Post by tinare on Jul 5, 2011 10:34:42 GMT -5
Slowly opening her eyes the blonde young woman’s hand flopped down on the empty place in the bed next to her. As Cassie had deduced from the smell of bacon that filled the air, Dante had already gotten up. Throwing back her heavy comforter she sat up in bed and leaned over to the dresser. Not willing to get of the bed and let her bare feet touch the cold wood floors, she dressed in bed. Ready for the day she rushed down the rickety stairs. With both hands on the narrow walls she made the turn on the landing and leaped only to crash into Dante at the bottom. He, of course, had no trouble catching her as he said, “I make you breakfast and you attack me? You aren’t excited about tonight or anything are you?” Squirming down from his embrace she squealed and ran past him into the kitchen. Answering him in a matter of fact tone, “Yes, yes I am. We are having the biggest party ever and I get to put your *ss to work for it.” Then a little more serious she turned to see that he was right behind her. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and on tip toe she hugged him tight, “Really, thank you so much for all your help.” Lifting her from the ground Dante held her close and gave her the smile she loved so much, “I wouldn’t miss this Halloween party. You promised me one hell of a time.” He lowered her to the ground as she replied, “And tonight will deliver, I’m sure of it.” With a wink she took a piece of bacon and started eating. Pouring a cup of coffee she sat at the kitchen table to plan the night with him. The slam of the front door made Cassie jump in her seat and they both laughed at her unease. “Guess your sister Kylee is home.”, Dante still chuckled as he caught sight of the older girl, who had ignored the both of them as she headed upstairs to her bedroom. Cassie nodded and added, “We shouldn’t get yelled at for at least another eight hours while she sleeps.” Once more they laughed together as they discussed trivial things like the menu and music for the night ahead.
After wasting away most of the morning talking, laughing and filling up on bacon and store bought cheesecake Dante got up and headed towards the garage door. Sucking in a sudden sharp breath, Cassie jumped to her feet and blocked the door. Standing in front of it with her arms extended to the sides she gazed up at him with a worried look. “Um, what do you need in there? You don’t need to go in there. Soda is in the fridge.” He chuckled at her expense, “Do you really think little you will keep big me outta there? All I have to do is move you.” Something in her eyes changed, a sincere pleading had crept into them. “Please don’t.” Dante’s teasing ceased and he stared back at her with increasingly skeptical look, given the strange way she was behaving. “And why not? Someone has to bring in the coolers. And you just told me a little while ago that they are out in the garage. Give me one reason not to get them.” Knowing she had no good reason for her strange feeling she stepped aside. Reaching for the door handle he swung it open and planted a kiss on her cheek. The kiss had it’s desired effect, as she bashfully smiled up at him with blushing cheeks. “That’s not fair.” , she complained. To which he replied with a devilish glimmer in his eyes, “I know. Open up the door when I get back up the steps with the cooler. I’ll holler.” With that he closed the door behind himself. A blast of cold air leaked in while the door was opened for that short time. She shivered and waited for his bellowing call with her hand on the door handle. After a few tense minutes she heard a faint scratching at the door. “Dante!” She yelled, “That’s not funny!“ the scratching stopped but the nagging unease in her only grew as her heart thudded faster. The door knob began to wiggle under her hand. Logic told her that there was no way Dante could be doing those things and be carrying a cooler filled with soda. Her hand shot up to they aged chain lock on the door and quickly slid the metal into place. Opening the door just a crack as she called out, “Dante?” Only to have that question answered by a flash of blue fingernails wrapping around the door, trying to pry it open. With all of her might she slammed the door shut over and over until the grotesquely inhuman looking fingers retreated. Not a sound escaped her as she dead bolted the door and locked the handle as well. Running now for the front door she threw it open, and grabbed the baseball bat that was always present next to it. Running around to the garage she called for him with fear in her voice. “Dante!!!” Once there, she saw that there was no trace of him, or the thing that had reached in. Looking around she held the bat tighter and soon ran back into the front door. As she closed and dead bolted that she heard the back door slam shut and she let out a groan.
Running through the kitchen, still clutching the bat, she almost slammed into her mother and Dante’s mother, Renee. With a sigh of relief she set the bat down and let them go on with their complaints, mostly about who’s child was worse. Finally, interrupting “Um, I can’t seem to reach Dante. Could you please try?” His mother gave her a pained look but took out her cell. Cassie took hers out as well and started dialing Dante. “I don’t have much signal,” Renee said as she crossed the kitchen going towards the window. Holding her cell up she dialed Dante as well. “He’s probably being lazy and messing with you. You are just playing right into it by worrying.” Cassie had followed, listening to the ringing in her own cell that went unanswered. She strained to see if she could hear the ring of Dante’s phone from in the house. Pulling the phone from her ear as the voicemail picked up. “Maybe, but I’d still like to be sure.” She was doing her best to keep up appearances, seeming that she wasn’t worried, if for no other reason than to keep the older women from over reacting. As Cassie held her phone up next to his mother’s she watched as the bars on their phones dwindled down to nothing. Amazed she watched as her phone died completely. Quickly she dropped her phone on the counter and ran to the home phone on the wall. Thankful, she sighed hearing a dial tone. Just as her hand reached the buttons to punch in Dante’s cell number though a click ended the dial tone. She hung up the phone and tried again. This time being greeted only by silence. Taking in a deep breath she looked to her mother who had been standing in silence observing until now. “I’m sure there is just some trouble with the lines, train probably derailed again. I’m heading out to the dentist. Renee can come out with me. We’ll figure out where he got to.” Dante’s mother nodded firmly with a grave expression. “That’s right. And we can both kick his *ss for this.” Cassie smiled at the older women and gave her mother a quick hug to show her appreciation. “Thank you guys. I’ll finish getting ready for tonight. I’m sure he’ll come back just in time for the food.” They all laughed but it was a nervous sort of laugh. Like they all wanted to believe it would be alright.
After a very long day it seemed things were coming together for the Halloween party. The food was out and guests began to arrive. Everyone was discussing the lack of phone service where the music wasn’t blaring too loud. The lights were dim as Cassie made her way through the crushing crowds. Finding her way to the basement she was greeted by the older group. Mostly family. Some of which she didn’t know since they were Dante’s family. Putting on a smile she greeted everyone, really just looking to see if anyone had seen Dante. Then leaving through the cellar doors a booming voice stopped her in her tracks. “This old man can see through that fake smile.” Turning she saw the image of her long dead grandfather. For him she smiled having been the only one to feel his presence after he had died. Still, seeing him appear so solid only made a part of her worry more. “Grandpa. Why are you here?” He smiled and kindly responded quickly. “You know why. Bad things are coming girl. That boy already met one. You will soon. Everyone will. Be ready. And fight with everything you go. You hear me?” A sudden crash interrupted him and she looked back at the house for a second only to turn back around to see he had gone. More confused than ever she ran back inside. Nearly being plowed over by people fleeing from the house. Moving past the panicked people she made it to the main floor. Seeing now what had panicked everyone. Creatures, seemingly human, were slaughtering everyone they could get their hands on. Running past one of the sickly blue colored monsters as it gnawed on someone’s lifeless arm she nearly lost her lunch. Blood covered his mouth and bits of flesh stuck in his sharpened teeth as he flashed her a smile. Running past him and the now terrorized guests. She stopped where the DJ had set up in the living room and picked from a display that her friend had made especially for the evening. Showing off a myriad of knives and swords she grabbed two katana blades and ran slashing wildly at anything that was threatening the others. Nothing she did seemed to have any effect, except to anger the creatures. Suddenly a blood curdling scream ran out and she heard her friend call out. “Their eyes everyone! Aim for their eyes with whatever you have.” With that rally cry she ran for the stairs to help a girl she didn’t know that was poorly armed with a fork. Slashing at the male monster that was accosting her, Cassie missed, but sliced his face. “You b*tch! You can’t even hit me after you’ve been told how to do it.” While he complained the other girl stabbed at his face but she was no better. Grumbling the creature smashed the girl sending her head over heels where she was quickly being devoured still alive by another of the waiting undead. Cassie’s eyes were fixed on the feeding frenzy until the impatient monster cleared his throat speaking in a patronizingly soothing tone. “I bet you taste better.” Cassie let out a scream and started stabbing wildly at his face. As the sword plunged in it snapped on the hard bone each time. After two strikes he was left alive with two pieces of blade lodged next to his right eye. Angered he chastised her. “Stupid twit.” Screaming again as he reached out for her she kicked at his head driving the pieces of metal into his eye. His unearthly scream mingled with hers and she ran up the stairs. Locking herself in a room she held the remaining sword ready and waited.
