Chapter 6: Chapter 6

make any sense,” Wes said, as the four of us gathered outside the camper. “How could something take out every single electronic device?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. But that is the only thing I can think of. Either that or it’s the biggest coincidence in history.”

“But wouldn’t it have knocked out the power when it crashed?” Macie said. “Our power went out last night. You said it crashed this morning.”

She had a point, but I didn’t have an answer.

“It’s like an EMP,” Kevin said. We all looked at him.

“What’s that?” Wes asked.

“It’s an electromagnetic pulse,” Kevin said. “Haven’t you ever played ? It’s a surge of energy that wipes out an electronic network. With the network down, we can’t use any of the things that were affected.”

As we all let Kevin’s words sink in, Wes was the first to speak again. “So, something completely trashed our technology so we can’t use it. Then what? What happens next?”

“Dad said something fell from the sky,” Kevin said. “That killed Duke.”

“We’re under attack?” Macie shivered.

“Terrorists?” Wes panicked.

I looked at Wes and shook my head. “No. Whatever crashed and killed Duke wasn’t human at all. It’s like it came from—”

I abruptly stopped talking. I felt silly for where my thoughts were taking that sentence. But, there was no other explanation. Macie was able to conclude what I was thinking and rapidly shook her head with a panicked smile.

“No, no, no,” she said. “There’s no way that’s possible.”

Wes looked up into the blue sky above us, the remaining fog dissipating in the bushy canopy. Kevin did as well.

“Something from beyond our world,” Kevin hauntingly whispered.

I looked over, through the trees, at the Saunders’ campsite. I could see Hadley frantically rushing around. Her movements were aimless. She’d race to their camper, then back to the cabin. She ran down the steps and around to the side. I had a bad feeling that something else was wrong.

I rushed through the trees and into their camp, Kevin right behind me. Wes and Macie remained by our camper.

“Hadley!” I called out. She came back around from the side of the cabin. “What’s wrong?”

She had been crying, was shaking and hysterical. “Mom’s gone!” she screamed.

“Where did she go?” I asked.

Hadley screamed again and I put my hands on both of her arms, trying to prevent her from hyperventilating. She finally focused on me.

“Where’s your mom?” I repeated.

“In the woods. She went to look for Dad.”

I breathed deeply through my nose, equal parts afraid and frustrated that Natalie ventured out into the woods with that out there.

“She took my dad’s gun,” Hadley added.

I looked at Kevin. “Stay with Hadley,” I said. “Take her over to Mom and Wes.”

“What are you doing?” Kevin asked.

“I have to go find Natalie before something happens to her.”

—

I didn’t have a keen sense of direction once I entered the woods. I was going on memory alone from when Duke led me out into the thicket. But even then, there was no guarantee that Natalie had even gone the same way. She didn’t know we had gone to begin with.

“Natalie!” I called out, my voice bouncing from one tree to the next until it fell silent. The buzzing of bugs was loud, and the birds that beautifully sang high in the trees tried their best to give me a false sense of comfort.

“Natalie!” I called again.

Then, I heard something. I stopped and listened. Something was crunching in the leaves nearby. Then, a .

I stood defensively, moving my head back and forth, trying to focus on the source of the cry I had heard. My overactive brain finally settled and registered what the was from—an animal. A deer, more than likely. It was the same sound I had heard deer express once they had been shot. My father was a hunter and took me out on many different trips when I was a boy. The haunting sounds of animals dying were something that stuck with you long after. And here I was again, listening to the fatal, final cry from a deer. The only thing was, I didn’t hear a gunshot first.

I saw rustling up ahead; the bushes and low branches shook back and forth. Cautiously, I approached it, keeping my eyes peeled and my mind alert. Stepping around the bushes, I saw the deer. Or, what was left of it.

It was on its side; a green, scabby substance actively crawling over every inch of its body. Pustules within the textured shell of the invasive infection popped and bled a dark liquid.

That was near. It had to be. It touched the deer in some way, turning it into an edible source of sustenance for itself.

“Don’t move!” I heard a woman growl behind me. I knew it was Natalie. I turned around and saw the barrel of Duke’s shotgun pointed directly at me, level with my chest. I slowly put my hands up. She could see the fear in my face; I was sure it echoed the look on hers.

“Don’t shoot,” I said.

“Where is he? Where’s Duke?”

She didn’t understand.

“Duke’s gone,” I reiterated.

“You said he was dead. Where’s his body? What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t do anything! That thing that crawled out of the earth—it ate him. He’s gone, Natalie.

.”

Natalie’s face scrunched up; her lip quivering. She adjusted her sweaty grip on the shotgun, keeping it aimed at my chest the entire time.

I slowly moved out of the way, bringing the deer into her line of sight. She looked down, as did I. Its body was nothing but a gooey, green mass, pulsating up and down as if it were still breathing.

Natalie’s eyes went wide. “What is that?”

“It was a deer. This is what does. This is what happened to Duke!”

She shook her head. “No, not Duke. Not Duke!”

“We’re not safe here, Natalie. We need to leave,” I said, trying to remain calm for her sake as well as my own. I reached out slowly, pushing the barrel of the gun away from me. “Let’s go,” I said.

Suddenly, the ground beneath me moved, making me stumble and fall. The dirt under my feet rose and then depleted as if it were taking a deep breath. The ground sank into itself, making way for the familiar green, vulgar hand to emerge from its pit. It slapped down onto the dirt before the second hand appeared. The creature pulled itself out of the sinkhole and lay in front of us. It looked up, its white eyes glowing and its mouth opening to release its horrible wail.

It dragged itself toward us. Natalie screamed and dropped the gun, slowly backing up into the closest tree. I managed to grab the gun and aim it at the creature. It picked up speed, just as it had done before, so I acted fast. I pulled the trigger and watched its earthy form explode at the shoulder. Its body seemed to regenerate before my eyes, angering the creature into a rapid crawl. Its eyes dipped and its mouth unhinged, wailing horribly as it scurried at us like it was stuck in fast-forward.

I turned and ran, grabbing Natalie’s arm in the process. Together, we barely escaped. The cry from the otherworldly beast had abruptly stopped behind us; I assumed it had forwent our pursuit in favor of feasting yet again on its latest sufferer.