Tainted: A Horror Novel, page 6
The monster stared back, its silver eyes like starbursts, radiant and glowing slightly, even in the lightless room.
As she stared, her attention turned to the warm blood dripping from her snout and toothy jaws.
“What happened to me?”
Changes
Monday, June 22nd
Sara sped down the highway, leaving the horrid little shop behind. She was following closely behind Splint’s van. He was speeding again, but she didn’t mind this time around. The road’s twists and turns had eased, which made it easier to follow.
Alex sat quietly next to her, her attention drawn to the blur of trees passing by. The color in her cheeks had faded to a dull, pasty white, and dark circles drooped below her heavy eyelids. She stared vacantly out the window, as if lost in a sea of thoughts, distant and cold.
No one spoke. The cabin was silent except for the quiet purr of the engine and Alex’s shallow, raspy breaths.
“I think we need to take you to the doctor,” Sara said finally, resting a tender hand on Alex’s thigh.
Alex cradled her bandaged hand, holding it close to her chest, but did not reply.
“Alex? Did you hear me?” she said again, giving her leg a shake.
Alex turned to regard her with a gentle shake of her head.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying? I kinda zoned out there for a moment,” she mumbled. God, she looked terrible. Her eyes were sunken and rimmed in red, her hair wet with sweat, matted to her forehead.. She looked absolutely awful.
“I said, I think we need to get you to a doctor.”
“I’m ok,” Alex said with a slight, forced smile. “My hand hurts a bit, but other than that, I feel fine.”
“Well, you look like hell,” Sara quickly responded. “I think you need to see a doctor. What if that dog had rabies? Or worse? I just don’t think it’s a good idea to go camping when you’ve been hurt like that.”
But Alex wasn’t listening. Her attention had turned once again to the passing trees, lost in thought.
“Goddamn it, I hate when you...” Sara began to say, but stopped herself from continuing. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Maybe Alex was right. Maybe she just looked worn and drawn from the stress of the day and really was feeling fine. Sara flipped her visor down, looking at her own reflection. Small circles of fatigue had formed under her eyes, and her typically vibrant skin looked dulled as well. With a sigh, she slowly lifted the visor and decided not to press the issue any further.
The miles rolled by as they traveled deeper into the mountainous forest; the twisting road navigating them safely through the dense trees. In the distance, Sara noticed a small sign to the side of the road. It might have been the first real sign she had seen, besides the mile markers and cautionary signs, since leaving the “town.” The sign read:
Wolf’s Head Lodge - 3 Miles
Oh, how she wished they could be going to a lodge instead of camping. Sara had never been a fan of camping, even as a child. Her family’s idea of camping was in an RV, which isn’t really camping at all. It’s more like a small hotel room in the woods. It wasn’t until she met Alex that she’d had the opportunity to go camping for real. This trip being it, and so far, she hated everything about it. The thought of sleeping on the ground, covered in dirt with no showers in sight, the bugs... and no flush toilets. The idea was barbaric. Their ancestors had created buildings so they wouldn’t have to sleep outside. Sara’s idea of roughing it was a hotel with no room service.
Sara found herself disappointed as they passed the resort. A large wooden sign, conveniently placed beside the driveway, listed the commodities the resort had to offer. Topping the list, cable television.
She quietly laughed to herself. Even this far off the beaten path, surrounded by the beauty of nature, people still needed television. Sara was that kind of person, she knew it, and as she left the resort behind her disappointment turned to yearning.
Another fifteen minutes passed in silence with no other signs of civilization. Mother Nature had swallowed them whole, they were now at her mercy.
Ahead, Splint’s blinker flashed. He merged to the right and turned off into a small dirt lot to the side of the road. The lot was little more than an un-marked turnout, barely big enough for both vehicles to pull completely out of the road. Sara flipped her blinker and followed.
“What the hell is this?” James groaned from the back seat. The sudden noise startled her. “Why are we stopping, again?”
