“Is it far?”
“Bit of a hike, but I remember the way. Have you seen the others?”
“Well . . . Brett’s dead.”
“Oh, shit. Are you sure?”
Kerri nodded, wiping her eyes. “Pretty sure. That thing, Noigel—the one who killed Steph and Tyler—had Brett when we all ran away. He smashed Brett against the wall right below the basement stairs. Brett stopped screaming after that.”
“Goddamn it.”
“Yeah. I should have . . . I should have helped him, but I couldn’t.”
“It’s okay.” Javier smoothed her hair. “What about Heather? She’s got to be okay. Have you seen her?”
“No. Not since we all got split up.”
“She’s right here,” said a voice in the darkness.
Startled, Kerri and Javier broke their embrace and glanced frantically into the gloom. The voice was distinct. Rough and gravely.
“Scug,” Javier said. “You sick fuck.”
Chuckling, Scug stepped out of the shadows, carrying Heather’s decapitated head in one hand. Her glazed eyes stared sightlessly. Her mouth was open, as if begging for help. One of her cheeks had been torn so that it hung down in a flap of loose skin. Her cheeks were the color of bruised fruit. Strands of tissue dangled down from her mangled neck.
Javier closed his eyes and sighed. Kerri’s hands went to her face. Her fingernails dug into her cheeks as she stared at her friend’s head in horror.
“So you two recognize her then?” Scug asked. “Good. That’s real good. Had a hell of a time getting her head back from the rest of the garbage. They wanted her for themselves, you know? But that’s how the trash are. Greedy little bastards. That’s why we keep them down there. By the time I got to her, this was all that was left. Damn shame, really. I was going to use the rest of her, too. Ain’t got any use for just her head, except to maybe put it on the end of my pecker and dance around a little. Maybe fuck the neck hole. What do you say there, lover boy? Want to give her one last go?”
“Fuck you.” Javier’s voice was thick with grief, barely a whisper.
Scug laughed. “Not so tough without your little belt, huh? You’ve caused us a lot of trouble tonight. Don’t know how you got away. You were supposed to be skinned and gutted by now.”
“Shit happens.” Javier stepped between Kerri and Scug, putting Kerri behind him. “That’s always sort of been my philosophy. You and your sick friends really put it to the fucking test tonight, though. Anyway, yeah, I escaped. Sorry to disappoint you. I killed your two nasty-ass girlfriends, though, before I got away. They died slow.”
Scug shrugged. “Plenty more where they come from. I may even have a turn with the little miss standing there behind you.”
“Not tonight, you won’t. You’ll have to go through me.”
“I’m gonna go through you anyway, boy. Gonna slit your belly open and pull out your guts and show them to you. Then I’m gonna squeeze the shit out of them and smear it all over you before you die.”
“Kerri.” Javier kept his voice calm and level. “Run for the stairs. Don’t stop.”
“But you said the river—”
“You’ll never find it yourself. Now get going. I’ve got him.”
“Javier, you can’t!”
“Do you see what he has in his hand?” Javier exploded. “Go, goddamn it!”
Kerri turned and ran. When she glanced back, Scug and Javier were still facing one another. She dashed on, and when she turned around again, both men had been lost in the darkness. She looked for the stairs and found them. Panicked, she didn’t see Brett’s corpse until she tripped over it. Kerri went sprawling across the stone floor, scraping the skin on her knees and elbows. Crying, she glanced over at what was left of her friend. His skull had been cracked in half and it looked like something big and round had drilled into what was left of his brains.
Both of his eyeballs were missing, and the bloody sockets had been split and widened, as if whatever had been stuck in his brain had been inserted into them, as well. Retching and sobbing, Kerri stumbled to her feet and fled for the stairs. When she opened her mouth to breathe, a scream slipped out. It echoed through the chamber long after she was gone.
“She won’t get far,” Scug said.
“We’ll see about that. She might surprise you.”
“Doubt it. Noigel’s upstairs, dealing with some more guests. He likes the ladies, Noigel does. Of course, he likes the boys, too. Hell, he likes anything he can stick his pecker in, long as it’s dead first.”
“You’re a twisted bag of shit, aren’t you?” Javier shook his head in disgust.
“Here,” Scug said. “Have a go.”
He tossed Heather’s head at Javier. He flinched as it slammed into his chest, recoiling in horror and disbelief. The head thumped onto the floor and rolled away, leaving a wet stain. A part of him was disgusted, and he immediately felt ashamed for that reaction. How many times had they made love in his car or at her parents’ house or at his house when his mother wasn’t home? Or that one time backstage after the school play? She’d been so warm. Smelled so good. Felt so soft. Now the girl he loved had been reduced to this. Turning away from her, Javier glared at Scug. His hands curled into fists. His lips felt swollen and his ears and cheeks burned.
“Good,” Scug teased. “That’s good. Get all mad now. Think you can take me?”
“It’s just you and me, you sick fuck. Your little mutants aren’t here to help you.”
Scug wagged his index finger in the air and then whistled. The darkness came alive with rustling shadows. One by one, more of the freaks stumbled, slithered, and loped into sight, slowly surrounding Javier. Some carried flashlights and lanterns. Several more had weapons—everything from crude stone clubs to expensive cutlery. They circled him, snarling like a pack of dogs.
Scug grinned. “What’s that you were saying?”
“Pussy.” Javier tried to sound unafraid. “You scared to fight your own battles?”
“If I was going to eat you by myself, then yeah, you’d be my kill. But I think the rest of my family would like a piece of you. And besides, I don’t want to mess up my clothes.”
Smiling, Scug ran his hands over the tanned human hide he was wearing, as if smoothing out the wrinkles.
Adopting a ready stance, Javier studied his opponents. These were not the same as the others he’d seen. He could tell that immediately. They were malformed, yes, but they seemed more symmetrical, more balanced. More normal. One edged closer to him. It was sleek and muscular, with a broad jaw line and a wide mouth filled with teeth. The eyes were spaced too far apart and had no whites at all, but only the massive dark pupils.
“Sic him, boy,” Scug said. “And some of the rest of you get upstairs and help Noigel. Tell him I want her skin, so he’s not to fuck it up. It’s been a long night, and I’m getting tired.”
The thing with the dark eyes closed the gap. It did not growl as it came toward him. It roared, the sound of its voice blasting around the cellar as it charged. The rest of the creatures shouted in response.
Javier acted purely on instinct, and that simple reflex saved his life. He dropped back as the mutant attacked, and kicked the slavering thing in the stomach. It slammed into the wall and then shook off the blow, prepared to attack again. Before Javier could react, a second cannibal came for him. Sharp teeth ripped into his thigh, slicing through the heavy denim of his jeans and into the skin and muscle beneath with appalling ease. Javier jabbed his elbow down and struck the back of the monster’s head. It was like striking stone. His elbow thrummed from the impact.