Evil Origins: A Horror & Dark Fantasy Collection (17 page)

The harbinger
of the Reversion, the looming cloud, blotted out the sky. It devoured the tops
of the trees and crept ever eastward in the march toward the end. Swirls of
grey and slate slurry moved through the silent, roiling mass. Any light that
Samuel could remember from his arrival in this locality had become a distant
memory. The standing human remains continued to sway back and forth, as if
caught in a slight breeze.

Mara held her
chin low on her chest and fidgeted with her hands. Samuel saw her fingernails
and winced. Ragged lines of red ran down her cuticles, raw from her own teeth
and saliva. Her once-luxurious, black hair, which had radiated the ambient
light of the coffee shop, lay in greasy, clumped masses, flakes of dandruff
speckled like maggots on rotting meat. Samuel could not see her eyes, and he
thought it was probably better this way. He did not think he could handle the sorrow
contained in them. Every so often, Mara would sigh and shake her head, never
raising it.

“We’re running
out of time.” Major spoke, the most he had in days, if days could still be
measured here.

“They’ve got us
pinned down. You saw what happened when Kole tried getting through.”

Kole looked up
at the mention of his name and shrugged his shoulders.

“What’s the
cloud do?” Mara asked, head tilted upward but face covered in stringy hair.

“It’s an eater
of worlds. It leaves nothing behind.”

“Will the creatures
kill us? Can they kill us?” Samuel asked.

“Death by
zombie, eh?” Major asked with a chuckle. “Like running out to a cop and waving
a gun in his face. This is the land of suicide.”

“What about the
wolves?” Samuel asked, his questions flowing through the floodgate.

Major sat
upright and raised his eyebrows. “What about them?”

“Are they gone?
Did the cloud get to them already?”

Major shrugged.

“If we could
get them here, it might be enough to distract the creatures outside,” Samuel
said.

“For what?”
Kole asked. “Distract them so we can go where? Do you see the fucking storm
brewing out there? I might opt for having my brains eaten instead of what that
evil cloud might bring.”

Mara dug her
forehead into the heel of her palms.

“I’m not ready
to lie down and die,” said Samuel.

“Yeah, well
maybe you should be,” replied Kole.

“Is there any
rope in this cabin?” Samuel asked.

Major held both
palms out. “Haven’t you had enough of swinging from the noose?”

“Listen,”
Samuel said. “I’m climbing to the roof and then, with rope and the low-hanging
branches, I’m getting out in front of the horde.”

“They’re as far
as the eye can see,” said Kole.

“But they’re
slow. If I can get out in front, there might be a chance.”

“Better than
sitting here,” said Mara.

Major pushed a
chair aside and opened a cabinet near the table. He lifted a bucket, and tied
to the handle was a coiled rope.

“Must’ve used
it for drawing water from a well. The hemp looks rotted and shaky. But it’s all
yours if you want it,” Major said.

Samuel stood
and grabbed it. He untied the knot from the handle of the bucket and pulled a
three-foot section taut. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Major. The old
man smiled and looked at Kole. Kole shook his head and went back to circling his
finger around a knot in the floorboard, while Mara stood up.

“Looks like
they’re a few yards away from the front door. If you get out there quickly, you
might be able to shimmy up the corner post and hop onto the roof of the cabin
before they close in.”

“Any other
suggestions?” Samuel asked, trying to keep the glimmer of hope from overtaking
the reality of the situation.

“Yeah, send the
bitch first,” said Kole.

Samuel ignored
the insult. He set the rope down on the floor and began to pull it through his
hands, a foot or two at a time. He noticed several places where the fibers felt
weak or had begun to unravel, but not enough for him to consider cutting it and
using a shorter piece.

“Please
get us out of here,” Mara whispered.

Samuel
nodded.

Mara
rose up on her toes and placed a kiss on Samuel’s lips. He felt the push of her
warm breath on his mouth and the excitement of having a woman so close. But
when her lips contacted his, his mind reeled. Conflicting emotions and deep
sorrow raced through his body.

