The Takers: Book One of the Oz Chronicles (7 page)

After a mile or so, my anxiety started to wane. Ryder was a gentle old horse that moved slowly and smoothly across the paved terrain. There were times I even thought I could detect just a hint of gratitude from the old horse. He seemed to enjoy having me on his back.

As we journeyed on, I couldn't help but look at my surroundings with a measured level of sadness. Manchester was dead. The buildings remained intact and the roads were in good condition, but the heart of the little town had been ripped out. The cool October wind blew through its winding streets and alleys without notice. There was no one there to comment on the cold day or the coming holidays. It was a shell with nothing inside.

When we arrived at Archie's Seed and Feed the first thing I noticed was the odor. There was the sharp pungent smell of rot. The building was surrounded by it. We stepped inside and stood among the rows of sacks full of seed and feed. The smell grew stronger. Wes led me to the counter and stepped behind it. He looked on the floor and recoiled "Stay back," he said, trepidation in his voice. He covered his mouth with his hand and opened a drawer. He frantically rifled through it and pulled out a key. As quick as he could, he stepped from behind the counter and headed for the door.

I couldn't resist. I stepped around the counter and saw what made him draw back, the bloated, decaying body of an old man. The skin was gray turning brown. The eyes were milky and blank, and the belly looked as though it would pop. I fought the urge to retch and ran out of the building.

Once outside I placed my hands on my knees and doubled over. "What was that?" I said, fighting hyperventilation.

"Archie," he answered. He was breathing in deeply trying to flush out the odor of death. "I told you to stay back."

"I thought…" I was struggling to breathe. "They killed him."

"They didn't kill him," he said. "Old man probably dropped dead of a heart attack. They got no use for a dead man."

I stood up straight. We moved to the back of the building. Wes used the key he retrieved from the drawer to open up a large shed near a huge silo. He pulled back the double doors and, just as he had surmised, there was a medium-sized farm wagon. He smiled. "This will do. Old-timers used to use it to haul hay. Let's hook Phil and Ryder to it and get the hell out of here."

"What about…" I looked at the seed and feed store. "Shouldn't we bury him?"

"What the hell for?" Wes snapped.

"It doesn't seem right…"

"You want to go back in there and drag his old rotting body out back and bury him, that's fine by me, but you can count me out." Wes moved past me to fetch Phil and Ryder from the front of the store.

"I thought he was a friend of yours."

"He was a cranky old man that would sooner spit on me than say a kind word to me."

"Yeah, but…"

"But nothing." He disappeared behind the front of the building.

I went into the shed and found a shovel hanging from the wall. As I was exiting the shed, Wes was approaching with the horses. He stopped and looked at me.

"You're going to do it, aren't ya'?"

I didn't say anything. I found a spot of soft dirt next to the silo and started digging. It wasn't long before Wes joined me with another shovel. "You're some kind of stubborn, kid," he said.

I smiled and we dug the hole together.

***

By two o'clock in the afternoon, we were back at the shopping center. Phil and Ryder pulled the wagon like they'd been doing it their whole lives. We pulled up in front of the mattress store like we were cowboys in an old Western movie.

We jumped off the wagon and walked inside the store. Ajax and Kimball were sitting near the front. They were playing tug of war with Ajax's blanket. They had become fast friends.

Lou was sitting in the back with Nate in his sling around her shoulder. Her head was down and I could see that she was reading something. I didn't think much of it.

I had worked up a hunger burying Archie, so I retrieved a package of Oreos from my supply wagon and started chomping on as many as I could fit in my mouth. It took a while to notice that something wasn't quite right. I looked at the garden wagon. Something was out of place. I went through the wagon and gasped when I realized what that something was. Stevie's comic book was missing.

I stood in a panic. "Lou," I shouted. "Give that back!"

She looked up from Stevie's comic book. "They're called the Takers," she said, her eyes red from crying.

"Who's called the Takers?" Wes said entering the store. "And since when can you talk?"

I ran over to Lou and took the comic book from her. "Don't say their name."

"Where did you get that comic book?" she asked.

I ignored her question and ran back to the wagon and grabbed J.J. They were coming.

