Salem coughed violently into her fist for several moments before gasping for air. She sipped from a water cup by the bedside table and closed her eyes as she forced it down.
“You ok?”
Cracking an eye open she gave him a small smile.
“About the same as I was ten seconds ago when you asked. And the minute or so before that. And the nine times you asked in the last hour.”
John smiled and hung his head.
“Just a little worried about you.”
“I know, but this will be over soon.”
She coughed violently again and John half expected to see blood on her hand. Fortunately, there wasn’t any when she pulled it back.
“Maybe we should talk to the doctor again.”
“Like maybe he’s discovered a cure in the last six hours?”
John frowned.
“Like maybe he has a way to stop the coughing or at least make it less painful.”
She smiled and reached out to pat his shoulder.
“I took the medicine he gave me. I just need to let this run its course and get some rest.”
“Well maybe I-.”
Her clammy hand pressed firmly on his lips.
“I appreciate you want to help, but this will take time to go away.”
He sighed and pulled her hand away to hold it in his.
“I just wish there was something I could do to make you feel better.”
She nodded smiling.
“I know, you’re a fixer and you don’t like problems you can’t fix.”
She coughed again and John winced at how her body seemed to seize with each hack.
“There is something you can do.”
“Tell me.”
“Could you hold me until I fall asleep?”
John smiled as he gently pulled back the blankets to crawl in.
“Not in your jeans you maniac.”
Sheepishly John slid his clothes off and crawled into bed next to Salem. She smiled and touched his cheek gently as she held him.
“Thank you.”
He smiled and kissed her forehead. She coughed a bit into her fist before she nestled her head into his chest. Within a short time she was promptly snoring against him.
John was grateful she fell asleep and was no longer coughing, but he was more than a little grossed out. Her body was slicked with sweat and her skin was clammy.
Holding her tight he made sure the blanket covered her and tried to get some sleep himself.
#
John’s eyes were wide open as Nilly snored nearby. It was a phlegm rattling snore that seemed to fill the chamber. The rest of the group had moved several feet away and John was on the brink of moving himself. But he wasn’t sure if he could get far enough away to avoid that awful racket.
More than once he thought about prodding her onto her side remembering hearing somewhere that some people snored less that way. But he was worried that with the water she would suck in a mouthful while she slept.
The mental image of her snorting up a mouthful of that brackish water caused him to shake slightly as he held back laughter. Her snoring halted momentarily and he worried he woke her, but soon she was filling the air again with her violent breathing.
John was glad Salem never snored during their marriage.
Thinking about her now was both relaxing and painful. The memory he’d been replaying in his mind had been one of his fonder moments surprisingly enough. It was early in their marriage after several months of fighting and disagreements. To the point that he began to question how long their relationship would last.
But then she came down with a really bad case of pneumonia. Suddenly all the petty things they bickered about were no longer important. It was really bad for a week or so and hung around for a month.
During that time John learned to put somebody else before himself and Salem learned to give up a bit of control. It was probably what saved their marriage in hindsight.
Lying in the brackish water surrounded by walls of flesh and people with evil intentions he found himself longing for her companionship. He would rather die than have her trapped here with him, but having someone he could trust, someone he could open up to, and someone to hold would make all the difference.
“I’m glad you miss me.”
John jumped when Salem spoke at his side. In disbelief he looked over to see her lying on her back, the brackish water resting below her chest. She was wearing a dark burgundy sweater and seemed perfectly content.
“Salem?”
She smiled sympathetically at him.
“Don’t get your hopes up too much, I’m not really Salem.”
John sighed and leaned back against the flesh wall.
“I’m hallucinating again.”
“Given everything going on you had to know I was going to show up sooner or later.”
“I was sort of hoping things would improve since we last talked. Considering I escaped the Shelf and all.”
“That’s part of why I’m here.”
“Because I start hallucinating when I lose hope?”
“I’m surprised you have.”
“I’m stuck in this hellhole.”
“You got out of the last one,” she said pointedly, “in fact this is the third ‘hellhole’ you’ve been to.”
He shook his head before a thought suddenly occurred to him.
“Is this a dimension?”
She shrugged.
“I don’t know, the whole thing is kind of wonky. It could be a planet, dimension, realm, pocket dimension, or parallel reality.”
