Aunty Melisa had them barricade the cabin as best as they could the following day. She had a small basement from which she brought up a pair of shovels, power tools, and wood planks.
“What’s all this for, Aunty ?” Noah asked.
“Just some stuff to make the place a little more welcoming.” Their first stop was the gate at the far end of the service road. Legally, she said she couldn’t booby trap her property. However, if there happened to be a few potholes around the gate, it was just because her road was ill-maintained. She smirked and used air quotes when she said ill-maintained. The gate itself was little more than a “Keep Out” sign mounted on a steel frame that swung on a hinge. Anyone determined to get in could easily just knock the gate down with their vehicle or climb over. They dug deep holes spaced roughly the width of most standard cars and trucks and covered them with a net of twigs and leaves.
Noah dug silently, focusing on keeping the heavy shovel moving with momentum. It took them most of the morning to clear away the three feet of snow. Aunty Melisa took over when Noah wasn’t strong enough to drive the spade into the frozen, rocky ground underneath. By the time their makeshift traps were dug, the afternoon sun was nearly behind the western mountains of the basin.
Back at the cabin, under the dim light of handheld flashlights, Noah held up wood planks as his aunt boarded the windows along the first floor.
“What about those?” Noah pointed at the second story.
She shrugged and gave the wood plank she’d just finished mounting a hard tug. “Nah, those are fine. Just worry about the first floor.”
Noah’s arms ached when she finally set the drill down. “Alright.” She wiped the sweat from her brow. “Good work, kiddo.”
Noah slumped against the cabin, his legs numb from stretching to reach the higher planks. “What about your truck?”
Aunty Melisa laughed and tossed some snow at the rust bucket. “I doubt anyone is coming all the way out here just to take this shitbox. And if they do, they’d be doing me a favor.”
Noah chuckled, but inside his nerves tingled. The once-homey cabin looked braced for war, but was this all necessary? His eyes settled on the gun on his aunt’s hip. She usually didn't carry it at home, but since last night, she hadn’t gone anywhere without a gun on her belt.
Aunty Melisa crouched next to him and rested her hand on his shoulder. “This is all just in case. Don’t get yourself worked up over nothing. I promise I will be here to take care of you.”
Noah smiled and nodded at her gentle words. She took his hand, and they went inside. She took him to her room upstairs, which she kept locked when she was gone. Noah had never seen the inside of her room, and he paused at the door for a moment until she beckoned him to enter. Aside from doubling as her home office, the room looked almost the same as the guest room. Maps of the area hung on the walls, along with a few pictures of his family. A twin-sized bed and computer console were the only pieces of furniture in the room. No decorations were needed because the large bay window on the far wall presented a beautiful mountain range vista stretching for miles.
Aunty Melisa sat him down at the computer console. Two screens stacked on one another hummed quietly, each a checkerboard of different camera displays. The feeds were all in black and white, and the tiny speaker icons in their corners were clicked off.
“What’s all this?” Noah said. Exhausted, he flopped into the leather chair at the computers.
She leaned against the computers and waved a hand over the screens. “The finest game cameras that the state of Virginia’s tax dollars can buy. There are a few along the property line. Some are along the driveway, but most are out in the forest where the deer like to bed down. I catch idiots trying to poach on them sometimes. Once even saw them trying to set up a meth lab a few miles out.”
“Meth lab?”
“It's not important,” she said. She turned serious as she continued. “Do you have any questions about what was on the TV last night?”
Noah had so many questions that he didn’t know where to start. After some thought, he shifted in the oversized leather chair. “Are we really okay here?”
Aunty Melisa’s eyes softened, soothing his worry with their soft blue light. “I won't lie to you, kiddo. People are probably out hurting each other in some places, but don't worry. Not many people know where this place is. The town is an hour away. And if anyone does try to get up here,” she tapped her knuckle on one of the screens and pulled out a small black radio, “we’ll see them coming. These over on the driveway send an alert to my radio.”