“Maybe we’re here,” Alex answered absently, still staring out the window.
“Here? Where is here?” James grumbled. “This doesn’t look like any fuckin’ campground I’ve ever been to.”
“Babe, what’s going on?” Nichole asked sleepily through a yawn.
“We’re stopping, again,“ James said.
“Maybe we’re here,” she yawned, stretching her arms as she looked out the window. “Where’s the campground?”
“That’s what I said...” James muttered under his breath.
Sara pulled in beside the black van and rolled down her window. The side door slid open, Jennifer smiled at her as she jumped out into the dirt. Rob stepped from the van shortly after, closed his eyes and took in a long, deep breath, exhaling gleefully.
“What’s up, why’d we stop?” Sara asked tentatively, fearing she already knew the answer.
“We’re here,” Rob replied. He raised his arms to as if to present the small dirt patch.
That’s what she thought he would say.
Rob closed his door and made his way to the back of the van, opening the split-paneled doors. Jennifer followed closely behind him, with almost a skip in her step.
“He did say it was out of the way,” Alex said flatly. She opened her door and stepped out of the car.
“Well, I guess we’re here,” Sara jested smugly. She rolled her window up and killed the engine. “Let’s get this over with.”
Sara stepped from the car, her tennis shoes crunching loudly in the coarse dirt. The surrounding trees rose high into the air, casting a dense shadow across the nook beneath their limbs. The trees allowed just enough sunlight through to see that the sun hung low in the sky. The mountain’s high range to the west would soon blot out the sun’s light, and warmth, far sooner than she imagined.
It would be dark soon.
“What do you mean, we’re here?” James asked again, stepping from the back seat.
“I mean, we’re here. We have arrived at our destination. We are at the end of the line, as it were,” Rob replied, peeking from behind the open door. His head disappeared as he went back to unpacking, pulling a large duffle bag out and tossing it onto a growing pile of gear behind the van. “We walk from here.”
“Walk?” Sara asked, a little taken aback by the notion.
“Walk where? I don’t see anything around here that looks like a campground. How the fuck are we going to find this place?” James balked, slamming his door.
“Babe, calm down,” Nichole said as she came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Don’t be an ass.”
Without a word, Rob pointed to the far eastern edge of the lot where a small sign was posted at the tree line. The thing was so insignificantly small, Sara hadn’t noticed it hidden amongst the foliage. On it was a silhouette of a tent painted in white and contrasted by a forest green background. Just to the right of the sign, obscured by brush, Sara could see the head of a small trail leading away into the trees.
“That’s just great,” James grumbled, throwing a disgruntled look in Sara’s direction. He waved his hand in the direction of the trail. “There’s a sign.”
“I suggest we get moving, the sun’s gonna set soon,” Rob said, paying no heed to James’ tantrum. He tossed another bag onto the pile, then closed the doors.
“I was coming to help ya,” Splint announced, coming round the back of the van from the opposite side, cigarette hanging from his lips. “Just gotta finish this smoke first.”
Sara popped her trunk and began to pull the bags out, placing them on the ground behind her.
“Sure ya were,” Rob replied, snidely. “If you want to help, grab the coolers out of the van.”
“I can get the small ones,” Splint said, pulled a long drag from his cigarette, then threw it on the ground and crushed it into the dirt. “But that big one, it’s way too heavy for me.”
“Can someone help him with that?”
“I’ll get it,” Alex answered weakly, shuffling her way to the side of the van.
“No you will not,” Sara barked, “James, can you give them a hand?”
“I don’t want to help that freak,” he shot back.
“Babe, go on and help them,” Nichole whispered coyly. “Do this for me...”
She lifted herself onto her tiptoes and leaned in close to his ear, her hand slid across his back and down into his rear pocket.
“And I’ll do that thing you like later tonight,” she said with a tight squeeze of her hand. She then tenderly licked his earlobe.