“Hell,” John added.
“Sure, it could be hell,” she frowned looking around, “though not a description of it that I’ve ever heard of.”
“Me either.”
Salem was about to correct him when she saw the smile on his face and laughed.
“I was worried you’d want me to leave.”
“Well, I am annoyed my brain keeps pretending things are there that aren’t,” he said looking up at the veiny ceiling, “but I’m glad it’s conjuring you and not something else.”
“Like a certain nagging college professor?”
John smiled.
“Can you imagine Mrs. Clydes in this place?”
They both chuckled a bit before descending into silence.
“What should I do?”
Salem looked over at him and John marveled that his brain was able to replicate how the water would react if someone was there.
“What do you think you should do?”
“That’s just it,” he said running a wet hand through his hair, “I don’t know.”
“Why not?”
“In the Shelf it was just me trying to find an escape and avoid those things. With the Crimson Ghosts it was trying to keep myself and them alive. Here I’m not sure.”
“Why not a combination of those things?”
“What do you mean?”
“Try to escape, avoid the thing, while working to keep yourself and others alive.”
“Can I do any of those things?”
Salem frowned.
“Can I escape? Can I avoid the thing? Can I keep myself or anyone else alive in this place?”
“You’re staying alive so far.”
“But I’ve lost everyone else.”
John felt a sudden well of emotion burst and he looked into the brackish water below him.
“It doesn’t matter who I meet or what I do. People get hurt, people die, and I don’t know what happens to them.”
Salem’s hand gently touched his shoulder and he turned to look at her. She smiled sadly and John noted that her clothes weren’t wet even though she lay in water.
“You’ve helped others survive just a little longer and you’ve given others hope. And you’re assuming everyone you’ve met in these dark days is dead, you don’t know that.”
“But I can’t say they’re alive either.”
Salem sighed and patted his chest.
“Same John, wanting to fix the wrong things.”
John frowned.
“You have a strong need to fix the things around you, but instead of focusing on things you can do you focus on the things you can’t.”
“And what can I do?”
“Keep them alive,” Salem said nodding to the group behind him, “find others that need help you can provide and you’ll do just fine.”
“And what if they die?”
“Focus on what you can fix, not what you can’t.”
Sighing John thunked his head against the squishy wall.
“Rage against the dying of the light in other words.”
She smiled.
“You always liked that one.”
John took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He wasn’t convinced by her words or rather his own thoughts spoken by her, but he wanted to believe them.
“Thank you.”
When he opened his eyes she was gone and he wasn’t entirely surprised. Looking around he found Atim sitting alone in the water staring over at him.
“You sleep rather strangely my friend.”
John chuckled as Atim smiled.
“I’ll try to get some actual sleep.”
Nilly sawed into a particularly dense log and her snore made him wince.
“As much as I can.”
Atim nodded before returning to look out over the chamber. John watched him for a moment before he forced himself to close his eyes and try to relax.
#
A horrendous scream brought John and the other members of the group out of sleep. Nilly came to with a whimper and John made sure to stay out of arm’s reach in case she tried to grab him.
The screaming was coming from a fairly large group on the outskirts of the chamber. There appeared to be a commotion of some kind, but it didn’t appear to be fighting of any kind.
“Everyone stay put,” said Tim as he came to his feet, “John come with me.”
John blinked.
“What?”
“We need to check it out and I’m not going alone.”
John was about to protest when a familiar arm snaked around his torso.
“He needs to stay here and protect me.”
Shrugging her off he quickly followed Tim. Nilly blustered a few times behind them before Amy started consoling her.
“Want to look like a hero in front of your girlfriend eh,” whispered Tim with a smile.
“Shut up.”
They quickly walked along the length of the wall towards the screaming. A few other groups sent their own members and some smaller groups went together as one.
“Smart,” murmured Tim watching them, “sometimes the larger groups will take advantage of distractions to pick off some people. You watch, there will be a few that join their ranks unwillingly today.”
Sure enough John could see some of the hardened men eyeing the crowds around them appraisingly. It was like wolves deciding which members of the herd were sick enough to prioritize.
