Chapter 3 – Unknown Danger

There is a bright light, a loud sound of a crash, and I jump awake without realizing I ever fell asleep in the first place.  Still in a heavy, sleepy daze I jerk my head in every direction trying to locate where the crash is, but there is nothing going on in the silent darkness that engulfs my car.  It must have just been a dream, so I shake the feeling away.  Without waking up anymore in the slightest, I roll out of my car to slowly shuffle inside, block the door with the dresser, and wind up falling onto my makeshift bed in Lucus’s room.  I fall straight back to sleep like I never woke up in the first place.

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The light of the rising morning sun peeks through the blinds of Lucus’s bedroom window, trying to blind me in an attempt to wake me up.  It works as I rise up while rubbing the sleep and sunlight out of my eyes.  Most of the window is blocked, so it is just my luck that the small sliver of light able to sneak into the room would land directly in my eyes.  Now that I feel fully awake, I notice how disgusting my clothes, and now my bed, are since I apparently fell asleep before I could clean myself up last night.

Lucus looks like he is still fast asleep, so this would be a good time to clean myself up some.  I turn to leave the room and stumble over a red duffel bag.  This is the bag I brought with me for the weekend.  When did this get in here?  I must still be somewhat sleepy since I just shrug this question away.  After snatching the stuff of my bed, I take it downstairs and throw them in the washer along with my nasty clothes.  I then grab my bag and head to the bathroom to take a shower.

The feeling of the warm water running down my body feels like bliss.  The more filth that washes off of me, the longer I want to spend in this pleasure; at least until the hot water runs out.  My body feels fresh and wonderful, but when I leave the bathroom that feeling disappears as reality comes back to me.

I toss my bag back into Lucus’s room, and then switch the laundry to the dryer.  Lucus seems to be sleeping later than usual, but after checking the time it is actual still pretty early in the morning.  All the cleaning from yesterday has left the house relatively clean, leaving only a few things needing to be straightened up.

Without anything left to be done, I figure I may as well check the internet for any new information of the situation, even though my hopes are doubtful.  There is hardly any new information, and what I do find is nothing particularly helpful.  Ever since the first night the world ended, I have felt lost and helpless.  All of this was just thrown at me with no warning.  Plus the rest of my family is gone leaving Lucus with only me, someone who has barely even started living his own life.

“Ace?” says a small whisper from behind me.  Lucus walks into the room yawning and rubbing his.  “I’m hungry.”

“Oh, good morning buddy.  I’ll make us breakfast,” I tell him as I go into the kitchen to look through the refrigerator.  We did not really eat much yesterday, pretty much only cereal and sandwiches, so eating some eggs, bacon, and biscuits will make for a nice breakfast.  The smell of the food cooking brings on the nostalgic feeling of what should have been a normal morning.

The food finishes cooking, and we eat in silence, again.  I feel bad about how upset I got at Lucus last night.  It is dangerous out in the world, even more now than usual, but it is not his fault that he does not realize what is going on out there.  I still have not told him anything, and still do not plan to.

“Hey Lucus,” I start to say to him once I finish eating, “sorry I got so upset last night.  You didn’t listen like you know you should have, but I still shouldn’t have gotten so mad.  How about we spend the day playing inside together?”

Lucus’s face brightens up when he replies, “oh, yeah!”  He now excitedly eats his breakfast as if he has been this happy all morning.

“Okay you finish eating while I go and finish my laundry,” I tell him as I put my dishes in the sink, and then go downstairs to do as I just said.

The laundry is barely finished before Lucus comes running downstairs.  “Are you ready?” he asks with the excitement of a young child clearly expressed in his question.

“Umm, yeah.  So what do you want to do?”  I ask back.

“Can we play cars?” he asks, eyes going wide with anticipation.

“Sure buddy…” Lucus runs upstairs before I finish my sentence, “…I will be right up.”  Ever since I moved away, even though not far, to go to college, Lucus always gets excited to spend any amount of time with me, no matter what it is we do.  Joey and Kristen were both in high school, and Lucus is only in first grade so there is a big age gap.  When we did live together Lucus seemed to be stuck to me like glue pretty much ever since he learned to crawl.  In turn we eventually grew closer to each other compared to with the rest of the family.  It is a shame we drifted apart, but now I can fix that, I need to.

Upstairs Lucus has already moved all his toy cars to the living room.  I sit down next to him and grab the two closest cars, one red and one blue.  He is rolling a little yellow back and forth while making noises that would go with it, and I kind of just imitate him, minus the noises.  A subtle chuckle slips out of me.  Watching Lucus in this moment is just as innocent as the time I saw him the first night back here.

