Patrick D'Orazio - Coming the Dark

She stopped momentarily and stared at him. Jason hid his face behind his knees again, and his chest rose and sank rapidly, as if he were desperately trying to catch his breath. He spoke quietly, whispering between rough sobs, and she could barely decipher any of it. “Please no…God please no, no Momma no, leave me alone, Momma, please!”

Megan reached out and moved her hand toward the top of his head, hesitating at the last moment. Swallowing hard, she let her hand rest on the boy’s head. He jerked away from her touch, a look of terror on his face that curdled her blood.

When the look disappeared, Megan tried for a warm smile and moved her hand slowly toward Jason again. His face was filled with dread, but he did not try to move away this time.

A single tear rolled down his cheek as the gentle woman touched his face. Jason tensed but did not squirm anymore. She delicately rubbed the tear away and moved her hand across his cheek. He faintly remembered the sensation of the bony fingers caressing him in his nightmare and held back a scream. Megan’s fingers felt warm and human, though, and the memory began to fade.

“It’s okay, Jason. I promise it’ll be okay,” Megan repeated slowly, gently, as he closed his eyes and let her wrap her arms around him. She felt relieved when the boy finally relaxed and his arms slipped around her. When she felt the warmth of his tears on her shoulder, she began to rock him and felt her own tears coming in response.

They didn’t say anything else, just held one other.

* * *

Jeff burst in a few minutes later holding one of the rifles. The woman and the boy jumped apart, startled by the interruption. Jeff did not blink at seeing them comforting one another. He was dressed, and the bandages on his head were covered with a baseball cap. He had a tense look on his face.

“It’s time to go. Grab everything you can; we’re leaving now!”

With that, he left. Megan and Jason stared at each other, sheepish smiles crossing their faces.

They were still lost in their own thoughts when they heard a loud thump below. It sounded like it came from outside the house. Before they could react, they heard several more loud thuds. A sliver of fear set Megan’s hands and feet on pins and needles, and she looked at Jason. He looked as frightened as she felt. She moved to a window and bent two slats on the blinds to stare out at the front yard.

There were at least twenty rotting shapes making their ponderous way toward the house.

“How in the hell did they find us already?” Megan cursed.

Several more thumps rattled the outside of the house, and they heard glass breaking downstairs.

“Let’s move it, people! Come on!” Jeff yelled up the steps as Jason scrambled to pull on a shirt he had found in the dresser. He had slept in his jeans.

“Grab what you can, and I’ll meet you downstairs!” Megan repeated Jeff’s orders and turned to run out the door.

Jason left the room a minute later with a pillowcase filled with a few things he had collected from the bedroom. As he hit the stairs, the thunder of a rifle shot made him stumble. He took off toward the kitchen and met George coming the other way.

“Get to the garage, now!” He pushed the boy in front of him as they raced in the opposite direction. George was carrying the other rifle, and it still looked awkward in his hands.

Another shot rang out from behind them as Megan tore down the steps. George motioned her toward the garage, and they sped in that direction.

“Jeff, get to the van now or we’re leavin’ your ass!” Jason almost laughed when Megan tossed the remark behind her.

They hit the garage, and Megan ushered them into the back of the van. George made a halfhearted attempt to get behind the wheel, but Megan was having none of it. The keys had been left in the ignition, and the engine turned over immediately. Several fists slammed into the wooden garage door in response.

“How in the hell did they find us?” George’s question echoed Megan’s earlier inquiry. “I mean, there were none of them around last night. Not a single one. Now there’s a whole goddamn platoon? What the hell?”

“They were probably around the area, and the noise we made coming here stirred them up. It was only a matter of time before they found us.”

“Yeah, but once we got here and settled in, there wasn’t much noise for them to pick up on. We don’t have any electricity going, we hid the van-”

“I don’t know, George. No idea.” With a shrug, Megan dismissed the conversation. She turned to stare at the door leading to the house and squeezed the steering wheel impatiently. Several more fists joined in with the others at the big door behind them and thuds sounded against the plywood they had quickly nailed over the side door window the night before. It would hold, but not for long.

The next minute felt like an eternity as they waited for Jeff. The monotonous thudding was punctuated by another rifle shot inside the house that made everyone jump.

Relief showed on all their faces when the door opened and Jeff ran up to the van. When he heard the big, heavy garage door vibrate behind them, he twisted around and pointed the rifle in its direction.

“Come on, get in!” Megan demanded as Jeff swiveled again at hearing other fists slamming into the side door.

“How the hell are we supposed to get out of the garage?” Jeff asked as he looked from door to door, not sure which was going to break first.

“I’ll smash down the door!” Megan yelled out at him, exasperation filling her voice. Jeff shook his head. “You’ll do more damage to the van than the door. It’s not some cheap aluminum job; it’s reinforced wood.”

Grinding her teeth impatiently, Megan glared at Jeff. “You have a better idea?”

He ignored the sarcasm and looked at the side door again. He studied it for a moment, and Megan saw his face shift. He turned to her and smiled.

“Give me five minutes and then lift the door.”

Before she could protest, he moved over to the side door and unlocked it. Megan’s jaw dropped as she watched him.

“Is he insane?” George inquired, horror filling his voice.

She sighed. “George, that’s about the only thing I’m certain of anymore.”

After a few moments, the side door flew open and two rotters burst in, falling forward. Jeff was on them quickly, using the rifle butt to smash in the back of an old man’s head. His skin was a dusky gray, and the rifle shattered the back of his skull. He toppled over, the force of his landing driving his jaw up into his sinus cavity. All of his bodily fluids had dried up long ago, and there was no backsplash of blood or gristle as Jeff finished him off with a swift heel to the back of the head.

The other creature wrapped its hand around one of Jeff’s hiking boots. It was probably a woman, its long stringy hair still hanging in clumps from its skull. Leaves and dirt made it impossible to determine her true hair color, and weeks out in the elements had burnt most of the exposed skin to a leathery brown. He didn’t panic as she lifted her head and dragged herself toward his leg. He whipped around and slammed his other foot on top of her head, pushing it to the ground. He had not used tremendous force, fearing he would topple over with the effort. She continued to struggle, her hands trying to scratch and claw at him.

Jeff shrugged her grasping hand off of his shoe. He maintained his balance and shot a quick look over to the open door. Seeing no one else coming, he put his full weight down on the woman’s head. A snap echoed in the garage, and he stomped her again. Feeling no more movement underneath his foot, he stepped off the corpse and moved to the door. Peering out, Jeff turned and waved at Megan before moving outside and pulling the door shut behind him.