Through out the night the screams, thumping, and all of the noise in the house stopped. At some point Cassie had fallen asleep, slumped over, sitting on the floor under a window. Being awoken by a sound coming from outside she pulled herself up by the wooden window sill and peeked out. In disbelief she saw people. They were walking around the house pouring, what she somehow knew was a salt mixture. As the five to ten people went around they chanted prayers. Some in English some in languages she didn’t recognize. Watching them she knew, just knew, that although they were no threat, what they were doing wasn’t going to help. Going to the door she cautiously opened it and looked up and down the hallway. There was no one there. And as she made her way down the steps she realized there was something else wrong. The walls and floor had no blood, there were no bodies, and only there was only the usual trash one might find after a big party. She kicked some cups out of her way and shuffled her feet though the now empty house. Making her way through the house she saw a few dazed people meandering around. None of which she wanted to talk to. Her sister Kylee was yelling at everyone she saw to get out. Cassie couldn’t help but laugh at how absurd it seemed. But she was thankful to see her sister had made it though the night. Still she ducked out the front door unseen and ran down the street to survey the damage done to the neighborhood. There where people wandering around outside with the same dazed look the others in her home had. There were windows knocked out in her neighbor’s houses and damaged done to almost every vehicle that was unfortunate enough to have been left out the night before. Going to the few neighbors she knew well she began to ask if they had seen Dante. One after another denied that they had. Most were now armed with whatever they could carry. An older man sitting on his porch began to yell at her. “Come here girl.“ With a smile she waved and went to the steps. “How are you holding up Mr. Fishel?“ She asked. He dismissed her question and began to start in on her. “You need a gun. Those things are coming back. People are trying to say it didn’t happen. On the news they are saying it never happened. Some are saying it’s the end of the world. You best get out of here while you can. Bring me my beer before you go. I know you have leftovers from that party last night. Don’t hold out on me.“ Shaking her head she started for her home again, as she called out to him. “I’ll do that, whatever is left I’ll drop off. Tonight I’m leaving to find Dante.” When she went back inside Mr. Fishel was still railing against the conspiracy he had made up in his mind. She shut the door and noted happily that everyone, including her sister seemed to have left. Running up the steps she went to their room and began to throw clothes in a duffel bag. Then going back downstairs she started rounding up food to take with her. A sudden realization stuck her, the box of granola bars were still in her hand but she didn’t move to set them down. Walking into the living room she sat on the couch and let go of the box she had. Instead she picked up a pillow and hugged it tight to her chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the weight of what was happening dropped on her like a ton of bricks. Muffling her sobs with the pillow she cried out for Dante petrified that he was already gone.
It took some time but eventually Cassie got a hold of herself again. Tears still fell from her eyes but she was more determined than ever to figure all of it out. It was evening again and she grabbed her duffel bag now packed with food and clothes. Remembering to grab a six pack from the fridge for her neighbor she stopped short. Looking through the window she saw men outside and a caravan of armored trucks. At first glance she thought they were human but when she saw one began to rip into the flesh of a screaming woman she knew it was happening again. Dropping her bag she watched as they walked up her driveway. She didn’t wait to see more. Cassie dashed up the steps and went to her bedroom. She began to panic as she heard the front door being kicked in. Trying to stay as quiet as possible she stared out the window. There were robed figures now where earlier there had been people praying. Her breath came in ragged forced breaths as she saw them wiping blood on her home’s siding. The stark red color standing out against the white of her house. Her hand flew to her mouth to cover a scream that threatened to come. She had seen where they were getting the blood. Each one held a human head in their hands, held upside down they dipped their blood streaked hands in the necks of their victims. One victim she recognized as Mr. Fishel. Turning away she vomited on the floor next to the window and ran for her closet. Deciding instantly hiding was her best course of action. She was unarmed and didn’t think it would have helped anyway. Ducking down she shut the door to the closet just in time to hear her bedroom door being kicked in. Shaking uncontrollably she moved soundlessly into the back of the closet. There was a small false door that connected her closet to the next bedroom’s closet. The space in between the walls was where she intended to hide. Moving quickly she removed the false wall and smashed into the small space. Replacing the piece perfectly she stayed perfectly still and listened. “No one is here.” She heard one voice say. “I know there is someone.” And another male voice answered. They went back and forth arguing about if there were someone there or not for what seemed like forever. Finally the one gave in and agreed to leave. Cassie breathed in realizing she had been holding her breath the whole time. Still she wouldn’t come out. Just in case they returned. That night she stayed hidden and stared into the darkness around her. No light could make it to her hiding place and she was too horrified to think of sleep.
After a number of hours she pushed her way out of the wall and into the closet. Opening the door cautiously she peered out. Seeing no one she walked out into the room and went to the window. There was no one outside. Shivering she went down the rickety stairs. Going to the garage she opened the door and got into her car. Thankful she had parked it inside before the party. Turning the key the engine hummed and she threw it into reverse flooring it as she smashed through the garage door. Not stopping she backed out of the driveway and threw it into gear, stomping on the gas petal she didn’t let up until she had driven some distance away. From her home and into the next city she didn’t see one person the whole time. It wasn’t until she had taken some back roads that she had found a car stopped on the side of the road. She pulled up next to them, watching the bellowing smoke coming from their car. “You guys need a lift?” The couple that had been in a heated argument stopped to look at her. The woman ran for Cassie’s door and opened it. “Please! We were trying to get away and… and “ The woman began to cry and her man came to her side at once. Closing the front door that the woman had opened he instead opened the back door and eased both himself and her into the back seat. “Thank you for stopping. Can you get us to the next town over? Someone has to know something.” As the door slammed shut she nodded and took off again. It wasn’t long before they came to the next city over. There it seemed nothing had happened. People were bustling about shopping and working. It only moved to confuse Cassie that much more. “what the hell… It’s…perfectly fine? They don’t know what’s happened? “ The man in the back began to prattle on about the situation but she wasn’t paying attention. Mr. Fishel’s words from the day before sprang to her mind. She turned sharply and stopped in a parking lot. Turning around she looked at the man and woman. “I think they covered it all up. No one is supposed to know. It’s crazy but… but… nothing else makes any sense. That’s why they came back. To make sure no one was left to say anything.” An armored truck looking exactly like the ones she had seen the night before drove slowly past them. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the human driver. “We need to keep moving.” Without waiting she drove forward out of her parking space and left the parking lot going the opposite way as the truck. Her hands were clenching the steering wheel with a death grip. The man in the back reached his hand up between the front seats and patted her shoulder. “You alright up there? Don’t crack on us.” She responded, “I’m alright. Just… trying to figure out what to do. Where to go. We can’t tell anyone what happened. It might put them in danger. And going to people we know seems risky too. Huh… unless they think we’re already dead. I have an idea.” With that she made a u turn and gunned it trying to find the truck again. “Are you armed?” She asked the man. He responded by taking out a 357 magnum and handing it to her. “I also have a shot gun in the bag and lots of ammo.” Taking the gun she smiled and began to ride the bumper of the armored truck she had tracked down. “This will do. I need to know now. Do you guys want out? I’ll stop here and let you out. But I’m going to get answers from the driver of that truck. One way or another.” Her hand gripped the magnum in her lap tighter. She didn’t look back at the couple but the woman answered for both of them. “We’re with you.” Cassie responded after taking a deep breath. She knew she would have gone on without them but having them along was a relief. “Thank you.” Pushing the little car harder she kept on the armored truck. Now and then letting a car of two get between them so that she didn’t alert the driver to their presence behind them. After a half hour of driving she was starting to think they would never stop. Checking the fuel gauge she winced as the needle dipped to just under 1/16 of a tank. Just then the armored truck pulled into a fast food place. She saw her opportunity. Making a hard turn she sped ahead of the truck and slammed on the brakes at an angel. Knowing the driver could just plow the tiny car out of his way she hoped the confusion would buy them enough time. Jumping from the driver’s seat she ran to the armored truck’s driver’s door. Throwing open the door she grinned as the driver stammered. She had the gun in his face her finger squeezing the trigger ever so slightly. “I suggest you get in the back if you don’t want to die here and now.” The driver thought to fight back until the passenger door opened and her partner in crime shoved the shotgun in his direction. The man with the shot gun spoke up. “I suggest you do what she says.” Reluctantly their captive gave up his seat and threw up his hands.
