Horror / In Your Dreams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Your Dreams
By Will Guerrant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 1: The white house

A bright full moon lit the field I sprinted through. My breath was loud in my own ears, ragged and labored.

I was tired. But I couldn’t stop though, not yet. There was a thing that had once been human chasing me. I could hear its own ragged breath right behind me, along with the muffled thudding of footfalls. It was gaining. The Infected seemed to have very little problems when it came to physical exertion, COULD not was one thing WOULD not was entirely different.

As long as they were capable, they would come at you, I had seen an Infected drop dead from chasing a man in a car. The moonlight which had saved my life was now my worst enemy, betraying my position to the onrushing creature. I was all too aware if I tried to turn and fight the thing it would overrun me.

So I kept running. The tall, unmowed grass brushed my legs and shoes with a loud rustling sound.

“DAMMIT!” I shouted in rage, panting for breath. I had hoped it wouldn’t end like this.

“Tyler!” a voice up ahead called. I looked up and saw Samantha standing on the upper balcony of the simple white farm house I was running toward.

It was now or never. I whirled around and attempted to backpedal as I drew my Buck Knife. My feet tangled on each other and I fell backwards. The thing chasing me roared with triumph and jumped at me, raising its machete above its grotesquely contorted face in an underhand grip. I thrust upward in panic with my own knife.

 

My eyes snapped open and I saw a comforting sight.

My bedroom ceiling.

I could feel my heart hammering in my chest frantically. I let out all of my panic and fear in a single breath, reaching over and turning off my alarm moments before it began to beep.

“Holy shit.” I said quietly.

Compared to fighting unexplained inhuman freaks in fields the rest of my morning routine didn’t seem quite so eventful. I pulled on my jeans and threw on a T-shirt. I then tried putting on my shoes and going down the stairs at the same time with negligible results.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs a hand grabbed my arm roughly. I yelped and jerked back.

“Oh! I’m sorry there Ty. Didn’t see you.” my mom apologized. I tried to slow my heart rate.

“No problems Mom.” I laughed nervously. “You scared me. I had the most wild dream.” I explained, still in a state of shock. My mom gave me an inquisitive look.

“Really? Sounds interesting, you’ll have to tell me about it sometime.” She turned to keep walking and then added slyly, “I thought you looked more awake then usual.” I barked a short

“Ha.” In response and then proceeded into the kitchen.

I looked around the spacious room with mild boredom. It was an average kitchen, a few cabinets, an old, white refrigerator, a stove, a microwave, nothing special.

As I sat down and poured a bowl of cereal, I thought about my dream. It stood out so vivid in my mind.

Everything seemed so horrifyingly familiar, the white farmhouse, the knife I had, the field, even the moon.

The red moon.

“Hey Mom?” I asked as my mother entered the room. “What would make a moon red?” I finished. My mom worked as a scientist for Envirotech, a chemical company in nearby Johnstown, which was as close to an expert on the topic as it came in my life. She paused a moment.

“Hmmm…” she pondered aloud. “It would have to be an atmospheric condition or maybe a lunar eclipse. Those are red.” She nodded in self assurance and went about her morning routine as well. I decided to follow her example. When I finished breakfast I gathered up his school books and walked to the front door of my house.

“See you after school mom!” I called out. She returned the farewell and I pulled on my coat and stepped into the cool Pennsylvanian morning.

The school bus pulled up a few minutes later and I climbed on board, and walked to the back of the bus while listening to the excited chatter of my school mates, but paying them no mind. I finally took my seat beside my friend Jack.

“Hey man.” Jack said happily. I returned the greeting and sat down beside him.

“Dude I had the weirdest dream.” I began a bit apprehensively, as if the details were going to fly away if I thought about them too much.

“Man, me too! First it was just me and these two blondes, but then your mom joined in-,” I punched my friend lightly in the shoulder.

“I’m serious!” I insisted. My friend took note of my tone and shut up. “It’s like….I’m running through this field right, and there is this crazy guy chasing me, only he’s an Infected.”

“An Infected?” Jack asked with a puzzled expression. I could only shrug. I didn’t know anymore than he did.

“I don’t know, but it’s bad. Anyway, he is chasing me and I see this house up ahead, and some girl named Samantha is on the porch-“

“Samantha Tersely?” Jack asked.

“No, no, no.” I replied impatiently, it was not a girl that went to their school. “It was some girl I don’t know. But she looked familiar.”

“What did she look like?” he asked.

“I don’t know, I…” I couldn’t remember any detail about her. “She SOUNDED familiar I guess.” Jack gave me a strange look. I turned away slightly irritated. “I guess I can’t explain it okay?” Jack shrugged.

“Hey, cool by me man. Whatever.”

The bus finally reached Patton High and I followed Jack off the bus.

It was going to be an interesting day.

 

Chapter 2: Choices and Samantha

Upon stepping off the bus I was immediately grabbed.

“Hi!” Tiffany shouted excitedly. I smiled down at my girlfriend.

“Hey babe.” I replied. She offered me her hand and I took it.

“How was the bus ride?” she asked as we walked into the school. I shrugged.

“Eh…okay. Nothing much. Talked with Jack.” Tiffany nodded understandingly. “I had the most outrageous dream.” I told her, having it still fresh and vivid in my mind.

“Was I in it?” she asked with a wink. We laughed together at that for a moment and she finally looked back over her shoulder down the hallway. “Well I have to get to class. Talk to you later!” she gave me a final hug and walked away. I watched her go until she was out of sight.

“Still with the preppy bitch?” a voice behind me asked. I turned around, half reluctantly, have eagerly.

“Don’t talk about Tiffany like that.” I tried to insist. The girl leaning on the wall in the dark clothing just smiled a half smile.

“Riiight…we all know how much you care about her.” She said mockingly while she walked toward me, stopping in front of me, and trailing a hand across my cheek. “Not like you would…Cheat on her.” I brushed her hand off rather violently.

“Knock it off. I am waiting for a good time to break up with her.” Nikki shook her head.

“Temper, temper.” She said and kissed my neck. Instead of pleasant the sensation was like having something slimy rubbed on my skin. I shied away.

“Look, not right now okay?” I suggested. I was feeling sick enough about cheating on my long time Girlfriend. Nikki looked slightly hurt.

“You know, you sure don’t treat me very well.” She said with a pouty face.

