Creepers (19 page)

“Oh.  Sorry,” Jack replied, “That was what I was going to show you in the morning.  I found one of Nat Brister’s bulls in the woods behind his farm.  Or at least what was left of the bull.  Mostly bones all tangled up in a stand of creeping vines, kudzu I guess.”

“How far from Nat’s place was it?” Terri asked, curious.

“About a quarter of a mile,” Jack replied, “into the woods.  The vines were twisted all in and around the skeleton.  Most of the tissue was gone, there wasn’t even any hide.  I figured that someone had butchered the bull and just threw its carcass out there.”

“Interesting,” Terri said as she nodded her head.  Then she asked, “If you thought people had done it, why did you want to show it to me?”

“That’s not what I wanted to show you,” Jack admitted.  “It was a clearing.  There was a clearing there where there was almost no plant life at all.  The kudzu skirted it on one side and the forest on the other.  It was just strange that was all.”

“Hmmm,” Terri considered, “did you notice anything else about the area?  Was it rocky, or did the dirt seem hard packed?”

“No, it just seemed like dirt, although it was very light in color.  Why?” Jack asked.

“It could be a clue on how to deal with the kudzu,” Terri replied.  “Normally, a creeper such as this will send out tendrils from nodes on the plant to attach and climb.  It’s a twining vine that will wrap itself around anything.  The only reason its extensions didn’t cross this soil to the trees on the other side is because there was something in the soil it didn’t like.  It was something that probably hurt it.”

“What do you think that might be?” Jack asked.

“If I had to guess,” Terri said, “I would say it was salt.”

“Salt?” both Jesse and Jack asked.

“Yes,” Terri continued, “Salt.  Half of this state sits on a salt dome basin, and that is surrounded by a bedded salt deposit.  Jack, you said the soil was very light in color.  I think there may be a surface salt deposit there.”

“How can that help us?” Jack asked.

Terri said “it’s just one more thing that we might be able to use to repel or even damage the plant.  Like all living organisms, it still has to be susceptible to extremes.  Plants, in particular, are sensitive to extremes in heat or cold.  Changes in soil nutrients, too acid or too alkali, too dry or too wet, all of these things can affect the plant.”

“From what you were telling me last night,” Jack replied, “there’s not much that will affect this plant, even before it mutated.”

“Fire will,” Terri said flatly.  “Fire, ice, possibly salt, at least those are things we can try.”

“You’re an expert,” Jack said with a smile, “what do you suggest?”

“Let me think,” Terri replied.

“Don’t think too long,” Jesse said, “It won’t be too long before those things get so thick we won’t be able to do anything.”

“I know,” Terri said, “But we also don’t want to do anything that will make this worse.  Just give me a minute.”

“I will honey,” he replied, “I just don’t think they will.”  Then Jesse put his arm around Terri’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze.  That was when all hell broke loose.

Yancy moaned, and Terri looked down at him.  He was trembling all over, and Terri said, “He must be going into shock.  The pain must be unbearable.”

“I’ll get a blanket for him,” Jesse offered.  He took his arm from around Terri’s shoulders and walked quickly down the hall to the linen closet. 

“Thank you,” Terri said.  With pity in her eyes, Terri kept looking down at Yancy.  That was when she saw his swollen eye flutter lazily open.  Yancy had managed to open it, but it was barely a slit.  He was slowly starting to come around and that worried Terri.  She had no idea how he was going to react to the pain he was in when he could move.  Up to now they had the luxury of him being in chemical restraints, so to speak. 

In the awkward silence waiting for Jesse to return with the blanket, Terri couldn’t help but listen to the scratching on the walls.  She noted that the sound was higher up the wall in the front than it had been, and it seemed to her that it was getting louder.  At first she thought it was just her imagination.  Or more precisely, she wanted it to be her imagination.  However, it was getting louder and more urgent.  The kudzu wanted in, and Terri knew that it would eventually work its way in to get to them.

Through small cracks and crevices, under clapboards and in vents, it would find its way inside.  It was only a matter of time.  Terri knew they couldn’t stay there forever.  They would need to try and escape.  If not from the vines, then at least from the broiling heat that was even now building up to intolerable levels.  As much as she needed the time to think of a way out, she also needed time for Jack to recover.  Terri knew deep down that if they were going to survive she would need Jack in a lot better shape than he was currently.

Terri turned to regard Jack just as Jesse returned with a blanket and a pillow.  Terri turned back to Jesse and helped him spread the blanket out over Yancy.  They took great care to avoid any undue handling or touching as they covered Yancy up.  Jesse gently lifted Yancy’s head, and Terri struggled to slide the pillow under it.  She found that it kept sticking to the floor where bodily fluids had seeped through the bandages.

Eventually, they managed to make Yancy more comfortable.  At least it seemed that way.  His trembling eased, and he let his eye close back up.  Terri exhaled a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.  She looked up to Jesse, and he was looking at his hands.  They too were wet with the fluids that had soaked into the bandages around Yancy’s head.  He stood and turned toward the kitchen.

