running out of luck
Category: Writing and Poetry

            Kevin had returned from the farmhouse with the exact disheartening news that I had expected.  The house was empty, the cupboards were bare, and the smell of death was thick and choking, even though, he found no bodies.  We left the farmhouse just as the darkness had completely consumed the land.

 I kept my fears to myself as we drove off in silent disappointment.  My stomach was burning with emptiness.  Bailey let out a soft sigh to show his own disgust. 

            The desolate country road stretched on for eternity.  The needle on the gas gauge crept slowly towards the empty side.  The more the needle moved, the more my fears were fed. 

            "We were hiding out for a long time."  Kevin finally spoke, breaking the long silence. 

            I looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate on his thought.

            "Things are different now.  We're gonna see that finding supplies won't be as easy as it was before."

            "What are you saying then, that this is the end?"  Fear filled my chest as tears welled up in my eyes. 

            "No.  No.  That's not what I'm saying.  It's just going to be more difficult to survive, but we will.  We've come this far."

            I made no reply, turning my gaze out the window.  The only thing to see was never ending darkness.  I watched it absently until I drifted into a shallow hungry sleep.

                        *                                  *                                  *

            For once, my dreams had taken me to a pleasant retreat.  I was somewhere in the midst of 1995.  My parents were alive and so was my sister.  We were playing croquet in the backyard while Mom and Dad sat on the porch.  Dad was reading the paper and Mom was taking pictures of us with her new camera.  The sun was shining and the breeze was warm.  It was a beautiful summer day and my sister and I were without a care in the world. 

            Reality came crashing into my fantasy as Kevin's voice intruded the dream.  Now I was back in the dark truck, wishing I could have stayed asleep forever.

            "May, I have Spam and Spaghetti-Os.  Wake up." 

            "Is there enough for Bailey?"  Were my first words as I slowly emerged from my sleep.

            "More than enough."

            I reached my arms up to the ceiling of the truck cab and stretched my aching body.  Kevin had a paper plate with cold Spam and Spaghetti-Os held in front of me.  Standing in the pile of Spaghetti-Os was a plastic fork.

            "Where'd this come from?"  I asked him, taking the plate. 

            "Well, I came across this gas station."  He said, looking out through the windshield.  A small, ancient Citgo station was standing in the darkness before us.  "There wasn't much left, a few over looked canned goods, no water."

            "Anything that'll get us through the night."  I said in between fork loads of canned meat and noodles.  "Did you feed Bailey?"

            "Yes, I gave him two cans of Spam."  Kevin replied.

            "He'll need more than that." 

            "Don't worry.  We'll find more."

            I looked at the gas gauge.  We had less than a quarter tank.

            "We better find it soon."

             The meager meal was nowhere near enough to satisfy my starvation.  The hunger pains became more intense immediately after I ate.  As we drove into the night, my mind continuously returned to the thought of food, hot, fresh, and aromatic.  Images of cheeseburgers, French fries, and milkshakes haunted my thoughts. 

11:22 AM - 3 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

A New Begining

            The Nature preserve had saved our lives.  There was no possibility that we would still be alive if we had not found protection there.  It sustained our lives for several months, providing food, water, and shelter for Kevin, Bailey, and myself.  When everything ran dry we had to leave.

            A clean and well maintained Blazer painted green and brown with the shield of the DNR on each side gave us transportation from the park and into the unknown.  The decision to leave came only after weeks of starvation.  I was still scared to death even though I knew we would die if we didn't leave.  Despite the starvation at the end of our stay, the preserve gave a long period of rest.  Our bodies were able to heal and our minds were allowed to forget.  Driving through the gates on our way out of the preserve felt like a bad omen, but there was no other choice.

            There was no way to tell how long we had been at the preserve.  Time no longer existed.  The fall had turned into winter.  The leaves had fallen from the trees and a cold wind replaced the warm breezes.  It could have been November it could have been December, but it hadn't snowed and the temperature never seemed to drop below freezing.

            Months had gone by where we had not seen another soul, living or dead.  Our state of minds had found a false normalcy which would be shattered the instant we returned to reality.

            "Maybe they're gone."  I said to Kevin as we left the preserve.

            "It's possible.  I guess, anything's possible." 

            Our first priority was to find food as quick as possible.  It had been several weeks since we had anything of substance to eat.  I could see bones in my hands become more prominent with each passing day.  About a week ago I started getting headaches and muscle cramps, both very bad signs.

 I knew I would live if we found food within the next day to two but I didn't know how Bailey felt or how deprived he actually was.   Over the past three days he became weak and sluggish.  Kevin and I had to hoist him into the truck when we left, a task easily accomplished by a healthy Bailey.

"You could be right.  It could be all over."  Kevin said after a brief period of silence.  "But let's not get our hopes up."

The thought filled my head and I relished it for moment, knowing it was just that, a thought and nothing more.  I supposed it was possible, but I knew in my heart otherwise.

"What do you think will happen when it is over?" I asked him.

"I don't.  Depends on how many are left.  If there's enough people I suppose we could start over.  Rebuild."

We sat in a silence that was only broken by the occasional growling stomach as the passing forest turned into endless fields.  By this time of year these fields should have been full of row after row of harvested cornstalks, but instead they were full of dead weeds that had grown to towering heights during the summer months.

  The sun began to set, painting the sky brilliant colors of deep pinks and purples.  Our conversation resumed as we both saw a farm appear on the twilight's horizon.   It was a small farm with a house, a silo, a barn, and hopefully a pantry full of canned goods.

"Wait here."  Kevin said, as he put the truck in park.

"No."  I replied sharply.  All of the terror that had seemed so far away came rushing back in.  Only this time, it was worse.  I felt like I had lost my edge.

"No arguing, May.  You stay here with Bailey.  I bet you a hundred to one this place is empty, just sit tight."   

I found little power to continue to insist this time.

"Be careful."  I said handing him the shakie-light. 

He shook the flashlight back and forth several times to recharge the coil inside and switched it on.  A soft blue light flooded the interior of the utility vehicle.

"Don't worry." He said, and pushed the lock on the door in before shutting it. 

The house was a two story behemoth.  It was sided with grey shingles, many of them missing, revealing the wood beneath.  Kevin walked up to the dilapidated front porch with cinder block steps and then disappeared into the darkness of the house.

Its outward appearance was disappointing.  It looked as if it could have been abandoned long before the end of civilization and that would mean that Old Mother Hubbard's cupboards would be bare.  I felt pretty certain we would eventually find something, but this place was going to prove to be a waste of our time. As the darkness began to set in, the goal of finding food and shelter before nightfall started to seem unattainable.

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The burning emptiness in my stomach was becoming unbearable.  I felt weak and delirious, and especially tired and thirsty.  I knew I had to have fallen asleep because it was daylight.  I was indoors.  I was dreaming.

I could smell the fresh carpet and feel it beneath my feet.  I was in a high rise apartment that overlooked an expanse of urban sprawl.  The windows were large and spotless.  I could my see reflection as I approached, smelling a hint of Windex. Nothing looked familiar to me.  I had no idea where I was.

The apartment was spacious and decorated with "modern retro" furniture.  It was very clean and very gorgeous, kind of like something I had always pictured myself in if I had become the successful individual my parents had hoped for. 

I was lost in bewilderment when the sound of clanging metal startled me, jerking me from my trance.  It was Bailey's collar.  He came trotting down the hallway and sat down in the center of the room.

"There you are, boy."  I said and started walking over to him.

From where I stood I could already see the blood that was dripping from his mouth.  It was thick and stringy, leaving droplets on the carpet.  He whined and then turned around, leaving the way that he came. 

I slowly followed.  The room that he disappeared into was black as pitch.  As I approached the doorway, I hugged the wall and reached into the room in search of a light switch.  There was a nice rounded nub of plastic to familiar to the human fingertips.