“Time
is short,” said Major, breaking the spell.

Samuel
looked at Mara and did not speak. She sat back down on the chair and crossed
her legs. Major stepped between her and Samuel.

“Consider
going east. If you can get out in front of the horde, that’s great, but it’s
the cloud you’re really racing.”

Major
shoved his hand out to Samuel, and the two men shook. Kole waved them off
without moving from the floor.

“Get
high and do it fast. The longer you stay on the ground, the easier it will be
for them to pin you down,” said Major.

“I’ll
do my best,” Samuel promised, searching for a more convincing line and not
finding it.

Major
walked toward the door, followed by Samuel. Mara remained, as did Kole, who did
not bother looking up. The old man placed one hand on the knob and the other on
the back of the door. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After
springing them open, he turned to face Samuel.

“Ready?”
he asked.

Samuel
nodded.

Major
turned the squeaky knob with one hand and yanked the plank door open. The front
line of the horde turned their empty faces from the ground to the cabin. Mouths
hung open in silent screams as the dirt shuffled beneath their feet. Samuel
stood, fixed to the cabin floor as the creatures moved toward him. He froze,
his mouth turning dry and his heart accelerating in his chest.

“And
out you go,” he heard Kole say.

Samuel
felt two hands strike his shoulder blades, sending him sprawling to the ground
in front of the cabin. He spun around in time to see Kole’s wicked grin disappearing
behind the door.

***

The first thing
Samuel did was reach down to secure the knife on his hip. He lifted his head
and saw the feet moving toward him, sending up clouds of brown dust. Most of
them were bare, and many had bones poking through thin skin.

Samuel pushed
off the ground and onto his backside. He watched dozens of the horde meander in
his direction, arms at their sides and heads cocked in one direction. Their
black orbs remained open with an empty stare, as if they felt his presence.

Samuel glanced
back at the window of the cabin to see shifting, pale faces behind the greasy
film coating the panes. He looked to the right, where a support post held the
roof. Samuel stood and gripped the top of the post with both hands. He used his
upper body to pull himself toward the roof, using his legs to lock around the
pole and prevent a slide back down. Samuel heaved his body onto the mossy,
wooden-shake roof, and rolled onto his back before pulling his legs up, too. The
formless, silent cloud tumbled in the space where the sky used to be. It looked
down on Samuel, and he thought he detected motion from left to right, the cloud
heading toward the east to conclude its consummation of the locality. Swirls of
deep gray extended out and contracted like oil in water. Before he could lose
himself in the shapeless horror of it, he felt the cabin shudder.

Samuel leaned
over the edge and gazed out upon a sea of creatures shambling toward the cabin.
He watched countless heads with tufts of tangled hair pushing forward like a
crowd at a rock concert. They nudged and leaned on each other but never stopped
moving forward. He noticed that they did not try to open the door or break the
window. They had no concern for those inside, whom the Reversion would swallow whole.
The horde did not attempt entry of any kind. They gathered under the support
pole, pursuing the one who had left the sanctity of their final resting place,
the one living creature attempting to escape the inevitable.

Samuel looked
down and watched as hands reached into the air like the filaments of a
jellyfish, slim, random movements in an ocean of certain decay. The horde
either could not or did not want to climb. Samuel considered the roof his
temporary haven and sat down to think. He unfurled the rope and took one end in
his hands. He wrapped it around his waist and tied the best knot he could
before standing and assessing the trees. A tall oak stood about twenty feet
from the edge of the roof, far out of his reach. However, one of its major
branches sagged low, angling toward the cabin five feet away. He spun in a
circle to verify that this was the only tree even remotely close to the cabin,
close enough to attempt what he knew had to be done.

