Tales From the Swollen Corpse (13 page)

Shawn sat back at the fire. He had had enough beer to not notice he was staring at the beautiful woman.

“Want to go for a walk on the beach?” She was talking to him; it took a minute for her voice to register.

Shawn stood up and took her hand. They walked down to the water, he rambled, trying to make conversation and she smiled as if to ease his tension. When they were just out of reach of the rescinding tide, she looked past Shawn at the glow of the fire.

“Let’s go this way.” She whispered.

She led him to a private spot between two dunes. He went to speak again and she shushed him with a kiss. Shawn was a little worried someone might walk by, but not enough to stop shedding clothes as they dropped to the ground.

He built towards orgasm, it occurred to him he hadn’t even thought about using the condom in his wallet. Reaching the point of no return, he tried to pullout to finish. But she clamped down on him, her hands and thighs gripped him in an iron embrace. He went with it; she seemed to be building to climax too. He couldn’t hold it any longer, releasing inside her. She began to quiver and moan, bending down she kissed him passionately. While still holding and kissing him, her quivering built to climax; when with mouths locked, she spewed larva down his throat. Unable to breathe, he swallowed the brood.

She let him go, he laid there paralyzed.

She whispered in his ear, “Your body will change and you will be able to move but you must get to the water or you will die.”

A tear rolled down Shawn’s face. She brushed his cheek softly and said, “You should be happy. You’re a father now, come to the water and follow my call.” She then backed into the darkness towards the crashing tide.

Shawn learned two things about mermaids that night. One: the males are chosen, and two: like seahorses the males carry the young. Later he would find out what they eat.

I was renovating my flat. It’s in an old building, built in 1907. Not much bigger
then
a studio, so space was limited. The plan was to knock out the wall going to the closet to open up the room. Considering myself pretty handy, I decided to do it myself. Having the tarps down and everything covered, I took a swing with the sledgehammer. It made a hole a little smaller then my head. When I pulled the hammer out I knew something was odd. The wall couldn’t have been more than a foot thick. In fact, standing in front of the hole, I was able to reach around the closet door frame. I couldn’t feel any dents on the other side. Looking into the hole I saw just blackness, no studs or interior wall.

After five more swings, the hole was the size of a normal window. But I still only saw blackness, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Dropping the hammer, I walked to the hole. Reaching in, I expected to feel wood or drywall but felt nothing. I leaned in, nothing but blackness and I heard no sounds. When I yelled, “hey,” there was no echo returned. Leaning in further, I lost my balance. I tried to reach down and brace against the wall I was leaning against but it wasn’t there.

Falling twenty or so feet down through the blackness, I landed in a shallow pool. Something squirmed and brushed against my skin. Panicked, I waded out of it as fast as I could. Out of the pool, the floor felt like damp concrete. The only light I could see was coming from where I had fallen from, a single window of light floating in the air. It illuminated nothing and was well out of my reach.

It’s been weeks now since I lost sight of that light. I spend my days looking for a way out, walking in blindness for miles. I have found no structures, just a vast flat landscape dotted with puddles. The puddle water is potable and most puddles contain leeches. It’s these critters that I sustain myself on. Not being able to see them, I presume they must resemble a fist size caterpillar. I often wonder if I will suffer any ill effects from eating them or from their constant nips. I don’t sleep much but when I do, I sometimes find them on me. One will have crawled up a pants leg or be on my arm, feeding.

The leeches and cold hard ground are not the only reason I don’t sleep much. There’s something else in here with me. Besides the sound of my footsteps, I have heard breathing that wasn’t mine. It sounds like a large animal sniffing out food. My only hiding places are in the larger pools with the leeches. I need to find a way out soon. It’s been getting close lately: I have come to believe that it’s looking for me.

Victor was headed home for a short, but well deserved break. Two Marines dressed in their blues stood in front of him on the escalator. Victor didn’t wear a uniform; among other things, anonymity was part of his job.