Light poured out of the room and down the hall.

  I said in soft, weak tone as I slowly leaned through the doorway.

Nearly identical to how it had appeared in a previous dream, I could see Kevin's sneaker on the carpet.  I stepped into the room to survey the rest of the scene.

Kevin lay on the ground, his face chewed away to bone and pulp.  At his feet lay Bailey. 

I screamed briefly and then looked to Bailey.  He had a content yet apologetic look on his face.

"How could you do this?"  I began to sob.

Out came another scream as a voice from behind me spoke.

"But he was already dead!" 

I turned around and saw a women standing there.  Her skin was pallid and her eyes glazed.  She screamed in unison with me and then lunged for my neck.  I felt hot pain shoot up and down my spine.  I felt my body go numb.  My arms and legs become useless. 

9:50 PM - 5 Comments - 9 Kudos - Add Comment

"What happened here?" Part I

A week in the wilderness had proved very beneficial to our survival. Things were peaceful, serene, and very different from the life we had been leading for the past several months. There was nothing in the woods to remind us of the tragic turn of events that had changed the lives of every single living person. There were no empty houses or abandoned vehicles, no ghost towns or desolate streets. There was no death, no carnage; only nature carrying on as it had done since the dawn of time.

We were inside the perimeter of what was called the Black Cat Canyon Nature Preserve, according to the rangers map we had found inside the station.

When people hear the word, Indiana, the visual that usually comes to mind is basically the same, endless rolling corn fields, family farms, county fairs, the Indy 500, and so on. One who hasnt lived their entire life in the state doesnt know of its hidden wonders. Before Indiana had been turned into Americas breadbasket by the settlers, it was once home to lush forests and swamps. Within those forests, scattered throughout the central and southern part of the state, where ancient treasures left behind from the glaciers. The Indians had found and made good use of these geological features, which included sandstone canyons, ravines and gorges. These places gave shelter from the elements, not only for the Indians but for the local wildlife as well.

Of course these areas where few and far between. The conservation groups had turned them into state parks starting back in the late 1800s.

According to the map there was a small airstrip located in the northwest section of the property. Located near the airstrip was a bunker house, several sheds and a property managers residence, all of which were located on the opposite side of the property. According to the map the Preservation was rectangular, approximately one mile wide by four miles longs. It would be a very long hike to the other side of the woods.

We also found a green studded collar, which told us that our new friends name was Bailey.

Bailey was a truly remarkable creature.

Bailey's deep brown eyes shined brightly with supreme doggy intelligence. It didn't take us long to learn that he was here for a reason.  At one time he had been a very smart and highly trained government animal.

When asked to sit, stay and lay down, Bailey would comply happily.

Bailey was special. There was love and devotion in those big brown eyes as well. He craved attention and never let either of us out of his sight.

*           *           *

We left the rangers station at sunrise. We would need every second of daylight to be able to travel safely from one end of the property to the other. The four-mile hike would take us all day. The heat wave had returned in full force; the sweltering temperatures and humidity would greatly slow our progress. We packed the very last of the water we had and the very last can of beans left. This one can would be our supper and would be rationed three ways. Unless we found food in the other buildings this would be our last meal for, quite possibly, a very long time.

A paved service road ran past the rangers station. To the right, far off in the distance we could see the razor wire of the fence glinting in the early sun. This was the entrance of the property. Somewhere on the other side of the fence a gatehouse sat, presumably empty. To the left, the road disappeared into the trees. To one side of the road the thick forest carried on for as far as you could see; to the other side was a murky swamp. Thick weeds grew towards the sun that shone through the break in the trees above the green stagnant water. Hordes of insect buzzed in the depths of the weeds as the birds sung cheerfully from treetops.

"Kevin,  if we're inside the fence then how come I don't remember climbing it or passing through the gate?"

"I really don't know what happened."

We walked for about an hour when we came to a concrete bridge that allowed the road to travel over Wild Cat Creek. Another fifteen minutes later we came to a t-section.

There was a sign that read:

< Property Managers Residence

Bailey trotted along the smooth black pavement, taking the left turn on his own account. The road to the Property Managers Residence was only another ten-minute walk. We were all exhausted by the time we saw the small brick building appear around the bend.

It was a small one-story brick house. The yard was overgrown with towering weeds and the driveway sat empty.

We cautiously approached the house. Every curtain was drawn tightly closed except for a small high window, probably over the kitchen sink. Kevin pulled a stump out of the landscape and positioned it so that he could see into the widow.

"Do you see anything?" I asked as he balanced on the wobbly stump.

"It's pretty dark but I don't see anything moving."

Bailey laid in the tall grass and watched as we went around to the back of the house.

I followed Kevin to the back door. He reached for the doorknob which turned without hesitation.

He opened the door quietly, placed a finger to his lips and stepped inside the doorway. I crept in behind him, listening to the floorboards creak.

Once inside the dimly lit room we paused and listen. I noticed it felt strangely cool, almost cold, like air-conditioning.

At first all I could hear was the sound of my heartbeat and my franticly rapid breaths. But then I heard the creaking.

Creak. Creak. Creak.

"Whats that?" My whisper was barely audible.

It was coming from the other room, soft and consistent.

Creak. Creak. Creak.

Kevin crept slowly towards the doorway that led into a larger room.  It led through the small foyer where we had entered and into a small cluttered living room.

The living room appeared empty. The creaking was coming from above.  We looked up to see a cieling fan spinning in slow lazy rotations.

"It's a fucking fan." Kevin said, with dumbfounded relief.

"A fan?" I questioned.

"You've gotta be shittin' me."

Kevin made a b-line for a set of switches on the wall. He flicked them all at once and the room became flooded in bright artificial light.

"Wow."  I said, half-amazed and half-scared to death. "What do you think's going on?"

"Shh..."

There was a voice; it was distant and faint.

Kevin gestured down the hall with a nod and began to slowly creep towards the voice, trying his best not to disturb the floorboards.

The hallway was short and narrow with two doors on the wall to our right. These were closed. At the end of the hall a door stood open, inside the room glowed with soft blue light.

"Who"s there?" Kevin finally said as he approached the open doorway. "Whos in there?"

There was no answer.

I stayed just outside of the doorway as he entered, listening.

"It's just a radio." He said.

"Just a radio?"

The room was small and filled with radio equipment. A computer sat on one of the counters with an empty blue screen displayed on the monitor.

"Command. This is Alpha Three. Do you read?  Command. This is Alpha Three. Do you read?"  A man's voice came from the radio's speakers. 

"Should we answer them?" I asked.

"No.  Not yet anyways."

An open notebook sat on the counter. The page was filled with sloppy handwriting:

2/7/06

There was a message from command informing everyone that a shipment of a certain drug was to arrive by airmail tomorrow. We weren't told what the drug was or why we had to take it. We were only told that if we didn't follow orders we would be subjected to severe punishment. We were also ordered not to leave the facility until further notice, violators will be shot and question wont be asked.  Can you believe this bullshit? Bill heard that something went terribly wrong with Project 743. They had to neutralize the area, take out anyone with any knowledge of the project and God only knows what else. If they only knew how leaky the information had been, how many times its been bullshitted about in the break rooms and bunkers. Thats what they get. Letum burn in hell, is all I say. Baker says the drugs an experiment. He thinks their using us for lab rats before they send in a nuetralizing team and execute every last one of us. Shitty thing is aint nothing we can do about it. They got us trapped in here, just like lab rats.

2/08/06

The drug arrived today. Only the sons of bitches didnt send it airmail. They had a team a armed guards come in with a doctor and forced everyone to get an injection. This was at 8 in the morning. Its seven at night now. I feel something from it but I aint quite sure I know what. The doctor told us all that a medical team would arrive in three days to do intensive exams on the patients. Patients my ass, subjects is more like it.

