Deluge: The Conqueror Worms II

CHAPTER 68

Henry put his ear to the door and listened.

“Anything?” Sarah asked.

The boy shook his head.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Get back.”

Henry removed the barricade and Sarah rushed out into the rain. She clutched a hefty axe that she’d retrieved from the utility shed before Kevin’s death. Henry hurried out behind her, carrying a large pickaxe. They hovered on the top landing, peering down into the gloom below, where seven shadowy figures were laboriously making their way up the wet and slippery metal stairs. Five of the figures were roughly-human shaped, each possessing two arms, two legs and a head. Another of the creatures had once been either a dog or a coyote—or possibly a wolf, though Sarah wasn’t sure if West Virginia had wolves or not. The seventh’s original form was unrecognizable. Whatever it had once been, it was now nothing more than a shambling mound of pallid fungus. As they watched from above, the thing burst apart on the second landing, turning to liquid and spilling back down the stairs. Its companions, including the thing that had once been Earl Harper, ignored its demise.

“There’s a gasoline can in the far corner, over next to the radio,” Sarah said. “Grab it, and that box of wooden matches. I’ve got an idea.”

Henry frowned. “You’re not thinking of going down there, are you?”

Far below, the creatures moaned and gurgled, attracted by their voices.

“Just do it, Henry. Please? And hurry.”

Nodding, he ducked back inside.

“Soft…” Earl cried, his voice phlegmatic and inhuman.

“Yeah,” Sarah called, “we’ve been through that already, Earl. You sound like a broken record!”

“Soft… SOFT!”

Beginning at the fourth landing, Sarah and Henry had erected a series of crude but so-far effective barricades and booby-traps, using materials they’d recovered from the utility shed and the ranger station. When the monsters reached that level, they were confronted with a maze of lumber, fencing rolls, and other debris. Sarah and Henry had been mindful to avoid using anything that Kevin might have touched while inside the shed, but that didn’t seem to matter now. Most of the blockade had white fuzz growing on it. Much of the fungus had appeared in only the last few days. Already, Sarah noticed, several lengths of two-by-four were missing. She assumed that they’d already liquefied. How long before the same thing happened to the rest of the barricade? How long before it happened to the ranger station, as well?

Henry returned with the gasoline can. Sarah took it from him and unscrewed the cap. The liquid sloshed inside and the pungent fumes made her wince. She walked to the railing and lifted the can over the side.

“Hey, Earl!”

Below, six mold-covered faces peered up at her, toothless mouths agape.

“Heads up.” Sarah laughed as she poured the gasoline. The liquid seemed to fall faster than the rain, splashing on the creatures. Immediately, they recoiled, shrieking in either pain or fright. Sarah couldn’t be sure of which, nor did she care. “Quick, Henry. Give me the matches.”

He handed them over and Sarah fumbled one from the box and tried to light it. When she had no luck, she ducked into the open doorway and tried with a second one. A third and fourth also refused to light.

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit…”

“It don’t matter none,” Henry called, looking over the rail. “They’re running away. And parts of them are coming off. Look!”

Sarah moved to the railing and watched the attackers retreat. Sure enough, their hides had turned black where the gasoline had splashed on them. A few were now missing appendages, and the stumps were black, as well.

“Maybe gasoline kills it?” she mused.

“At the very least, they don’t like it,” Henry agreed.

Sarah grinned. “Henry, I’ve got an idea…”