Wormwood Dawn (Episode VI) (12 page)

“I think she has the hots for Eric,” she said.

Eric’s face turned red, and he flashed a crooked smile.

“What!?” he said. “You’re crazy. She’s old enough to—“

“Don’t say it,” Toni cut him off. “She’s not that much older than me.”

Dan laughed, patting Eric on the back. “Watch your mouth, son. That’s a lady.”

He turned and waved to Cliff as they made their way to the gate. Travis met them there and opened it up for them.

“Be careful,” Travis said. “Don’t let this pretty lady get hurt.”

“Shit,” Dan scoffed. “She’s probably tougher than the three of
us
put together.”

“You damn straight,” Toni said, drawing her revolvers and giving Travis a wink. “I’ll bring them back in one piece, daddy.”

Dan liked her already.

“Watch your step here,” Dan said. “The creek bank’s pretty steep.”

They walked with Dan in front, Toni in the middle, and Eric holding up the rear. Both Dan and Eric had their tactical lights on, lighting the way as they trekked toward the church. Dan was feeling extra deadly with his new .300 BLK, and that fact kept his natural fear in check.

Eric cursed occasionally, likely frustrated with having to go out again in complete darkness. Toni kept her cool, which wasn’t surprising. She was a tough one, Dan realized, and was an excellent addition to their group.

“How long ago were you guys at the church last?” she asked.

“Had to be three days ago,” Eric said. “And we dumped all the bodies that same night.”

“Melanie’s too?”

“Yup.”

“So, this girl was a giant bitch?” Toni asked.

“The biggest,” Dan replied. “But don’t take my word for it. These guys were around here longer than I was.”

“Was she pregnant when you guys met her?” she asked Eric.

“No,” he said. “And there was no chance she could have gotten pregnant.”

“You don’t think anyone snuck into her cave one night and gave her the goods?”

“Not a chance,” Eric said.

Dan stopped, shining his light left and right. The trail was difficult to see in the dark, but he knew it was around here somewhere. After a few seconds, he shined his light on the ground, looking for any worn down areas in the underbrush. Instead, there were footprints.

“Look at this,” he said, crouching.

Eric and Toni gathered around, kneeling down to see the prints. They were oddly shaped; made with elongated, bare feet. Not human-like at all.

“That’s strange,” Eric said. “If I were to guess what the ghouls’ feet looked like, this would be it.”

Dan looked at Toni, who shrugged. “I’ve never seen any of these ghouls,” she said.

Dan stood and went back to shining his light ahead. The footprints continued upward until they met the trail.

“Bingo,” Dan said. “Found it.”

As they went on, Dan thought of the shadow people. Toni said she had seen one. As far as he knew, she was the only one—her and the kid on the bulletin board, that is. Dan had not only seen them, but had witnessed them tearing apart the Robert creature. He was sure he had seen it. But maybe keeping that fact to himself was a good idea. Drew and Jake didn’t seem to believe him. Vincent had, though.

But Vincent was dead.

“I wonder if there’s anything left of the church,” Eric said. “I doubt it burned all the way down with the rain and all, but I bet it’s mostly gone.”

“If there’s anything left,” Dan said. “It would likely be the basement. I already told you what I think of church basements.”

Toni chuckled behind him. “Something happen to you in a church basement?”

“Yeah,” Dan replied. “We got attacked by a mob of toddlers.”

“Oh,” Toni said, regretfully. “I thought maybe… never mind.”

Eric snickered.

“Shut up,” Dan said. “I didn’t get diddled by a preacher.”

Eric and Toni laughed out loud.

“Here we are,” Dan said, stifling a laugh. “Aaaaaand it’s still up.”

The clearing was scorched, littered with bodies, and the church itself was somewhat intact. The roof had caved in, along with most of the top floor, and the corner of the first floor that faced them was burnt and crumbled. The stone chimney was collapsed directly away from the siding, and lay in pieces.

“You guys burned down a church, huh?” Toni said, shaking her head. “Are you guys a Norwegian metal band or something?”

