Dead Hunt (7 page)

Heslin raced to the window. He looked out at
the little, green trail leading towards the creek.

“Robin, run an analysis on formula 25-41 and
it’s interaction with water.”

Robin did not respond.

“Robin,” he said again. “I need you to run an
analysis on….”

Heslin scratched at his bandaged hand,
remembering that he had shut Robin down. He banged frantically at
the keyboard but the system did not respond.

“I need to reboot the system. I need Robin
to….”

Another crippling pain dropped him to his
knees. He screamed in agony as the pain came in waves. When it
ceased, he pulled himself back to his feet.

“I have to reboot the system,” he said to no
one as he started to unwrap the gauze, his hand burned with a
powerful itch.

Another intense pain struck him down. When
that wave of pain subsided, Heslin crawled towards the back door, a
trail of gauze following him.

“I need some air,” he panted as he staggered
outside, deeply inhaling the fresh air.

Heslin gritted his teeth as he finished
unwrapping his hand. His entire hand was a gray and purple color,
and it smelled of sour cheese and baby vomit. The finger he had cut
was blackened as if some type of advanced gangrene had set in. He
tried to wiggle his fingers but they did not move. He thought about
the tracks of the formula leading to the creek.

“My God, what have I done?”

CHAPTER 5 – Margaree

The van pulled to a stop at the Irving
station at the Inverness turnoff.

“Why are we stopping?” Michael asked.

“We need petrol,” Wade answered. “You pump in
twenty bucks worth. I’ll go pay.” He looked at the price. “A buck
forty-five a liter! Christ,” Wade said sarcastically. “That’s
highway robbery. How do these cockies afford to live up here?”

Wade walked inside the station. “Oy?”

No one answered.

“Paying customer here, Mate?”

Still no answer.

“For what you are charging for petrol, Mate,
you should be out pumping that crap yourself!” His voice echoed off
the concrete walls.

“I’ll leave some moolah on the counter, all
right?” Wade yelled as he slipped the twenty back into his pocket.
“Stupid nongs,” he laughed as he walked back to the van, jumped in
and drove away.

A neon “Open” sign on the local co-op grocery
store caught Lucy’s eye.

“Stop here,” Lucy ordered.

“For what?” Wade asked.

“Duh, for some food. There won’t be anything
to eat at the cabin.”

“Food is good,” Emma agreed. “I’m
hungry.”

Wade spotted the Nova Scotia Liquor
Commission sign on the side of the Co-op building and slammed on
the brakes, jolting the teens forward. “Good idea, grab some grog
too.”

“Some what?” Lucy asked

“Some beer,” he answered.

“Like they’re gonna sell me beer,” Lucy
replied.

Wade reached into his wallet and pulled out
his fake I. D. “No worries.”

“How in the hell did you get a fake I.D.?”
Paul asked.

“Connections, Mate. I know everyone.”

The group of teens walked into the store. It
was empty. Not a single customer was there, not even staff.

“Hello?” Lucy yelled. “Is anyone here?”

“Christ,” Wade said. “Is this some holiday
out here in the back of beyond?”

“What do you mean?” Lucy asked.

“Same thing back at the servo. Nobody
around,” Wade answered.

“Hello?” Lucy yelled again. They heard a
noise.

“See,” Lucy told him, “they’re out back,
probably having a meeting or something.”

“A meeting. Yeah, that’s it,” Paul laughed.
“A meeting as to why shit keeps getting stolen.” Paul yelled in the
direction of the store-room door, “It’s because you leave
everything unattended for people to steal, you dumb hicks.”

“Knock it off,” Lucy said elbowing him in the
ribs. “Let’s go see what’s going on. Maybe somebody’s hurt.”

“What are you, a doctor?” Paul asked
sarcastically. “Let’s just leave the money on the counter and get
the hell out of here. This place creeps me out.”

“I’m with you, Mate,” Wade agreed, pulling
out some money. “Screw it!” he said with a grin, putting it back in
his pocket. “Let’s just go.”

Paul and Wade headed for the door.

“Assholes,” Lucy shook her head in chagrin as
Wade and Paul left with the beer.

“I’ll go with you, Lucy,” Michael offered,
following Lucy to the back of the store.

