Brian Keene: Deluge: The Conqueror Worms II

“Sarah, listen to me. Okay? Forget about the rains and the worms, and just listen for a minute. Teddy and Carl are risking their lives to save ours, just like they did during World War Two. We have to respect their wishes. That’s why people called them the greatest generation. They’re doing this for us.”

Her response was barely a whisper. “I know.”

The rain drummed against the roof of the cab.

“They’ll be fine,” Kevin said. “I feel it in my heart. You’ll see.”

He was lying. Maybe to make her feel better or maybe just to make himself feel better, but either way, Kevin was lying. Sarah knew it, and she knew that he knew it, too. Before the two of them had fled in Teddy’s beaten-up truck, Carl had been lugging around a kerosene heater. He and Teddy intended to turn it into some kind of homemade bomb to use on the Godzilla-sized worm in Teddy’s basement. (Crazy old Earl had called the creature Behemoth). The old men’s plan was reckless and insane, and if the situation hadn’t been so absolutely terrifying, she might have found the idea comical.

“We’re leaving them behind. Oh God, Kevin—we’re really doing it, aren’t we?”

“No. I promise you. If we get to the rendezvous, and they don’t arrive, we’ll come back for them. Okay?”

She nodded, biting her lip. “Okay.”

The windshield wipers beat a steady, monotonous rhythm. The rain kept streaming. The ditches on each side of the road were full of rushing, brown water, and large puddles were forming in the fields.

“This will be flooded pretty soon,” Kevin said.”

Nodding again, Sarah blinked away tears.

Neither of them spoke again until they’d reached the end of the lane.

“Which way?” Kevin asked.

Sarah searched her memory, recounting Teddy’s instructions. “Hang a right. Keep on going until we run out of road. When that happens, we’ll be at Bald Knob. Then we should see the big forest ranger tower.”

“And what if we don’t?”

“Then we’re fucked.”

“Jesus, Sarah. Way to stay optimistic.”

Kevin drove slowly, hunched over the wheel and staring out into the murk. A scratchy Tammy Wynette tape played on the stereo. Sarah ejected the cassette and tossed it onto the floor with the rest of them. The radio was still on, but no sound came from the speakers. Not even static.

There was only an empty, dead silence.

Sighing again, Sarah turned the radio off.

“It doesn’t really matter anyway, Kevin. The truth is, we’re probably fucked no matter what we do.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “We probably are.”

Sarah glanced out the window. “This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang or a whimper, but with a second Great Flood.”

The murk deepened as they drove into the deluge.

CHAPTER 2

“I can’t see shit.” Kevin leaned forward, squinting his eyes and staring through the foggy windshield. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, as if they’d been glued onto it. “Is the defroster working?”

Sarah placed her hands over the vents. “It’s on. There’s air coming out.”

“It’s not helping.”

“Well, how about if I just stop breathing? Then the windows won’t get all fogged up.”

Sarah winced as she said it. Her tone was sharper than she’d intended it to be. Kevin glanced at her, his expression wounded.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I shouldn’t have snapped. I’m just… I hate leaving Teddy and Carl behind like that. It feels like we’re abandoning them.”

“I know. I know. Let’s just focus on the road. Can you wipe the windshield for me?”

Sarah scooted across the seat, lifted her shirttail and wiped the glass in front of him. From the corner of her vision, she saw Kevin sneaking a glance at her chest. She turned to him, frowning.

“Pig. Keep your eyes on the road, not on my tits.”

Blushing, he grinned. “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. They were just sort of there , you know?”

“They’re there all the time, Kevin. I have them twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Get used to it.”

“Oh, I have.”

Sarah’s brow creased. She slid back over to the passenger side and shifted uncomfortably.

“Kevin, please tell me you’re not getting any ideas? You know I don’t like guys.”

“I’m not,” he assured her. “Believe me. But you can’t blame a guy for looking. I mean, no offense, but they are nice. And it’s been a while since I’ve seen any others. Since Lori…”

His voice faded. Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but she wasn’t sure what to say. How could she console him? Since their departure from Baltimore, Kevin had only mentioned Lori once—when he was sitting in Teddy’s kitchen, telling their story. Until then, she hadn’t known the depth of his feelings for the girl. Yes, she’d known that they hooked up. Everyone had known, and the group had been happy for them. But Sarah hadn’t realized just how distraught Kevin was over Lori’s death until he’d recounted it for Teddy and Carl. She reached out and touched his arm. His shirt sleeve was wet and cold. He was trembling. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes and ran down his cheeks. Raindrops continued pummeling the truck, punctuating the silence inside the vehicle.

“Kevin—”

“It’s cool.” He sniffed, and then turned his head from side to side, cracking his neck. “I’ll be fine. I just miss her. Hell, I miss them all.”

“Me, too. I didn’t even like all of them. Nate was a real prick, and Taz and Ducky could be a little hard to take sometimes. But I do miss them. Isn’t it weird? Most of us didn’t know each other before the rains started. We ended up stranded together on top of that hotel and had to make the best of it, but in a way, they became like family.”

“Yeah. I never had much family, even before this started. Jimmy was the closest thing I had to a brother—until Leviathan killed him. Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can still see his fucking head floating on the water.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You didn’t kill him. But you’re right. They did feel like a family of sorts. Dysfunctional, maybe, but still a family.”

“Well, now we’re family.”

Kevin grinned. “Does that mean you won’t flash me your tits anymore?”

“Asshole,” Sarah laughed. “Keep it up and I’ll—”

Her teeth clamped down on her tongue as the truck suddenly lurched forward. Sarah’s hand flew out and grabbed the dashboard. Her forehead smacked into the passenger-side window. She tasted blood in her mouth, and her ears rang. Beside her, Kevin screamed.

Sarah opened her eyes and glanced around in panic. The world seemed askew—crooked. Then she realized that they were both tilted forward. The front of the truck was pointing downward and the rear was in the air. The engine wasn’t running, and the wipers no longer swept back and forth. Whatever it was that had happened, it had been severe enough to knock out the power. She wondered if maybe the battery had been knocked loose?

Kevin groaned, and Sarah turned to him in concern. He was conscious, but there was a small cut on his forehead, and his chest heaved as he gasped for breath.

“You okay?”

He nodded. “Fucking… steering wheel… caught me right… in the chest. No air bags.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. It’s like the… road just fell out… from under us.”

Sarah tried to peek out the windshield, but it was fogged over again. Instead, she opened her door—

—and gasped.

The road had collapsed in front of them, and the truck had tumbled into a sinkhole. The trench was about five feet deep. Cold rain and wind lashed at her as she appraised their situation. Water churned at the bottom of the hole. Mud rolled off the sides and splashed into the water. She stared closer at the soil, and noticed veins of white mold spreading throughout it. Her breath caught in her throat.