The Conqueror Worms Page 19

  “Motherfucker done lost it,” Taz said. “Ya’ll better lock him up somewhere before he hurts somebody.”

  “What is he talking about?” Mike asked. “Who the hell is Lovecraft?”

  “Horror stories,” I said. “Lovecraft was a horror writer.”

  I’d tried reading H. P. Lovecraft once, after watching the movie Re-Animator, which was based on one of his stories. I was disappointed to find that the book wasn’t nearly as cool as the movie.

  Lee continued babbling. “My students studied Lovecraft every October, along with Poe and Bierce and Hawthorne’s supernatural stuff. Did you guys know that some people actually believe Lovecraft based his Cthulhu mythos on a real-life entity?”

  Sarah raised her hand, as if she were a student in Lee’s class. “Can I ask why we’re standing out here on the fucking roof discussing early twentieth century pulp fiction while that thing is heading towards us? Shouldn’t we be doing something?”

  Her question seemed to galvanize us, snapping our indecision.

  “Good question,” Juan said. “Anna, get the kids downstairs. Lock yourselves in a room and stay there. No matter what you hear, don’t come out. Find something to defend yourselves with, just in case. Sarah, Lori, Lashawn, and Mindy—get the rest of the guns and bring them up here, on the double. The rest of you take positions all around this fucking roof. He’s sure as hell not getting us without a fight!”

  Taz ejected his clip and slid a fresh one into place, then noticed that Lee was still kneeling in the puddle. “The fuck you doing, Lee? Get your ass up! That thing is gonna be on us any minute now.”

  “It’s Cthulhu!” Lee shouted. A droplet of water dripped from his nose. “I’m telling you guys, it’s fucking Cthulhu, man! We are so screwed.”

  “It’s not Cthulhu!” I grabbed Lee’s shirt and yanked him to his feet. “Cthulhu is a fictional character! Lovecraft made him up!”

  “Just like the mermaid, right, Kevin? Was she made up too?”

  I shook him hard.

  “Lee, listen to me. You’re scared. That’s understandable, man, because I’m scared too. But you’ve got to get a grip, dude. That thing is not Cthulhu!”

  “Well it sure as hell isn’t Flipper, now is it?”

  Another wave crashed into the building, the crest lapping over the edge of the roof. The creature’s head emerged from the surf, and when it roared, I felt the roof shake beneath my feet.

  Juan braced his legs against the edge, and raised his rifle. “Kevin, take Lee downstairs. With the state he’s in, he’s not going to be any help. Give his gun to Christian, get him to his room and then get back up here!”

  “Give me your gun, Lee.” I held out my hand.

  He met my eyes. His voice was barely a whisper. “It’s not going to do you any good. Not against that.”

  “Maybe not. But give it to me anyway.”

  He surrendered the weapon and I handed it to Christian, who checked to make sure that it was loaded. Then I helped Lee to his feet and guided him towards the stairwell. He babbled the entire time about squid gods and lost cities. We were halfway through the door when the shooting started. The screaming followed a second later. I led Lee to the bottom of the stairs, and then ran back up. The rain was falling like gravel, thick and hard, but I barely noticed.

  Leviathan was upon us.

  Dozens of thick tentacles whipped through the fog. Everybody opened fire, but the appendages were hard to hit, moving as fast as they did. Taz blasted a hole in one of them and it retreated, only to have three more immediately take its place. One of them slapped the pistol from Christian’s hands, and a third wrenched a radio antenna from its mooring on the roof.

  I fumbled for my pistol, but it slipped from my wet hands and skittered across the roof. Scrambling to retrieve it, I ducked just as a muscular tendril slashed through the air above me.

  One of the tentacles coiled around Christian’s midsection and squeezed. He fired a shot into the appendage, but the creature refused to let go. Christian wailed, his eyes bulging in their sockets as his face turned red, then purple, then black. Dark blood exploded from his nose and mouth, and ran from his ears in thick rivulets, then finally burst from his pores. Mike ran to help him, but three more tentacles seized him, too, wrapping themselves around his legs and waist. He squirmed, clubbing at the appendages with his empty rifle.

  Then he began to scream.

