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  Screaming and babbling, Steve clung to Aubrey’s left leg for dear life with one hand, the other still clutching his energy drink. Aubrey screamed too, kicking and squirming, trying his best to free Steve from his leg. He grabbed the checkout counter and pulled with all his might, dragging Steve along with him.

  And pulling the thing attached to Steve’s ankles as well.

  The glistening thing emerging from the foam stopped their screams dead. Humanoid in shape, it slid along the slick tile floor out into the bright fluorescents. It lifted its head, or what appeared to be a head, the lack of facial features made it hard to tell. The thing resembled an artist’s wooden mannequin, except made from soft tofu instead of pine. Red and blue veins crisscrossed its flesh like varying fronts on a weather map.

  Freeing a foot, Steve kicked the thing’s head right where its nose should be, the bulbous lump bouncing back on its rubbery stalk of a neck like a punching bag. Without a sound, the creature released Steve’s other foot and vanished back into the foam as if pulled by unseen hands, allowing him to scramble to his feet. However, the slick tiles sent Steve crashing to the seat of his pants.

  Sensing Steve’s release of his own leg, Aubrey turned and offered a hand to the fallen man, and froze when he saw the cluster of worms across the aisle unravel like a hundred slipknots and slither their way.

  “Give me your hand. Drop the stupid drink you dumb fuck!”

  If Aubrey had known these were going to be his last words, he would have chosen something a little more elegant. The lead worm – grown to the size of a large man’s thigh – pivoted toward Aubrey’s voice. A sphincter-like aperture on its tapered head yawned open, ejecting a thin, whitish tongue. Before the fleshy missile hit Aubrey, it fanned out in midair into a fine, delicate net – a sinewy webbing of sticky fibers. The mesh smacked the clerk in the face, engulfing his entire head. Before Aubrey could react, before he could even voice an opinion of his current situation, the webbing retracted, taking his face and scalp with it.

  Clutching his skinless face, Aubrey shrieked in agony, drawing the attention of more creatures. The air sizzled with white tongues, and within seconds, Aubrey’s clothes and skin were torn from the top half of his body with a rending sound like duct tape unrolling. The remaining muscles peeled away from his face as the last webbing snapped back, leaving behind a glistening red skull. Aubrey’s screams stopped. He crashed to the floor, trembling and gasping with shock. His bulging eyes met Steve’s, the stripped face a hideous crimson death mask with a lunatic’s toothy grin. To Steve, the look in the clerk’s eyes conveyed regret, and possibly even blame. Then another gooey web covered the skull and pulled Aubrey headfirst into the frothy hill, a trail of blood on the white tile floor all that remained of the clerk.

  Slipping in worm sputum and Aubrey’s blood made it impossible for Steve to stand, so he flipped to all fours and crawled. Trembling, he crawled like a toddler through the slimy cocktail of bodily fluids, toward the old man waving him on. The slurping sounds of the worms as they devoured their meal propelled him forward.

  Thom stopped waving and pointed. “Behind you.”

  Steve turned to see a giant worm rising into the air, just inches from his feet. The anus-like hole on the creature’s snout dilated. In a panic, Steve splashed the monster with the drink he still held in his fist. The thin aluminum crunched in his grip as he waved the beverage in the air like a child throwing a tantrum.

  The worm flinched as the greenish liquid splashed its flesh. The sphincter closed tight and the worm retreated a few feet. Steve saw the reaction and slung the remaining liquid onto the beast.

  The creature’s flesh boiled and hissed. Its snout-sphincter widened again, but instead of the deadly tongue, a piercing inhuman shriek spewed fourth. The thing smacked to the floor, writhing and convulsing.

  The high-pitched screech stopped, the worm ceased moving, apparently dead.

  Steve stared at the crushed can in his hand. “Holy shit!”

  He dropped the can as strong hands grabbed him under the arms and pulled him along the floor and out the front door being held by a young girl whose expression matched his own: complete and utter shock. She shut the door and followed the men, a little boy clinging to her waist.