2/09/06

Bill is real sick. Puking his guts out. Never seen a man look so close to death in my whole entire lifetime. Hes as white as a sheet with bleeding red sores on his neck. For some reason the rest of us havent been affected like that. I feel fine infact. never better in my entire life. I went down to the springs and feel asleep for hours. my favorite place, the springs.

2/10/06

Bill is fucking dead and everyone is real bent of shape about it. Freddy said he went into convulsions and started spitting up blood. Poor guy was a wreck. I had stopped by to see how he was just a few hours before. Freddy said he was fading fast. Bleeding from the eyes and nose, and talking nonsense. Then after lunch he went spastic. Freddy got a direct order from command to leave the body in the infirmary, untouched, until a medical team could be sent in. Now Wilson feels sick. Said he come down with it this morning.

2/11/06

I feel it. It started out as a burning pain in my gut. Then cold and hot spells.

2/12

Those cocksucking motherfucking cunts Bill killed Freddy. I had to kill bill. he was looking at me like that. looking at me like that.

JESUS CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN REPENT REPENT REPENT NOW

I placed the notebook back onto the counter.

"What the hell was going on here?" I said.

"Alpha Three. This Fox One. We are reading you."

"Fox One. Give me your coordinates."

"Sorry Alpha Three. Your on your own."

"Fox One, we have two wounded and were almost out of fuel. We need to land."

"Alpha Three. You have been denied re-entry. I repeat you have been denied re-entry."

"Denied? Fox One this is Alpha Three.  We are waiting for further instructions."

And that was the end of the chatter on the radio.

"How far away do you think they are? Do you think there somewhere there?" I asked Kevin.

"Not really but either way we need to be extremely careful."

We went back out into the hall and Kevin reached for the doorknob of the one the closed doors. He turned the knob and flung the door open as light spilled into the room.

It was a bedroom. Along one wall was a single mattress and along the adjacent one was several tall gray filing cabinets.

The next room was a bathroom, very small and simple.

We went back down the hall and into the living room, turning off the light as we went.

In the kitchen, a dim light was glowing above the stove. This was just enough to continue our search. The cupboards were stocked with canned goods and the refrigerator was stocked with cold bottles of water. I passed one to Kevin and then found a bowl in the cabinet for Bailey, who was waiting patiently for his drink.

We ate some cold soup, opting not to use the stove; even though, a warm meal was unbearably tempting.

As soon as we finished eating we decided to keep moving.

*           *           *

I felt better being back outside in the bright open daylight, even if the humidity was enough to take your breath away. We followed the drive back out to the road and took a left. This would lead us to the rest of property.

8:29 AM - 1 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

An Unlikely Savior

The woods was thick with undergrowth; ferns, briars, three inch thorns, and an unbroken canopy above to shield out the light of day. My legs became covered in long scratches and eventually started to burn like fire from the weeds.

Kevin had come close to fainting several times as we tore our way through the brush. The air was dense with humidity. We were both covered in sweat, panting like dogs. After many long hours of walking we finally took a brief rest at a fallen tree.

It was here that he noticed my feet. Across the bottoms of each foot were deep gashes that were still painful and bleeding. I explained to him how I had to escape from the cage and how had I spent long hours working at in the weeks prior.

He took off his shoes. His socks were soaked with dried blood. When he peeled them off there were no signs of wounds on his feet.

"Put them on." He said placing his shoes on the log in front of me.

I made little argument and put them on. They were much too big for me so I laced them up as tightly as possible.

"Thank you."

He closed his eyes.

"Can we rest?" He asked, laying forward on the log.

"No. We have to keep going. Were not far enough."

"I feel sick."

"I know but we have to keep going. Please, Kevin, get up."

He sat up, relieving me of a slight build up of pressure.

We traveled through the woods all day and into the night, taking several brief stops to rest. None were longer than five minutes. It was important to keep moving.

The setting of the sun brought forth a whole new set of problems. Beneath the thick canopy of leaves you could hardly see your own hand in front of your face. This was a dangerous situation in a forest full of obstacles. Our pace was slowed to a crawl as we had to feel our way through the density.

At dusk the mosquitoes came out in full force. We had to constantly bat away hordes of buzzing, biting insects. Soon enough I was covered in little itchy red welts.

"Were probably going to get Malaria or... What was that other one?" Kevin said as we crept through the darkness.

"West Nile Virus."

"Yeah, thats it. Hey May, you wouldn't think the mosquitoes could spread this shit?"

"No, I've been bitten so many times I would've turned months ago. I doubt they would even feed off of those dead things. I believe mosquitoes like live food but I could be wrong."

"I think your right. I hope your right anyways."

We finally decided to stop for sleep. I was reluctant to at first but realized that there was no other choice. A grove of pine trees made for a nice shelter. The ground beneath was covered in soft needles and within moments we were both sound asleep.

*            *           *

I thought I was dreaming when I heard the sound of a dog barking. It was loud and sharp, shaking me from my sleep. I laid there with my eyes wide open, looking at Kevin who was asleep next to me. It was daylight.

Then the dog barked again.

I sat up and in front of me stood a large black and tan Doberman. His pointy ears were erect and his stubby tail wagged wildly.

I looked around wildly to see if this dog had any friends with him; he appeared to be alone.

"Hi there." I said in a friendly voice.

The dog took this as an invitation and came running up to me, laying his body along mine and began to lick my face frantically.

"Well hello. Are you alone? Why are you alone?" I asked the dog in between his sloppy licks.

He was healthy and well fed, no collar or identification.

Kevin was awake and staring with confusion at the dog beside him.

"Is that a dog?" He asked.

"Yes its a dog."

"Where'd it come from?"

"I don't know. It was here when I woke up."

The dog stood up and walked out from under the pine trees. It stood there looking at us for a moment and then started barking.

"What's it want?" Kevin asked.

"I dont know."

The dog walked three steps away and started barking again.

"It wants us to follow him." Kevin said.

The dog took several more steps back, stopped, looked at us and continued to bark impatiently.

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"What if it's their dog?" I said.

"They didn't have any dogs there. It's not their dog. We should follow it."

"Why?"

"Because we need help."

The moment we stood up the dog went running ahead, pausing every so often to look over his shoulder to make sure we were still following him. His tail wagged happily as he bounded through the brush.

"It must have some sort of shelter and probably has had people taking care of it." Kevin said as we followed the black dog through the thick woods.

"That's what Im afraid of."

"We have to do something, May. If we stay in the lost woods we won't last another night."

I kept my next thought to myself, giving Kevin only a soft sigh in response to his comment.

The dog had led us to a trail. We found ourselves standing on a very old and well-worn footpath.

"Holy Shit. I told you this dog knew where to go. A trail must ultimately connect to civilization."

The dog ran ahead of us up the path, looking over his shoulder every so often. He was excited and happy.

"I bet he'll get a big ass soup bone for bringing us in."

"Don't say that."

The heat was starting to get intense again. The moisture was so thick that it hung in the air in foggy patches. Kevin's breathing was starting to get very shallow. I was just about to suggest a rest when the trees opened up, giving way to a small clearing.

In the center of the clearing sat a small building.

*           *           *

It was a small wooden structure with no windows, only vents high on the walls, right beneath the ceiling. There was one door that was completely solid except for a hole at the bottom, a doggy-door. The wood was weathered and the metal chimney pipe that stood erect on the roof was aged and rusty.

The door was unlocked. Inside dim dusty light came through the vents. Kevin stepped inside, pausing momentarily to listen.

He walked out of my sight.

"It's empty."

"Are you sure?" I whispered, looking over my shoulder.

"There's only one room and it's empty."