Happy with her assurance, Noah smiled and nodded. Aunty Melisa then opened her closet and motioned for him to come closer. Above her collection of uniforms, hunting gear, and casual clothes, rifles, shotguns, pistols of all sizes, and ammo boxes sat neatly organized.
Noah’s eyes lit up at the sight. His father had a handgun, but he kept it locked in a safe. He’d never seen most of the models and types his aunt had collected. As he gawked at the small arsenal, Aunty Melisa reached up and took a silver handgun and a pair of magazines from their stand. Gingerly, she placed them in his hands.
Noah looked first at the weapon and then at her, bewildered that she was giving him such a thing. While he was no stranger to holding and shooting guns, he’d never handled one inside, only out in the forest or on ranges. Holding a gun in his home felt wrong, as if he were inviting an evil into a place that was meant to be full of peace and family.
She placed her hand over his on the hilt of the gun, “This might be scary for you, but I need you to listen. Can you do that?”
He nodded yes.
“Good. Now, if anyone we don’t know ever comes close to you and I’m not around, you need to tell them that you have a gun. Yell it at them, make them scared. If they don’t leave you alone, then you need to use this gun, do you understand?”
Her implication was clear. Noah nearly dropped the weapon as if he had touched a hot pan. Aunty Melisa held his hand tightly, pushing the gun harder into his palm. “That shouldn’t happen. I’ll be here with you no matter what. This is just another ‘just in case’ thing. We can never be too prepared.”
Aunty Melisa then found the gun’s holster and belt and fiddled with them as she clipped them around his waist.
Noah felt the conviction in her promise. In his heart, he knew without a doubt that she would do anything for him. However, even though he was just a kid, he was determined not to be a dead weight on her shoulders. His parents’ words rang in his head, to be strong, and he shook off the nervousness and fear.
He steeled himself and looked at her, closing his fingers around the gun. The cold steel warmed in his palm, and its weight lightened. It felt more like an extension of his hand as the sense of uncertainty faded. He slid one of the magazines into the gun and put it into its snug leather holster.
“I want to protect you too.”
Aunty Melisa laughed, partly amused but mostly endeared at his bravado. She chuckled. “My hero. Now come on. I’m starving.”
After a quick dinner, they spent a few hours inventorying the dry stores she kept in the basement. They had several boxes of freeze-dried meals, enough to last them at least six months, more if they rationed strictly. Water was no issue since and they had the creek out back as a backup. So long as they limited their lights and switched the cabin’s heating to the woodstove, the fuel for the generator would last them several months.
They were both drained from working all day and well after dark. As they got ready for bed, Aunty Melisa invited him to sit with her and watch TV. Noah stood back, thinking this was some sort of test, but she snapped at him to just sit and watch with her.
“I doubt that last night was your first time skulking around, you sneaky little bastard.” She punched him in the arm when he took a seat next to her but then draped her arm over his shoulder and pulled him close. Noah’s nose twitched at the lingering scent of smoke, but she hadn't had much opportunity to smoke during the day, so it wasn't as pungent as usual.
The TV clicked on with a loud electronic hiss. The first channel was static, as was every channel Aunty Melisa flipped to. Noah fiddled with the antennas, bending them every which way as she clicked through each channel. He thought maybe it was the weather blocking the signal, but the sky outside was clear. Knots formed in their chests as they realized what was happening.
All the broadcasts were down.
“Go get me the radio.” She flipped through the channels again from the top as Noah fetched a hand-crank-powered radio from her room and wound it like a jack in the box until it sparked to life.
Aunty Melisa pushed aside empty cigarette cartons and loose papers from her coffee table. “Shit, where did I leave that thing?”
“What are you looking for?”
“That stupid radio station. I wrote it down.”
Noah crawled on the floor, looking for the slip of paper. He found it under the couch, just behind her foot. Aunty Melisa ran the dial through each frequency and station. Like the TV, every radio station greeted them with the hiss of static. When the dial touched the designated station, the static quieted just enough to hear a faint, robotic voice speak. Noah leaned close, nearly touching the radio with his ear.
