Part 23 (1/2)

The truck paused briefly and then Jack made a right down Harbor, heading south. Harbor led to Route 1. Rick felt a momentary sense of relief flood over him as the truck picked up speed, and the others seemed to share this sentiment. The Clickers were dwindling in numbers, their appearance less threatening. Rick still wouldn't feel one hundred percent safe until they were within the safety of several hundred people far from this wet, watery h.e.l.l; preferably in the company of the Army, Navy, and Marines. But for now he felt a little safer. But he wasn't going to let his guard down. Not for an instant.

For one, they weren't fully out of danger yet. They were still in the vicinity of Phillipsport, and more Dark Ones could be around. Secondly, he still felt some sense of responsibility for Janice and Bobby-especially Bobby, who had seen and experienced more terror and pain than he will probably experience in a lifetime. He'd promised Janice that he would protect Bobby if anything happened to her, and to prevent anything from happening to her, he had to protect her. That meant he had to be on his guard and be alert to whatever might be lying in wait ahead of them.

Rick raised himself up slightly, checking out the road ahead of them through the winds.h.i.+eld. He held the gun firmly, ready for anything. The others remained crouched down in the bed of the truck as if sensing that it wasn't entirely safe yet, either. They travelled down Harbor, sending sprays of water through the street, into gutters and over dead bodies. Empty houses, buildings, and cars sped past them and then civilization seemed to grow thinner ahead. To their left lay the beach, silent and deserted, and to their right the woods and the highway.

Freedom.

Jack turned down the highway, plunging into the woods. It was darker within and the truck's headlights stabbed ahead of them, picking out the road and the trees bordering it. The sky was beginning to lighten from pitch dark to gray. They were going along at a steady pace, not too fast in respect to the storm, and not too slow, either. The others seemed to feel a sense of relief, and raised themselves up a little bit. Rick kept his eyes peeled on the road, nerves braced for anything that might come leaping out at them from the woods.

Nothing did. Instead, it came from directly in front of them.

The truck's headlights picked out two cars lying nose to nose, blocking the highway. It came up at them from a sudden curve and Jack had to stomp on the brakes to avoid hitting them. The truck skidded slightly as the tires locked, spinning on the rain-soaked road. The skid spun the rear end of the truck to the right, knocking Rick backward onto the bed. Charlie's body fell forward in a sickening thump, his upper body coming down on Barbara, who began screaming and batting it away. Her hand smacked the red meat of Charlie's neck stump and this seemed to make her scream louder. The others were dislodged from their positions, sending them to the bed on each other in a mad helter-skelter of arms and legs. Rick held onto the gun, praying it wouldn't go off. The truck ended its skid and Jack spun the wheel, righting the truck back into position and coming to a stop. Barbara was still screaming and trying to get Charlie's headless body off of her.

Rick scrambled to his feet, gun raised, his adrenaline pulsing through his veins just as he saw the harpoon plow through the winds.h.i.+eld, impaling Jack through the seat.

From his angle it was difficult for Rick to tell exactly where it hit Jack, but it didn't matter. He could see Jack in the front seat, convulsing like an insect speared by an entomologist's pin.

For a fraction of a second he was stunned, but then the rolling motion of the truck jarred him out of it. Jack's foot had slipped off the brake and since the vehicle was still running and in drive, it began to roll forward. And then the thing that had lunged the harpoon swooped in through the winds.h.i.+eld, rocking the vehicle back in a shower of gla.s.s and crunching metal.

From beside and around him, the sounds of screaming rose and Rick turned to Janice and Bobby-they were cringing against each other, Janice's arms cradling the boy in her arms, s.h.i.+elding him as he screamed and pushed his legs against the bed, pus.h.i.+ng himself and his mother against the side panel of the truck. Glen leaped over the side of the truck, followed by Annette and Barbara, who was still screaming. Anne sat on the bed of the truck, her eyes open in a far away look that told Rick she'd lost her mind.

Dark shapes moved in the shadows of the woods coming toward the truck and Rick raised the gun. Annette was swinging her legs over the panel of the truck and a Dark One reached out and s.n.a.t.c.hed her in its grasp. She screamed. A spray of crimson rained briefly as her jugular was severed, drenching Janice and Bobby, and then the Dark One retreated with its prize.

Rick stood, facing Janice and Bobby, ready to blow away anything that dared show its scaly face. On his right Melissa cringed against the rear of the truck's cab, mouth opened to scream. Beyond the truck and out to the woods where Glen and Barbara had fled to, screams of agony and pain shrieked from the darkness. Large hulking shapes throttled smaller ones in the dark woods.