Lauren watched the scene without saying a
word as her friends scattered in different directions, leaving her
standing alone in the unnaturally quiet store. Emma walked around
the corner from one of the isles holding a couple bags of potato
chips.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Lauren answered. “Let’s go.”

“What about these?” Emma asked, holding up
the chips.

“The hell with the chips. Let’s go.” She
grabbed Emma by the arm and started to lead her out the door.

“But I’m hungry,” Emma pleaded.

Lauren threw a five dollar bill on the
counter. “Take the damn things. Now c’mon. Let’s go.”

Lucy and Michael approached the door to the
back of the store cautiously, a product of watching too many horror
flicks. They slowly eased the door open and thought they heard
something that sounded like gnawing sounds. They opened the door a
little more. The back room was dimly lit but they could just make
out the back of what looked like an employee kneeling over
something on the floor.

“Hello?” Lucy asked sheepishly, barely louder
than a whisper.

The employee didn’t move.

“Hello?” Lucy said again, slightly louder.
“Is everything Ok?”

The employee turned his head sideways but
didn’t look at them. His mouth was covered in blood as he continued
to chew. Lucy’s breathing quickened as she lowered her eyes to what
he was holding in his hands. It was… an arm. Her eyes widened, her
heart pounded in her chest as she looked back to the man’s face in
horror. He opened his mouth for another bite and a finger fell to
the floor. Lucy screamed. The employee turned towards her and let
out a weird, groaning yell.

Lucy stood frozen in horror as Michael pulled
on her elbow. Another employee appeared from behind a stack of
boxes, chewing on a severed leg. He let out the same groaning yell
as Michael pulled Lucy through the door, dragging her to a run.
They raced out of the store and towards the van.

“Go! Go! Go!” Michael yelled as he pushed
Lucy into the van.

“What’s wrong?” Wade asked as Michael slammed
the door shut.

“Go!” Michael yelled again.

Wade raised an eyebrow questioningly, then
looked towards the Co-op. Two blood-soaked people wearing Co-op
aprons came out. They were both covered in blood, one still chewing
on a half-eaten arm.

“Christ!” Wade yelled, flooring the van,
throwing the teens backwards, and spraying the approaching
employees with rocks.

Michael looked out the back window at the
grotesque people. He noticed they barely flinched when Wade
showered them with rocks, they just kept walking towards the van.
They didn’t run, they staggered slowly after them.

The van went over a steep blind crest,
lifting all four tires in the air.

“Slow the fuck down!” Paul yelled. “Who the
hell were those people?”

“They were… eating… people!” Michael
responded, trying to collect his thoughts.

“They were eating people?” Lauren and Emma
asked in unison.

“What the fuck kinda hillbillies live here?”
Paul asked as he looked in the rearview mirror.

“Something’s wrong,” Lucy mumbled to no one,
her eyes still wide in disbelief.

“No shit, Sherlock!” Paul growled. “How the
fuck do we get to your cabin?”

“Something’s wrong,” Lucy repeated.

“Oy! Bambi!” Wade yelled. “We know that
already. How do we get to your cabin?”

Lucy did not answer. Wade cut the wheel hard
to keep from going off the road, then slowed the van down to a
manageable speed. As the van raced up along the winding, country
road he spotted a few dozen cars parked by a building next to a
church.

“Oy, car park up ahead is full. Looks like
there’s something going on there.”

“Thank God!” Lauren answered.
“Civilization!”

Wade slowed the van down and pulled into the
parking lot as the tires crunched in the thick gravel. The large
community center that sat next to the church didn’t show any signs
of activity. They stared at the quiet building skeptically.

“Somebody has to go check,” Wade
suggested.

“You go check,” Paul said as he moved to the
back to sit with Lucy.

“I’m driving!” Wade answered.

Lauren shook her head. “My heroes. Big on
muscles, short on courage.”

She opened the van door, looked in the
direction they had just come, and stepped out of the van. She
looked back at her friends. Nobody moved.

“Y’all just gonna sit there and let a girl go
by herself?”

Michael swallowed a lump in his throat.

“I’ll go with you,” he said as he stepped out
of the van. “Keep the door open and the engine running,” he
ordered, looking at Wade.