The events during the past couple days just will not get out of my head.  Everything that has happened just seems too unreal.  I came home to a dead family without warning, and now have to figure out how to deal with this without help.  That reminds me that I still have to fill the hole I buried my family in.  Actually now that I think more about it, what happened in the middle of last night seems weird.

“Do you want to play a board game instead?” Lucus questions with a slightly puzzling look on his face.  Seeing me off in my own little world of thought must have made him think I am bored.

“Sure, that is fine,” I answer still somewhat stuck in my thoughts.  Maybe if we play a game I will be able to focus more on spending this time with Lucus instead of worrying so much.  It works, but only a little.  The game is a simple children’s board game, so my mind is still capable of wondering while being able to keep the game going.

Last night I fell asleep in my car and woke up inside; that much I realize.  I remember blocking the door back when I came inside, but nothing else, not even bringing in my bag.  What else could have happened?  I must have been even more exhausted than I could tell.  I am an idiot for being so careless.  The house was left unprotected while I left myself outside completely exposed.

“Are you okay?” Lucus ask with a very confused face.

“Umm…,” I start, but I am still too lost in thought.  After a brief pause I continue, “…sorry.  Yeah sorry Lucus there is just a lot on my mind.”

Lucus looks at me like he does not understand what I mean.  The progress with the board game we were playing has completely stopped.  He must have been able to tell something is bothering me.

The broken cuckoo clock, which does not “cuckoo” anymore but still functions fine a regular clock, indicates it is close, or at least close enough, to lunch time.  “I must just be hungry.  How about I go ahead and make lunch?”  I lie as an excuse for my absent-mindedness.

There is no time for Lucus to respond before I get up and go to the kitchen to prepare lunch.  I grab a frozen pizza out of the freezer, and bake it in the oven.  When it is done baking I cut it into eight slices and split it equally between the two of us.  Once again we eat in silence, but this time it is certainly my fault.  The sound of Lucus talking is making it to my ears, but my brain is just not comprehending what my ears are receiving.

Leaving things unfinished from yesterday is what is really troubling me.  I still do not feel that we are safe enough yet.  I hurriedly finish eating my pizza, and head downstairs.  I need to just go ahead and get this stuff done so I can stop fretting over it.  I get to the door and realize if I go out this way Lucus may follow.  The door at the front porch though opens outwards.  If I go out that door then the grill can be used to block it from opening from the inside.  Lucus would not be able to get out and will stay safe, so that is what I choose to do.

The hole is the first task I have to confront.  The shovel is still sticking up in the hole from being plunged into the skull of the dead farmhand.  The smell emitting from the hole is wretched.  It takes a much shorter time to fill the hole compared to when I was digging it, which is good since the smell is so much worse now.

Next is to survey the surveillance around the property, which starts off empty I guess.  I am not sure what it is I should be looking for.  The property is surrounding by fields which are also lined with fences.  The front yard is the only place not bordering a fence, but directly across is another field and fence.  All the doors and windows to the house are blocked from the inside, and most of the windows are too tall to climb from the outside without any help.

I guess I was getting more worried and worked up than needed.  There is nothing more that can be done to make the house any more secure, so it is probably best to head back inside already.  As I walk back around the house toward the front porch, a bunch of movement from the windows of the house diagonally across the road catches my eye.  I watch a little longer and confirm something is definitely doing a lot of moving around in there.

My parents were friends with the residents of this house, even though I never really had anything to do with them.  I know the husband is Harry Rivers, but the wife has been bedridden ever since my family has known them so I do not know her first name.  What worries me about all the movement I saw is that Mr. Rivers’ truck is not in the driveway, and if the wife is really bedridden then there is no way she could be the one moving around like that.

I sprint across the road towards their house with my hand on the pistol attached to my hip to double-check it is there.  If this is some kind of unknown threat then it needs to be taken care off.  I cut across their front yard, and right before I reach the front door the smell of oil, smoke, or something along those lines catches my attention.  The odd smell seems to be coming from around the back of the house.  I am correct.  The smell is coming from a truck, which belongs to Mr. Rivers, that smashed through the back corner of the house.  This explains the loud sound and bright light that I thought was only a dream.  The door of the truck is wide open, and nothing appears to be in it.