James froze. Stiff.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Hell yeah,” James said loudly. He pushed past Splint, who had just begun to pull out the other two coolers, gripped the handles and hoisted the heavy cooler from inside. “I got this! How far we goin’?”
“About a mile,” Rob answered. He and Jennifer were fully loaded with gear. Their set up looked like they had done this a time or two.
“A fuckin’ mile? I can’t carry this by myself,” James whined.
“Splint can help you,” Rob smirked as he walked to the head of the trail. “Come on people, we’re wasting daylight!”
Sara pulled the last of the bags from her trunk and slammed it closed. She helped Nichole load up, then loaded herself. Alex grabbed the last of the items, a backpack and a small tote, slung them over her shoulder and quietly walked to join Rob and Jennifer. She looked bad. Sara didn’t like it, not one bit.
“Come on guys, follow me!” Rob said as he turned and walked away down the trail. “This place is to die for, I promise!”
Jennifer, with a hop of excitement, turned and followed. Alex silently took her place behind Jennifer, shuffling her feet through the underbrush. Sara shifted the weight on her back until it sat comfortably, and started down the trail with Nichole.
“This is bullshit,” James said.
“I hate to admit it,” Splint sighed, “but, I agree with you. Fuck… I agree with you.”
Each took a handle and hoisted the cooler. Then each took the handle of a smaller rolling cooler in their free hands and took their place with the others at the back of the line. They stepped onto the trail leading away from the road into the dense thicket of trees.
As Alex stepped onto the trail the forest seemed to consume her, swallowing her in its tangles of branches and leaves. It was obvious the trail wasn’t highly traveled. The underbrush crept across the narrow path in many places, obscuring its existence from those who didn’t already know the way. Stubborn brush scraped and clawed at her clothes as she passed through the tangle of branches. And in many places the steep and uneven terrain caused quite the headache, slowing their progress considerably.
James and Splint cursed not so quietly amongst themselves from the rear. Their constant mutterings and creatively vulgar outbursts lightened the mood, in a schadenfreude kind of way.
They walked for about forty-five minutes before the trees finally loosened their grip. A gorgeous green meadow spilled out before them. Long grass swayed listlessly in a soft breeze that, until now, the trees had done well to keep from them. It felt amazing.
The forest’s edge surrounded the green field in a wall of trunks and a tangle of bushes, like a tightly woven net, impenetrable and unmovable. The forest’s wall circled to the north and south of the trailhead but did not meet at the far side of the meadow. Directly across from them, the sun’s fiery reflection shimmered across the waters of Wolf’s Head Lake, appearing distorted and wavy in the shallow ripples crossing its surface.
“Didn’t I tell ya this place was amazing,” Rob boasted as he stepped into the field.
No one replied with words but rather gawked in wide eyed wonder. It was likely none of them had ever seen such splendor without the aid of a television.
Alex stood at the mouth of the trail admiring the scene. The hike had taken a lot out of her, she felt exhausted and slightly faint. Her arm was throbbing, and an itch had developed under the bandages that was driving her crazy, but, the serenity of this place, this little piece of heaven, seemed to calm her nerves and ease her...
“Get outta my way, fucktard!” James snorted, shoving past Alex, nearly knocking her over.
“Wait up, my arms are tired,” Splint whimpered as he rushed by. He was wheezing loudly and out of breath, barely keeping pace.
James stopped abruptly and turned around. Splint stumbled to a halt, but not before ramming his gut into the edge of the cooler with an audible “Hummph.”
“God, I’m sick of your bitching,” James grumbled. He dropped the handle of his rolling cooler, took hold of Splint’s end of the larger cooler, and yanked it from his hand. “Can you manage to get the other cooler, you fuckin’ pussy?”
He turned and continued into the field, cursing to himself, before Splint could answer.
“Thanks!” Splint finally coughed, holding his hands to his sides, trying to catch his breath.
