Cemetery Club (27 page)

“Your mother and I had many conversations after your father passed,” Ramirez said, handing the package over. “She told me why you’d gone into those tunnels. What you thought was going on. I’m not going to ask you to explain yourself but if you think this is something that can help our town—or at least absolve you from any guilt that these deaths might be your fault - then I stand by your actions. God be with you.”

“Thank you, Father.”

On the way out, it struck Todd that for someone who’d turned his back on religion more than twenty years earlier, he certainly had no compunctions about utilizing its trappings when the situation called for it. Did that make him a sinner? A closet believer? Or just a pragmatist?

If we live through this, maybe I’ll have to consider making some changes in my life.

Then he thought that maybe change was better done sooner than later and he paused at the last pew.

While John waited, Todd whispered a short prayer for their safety.

*  *  *

The first thing Cory and Marisol noticed as they approached the super-sized CVS on Main Street were the signs announcing a mandatory ten p.m. curfew for anyone who wasn’t going to or from work. If that wasn’t enough warning, the front page of the newspaper carried a headline about the drastic step.

“Good thing we know how to sneak into the cemetery,” Cory said. “If the cops caught us breaking curfew tonight, your ex-hubby would probably throw the book at us.”

“He’d throw the whole damn library.”

“Do you think he’s dangerous?” Cory asked.

“Dangerous? No, I can’t see him getting into a fight or coming after us with a gun, if that’s what you mean. Something like that would dirty his oh-so-spotless reputation.”

Cory tossed a few flashlights and some battery packages in his basket. “Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of him really having us arrested or having me kicked out of town. Maybe even framing us for some of the murders.”

Marisol frowned. “A few months ago I wouldn’t have thought so. But now? I wouldn’t put anything past him. He’s a sneaky bastard.”

“That’s my impression too. One more reason to get this whole mess settled.”

*  *  *

From his table outside Rosie’s Café, Jack Smith watched Marisol and Cory enter the CVS. Finishing his coffee, he dropped a five-dollar bill on the table and crossed Main Street, keeping an eye on the pharmacy in case they came out before he got there. He wanted an opportunity to see what they were up to before they noticed him. Odds were they’d just stopped in for something innocuous but there was always the chance he’d see or hear something he could use against them.

Of course, they might be buying condoms or body oils. He hated his brain for providing the image of them fucking in the bed his hard-earned money had bought, their sweaty, naked bodies rolling back and forth. That they were sleeping together he had no doubt. Once a slut always a slut.

After peeking through the doors to make sure they weren’t by the registers, Jack went inside and scouted the aisles until he saw them in the row containing children’s toys. He hurried down the adjacent aisle until he was parallel to them. Peering carefully through the gaps in the shelves, he saw they had baskets filled with flashlights and batteries and were now looking at squirt guns, of all things.

A gleeful shiver ran through him.

They’re up to something. I don’t know what it is but I’m sure of it. I think I’ll drop in on Chief Travers and mention what I saw.

Jack Smith smiled at the thought of Marisol and Cory sitting in jail.

What a great way to end the day.

*  *  *

When the alarm on Cory’s cell phone signaled five p.m., he was already wide awake. Still, he made no move to get up. Everything he wanted out of life, everything he’d ever dreamed of, was in his hands at that moment, and he was loath to let go.

Marisol shifted slightly beneath his arm, a miniscule movement that nevertheless brought him semi-erect again as the smooth flesh of her ass rubbed against him. Without conscious thought, his hand slid from her hip to her breast, carefully avoiding her stitches, and gently caressed the nipple until it grew hard beneath his fingers.

“Mmmm, now that’s how I like to wake up,” she whispered, pushing herself back against him.

He gripped her breast more firmly, surprised to find himself ready again after the love-making session they’d finished earlier. What had started as something tender had morphed into animal lust, both of them taking turns on top until Marisol had screamed with the force of her orgasm and Cory duplicated her moments after.

Is it because we’ll soon be risking our lives against monsters from some unknown Hell? Is there really truth to the old saying that danger makes you extra horny?