I climb in through a hole in the house the truck created with the wreck, and step into a mess of a room.  This wrecked corner of the house looks like it is part of a bedroom.  Instantly I notice some kind of mass lying on the bed.  This mass appears to have been a woman; it has to be Mrs. Rivers.  This grotesque form can hardly be recognized as a woman though.  The body is ripped apart, bones broken and showing, and limbs bent in ways unimaginable.

I dare to take a step towards this slaughter, but with this step comes a creak from the floor then a creak from the bed.  Limbs start twitching and noises start growling.  Without any thought, as if by instinct, I raise the gun and shoot it square in the middle of its already bloody forehead, stopping the body completely without so much as another twitch.

The sound of the gun shot rings throughout the house, but it is then followed by the sound of things falling.  My attention snaps towards the new sound and reminds of whatever I saw moving from behind the windows.  This house is so small it takes no time to find out the noise came from some dishes being knocked off the kitchen counter.  The real problem is I cannot find what knocked them off.  From where I am standing I can see the entire kitchen, dining area, and living room, and there is nothing in any of these rooms.

There is another noise, like a scratching, that sounds muffled enough that it could just be part of my paranoid imagination.  Only one room is left further back in the house.  I push the already cracked open door, and peek into a bathroom.  There is a cat sitting on a sink staring at me as surprised to see me as I am to see it.  This does not make sense.  I understand it could have been the one to knock over the stuff in the kitchen and it could have been making the scratching noises, but a cat could not savagely tear up a person like what happened to Mrs. Rivers.  So then, what did?

I want to check out the rest of the bathroom, but before I could even take a full step in something tackles me into the bathroom door, slamming it into the wall.  My head slams back into the hollow door hard enough that it feels like I bust a hole into it.  As my head slings back, my eyes shoot down to see Mr. Rivers, or at least a dead monster version of him.

Its bottom teeth are pressing into my shoulder, but luckily thanks to my shoulder being pinned flat against the door, it is not able to get a proper angle to fully bite down.  Using the pistol still in my hand, I hit Monster Rivers against the side of the head with the butt of the gun.  Monster Rivers’ grip loosens up enough for me to push it to the floor.  I aim to shoot it in the head, but it waste no time lounging at me again.  I kick it flat in the face to knock it back down again.  This time I bring the gun only inches from its face, and pull the trigger, splattering blood all over my hand and gun.

The body drops to floor lifeless.  My breathing is heavy, and my heart is hammering from the adrenaline of the close call of getting bit.  I pull back the shoulder area of my shirt to check the spot of what was nearly a fatal injury.  There is no blood drawn or any other kind of marks, but it is like I can still feel the pressing feeling of the teeth trying to sink into me.  My mind goes blank for a moment trying to comprehend everything that just happened.

Once I am back to my senses I finish checking out the bathroom.  The cat apparently ran out during my trifle, and also it looks like Monster Rivers must have been hiding in the opened bathroom closet.  It is odd how Monster Rivers did not bother the cat, just like how the dead farmhand went for me first instead of our dog, Bear.  Whatever these things are confuse me the more I think I am finally figuring them out.

The rest of the house is clear, so I leave to go back to my house.  I am not sure what to do with the bodies; the sky is already starting to darken and I need to get back to Lucus.  I walk straight to our front porch, and see Bear laying in waiting.  He has hardly been around; I wonder what he has been doing.

“Hey Bear, what you doing?” I ask him playfully.  He just raises his head with a pitiful look on his face then lays it back down.  As I move the grill out of the way of the front door I notice two dog bowls sitting empty on the porch.  Now I feel bad.  Bear must be gone so much because he is looking for food since it completely slipped my mind these past couple days to give him any food or water.  “Hang on I will get you some food and water,” I tell Bear as I walk inside.

As soon as I walk inside I can hear crying, and I immediately fill with worry.  “Lucus!” I yell while running through the house trying to locate the crying.  I find him downstairs sitting on the floor in front of the dresser that is blocking the door.  He is crying, but it does not look like anything is wrong with him.  Everything else in the house seemed fine when I ran through.  “Lucus, why are you down here crying?” I ask when I kneel down beside him.

“I couldn’t find you, and I couldn’t get out,” Lucus stammers out, his crying not letting up a bit.

“I’m so sorry buddy,” I say softly trying to comfort him as I pat his back, “I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”  I am glad this is all that is wrong with him.  After what I saw today I was worried it was going to be something a lot worse.  “You’re okay.  I didn’t mean to leave you alone for so long.  Come on, let’s go upstairs and I’ll make dinner.”