I stepped inside. It smelt damp and moldy.

"Look a woodstove." Kevin said.

"Yeah, but we wouldn't want to light it and let everyone know where here."

"Yeah, that's a shame."

And it was.

The small room had little furniture. There was a single cot along one wall, a sink with cabinetry, a folding table set and the woodstove.

Next to the sink on the counter under the overhead cabinets was small refrigerator.

I opened the door of the frig and held my breath, awaiting the stench of rotten sandwich meat and spoiled milk. Instead I was greeted with the vision of tiny bottles.

"I think this is a rangers station." I heard Kevin say from across the room. His voice was distant.

I picked up one bottle and looked at the label.

"AMOXICILLIN 875 MG TAB"

My heart skipped a beat or maybe two.

"Look! Antibiotics!" I said opening the bottle. Inside where hundreds of giant pink pills.

I poured two onto the palm of my hand and gave one to Kevin.

"Eat it. Now." I said, placing the giant pill in my mouth.

I peeked into the frig and saw several bottles of water towards the back.

"Wow." I said and pulled out one bottle, unscrewed the cap and offered it to Kevin. He drank nearly half of the bottle before handing it back to me. I easily finished the rest.

"Do you hear something?" Kevin whispered.

I listened.

"No. What is it?" I said, unable to breathe.

He walked outside and I followed.

"Listen, you dont here that? Its water."

"Water?"

He took off around the building and I followed with the dog at my heels.

There was another path that led up through the trees for about fifty feet. Then through the grass I saw it, a very wide and massive creek.

"Holy Sweet Jesus!" Kevin said as he tore through the weeds.

He was standing at the waters edge by the time the dog and I emerged from the tall grass.

Before me stood a pebbled bank and a great creek. Along its bank huge trees hung over the water where large boulders sat and had sat for thousands of years. The sound of rushing was intense.

As I looked upstream my breath was taken from me. We were standing at the mouth of a canyon. White sandstone cliffs bordered each side of the creek for as far as the eye could see. About five hundred feet upstream the creek took a massive plunge over a shelf of rock exploding over the boulders and onto the creek bed below.

The dog walked to the edge of the creek and began to lap at the water.

"This is amazing." I said, still in awe.

"A little more than amazing."

We cleaned up in the creek. In the center the water was about chest deep and the current was strong enough to knock your feet out from under you. Closer to the bank the water was shallow and very timid.

Back inside the building we found some clean clothes folded neatly inside a laundry bag that was sitting next to the cot. Kevin found a white mens tank top and jeans. I had to settle with a gray t-shirt and jeans. Also inside the bag were two sets of park rangers uniforms, brown pants and a tan button up shirt with the Department of Natural Resources patch sewn onto the left breast.

Our next discovery was the canned good in the cabinets. There were plenty of baked beans and several cans of soup. We instantly opened one of each, eating them straight from the can as the dog watched intently from the floor.  I opened another can of beans and poured in onto a paper plate, sitting it down for the dog, whom seemed appreciative and ate it eagerly.

"I wonder whose been feedin him." I said.

"Maybe he's been feeding himself. Seems like a smart dog. Plenty of squirrels and bunnies in the woods."

"Maybe."

The doggy-door had a piece of plywood that could be slide into place; blocking the hole and making the door one secure piece again. Once we figured this out we locked the dead bolt on the door and feel fast asleep inside the small windowless shack. With the door locked, the windowless walls and the dog, I did have to admit that I felt pretty secure. Perhaps after some much need rest we could get a better feel of our new surroundings.

5:18 PM - 3 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

Nothing
Category: Writing and Poetry

My heart pounded as I cautiously made my way through the vile maze of the house. As I passed by several open doors in the hall, I could smell the combination of urine and death again. Covering my nose, I picked up the pace.

I went down the stairs and stopped at the bottom step to listen. Feeling pretty certain I was alone, I proceeded with caution.

Through the filthy windows of the back porch I surveyed the expanse of the back yard. It looked frightening even in broad daylight. Heaps of junk, old cars, appliances, all strewn about in twisting masses. Thick weeds grew to towering heights and small-dilapidated shacks stood watch. In the distance, across a field of ragweed, milkweed and burning nettles sat an old red barn.

That's where Kevin was.

Stepping out into the light of day, my pale naked body seemed to glow as bright as the summer sun. I stood there unable to think, afraid I was being watched from somewhere, waiting for someone to jump out from behind something and grab me.

Get your ass to the barn, May. Can't worry about all that now.

I ran through the maze watching each step carefully. Everywhere you looked something treacherous awaited the careless foot.

I slowed my pace down to quick a walk and began to scan the passing junk. Only after several feet of searching I came across something that appeared to be a rusty old cafeteria cart. Sitting on top of the cart was an overflowing pile of scrap metal. Among the items in the pile, a piece of chrome reflected the sunlight.

It was meat hook.

I picked it up and looked at it. It was slightly rusted but still very sharp.

I quickened my pace to a steady jog and continued towards the barn with the meat hook clenched in my right hand.

Where the ragweed field began, I crouched down, immersing myself in the tall weeds. The barn was close now, only fifty feet away. As I approached I could hear a loud high-pitched grinding noise.

This arose a new fear in my heart, for I had no idea what was producing it.

I had reached the end of the tall weeds; the grass around the barn was waist high but had been trampled to the ground by foot. There was a small lean-to built on one side of the barn. The front of the lean-to was wide open, with no doors or walls. Inside a single light bulb burned from a wire hanging in the center of the structure.

The sound was coming from the lean-to.

Where do these hillbillies get their electricity?

I ran across the trampled grass and pressed myself up against the back wall of the barn. Even though everything told me not to, I peeked around the corner and into the lean-to.

There stood Perry, with his back to me. Sparks flew to the ground around his feet. It was a grinding stone that was making the noise. Perry was sharpening the blade of an axe.

This was my opportunity and I had to act on it instantly.

I crept swiftly into the shadows of the lean-to as Perry continued his task. He flipped the handled of the axe over to sharpen the other side. This gave me a brief a startle at first. Then I realized that it meant that Perry still had plenty of grinding to do.

I slowly approached him, holding breath, analyzing my attack.

From the corner of my eye I saw my shadow appear on the wall in front of Perry.

He saw this, too, but his perception of who and where made him lazy and unconcerned as he switched off the grinder.

Before he could turn around I placed the meat hook between his legs and sunk it's hook deep into his skin somewhere between his groin and belly button. Perry screamed as I dragged the hook down through his crotch and up the other side, mangling anything in its way.

He dropped the axe, howling in agony.  His knees buckled and he fell to the ground. As he lay there holding himself, I picked up the axe and swung it, burying the blade into the dirt floor of the lean-to, only after it had traveled through Perry's forehead.

His screams ended.

My body trembled as I stood there catching my breath. Perry had told Ed to take Jim and find Randy, emphasizing not to come back until they had found him. Hopefully they were having a hard time finding him.

I went into the giant barn. The small narrow windows barely let enough light in to see by. There were open stalls and pens, all empty. Every corner I took revealed the same. I wanted to holler out but was afraid someone else might hear me.

At one end was a hall with four doors that led to four enclosed box stalls. One door was barred with two boards across it.

I removed the boards and opened the door.

In the corner of the stall lay Kevin.

I wasn't sure if was even alive. His body looked completely motionless. His skin was very pale and his cloths were torn and filthy.

"Kevin!"

I ran to his side, placed my head to his chest and wept. I felt it swell as he drew in a deep breath.

"May?" His voice was weak but his eyes were open. "I must be dead finally."

"No, youre not dead. Were alive and we have to get out of here. Can you get to your feet?"

"I think so. I feel sick."

I felt his forehead. It was burning hot.

"Thats because you are sick but we have to get out of here. Do you think you can walk?"

