Wormwood Dawn (Episode IV) (10 page)

Vincent sat in shock as he listened to Dan’s story. He was not only amazed, but sickened by the thought of Robert’s transformation, and what it meant for the people of the world. He cursed in revulsion when Dan described his appearance, and his seeming alien nature. It was almost too much for the hardened thug to handle.

But, he took it rather well, considering.

“I can’t believe you survived that shit, dawg,” he said. “I would have hung myself.”

“I thought about it,” Dan said. “I don’t know what was worse; the situation, or the torture.”

“A mutha fuckin’ harlequin mask?” Vincent said, shaking his head and swigging the whiskey. “That is some seriously fucked up shit.”

He passed Dan the bottle and went back to scanning the distant university with the binos. Dan took a swig, screwed the cap back on, and raised his own binos. The two of them searched the campus—what they could see of it—looking for a route through the cluttered city streets.

“I don’t know how we gonna get through with the Hummer,” Vincent said. “We may have to walk.”

Dan nodded. “That’s a possibility,” he said. “Either way, we’ll be on our own. The military squad I saw is nowhere to be found.”

Vincent grunted. “They may be hiding or some shit,” he said. “Just waiting for backup.”

Dan looked behind them, noting the position of the sun. It would be dark in a few hours, and they would have to make a choice as to whether they would get the ball rolling, or just wait until they saw some sign of activity from the military.

“Look,” Vincent said. “The choppers are starting to take off.”

A few buildings away from the campus, black choppers—three of them in all—were rising from among the ruins. The veered to the north, traveling in a group as they flew low—likely in search of more potential prisoners.

“They’ll be sending out vehicles, too,” Vincent said. “Hummers, troop transports, all dat.”

“What is it about this city?” Dan wondered. “I thought they were going to bomb it. There must be something here that changed their minds.”

“Maybe there’s some big technical bullshit somewhere there on campus,” Vincent offered.

Dan grunted. “Maybe. But I imagine there would have been something in Indy, too. They blew the shit out of it, though.”

“Some geological shit, then?”

Dan grinned. Vincent knew some words other than
fuck
and
nigga
, after all. “Maybe,” he said. “You know the powers that be; they don’t think logically.”

“Shit,” Vincent scoffed. “They probably
did
this mess.”

A massive hail of gunfire erupted from the campus. Dan looked at Vincent, who turned to look at him with pursed lips.

“They killin’ more people,” Vincent said. “That’s how they do it; line ‘em up at the pits and shoot them mutha fuckas in the back. Just like the Jews at the death camps.”

Jesus Christ. Fucking Nazis.

“We gotta get the guys outta there,” Dan said. “One way or another.”

“Bet,” Vincent said. “I think I got da plan, too.”

Dan raised his binos again, looking where Vincent had pointed.

“You see the dorms over there near the intersection?” Vincent said.

“Yeah.”

“A homey of mine used to party with some kids in dat building. He sold pills and weed, and they treated him like some Electric Larry celebrity.”

“Electric Larry?”

Vincent laughed. “Yeah, like some magical Gandalf-like drug dealer or somethin’. Anyway, them kids showed him some underground maintenance tunnels that led to some of the other buildings. We could get in there and sneak in underground.”

Dan nodded. That was a reasonable plan, but surely the mercs would have those tunnels guarded. “What if the mercs know about them?”

“I don’t think they would,” Vincent said. “They ain’t from around here. Even if they did, they small and shit, and twist around like a mutha fuckin’ maze. Lots of places to hide.”

“Okay,” Dan said. “So how do we get in?”

“I guess we just walk our asses to that dorm and get down in there.”

Dan felt nervous about it, but it seemed like the only way to get close enough. Going down the street would be more dangerous, he figured. Gephardt would likely have snipers and other guards posted everywhere. That was probably why the military had not just gone in guns blazing.

“Okay,” Dan agreed. “Let’s do it.”

The two men emerged from the parking garage just as the sun was an orange sliver on the horizon behind them. They were strapped to the bone; Dan with his new silenced Sig and .45, Vincent with his own silenced rifle. Dan had no idea where he had gotten it, but it was small and light, with a suppressor that made it nearly impossible to hear.

Both of them also carried a blade.

They crept through the ruins, making their way toward the dorms. There was another parking garage ahead, half crumbled but still standing, where they could observe if they needed to. It was at a good vantage point while still being mostly obscured from Gephardt’s view.

As they navigated the maze of rubble, Dan’s nervousness multiplied. He felt the presence of things around him, and the feeling sent shivers up his spine. Something was out there, he knew; something other than wandering undead. He got the sense that the shadowy things were creeping around, and though he had seen them kill the infected, they were still likely dangerous.

He had not told Vincent about what he saw.

Vincent stopped and fished around in his pocket, producing a pill bottle. “Remember them ADHD meds?” he said, unscrewing the cap. “I think we should nut up and get hyped. We gonna need it.”

Dan nodded in agreement, holding out his hand as Vincent poured two pink pills in his hand. “They didn’t even confiscate these moutha fuckas,” Vincent said. “But I saved ‘em. I knew I would need ‘em when I got out.”

Dan swallowed the pills with a mostly dry mouth. They got stuck in his throat briefly, but went down as he sucked a little mucus through his nose. In no time at all, he would be pumped and ready to fuck shit up. They would be two warriors; high on meth like Gestapo mercenaries—minus the Jew-killing shit.

The double glass doors of the dorms came into view as they emerged from a pile of cars. The glass was shattered, and there were bodies strewn about in various stages of decay, and states of dismemberment. It was a fucking mess.

“Damn,” Dan said. “Looks like one hell of a party.”

