World Memorial (29 page)

Angie could move again. "Run!"

"You must be fucking psychic," said Park.

They both raced across the field, Angie limping as quickly as she could. Behind them she could hear Beulah and Sharon fighting. They screamed and slammed each other into the snow. It sounded like two elephants crashing into each other. Like two dinosaurs. Like two mythical beasts too large and strong to possibly exist.

Park ran next to her, not going much faster than she was. He clutched at his chest, panting.

"What's wrong?" said Angie as she limped.

Park seemed to realize what he was doing. He dropped his hand and kept running. "Nothing."

The sisters screamed and fought behind them. The power of their blows echoed across the field. Sharon had said they were sisters. Angie wondered if that was possible, wondered if they were human. Wondered what they were, period.

Angie heard an engine roar and looked across the field. A truck was speeding toward them. The remaining truck, the bed now empty. Angie was glad one group had made it back. She hoped Maylee's group had done the same.

The truck drew nearer. Hartnup from the Guard was driving. Angie rejoiced to see him. It meant he, Maylee and the children had made it. The truck skidded to a halt a few feet away, spinning and spraying snow across the area.

"Get in!" yelled Hartnup.

The tailgate was already down. Angie climbed into the back, not wanting to waste time going around to the door. Park slammed the tailgate up and climbed in after her.

"We're in!" yelled Angie.

The truck took off, speeding across the snow. Angie could see Sharon and Beulah fighting, the two women flinging each other through the air.

They sped further on, the fighting sisters receding in the distance. They drew near the town, toward the opening gate. They were almost there.

Then, abruptly, the truck stalled. Angie and Park were thrown against the cab. The truck shuddered and dropped into the snow. Angie saw the wheels falling to either side, as if something invisible was wrenching them off. The hood crumpled. Hartnup jerked in his seat. Screaming, he flew up into the roof of the cab. His neck snapped, spraying blood across the dashboard. He fell back to his seat. Only he didn't fall, he slammed down like he'd been thrown.

Angie looked from him to the front of the truck. Sharon was there, walking toward them. How had she gotten there so fast? Angie's mind raced. Sharon dropped the hand she'd been holding up.

"Hurry," said Angie. She and Park ran to the back of the bed and climbed out. Angie’s ankle cried out in pain when she hit the snow but she ignored it. She heard Sharon's slow, unhurried footsteps crunching in the snow, but couldn't tell which side of the truck she was walking along. Angie picked a side and turned down it, Park behind her.

She’d chosen wrong. Sharon walked toward them. She held up her hand and both Angie and Park were held in place. Angie braced herself for the constricting pain.

But none came.

"Perhaps I was too hasty, Angela," said Sharon. "It is Angela, right? I take it you would like to thwart my sister's plan?"

"I don't give a shit about any fucking plans," said Angie, straining to speak. She was still held tight, but could move slightly more than before. "I just want you bitches to leave us alone."

"We've always been with you, Angela," said Sharon. "All of you. Beulah likes you primates. I do not. But, you don't like Beulah. And there we agree on something. Perhaps we could work something out."

"Work out go fucking yourself," said Angie, spitting the words. She strained to move, but  couldn't.

The gates to World Memorial were fully open now. The Guard rushed out, guns ready. Maylee ran out with them. Dalton ran out too, his eyes wide and concerned.

"Pity," said Sharon. She clenched her fist. Angie's inside began to twist.

Beulah saved them for the second time. She rushed from behind Angie, shoving Sharon backward. Sharon flew back across the snow, stopping abruptly mid-flight and dropping to the ground. Angie didn't take time to wonder about it since she was able to move again.

She ran across the field, Park next to her. They reached the line of guards and Angie and Park stopped and turned.

Beulah and Sharon fought fiercely in the snow. Sharon ran screaming at Beulah. Beulah grabbed her dress and whipped her down to the ground. The force of the hit shook the snow around them. Behind the sisters, the remaining animals raced across the field. And behind them, the lines of corpses staggered toward town.