Samuel tied the
loose end of the rope into a bulge of knots. If he could toss it over the
branch and have it swing back like a pendulum, he might be able to grab it and
pull himself on to the low-hanging branch like an adventure-seeker gripping a
zip line. He moved as close to the edge as possible, prompting the horde to
flow to that side of the cabin. Most kept their heads down like obedient
cattle, but several began raising their bony arms, calling to him. He cocked
his arm back and let the rope fly. It smacked off the bottom of the trunk and
swung low over the heads of the creatures on the ground. They could not react
fast enough to grab it, but their shuffling became more rapid, as if they
sensed what he was trying to do. He reared back again, and this time, the
knotted end cleared the branch, but he missed it when it came swinging back
underneath. Samuel yanked at the rope and pulled it back for a third try. Again,
he lobbed the rope clear of the branch, and this time, he caught it. Samuel
pulled the rope taut, double-checked the knots around his waist, and leapt from
the roof with both hands on the rope.

At first, he
swung back and forth, his feet kicking in air in a vain attempt to slow his
momentum. He closed his eyes and imagined the old, frayed hemp snapping and
dropping him ten feet to the ground amidst the undead. Samuel shook his head
and cleared his vision. He waited as gravity slowed his swing until the rope
rested perpendicular to the ground, suspending him above the horde.

Gravity and
physics, my safety net,
he thought, thankful that the Reversion had not
violated universal laws.

Samuel used his
hands to pull himself up the rope until he was within reach of the branch. He
felt the burn in his biceps and chest. Samuel had never thought the pull-up bar
in his basement was good for much more than a bump on the head when walking
underneath it, and now he was thankful for those early-morning workouts that
concluded with fifty reps. He clawed the bark until he had enough room to swing
his left leg over the branch. Within seconds, he straddled it above the
reemerging horde, while the rope created a lazy U shape, dangling between his
feet and their heads.

Like a logger,
Samuel quickly removed the slack from the rope and shuffled forward fifteen
feet until he reached the main trunk of the old tree. He pulled himself up and
stood with his feet together, plenty of room to turn and push his back against
the trunk. He took a deep breath and let a smile creep across his face. It
wasn’t much, but he had made it out of the cabin to a place the horde couldn’t
reach.

***

“Because.”

“Because? That’s
the best you can come up with?”

“No. It’s the
least I can come up with. I don’t owe you or the old man any explanation,” said
Kole.

Mara tucked her
hands underneath her arms to accentuate the way they crossed her chest.

“You’re a real
asshole,” she said to him.

“That’s the
best you can come up with?” he asked, mocking her.

Major stared
out the window while Mara and Kole faced off. He shook his head and mumbled to
himself when he no longer heard Samuel’s feet above.

“He’s off the
roof, and the creatures are moving toward that tree.”

Mara and Kole
stooped to have a better view, jostling like brother and sister.

“Do you think
he’s going to make it?” Mara asked Major.

“Make it
where?” Kole asked. “Before you get your panties all wet, consider where we
are. I don’t see him—or us for that matter—outrunning that fucking cloud, do
you?”

“It might be
possible to survive it.”

Kole looked at
Major after he spoke and shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

Major sat back
and looked into Kole’s eyes. He could see the darkness eating the man from the
inside out.

“Like surviving
a tornado or a flood. Even though the disaster lays waste to the land, people
survive it. Somehow, people always survive it.”

Kole reared
back, his fists balled and blood rushing to his face. “I’m done with you. I’m
done with your cryptic bullshit. If there is more about this place, us, those
fucking creatures, anything. If there is more, I want to hear it now, or I’ll
split your fucking head open with my bare fists.”

Mara stepped in
front of Kole, her face now inches from Major’s. “Tell us.”

“There are ways
to slip out of a Reversion. I know because I’ve done it before,” said Major.

***

Samuel scanned
the horizon, above the cabin and as far as he could see in the empty gloom
brought by the cloud. He looked toward what he thought was the east, hoping to
find a glimmer of ambient light struggling to break through the darkness, but
he saw nothing. The shapes of nearby trees stood out in relief against the
cloud, the leafless branches scratching at the sky with bony fingers. He could
see over the Barren and cabins. He thought of Mara. He saw her at the table,
sipping a mug of coffee and enjoying the outlook of optimistic youth. He felt a
twinge in his chest and pushed his emotions aside.