Chapter 8: Chapter 8

back at the camp and explained what we had seen and the theory that we had come up with.

“This is like something out of a bad science fiction movie,” Wes said, burying his head in his hands.

He was right, though. I’d seen countless films where something from space had crashed-landed on earth, only to cause bloodshed until it’s finally destroyed. Now that the unbelievable plot of a bad movie was reality, I wondered if that would be our only way out in the end.

“So what do we do? We can’t leave. We can’t call for help,” Hadley spoke dryly. Grief was still present in her voice, but being young and ambitious, she had pulled herself together more than her mother had. Natalie stood against the wall, staring out the window and into the woods. Part of her was probably hoping Duke would emerge, damaged, but alive. I knew that wasn’t going to happen, and had already explained to everyone what I saw. But they were welcome to absorb that information and deal with it however they chose.

“We have to kill it,” Kevin said. “That’s the only way we survive it.”

“How do we know that will free us from this enclosure?” Hadley challenged him. “We might be able to kill it, but there is no guarantee the forcefield falls afterward.”

Kevin seemed unsure. Either he didn’t appreciate the challenge from someone else, or he knew she was right. And if her point was sound, that meant we needed to think of a plan B as well.

“Are you guys sure you saw all of this right?” Macie asked. She seemed hesitant to believe a word we said, holding onto a strand of hope that all of this was just a giant misunderstanding. Natalie turned away from the window as if she wanted the same answer Macie seeked.

“I’m positive,” I said. Natalie faced the window again. My wife just stared at me, trying to understand and accept the facts Kevin and I had laid out. I wasn’t stupid—I knew the facts were implausible. But from what I had witnessed, they were in no way . I just had to make sure Macie and Natalie were both on the same page as everyone else.

“I have to pee,” Hadley said. I pointed to the back of the camper where a tall, narrow door led to a cassette toilet. She stood up and walked by all of us, closing the door and sliding the lock into place behind her.

“I don’t want you to scare my poor Hadley anymore,” Natalie quietly growled, continuing her idle stare out the window.

Macie and I exchanged a confused glance. Kevin and Wes also looked at each other.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “What are you talking about?”

Natalie snapped her head to the side and glared into my eyes with hers. They burned with anger. “I you killed Duke,” she whimpered, keeping her eyes low. “I know you’re trying to scare us, trying to psychologically torture us. I’ve listened to enough true crime podcasts to know a kidnapping when I see one.”

I laughed out loud from the shock of the absurd accusation. “Excuse me?”

“Just let us go,” she pleaded, her anger lifting. A sense of sorrow came next. “Don’t hurt us.”

As I stood there, holding her dead husband’s shotgun, understanding that I was expecting a lot from everyone by just asking them to take my word for everything, I still couldn’t help but feel unfairly accused.

“I don’t to hurt anyone,” I insisted. “And I haven’t.” Kevin stood up from his seat and stood by my side. “I want the rest of us to get out of here alive. There something out there. I saw it.

saw it. Are you just going to pretend like you didn’t?”

Natalie was visibly shaken. I knew she saw it too. Why she couldn’t accept it, was beyond me.

“It’s psychological torture,” she insisted. “You must have slipped me some kind of hallucinogen. Please, just let us go.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She was there when it came out of the earth. It chased us. We ran. How could she accept the truth of what she also witnessed? Grief was really doing a number on her. And as frustrating as her accusations were, nothing had changed as far as I was concerned. It was still out there, getting closer to the camp, and we all had to come together to figure out how we were going to fight back.

“Look, Natalie,” I said, “I am sorry for your loss. Duke seemed like a great guy, a good father and husband. But I didn’t kill him. I didn’t slip you or your daughter any kind of drugs. You saw the deer out there. You saw what it was covered in, and you saw that thing come out of the ground.”

Natalie swallowed and then returned her gaze out the window. Her silence said it all—she know the truth. She just didn’t want to accept it. Putting the blame elsewhere, away from something unexplainable, was how she was trying to cope. But to make her feel as if she still had a choice in the matter, to erase any lingering fragment of distrust she had towards my family and I, I gave her an out.

“You can leave,” I said. Her eyes returned to me quickly. “I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner. But just know that any hope for us to survive and figure this out, comes from us all sticking together. If you feel like you would fare better on your own, you can leave. And you’re welcome to come back if you change your mind.”

“Ben,” Macie said with a cracking voice, trying to deter me from my offer. I put my hand up to her to assure her I knew what I was doing. This is how I would get Natalie’s trust back.

