had few problems with killing the mutants or the dead, he had hesitated in a fight against other people. Toni had given him a tongue lashing for that. Dan liked Eric, but having someone with them who was unable to shoot people would be dangerous.
“Well,” Cliff said. “Let’s hope they don’t run into any people.”
Gena led the way, carrying a sidearm. Dan guessed it was a standard .45 or 9mm of some type—he wasn’t sure. He heard her and Cliff talk about their military experience. Gena was interested in Cliff’s time in Kuwait during Desert Storm. Cliff mentioned he was a part of something called “The Third Herd”, whatever the hell that was.
It was about another half hour before they began to smell the signs of a crash, and see the faint glow of burning embers surrounding the downed chopper. At Gena’s signal, they all crouched down. Dan and Cliff both scanned the area with their scopes, seeing nothing but the heat from the crash.
“It looks clear,” Cliff said. “How about you, Dan?”
“I don’t see anything, but that—wait!”
A man-shaped shadow crossed the bulk of the globby heat signature. He froze, wondering what the hell it could be. Surely the pilot and whoever else was left hadn’t turned…
Or had they?
“Movement,” Dan said. “Man-shaped, but cold and shadowy.”
“Shadow people?” Toni asked.
Dan shook his head.
“What are shadow people?” Gena asked. “Something else we haven’t seen?”
“We’ll tell you later,” Drew said.
“Let’s keep going,” Dan said. “Slowly though. If those are the infected then we might be able to creep up on them.”
Dan took the lead, heading toward the site slowly and as silently as possible. Behind him, someone stepped on a stick, cracking it with a loud pop. He could hear moaning ahead, as if the dark figures had head it. He turned back, seeing Drew gritting his teeth.
Drew shrugged.
“How many people were left on board when the chopper crashed?” Dan asked Gena.
“As far as I know, just the pilot,” she replied. “Grace and I got out and Jacob got blown out.”
“Alive?”
Gena shrugged. “I doubt it. He wasn’t wearing a chute anyway.”
Dan groaned. What a way to go; flying out of a chopper that was about to crash and splatting into the trees below. Maybe that was better than dying in a giant fireball. Maybe not.
Dan raised his rifle, finding a few of the shadowy figures. Maybe he could pop them before they got there. His rifle was quiet enough with its large suppressor. It was worth a try. He centered the crosshairs on the head of one of the targets. When it stopped to turn around, he fired. The figure fell straight down, and none of the others had noticed.
“Is that a Blackout?” Gena asked.
Dan nodded, finding another one to drop. He fired again, and then moved to the next one. There were then three down and who knows how many left to go. He scanned the area, seeing nothing but the chopper’s heat. It looked clear.
“Ok,” Dan said. “Let’s go.”
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Gena right next to him. “Good shooting,” she said. “Are you former military?”
“Nope,” Dan grinned. “Redneck.”
Gena grinned.
They approached the edge of the crash site, pausing at the tree line to make sure they were alone. Dan saw the bodies of the three infected he had taken down. They were corpses, appearing as if they had been dead for a while.
“Where the hell did they come from?” Cliff asked.
Dan shook his head.
“They must be stragglers from the horde,” Drew suggested.
“Whatever they are,” Toni said. “They’re out of the game.”
Dan stepped into the clearing, followed by Cliff. They swept the area, going to opposite sides to stand guard while Gena, Toni, and Drew searched the rubble. There were faint crackling sounds as the wood of the fallen trees burned, and the whole area was becoming soggy with the melted snow.
“I see the stars again,” Drew said. “Looks like it’s clearing up.”
“It is,” Gena said. “Grace said it’ll be gone in a week or so.”
“What are we looking for?” Dan said, making his way over.
“Anything that’s left,” Gena said. “I don’t see much though.”
There was a groaning sound from nearby. Dan switched on his light and went over, illuminating the area where the tail rotor had hit the ground. Underneath a few scraps of sheet metal, there was another corpse. It was facedown, thrashing its head around and clawing at the forest floor. Dan put a round in its head, silencing it.
“Here we go,” he heard Gena say.
He turned to see Gena and Cliff pulling a large machine gun out of the wreckage. From his angle, it looked like a 20mm cannon.
“This oughta be good for a big firefight,” Cliff said. “I can carry it. Is there any ammo left?”
“500 round can,” Gena said.
“Anything else usable?” Dan asked.
Gena stood, putting her hands on her hips. “Not that I can see. Grace has everything she came with. My rifle is gone, though.”
“That’s alright,” Drew said. “We have some good ones.”
“So what do we do now?” Cliff said. “Toby’s not here obviously.”
Dan shook his head, sighing. He wanted to keep looking, but his toes were stinging with the cold. Though he was hopeful, some part of him knew that if Toby was still out here, he had likely frozen to death by now. He didn’t want to admit it, but their search would probably turn up nothing—except maybe a corpse.
“Well,” he said, sadly. “I guess we go home for now. We can try again once we thaw out.”
Drew passed by him with a defeated look, clapping him on the shoulder. “We did everything we could, man,” he said. “It’s not your fault.”
Dan supposed Drew was right. They tried. It was clear Toby was nowhere in the area. He hoped that someone had found the boy, and would take him in or bring him back. But even if they did find him, he did not look forward to telling Toby that his mom was gone. The poor kid was an orphan now.
Sadly, Dan slung his rifle over his shoulder, looking at the rest of the group. They all looked back at him with looks of guilt and regret. He could see the sympathy in Toni’s eyes. He knew that she too loved the kid.
“Cold or not,” Cliff said. “It’s up to you. If you wanna keep looking, I’m in.”
“It’s no use going on tonight,” Dan said. “We’ll just end up freezing, too.”
Cliff nodded. “Alright,” he said. “Alright.”
Max and Travis were enjoying some Ramen noodles—a staple for the nerd and lazy alike—when Jake, Eric, and a new guest arrived. Max was flabbergasted when he laid eyes on the young woman, nearly choking on his noodles. She looked like a Greek goddess, and from the look in her eyes, she was just as wise.
He stood, unable to take his eyes off of her. His mind was blank, and he stared until Jake introduced her.
“Travis, Max, this is Dr. Grace Hill. Grace, this strange guy here that’s staring at you is Max. He’s our resident genius and creepy guy. Travis is a doctor.”
Travis went and shook her hand. “It’s good to meet you, Grace. What are you a doctor of?”
“Microbiology,” Grace said smiling.