“Not quite,” Dan said. “But I’m impressed with your knowledge of real music.”

“Black girls don’t always listen to R&B,” she said. “Some of us like to get jacked and fuck shit up. You can’t do that to Mary J. Blige.”

“Who?” Eric asked. Toni shot him a look, and he grinned. “Just kidding,” he said.

“Alright, let’s go in,” Dan said. “Keep it down and listen for any movement. If Mason’s men are here molting or whatever the fuck it’s called, we don’t wanna wake them.”

They crept up to the collapsed corner, lights off and silent as they could be. Dan peered inside, scanning the darkness for any movement or odd smells. There was nothing but black, and the smell of soot. Hesitantly, he lifted his rifle and shined the light inside. The chapel was just as they had left it, other than the huge pile of burnt rubble from the upper floor.

He climbed up and waved the others inside.

“This is where the big stalker was,” Dan said, pointing to the remains of the creature’s cocoon. “That’s what it came out of.”

Toni scowled in disgust. “That’s nasty,” she said. “And this thing was human?”

“Two of them,” Eric said. “Stuck together for some reason.”

“What do you mean?” Toni asked. “Like back to back or side to side, what?”

Dan and Eric both shook their heads. “Not sure,” Dan said. “It was like they were just… one.”

“Okay,” Toni said, raising her eyebrows.

Dan stood and swept the room with his light. There was no movement, or anything unexpected. He continued on, motioning for them to follow. They made their way through the rubble, going behind the pulpit where the doors to the back still stood. In their previous visit, they had fled through the door on the left. It was gone now, along with half of the wall. Dan decided to go right.

He put his ear against the door for a moment, listening for any movement inside. When he was satisfied it was quiet, he gently turned the knob and slid the door open. His flashlight revealed nothing but an office. It was mostly intact, with only the wall on their left partially destroyed. There was some fire damage, nothing more.

“This must be the pastor’s office,” Dan said. “It looks about as boring as it could possibly be.”

There were very few furnishings. Only a large desk with a leather office chair, one book shelf with various Christian texts and encyclopedias, and a globe on the far wall for some reason.

A large Bible sat open on the desk. Dan went over to look at it. It was open to Revelations.
Figures,
Dan thought. Ignoring it, he reached down to open the side drawer. There was a .38 revolver inside, a box of rounds, and a small, leather bound book. He grabbed all of the items and stuffed them in his pocket.

“Dan,” Eric said. “You’re not gonna believe this.”

He looked up, seeing Eric and Toni transfixed on something that decorated the wall. He went over and shined his flashlight on it. His stomach flipped when he saw it.

“Shit,” he said.

It was a photo of middle-aged male twins; identical twins. One of them wore the garments of a preacher, the other, a priestly collar.

“It’s them,” Eric said. “Or… it.”

“Holy shit,” Toni said. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Dan was speechless. All he could do was stare at the two faces. They were two brothers, born from the same egg, sharing the same womb, bound together until their death at the hands of some sociopath from the armpit of Indiana. Evidently, they had been so close that their transformation was mutual. Their cocoon was as mutual as their mother’s womb.

“What the fuck,” Dan whispered in disbelief. “How?”

Eric was silent. He looked like he was about to explode. Maybe the thought of the twins melding together into one monstrosity was just too much for him to handle. It was almost too much for Dan to handle.

“Guys,” Toni said. “I know this is fucked up, and you want some answers, but we came here for a reason. We need to get to it.”

Dan nodded, still fixated on the photo. Eric rubbed his eyes and turned away from it as if it were causing him excruciating pain.

“Alright,” Dan said. “Let’s get the fuck outta here.”

They left the office and went to the door on the left side of the chapel. Dan and Eric had been here before, but this time the rooms were blackened and filled with puddles from the rain that had dripped in from above. The ceiling was collapsed for the most part, and all of the cabinets had been crushed by the falling debris.

Dan looked up through the massive hole in the ceiling, shining his light up to the remainder of the top floor. Only a small section of roof was left, and everything else was black and crumbled. The door to the stairway was gone, as was the stairway itself, from the landing on up.