“Residents – lter in place – ndefinitely – vi–t – domestic – orrists –mass hys – psychosis.”
The transmission drowned beneath an ocean of fresh static. Noah suggested they go outside and try to get a signal. He sat on his aunt’s shoulders, trying to catch the transmission again, but only static remained.
They stood still, the quiet night only disturbed by the sound of wind through the bare tree branches and static. Noah spun the dial and moved the radio’s arm, trying everything he could to find a signal, but Aunty Melisa set him down and took the radio.
“Screw this. Let’s go to bed. Nothing we can do about it now.”
Noah started towards his room, but his aunt stopped him and said they would be sharing her room from now on. “Think of it like a slumber party, kiddo,” she said. Noah jumped at the idea, running off to fetch snacks from the kitchen while she went around and checked all the door and window locks. She tossed a fresh batch of wood into the wood stove, bathing the cabin’s interior in gentle orange light, and flipped off all the electrical lights except the motion-sensing ones outside.
Although Aunty Melisa’s computer had an internet connection, that, like everything else, tortured them with an eternally spinning blue circle on each site. Fortunately, she had some old movies saved on her hard drive. She changed into some pajamas and made herself comfortable. Noah climbed into the small bed, snuggling close to his aunt under the blanket as they settled in. They downed salty snacks while an old action movie played. Her warmth was intoxicating, and the deep, earthy smell of burning wood from the stove filled the cabin. Resting his head on her arm, he fell asleep halfway through the movie.
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For the first time in many days, his dreams were pleasant. Images of war, the voices of the news anchors and the robot message, and the sound of the engines that took his parents away left him in peace for those precious few hours.
The clock on the computer screen read 2:20AM when a series of quick beeps roused Noah and his aunt from their rest. The border of one of the cameras, the one at the gate connecting the dirt road that led to her driveway to the main road, detected motion. Noah wiped his eyes, squinting to try and get a better look as he adjusted to the darkness. Aunty Melisa rolled out of bed and, with a yawn, wandered over to the screen.
“Probably just a deer or something.”
Noah sat on the edge of the bed and stretched as she clicked the feed so it filled the entire screen. The room went cold as she shot to attention with a sharp gasp.
“Is everything okay?” Noah asked.
She spoke cautiously as she processed what she saw. “Put your gun belt on and watch this screen. Tell me if he moves.” She threw open her closet, yanking a jacket from its hook. She grabbed one of the shotguns and swiftly loaded shells. Her hands lingered with the last three shells for a moment before she set them back on the shelf and picked up some odd-colored shells instead. Once they were loaded, she cocked the gun and ran barefoot out of the room to check all the locks a second time.
Noah clipped the belt on and ran to the console to see what had her so frantic. His blood ran cold at what filled the screen. The specific camera that tripped had black and white night vision. The camera was mounted high in a tree, angled down to look at the front of the gate at a slight angle.
Standing perfectly centered before the gate was a lone man. He was tall but on the heavier side. Though he seemed to have his head cocked toward the camera, his long hair shrouded his eyes in darkness. Noah glanced at the corner of the feed where temperature and airspeed were displayed. It was close to 10 degrees outside, and the basin had a strong wind. Yet, despite the frigid cold, the man only wore a pair of underwear. Dark smears coated the man’s skin, but Noah couldn’t tell what they were in the grainy video.
Aunty Melisa hustled back into the room and pushed Noah to the side as she hunched over the console. As if the man could see the movement on the other side of the camera, he spasmed like a jolt of electricity ran through his body. His arms and legs tensed, and his head jerked to the side. Then, just as quickly, he went eerily still, an unsettling statue in the dim shadows.
The camera had audio. She slowly clicked on the speaker icon, fearing that any slight movement she made would set the man off. Wind noise and rustling branches cut the silence. The man was still for a long while, but then, his mouth started moving. Noah could not make out what the man was saying, and his mouth movements were too rapid and subtle to make coherent words. Whatever garbled train of whispers the man made were known only to him.