"I think so."

I helped him to his feet, holding him steady as his tried to regain a sense of balance. He frowned, looking down at my bruised and beaten naked body. With what little strength he had left, he wrapped his arms around my neck and held me tightly.

"I thought you were dead." We said in unison.

"What happened? Where'd they go?" He asked after a brief moment of silence.

"One's dead but the others could be back any second. They went to look for Randy."

"I hope he got away." Kevin said.

"We need to do the same."

Hand in hand we left the barn for the brightness of day. Kevin's eyesight was poor for quite awhile and his mobility was very slow. I noticed he was a bit delirious, if not delusional.

We made our way through the woods that began behind the barn. We did not go back into the house. We did not retrieve the guns or the Dodge Magnum that once was my fathers. We left on foot through the thick woods, me barefoot and naked, and Kevin hardly able to walk a straight line. There was no destination. There was no plan, except to get as for away from that place as possible.

7:57 AM - 4 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

Something has gone terribly wrong.

The sound of a ticking clock was the only thing I could hear; darkness was all that I could see. My head pounded fiercely. The dried blood on my face was so thick that it cracked as I opened my mouth; I felt the flakes flutter onto my breasts. I was tied to a cold metal folding chair, bound by the hands, feet and torso with thickly wrapped nylon rope. My body was stark naked, glued to the metal chair with freshly dried blood. The more I struggled the tighter the ropes held me. .

My neck was very sore, I could hardly hold up my head. My groin burned like fire, both inside and out.

Something has gone terribly wrong.

I could smell death and urine.

And something was moving in the darkness.

"Uuuughh." It was a soft and painful moan, unrecognizable.

"Hello? Who's there?" My voice was weak.

There was nothing but the ticking of the clock.

*           *           *

Very little light penetrated the thick canvas blankets that hung over the one window in the vile madness of this tiny room. I couldn't see whoever had moaned in the night but I could make out the size and shape of the room and the location of the door.

It was a small room, square in size. The door was directly in front of me, off centered to the right. Piles of paper and rubbish, I wasnt quite sure, was stacked about three feet high on every wall.  I'm uncertain about the amount of time that had passed.

Slowly the dim light grew into complete darkness. Every muscle in my body was sore from shivering continuously night and day.

Footsteps approached and then the doorknob turned.

I heard a light switch click as the room filled with intensely bright that burned through my eyes and into my head.

"How ya doin' sweetie?" Said a man's voice.

My eyes had been in the darkness for what seemed like days on end. The sudden bright light was a to shock my entire system, scorching my retinas and jolting my nerves.

"Oh poor thing, did that hurt your eyes? Im sorry."

He turned the light out and then shut the door.

"There's that better? You wanna drinka water? I'd bet you'd be purdy thirsty by now. You want me to get ya a drink?"

I made no reply to his question.

"I asked you a goddamn question you dirty little whore!" He yelled.

"Where's my friends?" I cried. The tears flowed slowly through the dry crusty blood.

"I'll get you some water and then your ginna drink it, you hear me. You'll drink it or I'll beat the livin' shit outta you."

He walked out of the room leaving the door open behind him. I listened to his footsteps travel down the hall and then down a set of creaky stairs.

"Kevin!" I used every ounce of strength I had to scream at the top of my lungs. "Kevin where are you!? Can you hear me!? Kevin!?"

There was no response, only the ticking of the clock. Soon I heard the stairs creak followed by the man's footsteps up the hall.

"Scream all ya want you stupid bitch. Won't do ya no good. Your friends are dead."  He lit a cigarette. The flame illuminated his face. He was neither of the men from the road that day. He was older, but not as old as the man with shotgun, with long black scraggily hair and a days worth of stubble on his face. "Saved you a course. Yes, ma'am. Gets purdy lonely out here in the sticks. Here. Drink your water."

He placed one hand behind my head and held the glass to my lips.

"Drink it, goddamn it, or I'll pour it down your throat n' then break the fuckin' glass straight across your purdy little face."

I took one drink.

"There now. That's better." He lit his lighter again, this time to light a candle. He held the flame up by my face and frowned.

"I see Ed fucked your face up a bit. I'm real sorry bout that. I won't let it happen again. Son of bitchin' cock-sucker, that Ed. No, no more for Ed. Think I'll wash you up. Keep ya in my room after that."

He began to untie the ropes that secured me to chair, leaving my hands and feet bound together. He picked me up and flung me over his right shoulder. He did so with a swift quickness that showed no excursion.

The hall was brightly lit by antique sconces along the richly patterned walls. He carried me into a bathroom and sat me onto my feet inside of a shower stall and turned on the water.

"There just stand there n' soak for a minute." He said, standing back and folding his arms across his chest.

The water was hot, almost too hot, but I certainly didnt feel like mentioning it. I turned my back to him and looked down at my naked bloody body. There were bite marks all along the insides of my legs, between my legs, and several on the back of my neck. They were swollen and patched with hideous black bruises.

After several moments he pulled me out, pink water still running down my body.

"That'll do". He said as he scooped me up again, sopping wet and dripping with diluted blood.

He carried me through a different doorway, into a different room, where he flung me onto a bed.

"You'll stay here from now on. You won't ever have to see Ed again."

I couldn't remember Ed and figured that was probably for the best.

He pulled his t-shirt off over his head and then unbuckled his belt.

"Wouldn't be nothin left of ya."

I've heard that when people are forced to undergo horrific experiences they often blackout or experience a sort of disconnection with their body, sparing themselves unspeakable trauma.

I kept waiting for the moment when I would blackout and be spared the horror but it never came. Each long and agonizing moment would remain with me for much longer than I would be able to stand.

*           *          *

The days blurred into one long never ending nightmare. He usually kept me heavily drugged, which helped keep me from moving around and attempting suicide, which is exactly what I would have done if I had the capacity to do it.

When I would scream or yell he would beat me. He beat me so severe several times that I was certain something had ruptured internally and I would die, but I never did. I couldn't be so lucky.

The man said his name was Perry. He would wake up each morning and leave, not without taking advantage of me first, and return to the room at night just before sleep.

After what seemed like weeks the ropes on my ankles and wrists began to rub my skin raw. He was eventually forced to remove them so it could heal or risk losing me to infection. Pretty young girls didn't come traipsing through Harrowton on a daily basis.

When this happened he came back with large dog crate, one the size you would put a Great Dane in. He placed one filthy pillow and myself inside, then chained and padlocked the door.

The cage was strong and I was weak. Each day when he left I would attempt to pry the steel bars apart, searching for a weakness, but never with any success.

He kept the two doors to his bedroom padlocked as well. This was more to keep people out than to keep them in I had noticed. Ed, in particular.

Ed came walking into the room one day when Perry was about to leave for whatever it was that he did all day long. Ed turned out to be the boy in the overalls.

He stopped dead in his tracks, ending in mid sentence when he saw me inside of the crate.

"You said you killed her, Perry. You said you shot her in da, in da head."

"Yeah, so I lied. So fucking what?"

"That ain't right. Me n' Jim found her. That ain't right Perry."

"I dont give a shit. Get the fuck outta here before I shoot you the fucking head."

The sight of Ed brought back a surge of unwanted memories.

"That's real funny Perry. That's really funny. You know why it's so funny Perry?" He was angry but timid.

Perry looked at him, annoyed.

"We never shot them boys like we said we did." Ed laughed like he truly thought it was hilarious. "We never shot them boys, Perry. One of 'em run off on us too. "

Perry backhanded him across the face with a clenched fist putting an abrupt end to Ed's laughter.

"You fucken cock-suckin idiot. Which fuckin' one got away?"

Ed was looking at the drops of blood in his hand that he had just wiped from his nose.

"The retard." He said meekly.