Coming closer to the commotion John saw a woman lying face down in the water with another woman standing over her. To his shock it was the trio of women he’d approached yesterday and the woman floating in the water was the seasoned member with the croaky throat.
“We just woke up and found her like this,” said the hysterical mouthpiece to someone as her silent companion sobbed over the body.
“I tried recruiting them yesterday,” murmured John to Tim, “the woman in the water looked like she’d been here a few feedings and the two women were new.”
Tim’s face darkened as John spoke.
“Someone’s attempting to grab the two women. They picked off the member most likely to stay on watch and fight off attackers.”
“You think she was killed?”
“No,” said Tim in annoyance, “she tripped into the community tea to get a drink and in one big long gulp took it too far.”
John frowned but understood his point.
“Hopefully the women will take on with another group, but I doubt it.”
“Why?”
“They don’t know who did this and they’ll be paranoid. They won’t know who to trust so they’ll stay alone. One of them will be on watch, fall asleep, and they’ll be taken in by a larger group.”
“Think we can convince them to join us?”
Tim frowned as the woman rambled to the crowd and the other cried.
“I don’t think so.”
“We could at least try.”
“No you misunderstand,” said Tim turning to John, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for them to join us.”
John turned to meet his gaze in surprise.
“What? Why not?”
“Remember what I said yesterday? We need men capable of holding their own in a fight.”
“Sure, but wouldn’t more numbers help?”
“Help make us a priority.”
Tim gently grabbed John’s arm and pulled him away from the crowd so they could speak more privately.
“It’s going to make us a prime target if there are too many women with us.”
“Why?”
“Imagine you’re one of those scum bags,” he said pointing to the center, “you see a group of maybe five men who you consider a threat and a dozen women you don’t. You know you have twenty men or so in your own group who could take those five and lose only one member if that. But the upside is a dozen women to join your ranks as sex slaves. Would you do it?”
John looked over at the mentioned scum bags. Most of the men and a few women formed a circle, in the center were the tougher men of the group with about two to three women with them. The women were covered in bruises and were avoiding the men’s gazes as they watched the commotion with weak interest. John felt sick as he watched one man disinterestedly stroke a trembling woman’s hair.
“I see your point,” said John slowly, “but imagine you’re one of those women.”
Tim closed his eyes and sighed. It was a deep and soul-filled sigh that told John everything the man was feeling.
“I completely agree with you, but their best bet is to join a group with more men. Not make themselves a target by joining us.”
“Ladies, you should be rejoicing.”
John and Tim both frowned and turned to see an older man had approached the women. He was naked except for a shirt that was wrapped around his groin like a loincloth. With wide eyes and cracked teeth he spoke with his arms wide.
“Your friend shall be the first to join the Unborn.”
Tim started growling like a feral dog and John looked at him in surprise.
“Her body shall sustain the Unborn, provide it with vital nutrients so that it may come forth out of this womb and into the world.”
“What the hell are you talking about,” asked the mouthpiece.
Several members of the crowd started backing away from the old man as he spoke and a few even retreated back to their own groups. From the more filthy members John could see emotions ranging from anger to fear.
“My dear, we have been swallowed up. We have been chosen to assist the new god as it is born into the world. There it shall consume the unbelievers and embrace the faithful for eternity.”
The man gently knelt down on one knee next to the body. He reached out to touch the woman’s head with a gnarled hand.
“Your friend’s flesh shall cleave unto its flesh. Join the greater and therefore become greater herself.”
He stood up and smiled at the woman staring at him in disbelief.
“You should be rejoicing. Your voice should fill the womb as-.”
The woman who had been screaming next to the body suddenly shrieked like a feral cat and launched herself at the old man. The entire crowd dispersed immediately and John was surprised to see Tim making his way back to the group.
“Where are you going?”
“We need to leave now.”
Looking back John watched in horror as the woman clawed at the old man’s face. The old man was lying in the water with his arms out to either side. Instead of screaming or attempting to fight the woman off he was rambling.
“Prepare my flesh for the eternal embrace! Render my body into digestible pieces so that I may be chosen!”
Suddenly there was a loud ripping sound punctuated by surprised screams. Individuals who were near the wall started fleeing as it bulged and tore. A section turned briefly white before it ripped vertically and a person stumbled out.
