creepers in deep creek

 

 

Creepers in Deep Creek

James Cross cut off the engine to his jet black 69 Camaro and stepped out into the chilly night air. His reflection emanated off of the cars shinning paint under the full moon. He is tall handsome young man with broad square shoulders, a robust chest, and stout legs. Under the collar of his shirt a long slender scar was barely visible, unique only to him. In fact everything about James was unique. Especially his job. 

Two fresh sets of footprints glistened in the mud under the moonlight. Agent James Cross rubbed his temples softly. Ever since he had been sent to the small town of Oakland on the edge of Deep Creek Lake he had gotten more action than he could ever have hoped for.  The Deep Creek Lake area was a hotbed for paranormal activity, James was discovering, especially for the undead.

                Lately a small band of living dead were rising up from their grave and wandering into town, the Circle R Ranch had had two horses attacked and killed by a mysterious creature.  The horses appeared to have been bitten and eaten raw by a human. Through his connections in the police department James had secured the knowledge and implanted the thought of a small rabid bear to occupy the town’s thoughts. Since then several wanted posters for the bear had gone up around the lake and a couple of hunters had risen to the call. This case had since become a race against time for James to neutralize the zombies before a human was killed.

                 The first zombie James had taken care of with ease by cornering it inside one of the mines out in the countryside but had since then gotten a call from the police chief about two strange men skulking around the cemetery. Due to the recent events the chief thought James should look into it. It was going to be a long night.

                James fallowed the tracks out of the cemetery, down the small sloping hill across the street and into the woods. The living dead had no sense left from their days among the living. They were almost too easy for James to track through the thick brush. They left behind broken tree limbs and crushed bushes in their unchecked roaming.

                The zombies must have risen from their graves not long before James had gotten to the cemetery.  He could still here the soft moans off in the distance. It wasn’t long before the acrid stench of rotting flesh pierced James nose. He guessed that he was only seconds away from catching up to the pair of corpses. He sighed as he emerged from the trees into the parking lot of Gordon’s grocery store. The load shatter of braking glass rolled over the parking lot and James cursed under his breath.

                 Sprinting the length of the parking lot James stopped outside the window that had been shattered. He reached underneath his jacket to feel the cold metal grip of the handgun in its shoulder holster. He unholstered the gun and held it at the fire ready position. He didn’t have to be especial carful the living dead are clumsy and slow, but if they bite you however the wound will become instantly infected and will fester. The only cures known to the P.I.C.S., the paranormal investigation and containment squad was amputation, if the infection would spread to the heart or any other major organ it would be imminent death for the victim because of the extremely rapid spread of infection.

                James stepped through the window and looked around. The store appeared to be empty the only evidence of the intruders James saw was a center display of chocolates that had been knocked over. He walked slowly around the corner of the isle and held his gun at eye level for aim if anything should come his way. The only thing in the isle however where a row off toilet paper and paper towels also the occasional paper plate or cup James walked slowly but deliberately down the center of the aisle towards the gray double doors that led into the freezer  room.

                James stopped outside the door and listened for any sounds that would give away the location of the pair of corpses. He heard nothing. This was neither good nor bad; zombies are not intelligent enough to keep quiet for an ambush. On the other hand they may have already left the store and headed into town. Part of James job description was containment; the general public was not to know of any paranormal activity so neutralizing a zombie in the middle of a town square was out of the question. In fact letting the zombie reach the town at all would be a catastrophe.

                Pushing the door open as quietly as possible James entered the stock room. The aisles were clear from most debris lying around resulting in his unsure decision to go left or right. Left were the bakery and a small service door. He knew zombies could not open doors with handles and there would be no drive for them to wonder into the bakery, he resound that the only way they could have gone was right and around the bend and jogged down the hallway. The only lights left on where the small red docking bay lights giving the stock room an ambiance of a hellish maze. It would be all too easy for James to get lost in the corridors of food products, waiting to be unpacked and put on shelves, so he skirted the room his back to the wall listening for any sound of the pair.

 The noise came from the other side of the door directly behind James. It was as if someone had turned the volume up drastically on a radio. A deep low gurgling as if someone was being choked combined with a crunching sound like ice being stepped on.  He spun around in a flash, his gun ready to fire at the first sign of motion. The sound continued undisturbed.

James saw his opportunity and took it. He kicked in the door and pointed his gun at the source of the noise. Not to his surprise he saw a zombie hunched over a raw slab of beef ripping and gnawing at it as blood plastered out on to the floor. The zombie took no notice of James as it feasted on its gory meal. James aimed his gun at the zombie ready to take his shot but paused knowing that the only way to eliminate the living dead was a shot to the corneal lobe destroying the brain. He could not get a positive shot with it hunched over the slab of meat so he took a step forward and kicked over a metal bucket that contained the butts and ashes of the cigarettes the butcher had collected over some time.   

                  A loud crash echoed through the room as the can clattered across the floor the zombie seemed not to notice at first then after finishing the scrap of meat it was devouring rose and turned slowly. James grimaced as he gazed at the creature’s appearance. One side of its face was completely rotted away to the bone its eye socket was empty but James had the unnerving sense that it was still staring at him. The zombies jaw hung loose and pieces of meat fell to the floor slipping through the gaps in its teeth as it attempted to chew its putrid morsel. It took a second for the zombie to register exactly what James was but decided that he was a meal and attempted to approach James with his arms outstretched.

                James sighted up the shot his finger on the trigger. He felt the resistance as he began to squeeze when he felt a hand grip his shoulder firmly. He spun around just as the gaping jaws of the second zombie clamped down on thin air missing his neck by centimeters. He fell back against the butchers block and rolled over it. He cursed under his breath. How could he be so foolish he should have been aware of his surroundings and made the location of the second zombie before concentrating fully on the first. The pair of corpses struggled to edge around the heavy butchers block so they could get their meal. He stood up and shook off the anxiety of the near miss and aimed up his shots. CLACK. CLACK. The pair of corpses fell to the floor coagulated blood oozing down between the places where eyes should be.

                There were only two things left to do burn the bodies and cover up the mess. James took a deep breath; it was going to be a long night.