"You let the fuckin' retard escape! Jesus Christ Ed, you could fuck up a free lunch. I swear to God. Where's the other one?"

"In the barn."

"Where in the barn?"

"In one of the stalls."

"You get Jim and go find the retard, don't fucking come back till you find him, and I'll take care of what should have been done two weeks ago."

The two men left.

Perry shut the door but he didn't secure the padlock. He either forgot or didn't feel it was necessary at the moment.

Either way I had to get out of that cage.

Kevin was still alive but wouldn't be for much longer.

The adrenaline gave me some much-needed strength. I laid on my back and kicked at the top of the cage with every ounce of strength I could muster, ignoring the pain of the steel bars on my bare feet.

The moment I felt warm blood run down my calf was the moment I felt one of the steel couplings that held the walls of the cage together give way. Day after day of constant pushing and prying must have made at least that particular one weak. One was all the I needed. I was able to bend the corner back on the roof just enough to slid my body out and rake my rib cage in the process.

12:52 PM - 6 Comments - 14 Kudos - Add Comment

Harrowton

The town of Harrowton was just about as small as small towns gets. It really wasn't much more than a few houses clustered together at the intersection of two state roads. There wasn't a whole lot you could say about the houses either. They were run down relics buried from view in the tall grass. The only business appeared to be a garage with a plywood sign out front that read BAIT SHOP in big rudimentary red letters. Harrowton was a huge disappointment.

"There's nothing here. Not even a gas station." I said.

The streets were empty, no cars, no creatures. It was so still I expected a tumbleweed to blow across the street. It was so still it scared me to death.

"This is kinda weird, don't you think?" I looked at Kevin.

"A little bit." He said.

"What's the matter? Is there something wrong?" Randy asked from the back seat.

"No, nothing's wrong." Kevin said.

Not wrong, but not exactly right either. My skin started to crawl up the back of my neck ending with a tingle behind each ear.

"Let's get moving." I said.

Kevin had slowed the car down to snails pace as we stared out the windows at the passing ghost town.

"Can we please get moving?" I begged.

"Hey, someones gotta campfire up there." Randy said.

At the top of hill just across an open lot was a two-story farmhouse with a dying fire burning in the front yard.

Kevin had stopped the car altogether now.

"What are you doing? Let's get the fuck outta here."

"Hang on." He was leaning over looking out my window. "Do you see someone?" He said, squinting as he strained his eyes. "Look, up in the window."

"I don't want to look. I just want to go."

I looked.

There was someone standing in the upstairs window. I couldn't tell who or what it was but I could tell that it was watching us.

"Okay, lets go, pleeease."

I returned my gaze back to the road and completely forgot about the figure in the window. I was now more concerned with two men standing in front of the Magnum's grill. One held a shotgun and the other had a shovel propped over his shoulder.

I grabbed Kevin's hand and dug my fingernails deep into his skin.

"Ouch, what the he-"

The one with the shovel was a beast of a boy and you could see boy written all over his red sun-burnt face. He was no less than six and a half feet tall, wearing a filthy pair of overalls, no shirt and no shoes. He placed the head of the shovel on the ground between his bare feet and crossed his arms, resting them on the handle.

The man with the shotgun was much older but nearly a third of the size of the other one . His beard was slightly grayed and a camouflage hat with earmuffs covered his greasy matted hair.

Kevin squeezed my hand as the man with the shotgun lifted and aimed his weapon at us through the windshield.

He walked around to Kevin's window.

"Whatch'yooo folks doin' round 'ere?" He said with a mouth full of blackened teeth.

"Were just passin through." Kevin said and held up his hands. "Just passin through."

The man laughed and the boy mimicked him.

"Yooos ain't passin' shiiiiit." The man said grinning with his putrid smile.

The boy tossed something in through the sunroof. I didn't quite see it but I did notice that it was smoking. It landed on the back floorboard and rolled out of sight. Within moments we were engulfed in thick choking smoke. I watched Kevin's eyes roll back into their sockets and then his head fell forward, hitting the steering wheel.

And everything went black.

9:23 AM - 4 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

The Rain and the Radio

The rain was beating relentlessly on the windshield as the wipers tried their best to keep up, which just wasnt good enough.

"I can't see a damn thing. I'm pulling over until this shit lets up." Kevin said as he pulled the car to the side of the road.

"That's fine". I said. "We won't be able to do anything until daylight anyways."

"There's a town about five miles up the road. We past a sign a little bit ago."  He said.

"Well thats good to know. We can just camp out here till morning."

"That's a great idea." He said as he killed the motor and the sound of the beating rain filled the car.

We gave up the effort of talking over the pounding rain and eventually, as it subsided, the babble lulled everyone to sleep.

~

The sun crept over the horizon and brought light to the land, even though I couldn't see it. In the dark pouring rain we had no idea that we were now sitting in the middle of woods. Instead of the expanse of cornfields, walls of thick weeds and undergrowth stretched as far the eye could see in both directions. An unbroken canopy of leaves shaded everything, leaving the chill of early morning in the car long after the sun had risen.

The sight of the trees startled me. I had to take a few moments to convince myself that I wasn't dreaming.

Hell, this isn't a woods, it's a fucking forest.

This was true. I saw no end to the dark canopy in either direction.

My anxiety prompted me to do something to prevent myself from going crazy with worry. I decided against waking Kevin. For all I knew, he could have fallen asleep only moments ago.

I turned the key in the ignition to accessory and then turned on the radio. This was something we hadn't bothered to do in awhile because for months on end there had been nothing but static. I hit the seek button, put the window down a few inches and lit a cigarette.

As I was picking large crusty globs from the corner of my red sleepy eyes I saw the dial on the radio stop at a frequency. It had found something.

There was nothing but white noise at first but then I started to hear voices in the background. There were several voices engaging in a conversation but it was too faint to tell what was going on.

I grabbed Kevin's arm. "Hey! Hey! Wake up." I said shaking him. "There's people on the radio."

He couldn't have been to deeply asleep because he woke right up the second he heard my voice. The shaking was little unnecessary.

"Well turn it up." He said.

The sound of white noise increased as I turned up the volume but the voices were gone.

"They were there a second ago. It was faint, like they were standing in the background or something."

"No shit?"

"Yeah and check it out, were in the middle of a goddamn forest."

He scratched his head as he took in our new surroundings. "Huh. You know I was thinking we cou-"

We both nearly hit our heads on the roof when a voice came booming over the speakers. The radio had been turned nearly all of the way up.

"Hello, hello Good day to everyone. McKenzie here. Its about ten-fifteen in the morning. Somewhere around seventy-three degrees. Hope youre all somewhere safe and dry. We're broadcasting from the Alderville State Prison, for those of your who may be just tuning in. The prison is located south of Indianapolis three miles off of highway sixty-five. There's plenty of signs all around. Can't miss it. Allow me to reiterate our situation for any new listeners:

"Were a group of prisoners that has survived and contained the spread of the outbreak within the prison. It's a secure and safe place and we welcome anyone who seeks our help. Our goal is to make contact with other groups of survivors, but unfortunately we haven't been able to do so yet."

There was a voice in the background and then McKenzie spoke.

"Yeah okay," he said away from the microphone. "Okay folks. Well be back in a few moments." Then there was a click and more white noise.

I looked at Kevin.

"Good thing Becky isn't here. She'd probably insist that we go." He said.

"I certainly don't like the sounds of it."

"Yeah, I don't feel like turning myself over to a group of prisoners. Prisoners running a prison doesnt sound like my idea of safe and secure."

He turned the ignition over and the engine roared to life.

"Besides we have supplies to find." He said.

"Well at least we know to steer clear of Alderville."

The woods stretched on and on and when we finally found our town there was little break in the trees. The small town of Harrowton sat quietly nestled in the shadows.