A crowd was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, holding up welcome home signs. They broke into applause when the two men came into view. At the bottom of the escalator, Victor side stepped out from behind the men, making his way around the soldier’s welcoming committee. A hum caught his ear when he was far enough away from the crowd. He pulled his phone out while stepping over to a window to answer it.

“Hey
cuz
.”
It was Angie. Victor smiled, her voice sounded more like home than his own Mom’s.

“Hey Angel, I just stepped off the plane,
chica
. I should be home in an hour. Are you going to come by? I’d love to see
ya
.”

“Of course, you’re like my big brother. I’ll be there.” They exchanged pleasantries then Angie awkwardly cut Victor off, “Listen Victor, I need to talk to you about Ricky.”

“What’s up with Ricky, is he ok?” Victor’s voice lost some of its enthusiasm.

“I knew it; I knew your Mom hadn’t said anything to you. Your Mom has been acting like there’s nothing wrong.”

“Angie. What’s going on with my brother?” Victor barked
,
stopping his cousin’s rambling.

“He’s been hanging out with a real bad crowd, going out all night and sleeping all day. He hasn’t been home in a few days.”

“Who’s he hanging out with, do I know them?”

“Vic I know that tone, I don’t think you can fix this. He doesn’t look like himself anymore, he’s sick.”

“Is it drugs? You think after Dad he would have more sense.”

“Your Mom won’t admit it but I think…” Angie’s voice drifted then became confident, “Victor, I think he’s a vampire.”

“What, Ricky? Listen we’ll talk about this when I get home.”

“Ok Vic.”

The only SUV the car rental had was an Escalade, which didn’t fit with keeping a low profile. So he took the sedan. It was an hour and a half ride back home. The trip should have been passed thinking about seeing everyone or making plans to go to Tony’s place for a chili dog. But instead, Victor’s thoughts were on his brother. If someone had told him his brother was a vampire five years ago he would have laughed. But that was before the epidemic started.

Three years prior, the US government had acknowledged the outbreak. All he knew was what he saw on the news. Vampires were real; the government was treating it like a disease. Except, instead of hospital quarantine, if they thought you were a vampire a special unit of the CDC would show up and take you away and no one would see you again. Looking out at the dust and warehouses he passed on the freeway, Victor thought to himself, this wasn’t the blue-skied beach laden California people dreamt about, but it was his home. “Damn it Ricky, what did you get yourself into?” He whispered to himself.

Pulling down his Mom’s street he thought about how he used to believe it was a tough area to grow up. That was before he got out into the world; before he saw where nightmares existed. Now he knew how good he had it and was grateful.

Victor parked on the street and grabbed his bag. A little waist high fence ran in front of his Mom’s yard. It was locked so he jumped it. No one looked home in the little blue stucco house. After knocking on the door, there was a long silence, and then he heard the chain and deadbolt being unlatched. A hesitant little woman opened the door. His Mom looked worried, making her face seem older than he remembered. Her eyes got big and the grimace turned into a smile when she made out who it was.

“
Mijo
!” she yelled, wrapping her arms around Victor.

“Hey Mom.”

“Oh it’s so good to have you here. Come on inside, baby.”

He dropped his bag in the entrance and followed her to the kitchen. He wasn’t surprised the house hadn’t changed in the slightest. They got caught up as she sat him at the kitchen table and dug into the fridge. Before he could refuse, he had a veritable feast laid out before him. Victor was at the peak of strength and fitness for a man his height but that didn’t stop his Mom from jokingly asking if the military fed him.

“I’m not good at cooking for one and Ricky hasn’t been around much lately.” His Mom said noticing Victor’s facial reaction to the intimidating mound of food before him.

It had been obvious since he walked through the door something was wrong. She was acting more than worried, almost afraid of something and that wasn’t like her.

“Where is Ricky, Mom?”

