Transformation (3 page)

Cooper was on the move again. He could swear he heard Trevor sobbing. The girls were close behind him. Ellen thought to grab a few things, anything she could, on the way out. She yelled over her shoulder.

“Karen, grab what you can!”

The door was a white glow, a painful bright light that blinded them after having been in the dark.

The first few steps out of the grocery were made blindly. They burst through the door, fueled with the desire to get away from the dead in the dark and suddenly they were faced with a new threat. A wave of moaning hit them as they stood temporarily blinded by the sun. They shielded their eyes and saw something more defeating than zombies in the dark. They were on the edge of an ocean of dead bodies. Tom, Hector, and the SUV were nowhere in sight.

“The asshole pushed me out and drove off,” Trevor gasped before he collapsed to the tarmac.

The zombies closed the circle as the three companions stood back to back with Trevor out cold at their feet.

2.

The once picturesque glade amongst the massive California Redwoods was now a dismal circle befouled by several weeks of human captivity. Swarming with flies the air was heavy with the stench of body odor, human waste, and putrefaction. It was an orchestrated misery, an attempt to tear down and demoralize, and it was working.

After Cooper beat Willow and escaped, things had been terrible for everyone. Ben kept the remaining coven members starving and weak, miserable and hopeless, and clueless as to their whereabouts deep in the woods. They’d all driven in at night in the back of Ben’s van. Only he and Willow knew exactly where they were.

All the coven members lay nude and face down on their robes waiting for something to change—anything! They were close to the breaking point and would do anything for a scrap of food, a sip of water, or even a small act of kindness. Or the more coveted pill from Willow’s bag. The pills knocked them out, numbed them to the pain, and made them more and more dependent on Ben. They were used to the threat of pain and death, it was their new normal. All they could hope for now was to improve their lot by pleasing Ben.

Ben, a twenty something, dreadlocked criminal, was a druggie, rapist, and murderer. He’d seized control of the coven and imposed cruel restrictions on the remaining members since he was attacked by an intended sacrifice that escaped. Some dude named Cooper.

The first thing Ben did, after Cooper attacked him and ran away, was to drag the boy injured in the attack into the center of the glade and slit his throat. He grabbed a girl, one of the ugly ones, and did the same. He barked orders and had every coven member strip and lay face down on their robes. One girl refused. He faced her, smiled and pulled a pistol and shot her in the stomach. She fell and sobbed in pain as she slowly bleed to death in front of the others. This seemed to bring all the others into submission. Everyone was quiet save the girl who moaned and weakly begged for help until her last breath rattled from her throat.

Three bodies lay rotting in the center of the glade, nine nude captives lay in a circle around them. Two members had slipped away and that ate at Ben, making him even more angry than usual. He’d been popping pills and hadn’t slept in days.

A few days later at the edge of the glade, just outside the ring of trees, two dark figures appeared. They stood silent and unnoticed for quite some time until they stepped closer so that Ben would see them. The glade was swarming with insects and the drone was maddening, even after only a few minutes.

When Ben finally saw the figures he stopped short. He stood, swaying on his feet as his drugged mind tried to determine if what he saw was a trick of the shadows, his mind, or if he was actually looking at two black robed figures. Like a cartoon character he rubbed his eyes and cocked his head sideways. When one of the figures lifted their head Ben smiled. It was the two escaped coven members.

At the edge of the glade stood an older bald man with a bottle black goatee and a silver goat’s head medallion around his neck. He looked like the stereotypical satanic priest straight from a B movie. Next to him was a girl in her early twenties, likewise black robed and hooded. She had eyes that were a stunning shade of green that seemed to amplify the light they reflected. They were not only stunning in color but shape too and were set in a face equally as beautiful.

When Ben saw that his vision of twin reapers was just the two escaped coven members, he smiled and stormed across the glade. As he did, the insects rose up in a great cloud that obscured the sky, creating a foreboding shadow. Their drone increased tenfold. Upturned faces watched Ben as he stepped over the dead with a mix of hope and fear.