“I’ve got to wash my hands,” he said as he left the room.

Terri stood and walked back over to the couch.  She sat down next to Jack, and he managed to turn his head to look at her.  Terri gave him a warm smile, and Jack returned it.  “You seem to be moving a little better,” she said as she patted his hand.

“Terri!” Jesse yelled from the kitchen.  “Terri, get in here!”

Terri sprang from the couch and launched herself toward the kitchen.  She leaped over Yancy and was at doorway within two steps.  “What is it?” she asked as she rounded the doorframe into the kitchen.  Jesse was standing at the sink looking over toward the door to the mudroom.  Terri followed his gaze and saw the vines writhing on the other side of the glass.  She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Jesse.

“On the floor,” Jesse said in a panic, “On the floor Terri!  The creepers are getting in!”

Terri looked down and saw the vines that had worked their way through the gap beneath the door.  “Oh shit,” was all she managed to say.  Their tendril had extended about six inches into the kitchen.  They were slowly moving back and forth, searching.  Terri moved quickly.  She stepped around the kitchen table and pulled the chair closest to the door, away from it.  “The salt,” she said without taking her eyes off the encroaching vines, “where is the salt Jesse?”

“Above the stove,” he replied even as he moved to retrieve it.  Jesse handed the box of kosher salt to Terri and moved back to the edge of the table.

Terri fumbled to get the pour spout open and cursed herself.  She finally managed to open the salt and began dumping it on the floor all around and on top of the vines.  Both the linoleum and the kudzu leaves were coated with a thick layer of salt, but the vines seemed unaffected.  Terri dumped the rest of the salt onto the floor and backed away.  Both she and Jesse stared at the vines in expectant contemplation.

The tendrils slowly rose up off of the floor and continued their invasion of the kitchen.  The leaves trembled and shook off a majority of the salt that had been poured over them.  To Terri this demonstrated self-preservation and possibly even being self-aware.  To Terri, this showed intelligence.  Her mind was reeling.  She stared at the advancing vines in disbelief and amazement.

They would occasionally touch the floor and if there was salt present they would lift back up.  Eventually, the tendrils reached a point where their strength could no longer support their weight, and the extensions had to rest on the floor.  It was an incredible sight to behold and Terri found herself mesmerized once again.  The scientist in her overcame the fear, and she stood there lost in childlike excitement of this discovery.

Jesse had shaken her a second time before she responded.  “It’s not working,” he said.

Terri shook her head and said “what?”

“The salt,” Jesse repeated, “it’s not stopping it.”

“Damn,” Terri said as she became once again aware of the situation.  “I am so stupid,” she admonished herself.  “The salt will only stop them from setting a new root base.”

“What do we do?” Jesse asked.

As she turned toward the refrigerator, Terri said, “ice.”  She reached into the freezer and pulled out the old one gallon ice cream bucket in which Jesse kept ice.  It was only about half full, but it would have to do.  “I hope this is enough,” she said as she carried the bucket to the mudroom door.

“I’ll crack open the other ice cube trays,” Jesse offered as he moved toward the refrigerator.  “They should be frozen by now.”

“Thanks,” Terri said as she started dumping the ice onto the floor around writhing vines.  Almost instantly, the vines began to retreat slowly.  Terri did her best to encircle all of the tendrils but quickly ran out of ice.  “It seems to be working,” she said back to Jesse just as he came up beside her.  “Can you dump that ice out on the floor over here?” Terri asked, pointing to a spot in the corner that she hadn’t been able to get to.

Jesse cracked open the plastic trays and let the ice fall onto the floor where Terri indicated.  “That’s all there is,” he said woefully.  “What else can we do?” he pleaded.

“Start boiling a big pot of water,” Terri exclaimed.  “Boil several, the largest ones you have.” She continued.  “The ice is stopping them for a moment but it won’t last for long.  It’s melting even faster because of the salt.”  Terri thought about it a moment and said, “at least the salt reacting with ice has made the melting water super cold.  The vines seem to be moving backward.”

As the vines retreated Terri pushed the melting ice with her shoe, toward the mudroom door.  This motion effectively, if not slowly, herded the kudzu back under the door.  Terri got down on her knees and used her hands to push as much of the salty water up to the door as well.  Eventually, she managed to coerce all of the tendrils back into the mudroom.  The saltwater found its way beneath the door too, and Terri laid her head on the floor so that she could peer into the opening.

Satisfied they had retreated a little ways from the threshold, Terri sprang up and started grabbing every dish towel and potholder she could find in the kitchen.  She immediately started cramming them into the space beneath the door, blocking the opening.  As Jesse filled the last of his large pots with hot water and set it on the last free burner, Terri grabbed a large wooden spoon and used it to wedge the towels and potholders under the door.

“That should hold for a little while,” she said at last.  Suddenly, there was a loud crash as the window on the far side of the living room burst inward.