Aunty Melisa leaned close to the screen. “Why the hell is he here?”
“Who is he?” Noah kept his voice to a low whisper, afraid the small mic clipped to the screen would register him. His aunt was lost in thought, though. She did not answer him, at least directly.
She mumbled to herself, mesmerized by the man’s fleeting mouth movements. “How did he find this place? Why is he here?”
The man called to the camera, and they jumped back. “Oh, Mel, I can hear you. I can smell you, sweetness.” The man threw his head back, his hair parting to the side of his head, and breathed in deeply. They heard the rush of air through the camera, even through the wind and branches.
He glared at the camera again, his eyes now visible. They were pools of bright white in the night vision, like a dog’s pupils when they reflected light at night, but the reflection took up the whole of his eyes. The same light hovered over his groin. His stance shifted, facing the camera now.
“I haven’t seen you at the bar lately, Mel. It’s been real rough in town. Why haven't you been around? You make my world so much better.” He dragged his words, speaking like a drunk. Noah stepped back from the screen, legs trembling, but Aunty Melisa stayed glued in her spot. Then, the man smiled so wide that the corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears. Trails of something shimmering, drool, Noah thought, fell from his lips. Even his eyes seemed to smile wildly, their corners tilting to his ears.
He cackled with sheer ecstasy and spoke again, cooing flirtatiously. “I miss you, Mel. You’re so pretty.”
Noah’s stomach churned as more drool spilled out of the man’s mouth. The man licked his lips, and one of his hands drifted over his body, first on his chest, then his stomach, then lower. Aunty Melisa covered Noah’s eyes before the man’s hand reached its destination. All Noah heard was a series of shuddering, raspy breaths through the speaker.
She only let go when she rushed to the keyboard and quickly adjusted the feeds. Noah looked back at the driveway camera, but its spot was blacked out with a no signal message displayed. One of the other cameras, one farther along the driveway, alerted that it detected motion. Noah saw only a gray blur zip across the screen, too fast for the camera to properly register. A few seconds later, the next camera, this one near the perimeter of the clearing around the cabin, displayed a similar image. Noah was dumbfounded. It was about three miles from the gate to the latest camera. How had the man covered that distance in less than a minute?
Noah’s breaths grew frantic. His hand went to his gun, but he was shaking so badly he fumbled to undo the latch. Aunty Melisa snapped out of her daze and held her weapon loosely but ready. One of the motion lights on the cabin switched on, illuminating the red curtain fabric covering the room’s window. Noah stepped out of the way as she rushed to the window, lifting the curtain's edge just enough to peek out. He wanted to curl up in the corner or hide under the bed, but a rush of shame washed over him at the thought. His legs felt like lead, but he forced them to move to Aunty Melisa and peeked under her arm out onto the driveway.
The cabin lights were very bright. The man stood beside his aunt’s truck, fingers drifting on the steel body as he walked along the side. He was washed out by the brightness, but he didn't so much as blink as he stared at the light. Noah narrowed his eyes, the light bothering him more than it seemed to bother the man. It hadn’t been a trick on the video feed. The man’s eyes were glowing. A soft pink, the color of rose quartz, radiated from his eyes.
His hand clenched the gun’s grip. His breath caught in his throat. The world stood still as he and his aunt watched the man slowly walk until he stopped next to the driver's side door. “Mel, come out here. I know that you’re here.” His voice boomed as he spoke and split the tension. Suddenly, the man’s arm moved in a flash as he shattered the window. He pulled out a spare jacket that Aunty Melisa kept in the truck and buried his face in it, inhaling deeply. Going wild, he flailed and struck the truck with his fists and legs. The wheel on the driver's side buckled inward from a kick, and the truck sagged to the side. Strips of metal flew into the air as the man clawed away at the body of the truck in reckless euphoria.