“I’m sorry….I’m just having a lot of shit right now. Look I’ve gotta go.” I said hastily and walked rapidly away from her toward my first period class. The Nikki, Tiffany situation was by FAR one of my worst mistakes.

I showed up for US History just moments before the tardy bell rang. I sat down heavily in my desk; my turbulent sleep was beginning to catch up with me. I looked over at Jack who sat beside me. He was giving me an odd look.

“All that shit with Nikki is gonna catch up with you dude.” I didn’t feel like talking about it anymore than I did thinking about it.

“Yeah, yeah.” I said in irritation. I put my head down on my desk, shutting Jack, Nikki and Tiffany out of my thoughts.

 

The Infected man hurtled through the air, landing hard on my upraised knife. The blade slipped through his skin so easily it was sickening. Blood came down in a torrent. Fortunately I was paying just enough attention to see the machete stabbing downward. I grabbed it with my free hand. Its dull blade was still sharp enough to slice open the palm of my hand making me scream in pain. I winced and held back another scream when the blade slid along my raw flesh more by biting my tongue. The cascade of blood from the infected’s belly was staining my shirt and the grass. I gave the knife a rough twist, unleashing more blood and causing the former human to twitch awkwardly and howl.

With every ounce of strength I could deliver I threw the thing off of me. He hit the grass beside me, hard. The inhuman clawed his bleeding belly and gurgled. I stood up slowly, kicking it’s machete into the weeds and closing my bleeding hand.
My would-be attacker’s blood was sickly warm against my stomach through my shirt and jacket. I stepped over to the bleeding thing which was attempting to get up. I raised up a booted foot and brought it down against its throat as hard as I could. It gurgled and its bloodshot eyes went wide, it continued to claw at me. I finally reached down and pulled my knife roughly from its body. It gave a final spasm and lay still.

The infected had never been particularly clever, so I had no fear of him ‘playing possum’. I instead shambled onward toward the house; I reached the front porch and watched blood drip off my wounded left hand onto the painted wood. The front door was thrown open, unveiling a worried looking Samantha.

“Tyler! Oh my God! Are you alright?” she asked in concern. I took a moment to study her features. She had a soft, pale face with deep brown eyes and long, straight, black hair. She was all in all a very pretty girl, not drop dead gorgeous, but good looking.

“Oh come on Sam. You know this is nothing.” I explained to her. Her worried expression melted away like snow in an oven. She even gave me a brave smile. She stepped aside and I entered the house that had been our home for the past few weeks. I felt the scalding hot burning of the cut on my hand. The thought of blood poisoning occurred to me, but I shook it off. None of the infected’s blood got into my wound. I stopped in the kitchen; looking around at the cardboard boxes half filled with supplies tat littered the room. I started digging in one of the boxes for bandages.

“Tyler, you sit down. I’ll get it.” Sam offered and I stepped back, smiling gratefully. While she got a first aid kit out I took off my blood stained jacket and shirt, the slight chill of the house, feeling infinitely better than the bitter cold of the outside.

Sam took my hand and sprayed something on it that made it sting. It was nothing compared to the feel of the blade cutting into my skin though. She then began to wash it with a rag. While she worked she looked into my eyes and with a playful smile said.

“I missed you.” I smiled back.

“I missed you too.” After she began to wrap my hand in gauze I spoke again. “Evan’s City was a bust. There were infected in every store. I thought I had gotten away clean.” I jerked the thumb on my free hand back at the field. “Prince Charming says other wise.” Samantha finished her work and released my hand. I gave it a test flex, it was painful, but nothing was damaged so I would be fine.

“Thanks Sam.” I told her and grabbed up a plain white rag and wrapped my hand in that as well, it would provide a little more comfort and protection when it came time to use that hand.

“Your clothes are all ruined.” She complained looking at the jacket and shirt.

“We’ve got plenty.” I told her with a slight chuckle. I stepped over to another box and opened the lid. A large assortment of military paraphernalia and hunting supplies greeted me. I grabbed a camouflaged army shirt and a thick field jacket. After putting both on I looked back at Sam.

“How do I look?” I asked with a grin.

“Breathtaking.” She said with a hint of sarcasm. I picked my knife up off the floor and washed it in the sink.

The back door was opened a moment later. I looked back casually but with some apprehension, it wouldn’t be the first time a stray Infected wandered into our den.

“Jesus, holy mother and SHIT!” Doug cursed open stepping into the house. He clapped his hands together. “It is getting fucking cold!” he added.

“Great to see you too Doug.” Sam replied. Trevor and his girlfriend Taylor came in behind him and closed the door. Doug wore an army helmet cocked sideways and military issue dust goggles. I had no idea why, he just said they looked cool. The rest of his outfit was standard army, pistol belt and webbing, and BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform).

Trevor had on a camouflaged pattern shirt and jacket, dark green cargo pants and a bandolier around his chest.

Taylor, or Serpent as she preferred had very little in the way of combat uniform, she wore a heavy green coat and black trip pants and heavy black boots.

Her striking features were currently hidden behind a hockey mask painted matte black to cut down on glare.

“What’d you guys find?” I asked anxiously. Trevor looked at me with his typically cocky smile, taking off his mottled green and brown field cap and putting it down.

“Oh man, we found the mother load in Jonesville. Grocery stores lightly occupied, a sporting goods place, and get this…a GUN store, entirely undefended.” He spread his arms waiting for what he anticipated to be a flood of praise.

“Jeez Trevor, I thought we went over this, guns are no good, they attract more Infected than they kill.” Samantha said with a lecturing tone. Serpent pulled off her mask and tossed it on the table.

“Dammit Trev I TOLD you it was a bust to bother with.” She said with some annoyance.

“Sheesh chill babe. You know guns are my other love.” Trevor explained.

“Stupid gun fetish.” Dough muttered and riffled through a random box. “We got anything to eat?”

“Well I killed an infected out back if you want that.” I offered jokingly.

“Ha ha ha…very funny.” Doug shot back, lifting his goggles and letting them rest on the helmet. “But seriously, how are we for food?”

“Not so good. The grocery store is a good find Trevor. Nice work.” Samantha said.

“Don’t give that dipshit any of the credit” Serpent explained, “all he did was find the guns. I found the food.” She finished, sitting down in one of the free chairs and taking off her gloves.