“Ben.” The balding older man, former head of the coven fought the urge to put his hands up to try and calm the young man for that would be a sign of weakness. He held his ground and controlled his face, holding it an impassive mask of apathy, but the young man scared the shit out of him and he regretted ever inviting him and that bitch to join his group. Since their arrival things had been tense, confrontational, and feeling more and more dangerous everyday.

“Ben, your temper will be your undoing one of these days.”

“Maybe today.” A female voice spoke, low and sultry. A hand came up from the robes holding a small pistol. Ben didn’t hear her and didn’t see the gun.

“That a threat, Zamfir?” Ben had closed the distance. “You threatening me with your black magic?” He walked right up to the older man and stood toe-to-toe with him, inches from his face.

The captives watched, practically holding their breath. The coven members now saw a possible rescue. Hope flickered in their minds as Ben’s hold on them started to loosen. Ben raised his pistol as Zamfir spoke.

“Yes. My magic is strong.” Zamfir’s voice cracked. He narrowed his eyes in a look of menace, but in reality it was an attempt to keep them from registering the alarm he felt. “Maybe it’s time you left us Ben. I am here for my coven.” He said but thought,
My god please leave and take that bitch with you!

The female voice spoke louder from beneath the dark hood.

“Drop the fucking gun Ben.” The pistol raised higher.

“Rachael.” Ben said with a tone in his voice and look in his eyes that said everything. He lowered his weapon.

Rachael shuddered. She would’ve left the so-called coven a long time ago if it weren’t for people like Ben. She felt an obligation to stick around and protect Zamfir from the predators.

“As you wish, Zamfir.” Ben said his name mockingly. “Maybe it is time we part ways. Let’s ask the coven who they choose to follow.” Ben turned and spread his arms wide as he shouted. “Who shall follow me to safety and peace and who will follow the weakling to certain misery and death?”

No one spoke as their eyes darted from Ben to Zamfir. There was a few long moments of silence that pissed Ben off. The decision should have been immediate. There should be no questions as to who they would follow. He regretted not having more time to break them down. If one went over to Zamfir, then they all might.

Ben never caught on that the coven wasn’t really a coven. He’d been with them for a few weeks and had yet to see or hear anything dark or satanic. Ben assumed that Zamfir was manipulating and controlling the members as he himself would have. He couldn’t be farther from the truth. The coven was simply a group of homeless kids that were protective of their coven leader. And they always said “coven leader” with tongue-in-cheek when in private especially when Zamfir was around. Publicly, he presented himself as a Satanic cult leader but he was just making things up as he went along and the kids were simply happy to play Satan’s little helpers for the food and shelter he provided.

The self-named Zamfir, high priest of the darkness, took good care of them all and was only interested in using them to whip up attention and scare the residents of Monterey all in an attempt to stave of loneliness since his mother died a few years earlier. He had no intention of abusing or controlling his members. He was the opposite of a cult leader. But Ben . . . he had the makings of a real Charles Manson or a Jim Jones. He had the three C’s: crazy, charisma, and controlling—make that four C’s. He was cruel too.

Ben had been trying to manipulate the coven members for weeks and was close to succeeding, but the attack by that asshole made he and Willow look weak, especially Willow who hadn’t yet been able to stand since. The dude had hit her so hard her brain must have been damaged because she’d been dizzy and her vision blurry ever since. Her neck was also fucked up bad, and she couldn’t turn her head. And her face . . . her face was a wreck.

Rachael was grateful. As bad as Ben was Willow was worse. Rachael had never thought of herself as a murderer, didn’t think it was a possibility for her, but lately she’d been seriously considering it. Even before the attack the rest of the kids were scared, hungry, and were murmuring about following Ben, not understanding that their lives would be worse than ever if they did that. She could see that several of them were whispering and chatting with Ben, planning something bad no doubt. Ben was scary and manipulative, charming when he needed to be, and Rachael felt powerless to deal with him.

But that last abduction. Thank god for that last one. Rachael felt terrible that her friend Ricky had to get hurt and then murdered but seeing Ben and Willow taken down a few notches went a long way to breaking Ben’s hold on the kids. Even though it gave Ben the opportunity to hold them all hostage she was convinced the kids would now be completely against Ben.

It was Rachael who spoke first, “I choose Zamfir.” She was hoping that the others would follow her lead, but it wasn’t to be. Ben seized an opportunity to intimidate her and the rest of the coven.