As he watched the sick spectacle, Noah realized a strange smell tinged the air. It was sweet to a sickening level. The scent of roses and sugar choked the air so strongly that there may as well be a stream of air freshener in his nose. He gagged, covering his nose with his hands. Aunty Melisa stumbled back from the stench, retching and spitting on the ground.
Noah rushed to steady her. She felt hot to the touch, her body on fire. Her chest rose and fell fast as if she were sprinting. Noah’s head snapped to the window as the man outside let out a wild stream of laughter. He called out in a sing-songy voice. “I hear you. I want you. Come out, won’t you, Mel?”
Using Noah and her shotgun as crutches, Aunty Melisa quickly got to her feet. Wood groaned and the cabin shook as the man threw himself against the wall. What sounded like claws scraping against wood echoed through their home. Noah and his aunt gasped as the sound scraped up the side of the cabin until the man’s body filled the window. Noah cried out, and Aunty Melisa aimed her gun at the window.
“Who’s that? I hope he’s as sweet as you are.” The man sneered, his breath fogging against the window glass. Face lit by the light from the computer screens, the man looked sickly. His cheeks were sunken to the point he looked like a skull. Although there were no pupils in those pools of pink light, Noah could somehow tell the man’s eyes were locked on his aunt. The glowing lights in his eyes and at his groin grew brighter.
Aunty Melisa fired twice. The glass shattered in a shower of glittering shards. Two slugs hit the man in the chest and stomach. Light seeped in through the massive holes of missing flesh, but the man clung to the wood around the window with a grin. Noah felt something warm run down his pant leg.
“I love you, Mel,” the man said.
Aunty Melisa scooped Noah up under her arm, her other hand still clutching the gun, and ran out of the room as the man crawled inside like a spider. She slammed the door shut as the man threw his weight against it.
“Noah, get downstairs.” She shrieked as a gnarled hand burst through the thick oak door beside her face. The man’s hand thrashed around until it got ahold of the corner of her shirt. His nails dug into her shoulder, ripping away the fabric and leaving behind four deep gashes. Aunty Melisa screamed in pain but stayed pressed against the door. Her cry pulled Noah out of his pit of fear, and instead of running and leaving his aunt to this monster’s mercy, he threw his hands on the door, pushing as hard as he could against it with his legs. One of the strikes came through just under Noah’s head, reaching for his chest. Thick wooden splinters peppered the man’s skin, and gashes covered them up to the elbow. The same pink light in the man’s eyes shimmered against his wounds, and they sealed, the wood fragments falling to the floor and as the blood evaporated.
“Mel, Mel, Mel.” The man roared through the door, wild lust dripping from each word. The door creaked and a crack appeared in the center. The man punched the door again and again, each strike bursting through the thick wood as if it were wet paper and taking with it another chunk of his aunt’s clothes and flesh. The sickly aroma from before filled the cabin. Vomit filled Noah’s mouth and dribbled onto his clothes, but he stayed against the door. His aunt, however, groaned, and her stance faltered. She stumbled forward, beads of sweat running down her face. The center of the door erupted as a leg burst through, and the man laughed.
This wasn't going to hold. Keeping himself against the door, Noah drew the gun, pressed it against the wood, and fired until his magazine was empty. There was a brief pause, but before he and his aunt could react, the man erupted with laughter again. Aunty Melisa took Noah by the hand and they ran downstairs as the monster burst through the door a few moments later.
They couldn’t run to the truck. It wouldn’t go anywhere in the shape the man left it in. Instead, Aunty Melisa ran into the basement, shutting the door behind them and locking it as if the deadbolt would save them from the man. The light switched on automatically and they were bathed in dusty yellow. Above them, thundering footsteps raced down the stairs and across the living room to the basement door.
This time, the door did not shudder or splinter.