“Yeah yeah.” Trevor grabbed a bag of Doritos and sat down. “Well…we still have a couple hours of moonlight to kill. Anyone up for some Poker?”

“Mr. Andrews. Is there something you want to share with the class?” Mr. Perez asked smartly. I sat up and saw the small puddle of drool on my desk.

“Uh….party down?” I suggested to the classes amusement.

It was that dream again, so real I cold almost swore my stomach had blood on it.

 

Chapter 3: 2nd period and Nikki

“Man are you okay?” Jack asked. I looked over at my close friend as we walked through the halls of Patton High.

“Fine Doug. Just-“

“Who the fuck is Doug?” Jack asked sounding offended. How could I confuse them? Sure they had similar methods of speech, but Doug was older, taller and-

I shook my head. Doug was NOT real.

“Sorry…I just had that dream again.” I explained. Jack just waved it off.

“Yeah I don’t think I want to hear anymore about Infested-,”

“Infected.” I corrected. “And look, YOU may not find it important or interesting, but these dreams…they are so real.” Jack nodded in mock understanding.

“If you ask ME I’d say you are getting too sucked into your dreams.” My friend said with what came closest to passing for concern with him.

“Thanks but I am fine. Really.” I insisted. I stopped outside the door to my second period class. English 12

Inside Nikki waved at me cheerfully, even winking in my direction.

“Aw man…” Jack nearly groaned after seeing this. “Those Goth girls are the shit huh? They don’t give a fuck what you do to ‘em….and pretty hot too.” I gave him a nasty look. “Hey, I am just saying, if I were you, I’d have a hard time keeping my eyes on Tiffany too.” With a roll of my eyes and I brushed past him. “Later man.” He called.

“Hey Tyler.” Nikki said with a sing song voice after I sat down beside her. When I didn’t say anything she gave me a sour look. “Oh come on, you’re not still mad about this morning are you?” When I still didn’t reply she sighed with exasperation. “Okay, I won’t call Tiffy a Whore, or a slut, or a bitch. Or a skanky tramp. Or a filthy prep.”

“That’s enough Nikki!” I blurted. She recoiled a bit.

“Aww…I’m sorry baby. I won’t be mean to her anymore, just pay attention to me!” she pleaded, seizing my hands. I broke my silent gaze into nothingness and looked into her bright blue eyes. It was a gaze that could melt any man’s soul. I was no different.

A chill went up my spine looking into her eyes.

“I love you.” She offered with a smile.

“I love you too!” I replied eagerly. She smiled broader.

“I’ll prove it to you after school.” She said. My smile faltered. “You are coming to my house after school right?” she asked. I looked out the window of the classroom out at the manicured lawn that surrounded it.

Nikki turned his head back to look at her. “Aren’t you?” she asked. I shook my head.

“I don’t know.” I replied. The chance to hang out (And make out) with Nikki was very pleasing, but I wasn’t sure I wanted that on my conscience. She looked hurt, and slightly annoyed.

“You can’t keep hanging onto-,” she nearly said something unpleasant, “Tiff like that. You said it yourself; she is dead and gone to you.” I blinked this away.

“Nikki, if you really love me you’ll let me get over this in my own time.” I looked over at her. “I DO love you…I just love Tiffany too, I need some time to work through this in my head alright?” Nikki seemed taken aback for a second then spoke carefully.

“Okay baby…if that’s what you want I can wait.” She smiled and with a small laugh added “I’d wait forever for you.” I smiled back and nodded.

“Good, that’s good.” I replied and winked at her. She laughed and winked back.

Then in that odd moment as I stared at Nikki, I thought about Sam.

It was small at first, but then began to seriously bother me. Not only was I cheating on Tiffany, I was cheating on Sam too.

She is not real dammit! I told myself. And yet, she had seemed SO familiar. As if I had known her once, or seen her a few times somewhere.

It would make sense that he would have vivid dreams about her. I just couldn’t place my finger on her.

Before I realized what was happening I felt Nikki press her lips to mine. The initial panic of being seen began to be replaced by a feeling of stupefied bliss. I started getting into the kiss when I caught myself and broke away.

“Nikki! What the hell!?” I looked around the room with fear, hoping no one saw it. The image of Tiffany in tears ran through my mind over and over.

“I’m sorry.” Nikki laughed. “You just had this beautiful expression on your face.” She said with a sly smile. I was still a little shocked. At that moment I knew I couldn’t ride the fence anymore, Either Nikki or Tiffany had to go. It was just up to me to pick.

The rest of class flew by and I tried my best at sleeping, but the demands of the class and Nikki weren’t going to let that happen.

The more time went on, the more engrossed I found myself with the dream world. It seemed so blissfully wonderful. I was finally able to explain the dream to Nikki (All but the bit about loving Samantha). She didn’t understand how I liked a world overrun with crazy killers had won my affection.

“Every dreamer has a few nightmares.” I told her, which was as close to saying ‘No world is perfect’ as I was going to come.

Chapter 4: The Rest of school and Five Months
 

The rest of school was uneventful, I managed to grab some sleep in 4th but I didn’t have any dreams. This worried me more than I thought it would. Maybe the Red Moon world WAS just a normal dream. I couldn’t believe it, but dreams did have the ability to go real on you. But the fact that it was so in depth and made so much sense.

Sense? The characters were little more than caricatures of people you knew in real life, just condensed into dream people.

It was true. So far, none of the dream had been explained. The moon, the infected, the people, the setting.

None of it.

And now it looked as though it never would be.

And yet, the events in the dream were so easily recalled. I could remember it all, even the smell of the Infected’s hot breath.

The bus ride home was also done in silence; Jack had gone home with another friend. When I finally made it to my house I was feeling more than a little depressed, no more dreams from the Red Moon world, and I still had to deal with Nikki and Tiffy.

“Real life bites.” I said with absolute certainty and sat down in the kitchen. My mom was still at work as usual and being an only of a single parent meant there weren’t many other people in my life.

I opened a cabinet and took out a bag of chips and sat down as I ate. I stopped when I heard a noise from the family room. I put down the chips and looked. The room was dark and silent.

My heart rate increased automatically.

An Infected?

They do wander in occasionally.

What? No! That is just a dream.

I wasn’t so convinced in my own mind at that moment, it sounded good on paper, but when applied it didn’t check out. I stood and walked toward the doorway. Stopping and looking into the dark room.