After forcing the former driver into the back of the armored truck Cassie started interrogating him. While she did the armed man that had been helping drove inconspicuously to keep attention off of them. The woman with him was silently sulking in the passenger seat. The captive driver was held at gun point while he sat on sizable footlocker that ran the length of the back. It looked to be a heavy steal but Cassie really didn’t know. “I want answers and I want them NOW.” The man replied, “f**k you b*tch..” She only smiled as she answered “Wrong answer.” Even before she could finish her statement Cassie was pistol whipping the man’s face with her 357. He tried to defend himself with his arms but those were soon covered in welts. Still she didn’t let up. Not until her arm started to get tired. His face was in need of stitches from the cuts, blood soaked most of his shirt. From the shattered look of his face she might have even broken bones. Cassie was shaking with rage and she took out her cell phone and pulled up Dante‘s picture, shoving it under the good eye of the man. “This man. Where is he? He disappeared the first night you sent those things. And what the hell are those things.” All the while the new driver was listening and growing more and more doubtful. The pummeled man’s eyes showed that he did recognize Dante. He spat blood out on the floor along with a tooth. It was the only response she got from him. Cassie let out a sigh and grabbed some wire that was hanging up near the man. There was all sorts of useful things in the truck she started to realize as she bound the man’s hands and feet with the wire. It cut into his skin but he didn’t complain. Rooting though the truck she found syringes along with an entire case of strangely marked bottles. The only real identification was a series of numbers. Loading up a syringe with one of the fluids Cassie got a strange and rather sick smile on her lips as she looked to the man who now looked back at her with the terror she was hoping for. “Are you gonna talk now? Or do I get to see what this does to a person first hand?” As she advanced on him he only stuttered, just as the needle pushed into his vein he screamed “LOOK IN THE LOCKER!” She patted his head as she took out the needle. “See that wasn’t so hard.“ Seeing the heavy duty locks on it she waved the needle in the air. “Where are the keys” The beaten man responded “In the glove box, up front”
Cassie had gotten the keys from the other woman and tried to reassure them both. In quiet whispers she told them about the shots. Leaving the container up in the front with both of them she squatted between the front seats to plan out what they would do. The man spoke first. “We need out. This is getting too serious. We talked it over. This…this is just too big. It’s time to run. You should do the same.” Something in his tone made it obvious to Cassie that he didn’t mean she should come with them. The woman wouldn’t meet Cassie’s gaze, instead she only stared out the window listlessly. Cassie got up and put her hand on the man’s shoulder. “It’s ok. Just give me ten more minutes. What is in that locker might show us what we all need to know.” The man only nodded and started a path to the nearest bus station.
Returning to the back with the key Cassie held it up as she leveled the barrel of the gun at the captive man. “Get your *ss up and get on the floor. Lie face down.” The last part was just something that popped in her head from watching too many police shows, but it sounded good and the man did as she said. Working the key in the locks she kept an eye on him. Not once did he move. As the last lock hit the floor, the lid was thrown back by an unseen force. The surprise of it knocked Cassie back a few steps. Blinking as she stared into the eyes of walking corpse. Screaming she unloaded the 357 into it’s face. The man on the floor only laughed hysterically. Thankfully one of the shots had pieced the creature’s eye and he crumpled into a mess in the locker. Shaking, Cassie looked in to see that the creature had no arm. The lost appendage was lying in a bloody, gooie mess next to it. The stench of rotting flesh from inside the locker was now filling the truck. Realizing the man on the floor was still laughing she yanked him to his feet by his hands and in one quick movement sent him tumbling into the locker. Now the man had stopped and was screaming but being bound as he was there was little he could do about it. With a smirk Cassie waved goodbye to him as she dropped the lid back down, effectively drowning out his screams. It was then that she realized the locker must be air tight and sound proof. Since none of them had smelled the death inside before she opened it. “Hmmm how convenient.” Replacing one of the locks she shoved the key in her pocket. After stopping at the bus station the trio said a quick goodbye. Both Cassie and the man wishing each other luck as the broken woman only stared expressionless. The man giving Cassie a hearty hand shake made sure she would go with plenty of ammo for the 357. And she in turn handed him something from the truck. A small stash of money that she had found in the glove box. She left them, getting back into the truck praying that they would make it to safety, somewhere.
As Cassie sat in the drivers’ seat of the conspicuous truck. From across the parking lot she could watch the couple that had been helping her board the bus heading for God knows where. In spite of the situation she smiled, pleased to know they had made it out of all of this mess. For about ten minutes she sat, trying to think of what her next move should be, only to laugh as she noticed the GPS in the dashboard. Quickly pressing a few buttons she located the home feature in the navigator. As it mapped out the way she pulled the truck out of its parking spot. Cassie followed the route, as she did her mind drifted. No matter how hard she tried to plan out her next move her mind refused to focus on anything but Dante. Silly things, like his smile, his voice, over and over his words, ‘You’re not crying are you?’. Remembering the genuinely surprised tone he used when speaking those words she laughed out loud. The sound brought her some comfort in the quiet.
It was growing darker as the truck traveled out of the city and moved into a more industrial area. It had been a few minutes since she had seen another car as a half formed plan began to take shape in her mind. Cassie pulled off to the side of the road suddenly, lurching to a stop. Taking time to reload the 357 before crawling into the back of the truck again. Retrieving the key from her pocket she started undoing the locks that held her prisoner and the festering carcass. With her foot she shoved back the lid of the foot locker, her hand poised to pull the trigger. Unfortunately the stench from the decomposing body knocked her back a step. As Cassie covered her face with the sleeve from her shirt she peeked in the locker. It appeared like the original driver was unconscious. Deciding to test that theory, she cocked the hammer back with a loud click on the gun she held. “Get your *ss up. Your choices are, some fresh air, or a bullet in your head. The latter is much easier for me.” Before she had even finished her sentence he had opened his eyes, one of them at least, the other was swollen shut from the beating he had sustained. The man rushed to be free of his prison, taking in huge gulps of the slightly fresher air in the truck. Motioning with the gun Cassie spoke again as she bent to untie his feet, “Open the back door.” When he got to the door the man punched a few buttons on a key pad, and both back doors opened. While he did that Cassie let out the breath she had been holding and kicked the lid on the foot locker down. The man looked at her, a look that seethed with resentment. The young woman just sighed as he jumped down to the grass just outside, she took a seat on the back of the truck as the man stripped off his shirt as it hung from his still bound hands. Showing a bit of kindness she untied the man’s hands, noticing the cloth was soaked in both his blood and what was left of the creature. Cassie let her feet sit on the bumper, her knees up as she leaned forward with her elbows resting on her knees. The gun was still aimed at the man but loosely held. He watched it, and Cassie smirked, “I’d splatter your brains before you took two steps closer. Now play nice. Are there spare clothes in the truck for you?” He appeared to consider things and gave a nod before answering, “Just to your right, bottom drawer.” Cassie was glad she hadn’t threatened to put the man back into the gooey mess again. She had the feeling he would have opted for a bullet before getting back in there judging by his near compliance now. After leaning back a bit, one hand still keeping the gun targeted, she opened the drawer he had indicated. Cautiously moving, she pulled out a dark blue jump suit and threw it at the man. He caught it easily and waited to see if she would look away while he dressed. She made no move but kept a steely gaze on the man’s face. He wasted no more time in removing all of his soiled clothes and jumping into the new clothes.
Cassie piped up, “Now that the pleasantries are over, I want some answers.” In the darkness he quirked an eyebrow but said nothing as she continued. “You recognized the man’s picture I showed you. Don’t bother denying it. What I want to know is, where is he? And how do I get him back and get the both of us away safely? And while we’re at it… what the hell are those things?” Cassie’s temper had cooled just a bit and she now threw him another peace offering. Her body pushed off of the bumper of the truck and she tied the discarded bindings to the bumper then held it as if waiting for him to offer his hands up to be tied. “If you let me tie you I’ll clean and dress those cuts on your face. But I have to be sure you can‘t attack, you understand.”
The man reluctantly allowed his hands to be bound as Cassie tried to keep control of the gun and tie his hands. It might have been comical if it hadn’t been such a serious situation. After prevailing over the troublesome ties she took a step back into the truck and started rummaging around for a medical kit. While she did that he spoke. “That THING you so brazenly killed was human. A human weapon. It’s brilliant really. Unleash a handful of those things in a war zone and let them get the job done. But as you can see, they aren’t perfected yet. Disintegrating is still an unfortunate side effect.”
Cassie groaned at the man’s apparent lack of compassion for even the creatures he worked with. “Great, that’s just great.” Her tone was thick with sarcasm but the bound man continued as she came out with the first aid kit in hand. Spreading open the box on the bumper the frustrated woman set down the gun and started pulling out gauze, slopping on whatever ointment she found as her prisoner continued, his face showing that he rather enjoyed the discomfort she felt from his words. “Your pesky little town was nothing more than a test site. The lives of your neighbors, frivolous, in the search for the perfect weapon.”
