Wormwood Dawn (Episode IX)

Copyright © 2016 Edward Crae

Cover Art by Necropolis Digital Art (shawnecrapo.com)

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All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

DISCLAIMER:

All brand names mentioned within are the registered trademarks of their respective copyright holders. No infringement, endorsement, or detraction is intended.

This is a work of fiction, and any resemblances to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Place names are used respectfully and solely for the purposes of reference points for the story.

Animals were harmed in the making of this story. A guy’s gotta eat, right?

For Lisa, my partner in crime, and soon-to-be wifey.

The spring sky was bright and blue. Only the faint, wispy traces of the debris clouds remained, spanning the sky like translucent brown ribbons. In a few weeks, they would be gone, leaving the Earth to continue its natural cycle of seasons. Underneath the warm sun, Dan and Cliff watched the fascinating and unusual sight below them.

In an old quarry just outside of Bloomington, an entire village had been built. Among the corrugated metal shacks, the strange and unsettling forms of dozens of scavengers skulked about, their skin wrapped in dusty and torn rags to protect them from the sun.

The two men had spotted the creatures in town during a run, and had followed them here in hopes of discovering where the pathetic lifeforms dwelled. They got their wish, and that wish had been found to be disturbing.

Throughout the various levels of rock, the scavengers had built their town. Each and every shitty shack was connected by rough, wooden catwalks that were “laced” around the site. What was created was nothing less than something out of a Mad Max flick; half-assed, half-collapsed, and riddled with the remains of man and animal alike.

It was the human remains that were the most unsettling. They were not just cast aside carelessly, but arranged in ritual fashion. They had actually used them as construction materials, as well as for decoration. Whether they were the bones of the residents, or those of victims—or meals—was unknown. It was likely, given the nature of the creatures, that they were the latter.

Though neither Cliff nor Dan spoke, their minds were on the same page, making conversation unnecessary. It was quite obvious from their mutual grunts and groans that they were thinking the same things.

Occasionally, a lone figure would emerge from one of the various shacks, tossing scraps of food or garbage over the rope rails. Whatever was tossed out splatted on the rocks below, and the creatures went about their business without any regard for the filth around them. It was when a scavenger tossed out a red, sloppy bag of filth that Cliff noticed the triangular pond nestled in the corner directly below them.

“That must be where the rain gathers,” Cliff said.

Dan looked closer, seeing a skin of filth floating on the surface. It was littered with strange bits of material; lumps and clumps of what looked to be…

“Shit,” Dan said. “They shit in it, too. I hope it’s not the same water they drink.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me,” Cliff said. “I’ve seen worse.”

Dan looked at him skeptically. “Where?”

“You ever seen the Ganges River?”

Dan grunted. “No, but yeah… I get it. Disgusting.”

Another scavenger stepped out of his shack almost directly across from them. He—or it, rather—was only about ten feet below them. It tossed some garbage down, and then stopped to sniff the air. It looked around, as if looking for the source of the smell. Dan realized it was probably smelling them, and the two men froze in place.

“I think he’s on to us,” Dan whispered.

There was a shout from below that distracted the scavenger. It leaned over the rope rail and looked down. Dan saw two of them below, dragging the half-slaughtered body of a woman to the water’s edge. One of the things took a machete and cut open the woman’s abdomen, spilling her innards into the water. Others gathered around, eager to scoop up the filth with their gloved hands.

As Dan and Cliff watched in horror, the other scavenger began skinning the corpse, cutting off large flaps of flesh and tossing them into the water. He looked back up at the scavenger across from them. The creature was still focused on the scene below, seemingly exciting about what was happening. Dan reached for his rifle.

“I’m taking that fuckwad out,” he said, flicking off the safety.

“Wait until he stands up straight,” Cliff said. “Otherwise he’ll fall, and they’ll be alerted.”

Dan nodded. He hoped the rocky walls wouldn’t amplify or echo his shot too much. Even with a silencer, there would still be a fizzing pop sound, not to mention the slamming of the hammer against the firing pin. Nevertheless, Dan put his eye to the scope, watching the wretched creature as it growled and hissed with hunger and lust.