Vincent chuckled, but pointed near one of the windows. “Look at that,” he said.

There was a Shambler sniffing around, stalking the lawn and groaning and mumbling like a madman. It had apparently sensed them—or smelled them—and was searching around. Vincent raised his rifle, aiming for the creature for a moment before changing his mind.

“This mutha fucka is for close encounters,” he said. “You shoot. Your rifle is better for long range.”

Dan nodded, raising his rifle and peering through the scope. Through the infrared, he saw that the Shambler was a male, large and muscular, with half of its left arm missing. Dan aimed for its head, waiting for the creature to stop. When the Shambler turned in their direction, sniffing, he pulled the trigger.

The Shambler staggered away, tripping over its own feet, and pitched to the ground.

“Good shot,” Vincent said. “Let’s go.”

They stood, rushing forward across the lawn to avoid being spotted. Strangely enough, Dan was in the lead, and Vincent was huffing behind him. Adrenaline, maybe. They were about twenty yards from the doors when Dan suddenly heard a wooshing sound—as if a whip had been cracked. He slowed and turned, seeing Vincent’s head roll right past him.

“
Shit!”
Dan whispered loudly.

Vincent’s body flopped to the ground, and his rifle clanked as it bounced away. Dan’s heart pounded as he crouched, scanning the shadows for Vincent’s killer.

Vincent.

“Damn it,” Dan said. “What the fuck?”

Vincent was dead, and now he was alone. Alone with something… or someone.

Something huge and white landed behind Vincent’s body, slowly rising to its full height; four tentacles swirling around its body as its eyes took on a fiery glow.

“I’m disappointed in you, Dan,” the creature said.

Robert.

Dan’s heart skipped a beat, and he turned and sprinted toward the double doors. But Robert leaped into the air, landing square on the concrete pad in front of him.

“Where are you going, Dan?” Robert asked, his voice shimmering almost magically. “I thought we were friends.”

Dan’s breath escaped him. He turned and ran toward the parking garage in full sprint. He was winded already, but the Adderall was beginning to kick in. He hoped that was the only reason his heart was pounding so painfully. His footfalls echoed in his head as his vision blurred. Behind him, he heard Robert walking—or stalking—in slow, deliberate fashion. Dan ignored him, focusing on getting to the “safety” of the parking garage.

At least he could hide there.

“Come back, friend,” Robert called to him. “We still have games to play.”

“
Fuck you!”
Dan shouted.

“That’s no way to talk to your friend,” Robert shouted. “Come now! Let’s play!”

FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK!

Dan leaped over the guard rail at the garage’s entrance, landing painfully on his feet and rolling forward as he fell. He rolled right back up onto his feet and headed toward the stairwell, breathing hoarsely as his lungs burned.

He pushed through the door, slamming into the stairway and tumbling to the floor. His .45 bounced away, echoing in the cinderblock well as it disappeared underneath the stairs.

“
Damn it!”
he cursed.

He stopped and looked back, seeing the horrid form of his stalker walking toward him from outside the garage. The creature was in no hurry; simply walking on its odd, animal-like legs in serial killer fashion. Dan could see Robert’s pale, armored skin glistening in the moonlight. It was a horrifying sight.

Desperate, he mounted the stairs and ran up them two at a time. His primitive instincts kicked in, carrying him upward almost blindly. He stumbled a few times, but made it to the third floor before collapsing onto the concrete landing.

“Get up, you fucking moron,” he cursed at himself.

He pulled himself up, turning to look down the stairwell. The door was closed. Robert probably didn’t need the door. He would just… climb up the fucking side.

“Goddamn it!”
Dan cursed again.

He went back down one level, silently opening the door and closing it behind him. The garage beyond was quiet and dark; perfect for hiding. He silently shuffled across the empty floor toward a group of cars and squatted down between them, groaning in pain as his heart continued to pound like a death metal drum solo.

Jesus Christ, I’m gonna have a fucking heart attack!

Dan fumbled in his pockets for his bottle of Vicodin. There were five left. He popped two of them to try to counter the Adderall, swallowing them dry. Despite the panicky feeling, though, he
did
feel fucking pumped. Maybe the Vicodin would add to that and slow his heart a little bit.

Or maybe he would croak before Robert even got to him.

Robert. Oh yeah, Robert. He leaned against a car, pressing his face against the cold metal and listening to the garage around him. Everything was silent except for the wind. It was also dark as fuck, which added to his fear. But then again, maybe Robert was blind, too. That would be a good thing.

“
Daaaaaaaan,”
he heard a distant whisper.

Robert was calling to him. He was calling in a mocking
hide-and-seek
fashion.

“
Daaaaaaaan,”
Robert called again. “
Come out, come out wherever you are.”

“Fuck,” Dan said. “Fucking psycho freak.”

Above the concrete half wall overlooking the street below, a pale white shape appeared. Dan held his breath, backing away slowly. The shape paused in the opening, shifting from side to side, and then leaped onto the asphalt floor inside. There was a loud splat as the alien feet hit the floor, and the whipping sound of tentacles followed.

“I know you’re here,” the mocking continued. “I have a game for you, if you’re interested.”

Robert’s pale form walked to the right, slowly and almost mechanically; the tentacles whipping around him and his black eyes taking on the same red glow as earlier.

“I don’t want to kill you, Dan,” Robert said, his voice softening to an almost human tone. “I just want to play. Perhaps we can play together. Kill together. How does that sound? Dan? I’ve always admired you, you know. I told you that before. We could be good friends; partners. Jack the Ripper had a partner. Did you know that? That’s right. There were two of them.”

What the fuck was he talking about?