I never liked the living room, it always looked foreboding. And now was even worse. I caught flash of movement from the corner of my eye. I suddenly got very nervous and rubbed my bare palm, thinking for a minute I could feel the rough cloth rag I had tied around my hand.

“A dream!” I hissed insistently to myself. I heard s shuffle of feet and perhaps the insane mutterings of an Infected. I picked up a heavy book end from the book shelf beside me.

“Mom?” I called hesitantly. There was no discernable reply. I continued my scan of the room.

The phone rang and I dropped the bookend in surprise. I sighed and looked back into the living room. It didn’t seem sinister now, just the living room. I walked back into the kitchen and grabbed the phone.

“Hello?” I asked hoarsely.

“Tyler?” Tiffany asked.

“Oh hi!” I replied. The image of her in tears set a stab of guilt through my heart for a moment.

“So what’s up?” asked cautiously. I thought about Nikki for a moment, then about the Red Moon dreams.

“Nothing much.” I lied. Convincingly, since she continued on.

“I was so BORED in school today. You know how Mr. Davis likes to ramble.” We had a shared laugh at that one. That was the class I met her in. As she continued on I felt my heart give the all too familiar flutter. I interrupted her story.

“Tiffy.” She stopped. “I love you.” She laughed.

“I love you two Tyler.” That settled it, Nikki was lust, Tiffy was the real deal. How could I fall for a bitch like Nikki?

“I’ve got to be honest with you Tiffy.” I said. There was a click on the other line. “But hang on a sec.” I flipped over.

“Hey Tyler.” It was Nikki, “since you couldn’t come over, I figure we could just talk.” My head was starting to hurt.

“I’m on the other line right now.” I told her calmly.

“Is it with Tiff? Tyler, get her off the phone.” I calmly hung up on Nikki and switched over to Tiffy.

“Sorry babe. I just wanted to tell you…I almost cheated on you.” It was a white lie, but it was easier to explain. “But I realized I loved you too much to do that to you.” There was a brief silence then what I wanted to hear.

“Awww.” Tiffy breathed. I mentally high-fived myself. I had made the right choice and gotten points for it too. Tiffy and I talked for what must have been hours, sharing stories and telling jokes. I felt myself fall in love with her all over again. Eventually she had to go. When I hung up I saw it was night already.

I felt better than I had for a week, the duration of my affair. I sat down at my desk and did my homework until I could barely keep my eyes open. I quick glance at the clock revealed it was 11:39. My mom wasn’t home still, she usually worked late nights. And so I got ready for bed.

Sam and I walked quietly onto the balcony of the white house. We sat down with hushed whispers and looked out on the nearly taboo sight of the sun poking up in the east. The infected only became truly active during the day time. They had very poor night vision.

“Listen at that.” Sam said. I stopped moving and listened. I could hear a clattering and banging. Then a sudden crash of what could have been dishes. Then the tell tale gibberish shouting of an Infected. All of it came from a small trailer across the road and a ways away from the white house. Trevor estimated at least 3 infected were still alive in it. He called then ‘The mother’ ‘The father’ and ‘The brat’. For whatever reason we had let them live. Serpent was all for killing them, but I was able to persuade her to leave them so we could study their behavior. They were holding true to their kind by being unintelligible.

“Wow.” I said. “Must be more food in that house than we thought.” Sam shrugged.

“They stole it from us you know.” She said. I looked at her curiously. She looked back and out eyes met. “They stole the daylight from us. Remember when we could walk around in the day and not have to worry about being seen?” she asked. I nodded.

“I try not to think about it, but I do remember. I feel like a vampire.” Me and her shared a quiet laugh over this.

“I bet Serpent likes that idea.” She said with a giggle. I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to me. The feeling of proximity to another human comforted me somewhat. The pale golden glow was beginning to illuminate the field around the house. While I tried not to look, my eyes were drawn to the Infected I had killed earlier that night. He was just a grey lump in the weeds beside a splash of crimson.

“You ever wonder if there is a cure? Or a way of reversing it.” I asked. Sam looked over at me again, she was so close I could feel her breath, warm in contrast to the sharp Pennsylvanian cold.

“Of course I have. Haven’t we all?” she replied. I met her gaze and maintained it. “But ever if there is, the people who would be able to figure that out are dead. This is a new beginning. Our only choice.” I stared into her beautiful brown eyes; I kept expecting her to break the gaze out of embarrassment. But she didn’t. Finally I leaned in and kissed her on the lips tenderly. She kissed me back, but only for a moment. A shriek of anger from the trailer broke us away.
A middle aged woman crashed out of the screen door and stumbled around with a bloodstained night gown. She held a butchers knife close to her chest, it too was bloody.

“How long has it been?” I asked. What I meant was how long since everyone not exposed to the Red moon the first night it appeared turned into a psychopathic imitation of a human being.

“It’s been five months.” Sam said. Five months since her and I had been stargazing and seen the moon. Five months since Trevor’s car broke down in the middle of the night on his way to go see a gun show. Five months since Serpent had gone outside for a cigarette only to return to her house to discover her whole family had changed. Five months since Doug was out for a walk and heard his neighbors change. Five months since through a series of events we found each other, then found this house.

“I guess we better go back inside.” I said. It is getting late, and we have a raid to do.” Sam nodded and looked back at me. We shared another kiss, this one a bit longer.

“Doug’s going to be glad to see Zoë.” Sam said after breaking the kiss. I nodded and restrained a laugh.

“Come on, let’s go in, and be quiet, wouldn’t want to disturb Serpent and Trevor.” I said.

We stood up and quietly went back inside.

Chapter 5: The CB and The Scars

The buzzing of my alarm woke me up gradually.

“G’morning baby.” I muttered and looked to my left at Sam’s bed. All I saw was my wall. I sat up in confusion.

It was still just a dream. I was still a little confused as I prepared for school. I had chosen Tiffy instead of Nikki and was feeling confident about it.

“Morning there Tyler.” My mom said. I barely remembered saying bye to her when I got on the bus. I was still feeling light headed and giddy.

“Any more crazy dreams Tyler?” Jack asked when I sat beside him. I thought a second before answering.

“None at all.” I replied with a false smile. Jack nodded and laughed.

“Cool. It was getting a little weird man.” The other boy replied. I laughed with him and went on about the day normally.

Tiffy met me at the bus stop and we shared a hug and quick kiss. Nikki wasn’t waiting for me which cheered me up a bit. Finally first period started. And so did my sleep.