9:51 AM - 6 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

Needs Feed

I felt an enormous sense of relief having left the house behind. We were down to three now, just Kevin, Randy and myself. Becky and Jack had the blue Ford, so I'm sure they will eventually find their helicopter. After that, God only knows.

The moon was starting to set and the clock on the Magnum's stereo told me that it was three in the morning. The compass on the computer told me we were traveling due south, down a lonely stretch of back road, heading straight for the unknown. A chill of uncertainty crept down my spine.

"What's the plan?" I asked Kevin.

"The plan is to keep moving." He said keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"We're going to have to find some place, eventually that is."

"We will, but until then we can take shifts driving. Just keep rollin' til we find whatever it is that were looking for."

"What are we looking for?"

"Hell, I don't know. I guess we'll know when we find it."

I hit the play button on the CD player and the White Album took off from where it had stopped when we arrived at the farmhouse, somewhere in the middle of Blackbird. Then I settled into the seat and dozed off after popping a couple of pills.

~

I was submerged in water; cold muddy water. I tried to scream but the profuse liquid filled my mouth, my throat, my lungs. Reaching out for anything I felt only blackness. After several moments of sheer terror and being certain that I was about to drown, I realized the water was only a few feet deep.

I stood up in the waist high murk, completely consumed by the darkness. The smell of earth was heavy. As my eyes became adjusted to the dark I could see a circle above me, a circle of the night's sky. It was an elongated circle, more like a rectangle.

I'm in a hole. A deep hole. A deep rectangular hole. Lord help me, I'm in a grave, an empty watery grave.

I scrambled to one end, reaching for the steep muddy walls. It was nearly impossible to climb but after what had seemed like hours, I managed to pull myself out with the help of some roots and the treads of my sneakers.

I collapsed onto the wet grass, my sides and stomached ached from the strain of climbing. The wetness went all the way to my bones as a cold wind sent my body into fierce shivers.

This has to be a dream. I'm dreaming.

The clouds broke, revealing a bright full moon that illuminated my surroundings. I was sitting in the middle of a cemetery.

It was an ancient graveyard by the look of the simple weathered headstones that held no inscriptions. Huge trees grew scattered throughout the rows of white markers, their leaves trembling in the wind.

Please tell me this is a dream... but it's far too real to be dream.

The cold wind cut deep into my damp body. I could see my breath. There was frost on the ground, heavy thick frost. I trembled so violently that I thought I would soon collapse. Something was tickling my face. It felt like snow, but more dense, like small icicles.

The icicles were coming from the shaking tree leaves. They fell with each chilly gust of wind. They were almost painful as they hit my tender frozen cheeks.

I pinched myself hard enough to leave the indents of my fingernails in the gooseflesh of my arm..

This can't be a dream.

The cemetery sat in the middle of thick woods. Through the darkness I could hear the thrashing of the dense undergrowth. As it grew closer it grew more intense. It sounded like hundreds of them. They weren't ambling clumsily through the woods either. There were running. They were tearing through the thorns and the saplings, making their way to me.

And they were screaming.

It was coming from every direction. In less than the time you can tie your shoe I would be surrounded and out numbered.

A gravel path ran up a small incline and ended just before the hill devoured the landscape. At the end of the path sat a mausoleum. I sprinted for the building; my legs felt like hot rubber. The more I ran, the further away the building appeared. It felt like I was still submerged in the muddy grave as I fought against an invisible force of resistance.

The screams were growing closer. I glanced over my shoulder and saw hordes of figures running up the hill after me.

I had reached the building, terrified and exhausted. The fear went from unbearable to excruciating as I pulled the heavy metal handle and the door refused to budge.

In complete despair I began to cry as I pounded my fists against mausoleum doors.

"May."

It spoke so suddenly and with such clarity that I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned around to see a robed figure standing directly behind me, it's rich velvet robe flowing in the strong wind. The hood was pulled down, concealing the entire face. The smell of the death was so heavy that my eyes began to water and my stomach heaved.

"Are you sure you want to go in there?" It spoke.

"Yes, theyr'e coming! Oh God, they're coming for me!" I cried.

"You have two choices. I can open the door or-"

"Yes, please open the door!"

"OR!" It yelled with a bellowing voice that shook the earth around me. "Or you can come with me."

It lifted a hand, a long rotting skeletal hand, and pulled back the velvet hood revealing an enormous horse skull. The eyes were gone but hair and dried pieces of flesh remained. The lips were pulled back tightly, revealing a horrific set of gigantic brown teeth.

It pulled opened both sides of the front of the robe. I nearly fainted with fright as my eyes took in the horror of this creature's body. It's skin was translucent and seemed to glow from within in various hues of amber and violet. I was certain I had never seen such brilliant and fascinating colors before in my entire life.

What made my skin crawl and my head grow faint was it's enormous bloated belly, which was stuffed with at least ten different human fetuses. Each had a green and rotten tone to their slimy skin and as a high piercing scream escaped my from my throat, they all simultanelously turned their round little heads and looked at me with bright pulsating eyes.

"Step inside and I will save you." The horses mouth did not move as it spoke. The voice seemed to emanate from within it's horrid body.

"NO!" I screamed, wanting to run but there was no where to run to. They were seconds away. Their screams filled my head. "Open the damn door!" I screamed at the horse head. "Open it!"

It flew from it's feet in a blur of black velvet, throwing open the doors of the mausoleum as it bolted straight into the sky like a bullet and was gone.

I ran for the opening as the creatures trailed right behind me. There wasn't a second to spare when I slammed the doors shut and secured the big sliding lock on the inside. They instantly began to bang at the doors, screaming their bloodcurdling screams.

After a moment of sweet relief, I turned around to view my new surroundings. Moonlight was spilling through two very small windows that hung just below the ceiling opposite of one another, each one barred. In the center of the small room sat a marble vault. The lid lay on the floor propped against the sides.

I did not want to look inside but something drove me to it. Something I had no control over. I took a deep breath and slowly approached the open vault, as the terror grew more intense with each step.

The first thing I saw as I peered over the edge of the big marble box was a pair of sneakers.

 Kevins sneakers.

The room started to spin and with out a breath to take, I fell to the ground. It felt like passing out but I was still conscious. I saw the ground coming fast as my head hit the corner of the vault's lid.

My eyes went in and out of focus as I watched the dust floating in the beams of moonlight, lying on my back on the floor of this mausoleum. I felt a warm trickling sensation run trough my hair. I touched my head and looked at my blood soaked hand.

I wanted it to end. I wanted out.

The same burning desire overtook me and I stood up to look back into vault.

His body had been long deceased, so it appeared. It held the same characteristics of the hundreds of other corpses I had grown accustomed to seeing on a regular basis. The eyes were sunken and the skin was tight, very pallid and yellow.

There was something around his neck. It was a thick black cord that was tied to a small leather pouch, which sat in the center of his chest.

I reached for the pouch and picked it up. It was heavy with its contents.

Kevin opened his eyes and I became petrified in horrific amazement.

Hot burning pain consumed my entire arm as he sunk his rotten teeth into my flesh.

I screamed.

Someone was shaking me.

"MAY!"

It was Kevin. I was back in the Magnum that was now parked along side the road somewhere in bum-fuck Indiana.

Kevin was looking at me with wild frightened eyes.

"Jesus Christ, scare the shit out of everybody! You okay?"

I was trembling. He grabbed my hand.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry."

I took in several deep relaxing breaths. It was dark now, very dark. No moon like there had been in my dream, only blackness.

"You wanna talk about?" Kevin asked me.

"Not really, it's okay." I said. "How long was I asleep?"

"Hours. You were out cold, too. We stopped n' had supper. I tried ta wake ya up but you didn't want no part of it. So I just let ya sleep."

My head was still trying to clear itself.

