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The Eldridge Creek Incident [A Horror LitRPG]
Chapter 18 - Painting the Barn Red

Chapter 18 - Painting the Barn Red

The car tore down the road, tires digging deep grooves through the gravel. Will pressed his foot to the accelerator, one hand tight against the steering wheel and the other against the ignition. To his left, a forest of pine trees whipped past in a dark blur. A field of corn stretched to his right. If Will never saw another corn stalk in his life, he’d die happy.

“Your arm,” Alex said. “It’s still gone. Back there, I thought you’d healed it. I thought you were holding the chainsaw, but… Jesus Christ. What did you wish for?”

“Wish?”

“Never mind, it’s not important.” Alex sat back and closed her eyes. “Shit, we need to find Seth. He’s supposed to be distracting the guards at the gate.”

“There’s a gate?” Will asked.

“Sorry, you missed a lot. I’ll explain later, just give me a minute.”

Alex lay against the car seat. Limp. Relaxed. Was she falling asleep? Will guided the car around a wide curve, and when the road straightened he jostled her shoulder.

“Hold on,” Alex said. “My wish, I think I know what it does. It’s like a compass in my head. It’s hard to explain, but I think I can sense where Seth is?”

Will frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Just shut up!”

Fine. Will turned his attention back to the road. He kept his foot pressed to the gas, and he could feel the engine rumbling. The low growl strummed down his tendrils and shivered up his bones. It felt glorious. Like he was the one charging down the road, his muscles perfectly oiled, gasoline burning in his heart.

“Up ahead.” Alex opened her eyes, and she leaned against the dashboard. She pointed to the side, where the road forked to the left. A driveway that curved around a stand of trees. “Down there, hurry!”

Will pumped the brakes and guided the car down the driveway. A small house sat beyond the trees, orange light glowing from a second-story window. The closer they got, the more the house looked like a tornado victim. The roof sagged over the porch, nearly falling apart, and shards of wood were sprayed about the lawn.

Seth was here? Why would he be at a random house in the middle of nowhere?

Will’s heart thrummed to the beat of the engine. He wanted to speed up, to keep going, but he was forced to tap the brakes as he approached the end of the driveway.

“Hold on,” Alex said. She looked around, squinting into the darkness. “He’s somewhere behind the house. We need to keep going.”

Off the road? He shifted the car to reverse and backed up a few feet. Alex pointed to the right, where a dirt path branched from the driveway. Perfect. The steering wheel slipped between Will’s fingers as he spun it in a full circle, then pulled it back as the car jostled onto the dirt road.

The engine purred. Will pushed the car as fast as he could without the wheels slipping against the dirt. He swerved around a short hill, beyond another stand of trees, and then his destination emerged from the fog. The barn stood tall, a behemoth of old wood and peeling paint.

“He’s in there,” Alex said.

“Hold on!” Will slammed the pedal to the floor. The car lurched forward, dirt spraying in its wake. He braced himself as the car burst through the barn doors.

People were inside, a great crowd of them, all gathered in one spot. A pile of bodies. Will’s eyes shot wide, and he grit his teeth, too late to slow down. People slammed against the hood, rolled up the windshield, dashed to pieces by the impact. Blood sprayed, and viscera filled the air. The car shuddered as it blasted through the pile of bodies, then crashed against the far wall.

Will looked about, dazed. Blood covered the windshield, along with the remains of someone’s leg, the bone exposed and strings of muscle dripping out the top.

A hand slammed against the window, and he jumped at the sound. It was a person, bloody and rotting, their clothing reduced to dirty rags. No, not a person. Another corpse. A zombie.

Behind the zombie swarmed a dozen more. The car’s path of destruction had thrown them to the sides, splattered them against the walls like a coat of red paint. But they were starting to rise. Those who had legs, at least. The others crawled against the ground in various states of disrepair.

Alex punched his arm. “You jackass! You ran over Seth!”

“My bad.” Will shifted the car to reverse and tried to back up, but the wheels were dug into the ground. Even as he pushed the pedal to the max, he couldn’t get any traction. If they wanted to get anywhere, they’d need to deal with these zombies first.

Will pulled his tendrils from the ignition, and the car died. He looked behind him. Had Seth really been in that pile of bodies? If so, he was dead already.

Alex was already hopping out of the car, hatchet in hand. Idiot. Was she trying to fight the horde of zombies herself? Will was much better suited to the task, with his magical tendrils and his wicked chainsaw. But now he’d have to keep an eye on her, make sure none of those freaks got too close.

The tendrils flickered through the air, reaching for the chainsaw. Hungry. Insatiable. And Will understood the feeling. He leaned over the driver seat, reached back, and the tendrils did the rest. They streamed into the chainsaw, flowing into its engine, then pulled the saw close and socketed it over his stump.