I walked down the stairs after Sam into the living room and then the kitchen after Sam. Trevor was leaning on the wall sipping a cup of coffee, one of our last. Serpent was munching calmly on a pop tart and looking at the gently settling sun.

“Good night!” she said cheerfully. The only drew a minor chuckle from me. The reverse of the day night cycle had been adapted some time close to a week after the infection. It was instituted to take advantage of the Infected’s poor eyesight and diurnal habits.

“Where’s Doug?” Trevor asked. Sam sat down at the e beside Serpent, I grabbed one of the few remaining pop tarts out of the bag. Still good. Aren’t preservatives great?

“Probably still sleeping in. He always was a late sleeper.” I replied and sat down, taking a bite of the pop tart. Trevor laughed and crossed the kitchen to a small metallic box sitting on the counter. He turned the crank handle six or seven times then picked up the microphone.

“TJ…you there?” Trevor asked over the old fashioned radio. After a brief crackle of static the voice came back.

“Yeah,” which sounded more like ‘yah’ “I’m here. What’s going on at your end?” he asked. Trevor looked around the kitchen at the other people.

“Well we’re getting a little low on food over here. What’s it like on your end?” After a brief pause TJ replied.

“Not so good, we’re pretty low as well. We ran out of twinkles the other day and O’Riley is pitching a fit.” Trevor laughed for a moment.

“Yeah, Serpents’ been bothering me about cigarettes.” He said “We did some scouting and checked out Jonesville, it’s packed with stuff man. We could stock up from there for another couple of months if you want.” There was another burst of static and TJ came back.

“Jonesville huh? Well we can get there by sometime tonight. If you get your crew there I can make sure Davey’s boys are there too.” Trevor smiled a little at the thought of the small National Guard platoon.

“Will do. Okay how’s Three sound?” Trevor asked.
“Great, see you there.” TJ replied and signed out. Trevor looked over at me.

“Alright, it’s gonna be a raid then.” He said with a smile.

I was jerked awake by the bell to end first.

“Come on man,” Jack said. “What are you going to do? Sleep your life away?” the boy asked with a quiet laugh. I stood up and grabbed my things.

“As if.” I replied with another laugh, mine wasn’t quite as sincere.

Second period came as no real great change. I went to my seat and sat down. With a casual leftward glance I saw Nikki, her black red hair hung down over her face. It wasn’t unusual, she often had a downtrodden look, and after getting snubbed last night it was no wonder she didn’t want to talk. I looked down further and saw she was wearing long sleeves. That only meant one thing.

“Nikki what the hell-!?” I demanded, grabbing her arms and turning her toward me. I looked into her eyes; she had a glazed blank look, yet slightly guilty. I rolled up her sleeves and looked down. Amongst the light lines that ran across the soft flesh of her forearms, angry red trails also passed.

“Let go.” She said and pulled her arm back. There was a coolness to her voice I didn’t like.

“You said you stopped!” I hissed. She glared back through her dark bangs.

“I did.” She replied. She turned straight in her desk again, looking dead ahead.

“Nikki…is this about me?” I asked.

“No…it’s about me. You’re not worth my time. What I do is my business not yours.” My head swam. The world didn’t seem quite real. Surely it was just as much a dream as the Red Moon world I had thought up. “Now leave me alone, I don’t want to hear your voice.” She put her down on the table.

I was still trying to get a logical hold of the situation. Finding myself quite unable to I put my head down as well. I didn’t have these problems in Red Moon.

…I had entirely different ones.

 

The first step of a raid was securing transportation. The Infected may have been crazy, but they weren’t stupid, they recognized the sound of a car.
“Hurry up Serpent.” Trevor said impatiently.

“For fuck’s sake Trev don’t rush me.” She replied impatiently. The five survivors were gathered around a light pickup truck from the trailer across the road. Inside the house there was a sudden burst of jabbering and a crash.

“This is taking too long.” Samantha whispered impatiently. “We’re going to be late.”

“We just need to go inside and get the keys then right?” I asked and drew my buck knife.

Serpent stopped her work on the truck and sat up.

“Yeah, so let’s just go get them.” Doug replied. He lifted up his pry-bar menacingly. Serpent pulled down her face mask and grabbed her ax; it was the same one she had to use to kill her whole family one at a time.

“Tyler.” Samantha called. I looked back. “Be careful.” She said. I nodded. Trevor twirled his machete and kept a close eye out while the three of us closed in on the screen door of the trailer. My heart accelerated to ‘fighting speed’ it was an even match, three on three.

I stopped at the door and looked at it, the paint was chipped and fading, muddy brown crust covered the handle, it was dried blood. I looked back at Serpent and Doug.

Serpent looked barely human in her black face mask, her ax aloft and ready to shatter the first Infected skull she saw. Only the cold twinkle of her eyes told me there was any life in her body.

Doug looked set and determined, as if he were about to do a very unpleasant thing.

Which he was.

To this day I have never seen someone kill an Infected with relish or pleasure. There were no Rambos. Everyone did what they had to do.

“Do it.” Doug whispered and licked his lips.

“Okay, the keys should be in the kitchen, I’ll lead, you two watch my back.” Doug and Serpent nodded.

I opened the door slowly and stepped inside, the bitter cold was barely kept out by the trailer. The stench of unwashed bodies and human waste filled the trailer. I hadn’t ever seen the inside before but for nearly five months I had been seeing the outside. We were in what must have been the living room.

The television was shattered; broken glass littered the carpet like thousands of stars on a background of filthy sky. A bookshelf had been thrown across the room; scattering its contents across the room. A bundle of rags in one corner that smelled particularly rank must have at some point been a nest for one of them. The couch was caked in dried blood and a lump of clothes sprawled across it.

“Ohmygod.” Doug said quickly. Suddenly I realized it wasn’t a lump of clothes, it was the body of a young woman, stabbed into the couch with a broken off lamp stand.

Serpent grabbed Doug and the man regained his composure. I stepped forward toward the doorway. I paused after passing through it, my eyes adjusting to the darkness without the moonlight to illuminate my way.

“Akatabarikada!” a man shouted and charged out of the darkness. I screamed and put out my hands. I managed to get a hold of him when he barreled me back through the doorway and onto the ground.