  After dragging him several yards from the door, the strong hands lifted him to his feet. Steve turned to look Thom in the face. “Thanks,” he said, gulping the fresh air. After the charnel stench of the convenience store the air outside was invigorating. An uncomfortable silence settled on the group, all of them panting and exchanging confused glances, all eyes threatening to pop from their sockets. Steve stabbed a shaking thumb back toward the store. “Sorry about your friend back there.” He then proceeded to vomit the entire contents of his stomach onto the pavement.

  Thom patted Steve on the back with a quivering hand. “Not your fault … you know, I never got your name.”

  “Steve,” he said between heaves.

  “Not your fault, Steve.” Thom focused on the girl and little boy, trying his best to keep a calm voice. “And what’s your names?”

  The girl stepped closer, visibly shaking from the experience, a disgusted pucker on her face as she watched Steve puke. “I’m Angie … this is my brother, Leland.” She turned back to the shattered window of the store. “What were those … things?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine, young lady.”

  A muffled voice drifted out from Leland, his face still buried in his sister’s shirt.

  Thom squatted in front of the small boy. “What’s that, son?”

  Leland, his big eyes glistening with tears, looked into Thom’s face. “Martians … they came from the splosions in the sky.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Explosions?” Steve said, wiping his lips, looking from Thom to Angie and finally back to Leland. “Martians?”

  Angie patted the boy’s head, his face once again pressed to her shirt. “He’s talking about the meteor shower. Some of the meteors fell so close that they lit up the sky. Dust … or something from them drifted down on us … well, not on us because we were watching from inside the car, but on most of the people that were up there for the festival. Including our parents.”

  A crash sounded from inside the store and the group of four scurried further away from the windows. Thom pulled a key ring from his pocket. “Let’s talk about it in the car,” he said, moving toward a glimmering black Jeep Wrangler.

  Angie and Leland followed without protest. Steve stayed put. He shrugged and shouted at their retreating backs, “Where’re you going?”

  Thom opened the driver’s door. “Away from here. You’re welcome to stay.”

  Steve cringed as another crash came from inside the store. “Okay, I’m coming,” he said, jogging to catch up. “But shouldn’t we leave like a note or something on the door … to keep people from walking in there.”

  Thom nodded. “Good idea, Steve. But I gotta better one.” He reached behind the driver’s seat, his hand returning with a Bungee cord. He tossed it to Steve. “Don’t have time to find a pen and paper, so just wrap that around the door handles a few times.”

  Steve snatched the cord from the air and did as the man suggested, pride etching a grin on his face while he performed the task. It felt nice to be complimented for a change. He finished securing the door, and jogged back to the Jeep. He slowed when he saw the Semper Fi sticker on the Wrangler’s bumper. Shit, he thought, I knew it. Guess I’ll need to watch what I say around this guy.

  After helping Angie and her brother into the back, Steve jumped into the passenger seat. The Jeep sped out of the parking lot and shot down the two-lane highway. Out here on the outskirts of town the road was deserted, tall pines crowding either side of the passing Jeep. An occasional mobile home peeked out from the trees, their lights extinguished, no signs of the occupants. Steve hoped the folks living there were just sleeping, but couldn’t help feeling a sense of dread as they passed. The area seemed void of life. Dead.

&n
bsp; Steve flipped open his phone and tried Lisa’s number again, his concern for her increasing. He slapped the phone closed with disappointment.

  Thom glanced over. “You trying the cops?”

  “Huh? Oh …yeah,” Steve lied. “It’s busy.”

  “Busy?” Thom said, searching the center console for his own phone. “Is that even possible?”

  “Yeah, it was busy when I tried too,” Angie said.

  Now that he was free of the store, and the creatures, Steve preferred not to have the police involved. The little matter of the concealed gun may come up in conversation, and he didn’t feel like explaining why he had a weapon registered to his father; one his father had most likely reported as stolen. He mentally thanked Angie, and changed the subject. “So what’s this about Martians, little man? You think these things came from those meteors.”

  “Uh-huh,” Leland said, his voice louder, the safety of the car making him braver. “From outer space.”

