Edward Lee: Ghouls

“I love you, too,” she said. She was looking into the field.

He knew it would work. He knew it in his heart. He had a life now, a life with her, and to him that seemed the only thing in the world that mattered.

Big plans, he thought. Big plans.

He couldn’t wait to start looking for engagement rings.

««—»»

Spec 4’s and sergeants were loading big aluminum boxes onto the gamma goat. There were two boxes, and they were buckled down to the back by steel cable and lever-graps. The goat was then ground-guided back. It turned and drove down the hill, off the road, into the hollow.

Thunder buffeted out of the clouds. An SFC riding shotgun in the goat tossed two can-shaped signal grenades into the field. Red and yellow ribbons of smoke swirled upward as a CH-46 cargo helicopter appeared rising over the ridge. On its side was a crest—black lightning bolts grasped in the claws of an eagle. The giant twin-propped machine circled tightly several times, then touched down in the center of the field.

Doors jerked open. Men in service utilities jumped out. The boxes, and what they contained, were cabled up and hoisted aboard. At the house, the ASA detachment began closing down their point.

Cargo doors slid shut, like traps. The gamma goat drove away. The CH lifted off.

Twenty minutes later, the Army was gone, as if they’d never been there at all.

THE END

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About the Author

EDWARD LEE has had more than 40 books published in the horror and suspense field, including CITY INFERNAL, THE GOLEM, and BLACK TRAIN. His movie, HEADER was released on DVD by Synapse Films, in June, 2009. Recent releases include the stories, “You Are My Everything” and “The Cyesologniac,” the Lovecraftian novella “Trolley No. 1852,” and the hardcore novel HAUNTER OF THE THRESHOLD. Currently, Lee is working on HEADER 3. Lee lives on Florida’s St. Pete Beach. Visit him online at:

http://www.edwardleeonline.com