The sky overhead grew darker. The trees on the far side of the field shook violently. The windstorm that had been threatening to arrive suddenly exploded around them. There was no time to take cover. Everyone braced themselves as the wind tore across the field.

Then, somehow, the wind split when it hit the sisters. It was as though a protective bubble surrounded them, blocking the wind. It flew to either side, avoiding the sisters and the town.

Everyone with Angie blinked in surprise, realizing they weren’t in danger from the windstorm.

"Fire!" yelled Maylee. The Guard fired, their bullets ripping across the field. Animal after animal fell, bleeding, into the snow. The corpses, further off, whipped their heads back and fell. Several bullets pinged off the sisters. They didn't seem to notice.

Finally, all the animals were down. The last of the corpses fell. The snow was riddled with bullets. The sisters were still fighting, and both were beaten and bloody. Grunting with effort, Sharon punched Beulah across the jaw. Beulah's jaw snapped, loudly. She stumbled across the snow, spilling drops of blood. Then she turned back, grinning over bloody teeth. Angie noticed Beulah's jaw moving back into place, the blood seeping back into her skin. A few moments later the jaw was reset as though it had never broken. She panted at Sharon.

"Admit it, sister," she said. "You're growing tired."

Sharon snorted and turned to face the town. Angie and the Guard stared back. All guns were trained on Sharon. Angie prepared to order them to fire, but didn’t think it would do much good.

Sharon took a step toward the town, then stopped. She looked down at the snow in front of her feet. Then she looked back up, smiling. Gashes on her face were closing.

"So, this is where Beulah's been hiding you."

Beulah ran up behind her and grabbed her throat. "Stay away from them!" she yelled, wrenching Sharon back. She spun, flinging Sharon across the snow. She ran after her. Sharon hopped up and kicked her in the stomach. Beulah fell over. Sharon lifted her foot to strike, and Beulah rolled away as she slammed her foot down, shaking the ground with the force.

The fight raged on. Angie and the others stared. Angie knew the second the sisters turned on them they were done for. How could they possibly hold them back?

Then she realized Sharon had been held back. Sharon had been coming toward them, and stopped.

The wind around them died down. The sky was still overcast but the windstorm stopped.

Beulah punched Sharon on the stomach so hard Sharon's body shook. Blood spilled from Sharon's mouth. Sharon screamed, gurgling, and dug her thumbs into Beulah's eyes. Beulah shrieked, the sound far louder than any human could make, blood spilling from her eye sockets. She grabbed Sharon's wrists and dug her nails in. The skin broke and she wrenched downward. Sharon's bones snapped and she released Beulah’s eyes. Sharon staggered back, her arms limp. She panted and glared at Beulah. Beulah leaned forward into the snow, her eye sockets empty and bleeding holes.

Sharon took one last look at the town. At Angie. Sharon's eyes struck terror in her. The eyes were pure, chaotic rage. The look of a child before smashing a toy. The look of a wounded animal lashing out at the world with no thought of its own safety. The look spoke of earthquakes, of storms and tidal waves. Of death, plain and simple.

Angie watched as Sharon’s spilled blood rose up her limbs and seeped back into her body. Her wounds healed and her bones snapped back into place.

The she was gone. She didn't walk, run or fly. She didn't even vanish in any sense Angie could conceive of. She didn't fade away or wink out or disappear in flash of light. She was just simply there one second and gone the next. As though she'd never been there. As though she'd never even existed.

Angie felt the wave of fear it sent through the Guard. She heard the townsfolk gathering behind her. She knew the children were also back there, watching. Beulah panted, bleeding into the snow.

She straightened and turned to face the town, her empty eye sockets bleeding down her cheeks. Then white pulp filled the sockets. Then pupils formed. Then her eyes were back and the blood seeped back into her body.

She blinked once, then she, too, was gone.

The field was quiet. Dead animals, fallen corpses and snow. The sky cleared.

Angie and the others stared for several moments in silence.

Angie broke the silence first. "Did the kids make it back?"

"Yes," said Maylee, her voice still flat. "I'll go make sure they're back in the house."

She left, and most of the guards went with her. A few stayed behind, keeping watch across the field.