  The tentacles were lined with rows of suckers—except that they weren’t suckers. They were mouths. Tiny little circular mouths, lined with sharp, needlelike teeth.

  And they began to feed…

  The tentacles were eating Mike alive. He shrieked as they gnawed through his wet clothing and burrowed into his flesh. Blood welled out from between the rubbery coils. I remembered the purplish mark on Jimmy’s head, the blemish that had looked like a raw hickey, and finally I understood what had happened to my friend. I raced toward Mike, but the tendrils snaked out over the water, taking him with them. The creature waved him about like a rag doll before dropping him into the ocean.

  Leviathan’s head emerged from the water, dripping seaweed and slime. Up close, those baleful eyes were as big as taxicabs. It roared again and I felt a blast of hot air rush over me. It stank of rotten fish and brine. Salty ran past me and dived into the stairwell. Juan shouted at him to help, clicked empty, and glanced around for assistance. But there was none to be found. Taz and Ducky were involved in their own struggles with the creature, and piles of brass casings littered the roof at their feet.

  Then Sarah emerged from the stairwell, armed with two rifles. Seeing Juan’s plight, she ran toward him, but Leviathan was quicker.

  Juan yanked a white phosphorous grenade from his belt and pulled the pin. At the same instant, another serpentine appendage seized him. The tentacle slithered around his chest, pinning his arms to his side. He was still clutching the grenade. I’ve thought about it many times, and I’m still not sure if he held on to it out of some suicidal notion, or if he was just so scared that he forgot he was holding it. The tentacle lifted him skyward, and he screamed, his legs kicking helplessly. The mouths began to feed on him, chewing at his flesh and clothing. Then there was a bright flash as the grenade exploded, showering us all with gore—Juan’s and the creature’s. The stump of the tentacle sank below the waves, spraying ichor in its wake. There was nothing left of Juan, not even enough for the seagulls.

  Taz and Ducky’s resolve shattered then, and they broke for the stairs.

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here, yo!” Ducky shouted.

  “Word,” Taz said. “Come on, Kevin! Sarah! Let’s haul ass!”

  “We’ve got to stop it,” Sarah insisted.

  “We can’t,” I said. “It’s useless. Just run!”

  A dozen more tentacles slapped down onto the roof, cracking the surface, and I turned and ran. Sarah fired off a few random shots, and then fled with me. We darted through the doorway and met Lashawn and Mindy halfway down the stairs.

  “We’ve got more guns,” Mindy said.

  “Forget about the fucking guns,” Taz hollered, brushing past them. “Bullets ain’t doing shit to that thing! Get the fuck out of my way.”

  Mindy didn’t move. She glanced beyond us, up the stairwell. Her eyes were wide and teary.

  “Where’s Mike?” she asked.

  Before I could answer, she pushed past me. I reached for her, but she slapped my hand away and ran out into the rain. I heard her scream—followed by the terrible sounds of tentacles slithering across the roof. Another appendage wound through the doorway and groped its way down the stairs. The mouths inside the suckers worked silently.

  “Let’s go!” I shoved them forward. We raced down the steps and regrouped in the lobby. The tentacle didn’t follow us.

  “I don’t think it can reach us here,” Sarah panted, breathing heavily. “We should be safe.”

  Ducky wiped the water from his brow. “Yeah, until it rips the motherfucking roof off this place.�
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  “Which should be any minute now,” I said. “Shit. I don’t know what else to do, you guys.”

  “So we just give up?” Sarah asked.

  I sighed. “You’ve seen the size of that thing. How the hell are we supposed to fight it? There’s no other way out of the hotel. And we can’t swim for it or take the boat. Not with that monster outside. So if you have any bright ideas, now would be a good time.”

  She didn’t answer me, so I continued.

  “Listen. Maybe it sounds weird, but I’d like to go find Lori. If we’re going to die anyway, I’d like to be with her when it happens.”

  “I can’t believe this.” Sarah shook her head. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “I hear you, playa,” Taz said. “Kevin’s right. We might as well go out with a bang.”

  Sarah continued shaking her head.

  Taz grabbed Lashawn’s arm. “Come on, baby. Lets go.”

