3. "No. All of us are going in. The car will be fine."
David narrows his eyes. "I don't see why I have to go. I don't want to go in there."
"Er, I think we should stick together. No sense splitting up. Who is gonna steal the car, anyway? It'll be OK for a bit," you say.
David leans in close after glancing at Nicole in the backseat. "Listen, this is our chance. Jacob is gone. We can just leave him. Trust me, if he's what I think he is, we don't want him near us, or the little girl," he whispers.
"I'm not just going to leave him alone in the middle of nowhere," you reply. "At the very least I want to talk to him again, and give him a ride to town. If he wants to leave once we're in a safe place, so be it."
David leans back and throws up his hands. "OK, fine," he says. "But don't say I didn't warn you, later."
"So are you coming or not?" you ask.
David shakes his head and sighs, but then steps out of the car. He cocks his rifle. "Well, let's go save Jakey," he says.
"Thanks, David," you say. He nods at you.
Nicole gets out and stands next to you. She looks up at you, and hugs your leg.
"Stay behind me," you tell her. "David, you bring up the rear."
David takes a rifle bullet out of his pocket and loads it. "Got it."
You head for the front door. It's unlocked. You open it to reveal an entryway leading into a small living room with dining room attached. A hallway is to your right, leading away from the living room. Around the corner from the dining room you can see a hint of linoleum. The kitchen, probably.
The room is an absolute mess. The dining room table has been knocked over on it's side. The TV is cracked and broken. Garbage is scattered all over the room. There is what looks to be a large bloodstain on the wall behind the TV.
"Jacob!" you yell. "Hello?!"
Silence in the house.
"If you're in here, say something!" you call. You step forward into the room. A newspaper dated a week prior is opened on the ground in front of you. The headline is something about a contaminated water supply.
David heads into the dining room, stepping around the table, and peers into the kitchen. "Uhg," he says. "It's not pretty over here. Uh, Nicole, stay where you are."
"What is it?" you ask.
David just shakes his head. "Nothing dangerous... I think. Just... keep Nicole back."
Nicole tugs on your arm. "What happened here, Wolfy?"
"I don't know, kiddo," you say, looking out the glass door into the back yard. A kiddie pool with a small inflatable slide sits about twenty yards out, surrounded by grass and brightly colored toys.
David steps back over to you. He nods toward the hallway.
You peek around the corner into it. Empty. A single roll of toilet paper rests on the carpet, unrolling from an open door. The door at the end of the hall is open, and you can see what looks to be the Master Bedroom. A lamp has fallen off its stand and broken on the rug.
"Jacob!?" you call again. Still no reply. "Stay close," you tell Nicole, and start to slowly walk down the hall. You pass the toilet paper and glance into the empty bathroom. The shower curtain has been pulled down, and the toilet seat is up. The entire bowl is stained red. Something seems to be floating in the water. You quickly pull the door shut before Nicole gets to it.
You enter the Master Bedroom. A quick visual sweep reveals Jacob standing over the bed. He's reading something.
He looks up at you, his eyes somber. "Jacob?" you say. "Didn't you hear me?"
"They all died," Nicole says from behind you. "Their Mommy got infected and she killed them."
Jacob shifts his eyes to Nicole.
"Well, where's Mommy now?" David says. "I've got a present for her."
"She's gone," Nicole says. "She took them to the pits."
Jacob is crying. He sinks down onto the bed.
"It started with just one. A grandmother," Nicole continues. "They knew she was infected, but they didn't want to kill one that they loved. She infected another when he came to try to help her. Then he infected his family. Soon all the houses around here had someone who was infected. The people were scared. No one was coming to help them. They didn't know what to do."
You look at Nicole. Her pupils are huge and pulsing.
"Snake-arms killed his wife, but not because the worms told him too. He killed her, but she infected him when he did. He's not dead, you know. You killed him but he's not dead. I can still see him."
David snorts. "Fuck if he's still alive. I put a bullet through his eye. I saw it."
"You killed what was left of him. Now it's just the snakes..." Nicole says, then gently sways. Her eyes go back to normal, and she looks around, confused.
You approach her and hug her. She looks up at you. "Wolfy, this place is death and decay. There is nothing for us here. Let us move on."
You cock your head at her. Her eyes seem normal, but her speech is still monotone and lacking childish inflection.
"I think... that she's right," you say, looking at Jacob. "I'm sorry about before. But it had to be done. There's nothing for you here. Let's go."
Jacob looks up and holds out something. Keys.
"I was going to take the minivan," he says.
You nod. "Maybe we can --"
Suddenly, Nicole's head snaps almost completely sideways. "Spot is still here. He's hungry. He misses his people."
There is the sound of shattering glass from the living room, following by a heavy growling and seething noise.
"Oh, fuck me," David says. "Not the zombie dogs."
You quickly stride to the door. David is right behind you. At the end of the hallway stands what looks like used to be a black lab. It's head has caved in and been replaced by vines. Blood seeps from the neck and multiple wounds along the body where vines protrude.
You bring up your shotgun. The dog growls at you, mixed with a low, almost sensual hissing noise. The vines wave in the air, vibrating along with the noise.
You aim.
The dog vanishes around the corner, toward the front door.
"What was that?" Jacob asks. He's clearly terrified.
"The fucking zombie dogs," David says.
"We should go," you say.
"I think there's a window in the Master bath," Jacob says.
"They like dogs better," says Nicole. "Human bodies are slow. They use them for drones."
"And what do they use Dogs for, may I ask?" says David.
"Hunters," says Nicole.
***********************************
Describe your next action. Remember to bold.
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Location: Northern California, coastal highway, the foothills (The Yellow House)
Health: Normal
Infection: Unknown. At this point, you're pretty sure something is wrong with you. Alcohol seems to have improved your situation a bit.
Weapons: Lead Pipe, Revolver (empty), 9mm automatic pistol (9 rounds), Sawed-off Shotgun (10 shells)
Assets: Clothes, contents of wallet, Nice watch (Showing 12:18), Swiss Army Knife, Roughly five day's worth of food and water, Car, near full tank of gas, Flashlight, batteries, lighter
Skills: None that would be useful spring to mind. Damn the school system!
Members in party: Nicole, Jacob, David
Nicole:
Health: Shot in shoulder. Assets: Clothes. Skills: ????
Jacob:
Health: Normal. Assets: Clothes. Skills: Medical
David:
Health: Normal. Assets: Hunting Rifle. Skills: Rifle
"They" encountered:
"Faceless"
Form: Humanoid
Attacks: Vines
Resilience: Medium, can be killed by massive damage to torso
Speed: Low
Special/Notes: Central nervous system does not seem to be present in the head
"Flesh Worm"
Form: Worm
Attacks: Mouth, Unknown
Resilience: Unknown
Speed: Unknown
Special/Notes: Unknown
"No-Face"
Form: Humanoid
Attacks: Unknown, seemed to summon other faceless. Changed a bird into a Crawler.
Resilience: Unknown
Speed: Unknown
Special/Notes: Can suddenly vanish, or turn invisible. May be all in your head.
"Crawler"
Form: Vermin
Attacks: Long Vines
Resilience: Low
Speed: High
Special/Notes: Can climb and stick to walls, ceilings.
"Spot"
Form: Canine
Attacks: Unknown
Resilience: Unknown
Speed: Unknown
Special/Notes: Unknown
********************************
Author
Topic: The End (Read 57582 times)