“It’s all gone,” Dan said. “I don’t see anywhere else they could have come.”

“Maybe we were right to begin with,” Eric said. “The coyotes got them.”

Dan shrugged. “That’s possible,” he said. “But then where is Melanie’s cocoon?”

Everyone was silent as they swept the ruins. Eric paced, shining his flashlight on every single surface, looking for any clue he could find; no matter how small. Dan sighed and leaned against the wall, letting his rifle rest against the floor. That’s when he realized that there was a large rug rolled up on one side of the room, along the wall with the closet they had found on their previous visit.

He raised his rifle again, running his flashlight along the floor until he found what he was looking for.

“Guys,” he said. “Look at this.”

There was a trap door in the center of the floor, barely noticeable among the hardwood planks. It had no handle, only a wide cavity that served as a pull. Dan reached down and gripped the door, looking up at Toni and Eric.

“Shall we?” he asked.

Eric moved over to the opening, pointing his shotgun downward in case something tried to escape when Dan opened it. With a grunt, Dan tugged, and the trap door came open. It squeaked as he laid it down on the floor, and a wave of heat blew up from the cellar below. It smelled terrible; like rotting fish and sewage.

“Jesus Christ,” Dan said, covering his nose. Eric and Toni did the same.

“I don’t see a ladder,” Toni said through her fingers.

Dan leaned over the opening, shining his light straight down. The floor was about six feet down, paved in crumbled red brick, and damp. On its surface were the muddy and smeared footprints of several different non-humans. Dan swallowed in anticipation.

“I think we found something,” he said.

“So who goes first?” Toni asked.

“Well,” Dan said. “We could lower you down there and—“

“Nope,” she said immediately.

“I’ll go first,” Eric said, surprisingly brave all of a sudden.

Dan leaned back as Eric shouldered his shotgun and began climbing into the hole. He lowered himself down with his arms, straining a little against his own weight. Then, he dropped, hitting the floor and immediately unshouldering his rifle to search the darkness.

“See anything?” Dan asked.

“It’s a small room,” Eric whispered. “But there’s a brick corridor ahead.”

Dan looked up at Toni, who shrugged and shook her head. “After you,” she said.

Dan dropped down into the cold cellar right next to Eric, who stood off to one side pointing his light at the tunnel. Dan moved aside so Toni could come down.

“Careful,” he said. “It’s slippery.”

Toni slipped a little when she landed, but recovered quickly, drawing one revolver and a large buck knife.

“Not going guns akimbo?” Dan asked.

Toni shook her head. “Do you have any idea how loud a .44 Magnum is in a tight space?”

“Can’t say that I do.”

He went forward, sweeping the floor with his light. The muddy footprints led right into the corridor, disappearing into the darkness. He adjusted his beam to make it wider, hoping to light more of their path. Everything was the same; all of it damp, red brick.

“Whoever built this wasn’t much of a decorator,” Dan said.

“With no stairs or external entrance,” Toni said, “this may not have been meant as a usable space. It was probably a storm drain or something.”

“Or possibly a cistern,” Eric added. “Or emergency storm shelter.”

Dan entered the corridor first. It was roughly four feet wide, with a five foot ceiling. All of them, even Toni, had to duck to go through. Like the small entryway, the corridor was damp and smelly. The footprints were smudged from here on out; and completely gone by the time they had gotten about ten feet in. Here, the floor was wet with tiny rivulets of muddy water that leaked in from the walls.

Ahead another ten feet, the tunnel opened up into another dark room, and Dan could hear the gentle trickling of water.

“I think we’re going downhill,” Dan said.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, Dan’s suspicions were confirmed. The tunnel opened up into a large chamber whose floor was another two feet down. Water trickled over the lip and into a brick-lined trench that spanned the length of the new room. Dan plopped down, shining his light around. The ceiling was about the same height as the entry way, but sloped and crumbled; a few bricks missing here and there.

The smell was getting worse, and the heat was getting more intense.

“It shouldn’t be this warm down here,” Toni said. “Should it?”