  Steve pondered the answer for a few seconds. “What do you think over there, Thom with an h?”

  Thom was silent for a moment before saying, “Well, I’ve never seen anything like those things, that’s for damn sure … I mean, look what they did to poor Aubrey. And that thing that grabbed your legs? How the heck do you explain that?” Before Steve could answer, Thom added. “Earlier today I would’ve said no way… but now? Yeah … sure, why not, I can believe they were aliens.”

  “Holy shit,” Steve said. “So much for the friendly little phone-home type of alien, huh?”

  Thom reached over and retrieved a phone from the glove compartment. “There it is. I’ve got the Sheriff’s personal number. She’s a friend of mine.” He searched his phone for the number. “Yeah, that girl’s always trying to buy my Jeep off me, but I wouldn’t sell this beauty for anything. Anyway, we need to get a hold of her, find these kids’ parents and––”

  “Look out!” Steve shouted.

  Thom dropped the phone, snapped upright, saw the cars, and stomped on the brakes. With a screeching of tires, the Jeep slid to a halt, inches from the ambulance blocking the road.

  Gasping for air, Steve pressed his hands against the dash. “Holy … Fuckin’… Shit.”

  Thom leaned out the driver’s side window. “There’s a patrol car. Looks like we found the police. And watch your tongue, there’s a kid in the car.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Please excuse me from using inappropriate language, I wouldn’t want to scar the kid,” Steve said, wrenching a confused glare from Thom. “You’re kidding me, right? He saw a guy get his face ripped off by giant alien worms, so I don’t think the f-bomb is going to do any damage. Never mind. Should we go check it out?”

  Thom leaned over and reached in the glove box again, this time pulling out a flashlight. “Yeah, let’s just go slow.” He turned to the rear seat. “You two stay here, okay? We’ll be right back.”

  Steve recognized one of the cars the moment he exited the Jeep. “Hey, I know that car.” He cupped his hands to his mouth. “Lisa!”

  “Quiet,” Thom hissed. “There may be more of those things.”

  “That’s my friend’s car, she must be around here.”

  Steve jogged over to the Volvo.

  “Careful,” Thom said.

  After a moment, Steve jogged back, holding a small phone aloft. “It’s empty. And it was unlocked, her phone on the floor. Check the back of the ambulance.”

  Thom sidestepped to the rear of ambulance, the flashlight illuminating the interior. “Empty. But I think those things were here. There’s some of that stuff they leave behind.”

  “Worm jizz?”

  “Yeah. If you want to call it that.” He illuminated the police cruiser. “No sign of the cops either.”

  “You sure?” Steve asked as he peered into the rear of the ambulance, already knowing the answer to his question. “Shit … we gotta find her, man.”

  Thom flashed the light over each vehicle, a frown of concentration etched on his face. “Get in the Jeep. We’ll drive further up the road, see if we can find her. Maybe there was a fourth vehicle that everyone drove off in.” He stabbed a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing to Angie and her brother. “And I want to get these two to the sheriff’s office while we’re at it.”

  Thom jumped back behind the wheel and switched on the radio. “Let’s see if there’s anything on the news. Maybe there’s some sort of explanation other than aliens.”

  There was plenty of news of religious fanatics and their latest atrocities performed against their fellow humans, but none about the strange creatures they’d encountered in the store. Thom scanned the radio for more information, but could only find classic rock, the latest country music hits, and the occasional rants of preachers professing the end of times. He gave up, leaving it on a weather report. A meteorologist cheerfully announced, “Well the skies were clear for the meteor shower, but get those umbrellas handy, because it’s going to be a soggy––”

  Thom stabbed the button, silencing the radio, and drove away from the abandoned cars.

  Shrugging, Steve said, “Well, maybe no news is good news.”

  Chapter Nine

  Thom had gotten through to the sheriff, the conversation brief and one-sided, with the old man just nodding and grunting his approval into the phone every few seconds. The sodium glow of lights came into view as he ended the call.

  “That’s a drugstore,” Steve said. “Pull in there.”