He had no idea, but if this was his last time with Marisol, he intended to make every moment count.

Thirty minutes later, satiated and showered, Cory joined Marisol in the kitchen. She’d already placed out flashlights, Swiss Army knives and rifle-sized squirt guns on the counter, along with the knapsacks they’d bought. Despite the lingering heat outside, they both wore jeans, hiking books and long-sleeved t-shirts.

“I guess this is it,” he said, placing his hand over hers. “John and Todd will be here soon.”

She looked up at him. “Cory, there’s something I want to say—”

“Me first,” he interrupted. “You probably know it already but I love you. I always have. When this is all over, I want us to go away somewhere. Someplace where we can drink cold beer and walk around naked on the beach all day and night.”

Marisol wrapped her arms around him. “I’d like that too. I...I feel...”

“You don’t need to say it.” He’d heard something in her voice, a mix of relief and joy and sadness and fear all rolled into a muffled sob. “I know what you’ve been through. Me saying I love you is probably the last thing you want to hear.”

He gave her a long, strong hug and then stepped away. “I wanted you to know how I felt, so that we both had a little...extra incentive to come back alive.”

“What if we don’t? I don’t want to die without telling you I love you, but I don’t want to say it right now just because...you know.”

“We will not die tonight.” He wiped a tear from her cheek. “I promise.”

“Don’t. You might jinx us.”

“Too late. I already said it. And I always keep my promises.”

With that, he opened the refrigerator and took out the chicken breasts he’d had marinating. “Now, time to cook. Lots of protein tonight. We have monsters to kill.” He gave her a smile that he hoped didn’t look too fake.

As he placed the chicken in a baking pan, he prayed she was wrong about jinxes.

*  *  *

They arrived at the crypt just before twelve-thirty. The short walk from the old church to Gates of Heaven Cemetery was uneventful, but John still breathed a sigh of relief when they reached their destination without encountering any zombies or Grays. He’d been certain there’d be some waiting for them but the cemetery was silent and empty. Only the scattered howls of police sirens in town let them know the creatures hadn’t taken the night off.

“Well, one good thing,” Cory said, as they stood in front of the heavy door. “At least some of the monsters will be occupied elsewhere. That helps our odds for survival a bit.”

“Unless they come back and block our escape,” John said, his face paler than ever in the reflected glow of their flashlights.

“Always the voice of optimism.” Marisol gave him a light punch on the arm to let him know she was kidding.

“If we’re going to do this, let’s get a move on.” The beam from Todd’s flashlight jiggled back and forth, evidence of his shaking hands. He leaned forward and pushed the door open.

Metal scraped on metal with a squeal that vibrated the fillings in John’s teeth. In the center of the floor the pit looked just as menacing as it had twenty years ago, the cement around it cracked and crumbling. A fetid stench rolled past them, a stink John remembered all too well even though he hadn’t smelled it in two decades.

Maybe my nose hasn’t smelled it,
he thought as he covered his face with his hand,
but I’ve relived it too many times in my nightmares to ever forget it.

Next to him, Todd gasped and backed away. Marisol coughed and muttered “Oh, Jesus, that is fucking awful.”

The foul odor seemed to grow worse, a horrible invisible monster climbing out of the pit to smother them in coils of evil. John placed his hand against the cold metal of the door frame to steady himself, the combination of smell and touch suddenly too much for him. Something opened in his brain, unleashing a flood of memories from that fateful night twenty years before.

And transported him back to the place where all his nightmares lived.

In the tunnels, twenty years ago

In the aftermath of the tunnel’s collapse, John heard nothing except his own cries for help, cries that turned into choking gasps as dirt fell into his mouth, bringing with it the rotten meat taste of the tunnel. He flailed around with his arms, desperate to free himself, praying he was digging up and out rather than down.

Then his head and shoulders broke free and he realized they’d had no more than a few wheelbarrows worth of dirt dumped on them. When he stopped his shouting to spit out grave-flavored dirt, he finally heard Cory and Marisol yelling for help.