Angie walked forward until she reached the spot where Sharon had stopped. She looked down. She could see where Sharon's footsteps ended. She could see no difference in the snow before or after that point.

Park walked up next to her and looked down.

"What?" Park said.

"Why did she stop?" said Angie, still looking. "She could have strolled in and torn this place apart. Why did she stop?"

Park scratched at his beard, looking as though he was considering something. "The other one. Beulah. She got to a point she couldn't cross, too."

"Was it here?"

Park shrugged. "That, or damned close." He thought more. "In fact, she said she'd done it."

"Hmmm?"

He scratched his beard again. "Beulah said she'd done something so the other one couldn't come in, but it also keeps her out."

Dalton walked up and looked down with them.

Angie thought for a second. "Everyone dig," she said.

She worked down to her knees as best she could. Park and Dalton followed. The remaining guards came over and joined in, all of them digging in the snow.

After a few moments of digging, Angie found something. A thin line dug in the dirt under the snow. She pulled the snow further back, ignoring the cold.

"Found something," called Dalton.

"Same here," said Park.

Angie sat back on her heels and looked down. A narrow moat was dug into the ground, so narrow a person could step right on it and never know it was there. It ran clear across the area she, Dalton and Park had dug.

It was filled with blood. Flowing, red blood. It wasn't frozen, it wasn't clotted. It flowed freely, filling the narrow moat.

"Wow," said Dalton.

"Huh," said Park.

"How did this get here?" Angie asked.

"Beulah said she put it here," said Park.

Angie stood, balancing on her cane. "You think this goes all the way around the town?"

"Make sense if it did," said Park, standing up next to her.

Angie nodded. “Yeah, it would.”

Dalton stood. "Who's do you think it is?"

"Beulah's," said Angie.

"Think so?" said Park.

"Just guessing. She said she put it here. Whose else would it be?"

"Shouldn't it have congealed by now?" asked Dalton.

Angie nodded. "Another reason to think it's from one of those two. I don't know what they are, but they aren't human."

"I can't believe any of this shit," said Park.

"Yet there it is," said Angie.

Angie stared down at the moat of blood a moment longer. "Get Dr. Graham. He'll want to see this."

Maylee stood in the room she’d shared with her mom and brother for the past few years, the heart of what she’d come to know as home. But she was done. No more. She wrenched things from her portion of the dresser and shoved them into a large bag. Every now and then she felt tears coming. She hated that, and cursed herself for being weepy.

There was a knock at the door. She considered ignoring it. She grabbed more clothes and shoved them in the bag.

The knock came again. She sighed, set the bag on the bed and walked to the door. She opened it.

Carly stood there, about to knock again. She dropped her hand.

"What?" said Maylee, keeping her voice as flat as she could.

"Can I come in?"

"If you want," said Maylee, stepping away from the door and heading back to the bed. She grabbed the bag and continued packing.

Carly entered the room and scanned it nervously, like she was trying to work up the courage to speak.

Maylee wanted to scream at her, but kept her voice even. "You shouldn't have come here. Everyone in this house saw it, and they'll tell your grandpa."

"Maylee..." she started.

Maylee cut her off, looking up from her packing. "Oh wait, that's right, you already told him!"

For a few seconds they looked at each other in silence. Seeing Carly's eyes full-on softened her resolve. She looked away, steeling herself. She resumed packing.

Carly seemed to notice Maylee’s actions for the first time. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving."

Carly stepped closer to the bed. "What?"

"I'm leaving, Carly," said Maylee, trying to fit a second pair of boots into the bag.

"In the middle of everything that's going on?"

Maylee dropped the bag and looked up at her. "Don't you dare, Carly! Don't you fucking dare try to guilt me! I have seen more and done more than you ever fucking will. And I'm sick of it. I'm fucking sick of being the one who has to see and do the awful fucking shit!"

"Maylee...."

"Just shut up," said Maylee, looking back to her bag and trying to shove the boots inside. She'd fit a few food items in the bottom of the bag earlier. She scanned the clothes she'd put inside. She sighed, pulled some out, and shoved the boots in their place.