That done, Will leaped from the car and charged into the fray. His saw roared to life, a hungry blur of metal. A zombie stood in his way, arms outstretched, jaw hanging by a thread, black eyes staring into his soul. Will swept the chainsaw in a horizontal slash, and he sliced the corpse in two.

More zombies converged on Alex. Four of them shuffled for her, and she danced away, hatchet held in a reverse grip. Will made for her, but a trio of corpses blocked his path, the bastards. He growled in tune with his chainsaw, then kicked forward in a burst of speed. His chainsaw plunged into the right zombie’s ribcage, severing the spine. Will spun to the left, turning his forward momentum into a wicked slash. His chainsaw ripped free, then swept through the other zombies in a spray of black guts.

Alex. She’d dispatched three of the corpses, but the fourth held on to her, grip tight around her back and teeth nuzzled against her neck. His heart seized, and he directed more power into the saw. The roaring engine seemed to power his muscles directly, and he shot toward Alex. Too slow.

The zombie stepped away from Alex and frowned. He wore the tattered remains of a black hoodie, and countless bite marks scored his skin, thick chunks bitten out. It was Seth, dead and come back to life.

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It was a shame they’d been too late to save him, but Will wouldn’t let him touch Alex. He held his chainsaw high overhead, the engine screaming.

“Wait!” Alex shoved her way in front of Seth. “He’s okay!”

What? Will frowned at Seth. The zombie watched him with dark black eyes, but he didn’t attack. And as he stood there, his countless wounds started to close, flesh growing between the gaps. Even so, the new flesh was clean and bright pink, and it clashed against his dirty skin. He looked like the marbling on a nice steak.

Seth leaned down and picked up a shotgun. He cracked his neck, then nodded to Will. “Thanks for the rescue. I see your arm’s feeling better.”

The chainsaw whirred as Will waved it through the air. “Yeah, she is. But the reunion party’s going to have to wait. The car’s stuck, and we’ll have some trouble unsticking it with all these zombies milling about.”

Even as he spoke, a duo of corpses shambled toward their group.

Seth spun around and pointed to a loft at the back of the barn. The car had crashed just under the loft, knocking out the ladder to the top. “David’s the one controlling the zombies. If we kill him, we can put an end to this.”

When did Seth become the expert on walking corpses?

“Alright,” Alex said, a dark edge under her voice. “I’m in. Will, you dismember the rest of these fuckers. Seth, give me a boost.”

Before Will could argue, Seth crouched down, grabbed Alex’s leg, and hurled her into the air. She sailed overhead, caught the loft’s railing, and flipped over it as if she were a cheerleader. A second later, Seth jumped after her, the spongy ground shaking from the force of his leap.

What the hell? Why did Will have to play clean-up duty? He supposed his chainsaw was the best tool for the job, but still. And what was up with Alex? When did she become a fighter?

Whatever. Now was not the time to ask questions. With a flick of his intent, he ramped the saw’s engine into a bright squeal. The zombies converged on him, and he welcomed their company. His chainsaw was a blur of sharpened steel, and it was hungry for blood.

. . .

Alex rolled across the loft. The plywood floor was covered in loose straw, and it stuck to her jacket as she sprung to her feet. Seth landed beside her with a heavy thump, shotgun at the ready.

Starlight streamed from two windows, one on either side. David leaned against the windowsill on the left, yellow eyes piercing the heavy fog. He set his jaw forward, fingers clenched, but he held no discernible weapon. To the right stood a corpse, this one wearing a white robe and carrying a backpack. Seth’s backpack.

“I’ll leave you with a choice,” David said. “Goodbye.”

Seth leveled his shotgun and pulled the trigger. A hail of bullets punched through the fog and blasted against the wall. But David was already gone, having jumped out the window.

“Damn it,” Seth said. He spun toward the zombie, but it dove through the opposite window, backpack in tow.

What now? Alex jogged over to the window and looked down. A figure ran through the mists, disappearing into the trees. David.

“You go after him,” Seth said. “I need to get my bag back.”

“What? Who cares about your bag?”

“No time to explain, but our wishes won’t work without it. Now go!” Seth jumped from the opposite window, giving Alex no choice.

Fucking Seth.

She peered out the window and took a deep breath. It was a long fall, and any normal person would probably break their ankle from such a height. But Alex wasn’t a normal person anymore. Before she had time to regret the choice, Alex vaulted over the windowsill. Fog buffeted her face as she fell, and she fought to keep her muscles loose, ready for impact. She landed feet first, then carried her momentum into a forward roll.