  She took two steps with him, then turned and looked at Ducky over her shoulder.

  “Lashawn…” His voice cracked.

  She broke free of Taz’s grip. “Wait. What about Ducky?”

  Taz whirled around. “Ducky? What the fuck? He’s my homey, yeah. But shit—we all gonna be dead in ten minutes. I want to spend it with you, baby, not Ducky! You cool with that, right, Ducky?”

  “Yeah, dawg,” Ducky sighed. “I’m cool with that.”

  I could hear his heart breaking, and apparently Lashawn could, too. She walked toward him.

  “Where the fuck you going, Lashawn?” Taz’s face was a mask of confusion.

  She flipped her wet hair from her face. “I’m staying here with Ducky.”

  “Why?” Taz took a step toward her.

  “Because I love him, you asshole!”

  Taz gaped at them both. Slowly, he raised the assault rifle. His hands were shaking.

  Ducky took a step backward, distancing himself from Lashawn.

  Taz’s voice was ice cold. “You what?”

  “I love him. We’ve been knocking boots behind your back for months. I’m sorry that you found out like this, but it’s true. If I’m gonna die, I want to be with both of you.”

  “This is not good,” Sarah whispered in my ear. “Do something.”

  The hotel shook as Leviathan continued his assault.

  Ducky held up his hands, feigning ignorance. “Yo, Taz, listen. That bitch is crazy! Come on, man. We boys. How long we been boys? We rolling with the same crew and shit. Druid Hill for life. Remember?”

  Taz shook his head. “Druid Hill crew my ass, you low motherfucker. You were sleeping with her this whole time. You were knocking boots with my girl!”

  Sarah intervened, placing herself between them. She held up a hand. “Think about what you’re doing, Taz. This isn’t the time. We need to work together right—”

  “Get the fuck away from me, bitch.” Taz brushed past her.

  I grabbed Sarah’s arm and pulled her away.

  “Come on, baby,” Lashawn begged Taz. “Calm down. It don’t have to be like—”

  He shot her in midsentence. It happened quickly, and for a second, I didn’t understand what had just occurred. The rounds punched through her breasts and abdomen, and lodged in the wall behind her. The white plaster turned red. Lashawn looked surprised as she slipped to the floor. Ducky screamed and Taz whirled around, aiming the rifle at his friend.

  I stepped in front of Sarah and called Taz’s name. My ears were ringing.

  “Stay the fuck out of this, Kevin.”

  “Come on, man,” Ducky pleaded, hands held out in front of him. “Don’t do this. The bitch ain’t worth it, Taz.”

  “You fucked my girl, punk! Did you think I would just let that shit slide? You were supposed to be my boy.”

  A tear slid down Taz’s face as he squeezed the trigger. Ducky jittered like a marionette as the bullets struck home. He fell to the floor, glassy eyes staring at nothing. I squeezed my trigger a second later, aiming at the center of Taz’s shaved head. It blew apart like a rotten pumpkin, splattering the wall with brains and shards of bone.

  “Oh God…” Sarah gasped.

  I pried the assault rifle from Taz’s fingers, took a step backward, and then collapsed to my knees. My stomach heaved, and the bile burned my throat as it rose. I crouched there, vomiting until there was nothing left inside of me. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

  “You okay?” Sarah asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I—I’ve never killed somebody before.”

  “What now, Kevin? What are we going to do?”

  I slowly rose to my feet. “I’ve got to find Lori.”

  “But she could be anywhere.”

  “I know. That’s why I have to find her.”

  “But what about—”

  Above us, the roof shook as the thing outside slammed against it. Cracks spider-webbed across the ceiling. My feet sloshed as I took another step and I looked down to find myself standing in a puddle. Water was beginning to trickle down the stairs from the roof.

  “Shit.” I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. In less than an hour, our ranks had dwindled from eighteen to eight. I figured the rest of us would take about half that time.

  It turned out that I was right.

  I ran, determined to spend my last moments with the woman I loved.

  “Kevin,” Sarah called after me.

  Not stopping, I shouted over my shoulder, “If you’re coming, then move your ass.”

  She glanced back at the stairway. The trickle had turned into a torrent and the cracks in the wall were widening.