“He’s staying with his friend Hector.” She replied without elaboration. Obviously uncomfortable, she turned and started working on the dishes.

“Does Hector still stay over on 5th?”

“As far as I know,” she stopped with the dishes, resting her arms on the counter but still didn’t turn around.

“I would love to see my little bro. After I eat I think I am going to go check in on him.”

“It’s late Victor and getting dark. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Victor thought the last comment was odd but could see his Mom was legitimately worried so he stood up and put his hands on her shoulders to comfort her.

“Listen, I am not sure what’s going on, but I know you’re worried about him. I’m here now and we’re going to straighten this out, it’s going to be ok.”

Victor let go of her shoulders and walked back to the table to pick up his keys.

“Be careful Vic.” She said, not turning around. She didn’t want him to see the tears streaming down her check.

“I will.” He tapped the keys on the table and headed back out to the front door, grabbing his bag on the way.

Just outside, fumbling with the gate was Angie. She was tall and Victor thought too skinny. Her raven hair and horned rimmed glasses hid a beautiful face, making her look studious, which she was. The first one on her side of the family to go to college, she now worked as a loan officer. When Victor saw the silver import behind her he thought,
She
must be doing well.

“Hey Angel, you showed.” She backed away as Victor hopped the fence again.

“Of course I showed.” She said, giving him a big hug. “Where you headed?”

“Mom said I might find Ricky down at Hector’s.”

Holding him at arm’s length “I’ll drive.”

“I don’t know Angie. The vibe I am getting, that may not be a good idea.”

“Listen, I won’t take no for an answer. Besides, if that’s your ride, it sucks.” she said, pointing at the sedan.

“Ok Angel.” They jumped into her car and headed off as the low hanging sun turned the smoggy sky a dark purple.

Hector had lived in a dilapidated detached garage behind his parent’s house since high school. He had been Ricky’s best friend since elementary. Victor’s Mom thought of him as a sweet, but dumb kid and when the two got into trouble she laid the blame on Hector, but never stayed mad long. Angie pulled into the alley and parked the car.

“I want you to stay in the car and lock the doors.” Angie began to protest and Victor cut her off with just a look. He reached into his bag and pulled out a fifty caliber desert Eagle and holster which he put on under his jacket.

“How the hell did you get that on the plane?” Angie asked in astonishment.

“Angie, you know you can ask me anything but…”

“I know, I know, I can’t ask about whatever it is you do. Vic, be careful.”

With that Victor shut the door. He heard a click of the locks behind him. Heading around the garage Victor noticed the weeds had gotten out of control. Even in front of the side door that Hector used for an entrance. There were no lights on in either the main house or the garage. The only sound was a neighbor’s dog barking in the distance. Victor didn’t think anyone was home and from the looks of things no one had been there in
awhile
. A smell seemed to loom in the air, one he knew well. Sometimes his team got bad Intel and they were too late for the party. That’s where he knew the smell
from,
it was the smell of death and rot.

He knocked on the garage’s side door with one hand and kept the other on the gun. Everything was quiet at first,
then
he thought he heard something. It almost wasn’t a sound at all, but a faint hiss and it wasn’t coming from in the garage but from all around Victor. It was saying, “Come in”. Victor pulled the gun out and tried the door but it was blocked. It took a couple pulls on the rusted handle before the weeds gave way.

The garage was completely dark and the smell was strong inside. He could hear the buzz of flies in the air. The layout seemed the same from when he had been there in years past. A little TV on a table in
front
of a couch, behind it the table they used to play poker at and in the far corner a bed. Victor quickly got out of the light that was now coming in from the doorway. He crept along the wall with the desert eagle guiding the way. The sides of the garage were lined with things that belong there; tools, a lawn mower, etc. As he moved, his eyes adjusted. He could make out someone sitting in a chair by the table behind the couch. If it was Hector, he wasn’t moving and the smell suggested he wouldn’t be.