Wade nodded in agreement.

Michael turned to Lauren, “All right then,
let’s go.”

Emma jumped out of the van. “I’ll go
too.”

The three teens looked once more in the
direction they had come from, then back at the van where Lucy
rocked back and forth in Paul’s arms, mumbling “Something’s wrong.
Something’s wrong.”

They hesitantly walked towards the door of
the building. The sign on the door read, “St. Patrick’s Ceildh.
Admission: Good Will Donation.” They stopped, staring at the
sign.

“Awfully quiet for a party,” Emma suggested
as she pulled the door open.

The stench hit them like a slap in the face.
Bodies covered in blood lay everywhere. Emma and Lauren covered
their mouths to keep from gagging. Michael noticed that not
everyone was lying on the floor; some were kneeling over the
bodies, just like at the Co-op. One of the kneeling people was a
small child, a little girl. She didn’t look to be more than ten
years old. Her little face was covered in blood.

Emma noticed it first. “Is she eating a…”

Lauren finished her sentence. “A baby. Oh my
God, she’s eating that baby!”

Emma let out a piercing scream. The little
girl turned to face them, still chewing. Michael heard the same
groaning yell from the little girl. The rest of the people in the
hall turned to look at the teens standing in the doorway.

“We gotta go! Now!” Michael shouted as more
of them emitted their groaning yell. He pulled on the arms of the
stunned girls as the people in the hall started to move towards
them.

“Run!” he shrieked, dragging them out of the
doorway.

They raced across the parking lot as a hoard
of blood-soaked people flooded out the door, walking towards the
van in the same unsteady swagger as the employees from the
Co-op.

Emma was still screaming uncontrollably as
Michael shoved her into the van. Wade floored the accelerator. The
tires spun in the deep gravel.

“Go! Go! Go!” Michael yelled.

“I’m fuckin’ trying!” Wade yelled back as the
tires finally grabbed hold and the van peeled onto the road.

The sound of screeching tires drowned Emma’s
screams. Michael watched the people barely flinch as they were
showered with rocks. The van fishtailed down the road as Wade tried
to bring it under control.

“It’s like they don’t even feel pain,”
Michael mumbled to himself as the van sped away.

Paul returned to the front seat and looked at
Wade who shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t know what in the hell
was happening either.

Emma’s screams were replaced by a steady
stream of tears and sobbing. Lauren looked as if she was about to
throw up. Michael looked like Michael always looked. He had that
weird, dazed but concentrated look on his face, the kind people get
when they run into somebody they know and their name is right there
on the tip of their tongue, but they can’t quite say it. That’s the
look Michael had on his face.

“Turn at the fork in the road,” Lucy
announced weakly.

“Look who’s back,” Paul said. “Welcome to
Margaree. I hope you know coming here was your fuckin’ idea!”

“Leave her alone,” Michael glared at him.
Paul stared back.

“Don’t look at me with your macho, He-man
bullshit,” Michael argued, “we’ve got bigger problems right now
than your stupid jealousy.”

Paul said nothing. No one said anything. They
all knew Michael was right. They did have bigger problems. Bigger
than anything they could ever have imagined.

“Christ!” Wade yelled, slamming on the brakes
and lurching the teens forward in their seats.

They all stared out the front window. A small
child, maybe only six or seven years old, was standing on the road
next to a crashed car, her tiny mouth covered in blood.

“She’s one of them. What do I do?” Wade
asked.

Paul stared at the little girl, then answered
in an emotionless, monotone voice, “Run her the fuck over.”

“What?” Lauren yelled. “She’s just a
child.”

Paul spun his head glaring at her.

“She’s just a child that eats people!” He
turned back to Wade. “Listen to me. Those things are everywhere. We
can’t stay here waiting for little miss
I-want-to-eat-your-fucking-heart to get out of the way. So floor it
and run her the fuck over.”

Wade looked back towards the others. They
lowered their eyes. They all knew Paul was right, but none of them
wanted to say it out loud. Wade looked back to the little girl
staggering towards them.

He floored the accelerator.

“Move kid,” Wade mumbled. “Come on kid,
move.”

She didn’t move. Wade closed his eyes as the
van slammed into the little girl with a sickening thud.