  “Wait for me,” she said and then followed.

  We found Lori in the lobby on the nineteenth floor, cradling Anna’s head in her lap. Lee, Danielle, James, and Malik lay nearby. There was blood everywhere—on the walls and the carpet and even the ceiling. A kitchen knife jutted from Lee’s throat and his eyes stared sightlessly. None of the kids were moving. They’d been stabbed. As I followed the trail of blood, I noticed that the walls and ceiling on this floor were beginning to crack, too. The building shook beneath our feet as we ran towards them. Plaster fell from the ceiling.

  Sarah knelt beside Anna. “Anna? Can you hear me?”

  Anna turned her head and coughed; blood leaked out of the corner of her mouth.

  I crouched down beside Lori. “Hey, you okay?”

  She looked up at me, her face glistening with tears. “Kevin…”

  I took her hand. “What happened? Who did this?”

  “Lee—he found Anna and the kids here in the lobby, while I was looking for more weapons. When I showed up, he was acting crazy, talking about sacrifices and how the Satanists had the right idea. He-he said we had to sacrifice one of the kids. That if we did, that thing outside would let the rest of us live.”

  Anna coughed again, spraying us with blood.

  “Jesus Christ,” Sarah said. “He completely lost it.”

  “What happened next?” I prodded Lori gently.

  She wiped her running nose with the back of her hand. “He must have gone to the kitchen first, because he had a knife. Before Anna or I could stop him, he…”

  She broke off, sobbing. I placed my hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

  “He got James and Malik right away. Anna tried to stop him and he stabbed her and then Danielle. I was so scared. I had the guns in my hands and I didn’t even think to use them. I guess there wasn’t time, anyway. He was stabbing Anna again, so I dropped the guns and jumped on his back. We wrestled, and I got the knife away from him and I-I stabbed him. I stabbed him in the neck. It got stuck and I couldn’t pull it back out. But there’s so much blood. Why is there so much blood?”

  “Sarah, check the kids.” I kissed Lori’s forehead and brushed the hair from her eyes. I soothed her with assurances that it would all be okay, even though I knew it wouldn’t.

  I examined Anna while Sarah bent over the kids’ bodies. It didn’t look good. Anna’s insides peeked at m
e through the wound, pink and glistening.

  “How are the kids?” I asked Sarah.

  She shook her head, turned away, and began to weep.

  Anna smiled at me and tried to speak.

  “We’ve got to put pressure on this,” I told her. “You just hang in there, Anna.”

  “No,” she rasped, “that won’t do any good. It’s too late, Kevin. Too late for us all.”

  “Bullshit.” I tried to smile, but it felt phony. “We’ll have you fixed up in a jiffy.”

  “He killed my babies.” She raised one trembling hand and pointed at Lee. “He killed my babies. Why? He seemed like such a nice man…”

  “I don’t know.”

  Her eyes suddenly seemed far away.

  “Look,” she sounded surprised. “Is that the sun? It’s so bright.”

  She exhaled, her chest collapsing. She did not breathe in again.

  I reached out and closed her eyes with two fingers. Then I bent over and kissed her on the head. Her skin was wet.

  “Good-bye, Anna.”

  After endless days of rain, she’d seen the sun again. I figured we’d see it, too, before the night was done.

  Taking Lori by the hand, I pulled her to her feet. The building trembled again and there was a loud crash on the floor below us. The hallway swayed under our feet. Lori grabbed onto me to keep from toppling over.

  “What’s happening?” she screamed.

  “It’s that thing. Leviathan. It’s destroying the building. Water’s coming in from the top.”

  “The lower levels are flooding, too,” Lori said. “Mindy and I saw it when were looking for guns. Where is she, anyway?”

  I shook my head. “It got her. And the others, too.”

  “All of them?” she gasped.

  “Except for me, you, Sarah, and maybe Salty. Have you seen him anywhere?”

  “Salty? No. Just…” She pointed back to the bodies in the lobby.

  Sarah got to her feet. “I’m going to find him. He might be hurt.”

  “Okay,” I said. “I’m going to stay here with Lori. Be careful.”

  “Good luck.” She started down the hall.