"What's got you all jumpy?" Wes asked. "And answer my question, little miss, since when can you talk?"

Kimball was the first to sense them. He let go of Ajax's blanket and ran to the front door. The fur on his back stood up straight. Ajax was next. He stood next to Kimball and let out a short series of hoots. With the hair on his shoulders and back puffed out, he looked twice as big.

Wes looked at the pair at the door and then me. "Damn." He pulled out his hunting knife. "I was beginning to think they was gone." His hand was trembling and sweat began to form on his brow. "Looks like I'm going to have to gut me another one of them suckers." He nervously chuckled.

"We should hide," I said.

Wes looked around the small mattress store. "Our choices are kind of limited here. Our best bet is to move down to the Kroger's."

"Shut up!" Lou whispered frantically. "They can hear us talk."

Wes and I looked at each other. She was right. I motioned for her to join me, and we all slowly made our way to the front door. Ajax and Kimball were firmly ensconced in their positions. It was hard to get their attention. "Kimball, go," I whispered. He darted out the door.

Ajax looked at me with a wide-eyed look. "Protect baby from take," he signed.

"I will," I whispered. I pointed to the Kroger's. "Hide." Still clutching his blanket, he turned back into the mattress store, ran to his bed, grabbed his doll and kissed it. He quickly moved past us and followed Kimball to the Kroger's.

"Don't that beat everything," Wes said.

Lou punched him in the stomach and shushed him.

Wes exited the mattress store first, followed by Lou with Nate in his sling, and then me. We were huddled together. J.J. was at the ready and Wes had a firm grip on his hunting knife. We stepped slowly, expecting the Takers to appear at any moment.

We were almost in a state of disbelief when we made it to the front door of the Kroger's without incident. Inside the grocery store, we scanned the area for out best vantage point.

"Frozen foods," Wes whispered leading the way. I grabbed Lou's hand. She was shaking. I pulled her along, and we all ducked down behind a row of waist high open-air refrigerator units with hundreds of boxes of spoiled frozen foods stuffed inside them. Kimball paced with his tongue hanging from this mouth, and Ajax sat clinging tightly to his blanket and doll.

Minutes passed and nothing happened. We were almost ready to let ourselves believe we were out of danger when we heard the front door open and slam shut. Before we could tell ourselves it was the wind, we heard a low clicking chatter, like locusts swarming a field.

Kimball immediately crouched down. He crept forward ready to attack. Ajax moved in front of us. His hair was standing on end again. They were two warriors ready for battle.

Lou squeezed my hand so tightly I thought she might break my fingers. She was biting her lip to prevent herself from screaming, and rocking little Nate back and forth trying to keep him calm. I was too scared to breathe.

We followed their motion through the building by the chattering. They moved to the opposite end at first. It was obvious they knew we were in the store. It was just a matter of time before they found us. Slowly they made their way toward us. It was torture listening to them go up and down every aisle as they made their way to the frozen foods section. The chattering grew louder and louder.

Wes couldn't take it anymore. "I can't take that awful noise," he said, his voice low and shaky.

Lou suddenly screamed. They had found us. At the end of the aisle, there stood a Taker or a Greasywhopper, whichever name you prefer. I estimated it to be at least eight feet tall because it was taller than the shelves that housed the food. And just as Wes had said, it was covered in a thick coat of greasy black hair. Its eyes were a blazing red, and it had a short snout with a wide nose and mouth. Its ears were big and pointy and stood on top of its head like a wolf's. The chattering came from it clicking its rows of nail-sized teeth together. It had long fingernails on the ends of its long fingers that dangled from long arms.

Ajax beat his chest and bluff charged the monster. It retreated a step or two. Kimball joined Ajax and began to bark. The Taker backed away even more. They advanced some more on the creature and it gave a little more ground each time. As I was about to let out a sigh of relief, I turned to my left and saw another Taker standing just six feet away from us. I stood with both hands holding on tight to J.J. Wes followed my lead. The Taker spread his arms out and let out a screeching roar. Lou was paralyzed. I tapped her with my foot, "Stand up."

She didn't move.

"Lou," I said. "Stand up."

She looked at me, her mouth agape, tears freely falling down her cheek.