His goading had been enough, Cassie had too much of a temper and his contempt for life was enough to push her over the edge again. Lifting her hand to strike his face again with the butt of the gun she gasped as something stilled her hand. Something had a firm hold on her hand. As she tried to pull her hand from it’s grasp she turned her head to try to see who it could have been. There standing over her was a figure, it’s face was masked and hidden behind a heavy hood, Cassie thought it may be nothing more than a bulky sweatshirt. The other’s hand was like stone on hers, no matter how hard she pulled she could not free her hand from it’s hold. In the mean time the wounded man now laughed riotously knowing perfectly well the person behind the hood was one of his own. Slowly Cassie’s hand was lowered for her and the gun aimed at the head of the wounded man who immediately shut up, realizing this was not the time to joke around. The former driver of the truck spat at the ground in front of Cassie as the hooded figure untied his hands. A deep growl came from under the hood and the cowardly man dashed to take the driver’s seat again with out so much as a peep.
She still had no clue what to make of this interceding and unknown being. A deeply rooted terror gripped her heart and Cassie pulled harder at the hand that held her wrist still. “G..G…Get your d**n hand off me.” The fear of what was to happen next coupled with the realization that she was now entirely alone compounded and showed in her voice. The creature only squeezed her wrist harder which caused her hand muscles to spasm and the gun to fall to the ground. Still it didn’t utter one word to her. But now her entire body shook with terror as she was locked and staring at the black of the cloak over it’s face. The engine of the truck started but Cassie hardly realized it. Then, from the being, a deep and gravely sound broke from it, “Run. Run and don’t ever look back.”
It was almost too much for Cassie, she felt the darkness that swelled up around her, she was going to faint. As the creature let go of her wrist she lurched forward but caught herself just before falling into the being. Weakly she responded, “No. I can’t. Dante. Please… if you know anything of a man that went missing that night. I can’t… I have to know.”
The creature retreated into the back of the truck while retrieving a trinket from a pocket of his pants. He threw a wallet to the ground at Cassie’s feet and once more spoke, “The man you seek is dead.” She recognized the wallet right away, and fell to her knees to pick it up. Tears blurred her vision as she focused on the fat leather folded in her hands. She opened it to be sure, only to be greeted by a picture of herself and Dante. “Dante… no…”, her whisper left her lips but was lost to the roar of the truck. Through her tears Cassie looked up to see the creature still watching as it closed the doors of the truck and it pulled away. It was the last thing she saw before blessed unconsciousness overcame the young woman, her hand still clutching the wallet.
It was morning when Cassie’s eyes opened. A tired groan came from her and her entire body hurt from sleeping on the ground. The first sound to greet her was the loud rumbling of her empty stomach. “Ugh… “ She slowly got to her feet, seeing that Dante’s wallet was still in her hand she hugged it to her chest and slipped it into her front pocket. It’s bulk was uncomfortable but a welcomed reminder of him. “Food, gotta find something to eat.” Before doing so she took the gun that had been discarded on the ground and slid it into the back of the waist of her jeans. She kept mumbling to herself as she wandered about, finding a number of plants she knew were edible. Fresh black berries, and some greens she knew wouldn’t kill her. Although those tasted awful. Cassie gathered up some and started the long walk back to the main road. In one hand she held the bit of food she found taking bites as she walked. It wasn’t until a few minutes had passed that she realized she was walking in the truck’s tire tracks from the night before. An out of place and rather sickly smile pulled on her lips. She fully intended on reeking havoc on those that took the life of her Dante. And hopefully she would take a few of them down with her in the process.
It was late in the afternoon before Cassie caught sight of any sort of civilization. She had been following tire tracks through out the day. Some had been fairly well ground into the grass but there were times she took wrong turns and had to double back after heading the wrong way. Finally a sign posted along the battered and dusty roadway gave her the hope she needed that she was on the right track. The sign, nailed to a tree stated that she was entering private property. Her laughter rang out after reading the rest, violators will be prosecuted. Let them prosecute her. Nothing would be more entertaining that seeing these people trying to make a public case against her. The path she took veered off the road and into an overgrown forest along the edges of the road. It seemed to reason that these people would have cameras set up, at the very least on the actual road way. The rest of the walk would be much harder going as Cassie climbed and pushed through thick vegetation at times. Her jeans were snagged on a patch of pricker bushes and her tee shirt was filthy with grass stains from tripping a number of times. However she didn't stop.
The grumbling from her hungry stomach was ignored for the most part as night began to fall. Faint moon light illuminated her way between passing clouds but didn't offer much help. Nor did the plain and simple fact that, at heart, Cassie was not the more coordinated person. She tripped more times on roots that stuck up out of the ground and knocked into branches that stuck out like angry hands. It would all be worth it. Every scratch, bruise and bump. If she could just get her hands on someone from the group she pursued. Grief was one emotion Cassie refused to feel. Anger of course, a driving need for vengeance, perhaps even a death wish but if she allowed the sadness for even a moment it would overwhelm and cripple her completely. As she trudged on in the darkened night up ahead a large square building loomed. When it came into sight Cassie froze. It looked like nothing more than a run down garage. A very big garage but not at all what she was expecting. The thought came to mind that she could have gotten onto the wrong trail. What a waste it would be.
Then the smell hit her. The unmistakable stench of the creatures after their bodies gave out. Cassie's face soured but she rushed forward. Keeping a vigilant eye out for cameras and listening carefully for anyone walking about she peeked into a dingy window on the side of the building. Curiously enough the inside looked like the outside, nothing but a filthy garage. Tools lay strewn about along with oily rags. There was even a car lift. The only way in were too large garage doors a man door and three windows. The flickering florescent light inside made it clear that the electronic garage doors weren't going to open for her. The man door didn't seem likely to be unlocked, so Cassie worked on the window. It was locked of course but she shook and rattled the frame but nothing budged. Instead she laughed softly and selected a rock from the ground. It had no trouble crashing through the double pained glass. The shattering glass was loud and Cassie was sure someone had to hear it but as she stood holding her breath, no one came. Her hand reached through the hole carefully and unlocked the window. Then, just that easy the window was thrust open. Cassie jumped up and shimmied through the open window to land on her feet in the broken glass. She glanced around the room and ran her hands over some of the tools. The gun was still tucked safely in her jeans but for good measure she snatched two screwdrivers too. You could never be too prepared. Something caught her eye. Everything in the room was covered in a layer of dirt and dust except two things. The car lift and a lone bottle of water sitting on a red tool box. Not until she saw the water did Cassie realize just how dehydrated she really was. The bottle was snatched up, cracked open, and downed in record time. It seemed like a stupid thing to do but nothing she had done the past few nights had been very smart. What's the worst that could happen, it might be poisoned? The thought only made her laugh out loud.
After throwing the bottle to the floor Cassie jumped down into the pit below the raised car lift. It seemed real enough. Oil was splattered about everywhere and it reeked of exhaust. That's when she noticed how shallow the pit was. She had never been in one before but someone would have to sit on the ground to change the oil it was so shallow. Bending down Cassie knocked on the floor. A hallow echo responded. This wasn't to lift cars. It was to lower them through the door she was standing on. Like an eager school child she jumped out of the pit and ran to find the control. She saw the bulky controls on one corner of the simple lift and rushed to press the down button. Nothing happened. Of course. That would be too easy. Cassie balled up her fingers into a fist and thumped the raised buttons. Just like that it moved but only an inch or two. Light could be seen coming in through a crack in the door. She started pressing the buttons again and got nothing. Only then did she see what to do, both had to be held down. With two hands she pressed the raise and lower indicators and the mechanics of the machine rumbled to life. It was too good to be true. Cassie cast one final glance around the room, this was her last chance to back out. There was no reason to believe she couldn't make it back to town and forget everything. The grief tugged at her heart. It was a pain that could have killed her right then and there. Her eyes closed as she whispered, "I won't let it end like this. They are going to pay." She disappeared into the opening after jumping down the nine feet to the industrial tiled floor under the garage.
Landing with a thud she crumpled to the floor, her legs didn't have the strength to support a jump like that. Like everything else at this point though Cassie just brushed off the pain and began walking. The opening she had come through was closing and with it her last chance at leaving. With a sigh she looked around as she walked, built in lights illuminated the way down in the tunnel. The walls were smeared with all sorts of gross unidentified muck. The stench was unbearable, once or twice she gagged on the obnoxious fumes of obviously poorly ventilated air. After walking down the dimly lit hallway she came to a door. It was the only choice, but her hand felt the cold metal of the door. There was no way she would be able to break through it. Her fingers traced the line in the middle where two doors came together. With a smirk she jammed the screwdriver into the crease and started to work it back and forth. It wasn't making much progress but suddenly she grabbed the handle and started violently jamming the pointed end in harder.
From inside the door she could hear laughing, they were watching her futile efforts and mocking her. It only enraged her and she screamed, "Face me you d**n cowards!!!" The laughing only increased and actually seemed to come closer. A camera in the corner was fixed on her and a voice came from over an unseen intercom. It was one she recognized but his was not the one laughing. It was the hooded creature who told her Zahir was dead, and he wasn't happy, "You idiot! You don't know what you're doing.." His voice seemed to break but she couldn't be sure. There was silence for a full two minutes except for the clanging of Cassie's screwdriver on the door.