***

“What now?” Terri asked of no one in particular.

“Oh shit!” Jack exclaimed from the living room.

Suddenly, panic surged in Terri, and she turned toward the living room.  “What is it Jack?” she asked, concerned.

“The window,” he replied, “They’re coming in the window.” Jack was struggling to get up off of the couch when Terri entered from the kitchen.  “They broke the window.”

Terri moved quickly over to the window, followed closely by Jesse.  Instantly, she saw a small tear in the screen the vines had found.  The tendrils had filled the space between the screen and the window pane to the point they were able to break the window, and now they were moving into the living room.  Terri watched in horror as the mass of slowly wriggling shoots started to explore the inside of the window frame.  For the first time since this had begun, she was unsure of what to do.

It was that moment that Jesse moved past her carrying the floor lamp.  It was one of the old torchier lamps that used the halogen bulbs.  Jesse knew that it got very hot; he only hoped that it would be hot enough.  The shade was open at the top, with the bulb exposed there.  Jesse pushed the lamp up against the kudzu and almost instantly they could smell it burning.  The small vines retreated back out through the opening through which they had emerged.  Jesse leaned the light against the screen so that it faced the small opening.

Both Jesse and Terri let out a simultaneous sigh as the last of the tendril disappeared off the screen.  He turned to Terri and gave her a look of astonishment and shrugged.  “It just came to me,” he said at last and smiled. 

Terri returned his smile and even chuckled a little.  “That was perfect,” she admitted.   She turned to Jack and asked, “Are you okay?”

“I am now,” Jack admitted.  “But I may need to change my shorts.”  It was only then that he realized that he was standing.  His legs were wobbly, and he was leaning on the arm of the couch, but he was standing.  Then just as quickly, his legs gave out, and he plopped back down onto the sofa.  “Damn,” he muttered.  “I’m fucking useless,” he said.  Then Jack looked over at Jesse and said “I’m sorry sir.”

“Don’t be Jack,” Jesse replied.  “I’ve been known to swear a time or two in my life too.”  He gave Jack his infamous disarming grin, and it instantly put Jack at ease.  “What do we do now Terri?” Jesse asked, “And what are we going to do with that boiling water?”

“You had the right idea with the lamp,” she said.  “I think we can use  hot water to clear a path off the porch.”

“Do you think that will work?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know,” Terri admitted, “but I’m out of ideas.”  She glanced down at Yancy then back up at Jesse and Jack.  They were looking at her expectantly, hopefully.  They were looking to her for answers.  Terri wished she had those answers, as much for her as for Jesse and Jack.  Finally, she said “the cold just takes too long, and they don’t like the heat.  I just hope it’s enough.”

Jesse squeezed her shoulder with one trembling hand and said “either it will  work or it won’t child.  There’s no sense dwelling on it.  What do we need to do?”

Terri patted his hand and gave him a forced smile.  “We need to be ready to move.” She said.  “They’re slow but they’re unrelenting.  Once they have drawn back from the heat, we need to make it through them to the front yard.  I can help Jack if you can drag Yancy.  I don’t think we’ll have time for two trips.”  Terri thought for a moment and added, “And we can’t afford to stop for any length of time.”

Jesse nodded.  “I can handle Yancy,” he said.  “Are you sure you can manage Jack?  He isn’t moving very well.”

Terri looked over at Jack, and he gave her a doleful smile.  “I’ll have to,” she said.  “Are you doing any better?”

“I’m getting a little more muscle control every minute,” Jack replied, “but I could use some more time.”

“We can wait,” Terri said, “I just don’t think they will.”

As if to emphasize that point, they heard the shattering of a window somewhere in the back of the house.  All three of them jumped, and panic welled up in each of them again.  Then the torchier lamp crashed to the floor, and the bulb inside it flashed out.  Again the trio jumped and turned to face the noise.   In a moment of dumbfounded disbelief, Jack, Jesse, and Terri stood and watched as small green tendrils worked their way back through the hole in the screen.

During that brief pause, another window shattered.  This time though, it came from the kitchen.  Although none of them had seen it, Terri knew in her heart that it was the mudroom window.  “What the hell?” she muttered.

“The mudroom,” Jesse exclaimed, “they must be coming in the mudroom.”  He instantly moved in that direction.  At the same time, Terri walked over to the side window where the torchier lamp lay on the floor.  She picked it up and rotated its switch several times.  Nothing happened, so she tossed it back to the floor and turned toward the kitchen.  At that moment, Jesse came back out of the kitchen.  He was ashen.

“What is it?” Terri and Jack asked, almost in unison.

“They busted out the mudroom door window and just sort of fell into the kitchen,” Jesse replied.   “It’s like a writhing mass of snakes or something.  They’re filling up the kitchen.”

“Time to move,” Terri ordered.  “Let’s get Jack and Yancy as close to the front door as we can first.  Then we’ll get the pots of water from the kitchen.  Surely they’re boiling by now.”