“Fuck!” Doug shouted and swung a large downward arc with his Pry-bar. I heard it rasp on the ceiling of the trailer. It hit the Infected in the back with a muffled thunk. The sub-human wailed in agony and released me. I slung it with all my strength; it hit the ruined TV and knocked it down.

“TA-RACK!” another voice shouted. I whirled, but Serpent was quicker, she gave a casual up-hand flick with her Ax and stuck it firmly in a young boy’s belly. His blood spilled out and ran down his legs.

“Get the dad!” Doug shouted, running to Serpent’s aid. I turned to the wounded man. He was struggling to get up and shrieking when the broken glass on the floor cut up his bare hands.

“Sorry.” I breathed and kicked him in the ribs. He went back down and a Plunged my knife into the back of his neck, separating brain from body. I wriggled the knife out again and grimaced at the blood that came forth.

I turned around and saw Doug send ‘the Brat’ back with a blow from his pry-bar. Serpent finished him off with a precision ax blow to the head. The boy’s body jerked violently, head still connected to the ax blade. The young woman began to calmly pull it free of his cranium when the last member of the family, the Mother crashed into the small office her fallen son was in. She raised her butcher’s knife over head and swung it at Serpent. Doug thrust forward with a shout and impaled her through the eye with his pry-bar.

Her body went tense and the knife flew threw the air, stopping when it stabbed into a family portrait on the far wall.

Doug gasped and pulled back. The woman’s body fell to the floor where it gave a few more death spasms. Serpent jerked her ax free of the boys head with a shout of disgust. I did my best not to notice the flow of bright crimson blood.

I stepped over both bodies and into the kitchen. I saw it too was in similar disarray, fortunately, the keys were visible on the floor. I scooped them up and tossed them to Serpent.

“Here.” She nodded in thanks and walked back out of the trailer with Doug. I looked around the trailer at the internal devastation.

“Is it still murder if they act like animals?” I asked the silence, seeing as it was the most prevalent thing in the trailer. “Or are they still people underneath all of that?”

Outside I heard a truck start up. With a sigh I wiped my knife off on the carpet and walked toward the door.

Chapter 6: Message

“Tyler…come back to me.” A female voice said.

“I’m coming right now.” I answered groggily.

“Tyler!” I jerked awake. Nikki was staring at me intently.

‘Nikki? Wha-,” I began.

“I am sorry Tyler, and I love you. Please come back to me.” She pleaded. I shook my head, more to clear my thoughts than in response to her suggestion.

“Nikki…” I began. “You are a great girl, but I have someone else.” She looked crushed.

“Please Tyler…you don’t understand.” I needed to be firm.

“No Nikki, you don’t understand. It doesn’t work that way. I have someone, you need to move on.” I said. She seemed taken aback, but quickly recovered.

“Right, I do. I am my own woman after all.” She said thoughtfully. I nodded with a slight smile.

“You got it.” She looked back down at her desk with a nod to herself.

“I decide what happens to me.”

The bell to end second period rang.

“Right, okay I’m glad Nikki.” I grabbed my things and left.

4th period rolled around. True to form I went to sleep. My grades would probably suffer, but the Red Moon world I had discovered was so amazing, I couldn’t get enough of it.

The road signs flashed past on our way to Jonesville. The pickup was silent aside from the quiet crackle of the radio Trevor hadn’t bothered to turn off. Its silence spoke for us.

Our biggest emotion was nervous apprehension. Raids were big events in our lives, forced contact with the infected.

Up ahead a man stood in the road, dressed in a paramilitary fashion similar to ours, using a road flare to direct us to turn. We pulled in and waved at the man, who waved back.

A small campsite had been set up, with a couple dozen Night Dwellers gathered around a cluster of tents.

Trevor shut the truck off and got out.

“Ah…good to see other people again.” Doug said while stretching. I nodded and gave Samantha a knowing look.

“Okay people, you are free to socialize, but remember, the Raid has to go off at 3:00.” Trevor said. Doug nodded impatiently and Samantha put her arm around my shoulder.

“Okay, okay Mr. Boss man let’s get socializing.” Serpent said then kissed Trevor firmly. Samantha and I laughed; Doug shook his head with a look of mock disgust and wandered off.

“Come on Tyler.” Sam said with a quick smile. I allowed her to lead me into the crowd. The other Night Dwellers gave us the usual look as we walked past. It was a look that seemed to say. Who are these guys? And what’s their deal? We returned the look of course, Night Dwellers almost all had an interesting back story as to what put them outside at approximately 11:40 at night 5 months ago.

“Oi! Tyler?” a voice called out. Sam and I turned to see a young teen crossing the dew wet field toward us.

“Hey! Alex.” I called back. The young kid and I embraced each other in a hug.

“Man…it’s been a long time.” He said. “How’ve you been?” I shrugged.

“Better.” I replied with a laugh and held up my hand.

“Daaamn…” he said almost reverently. “How’d you get that?”

“I had a little ‘two-step’ with an Infected who must’ve happened across a machete.” The boy let out a low whistle.

“I almost got myself one of them, Infected with a steak knife. Buck was there though and he took it out with a pretty nasty hit to the head.” He laughed a little.

I had first met this teen at the first raid two months ago; he was quite a character and happened to be running away from home when the Red Moon rose.

“Sounds rough.” I replied. I knew Alex and his ‘family’ were holed up in a farmhouse nearly a dozen miles from ours.

“Yeah…hey where’s Doug?” he asked curiously. The boy had a strange attraction to the young man, but it wasn’t hard to see why, he looked at Doug as a sort of father figure, but Sam and I knew better than to trust a kid to Doug.

“You find Zoë you find him.” I laughed. The kid nodded knowingly and turned to leave, stopping long enough only to say,

“She is hot though.” And then walked away. I looked at Samantha who looked at me. She cracked a grin and we both laughed.

We stopped beside a large tent that housed a kitchen and eating area. Looking out across the encampment we saw Serpent and Trevor talking to Davey, the leader of a platoon of National Guardsmen who survived the Red Moon as well.

I caught sight of Doug flirting with Zoë who seemed amused at his efforts.

“This is really what it’s all about isn’t it?” I asked. Sam looked at me, I looked back into her eyes.

“What’s about?” she asked.

“Life…” I replied. “Everything, this is people, living with other people, sharing everything, helping out, working together, and living life the way we were meant to.” Sam nodded.

“You ever think we are better off this way?” I asked. Sam looked back at me.