"I hate to have to tell ya, May, but we need to make a supply run. Were almost outta water and the canned goods are really getting low too. We really need to replenish everything."

I sighed." Well, I guess we start lookin' for a town."

I thought about offering to drive so Kevin could get some sleep but decided against it. My eyelids were still heavy and before I knew it I was asleep again.

This time there were no dreams.

12:46 PM - 5 Comments - 11 Kudos - Add Comment

Right or Left?
Category: Writing and Poetry

"Oh hi, Becky. We were just talking about you." Kevin said, almost sounding pleased that she had overheard our conversation.

The wind picked up the scent of alcohol from her stagnant breath.

"Yeah, I heard ya." Her voice trembled with anger and pain. "I thought we was all friends. I thought ya'll liked me." She was on the verge of tears, which was not the reaction I had expected.

"It's not that we dont like you, Becky" I said. "We just don't wanna go with Jack."

"We'll then ya'll are dumber than a box a rocks." The pain had receded leaving only anger in her voice.

"Hey, everyones got a right to make their own decisions."  Kevin said, starting to get annoyed.

"You're right Kevin. Just like I made the decision to go with you to the farmyard and what happened? I saved yer fuckin' life, kid, and this how ya'll thank me, by callin' me a dumbass redneck?"

"Well, I think your too busy kissing Jack's ass to look at the big picture. If you wanna spend a long northern winter in the Canadian wilderness then go right ahead." He dug around in his cigarette pack and pulled out a half a joint. "But chances are that itll be a long and frigid road to certain death."

He placed the joint between his lips and cuffed his hands around it to block the wind. I smelt its sweet aroma as he lit it and then handed it to Becky in a sort of peace offering.

She took the joint, hit it lightly and then handed it to me.

"Well I think staying here is certain death. So where we at now?" She said as she coughed out through her mouth and nose, refusing to let the attitude in her voice go.

"Whatever Becky. You go just go with Jack." Kevin said.

"Whatever Becky? So ya'll don't care if I go n die?"

He sighed and then said, "Why should I, you obviously don't."

"I just cant believe you people! Ya think someones yer friend." She said.

I could see the anger growing on Kevins face. It became so intense I thought I could actually see fumes coming from his head.

"This is ridiculous. You want to go so damn bad but your gettin all pissy because were not trying to talk you outta it. That's fuckin retarded. And you wonder why I called you a dumbass redneck. Sorry Becky, I was just merely stating the obvious. Now get lost. Your drunk and I'm tired of talking about it."

I was spacing off at the dancing oak trees and did not see Becky kick Kevin right in the kidneys, but I certainly heard him yell out in pain.

"You fucking bitch, you better run." He said with no breath at all, holding his side where Becky's thick heavy boot had struck.

At first she just stood there looking as if she was about to say something vile but when Kevin regained his composure and began to stand she bolted through the door and back into the house. He ran after her letting the screen door slam shut as I followed behind as fast I could in the daze of confusion that had overtaken me. He certainly wouldnt hit Becky but I was afraid it appeared as if he might.

Becky had ran upstairs and locked herself in a bedroom. By the time I arrived on the scene Kevin was pounding on the door. When he saw me he stopped.

"You fucking bitch. You better keep your drunken ass in there. I don't want to see your face out here again." He hollered through the door and then looked at me." Lets get our shit and get the fuck outta here."

We took what was ours out from the bedroom we were using and headed down the stairs where Jack was sitting up on the couch wide-awake.

"What's going on?" He asked as he stood up to his towering height.

"We're outta here. You guys have fun in Canada." Kevin said as threw the bags down on the floor and started picking through the items on the coffee table, taking what was his.

Jack walked over to the pile, which consisted of my over-stuffed red Marlboro bag, the big leather first-aid kit and a garbage bag full of dirty laundry. He bent down and opened the snap on the leather bag.

"Thats our fucking shit. Get your snoot outta it." Kevin said.

"You've got a traveling hospital in this bag." He picked it up and started digging though the contents.

"Yeah and it's Mays, so it goes with us."

"Who are you to run and take the goodies? I don't care who it belongs to, thats not right."

Again I could see the fumes rolling off of Kevins head. My own was already spinning but what happened next seemed to disconnect me from reality altogether leaving me in state of dreamy confusion where things seemed distorted and foggy.

Jack continued to sift through the bag.

"Please put the bag down." Kevin said. He spoke lightly and almost cheerily.

Jack ignored this and continued his sifting.

"You got every goddamn persrip-"

The sound of a gunshot pierced my ears, sending me to my knees as I covered my head with my arms.

Kevin had shot Jack in the foot. My ears were ringing so loudly I couldnt hear my own thoughts. If I could, I would have thought Kevin had shot him in the head because thats what my bewildered distorted mind had seen.

Jack fell to the ground, simultaneously reaching for his weapon.  Before he was able to grasp it Kevin had kicked him square in the jaw sending him ass over end and into the wall. This rendered Jack momentarily unconscious.

Becky had heard the gun shot and came running down the stairs with tears streaming down her face. When she saw Jack's motionless figure on the floor her face went white as a sheet.

"What'd you do?" She cried. "You fucking bastard, you killed him. You fuckin bastard!" She attacked Kevin with flailing drunken arms and somehow managed to clip him with a knuckle right on his left brow.

He restrained her with his left arm and cocked back his right, making a tight fist. But instead of making contact he threw his hand over his left shoulder and backhanded her across the face. It wasnt a punch but I could tell it has an extremely hard hit, leaving Becky to stare at the stars for a few moments. Then she collapsed to her knees rubbing her cheek.

"He's not dead." Kevin told her.

Jack was waking up now; feeling his jaw to make sure it was still intact.

"May, load the car while I watch these idiots." Kevin said holding the two of them at gunpoint as they sat in the corner at the bottom the staircase.

Randy was awake now. He had passed out in the armchair where he was now sitting still as stone with wide magnified eyes.

I proceeded to load the car as Kevin had instructed. Once everything was packed Kevin asked Randy if he wanted to come with us or stay with Jack and Becky. Randy said he was going to go wherever Kevin went because they had been in this together since the beginning. I could tell Kevin was pleased with his decision.

"Ya'll are gonna regret this!" Becky said as we were walking out the door.

"I'm sure we wont. Good luck, have fun." Kevin called back to her.

And with that we let the screen door slam behind us while Becky and Jack still sat in the corner of living room.

We stopped at the farmyard and found the gas Jack had told us about. Inside one of the machine sheds sat two gigantic wagons each holding enormous white tanks. One was marked "GASOLINE" and the other "DIESEL."

We figured out how to operate it easily. There was a hand pump at the base of the hose and after several long drawn out moments we had a full tank of gas again.

I watched the farmyard pass by in the moonlight from the passengers seat as we drove down the drive, passed through the white washed covered bridge and came to a stop at the road.

"Right or left?" Kevin asked me.

"Left." I said putting no thought into it.

11:37 AM - 3 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

"Zombies?"

The more I thought about it the more it made sense to me. I couldn't help but think that the idea of being hundred of miles away from any human being, alive or dead, was a good one.

I also felt that Kevin was exaggerating Jacks attitude a little. At first he spoke with a warm smile; his words held respect as he told us our survival showed determination. It was only when the Vanessa situation arose that he began to get demanding and for obvious reasons.

Jack had returned from the farmyard telling little of the events that had taken place. He told us that the yard was now clear and that there was plenty of gas to be had as the five of us sat around the coffee table.

Randy offered him a shot of whiskey in a very meek voice as he poured his own. Jack accepted with a gracious smile and then asked for seconds.

"What do you expect to do in the wilderness when winter comes?" Kevin asked him at the first opportunity.

"Build big fires, make fur coats, go ice fishing. I tell you what; th