Separated from them by only an inch of wood, the man spoke softly now as if addressing an old friend. “Mel, you’re so beautiful. I might have been a drunken night to you, but I fell in love with you then. Please, just come out and be with me,” he said. Noah clung to his aunt’s arm. She groaned again as she had done upstairs as the sweet stench filled the basement. She took a small, shuffling step toward the stairs leading to the door, then another. Noah pulled against her.
“Aunty ,” he yelled, “what are you doing? Stop.” He tugged as hard as he could, and she stopped as her foot hit the first step, regaining her sense for the time being. Panic etched her face, disgusted by what she was doing.
“Don’t let go of me.” She shook her head furiously, trying to throw off whatever was coaxing her. She yelled, finding her voice again. “Get out of here, Darrel. Leave me alone.” Her arms shook like branches in the wind, but she slowly leveled her shotgun at the door.
A low growl rumbled through the cabin. “We’ll be together, Mel,” Darrel said. His footsteps retreated, and they thought they were safe for a second. Then, the door burst, and the man flew down the stairs on all fours, barreling into his aunt. Noah dove out of the way and his aunt’s shotgun skipped along the floor. Darrel and his aunt rolled around the floor in a heap, Aunty Melisa desperately trying to throw him off while he tore at her clothes. Drool fell on his aunt’s face in rivers as Darrel sought her with unhinged desire.
The damned smell flooded the basement, and Noah coughed violently as he crawled onto his hands and knees. The coppery taste of blood trickled onto his tongue. A few feet from him, Aunty Melisa and Darrel struggled as she pushed and scratched him, but her arms were slowly going limp. At first, Noah thought she was just tired or overwhelmed, but then he realized that she was pulling the man closer to her. His aunt turned her head to him, her eyes turning glassy. She mouthed words, but only croaks escaped her, yet he grasped their meaning through the movement of her lips. Darrel leaned down and licked the side of his aunt’s face as her arms gave way. With a final, desperate surge of strength, she drove her knee into Darrel’s crotch. He cried out, throwing his head back. The pink glow seeped from the pores of his body, slithering down to join with the light around his crotch.
Noah found the shotgun against the wall behind him. He grabbed it, caught off-guard by its heft. He straightened on his knees, aiming the gun but deciding against firing. It was too risky. Darrell was too close to his aunt. Instead, Noah jumped to his feet and lunged forward, driving the stock of the gun against the back of Darrel’s head. A hollow thud and crack pierced the air as Darrel grunted and rolled off his aunt, stunned.
Aunty Melisa gasped for air as if she’d been drowning. Still struggling for air, she yanked the gun from Noah and jammed the stock into Darrel’s face as he roused. An ordinary man would have reeled in pain from her strike, but Darrel was already trying to sit up. When the stock connected on the bridge of Darrel’s nose, the pink light flashed in his eyes, and he flopped onto his side.
Aunty Melisa drove the rifle’s barrel into Darrel’s groin and fired. A plume of flame spat from the shotgun and seared Darrel’s groin. The shrill cry that Darrel let out cut through the ringing in Noah’s ears, and Aunty Melisa’s hands shot to cover her ears. The pink light there dissipated. Aunty Melisa drove the barrel into Darrel's only remaining glowing area: his eyes. Two more flames erupted and took away most of the man’s head.
Darrel’s body lurched and spasmed before finally falling limp like a fish. Noah and his aunt stood there, adrenaline still coursing through their bodies, breathing heavily. They both tensed again as a cloud of pink light rose from Darrel’s remains. It was vaguely humanoid in shape, drifting around like a ghost. It faded like a flame dying in the wind, leaving them alone in the basement. Noah buried his face in his aunt’s torso, her blood smearing across his face, and cried. She held his head against her, eyes still locked on the corpse of the monster before them.
The smell of rotting meat made them gag. Shaky on her feet, Aunty Melisa led them upstairs and out into the truck. It wouldn't take them anywhere, but neither wanted to be in the cabin. Aunty Melisa broke down in the truck, sobbing quietly with her head buried in her hands. Noah clung to her arm, drowning in his tears.
Dawn broke when they finally decided to risk going back inside.