Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Isaac plunged the paring knife into the back of the rabbit and began to slice. He had expected blood to come squirting out, but there was nothing, and the knife was moving through the pelt much easier than he had anticipated.

The sun had gone down, and the boys were in a small cave in the side of a hill. A small fire burned near the opening, casting a crimson glow.

Isaac cut out a chunk of the pink meat and stuck it into the end of a stick and handed it to Simon who took it eagerly and held it over the flames. Isaac skewered a chunk for himself, and the boys cooked their dinner silently, their eyes never leaving the meat, which slowly turned from a pinkish-white to a dark brown.

Isaac brought the smoking meat to his lips and blew on it. He took a small bite and chewed cautiously, his eyes growing wide with astonishment. Encouraged by this, Simon took a healthy bite of his own, and he gasped. After taking several more bites, he jumped up and danced gleefully around the fire.

Isaac watched his brother dance, and he laughed hysterically, almost choking on the meat. He knew he shouldn't have been making so much noise, but at that moment, he didn't care. He took another bite and joined Simon, and the two danced, accompanied by their flickering shadows and the chirping of cicadas from the forest below.

The boys woke up early the next morning and continued down the mountain. On several occasions, they had to backtrack, for their path led them to sheer cliffs, but eventually, in the late afternoon, they stood on the outskirt of Arrow Springs, population 757, a small town of a few dozen buildings including The Trail's End Motel and Pine Realty on one side of the two lane highway and The Shirt Shack and Earl's Saddleback Grill on the other.

Isaac and Simon took cover behind a parked car and studied the silent town. On the once pristine road, sheets of paper were strewn about, soaked and blackened by the mud. A few lights flickered in some of the buildings, but most of the signs were off when they should have been turning on for the evening business. Besides these, nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. No one walked the streets, but that was not unusual for this secluded mountain village.

Isaac reached into the backpack, pulled out the meat cleaver and handed it to Simon.

"Stay close behind."

Farther in, they noticed the smell of gasoline that seemed inescapable. Windows were broken, furnitures overturned, and hardwood sidings charred. Scattered throughout, particularly on the storefront boardwalk, lay dozens of brass bullet casings and shotgun shells. In front of one store, Simon saw scratches, and embedded in them yellowed fingernails.

He re-gripped his hold on the cleaver and hurried to catch up to Isaac who was standing in front of a building with AVERY'S GROCERIES written on the storefront window in faded, mustard-colored lettering.

When Simon was beside him, Isaac peeked inside and swung the door open, which jangled a shopkeeper's bell overhead. The sudden sound startled the boys who scanned the area to see if it had attracted any attention. They looked at each other and chuckled nervously. Once inside, they stepped over broken glass and empty shelves that lay on their sides and began to scavenge through the rubble.

Whatever they found useful, they put in the backpack including maps of hiking trails and tourist spots. Most of the food was gone, but they managed to find a few canned and boxed goods. The most prized find, however, was packaged mini-donuts, buried under some fallen drywall, which caused to them to pump their fists in a silent celebration.

Four donuts were inside. Isaac pulled two out, and the boys took a moment to savor the morsels, letting each bite melt on their tongues. Isaac licked every last taste of sugar off his fingers and lips and put the remaining two donuts in the side pocket of the backpack, which he then hoisted onto his shoulders. The pack was much heavier now, but he cinched the straps around his waist, which seemed to lighten the load somewhat, and the boys stepped outside. It was almost dark, and the yellow street lamps had turned on.

"We have to hurry," Isaac said.

As they headed out of town, the click of a doorknob and the creaking of hinges greeted them. Immediately, the boys scurried behind a car and peeked towards the source.

Across the street, from a building with a Roman facade and gold lettering that read BANK, a door opened, and out came a portly man in a dark, three-piece suit. He was bald, and reading glasses balanced on the end of his nose. In one hand was a leather briefcase, and in the other was a ring of keys.

The man set down the briefcase and methodically flipped through the keys until he found the one he wanted. He reached out for the doorknob but missed. He reached out again, but again he missed although he seemed to be staring right at it.

"It's Mr. Joe!" Simon said excitedly. He jumped to his feet and started waving his arms over his head. "Mr. Joe! Over here!" he shouted before Isaac pulled him down.

The man stopped reaching for the doorknob and slowly turned toward the boys.

Isaac held onto Simon tightly. "Are you crazy?"

"It's Mr. Joe, Isaac! He knows us!"

"You have to stay quiet, Simon."

"But he can help us!"

"Simon, listen to me. We have to stay -"

He was cut off by a jangling of keys that seemed almost right next to his ear. A looming figure stared down at them, its head cocked to one side as if it was trying to work out something very confusing. It bent down to inspect the boys more closely.

The boys' hearts seized. It was the man they had always known as Mr. Joe who would give them candy whenever they visited the town with their parents. But now, his skin was gray, his blue eyes were covered by a milky cloud, and his body smelled of rotting flesh.