“Honestly….I don’t know. We can’t go to the movies anymore. And this kind of life existed before the Moon came. You just couldn’t see it as easily.”

I nodded to myself more than her.

“Okay people! Planning session in three minutes.” A PA system announced over the camp ground. “Three minutes. Meet in the central tent.”

“That’s us.” Sam said.

“Okay babe, let’s go.” I replied.

The bell to end class woke me up.

With a groan I got up and left the room.

Jack and I talked on the bus ride home. But the only thing I wanted to do was go home and sleep. I had to get back to Red Moon to see what happened next.

“See ya tomorrow Tyler.” Jack called as I got off the bus. I waved goodbye and stepped off. It roared away down the road.

After it was gone I looked around my street at the houses and cars.

“How many lives would be wrecked if Red Moon did occur?” I wondered. It seemed so perfect in my dream, no one missed anyone. There was no sense of loss.

Just a sense of change.

I walked inside and sat down at my counter. There was a message on the answering machine. But I didn’t want to deal with it now. I wanted to experience the Raid.

Chapter 7: Death

“Great to see all of you. As you know this is our third raid so far. Let’s keep the number growing.” TJ Walton said from the podium he stood behind. All 66 Night Dwellers sat in silence listening. “We have done two raids before this, and aside from the ‘Sanchez incident’ have only had one death. Let’s keep it that way.”

The mention of Martin Sanchez’s failed first raid got the crowd nervous. Most of their current doctrine in dealing with infected came from this first raid. He rolled into town with 12 heavily armed men and tried to fight their way in, only three returned.

“Now, same as last time we are running the ‘Duran Plan’ that worked so well in Friedberg. The plan consists of three parts. Part one, speaker tower setup has already been completed. Parts two and three are to be executed simultaneously. Part two, lead by Davey Marcus, is defense. He and his men are to defend the speaker towers for as long as possible. Part three will be lead by Trevor Alton.” TJ stepped back and let Trevor and Davey take the stage.

The three men on stage made up what came close to being leadership for the Night Dwellers. TJ an aging man with a hinting smile, Trevor with his good looks and determined expression, and finally Davey, a towering, muscular man.

“Okay, you people know your assignments; most of you are in part three, but in a support role. We have to get in, and get out as fast as possible.” Trevor said. “We are going in quietly as possible; hopefully we’ll be in and out with no real trouble. Davey’s boys should see to that.” Trevor looked at the tall black, National Guardsman and stepped back.

“Right, and for our listening pleasure today, TJ has set us up with ‘The Best hits of New Wave, featuring the greats like Duran Duran’.” Davey said with distaste. TJ was a former sound manager for the band.

“Professor Freeman once told me,” TJ began, looking down at the professor with a keen smile. “That the Infected don’t like new wave because of the ‘sound wave intervals’…I think they just don’t like Duran Duran.” He laughed. This drew a laugh from everyone in the room.

“Okay just remember, things are gonna get hairy at 3:45. The raid ends at 4:25, that’s when daylight begins to start showing up. We’ll all be back in bed by sunrise.” Davey said.

“Everyone knows their places, let’s move!”

It took almost 15 minutes for everyone to get set up. But finally they were in position.

Team one sat in a pre-designated killing zone. They had marked it as the Infected’s “zone of attack”. I looked back at the large speak towers that dotted the area.

“Trevor, get your people in fast, we’ll being playing in about 3 minutes, when you hear the music, go for it.” Davey said while sighting in an M-4 carbine. The leader of our group nodded. “And Trevor…” Davey added. The young man stopped and looked back. “Good luck…” Trevor smiled and twirled his machete around skillfully. Davy pointed to the pistol in Trevor’s waistband.

“You think you’ll need it?” he asked.

“I don’t need luck” he laughed. Davey gave him a dubious look bust instead of commenting, vanished back into the cluster of speaker towers.

Trevor looked back at us. Us being me, Trevor, Serpent, Doug, Zoë, and Alex’s friend, Buck.

Trevor looked over us quickly. We were silent but ready. Are armaments were makeshift at best. The usual assortment of close hand weapons and then unique to this raid for everyone but Trevor was the addition of a silenced side arm. A nine millimeter in my case.

“Alright, shit hits the fan in less than two minutes, let’s clear the area and stake the store. Move!” Trevor ordered and led us into the overgrown wilderness. I staid close behind Serpent, she was second in the single file line. The time in the thick growth seemed to last forever. The silent tension ended when the thick rhythms of One Night in Bangkok came in eerily over the speakers all around the town. We threw ourselves flat.

I noticed something metallic beside me in the knee high weeds. I brushed some grass aside and saw a rusted push mower.

I stopped myself after letting out only a quick bark of laughter.

The formerly silent town quickly became alive with noise as the infected realized that music was playing.

“KAROOSH!” a man vocalized angrily and threw open a sliding door.

It was then I realized we were lying in an overgrown back yard, surrounded on two sides by wooden fencing and the third by a house, the back of the fence was left open.

The man ran off toward the sound of music, not even glancing in our direction. Half a dozen other figures ran past with angry noises. I counted up to sixteen when Davey’s team opened fire. The sounds of death and automatic fire were almost sub to Chess and their one hit wonder.

I saw Trevor poke his head up a couple feet ahead. He took a look around and then motioned for us to get up. We followed the man up to the tall picket fence.

“Hang on.” He said and poked his head over the fence, looking around cautiously. When he came back down he looked please.

“Only a few stragglers, they should either clear out or be easy to take care of when we get in.”

“Well let’s do it then!” Serpent said impatiently and lifted her ax. Trevor led the group this time to the sliding glass door and recoiled at the overpowering stench that emanated from within.

It smelled of death and decay. Our leader looked sick.

“Trev?” Doug asked.

“Trevor. Let’s go.” Serpent said levelly. He looked up at her, swallowed visibly and ducked into the home. I followed them, until I went into the house. The level of disease and rot made me wonder how Infected could live so long.

“Jesus.” Zoë said lowly and pulled a surgical mask over her face. I saw Buck was wearing a painter’s mask. Suddenly my own respiratory system felt exposed. I pulled my shirt over my mouth and drew my knife.

Every shadow in the house seemed to leap out at us.

We all passed the half eaten corpse of a small deer. Doug shuddered and kicked a dismembered deer leg out of his path.