Finally a loud bang from the other side of the door made her jump. The screwdriver clattered to the floor as the sound echoed through the hall. "Heh..." She drew her gun but noticed how shaky it was in her hand and grumbled quietly. The door slid open easily, her slight damage not even hampering it in the least. The room beyond was visible but no one in it was. It reeked of an obvious trap even more than the ever but thankfully the air smelled much cleaner. As she stepped into the room a commanding voice spoke up. "Put the gun down before you hurt yourself. The water I left for you should be taking effect..." He might have said something more but Cassie never heard it. Her legs gave out and her vision clouded and started to go dark. The last sight she saw was a bizarre fluctuating light in the far end of the room.
After wasting away most of the morning talking, laughing and filling up on bacon and store bought cheesecake Dante got up and headed towards the garage door. Sucking in a sudden sharp breath, Cassie jumped to her feet and blocked the door. Standing in front of it with her arms extended to the sides she gazed up at him with a worried look. “Um, what do you need in there? You don’t need to go in there. Soda is in the fridge.” He chuckled at her expense, “Do you really think little you will keep big me outta there? All I have to do is move you.” Something in her eyes changed, a sincere pleading had crept into them. “Please don’t.” Dante’s teasing ceased and he stared back at her with increasingly skeptical look, given the strange way she was behaving. “And why not? Someone has to bring in the coolers. And you just told me a little while ago that they are out in the garage. Give me one reason not to get them.” Knowing she had no good reason for her strange feeling she stepped aside. Reaching for the door handle he swung it open and planted a kiss on her cheek. The kiss had it’s desired effect, as she bashfully smiled up at him with blushing cheeks. “That’s not fair.” , she complained. To which he replied with a devilish glimmer in his eyes, “I know. Open up the door when I get back up the steps with the cooler. I’ll holler.” With that he closed the door behind himself. A blast of cold air leaked in while the door was opened for that short time. She shivered and waited for his bellowing call with her hand on the door handle. After a few tense minutes she heard a faint scratching at the door. “Dante!” She yelled, “That’s not funny!“ the scratching stopped but the nagging unease in her only grew as her heart thudded faster. The door knob began to wiggle under her hand. Logic told her that there was no way Dante could be doing those things and be carrying a cooler filled with soda. Her hand shot up to they aged chain lock on the door and quickly slid the metal into place. Opening the door just a crack as she called out, “Dante?” Only to have that question answered by a flash of blue fingernails wrapping around the door, trying to pry it open. With all of her might she slammed the door shut over and over until the grotesquely inhuman looking fingers retreated. Not a sound escaped her as she dead bolted the door and locked the handle as well. Running now for the front door she threw it open, and grabbed the baseball bat that was always present next to it. Running around to the garage she called for him with fear in her voice. “Dante!!!” Once there, she saw that there was no trace of him, or the thing that had reached in. Looking around she held the bat tighter and soon ran back into the front door. As she closed and dead bolted that she heard the back door slam shut and she let out a groan.
Running through the kitchen, still clutching the bat, she almost slammed into her mother and Dante’s mother, Renee. With a sigh of relief she set the bat down and let them go on with their complaints, mostly about who’s child was worse. Finally, interrupting “Um, I can’t seem to reach Dante. Could you please try?” His mother gave her a pained look but took out her cell. Cassie took hers out as well and started dialing Dante. “I don’t have much signal,” Renee said as she crossed the kitchen going towards the window. Holding her cell up she dialed Dante as well. “He’s probably being lazy and messing with you. You are just playing right into it by worrying.” Cassie had followed, listening to the ringing in her own cell that went unanswered. She strained to see if she could hear the ring of Dante’s phone from in the house. Pulling the phone from her ear as the voicemail picked up. “Maybe, but I’d still like to be sure.” She was doing her best to keep up appearances, seeming that she wasn’t worried, if for no other reason than to keep the older women from over reacting. As Cassie held her phone up next to his mother’s she watched as the bars on their phones dwindled down to nothing. Amazed she watched as her phone died completely. Quickly she dropped her phone on the counter and ran to the home phone on the wall. Thankful, she sighed hearing a dial tone. Just as her hand reached the buttons to punch in Dante’s cell number though a click ended the dial tone. She hung up the phone and tried again. This time being greeted only by silence. Taking in a deep breath she looked to her mother who had been standing in silence observing until now. “I’m sure there is just some trouble with the lines, train probably derailed again. I’m heading out to the dentist. Renee can come out with me. We’ll figure out where he got to.” Dante’s mother nodded firmly with a grave expression. “That’s right. And we can both kick his *ss for this.” Cassie smiled at the older women and gave her mother a quick hug to show her appreciation. “Thank you guys. I’ll finish getting ready for tonight. I’m sure he’ll come back just in time for the food.” They all laughed but it was a nervous sort of laugh. Like they all wanted to believe it would be alright.
After a very long day it seemed things were coming together for the Halloween party. The food was out and guests began to arrive. Everyone was discussing the lack of phone service where the music wasn’t blaring too loud. The lights were dim as Cassie made her way through the crushing crowds. Finding her way to the basement she was greeted by the older group. Mostly family. Some of which she didn’t know since they were Dante’s family. Putting on a smile she greeted everyone, really just looking to see if anyone had seen Dante. Then leaving through the cellar doors a booming voice stopped her in her tracks. “This old man can see through that fake smile.” Turning she saw the image of her long dead grandfather. For him she smiled having been the only one to feel his presence after he had died. Still, seeing him appear so solid only made a part of her worry more. “Grandpa. Why are you here?” He smiled and kindly responded quickly. “You know why. Bad things are coming girl. That boy already met one. You will soon. Everyone will. Be ready. And fight with everything you go. You hear me?” A sudden crash interrupted him and she looked back at the house for a second only to turn back around to see he had gone. More confused than ever she ran back inside. Nearly being plowed over by people fleeing from the house. Moving past the panicked people she made it to the main floor. Seeing now what had panicked everyone. Creatures, seemingly human, were slaughtering everyone they could get their hands on. Running past one of the sickly blue colored monsters as it gnawed on someone’s lifeless arm she nearly lost her lunch. Blood covered his mouth and bits of flesh stuck in his sharpened teeth as he flashed her a smile. Running past him and the now terrorized guests. She stopped where the DJ had set up in the living room and picked from a display that her friend had made especially for the evening. Showing off a myriad of knives and swords she grabbed two katana blades and ran slashing wildly at anything that was threatening the others. Nothing she did seemed to have any effect, except to anger the creatures. Suddenly a blood curdling scream ran out and she heard her friend call out. “Their eyes everyone! Aim for their eyes with whatever you have.” With that rally cry she ran for the stairs to help a girl she didn’t know that was poorly armed with a fork. Slashing at the male monster that was accosting her, Cassie missed, but sliced his face. “You b*tch! You can’t even hit me after you’ve been told how to do it.” While he complained the other girl stabbed at his face but she was no better. Grumbling the creature smashed the girl sending her head over heels where she was quickly being devoured still alive by another of the waiting undead. Cassie’s eyes were fixed on the feeding frenzy until the impatient monster cleared his throat speaking in a patronizingly soothing tone. “I bet you taste better.” Cassie let out a scream and started stabbing wildly at his face. As the sword plunged in it snapped on the hard bone each time. After two strikes he was left alive with two pieces of blade lodged next to his right eye. Angered he chastised her. “Stupid twit.” Screaming again as he reached out for her she kicked at his head driving the pieces of metal into his eye. His unearthly scream mingled with hers and she ran up the stairs. Locking herself in a room she held the remaining sword ready and waited.