Their screams died down as a dark figure lunged out of the dark.

Melissa saw it and scuttled toward Rick in fear. Rick stood up, aimed and yelled, ”Janice! Get out of the-”

His words were cut off by her scream as a taloned hand grabbed her shoulder and lifted her up. She clutched Bobby tighter, hugging the boy to her side. The creature lifted her off the bed of the truck, Janice's grip dragging Bobby up with her. Bobby's legs kicked frantically, trying to escape. Rick froze, debating on whether to fire but afraid of hitting Janice or Bobby or missing altogether, but he had to do something to save them, and things were moving so fast now that his finger barely had time to curl around the trigger when the Dark One opened its mouth, engulfed Janice's head in that maw of jagged teeth and bit down.

The sound of her neck snapping between the thing's serrated teeth was deafening; it sounded like ice cracking on a pond on a cold winter day. The Dark One lifted its head after taking Janice's head in its mouth and chewed, like a child eating the top of a hot dog. Blood fountained upward, spraying over her and the creature, drenching Bobby who fell to the floor of the truck. Bobby scrambled to the other side of the bed, screaming hysterically: ”Mommy!”

All of this happened within seconds as the truck rolled toward the two cars road blocked in the highway. The creature walked alongside the cab as it chewed, still clutching Janice's body. It swallowed.

And then it turned toward Rick and seemed to grin.

Its teeth bloodstained with Janice's gore, it tipped its head back and roared. The sound of it sent Melissa scrambling over the side of the cab, screaming hysterically. Rick scooped up Bobby and vaulted the side of the bed after Melissa, running after her. They rounded the front of the truck, heading toward the woods that lined the beach when a thudding sound erupted, and the Dark One that killed Janice was suddenly standing in front of them.

They stopped, Melissa screaming as she did so. Rick dropped Bobby, who scrambled back and cringed against the cars blocking the road. The creature stepped forward, swatting Melissa aside casually, causing her to tumble down the wooded incline that led to the beach. Rick could hear Melissa screaming as she fell all the way down and the creature stepped up to him, its bulk seeming to tower upward. Behind him, Bobby was screaming for his mother. The creature fixed Rick in its gaze, as if sizing him up.

The creature opened its mouth, a maw of teeth that gleamed with Janice's blood. The Dark One was easily twelve feet tall and looked older, more refined, more mature than any of the others. It walked upright like a man instead of hunched over like the others. Its yellow eyes regarded Rick, the pupils tiny slits that gleamed like evil diamonds. Its nostrils flared as the tips of its mouth and upper lip curled back in a sneer. It opened its mouth and roared, bending forward to scoop Rick up in a similar head-biting motion that would leave him lifeless.

But Rick antic.i.p.ated the move. His finger curled around the trigger of the Smith & Wesson. He moved the weapon up as the creature's head descended down. The arc of the Dark One's bite descended down over the barrel of the gun, heading straight for him. All Rick had to do was shove the gun up farther, his arm up the creature's mouth to his elbow, and pull the trigger.

The back of the creature's head exploded outward in a spray of green skin, blood, and tissue. The creature reeled back, roaring in pain. Rick c.o.c.ked the gun and stuck the barrel up beneath the creature's chin and pulled the trigger again. The blast sent that part of the creature's head exploding in a showering mash of bone and brain. It teetered on its hind legs for a moment, arms waving drunkenly before it toppled over on its back.

Rick reacted instantly. He ran over to Bobby who was cringing against the car, still screaming for his mother. Scooping the boy up, he ran down the incline toward the beach where Melissa had fallen. The stretch of woods was small, and he thought he could hear the cracking of weeds as more Dark Ones crashed in the woods behind him. He skirted around some trees and reached the bottom where he found Melissa getting to her feet. She appeared dazed. Rick helped her up and motioned down the beach. ”We've got to get the f.u.c.k out of here!”

Melissa nodded. Rick set Bobby down, but the boy clung to his legs, his sobs hoa.r.s.e and dry; all the tears seemed to have run out of him. He clutched his injured hand close to his chest and Rick knelt down before him, looking into the boy's eyes. ”Come on, big guy. Gotta be brave for me now. Okay?”

Bobby nodded, still sobbing. ”I want my mother.”

”I know,” Rick said. ”But we gotta get outta here, okay?”