John was jostled a bit as someone ran past him screaming and when he righted himself he saw the woman being pulled off the old man by several decrepit looking individuals. Their bodies were sickly thin but corded with muscle. They began dragged the woman away as her friend looked on in shock. The old man continued rambling as two of the strange figures grabbed his ankles and started dragging him away.
John was suddenly spun around by the shoulder. He was alarmed until he saw it was Tim, but his concern returned when he saw the look of sheer panic on the man’s face.
“Move now,” he hissed as he started pulling him away.
Allowing himself to be pulled along John gave a final glance over his shoulder and saw that the woman and the old man were being dragged to the hole in the wall. It was jagged and small amounts of blood were seeping out to stain the surrounding water red.
The woman’s screams became muffled as she was taken inside. The old man rejoiced as he too was dragged inside before his voice slowly disappeared.
“Into the womb I go! I shall return reborn to assist in the delivery of-.”
A few more decrepit individuals crawled out of the opening. Some were on their hands and knees and others were hunched over. Their hands were gnarled almost into claws and their skin was thin over their skulls. They looked around with sunken eyes and gnashed at the air with blackened teeth.
John met ones’ gaze and saw the thing’s eyes widen a bit. A stout purple tongue slithered over its black teeth as if testing the air like a snake.
Turning away John started running with Tim through the water as other groups, including the larger ones in the center made their way to the other end of the chamber.
“What the hell are those things?”
“Just run!”
Screams echoed through the chamber as everyone crowded the far wall. Even the hardened men were fighting with each other to jockey for a position furthest away from the strange individuals.
They quickly found their group who had taken position near the corner wall with several others.
Atim spotted them and called out loudly to be heard over the crowd.
“What’s happening?”
Tim quickly rushed forward and slapped a hand over Atim’s mouth. The man’s eyes were wild as he made sporadic shushing sounds.
“Stay quiet. Don’t draw their attention.”
Atim gently removed Tim’s hand and put his other hand on the man’s shoulder. Meeting his gaze firmly he spoke softly.
“Timothy, what is happening.”
John looked back and saw that the strange beings were hunkered down around the small opening. Everyone in the chamber had formed a half circle around them in an attempt to stay as far away as possible. The beings looked around the chamber, their tongues slithering out occasionally. They stood this way for several seconds before retreating into the opening.
“Timothy.”
Tim swallowed hard and closed his eyes. When he opened them again they flickered across Atim’s face nervously.
“They’re back.”
#
It had taken some time to calm Tim enough that he would speak in more than short sentences. Throughout the crowd there were whispers and murmurs as people discussed what happened and a few of those who’d been here longest shared what they knew.
“The day I showed up there was about as many as there are now. A large group, maybe thirty people had the idea to escape by going through the walls. Using their bare hands, teeth, and the few tools they could fashion together they started cutting through.”
“Between feedings they were able to make quite a bit of progress. A few even claimed they were able to avoid the knock out sessions while in there. A lot of us became hopeful that it was going to be a viable way to escape.”
He shuddered a bit as if recalling the event.
“But then those that used their teeth started…acting strange. They’d ramble on about the blood, how good it tasted, how it helped them…see things, and how they felt stronger.”
Shaking his head he looked past the group and the few curious members on the edge that were listening in.
“Soon they were all drinking the blood and stopped drinking the water altogether. Their teeth started turning black, their skin grew tighter, and they became really strong. They would shout and scream about the blood like they were junkies in the middle of a good hit.”
He closed his eyes a moment.
“Eventually they stopped coming out of the opening they had created altogether. Days went by and no one saw them. The few people that went in to check on them never came back.”
He waved a hand at the wall.
“Then one day the wound they created was sealed. It had been filled with this mushy pulp stuff, like pulp from an orange juice but blood red. Over time the wall healed until it was solid again.”
John shuddered and glanced over at the opening as Tim spoke.
“Everyone unofficially agreed never to try that again and we all assumed they were dead…until now.”
“So why are they here?”
Tim glanced over at James and huffed.
“Hell if I know. Though they did take that woman and the old man. I kind of wonder if they’re going to take others.”
“For what?”
“What am I an expert? I said I don’t know. You want to find out so bad go ask them.”