Mr. Joe's furrowed brows rose with recognition, and he smiled at the boys, opening a gash in each cheek, deep enough to reveal teeth within.

"Hello, boish," said Mr. Joe in a dry, raspy voice, barely above a whisper. "Sho glad to shee you again. How have you been?"

His breath smelled like swamp mud, and his skin appeared ashen as if a breeze could blow it away.

"We've… we've been fine, Mr. Joe," said Isaac. "How have you," Isaac paused, regretting what he was about to say, "... been."

Mr. Joe's smile grew, which opened the gash in his cheeks almost to his ears.

"Never beddur," he said. He searched his pockets clumsily until he withdrew some lint-covered candy. "Would you like shum…" His lower jaw unhinged at that moment and dropped to the pavement.

Simon was about to scream, but Isaac quickly put his hand over his brother's mouth. They watched in horror as Mr. Joe picked up his lower jaw and absent-mindedly put it in his coat pocket. He stretched out his hand with the candy, and his swollen, gray tongue waved aimlessly as he tried to speak, but managed only garbled groans.

"N-no, Mr. Joe," said Isaac. "We're not allowed to eat sweets before dinner." Isaac rose slowly to his feet, pulling Simon up with him. "It was nice seeing you again, Mr. Joe, but we have to get going." The boys took a few steps back.

Mr. Joe straightened up and cocked his head in confusion once again.

Isaac grabbed Simon's hand tightly and searched wildly for a place to run to, but a dark mass appeared from the side and violently tackled Mr. Joe to the ground. It was a woman in dirty jeans and a frayed red sweater who tore into Mr. Joe's neck with her teeth. She stopped and turned her attention to the boys, and through the black blood covering her face, the boys could see that her skin too was gray, and her eyes were a milky white. She hissed at them and returned her attention to Mr. Joe who was staring off to the side and blinking complacently as the woman tore chunks of rotted flesh off his face.

Isaac and Simon sprinted towards the boardwalk and the space underneath about one foot high. They got to their stomachs and squirmed in as deeply as they could. Spiderwebs wrapped around their faces and shoulders as they made their way past the boardwalk to the centerpoint of the buildings. It was higher there, but their heads still struck the support beams until they got to the center of the crawlspace where they lay and waited.

They were breathing rapidly. Isaac had inhaled a lungful of dust, and he felt his chest tightening whenever he took a breath. It had been months since his last asthma attack, but he knew the signs.

No, no, no. Not now.

Isaac felt the sharp pricks in his lungs as he clawed at the dirt. He rolled to his back and tried to even his breathing, like his mother had taught him to do, but his chest seemed to tighten even more, and whenever he inhaled, it felt as if it would be his last. The panic seemed uncontrollable at such times, all-consuming, but he kept telling himself that it would pass, it would pass. After a long, tortured minute, his breaths came easier, and he felt his whole body begin to relax. Soon, he was breathing normally again.

But this feeling of being trapped always remained. Everything seemed so unreal, and detached, as if he were watching the world from behind glass.

"Are you okay?" asked Simon.

"Yeah. I'm okay," answered Isaac.

The boys peered out from underneath the crawl space for any movement. It was quiet again. Isaac knew they couldn't stay down there for too long. They had to get to a safer location, perhaps find a room with a lock or back to the woods where it was wider with more places to hide. It was another decision Isaac had to make that would determine their fate, a decision with seemingly no right answer.

He was frustrated, and he wanted to cry, but he noticed the smell. It was sickly sweet and putrid, like how Mr. Joe had smelled - a combination of rotten fruit and spoiled fish. In the far corner was a creature staring at them with its dead, glassy eyes. This one was tall and thin and barefoot, with a tattered t-shirt and jeans. Chunks of flesh were missing from the side of his face, revealing rows of teeth, and behind it was a pile of bones that it seemed to be hoarding.

Before the boys could react, this thing hissed and lunged towards them with surprising speed.

Isaac and Simon screamed and frantically crawled towards the opening.

Simon was the first to emerge from the crawlspace. He was about to run when he heard his brother call to him.

"Simon! Help me!"

Isaac was almost free from the crawlspace, but his leg had been caught by the creature.

Simon gripped the meat cleaver in boths hands and rushed to help his brother. Without hesitation, he swung the meat cleaver onto the arm that was holding his brother's ankle, but the thing did not let go. Simon pulled the cleaver out, raised it high above his head, and swung it down as hard as it could on the creature's wrist, again and again, until it separated from the arm.

Isaac kicked the hand loose from his ankle, and the boys ran down the street, closely followed by the creature that had crawled out of the space. Other creatures appeared from their hiding places. Some merely watched the boys run by while others gave chase like wolves running down deer.

Simon and Isaac were at the edge of town where the road continued before curving around the trees. The road sloped downhills, and it felt to Isaac that he was on the verge of losing control and toppling to the asphalt. He sensed his brother next to him, but he couldn't turn to see how he was doing. He just kept going. Soon, they were at the woods, and they broke through the thick foliage and kept running, aware of nothing but their pounding hearts and the darkness ahead.