“He’s a happy mother fucker,” Cliff said.

“Not for long,” Dan replied.

The scavenger turned around, dancing back toward his shack. Dan put a round in the back of his head, dropping him forward into his own shack.

“Good shot,” Cliff said.

There was a muffled screech from inside the scavenger’s shack. A smaller, thinner scavenger came out, sniffing the dead one like a dog would. The new creature squatted next to it, poking it and shaking its own head violently.

“Is that a…” Cliff began.

“Fucking kid,” Dan finished.

He quickly raised his rifle again, splatting the new creature’s head against the corrugated metal behind it.

“Damn,” Cliff said. “That’s not good. These fuckers reproduce.”

“How do they tell each other apart?” Dan wondered.

“Smell, maybe,” Cliff said. Dan wasn’t sure if he was joking or not.

Below, the two scavengers began howling, as if calling the tribe to dinner. The rest of the camp—what seemed like dozens of them—spilled into the open areas, and began clawing the chunks of flesh that floated in the water. Soon, the entire shore of the small pond was packed with the writhing and filthy bodies of the strange creatures. They clambered over one another to get at the scraps, and some of them fought the others for the larger pieces. One scavenger howled triumphantly as it ripped a long length of small intestine from the hands of another and escaped to the confines of its shack with the gruesome prize.

“Jesus, man,” Cliff said, nearly gagging. “That’s fucking disgusting.”

Dan shook his head in disbelief. He couldn’t fathom the scene below. It was like something out of a nightmare; surreal and horrifying, to say the least. It had to be stopped. These creatures could not be allowed to survive.

“They have to die,” Dan said. “All of them.”

He could see Cliff nod out of the corner of his eye. “Agreed.”

“Do you see any structural weaknesses?” Dan asked.

“Those beams holding up the platforms,” Cliff said. “They look like they’re holding up the weight of the entire structure. We can collapse those, and throw a few grenades down into the crowd.”

Dan scanned the structures, looking for the load-bearing beams. There were three major ones, located about twelve feet apart. They propped up the lesser beams that held the catwalks and the shacks. Those would do. Take those out, and the whole structure would collapse.

“How many M204 rounds do you have?” Dan asked.

“Four,” Cliff said. “And five frag grenades.”

“You take out the beams, and I’ll drop the frags.”

Cliff slid his pack over to Dan and readied his M204. Dan emptied out the grenades, laying them side by side on the ground in front of him. They would have to time everything perfectly in order to take out the entire group. If they were off just a little bit, some of them would escape.

Dan pulled the pin from one of the grenades, holding the spoon, and reached out to drop it into the quarry below. “Ready,” he said. “After you.”

Cliff fired. The deafening pop sent the first grenade down in an arc, alerting the creatures below. It exploded into the largest of the supporting beams, causing the catwalks to rumble and shake as they lost their stability. Dan dropped the grenade just as the crowd at the pond began to panic. They were blown apart in a cloud of red chunks and filthy water.

Cliff fired again, collapsing the next beam. This time, the shacks and the catwalk began to collapse, slowly inching their way from the rock walls. Dan dropped another grenade, and Cliff fired another round at the main platform. With a loud rumble and cloud of debris, the entire structure collapsed. Scavengers were crushed and maimed on the rocks below, and others were blown apart by Dan’s grenades.

Another group from the far corner emerged from ground level shacks. Dan flung another grenade in their direction, laughing out loud as they were annihilated. Cliff directed his next shot at the shacks, blowing them apart with ease. Then, a rumbling and cracking sound echoed from the far wall. A large crack appeared in the rock, and small chunks began to chip away and fall to the ground below.

“Try and hit the crack with the last one,” Dan said.

Cliff aimed, firing his last round directly at the growing crack. It exploded in a cloud of rocky shards and dust, and the entire quarry shook. A massive wedge of stone broke away, bringing an avalanche of boulders with it.

“Time to go,” Cliff said.

