Brian Keene: Deluge: The Conqueror Worms II

But then she did.

The voice was faint. Male. The speaker had a Boston accent. Sarah leaned forward, straining to hear and wondering if she was imagining the whole thing.

“My name… coming to you… alive… of the Pru Building… downto…”

The radio squawked with feedback. Cursing, Sarah slowly turned the knob, trying to find the signal again.

“… thing I want… Lisa and Alex, I love…”

The voice faded again.

“Damn it!” Sarah leaped to her feet, still holding the radio. She thrust it up over her head, pointing it towards the ceiling.

On his bunk, Kevin moaned.

“Anyway,” the voice returned, stronger and clearer now, “here I am. Hope somebody is listening. I always figured that when I died, I’d go out with a fight, getting back up to attack one more time, like Boramir in Lord of the Rings or Willem Defoe in Platoon . I’m a sucker for those great last stands. But lately, I’ve been wondering. A friend of mine just told me about the First Principle. Maybe we should talk about that.”

Sarah trembled with emotion. She wanted to shout, to tell the broadcaster that she could hear him, that yes, there was somebody else still left alive, somebody else still listening. She didn’t realize she was crying until she felt the tears running down her chin.

“Damn,” said the man on the radio. “I’m really thirsty.”

Kevin moaned again. Sarah lowered the radio and turned to him. He was facing away from her, but she heard him smacking his lips.

“Thirsty,” he croaked. “Need water.”

She sat the radio down and hurried towards him.

“Kevin, there’s a man on the radio. I think he might be from Boston or something. The signal is weak, but he—”

Kevin turned towards her. His eyes were rolled up into his head, and all Sarah could see were the whites. Kevin smacked his lips again. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse. He didn’t sound like himself.

“Soft…”

Sarah paused. “What?”

Kevin’s closed his eyes again.

Outside, thunder boomed across the mountaintop.

CHAPTER 8

Kevin dreamed.

He was aware that he was dreaming. Not a lucid dream, but a dream all the same. He knew it was a dream because Lori was still alive and they were back in Baltimore, lying together in his bed on the top floor of the half-submerged Marriott hotel. He’d tried to grow an indoor garden in that room, beneath the skylight. In real life, the results had been mixed, but now, in the dream, lush, green plants thrust from the soil, straining towards the ceiling.

He and Lori were both naked. The sheets felt good against his skin. Her warmth enveloped him as they snuggled. She smiled at him, tight-lipped, but did not speak. Her eyes sparkled.

“I miss you,” Kevin whispered.

Lori’s smile remained, but she still didn’t respond.

Kevin reached out to stroke her hair. Surprisingly, it was wet. It looked dry, but his fingers came away damp. Kevin didn’t care. His fingertips trailed down her forehead and cheeks. Again, her skin felt wet.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Lori opened her mouth to respond. Water gushed from between her lips. Kevin watched, not pulling away from her. He wasn’t startled. Wasn’t afraid. A deep sense of calm settled over him. Lori kissed his cheek and the flow continued. It was as if someone had turned on a garden hose inside of her. The water ran down her chin and between her breasts. Rivulets raced down past her navel, to the slim, trimmed tuft of hair below. It soaked the sheets and splashed across the mattress. Kevin watched, fascinated. The scene was strangely erotic. The wet sheets rose as he stiffened in response.

In addition to the sudden burst of lust, Kevin became aware that he was thirsty. He told Lori, and she winked at him.

Above them, the skylight disappeared. The glass didn’t shatter—it just vanished. Rain poured into the room, further soaking them. Lori laughed, and more fluid gushed from her mouth. Lori sat up and rubbed the water into her skin. Her hands lingered on her breasts, squeezing them. Then she grabbed Kevin’s hands and drew him to her. He sighed. Her skin felt hot, despite the moisture.

“It’s soft,” he said. “Soft.”

Nodding, Lori grasped his back with one hand. The fingers of her other hand snaked around the back of his head and played with his hair. She pulled him closer, staring at him with those wide, brown eyes. Their lips touched, and the water poured from Lori into Kevin. The sensation was not unpleasant. Kevin closed his eyes and surrendered.

Water pooled on the floor, and ran in under the door from the hallway. Kevin shifted his weight on the mattress and his knee sank into it, splashing water into the air. He looked down, and was surprised to see that the mattress was full of liquid now.

A water bed , he thought. He didn’t say it out loud because to do so would have meant pulling away from Lori, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

The bed melted beneath them. Kevin and Lori fell into the water, still clinging to each other. Their kiss remained unbroken. They slipped beneath the surface, and it wasn’t until Kevin bumped against the table that housed his makeshift garden, that he opened his eyes and broke the embrace. His head broke the surface and he glanced around the hotel room. It was filling quickly. Small waves lapped at the furniture and walls. The couch floated by, and bumped into the door. Kevin stared up at his garden, and was amazed to see that the plants were liquefying.

He stood up. Water streamed from his shoulders and chest. Lori reached for him, but he gently brushed her aside. She floated away, dog-paddling across the room. Kevin strode closer to the garden table, studying the plants intently. As he watched, they broke down completely, reverting back to pure water.

“What the hell?”

The soil in the garden had turned to mud. Before they’d fled Baltimore, Kevin had buried his best friend’s head in the garden. He would have buried all of him there, but all that had been left of Jimmy was his head. Now, Jimmy’s bare skull poked through the mud. More and more of it was revealed as the mud receded. Kevin stared at the skull. The skull stared back. Then, water began gushing from its empty eye-sockets and from the gap between its yellow teeth.

Kevin realized that he was now treading water. Resisting the urge to hold his breath, he exhaled, and slipped beneath the surface again. He glanced around for Lori, but she was gone. Kevin surged through the water, desperately seeking her. When her arms closed around him from behind, Kevin relaxed. His body went limp in her embrace. He turned to greet her and his hands trailed down her hips.

He paused.

Lori’s legs were gone, replaced by the lower half of a fish.

He tried to pull away from her, but she clutched him tighter. Lori opened her mouth, revealing fangs. Then her head darted forward.

Gasping, Kevin opened his eyes. At first, he didn’t know where he was. He was lying in the darkness on a hard mattress, and somebody had taken his clothes off. Kevin thought perhaps this was still part of the dream. But then, as his heart-rate returned to normal and his chest stopped heaving, it all came back to him—escaping from Teddy’s house, their journey to Bald Knob, the worms, and finally, the forest ranger tower. This last part was disjointed. Dim. He barely remembered arriving, let alone how they’d gotten inside. He glanced around the dim room, trying to get his bearings, and wondered where Sarah was.

The last remnants of the dream faded, and Kevin was suddenly overwhelmed with a deep sense of sadness and loss. It had seemed so real—Lori, her kisses, the feel of her body against his.

His hand began to itch.