I saw Trevor stop at the window beside the front door up ahead. He looked through carefully.

The last song died down but was immediately replaced by Personal Jesus, Depeche Mode was a particular least favorite of the Infected, that usually cleared them out.

“The store looks clear.” Trevor said happily. “But no chances, everyone stay tight, I don’t want something going wrong.” He opened the front door and winced as it rasped loudly across the moss covered carpet.

He lunged outside and sprinted for the grocery store. We all followed, keeping a close eye out.

“KATA NAK!” a Man shouted in Infected gibberish and ran for us. Trevor swiftly drew his pistol and fired two shots before I could blink.

The twin pops were barely heard and the Infected faltered mid-run and went down. We reached the store unharmed. The smell of rotting food wafted out. It was still more pleasant than the house we traveled through.

“Buck, mark the doorway with flares. We are going to have to do this before Davey’s guys get overrun.” Trevor said. The big man tossed down two road flares and followed the group inside the store.

“Sweep the aisles! Mark canned goods and non-perishables only.” Trevor said and ran to comply with his own order.

I followed Doug as we ran down the main aisle, looking for hiding Infected.

The strange part is, had we been looking toward the check out area instead of at the food, we would have been okay.

“Gack!” a distorted voice declared. Doug and I turned, but too late. An Infected lunged across the counter and bit Doug’s outstretched arm.

“ARGH!” He screamed and pulled back, letting forth a flow of blood. The jerking movement of his hand sprayed it across the front of my jacket as well.

At that moment, there was a number of screams from Davey’s position and the music went off.

The raiding team froze and looked back the way we had come. Even Doug and the Infected stopped their struggle.

Something had gone wrong.

“Shit!” Trevor declared breaking the silence. The Infected lunged for my friend again, having devoured the flesh it got. I got to it first, grabbing it by the shoulders and pulled back, the straps of its apron tightening against its skin.

Doug scrambled back and the Infected clawed at my arms viciously. I felt a shooting pain in arms where it drew blood. I managed to barely push it backwards.

It fell into the cashiers work station built into the check out area. I drew my pistol and stuck it over the counter, blindly pointing down to where I knew the Infected lay.

“AHHHH!” I shouted in rage and pumped the trigger as fast as my finger would let me. A minor spurt of blood hit the back part of the check out aisle.

I withdrew my hand and panted, body shaking with adrenaline.

I looked over and saw Trevor beside Doug, both looking at me wide eyed.

“What?” I managed, gasping.

“Shhh!” Trevor ordered. I stopped and listened. At first I couldn’t make anything else. But then I heard the unmistakable sound of hundreds of footfalls coming straight for the town.

“Fuck! We’re fucked!” Buck yelled.

“The security gate.” Trevor said and ran for the doors of the store. I followed and we saw the rolling metal gate retracted above the doors.

“Help me!” I shouted and we began to pull it down.

“Hurry up!” Buck yelled. I looked down form my work and saw dozens of Infected running into the town, right for us.

Wild Boys started to play. Duran Duran always got them, but not this time. They had caught sight of easy meat.

I started pulling at the gate harder, hearing the Infected coming closer and closer. Finally I caught sight of boots out of the corner of my eye. I squeezed them shut. It was over.

A loud pop beside my ear made me open my eyes. Serpent stood beside my, pistol drawn and the corpse of an Infected at my feet.

“Hurry up.” She told me calmly. With one final tug the gate released and fell down. Trevor and I scrambled out of the way.

It hit with a reverberating clang and a handful of infected collided with the metal security gate, snarling angrily and beating on it with their makeshift weapons. The members of the group took several steps back and stared wide eyed at the Infected. Trevor reached into his satchel and pulled out a walkie-talkie without looking away from the infected.

He turned it on and asked.

“TJ what the hell is going on?”

“It’s a real fucking mess up here. Ralphie Jones got mauled by a beast of an Infected and accidentally sprayed the campsite with his M-4. It took out the CD player long enough for the music to go offline.

“It’s good it did though, the whole campsite was almost overrun, we need to start doing estimates of Infected numbers, we didn’t have enough guys on the rifle line-“

“TJ!” Trevor interrupted. “I have the ENTIRE town of Jonesville on my ass and we are trapped in the grocery store.”
The older man fell silent and only managed,

“Oh dear.” Serpent experimentally placed the barrel of her silencer between the grates of the gate and blew and Infected’s brain matter across the street.

“What do we do?” Trevor asked, still keeping his cool.

“I’m not sure yet, we’ll figure something out though.” TJ replied.

“Damn damn damn!!!!” Buck cursed. Zoë gave the big man a scared look, and then looked at Trevor.

“Are we going to die?” she asked.

“No.” Serpent replied when the storeroom door burst inward.

Chapter 8: Waking world

I jerked awake. It was morning.

There was no store, no guns, no infected. No frantic fighting. A dream.

I got dressed and went down stairs. My mom stood in front of the kitchen table, she looked tired and sad.

“Tyler?” she asked. I knew something had happened.

 

I hadn’t believed her, hadn’t wanted to listen. I ran all the way to school.

“Tyler man, I am so sorry, no one knew…” Jack said. I brushed him off and instead pushed my way into school ignoring everyone’s greetings. I stopped at the locker.

At her locker. The door was open and it was empty.

Nikki had finally done it.

She was dead.

And it was my fault.

“How could you have known man?” Jack asked quietly
“Cause she tried to TELL ME!” I shouted and pushed him away as hard as I could. He hit the far wall and slumped over.

My hands shook.

“Jack I am sorry…” I began. Jack’s head snapped up, his eyes held no compassion, no mercy.

No humanity.

“CARARARA!!!” he screamed and charged me. I blinked and hit the locker beside Nikki’s.

“Jack!?” His teeth sank into my upper bicep. It was the time Nikki bit me times 1000. I roared in pain and started to pummel his head with my free arm. Jack finally released me with a whimpering groan.

My sleeve was turning red. I stumbled back.

He was Infected.

“Tyler!”

Jack rushed me again, jabbering. I swung with my still good left arm.

And missed. He hit me and knocked me back.

I was falling…
Falling…

“Tyler!” Serpent shouted again. I snapped out of my daze and looked at the Infected I held at arms length away from me. It was not my supposed friend Jack, but a young police officer. I charged forward and plowed its back into a shelf, knocking cans and bags of food everywhere. I k

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