“Then you are my sworn enemy.” Ben pulled his knife and turned to the others with a smile. “Please everyone, choose. Rise and stand by your chosen leader.” He stepped back to make room for the coven members.

All the kids stood stiffly and hobbled over next to Ben. All of them gave apologetic looks towards Zamfir and Rachael. Many were sobbing and most of them mouthed the words,
I’m sorry
.

That’s it. We’re dead.
Rachel thought.

“You two are not welcome here.” Ben started barking orders then turned back to the confused pair. “Leave now! Walk away! Before I change my mind.” Ben wasn’t being nice. He sensed the hope budding in his captives, their readiness to take action, and decided to dismiss the two rather than try and kill them while surrounded. He would deal with them soon enough.

Ben ordered his followers back down on their robes at gunpoint.

Zamfir was in the lead and tripping over himself to get away. Rachael didn’t blame him, she was amazed he even returned with her. It took a great deal of persuasion and threats of abandonment to get him to come with her. But she felt sick walking away from the others. She hiked her robes and took slow careful steps that moved her quickly away, quicker than the panicked Zamfir. She had no idea where they were in the vast Big Sur wilderness but didn’t care. She had time to figure out exactly where they were later. Right now she was just happy to be alive and wanted to get the hell away from Ben. She looked back and saw Ben through the trees pacing the glade and wished she could simply kill him.

They marched as quickly as they could for almost an hour, looking back every once in a while to make sure they weren’t followed. Finally Rachael stopped and pulled off her robe. She wore jeans and a t-shirt underneath and suddenly she was a typical twenty-something. She draped the robe over her shoulder. Zamfir followed suit and cast his on the ground. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black sweat pants. He cast the medallion aside as well.

“Just ditch that thing,” he said to Rachael.

Rachael giggled. “Hi Everet.” She dropped her thick black robes. She reached behind herself and drew the pistol from the back of her pants. It looked like a black Beretta, not that either one of them knew that. She pointed it at Everet and pulled the trigger several times.

Click. Click. Clack.
Nothing happened but sparks flew from the end.

“Still doesn’t work,” she smiled as she tossed the novelty lighter aside.

“Would have been useful.” Everet said and looked down, feeling bad the lighter he chose didn’t work.

“But it did work,” Rachael said. “It kept Ben from killing us. And on second thought…” She bent and retrieved the fake gun.

Everet Lewis smiled and looked at his feet. “We need to keep moving. I was hoping to find a house or something before the sun went down.

Rachael’s mouth dropped open. “Shouldn’t we go back and help the others?” She knew Everet well but even she was surprised he was going to walk away.

“What can we do for them? We waited in the woods for days and approaching Ben was our big gambit. We could’ve died. Easy.”

Rachael’s stared at the top of his bald head. Her expression softened. She remembered how meek he could be. “We’ll think of something. But you’re right. We do need to rest tonight. It has been days since I’ve slept soundly.”

“Or eaten.” He added.

“Or used a toilet.”

“Or took a shower.”

They both felt their moods lightening with every step away from Ben and towards any other place in the world.

“Or laughed.”

“Or smiled even.”

They continued on for a few moments but fell quiet soon enough.

The self-appointed high priest of evil was now a frumpy middle-aged man. Without the robes and the motivation, Zamfir disappeared and Everet came out.
Funny
, he thought,
no one ever seemed to catch on that Zamfir was the master of the pan flute. Hardly an evil figure. Well, I guess that depends on how someone felt about the pan flute
.

“Everet, look.” Rachael stopped and shielded her eyes from the low setting sun. “What do you think?”

Above them on a high steep hill was a house. The house looked to be upscale and had no fence around it. Rachael knew that they were somewhere they could find a lot of what they needed and a path back to civilization. Everet smiled. He started the climb. The house was only one story but it covered a large area. Virtually every window would have a spectacular view. There were solar panels on the roof and a large propane tank off the drive, hidden behind some shrubs. These houses were owned by the ultra-wealthy and were self-sufficient. They had to be as they were fairly remote and the only way to ensure constant water and power was to generate it yourself.