form some sort of a protective barrier to the water streaming down from above, no wonder why it had been able to survive.
“Dang it, Slammer. You should have just let me shoot the thing.”
His eyes were glazed over, and I wasn’t certain if it was just mirroring the reflection of the white blazing blutom or if he’d actually been taken over. I took out my pocket knife and opened it one-handed, glad for all the time I’d taken throughout the years to practice that particular skill. I winced as I did so because I’d forgotten to take it out of my pocket when I’d showered.
“Curse you for making me do this.” I pushed him to the floor, slit his belt and then cut into either side of his pants. It was a mark of just how far gone he was that he didn’t notice or try to stop me.
I slit all the way down on the pant leg that was blutom free before I slit as far as I dared on the other. With one last look at his transfixed eyes, I ripped off his pants and threw him into the shower.
Dragging him back across the tile floor, I called out to Madelyn. “My gun, quick!”
Pete’s head made a thwacking sound when I dropped him but I was moving too quickly to stop and check. The blutom came out of the shower and the protective shield over the top of it was absorbed back into the vibrating ball. It reminded me of an atom or a solar system, only the rings were appearing and disappearing as quickly as I could perceive them.
The brightness of the ball itself was leaving an afterimage, so I squinted as I leveled my shotgun at the ball and pulled the trigger.
The blutom was blown back into the shower. Pieces of the tile flew out and slid on the floor. I covered my eyes with my arm as I pumped another shell into the chamber.
When I looked again the blutom was gone. After several seconds had passed, I blinked and made sure to look around the room as well as the shower to ensure it hadn’t just gone somewhere else.
As I approached the shower, steam rose into the air and partially obscured the view. When I was certain there wasn’t anything left, I turned off the water and surveyed the damage.
The tile on the back wall had been destroyed. Much of it had been blown off but there were still quite a few pieces that clung to the wall.
I was surprised to see that there wasn’t a hole until I realized that there had been cinder blocks behind the tile.
The blutom was gone. I hoped that it had been at the end of its life cycle and been destroyed by the shotgun blast, but I doubted we’d be so lucky. The thought of level ten blutom flushing into the sewer and shifting into whatever was alive down there made me shiver.
Pete was up on one hand, looking at the remains of the shower. With the other, he rubbed the back of his neck. “I felt them, inside of me. A few more moments…” He swallowed.
Hefting my shotgun over my shoulder with one hand, I used the other to pull him to his feet.
“We don’t have time to waste,” I said. “Let’s get into dry clothes and get you down to the lab.”
Pete shook his head. “I keep telling you, I can’t let you guys in.”
“Like it or not, we’re coming.” I didn’t give him a chance to respond. I headed back to our room with Madelyn close on my heels. We were at my bedroom before Pete had left the bathroom. He staggered and I felt a pang of guilt for leaving him to come back by himself. He had taken quite a knock to the head when I’d dropped him to the floor.
Any concern I had about Pete fled when I walked into our room. The fire was still burning and had spread to the carpet, despite our precautions. Pete’s philosophy book was all but gone and it looked like that was the cause of the fire spreading outside of the circle Pete had cut out of the carpet.
Madelyn coughed as I ripped a blanket from my bed and covered the flames. Smoke filled the air as I extinguished the fire. I was concerned the sprinkler might turn on until I looked overhead and remembered that it was
“Dang it, Slammer. You should have just let me shoot the thing.”
His eyes were glazed over, and I wasn’t certain if it was just mirroring the reflection of the white blazing blutom or if he’d actually been taken over. I took out my pocket knife and opened it one-handed, glad for all the time I’d taken throughout the years to practice that particular skill. I winced as I did so because I’d forgotten to take it out of my pocket when I’d showered.
“Curse you for making me do this.” I pushed him to the floor, slit his belt and then cut into either side of his pants. It was a mark of just how far gone he was that he didn’t notice or try to stop me.
I slit all the way down on the pant leg that was blutom free before I slit as far as I dared on the other. With one last look at his transfixed eyes, I ripped off his pants and threw him into the shower.
Dragging him back across the tile floor, I called out to Madelyn. “My gun, quick!”
Pete’s head made a thwacking sound when I dropped him but I was moving too quickly to stop and check. The blutom came out of the shower and the protective shield over the top of it was absorbed back into the vibrating ball. It reminded me of an atom or a solar system, only the rings were appearing and disappearing as quickly as I could perceive them.
The brightness of the ball itself was leaving an afterimage, so I squinted as I leveled my shotgun at the ball and pulled the trigger.
The blutom was blown back into the shower. Pieces of the tile flew out and slid on the floor. I covered my eyes with my arm as I pumped another shell into the chamber.
When I looked again the blutom was gone. After several seconds had passed, I blinked and made sure to look around the room as well as the shower to ensure it hadn’t just gone somewhere else.
As I approached the shower, steam rose into the air and partially obscured the view. When I was certain there wasn’t anything left, I turned off the water and surveyed the damage.
The tile on the back wall had been destroyed. Much of it had been blown off but there were still quite a few pieces that clung to the wall.
I was surprised to see that there wasn’t a hole until I realized that there had been cinder blocks behind the tile.
The blutom was gone. I hoped that it had been at the end of its life cycle and been destroyed by the shotgun blast, but I doubted we’d be so lucky. The thought of level ten blutom flushing into the sewer and shifting into whatever was alive down there made me shiver.
Pete was up on one hand, looking at the remains of the shower. With the other, he rubbed the back of his neck. “I felt them, inside of me. A few more moments…” He swallowed.
Hefting my shotgun over my shoulder with one hand, I used the other to pull him to his feet.
“We don’t have time to waste,” I said. “Let’s get into dry clothes and get you down to the lab.”
Pete shook his head. “I keep telling you, I can’t let you guys in.”
“Like it or not, we’re coming.” I didn’t give him a chance to respond. I headed back to our room with Madelyn close on my heels. We were at my bedroom before Pete had left the bathroom. He staggered and I felt a pang of guilt for leaving him to come back by himself. He had taken quite a knock to the head when I’d dropped him to the floor.
Any concern I had about Pete fled when I walked into our room. The fire was still burning and had spread to the carpet, despite our precautions. Pete’s philosophy book was all but gone and it looked like that was the cause of the fire spreading outside of the circle Pete had cut out of the carpet.
Madelyn coughed as I ripped a blanket from my bed and covered the flames. Smoke filled the air as I extinguished the fire. I was concerned the sprinkler might turn on until I looked overhead and remembered that it was