“Eat shit,” James barked.
Jennifer patted Splint on the shoulder as she passed by, shaking her head and giggling lightly. Sara laughed too as she passed, but more in an “I love to see you suffer” kind of way. Nichole passed without a word, oblivious that anything had happened. She was too caught up in the beauty of herself, meticulously fixing her makeup with a small compact in one hand, lip gloss in the other. Alex silently marveled at the feat of coordination Nichole displayed.
Alex stepped into the tall grass, and without a word, grabbed the cooler James had left behind. She gave a knowing little nod to Splint as she passed.
“Hey...” Splint panted, “Thanks bud... I’ll be right there... Just have to catch... my breath.”
“Why don’tcha have another smoke,” Alex joked.
“Good idea.”
Alex thought of yelling back a rebuttal, but she was too tired to be witty. She instead made her way silently though the field to join the others.
They found Rob standing next to a ring of stones, the inner edge was caked in thick, black soot. He was rambling on about a pile of wood that was resting against the far side of the ring, something about a campsite tradition to leave firewood behind for the next campers. Alex was only half listening; she was too busy taking it all in. The lights above the western ridge had faded to an array of pink and purple pastels as the sun set behind the mountains. She lost herself there, standing in the grass, watching the water ripple in the breeze. It felt so peaceful, so serene. So familiar.
A hand rested on her shoulder, gently nudging her awake. The sky was now dark, the palette of color that had been there an instant before was now consumed by the blackness of night.
“Babe, can you give me a hand,” Sara softly whispered in her ear. Her touch felt warm and comforting. “I’ve got everything set up that I could do by myself, I just need help raising the tent.”
Alex turned. The glow of lanterns basked the landscape in a harsh light, casting long dark shadows across the camp. The contrast made the dim lamps seem blindingly bright and the darkness eternal. Her stomach churned violently with the movement as a wave of nausea washed over her.
“How long have I been standing here?” Alex asked, slurring her words through the sweet, thick saliva that was gathering in her mouth. She recognized the taste immediately and swallowed it away. Her stomach churned again.
“Maybe fifteen... twenty minutes,” Sara said with a shrug. She smiled, scrutinizing Alex’s posture, and no doubt her complexion. Her eyes darting from her face to her hand and back again. “I figured it would be better for you to rest over here while I got everything ready... are you alright?”
Alex hadn’t realized it, but she was gripping her stomach tightly.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alex lied, holding back the stream of vomit that seemed almost imminent at this point. She swallowed it back again before continuing, “I’m just a little queasy.”
“Are you sure? ‘Cause you look like hell.”
“Yeah, I’m sure, I’ll be fine, trust me,” she managed to say. Her stomach churned again, and this time Alex was sure she would explode. She turned away from the camp and heaved, but instead of painting the grass with her lunch, she released a deep belch, loud and strong. She waited there, hunched over and gripping her knees for a few seconds before attempting to stand up again, wiping the saliva from her lips with the back of her hand. “See, I told you I was fine.”
Sara folded her arms and gave Alex the look.
“Honey, if you don’t feel good, just let me know. You can’t fool me,” Sara finally said after staring at her for an awkwardly long time.
“I’ll be okay, don’t worry about me,” Alex quickly answered, she did feel a bit better now, but her mouth continued to water.
“If you say so...” she said cautiously, and looked Alex over once more with her questioning glare. With a quiet grunt of disapproval, she turned and led Alex to their tent.
She had picked a nice soft place atop a bed of thick grass just to the right of the fire pit. The others had arranged their tents similarly in a semi-circle around the ring of stones.
Alex froze.
She stared at the configuration of tents, slowly noting each one’s location. James and Nichole were set in a small dome tent to the farthest side, opposite from where she stood. To the right of it, Splint’s pup tent was set, then Rob and Jennifer’s compact hiking tent, and finally back to her and Sara’s tent.