"We have a mission, remember," I said.

With that she attempted a smile and slowly stood up.

I looked at the other end of the aisle. Ajax and Kimball had the other Taker surrounded. The creature was more than double their combined sizes, but it retreated like it was under attack by a huge advancing army.

The Taker that stood just feet from us was another story. It crept toward us, opening and closing its mouth, gnashing its teeth. It was almost as if it were playing with us. Huddled together, we backed away. It skulked after us. Wes lunged forward with his knife, hitting nothing but air, and retreated.

"Get away from us, you Greasywhopper sucker!"

The Taker flailed its arms and chattered madly.

Behind us I heard the other Taker scream in horror. I turned to see Kimball tearing a chunk of flesh from the monster's thigh. Ajax pounded the beast's back with his powerful fists. The Taker swung its arms wildly, but never laid a hand on either Ajax or Kimball. It was then that I realized the Taker couldn't see them.

Ajax grabbed the Taker's right leg and yanked it out from under him. The creature crashed to the ground, screaming for its life. Kimball dashed in and out on the fallen monster extracting a piece of flesh each time. It was as if Ajax and Kimball understood the Taker could not see them. They began to tear into it with reckless abandon.

Our Taker had no problem seeing us. It snapped its powerful jaws at Wes and managed to catch his shirt in its mouth. Wes thrust his knife forward and stuck the beast in the shoulder. It did not flinch. I swung J.J. and caught the Taker on the hip, leaving a gaping wound. Still the creature advanced on us.

Nate let out a gurgled cry. The Taker was momentarily distracted. It sniffed the air. Nate cried again. The creature leapt forward with a fury, tossing Wes aside and pushing me into the open-air freezer. Grease dripped from its protruding jowls as it bent down and sniffed Lou. It was looking for the baby. Its large hand ripped Lou up by her neck and held her out in front of it. It examined her with its red eyes.

A roar echoed throughout the store. Ajax and Kimball, having disposed of the other monster, were now focusing their attention on our Taker. The creature retreated. It was struck with a sudden rush of fear. Holding tightly to Lou, it backed away. Ajax stood and pounded his chest, pock-pock-pock. He was claiming his territory. The beast tried to run with Lou in tow, but it was tackled by Ajax. The Taker released Lou to fight off its attacker. Lou scrambled away. Within seconds Kimball had joined Ajax in the assault. A cacophony of growls, screams, and hoots filled the air.

I crawled out of the freezer and helped Lou to her feet. Wes lay dazed under a pile of 2 liter plastic bottles of soda that had collapsed on him when the Taker tossed him into the shelf. It wasn't long until Ajax and Kimball ceased their bloody assault on the creature. They stepped away as it lay there motionless, obviously dead.

I looked Lou and Nate over. Lou was a little shaken, but she would survive. Nate was howling away, but that was normal for him. I turned my attention to Wes. He was regaining his senses and trying to sit up. I helped him to his knees.

"Goodness knows," he said. "That was ugly."

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Not hardly, but I reckon I'll live." He breathed in deeply through his nose and blew air out through his mouth. "Whoa, sure don't want to do that again."

I looked at our troops. Ajax was pacing and breathing heavily. Kimball was sitting calmly, licking his paws. Lou had a pained look on her face. We were all battle-fatigued, but we were not beaten. I gathered up the others, and we headed out of the Kroger's.

Once we were back in the mattress store, I found Stevie's comic book, rolled it up, and stuffed it back in my supply wagon. "You shouldn't have gone through my stuff," I said to Lou.

"That book's about us," she said. She had Nate out of the sling and was cradling him in her arms. He was fussy and on the verge of having an all out crying session.

"What are you talking about?" I said.

"It's about us," she insisted. "I saw my name. I saw Ajax. I saw the…"

"Don't say their name," I said.

"Just what in the hell is going on here?" Wes asked, irritated.

"Nothing. Lou just shouldn't have gone through my things."

"Make him show you the book," Lou said.

"No," I said emphatically.

"Let me see it," Wes insisted.

"I can't," I answered.

"C'mon, boy."

"No," I shouted. "Don't you see? They're invisible until you see them."