Through out the night the screams, thumping, and all of the noise in the house stopped. At some point Cassie had fallen asleep, slumped over, sitting on the floor under a window. Being awoken by a sound coming from outside she pulled herself up by the wooden window sill and peeked out. In disbelief she saw people. They were walking around the house pouring, what she somehow knew was a salt mixture. As the five to ten people went around they chanted prayers. Some in English some in languages she didn’t recognize. Watching them she knew, just knew, that although they were no threat, what they were doing wasn’t going to help. Going to the door she cautiously opened it and looked up and down the hallway. There was no one there. And as she made her way down the steps she realized there was something else wrong. The walls and floor had no blood, there were no bodies, and only there was only the usual trash one might find after a big party. She kicked some cups out of her way and shuffled her feet though the now empty house. Making her way through the house she saw a few dazed people meandering around. None of which she wanted to talk to. Her sister Kylee was yelling at everyone she saw to get out. Cassie couldn’t help but laugh at how absurd it seemed. But she was thankful to see her sister had made it though the night. Still she ducked out the front door unseen and ran down the street to survey the damage done to the neighborhood. There where people wandering around outside with the same dazed look the others in her home had. There were windows knocked out in her neighbor’s houses and damaged done to almost every vehicle that was unfortunate enough to have been left out the night before. Going to the few neighbors she knew well she began to ask if they had seen Dante. One after another denied that they had. Most were now armed with whatever they could carry. An older man sitting on his porch began to yell at her. “Come here girl.“ With a smile she waved and went to the steps. “How are you holding up Mr. Fishel?“ She asked. He dismissed her question and began to start in on her. “You need a gun. Those things are coming back. People are trying to say it didn’t happen. On the news they are saying it never happened. Some are saying it’s the end of the world. You best get out of here while you can. Bring me my beer before you go. I know you have leftovers from that party last night. Don’t hold out on me.“ Shaking her head she started for her home again, as she called out to him. “I’ll do that, whatever is left I’ll drop off. Tonight I’m leaving to find Dante.” When she went back inside Mr. Fishel was still railing against the conspiracy he had made up in his mind. She shut the door and noted happily that everyone, including her sister seemed to have left. Running up the steps she went to their room and began to throw clothes in a duffel bag. Then going back downstairs she started rounding up food to take with her. A sudden realization stuck her, the box of granola bars were still in her hand but she didn’t move to set them down. Walking into the living room she sat on the couch and let go of the box she had. Instead she picked up a pillow and hugged it tight to her chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the weight of what was happening dropped on her like a ton of bricks. Muffling her sobs with the pillow she cried out for Dante petrified that he was already gone.
It took some time but eventually Cassie got a hold of herself again. Tears still fell from her eyes but she was more determined than ever to figure all of it out. It was evening again and she grabbed her duffel bag now packed with food and clothes. Remembering to grab a six pack from the fridge for her neighbor she stopped short. Looking through the window she saw men outside and a caravan of armored trucks. At first glance she thought they were human but when she saw one began to rip into the flesh of a screaming woman she knew it was happening again. Dropping her bag she watched as they walked up her driveway. She didn’t wait to see more. Cassie dashed up the steps and went to her bedroom. She began to panic as she heard the front door being kicked in. Trying to stay as quiet as possible she stared out the window. There were robed figures now where earlier there had been people praying. Her breath came in ragged forced breaths as she saw them wiping blood on her home’s siding. The stark red color standing out against the white of her house. Her hand flew to her mouth to cover a scream that threatened to come. She had seen where they were getting the blood. Each one held a human head in their hands, held upside down they dipped their blood streaked hands in the necks of their victims. One victim she recognized as Mr. Fishel. Turning away she vomited on the floor next to the window and ran for her closet. Deciding instantly hiding was her best course of action. She was unarmed and didn’t think it would have helped anyway. Ducking down she shut the door to the closet just in time to hear her bedroom door being kicked in. Shaking uncontrollably she moved soundlessly into the back of the closet. There was a small false door that connected her closet to the next bedroom’s closet. The space in between the walls was where she intended to hide. Moving quickly she removed the false wall and smashed into the small space. Replacing the piece perfectly she stayed perfectly still and listened. “No one is here.” She heard one voice say. “I know there is someone.” And another male voice answered. They went back and forth arguing about if there were someone there or not for what seemed like forever. Finally the one gave in and agreed to leave. Cassie breathed in realizing she had been holding her breath the whole time. Still she wouldn’t come out. Just in case they returned. That night she stayed hidden and stared into the darkness around her. No light could make it to her hiding place and she was too horrified to think of sleep.
After a number of hours she pushed her way out of the wall and into the closet. Opening the door cautiously she peered out. Seeing no one she walked out into the room and went to the window. There was no one outside. Shivering she went down the rickety stairs. Going to the garage she opened the door and got into her car. Thankful she had parked it inside before the party. Turning the key the engine hummed and she threw it into reverse flooring it as she smashed through the garage door. Not stopping she backed out of the driveway and threw it into gear, stomping on the gas petal she didn’t let up until she had driven some distance away. From her home and into the next city she didn’t see one person the whole time. It wasn’t until she had taken some back roads that she had found a car stopped on the side of the road. She pulled up next to them, watching the bellowing smoke coming from their car. “You guys need a lift?” The couple that had been in a heated argument stopped to look at her. The woman ran for Cassie’s door and opened it. “Please! We were trying to get away and… and “ The woman began to cry and her man came to her side at once. Closing the front door that the woman had opened he instead opened the back door and eased both himself and her into the back seat. “Thank you for stopping. Can you get us to the next town over? Someone has to know something.” As the door slammed shut she nodded and took off again. It wasn’t long before they came to the next city over. There it seemed nothing had happened. People were bustling about shopping and working. It only moved to confuse Cassie that much more. “what the hell… It’s…perfectly fine? They don’t know what’s happened? “ The man in the back began to prattle on about the situation but she wasn’t paying attention. Mr. Fishel’s words from the day before sprang to her mind. She turned sharply and stopped in a parking lot. Turning around she looked at the man and woman. “I think they covered it all up. No one is supposed to know. It’s crazy but… but… nothing else makes any sense. That’s why they came back. To make sure no one was left to say anything.” An armored truck looking exactly like the ones she had seen the night before drove slowly past them. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the human driver. “We need to keep moving.” Without waiting she drove forward out of her parking space and left the parking lot going the opposite way as the truck. Her hands were clenching the steering wheel with a death grip. The man in the back reached his hand up between the front seats and patted her shoulder. “You alright up there? Don’t crack on us.” She responded, “I’m alright. Just… trying to figure out what to do. Where to go. We can’t tell anyone what happened. It might put them in danger. And going to people we know seems risky too. Huh… unless they think we’re already dead. I have an idea.” With that she made a u turn and gunned it trying to find the truck again. “Are you armed?” She asked the man. He responded by taking out a 357 magnum and handing it to her. “I also have a shot gun in the bag and lots of ammo.” Taking the gun she smiled and began to ride the bumper of the armored truck she had tracked down. “This will do. I need to know now. Do you guys want out? I’ll stop here and let you out. But I’m going to get answers from the driver of that truck. One way or another.” Her hand gripped the magnum in her lap tighter. She didn’t look back at the couple but the woman answered for both of them. “We’re with you.” Cassie responded after taking a deep breath. She knew she would have gone on without them but having them along was a relief. “Thank you.” Pushing the little car harder she kept on the armored truck. Now and then letting a car of two get between them so that she didn’t alert the driver to their presence behind them. After a half hour of driving she was starting to think they would never stop. Checking the fuel gauge she winced as the needle dipped to just under 1/16 of a tank. Just then the armored truck pulled into a fast food place. She saw her opportunity. Making a hard turn she sped ahead of the truck and slammed on the brakes at an angel. Knowing the driver could just plow the tiny car out of his way she hoped the confusion would buy them enough time. Jumping from the driver’s seat she ran to the armored truck’s driver’s door. Throwing open the door she grinned as the driver stammered. She had the gun in his face her finger squeezing the trigger ever so slightly. “I suggest you get in the back if you don’t want to die here and now.” The driver thought to fight back until the passenger door opened and her partner in crime shoved the shotgun in his direction. The man with the shot gun spoke up. “I suggest you do what she says.” Reluctantly their captive gave up his seat and threw up his hands.
After forcing the former driver into the back of the armored truck Cassie started interrogating him. While she did the armed man that had been helping drove inconspicuously to keep attention off of them. The woman with him was silently sulking in the passenger seat. The captive driver was held at gun point while he sat on sizable footlocker that ran the length of the back. It looked to be a heavy steal but Cassie really didn’t know. “I want answers and I want them NOW.” The man replied, “f**k you b*tch..” She only smiled as she answered “Wrong answer.” Even before she could finish her statement Cassie was pistol whipping the man’s face with her 357. He tried to defend himself with his arms but those were soon covered in welts. Still she didn’t let up. Not until her arm started to get tired. His face was in need of stitches from the cuts, blood soaked most of his shirt. From the shattered look of his face she might have even broken bones. Cassie was shaking with rage and she took out her cell phone and pulled up Dante‘s picture, shoving it under the good eye of the man. “This man. Where is he? He disappeared the first night you sent those things. And what the hell are those things.” All the while the new driver was listening and growing more and more doubtful. The pummeled man’s eyes showed that he did recognize Dante. He spat blood out on the floor along with a tooth. It was the only response she got from him. Cassie let out a sigh and grabbed some wire that was hanging up near the man. There was all sorts of useful things in the truck she started to realize as she bound the man’s hands and feet with the wire. It cut into his skin but he didn’t complain. Rooting though the truck she found syringes along with an entire case of strangely marked bottles. The only real identification was a series of numbers. Loading up a syringe with one of the fluids Cassie got a strange and rather sick smile on her lips as she looked to the man who now looked back at her with the terror she was hoping for. “Are you gonna talk now? Or do I get to see what this does to a person first hand?” As she advanced on him he only stuttered, just as the needle pushed into his vein he screamed “LOOK IN THE LOCKER!” She patted his head as she took out the needle. “See that wasn’t so hard.“ Seeing the heavy duty locks on it she waved the needle in the air. “Where are the keys” The beaten man responded “In the glove box, up front”
Cassie had gotten the keys from the other woman and tried to reassure them both. In quiet whispers she told them about the shots. Leaving the container up in the front with both of them she squatted between the front seats to plan out what they would do. The man spoke first. “We need out. This is getting too serious. We talked it over. This…this is just too big. It’s time to run. You should do the same.” Something in his tone made it obvious to Cassie that he didn’t mean she should come with them. The woman wouldn’t meet Cassie’s gaze, instead she only stared out the window listlessly. Cassie got up and put her hand on the man’s shoulder. “It’s ok. Just give me ten more minutes. What is in that locker might show us what we all need to know.” The man only nodded and started a path to the nearest bus station.