“It’s okay,” he called to them. In the total blackness, distance and direction seemed all mixed up. Dropping to his knees, he started digging, doing his best to find where the sounds were coming from. A few seconds later, his hands touched moving flesh and he jumped back.

It’s a monster!
the primitive part of his brain shouted at him even as he realized it was just one of his friends, not some bloated, maggot-filled undead thing waiting to devour him. Still, the image wouldn’t leave his thoughts and it took all his willpower to lean forward again and resume digging.

It only took a few more scoops to uncover a gasping, crying Marisol. Together they freed Cory from the shallow pile of grave dirt covering him.

“I can’t do this. I can’t go any further,” Marisol said.

John heard the tears in her voice, knew he was one more scare from breaking down himself. The only thing that kept him from suggesting they turn around and go back was the knowledge that they’d all think of him as a coward. The pussy who wouldn’t save his friend.

But if Cory suggests it...
That hope died before he even finished the thought.

“We can’t go back,” Cory said, his voice raspy from the foul air and dirt he’d swallowed. “Todd needs us.”

In the darkness, John heard Marisol take a whimpering breath. When she spoke, some of her old spunk had returned.

“Okay. For Todd. But let’s hurry, before I crap my pants.”

Cory let out a weak laugh. “Down here, who’d smell it anyway? Take my hand. John, take her other hand.”

Warm flesh touched his arm, slid down to his palm. He clutched at it.

Unbelievable. He says jump and she asks how high. And yet neither one of them will admit their feelings for each other.

Marisol’s grip tugged his and he realized they were moving forward. As they walked, he kept his free hand against the tunnel wall and hunched himself over as much as he could. Even then, dangling roots still grabbed at his hair and tapped against his forehead, each encounter frightening him anew with visions of groping corpse-fingers.

After thirty or so feet, the tunnel opened up enough for them to stand upright. It widened as well, so much so that he was able to stretch his arms out and barely touch the walls.

“I think I see light,” Cory said, and at the same time John noticed he could see Marisol’s shape in front of him. A few steps later and they could all make out a strong, flickering glow coming from ahead of them.

“It looks like the tunnel turns up there,” Marisol said.

“Do you think that’s Todd’s flashlight?” John asked.

“No.” Cory’s voice held a note of uncertainty. “It looks more like a candle or maybe a whole bunch of them. C’mon.”

Still holding hands, they made their way around the bend and then stopped, stunned by the scene before them.

Like some apocalyptic preacher, Todd stood in the center of a small cavern, holding a large jar of Holy water in one hand while with his other he flicked the blessed liquid at the creatures surrounding him. Each time droplets hit one of the floating monsters, tiny explosions of bright white light resulted, and the creature would back away.

Jesus Christ, they really are aliens!
John’s mind screamed as he took in their evil, over-sized eyes and tiny limbs. It was the closest they’d been to the creatures since catching sight of one in the cemetery.

Marisol screamed and pointed at something on the other side of the cave. From another tunnel, more shapes were moving towards them, only they weren’t Grays.

With a shaking hand, John pulled his father’s pistol from his pocket.

The zombies had arrived.

*  *  *

Present Day

“John? John!”

Cory looked at the others, unsure of what to do. John had taken one step into the crypt and collapsed.

“Do we keep going without him?”

Marisol’s question was the same one he’d been asking himself. He hated the thought of leaving John at the mercy of anything that came along. But if one of them remained behind to guard him, the other two would be severely outnumbered in the tunnels.

“I don’t think—” Todd began, but just then John let out a low moan and opened his eyes.

“What...what happened?”

“You passed out on us. How do you feel?” Todd asked.

“I’m okay.” John held out his hand and Cory took it, helped him up. To his credit, John didn’t seem unsteady on his feet.

Marisol stepped forward. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yeah. That was weird. I remember stepping inside and then, boom! It was like I went back in time, to when...the first time we went down there.”