”Okay.” Bobby sobbed. The kid looked like he was in deep shock, running on autopilot. He had witnessed his mother's death, had felt her blood rain down on him, had one of the Clickers take half of his middle finger and almost kill him, had seen the big Dark One kill his friends, almost kill Rick, and he still wanted his mother. He probably just wanted the whole nightmare to go away, wanted to go home, get into his pajamas and be tucked into bed by his Mommy who would smooth back his hair, kiss his forehead and tell him everything was going to be all right.

Rick felt a painful lump rise in his throat, and he swallowed it down. He wanted it to go away himself but it wasn't. It was only going to get worse.

He got to his feet and propelled Bobby forward. ”Let's go.” With Rick bringing up the rear, he herded Bobby and Melissa back up the incline through the little stretch of woods, then parallel with the woods. And as they ran through the woods, Rick thought he heard the sounds of pursuit behind them as the Dark Ones crashed through the trees. He also thought that it felt slightly warmer and it was just a little bit lighter.

They ran. Through the trees up ahead, Rick could make out the first telltale signs that it was morning. The darkness of the night was gone, being slowly replaced by the gray of the clouds. They were moving fast, the wind blowing hard and cold. Rick still had the unmistakable feeling that it wasn't as cold as it had been, that it was slightly warmer, that- Melissa screamed and Rick was startled. They stopped in their tracks as a Dark One leaped from behind a tree. Melissa instinctively leaped to the side, and now it was he and Bobby in front of the creature. Bobby didn't stop as fast as he should have, and the thing picked him up in one swoop of its powerful arms. Rick yelled ”Noooo!” just as the creature brought Bobby's screaming form to its face and began gorging amid the boy's screams and struggles.

It began to eat Bobby alive while the boy's lifeblood splattered to the ground at the Dark One's feet.

Rick was so shocked at the sight that he stood rooted to the spot. All he could do was watch in horror as the Dark One devoured Bobby in greedy chomps and gulps. The boy's screams abruptly died off.

He didn't even realize he was screaming until he felt rough hands turn him toward the road and begin pulling him toward it. Only then was he aware that it was Melissa, who'd stumbled back to grab him and push him back on the flight to escape. Only then did he realize that he'd been standing in one spot, screaming his head off, and that the Dark One that was devouring Bobby would soon be lunging at him.

Still screaming, he ran after Melissa as the wind blew the storm clouds across the sky.

Chapter Twenty-Nine.

Rick was convinced they would be dead meat as they ran pell-mell through the woods. He could hear the cras.h.i.+ng in the woods behind him as the Dark Ones gave chase. He didn't know if it was the same creature that had killed Bobby, or if there were others, but it felt like more than one. It sounded like more than one and- Slowly but surely, the pursuit behind them was slowing down. It hit him when they reached a crest in the woods that led to the main highway that had been blocked off. Rick stopped abruptly, not hearing anything behind him now and Melissa stopped and turned, looking confused. And then it hit him.

The storm was over.

The clouds were breaking.

Sunlight was s.h.i.+ning through the dissolving clouds.

He could see it on the small crest they had stopped on, and he tilted his head up and grinned. The rain had stopped, and while it was still cold, the slivers of sunlight that stabbed through the dark clouds brought a sense of joy to Rick's face. Over the ocean, the storm clouds dissipated, revealing blue sky. The wind was pus.h.i.+ng the clouds inland in a slow, steady pace. A few more minutes and they'd be bathed in sunlight.

Melissa was laughing, clapping her hands together and looking up at the sky in victory. She looked like she had just won a million dollars. Rick turned back where they'd come from, catching a fleeting glimpse of huge, dark shapes scurrying to the ocean as if trying to escape a deadly plague. Rick watched as the beasts ran to the beach and dived into the ocean, back down to their watery darkness. He wanted to be happy, but he was still in a state of shock over just losing Janice and Bobby.

Watching the creatures slip into the ocean, it was hard to believe that any of this was still happening, that he'd gone through all this only to remain virtually unscathed.

”Yes!” Melissa yelled. She laughed, and to Rick it sounded as if she was teetering on the brink of madness herself. ”Go back to the h.e.l.l you came from, motherf.u.c.kers!” She was laughing hysterically, tears streaming down her face.

The sound of her laughter brought their triumph back to reality. They were momentarily safe for now, but the creatures could still come back. They had to get the h.e.l.l out of here and go to where there were other people.

Rick pulled at Melissa's arm. She turned to him, her grin wide, and for just an instant Rick wondered how Melissa was doing mentally. ”We've got to go, Melissa.”