James Moore - The Haunted Forest Tour

The worms did not combust. They just tried to hide. Unfortunately, they tried to hide inside flesh and the closest available source was Tina. The newly widowed woman spun on one heel and then jumped up onto the desk to get away from them. It might have worked, too, but the things Barbara had originally thought were teeth seemed merely to be larger versions of the same creatures. They were thick and pink and wriggly and they could stretch, just like earthworms, but these were nowhere near as attractive. Earthworms at least had a certain symmetry, whereas these worms seemed almost more liquid, as if they were not yet completely formed.

Whatever they were, it was obvious that they liked to dine. Jean had stopped screaming and was now lying on the ground and shuddering violently. Barbara didn’t dare keep the light on her for too long, for fear that the worms might find new hosts.

Tina had retreated to the center of the desk and was stomping savagely on any of them that got too close to her. She moved her feet so fast and hard that it almost looked like she’d taken up tap-dancing lessons. Back on the floor, the slimy creatures curled into the edges of what was left of Brad, hiding in the moist, dark environment he provided.

Lee stomped a particularly juicy worm. “We have to get the hell out of here,” he said, realizing that it was a rather obvious announcement but not caring. “This place isn’t shelter anymore.”

Barbara nodded and started moving; she slipped past the desk with Tina on it and found Tommy trying to curl himself into a ball. There wasn’t time to be kind and nurturing, so she grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. He responded automatically and settled on his legs. Mindy was up and moving with Lee, careful to dodge around the remains of Brad on the ground. Tina jumped from the desk without actually managing to kill herself in the near darkness, and moved for the door.

Jean wasn’t coming with them. Whatever the worms were doing to her seemed to have paralyzed her body, and Barbara wasn’t feeling quite bold enough to drag her from the room.

Lee held the door for her and then slammed it shut as Barbara and Tommy vacated their temporary haven.

Lee led the way, carefully looking out for whatever might be on the walls, the floor or even the ceiling before they moved on. Inside of three minutes they were back outside of the reclamation center, huddled together on the small exterior stairwell and looking out at the Haunted Forest.

Barbara turned off the flashlight and shivered. No reason to waste the battery before the sun set. They might need it later, if there was, in fact, a later to come. A small sob escaped her mouth before she bit it off.

Not three feet away from her, Tina was on her knees, sobbing as quietly as she could for the loss of her husband.

Not only did she lose him, she had to kill him, Barbara thought. There was nothing left of Brad when Tina delivered the fatal blow, but still, Barbara wouldn’t want to be in Tina’s emotional space right now.

Tommy had now lost his aunt for good.

Mindy had lost her son.

Barbara felt guilty. The closest person she’d lost was a sleazy co-worker, and he was probably bringing help back at this very moment.

Or Eddie was dead. He could’ve died ten seconds after he and Tina parted ways.

Barbara would stick with the “probably bringing help back at this very moment” theory for now. She liked that one a lot better.

She’d thought they’d be safe for the night in their stone shelter. Turned out they hadn’t even made it to nightfall. And that meant the nocturnal creatures were only just getting ready to wake up.

She almost asked out loud how much worse it could get, but in the end she stopped herself. She didn’t want to know.

Let’s hear it for blissful ignorance.

But she figured they’d find out, whether they liked it or not.

Eddie had two choices, both of which sucked. But the idea of facing the lunatic with the gun sucked a lot less than the idea of facing the monsters outside, so he rushed back into the wrecked tram.

“I said, get out of here!” shouted the man.

“Look outside! There are things all over the place! If I go out there I’m dead!”

“Not my problem.”

“It will be your problem after they eat me! You think I’m enough of a meal to satisfy all of those monsters out there? You’re next, buddy. Trust me.”

The man didn’t lower his gun.

“Screw it,” said Eddie. “I don’t have time to argue. I’m here to save your ass. Shoot me if you want to kiss it goodbye.”

Eddie walked past the man, trying to demonstrate a carefree attitude while inwardly cringing and expecting the man to fire a bullet into his skull. Though he’d like to believe that he was at least safe from his fellow human beings under these circumstances, the man was clearly insane, unpredictable, and quite possibly capable of making good on his threat.

Fortunately, Eddie made it to the back of the tram without getting shot. In the second-to-last seat, a rifle rested on the lap of somebody who had nothing left of their body but a lap. He picked up the weapon and faced the front of the tram again.

The first creature entered the wrecked vehicle. It looked very much like a werewolf, with glowing red eyes. It rushed down the aisle toward Eddie. He fired. The werewolf let out a squeal as its furry forehead burst open, and it dropped dead.

A giant beetle entered. It scurried across the wall, passing the man. The beetle leapt at Eddie, and he blew it away in mid-air.

Another creature entered the tram, this one a… well, Eddie didn’t know what the hell it was. It sort of looked like a giant slug, except that it had legs. It moved past the man and headed straight for Eddie. He shot it in the chest, or what he thought was its chest, and ooze sprayed out as if being pumped from a fire hose. Another shot and the slug popped like a water balloon.

As the man wiped ooze out of his eyes, Eddie hurried to the front of the tram and pressed the barrel of his rifle against the back of the man’s head.

“What are you doing?” the man cried.

Eddie scooted into the seat behind him. “I’ll kill you!” Eddie shouted. “I swear it!”

Several more creatures gathered at the tram door, but none of them came inside.

“How come none of those things tried to kill you?” Eddie demanded. “Those fuckers try to kill everybody. Why not you?”

“I don’t know!”

“Bullshit! What, have you got some kind of repellant or something?”

“No!”

“I’ll kill you!” Eddie shouted again, more for the benefit of the creatures outside than to threaten the man. Though he doubted that the Haunted Forest residents spoke English, they seemed to get the idea. None of them moved toward him, though those with visible eyes seemed to watch him, warily.

“Explain,” Eddie said.

“There’s nothing to explain.”

“Explain,” Eddie repeated, rapping the man on the back of the head with his gun.

“If you want to kill me, go ahead,” said the man. “If you want to revert to savagery and become no better than that werewolf you just killed, be my guest. But I will not allow myself to be bullied by a common thug like yourself.”

“Common thug? I’m trying to get answers, not steal your wallet!”

“I have no answers to give.”

“Fine. I’ll accept that. Either way, the monsters don’t want you dead, and we’re gonna use that to get us out of here. Stand up.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yes, actually, you are. Think of this as a hostage situation. Stand up.”

“I already said that I’m not—”