Natalie’s eyes aimlessly wandered around the camper, back out the window, and eventually settled back on me.

“Thanks,” she said, grateful. “I’m taking Hadley back to our cabin until help arrives.”

I gawked at her, confused and surprised by her choice. I took a deep breath and let it back out in a frustrated sigh.

Natalie walked past me with determination and knocked on the bathroom door. “Hadley, when you’re done, we’re heading back to our cabin.”

There was no response from Hadley on the other side of the door. Natalie dropped her brow and knocked again. “Hadley? Are you okay?”

Hadley didn’t say anything. The camper sat in a daunting silence. I looked at Macie; we both quietly agreed something was wrong. I approached the bathroom door, pushing myself in front of Natalie.

“Hadley?” I called out, knocking twice on the narrow door. “Are you okay?” I tried pulling on the door handle, but Natalie pushed my hand off of it protectively.

“What are you doing?” she asked, afraid I was going to storm in on her daughter using the restroom.

“Something’s wrong,” I said. I felt my heart rate start to escalate, along with my level of anxiety. I pounded on the door again. “Hadley?”

Natalie finally realized I was only trying to help. She nodded, giving me her approval to get the door open. I pulled on the handle, but the sliding lock was holding it in place. I knew the door was weaker than a regular one. It was made mostly of plastic, as was the locking mechanism. A strong use of force would definitely get it open.

“Hadley? We’re coming in,” I shouted. I grabbed the handle with both hands and shook it with force. The door rattled violently until I heard a loud crack—the lock had snapped. The door flew outward, swaying open on its hinges, and we all set our sights on a nightmarish scene.

Hadley was still sitting on the toilet, her pants around her ankles, but the rapidly spreading infection had swallowed her entire bottom half. It climbed up her abdomen, covered her arms and then crawled around her neck to where her head was leaning back. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide open, darting fearfully back and forth as if they were the last parts of her that were still .

The scabby, green infection ravaged her entire face next, completely erasing from existence. Natalie screamed, slapping her hands on either side of her head. I could hear Macie shriek from the other side of the camper, and Wes and Kevin erupted into a furious panic.

The infection began to ooze its signature dark fluid, and I watched Hadley soften and liquify before my eyes, oozing down, in and around, the toilet. The inside of the toilet began to and with what Hadley had become, and then the alien substance rose up, excessively flowing over the rim and pooling onto the floor.

“Everyone get out!” I screamed, placing myself between everyone else and the abomination taking form in front of me. As it grew, it shaped into what it looked like in the woods. Brutish, intimidating, and horrific—it mutated into its final form. Standing before me, it inhaled Hadley’s remaining matter from around its mouth, digesting it loudly before dropping to its knees. It desperately reached out for me, dark slime dripping from its fingertips. Its eyes glowed white, and its mouth drooped, emitting another mournful cry.

I fired the shotgun, splattering its green genetics onto the back wall. I slammed the door shut, knowing it wouldn’t lock, but trying to buy myself just an extra fraction of a second to escape. I rushed through the empty camper and out the door, closing it behind me. Everyone else had gathered by the firepit.

“What is that?!” Macie yelled, finally seeing the otherworldly being for herself. Kevin and Wes were speechless, antsy and confused. Natalie had dropped to her knees and screamed out in pain and grief, inconsolable.

“We have to—” before I could finish my sentence, the door to the camper blew out and crashed into the dirt and pine needles beside us. The earthly terror emerged from the camper, using both arms to pull itself through the frame of the doorway. It jumped, landing on the ground and sending more dirt spiraling into the air like an apocalyptic dust storm. Now it stood bipedally, breathing heavily and dripping with dark fluids and globular matter.

It took a hulking step toward us. I froze, studying the creature from head to toe. It had meshed with the earth when it crash-landed from beyond. Its body was made up of dirt, branches, moss and leaves; it was reminiscent of the swamp monsters that graced the covers of old pulp horror magazines. Pulsating pustules inflated, and then deflated, all over its body. Some popped, spilling more liquid; others continued to freakishly pant.

It’s mouth drooped again, forming a large, sad-looking cavity in the center of its face. It wailed once again, taking another step toward us. Each step was faster than the last. It was learning, eager and determined. It fanned its arms at us, still in full stride, sending multiple globs off of its body and in our direction. One landed next to me and I leaped away from it, having seen what happens when it makes contact with another living thing.

Another one splashed down in front of me, and another behind me. With a loud , it made contact with someone.

“No!” Kevin screamed.