Returning to the back with the key Cassie held it up as she leveled the barrel of the gun at the captive man. “Get your *ss up and get on the floor. Lie face down.” The last part was just something that popped in her head from watching too many police shows, but it sounded good and the man did as she said. Working the key in the locks she kept an eye on him. Not once did he move. As the last lock hit the floor, the lid was thrown back by an unseen force. The surprise of it knocked Cassie back a few steps. Blinking as she stared into the eyes of walking corpse. Screaming she unloaded the 357 into it’s face. The man on the floor only laughed hysterically. Thankfully one of the shots had pieced the creature’s eye and he crumpled into a mess in the locker. Shaking, Cassie looked in to see that the creature had no arm. The lost appendage was lying in a bloody, gooie mess next to it. The stench of rotting flesh from inside the locker was now filling the truck. Realizing the man on the floor was still laughing she yanked him to his feet by his hands and in one quick movement sent him tumbling into the locker. Now the man had stopped and was screaming but being bound as he was there was little he could do about it. With a smirk Cassie waved goodbye to him as she dropped the lid back down, effectively drowning out his screams. It was then that she realized the locker must be air tight and sound proof. Since none of them had smelled the death inside before she opened it. “Hmmm how convenient.” Replacing one of the locks she shoved the key in her pocket. After stopping at the bus station the trio said a quick goodbye. Both Cassie and the man wishing each other luck as the broken woman only stared expressionless. The man giving Cassie a hearty hand shake made sure she would go with plenty of ammo for the 357. And she in turn handed him something from the truck. A small stash of money that she had found in the glove box. She left them, getting back into the truck praying that they would make it to safety, somewhere.
As Cassie sat in the drivers’ seat of the conspicuous truck. From across the parking lot she could watch the couple that had been helping her board the bus heading for God knows where. In spite of the situation she smiled, pleased to know they had made it out of all of this mess. For about ten minutes she sat, trying to think of what her next move should be, only to laugh as she noticed the GPS in the dashboard. Quickly pressing a few buttons she located the home feature in the navigator. As it mapped out the way she pulled the truck out of its parking spot. Cassie followed the route, as she did her mind drifted. No matter how hard she tried to plan out her next move her mind refused to focus on anything but Dante. Silly things, like his smile, his voice, over and over his words, ‘You’re not crying are you?’. Remembering the genuinely surprised tone he used when speaking those words she laughed out loud. The sound brought her some comfort in the quiet.
It was growing darker as the truck traveled out of the city and moved into a more industrial area. It had been a few minutes since she had seen another car as a half formed plan began to take shape in her mind. Cassie pulled off to the side of the road suddenly, lurching to a stop. Taking time to reload the 357 before crawling into the back of the truck again. Retrieving the key from her pocket she started undoing the locks that held her prisoner and the festering carcass. With her foot she shoved back the lid of the foot locker, her hand poised to pull the trigger. Unfortunately the stench from the decomposing body knocked her back a step. As Cassie covered her face with the sleeve from her shirt she peeked in the locker. It appeared like the original driver was unconscious. Deciding to test that theory, she cocked the hammer back with a loud click on the gun she held. “Get your *ss up. Your choices are, some fresh air, or a bullet in your head. The latter is much easier for me.” Before she had even finished her sentence he had opened his eyes, one of them at least, the other was swollen shut from the beating he had sustained. The man rushed to be free of his prison, taking in huge gulps of the slightly fresher air in the truck. Motioning with the gun Cassie spoke again as she bent to untie his feet, “Open the back door.” When he got to the door the man punched a few buttons on a key pad, and both back doors opened. While he did that Cassie let out the breath she had been holding and kicked the lid on the foot locker down. The man looked at her, a look that seethed with resentment. The young woman just sighed as he jumped down to the grass just outside, she took a seat on the back of the truck as the man stripped off his shirt as it hung from his still bound hands. Showing a bit of kindness she untied the man’s hands, noticing the cloth was soaked in both his blood and what was left of the creature. Cassie let her feet sit on the bumper, her knees up as she leaned forward with her elbows resting on her knees. The gun was still aimed at the man but loosely held. He watched it, and Cassie smirked, “I’d splatter your brains before you took two steps closer. Now play nice. Are there spare clothes in the truck for you?” He appeared to consider things and gave a nod before answering, “Just to your right, bottom drawer.” Cassie was glad she hadn’t threatened to put the man back into the gooey mess again. She had the feeling he would have opted for a bullet before getting back in there judging by his near compliance now. After leaning back a bit, one hand still keeping the gun targeted, she opened the drawer he had indicated. Cautiously moving, she pulled out a dark blue jump suit and threw it at the man. He caught it easily and waited to see if she would look away while he dressed. She made no move but kept a steely gaze on the man’s face. He wasted no more time in removing all of his soiled clothes and jumping into the new clothes.
Cassie piped up, “Now that the pleasantries are over, I want some answers.” In the darkness he quirked an eyebrow but said nothing as she continued. “You recognized the man’s picture I showed you. Don’t bother denying it. What I want to know is, where is he? And how do I get him back and get the both of us away safely? And while we’re at it… what the hell are those things?” Cassie’s temper had cooled just a bit and she now threw him another peace offering. Her body pushed off of the bumper of the truck and she tied the discarded bindings to the bumper then held it as if waiting for him to offer his hands up to be tied. “If you let me tie you I’ll clean and dress those cuts on your face. But I have to be sure you can‘t attack, you understand.”
The man reluctantly allowed his hands to be bound as Cassie tried to keep control of the gun and tie his hands. It might have been comical if it hadn’t been such a serious situation. After prevailing over the troublesome ties she took a step back into the truck and started rummaging around for a medical kit. While she did that he spoke. “That THING you so brazenly killed was human. A human weapon. It’s brilliant really. Unleash a handful of those things in a war zone and let them get the job done. But as you can see, they aren’t perfected yet. Disintegrating is still an unfortunate side effect.”
Cassie groaned at the man’s apparent lack of compassion for even the creatures he worked with. “Great, that’s just great.” Her tone was thick with sarcasm but the bound man continued as she came out with the first aid kit in hand. Spreading open the box on the bumper the frustrated woman set down the gun and started pulling out gauze, slopping on whatever ointment she found as her prisoner continued, his face showing that he rather enjoyed the discomfort she felt from his words. “Your pesky little town was nothing more than a test site. The lives of your neighbors, frivolous, in the search for the perfect weapon.”
His goading had been enough, Cassie had too much of a temper and his contempt for life was enough to push her over the edge again. Lifting her hand to strike his face again with the butt of the gun she gasped as something stilled her hand. Something had a firm hold on her hand. As she tried to pull her hand from it’s grasp she turned her head to try to see who it could have been. There standing over her was a figure, it’s face was masked and hidden behind a heavy hood, Cassie thought it may be nothing more than a bulky sweatshirt. The other’s hand was like stone on hers, no matter how hard she pulled she could not free her hand from it’s hold. In the mean time the wounded man now laughed riotously knowing perfectly well the person behind the hood was one of his own. Slowly Cassie’s hand was lowered for her and the gun aimed at the head of the wounded man who immediately shut up, realizing this was not the time to joke around. The former driver of the truck spat at the ground in front of Cassie as the hooded figure untied his hands. A deep growl came from under the hood and the cowardly man dashed to take the driver’s seat again with out so much as a peep.