Before James could ask another question Atim spoke up.
“What do you think we should do?”
After meeting his gaze for a moment Tim shook his head.
“I honestly don’t know. Before our biggest concern was surviving the choosing, now those animals are hiding from the crazies with us and everyone seems to be playing nice…for now.”
“You think they’ll change their minds,” asked John.
“It’s all about survival down here. If those thugs think it’s in their best interest to throw us to the new wolves they’ll do so,” he shook his head and spit into the water, “in the meantime we need to keep our heads on a swivel and stay close.”
The group nodded and John was encouraged to see a few listening in nodding as well. He couldn’t be certain but he felt that they had gained a few unofficial members.
Looking out through the crowd he stared at the opening in the wall. Subconsciously he ran a hand through his hair. Feeling the locks was both a comfort and a curse, part of him desperately wanted this to be fake.
“Are you alright?”
John inwardly sighed as he turned to face Nilly.
“I’m fine.”
“Anything I can do?”
For a moment John was taken aback by her sudden sincerity. Before she would have simply clung to his arm and promised him the world. Now she seemed more reserved, almost cautious. It made him both relieved and surprisingly nervous.
“No, but I appreciate it.”
She smiled a moment before it slipped. Out of nowhere she started sobbing hysterically and slumped to the ground with a loud splash.
“What are we supposed to do?!”
Several people looked over and John felt annoyance building inside of him.
“It’s just one thing after the next. When does it end?!”
“Nilly get up,” he muttered under his breath as he looked at the crowd.
“What’s the point,” she blustered as she slapped the water around her, “we’re not getting out of here and we’re all going to die.”
John felt something inside of him snap and anger rapidly overwhelmed the annoyance and paranoia he’d been feeling. His hands trembled as various dark scenarios played out in his mind.
Before he could act on any of them a familiar figure sauntered out of the crowd with a grin.
“I have an idea.”
To John’s horror the man darted forward and snarled his fingers in Nilly’s hair. She screamed as he dragged her upright chuckling.
“Yes, a good idea. A fresh one I just came up with. Very fresh.”
He suddenly began yanking her away from the wall by her hair. Nilly stumbled to her feet following him to avoid getting any of it ripped out. John was so stunned by the turn of events it took him a few seconds to do anything.
“Hey, let her go!”
Several in the crowd backed away as the strange man pulled a screaming Nilly along behind him.
“You can come too. I want to see your face as you watch my idea.”
Growling Nilly suddenly surged to her feet and lashed out at the man. She managed to slap his face and cause him to let go of her hair. He giggled as he massaged the place she slapped.
“Ooh, not a good idea, very unlucky of you to do that.”
Several figures suddenly emerged from the crowd and descended on Nilly. Men and women, all filthy, and either rambling or giggling. The crowd immediately backed away from them as they grabbed onto Nilly.
“Hey, st-.”
A hand clamped firmly over John’s mouth and Tim hissed in his ear.
“Be quiet or they’ll pick you next.”
The strange man waved with one hand as his other scratched at the scab under his chin.
“He’s fine. He’s too lucky for my plan. But her, she’s not so lucky.”
Nilly screamed and flailed as the strange people picked her up and carried her off. John watched in horror as they made their way to the center of the chamber some distance from the opening.
He struggled against Tim who simply held tighter. Soon he felt other hands and arms holding him in place until he couldn’t move.
“Listen to Timothy,” whispered Atim, “there’s nothing you can do for her now.”
Helpless he watched as she was unceremoniously dumped on the ground. She tried fighting to her feet but she was quickly mobbed with people as they held her down. The strange man giggled as he positioned himself behind the group and called out.
“Children of the Unborn. We have something for you.”
John continued struggling against those holding him back until the beings emerged from the opening in the wall. Seven of them gaunt and nude emerged from the wall flicking their tongues and gnashing their teeth.
“Consider our offering,” he giggled before backing away towards the crowd against the wall.
The things rushed forward and seized Nilly. This caused those holding her down to quickly back away and join the strange man, giggling and rambling as they went.
The thin figures dragged Nilly towards the opening. She screamed and kicked her feet in the water until it was splashing and churning in her wake. Within seconds she vanished into the wall.
Author’s Note:
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