They stood, and Dan threw the last few grenades down into the hole for good measure. Then, they fled the chaos, hearing the quarry collapsing behind them. Dan was certain they had destroyed the entire village. From the sound of it, the quarry’s walls caved in on themselves and rained down stony death on the hapless freaks below.

The two men fled the scene, making their way back toward the highway where their pickup was parked. Ahead, a few scavengers appeared from out of the bushes, howling and slobbering as they charged. Dan drew his machete, chopping at the nearest one and slicing into its ribs. The thing went down in a screaming heap. Cliff had his handgun out, popping a few rounds into the scavengers that mobbed him. They kicked and clubbed their way out, taking down any of the creatures that got in their way.

Finally, they piled into the pickup with a few scavengers still in pursuit. Dan raised his Blackout and fired a few rounds into the nearest creature, and then started up the truck as Cliff jumped in.

“
Gogogo!”
Cliff shouted.

A scavenger grabbed Cliff’s arm just as Dan punched the gas. Cliff slammed his fist into the creature’s face repeatedly, slamming his door on its arm. He held onto it as they bounced onto the highway, dragging the screaming freak down the road with them.

“Faster,” Cliff said. “Let’s give this fucker the ride of his life.”

Dan chuckled, pressing down hard on the gas pedal. The scavenger babbled, horrified, as it was dragged along. Cliff gave it a few punches in the face as a consolation prize.

“I don’t think he likes that,” Dan said.

“Pull onto that side road,” Cliff said. “Let’s see if this fucker has anything to say.”

Dan cut the wheel to the left, squealing onto the gravel road. The scavenger howled in terror, and Cliff gave it another fist hug to shut it up. Dan punched it, bouncing down the rough road until they reached a small clump of trees near an abandoned farmhouse. There, he stomped the brakes, and Cliff released the creature’s broken arm, letting it tumble along the rocks as they jumped out.

The scavenger struggled to get to its feet, and Cliff kicked it back down with his heavy boot. Dan bashed it in the head with the butt of his rifle, dropping it back to the gravel, slobbering and moaning. Cliff reached down and pulled the pathetic thing to its knees, bringing it up to his face.

“Talk,” he hissed. “Where are you getting those people!?”

The scavenger babbled and gagged, slime and putrid breath coming from its jagged mouth.

“I know you were human! Talk!”
Cliff gave it another punch.

“Waja macha cah bak!”
the creature mumbled.

“What?” Cliff said.

“Waja macha cah bak, ee wah keel yoo awwwww.”

Cliff shot Dan a look. Dan could almost understand the thing. It was English, for sure, but broken and garbled.

“Open his mouth,” Dan said.

Cliff squeezed the creature’s jaw, forcing its mouth open. Dan could see the shattered teeth inside, and the swollen, scabbed tongue behind them.

“It’s English,” Dan said. “It’s just garbled because his tongue is swollen.”

“What did he say?” Cliff asked.

“When the master… comes back… he will kill you all.”

The creature began laughing maniacally. Cliff let it go, and it collapsed back down to its haunches, swaying and moaning in agony. Cliff shook his head. “What the fuck?”

“The master,” Dan repeated, and then kicked the creature over. “Who is the master?”

The scavenger howled with laughter, rolling and squirming as it attempted to escape in a slow crawl. Dan kicked it in the crotch and stomped on its back, holding it down.

“I said, who is the master?”

The creature moaned and screamed as it tried to roll over under Dan’s weight. He stepped off, letting the thing look at them one last time, then raised his rifle to put it out of its misery. Before he could pull the trigger, the freak’s mouth fell open as a long, snake-like appendage shot from its throat, wrapping around Cliff’s forearm. Dan fired, exploding the thing’s head.

Cliff screamed in pain, thrashing around as the strange tentacle wrapped itself tighter and began biting into his flesh.

“Fuck!”
he shouted.
“Cut it off! Cut it off!”

Dan dropped his rifle, wide-eyed with terror. He drew his machete, rearing it back as Cliff struggled to reach him. Cliff dropped to his knees, his face growing pale and his eyes wide. “Do it,” he whispered, looking Dan right in the eyes.