  Thom slowed the Jeep to a crawl but didn’t turn into the parking lot. “We really need to get these two someplace safe. The sheriff said to go to the high school gymnasium; they’ve set up a shelter there. And that’s back the way we came.” Thom scanned the road and vast parking lot. “She also said it’s not safe to be driving around. Those worm things have been reported all over town.”

  Steve nodded. “All right, but this place probably sells energy drinks, don’t you think? And there’s a car in the lot. Lisa might be in there … maybe even the cops. You said yourself that they might’ve taken a fourth car.”

  “Okay, son, we’ll look for your friend, but do you really need another one of those drinks?” Thom asked, turning into the lot. “They’re bad for ya, you know?”

  “Yeah, but didn’t you see how that worm reacted when I splashed it? It freaked out and keeled over dead,” Steve said with pride. “At least it looked dead.”

  The Jeep pulled to the curb, just outside the front entrance of the drugstore. Thom killed the engine and spun around in his seat. “You two wait here, we won’t be … ”

  Angie and Leland were already exiting the car, following Steve toward the glass doors of the store.

  Thom jumped out. “Hey, where you two going?”

  Angie looked at Thom, then to Steve. “I still need to find our parents, so no, I won’t wait in the car. You two have been talking as if we can’t hear you.”

  She started toward the entrance. The doors swung outward automatically. Steve blocked her way. “Hold on. We’ll go in together, okay?” When he got a nod from Angie he added, “Okay. Let’s go slow. And if you see any of those wormy things just run back out to the car. Sound like a plan?”

  Angie and Leland nodded. Thom shrugged. “Sounds good to me. Let’s not spend forever in there, though. In and out.”

  Steve entered the store first. He cringed as an electronic tone announced his arrival. Well, at least it’s not as annoying as the last place. The tone sounded twice more as the others crossed the threshold. Steve paused to listen to the seemingly empty store. Soft Muzak spilled from the overhead speakers as he scanned the aisles for what he was searching for. He found it, at the opposite end of the store, of course: a cooler full of energy drinks. He led the group toward the rear of the store, but veered off when he spied an aisle labeled: TOYS, TOYS, and TOYS!

  Steve pointed to the sign, turned to the group with a smart-ass grin. “I think this is the toy aisle.”

  When nobody returned his smile, he rolled his eyes and start
ed down the row. It didn’t take him long to find what he wanted.

  He grabbed the Super Soaker from the shelf and greedily tore into the packaging, Thom all the while pressing his palms toward the floor, pleading for silence. Steve’s grin returned, ignoring the old man’s pleas. He held the water weapon up high. “Say hello to my little––”

  A crash from several aisles over cut him off. As one, the group hunched low, exchanging terrified looks. Just like earlier, Thom pressed his finger to pursed lips and motioned for them to follow. They shuffled along the aisle toward the coolers. When they reached the frosted glass doors, Thom opened one and reached for a can.

  Angie released a high-pitched yelp, slapping her hand over her mouth. A second later, Steve and Thom saw what had caused the girl’s outburst. A few yards away, a man lie face down in front of an open cooler door. An empty water bottle rested next to him, just inches from his skinless hand.

  “Shit,” Steve whispered. “Grab the drinks, Thom. The camouflage ones.”

  Thom nodded and doled out a can to each of his crew, repeated the international sign for silence, and continued along the wall, away from the body. When the noise came again it was much closer.

  Thom pointed to a sign on a door reading: MEN. He whispered, “I think it came from in there.” He caught Steve’s attention, wafting his hand in front of his nose. “Smell familiar to you?” Steve nodded as the now intimate charnel stench entered his nostrils.

  “We need to leave,” Thom whispered.

  Steve shook his head. “That body back there was wearing EMT clothes. He must be from the empty ambulance. That means Lisa could be here somewhere. I have to check.”

  He popped his 24oz can and loaded the oversized squirt gun with the yellowish-green fluid, pumping the mechanism to build pressure. Repeating the loading process with Thom’s can, Steve whispered, “Wait here guys.”