“Okay,” Lucus whimpers, but at least he stopped crying.  It is a wonder how he can be crying one second, and then completely fine another second later.  I guess this just comes with being a young child.

We go upstairs, and I make chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese in a hope to make up for leaving Lucus like I did.  I really did not mean to make him cry.  I did not even mean to be away for as long as I was; it was something I could not really control.  It would not have been safe to take Lucus outside with me again, and I am still confident I made the correct decision.

The food finishes cooking, and I watch Lucus dig into his favorite meal before I dig in myself.  It seems my method to cheer him up is working perfectly as he happily munches down.  “Hey I’m still really sorry,” I apologize again while trying to keep from having another silent meal.  “Do you feel better now?”

“Yeah,” Lucus happily responds in between bites.

“Good, then how about we watch a movie together after we are done eating?” I ask to keep the good mood going.  Seeing him in a good mood is helping my mood also.

Lucus drops his fork on his plate as he excitedly exclaims, “ooo really, yeah yeah! Can I pick the movie?”

“Umm sure, go ahead,” he is already finished eating, and I was so focused on creating conversation that I barely started; which is the cause of the small hesitation in my response.  “I still need to finish eating, and then I need to clean myself up.  You should go ahead and take a shower now and then pick a movie; I will be right in there as soon as I am done.”

“Okay I will,” Lucus says after putting his dishes in the sink.  He then runs to his bedroom, and then straight to the bathroom carrying a fresh set of pajamas.

It only takes a few minutes longer for me to finish the rest of my meal.  I go to get a set of clothes for the shower while I wait for Lucus to get out, and I remember I only packed for a weekend so I only brought three sets of clothes with me.  I guess it will have to be fine since there is no way I can go back to my apartment.  Besides I can wear some of Richard’s clothes now.  Once Lucus leaves the bathroom I go right in and take a quick shower.  I do not need as long of a shower as compared to this morning.

Lucus already has a movie playing on the television in the living room by the time I get in there.  I take a seat on our nice cushiony couch next him, who is now completely engrossed in the movie.  It feels so good to be able to kick my feet up onto the small coffee table in front of the couch, melt down into the cushions, and relax with a finally clear mind.  I am not particularly fond of the movie Lucus chose, but this moment right now is exactly what a normal night of relaxation is actually supposed to feel like in an ordinary world.

I have probably seen this movie too many times to count, because I know it is only half way over when Lucus starts drooping over falling asleep.  When he is completely asleep and leaning up against my arm, I turn off the movie and carry him to his bed.  There is no way to know what he thinks of this situation we found ourselves in; especially since he has no clue anything is wrong in the first place.  There is over a decade of an age difference between us since I am nineteen and he is only six, so it is hard to relate to what it may be like to be him.  Watching him sleep gives me a little reassurance that I may actually be doing something right after all the horrible, unbelievable things that have happened lately.

It may be late enough for Lucus to fall asleep, but I am still plenty awake.  I do my usual sweep and safety check of the house and everything is fine.  When I pass the front porch door I feel a slight twinge of guilt since I still forgot to give Bear food and water like I said I would.  I go ahead and do it, even though Bear is gone again, then block the door back.  I take a moment to think if there is anything else that still needs to be done just in case there something else I have forgotten.

With nothing else needing to be done, and still wide awake I decide to pick up where I left this morning on my research.  I attempt to look up more information on what these monsters are in detail and any other specifics, but just like this morning I do not find anything new.  I sit in curiosity of how else I could get any more information that will help Lucus and I survive.  It then occurs to me that any basic information on general survival skills and tips may be even more important than anything else I would need to know now.  We may as well be living in a completely new world now, so the more knowledge and information I can get only increases our chances of living a safer life.

The wealth of information I find is invaluable.  It seems like the stuff I am finding is going to be able to help in any situation.  The more important stuff I start to write down notes on, until I am writing down almost everything that appears of any use to me.  My eyes are stuck to the computer screen.  Even when I do start to feel the weariness creeping into my body I do not let up.  With all of this that I am learning, I have complete faith I will be able to keep us both safe and get through this madness, and that is exactly what I plan to do.  The more I read, the more faith I have, and the better I feel about everything.

Completely unintentionally I go at this until my head is resting on the computer desk, and even then I continue on.  Filled with a strange, out of place feeling of triumph, I do not notice as the rest of my body falls asleep before my mind.  After running wild with a new found sense of excitement, my mind finally joins the rest of my body for a pleasant slumber it well deserves.