The shock thrummed up her legs. Alex winced as she pushed herself to her feet. A dull ache throbbed from her ankle, but it wasn’t too bad. She glanced about, trying to recognize the path David had taken. She couldn’t see him, but deep in the woods, she noticed a stir in the fog. That had to be him.

Alex took off. The dirt pounded against her feet, and her legs burned from her long strides. She wove through a tangle of trees, skidded down a short hill, and then she saw him, if only for a second. David dashed ahead, pine straw rustling in his wake.

At the sight of her quarry, Alex pushed herself to new heights. Her heartbeat purred, and she could feel the blood pulsing through her veins, hot and thick with adrenaline. Her grip tightened around her hatchet.

That bastard was going to pay. He’d been there at the start of this, laughing as Earl shot Jess. He’d dragged Alex down to that dark laundry room, beat her during his “interrogation” when he hadn’t liked her answers. And now he was the cause of this zombie outbreak.

Alex was going to bury her hatchet in his skull, and then this whole thing would finally be over.

She followed David down a shallow incline and into a wooded valley. A deep ditch ran down the valley’s center, and a bridge crossed it near the bottom, connecting to a rough trail that cut through the woods. David ran across the bridge, the thump of boots against wood humming through the fog.

Alex followed. As soon as she stepped on the bridge, a dark figure emerged from the other side. Alex froze at the sight of the corpse, her breathing heavy and sweat trickling down her brow. The corpse swayed as it stumbled down the bridge, her skin pale and limned by starlight.

“Alex?” the corpse said. A bloodstain marred her forehead, and it trickled down over her freckled cheeks. It was Jess, brought back to life. And for some reason, this corpse could talk. “Why did you let this happen? Why did you just stand there and let him shoot me?”

This wasn’t real. David was just playing a trick on her, stalling for time. Even so, Alex couldn’t stop the tears from filling her eyes. She strode forward, hatchet at the ready. She wouldn’t dignify this puppet with an answer.

But could she desecrate Jess’s corpse, and to accomplish what? Vengeance?

Alex lowered her hatchet. What was she becoming? She’d endured so much bloodshed already. Did she need to add more to this nightmare? The parasite burned against her stomach, hungry for more. But that wasn’t Alex. Her supernatural reflexes felt good, a nice distraction from all the carnage. But that didn’t mean she needed to indulge the parasite’s twisted desires.

Fuck David and fuck Seth for setting her on this path.

Alex couldn’t do this. She wasn’t a killer. And even though David deserved death, it wouldn’t come from her hands.

She gave Jess’s corpse one last glance. “I’m sorry.” She knew that Jess wouldn’t understand the words, that she was just a puppet dancing to David’s tune. But she said them anyway. Alex didn't know what role Jess had played in all of this, but she’d deserved better than a bullet to the head.

Alex turned around and jogged back the way she’d come. It took a few minutes to get back to the barn, and she arrived panting and sticky with sweat. Though her boosted reflexes had drastically improved her coordination, they’d done nothing for her stamina.

The car had shattered a massive hole through the barn doors, and Alex ducked under the jagged wood to get inside. The place was a bloodbath. Corpses squirmed across the floor, but they didn’t go anywhere. Armless, legless, many cut into smaller pieces, they undulated like an army of fat slugs.

Will stood by the car. His chainsaw purred, a red stain splashed across its blade and continuing down his arm. And his tank top was soaked through, though it was hard to tell since it had already been bright red.

“Did you get him?” Seth asked as he ducked under the entrance behind her. His backpack was slung over his shoulder.

Alex glared at him and bit her lip. The answer should have been obvious, given the squirming corpses around them. Still, he stared at her expectantly, and his eyes were pitch black. Had they always been that dark? “No. He got away.”

“Damn it!” Seth punched the wall, and his fist broke straight through the old wood. “Whatever. Will, is the car ready?”

“I can’t get any traction. We need someone to push it from the front. I tried myself, but I only have one arm.”

Seth stalked up to the front of the car and squeezed between the far wall and the hood. Will nodded as Seth passed, then he jumped into the driver’s seat, ditching the chainsaw to stick his silver tentacles into the ignition.

Was it finally time to leave this place? Alex felt a strange reluctance to go. Maybe she couldn’t believe that all this was finally over. After a moment of hesitation, she ran to the passenger seat and hopped inside.

Seth stared at her through the windshield, face neutral. What was his problem? But then Will shifted into reverse and hit the gas. Dirt sprayed from the rear tires, but as Seth pushed from the front, the car quickly caught traction and lurched backward.

Will kept going, slow at first, but quickly speeding up. Seth ran around to the backseat and hopped in just as the car burst from the barn, breaking off more of the door as it passed.

And then they got the hell out of there.