She still had no clue what to make of this interceding and unknown being. A deeply rooted terror gripped her heart and Cassie pulled harder at the hand that held her wrist still. “G..G…Get your d**n hand off me.” The fear of what was to happen next coupled with the realization that she was now entirely alone compounded and showed in her voice. The creature only squeezed her wrist harder which caused her hand muscles to spasm and the gun to fall to the ground. Still it didn’t utter one word to her. But now her entire body shook with terror as she was locked and staring at the black of the cloak over it’s face. The engine of the truck started but Cassie hardly realized it. Then, from the being, a deep and gravely sound broke from it, “Run. Run and don’t ever look back.”
It was almost too much for Cassie, she felt the darkness that swelled up around her, she was going to faint. As the creature let go of her wrist she lurched forward but caught herself just before falling into the being. Weakly she responded, “No. I can’t. Dante. Please… if you know anything of a man that went missing that night. I can’t… I have to know.”
The creature retreated into the back of the truck while retrieving a trinket from a pocket of his pants. He threw a wallet to the ground at Cassie’s feet and once more spoke, “The man you seek is dead.” She recognized the wallet right away, and fell to her knees to pick it up. Tears blurred her vision as she focused on the fat leather folded in her hands. She opened it to be sure, only to be greeted by a picture of herself and Dante. “Dante… no…”, her whisper left her lips but was lost to the roar of the truck. Through her tears Cassie looked up to see the creature still watching as it closed the doors of the truck and it pulled away. It was the last thing she saw before blessed unconsciousness overcame the young woman, her hand still clutching the wallet.
It was morning when Cassie’s eyes opened. A tired groan came from her and her entire body hurt from sleeping on the ground. The first sound to greet her was the loud rumbling of her empty stomach. “Ugh… “ She slowly got to her feet, seeing that Dante’s wallet was still in her hand she hugged it to her chest and slipped it into her front pocket. It’s bulk was uncomfortable but a welcomed reminder of him. “Food, gotta find something to eat.” Before doing so she took the gun that had been discarded on the ground and slid it into the back of the waist of her jeans. She kept mumbling to herself as she wandered about, finding a number of plants she knew were edible. Fresh black berries, and some greens she knew wouldn’t kill her. Although those tasted awful. Cassie gathered up some and started the long walk back to the main road. In one hand she held the bit of food she found taking bites as she walked. It wasn’t until a few minutes had passed that she realized she was walking in the truck’s tire tracks from the night before. An out of place and rather sickly smile pulled on her lips. She fully intended on reeking havoc on those that took the life of her Dante. And hopefully she would take a few of them down with her in the process.
It was late in the afternoon before Cassie caught sight of any sort of civilization. She had been following tire tracks through out the day. Some had been fairly well ground into the grass but there were times she took wrong turns and had to double back after heading the wrong way. Finally a sign posted along the battered and dusty roadway gave her the hope she needed that she was on the right track. The sign, nailed to a tree stated that she was entering private property. Her laughter rang out after reading the rest, violators will be prosecuted. Let them prosecute her. Nothing would be more entertaining that seeing these people trying to make a public case against her. The path she took veered off the road and into an overgrown forest along the edges of the road. It seemed to reason that these people would have cameras set up, at the very least on the actual road way. The rest of the walk would be much harder going as Cassie climbed and pushed through thick vegetation at times. Her jeans were snagged on a patch of pricker bushes and her tee shirt was filthy with grass stains from tripping a number of times. However she didn't stop.
The grumbling from her hungry stomach was ignored for the most part as night began to fall. Faint moon light illuminated her way between passing clouds but didn't offer much help. Nor did the plain and simple fact that, at heart, Cassie was not the more coordinated person. She tripped more times on roots that stuck up out of the ground and knocked into branches that stuck out like angry hands. It would all be worth it. Every scratch, bruise and bump. If she could just get her hands on someone from the group she pursued. Grief was one emotion Cassie refused to feel. Anger of course, a driving need for vengeance, perhaps even a death wish but if she allowed the sadness for even a moment it would overwhelm and cripple her completely. As she trudged on in the darkened night up ahead a large square building loomed. When it came into sight Cassie froze. It looked like nothing more than a run down garage. A very big garage but not at all what she was expecting. The thought came to mind that she could have gotten onto the wrong trail. What a waste it would be.
Then the smell hit her. The unmistakable stench of the creatures after their bodies gave out. Cassie's face soured but she rushed forward. Keeping a vigilant eye out for cameras and listening carefully for anyone walking about she peeked into a dingy window on the side of the building. Curiously enough the inside looked like the outside, nothing but a filthy garage. Tools lay strewn about along with oily rags. There was even a car lift. The only way in were too large garage doors a man door and three windows. The flickering florescent light inside made it clear that the electronic garage doors weren't going to open for her. The man door didn't seem likely to be unlocked, so Cassie worked on the window. It was locked of course but she shook and rattled the frame but nothing budged. Instead she laughed softly and selected a rock from the ground. It had no trouble crashing through the double pained glass. The shattering glass was loud and Cassie was sure someone had to hear it but as she stood holding her breath, no one came. Her hand reached through the hole carefully and unlocked the window. Then, just that easy the window was thrust open. Cassie jumped up and shimmied through the open window to land on her feet in the broken glass. She glanced around the room and ran her hands over some of the tools. The gun was still tucked safely in her jeans but for good measure she snatched two screwdrivers too. You could never be too prepared. Something caught her eye. Everything in the room was covered in a layer of dirt and dust except two things. The car lift and a lone bottle of water sitting on a red tool box. Not until she saw the water did Cassie realize just how dehydrated she really was. The bottle was snatched up, cracked open, and downed in record time. It seemed like a stupid thing to do but nothing she had done the past few nights had been very smart. What's the worst that could happen, it might be poisoned? The thought only made her laugh out loud.
After throwing the bottle to the floor Cassie jumped down into the pit below the raised car lift. It seemed real enough. Oil was splattered about everywhere and it reeked of exhaust. That's when she noticed how shallow the pit was. She had never been in one before but someone would have to sit on the ground to change the oil it was so shallow. Bending down Cassie knocked on the floor. A hallow echo responded. This wasn't to lift cars. It was to lower them through the door she was standing on. Like an eager school child she jumped out of the pit and ran to find the control. She saw the bulky controls on one corner of the simple lift and rushed to press the down button. Nothing happened. Of course. That would be too easy. Cassie balled up her fingers into a fist and thumped the raised buttons. Just like that it moved but only an inch or two. Light could be seen coming in through a crack in the door. She started pressing the buttons again and got nothing. Only then did she see what to do, both had to be held down. With two hands she pressed the raise and lower indicators and the mechanics of the machine rumbled to life. It was too good to be true. Cassie cast one final glance around the room, this was her last chance to back out. There was no reason to believe she couldn't make it back to town and forget everything. The grief tugged at her heart. It was a pain that could have killed her right then and there. Her eyes closed as she whispered, "I won't let it end like this. They are going to pay." She disappeared into the opening after jumping down the nine feet to the industrial tiled floor under the garage.
Landing with a thud she crumpled to the floor, her legs didn't have the strength to support a jump like that. Like everything else at this point though Cassie just brushed off the pain and began walking. The opening she had come through was closing and with it her last chance at leaving. With a sigh she looked around as she walked, built in lights illuminated the way down in the tunnel. The walls were smeared with all sorts of gross unidentified muck. The stench was unbearable, once or twice she gagged on the obnoxious fumes of obviously poorly ventilated air. After walking down the dimly lit hallway she came to a door. It was the only choice, but her hand felt the cold metal of the door. There was no way she would be able to break through it. Her fingers traced the line in the middle where two doors came together. With a smirk she jammed the screwdriver into the crease and started to work it back and forth. It wasn't making much progress but suddenly she grabbed the handle and started violently jamming the pointed end in harder.
From inside the door she could hear laughing, they were watching her futile efforts and mocking her. It only enraged her and she screamed, "Face me you d**n cowards!!!" The laughing only increased and actually seemed to come closer. A camera in the corner was fixed on her and a voice came from over an unseen intercom. It was one she recognized but his was not the one laughing. It was the hooded creature who told her Zahir was dead, and he wasn't happy, "You idiot! You don't know what you're doing.." His voice seemed to break but she couldn't be sure. There was silence for a full two minutes except for the clanging of Cassie's screwdriver on the door.
Finally a loud bang from the other side of the door made her jump. The screwdriver clattered to the floor as the sound echoed through the hall. "Heh..." She drew her gun but noticed how shaky it was in her hand and grumbled quietly. The door slid open easily, her slight damage not even hampering it in the least. The room beyond was visible but no one in it was. It reeked of an obvious trap even more than the ever but thankfully the air smelled much cleaner. As she stepped into the room a commanding voice spoke up. "Put the gun down before you hurt yourself. The water I left for you should be taking effect..." He might have said something more but Cassie never heard it. Her legs gave out and her vision clouded and started to go dark. The last sight she saw was a bizarre fluctuating light in the far end of the room.