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Authors: Dan Decker
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covered in rust.
“Love what you’ve done with the place.” Madelyn flashed an impish smile. It was one her favorites. One late night I’d got her to admit that it was her standby. That wily grin of hers combined with a flick of the head was her main way of influencing men. She’d claimed it worked seven out of ten times.
It had worked all of the time until I’d learned the truth. Now, it made bile rise in the back of my throat.
She gave me a level look as if she could tell what I was thinking so I smiled wickedly back at her. “Help me scour for any more of the stuff.”
Madelyn nodded.
I was pulling my belongings out from under my bed and setting them on top when Pete finally walked into the room. His face was pale and I instinctively reached to where I’d set my shotgun on the floor as I closely examined it for the red mucus the other blutom monsters had developed. It was clear.
For now.
Along the side of my old statistics book, I found a small ball of the blutom. It had been sticking to the spine and I’d accidently touched it when pulling it out from under the bed. When it was discovered it headed in the opposite direction, elongating itself out like a snake but moving forward without any side to side movement. Somehow it now knew that we were a threat to it.
“Found some!” Madelyn picked up one of my running shoes and turned it towards the back so we could see a quarter sized amount of goo. At first, I thought it was gum but then I saw the mass quiver as if smelling.
Rummaging around, I pulled out a plastic box from under my desk and thrust the book inside. Originally, I’d planned on using the cooler, but as there was just a little bit, the box made more sense. I grabbed my running shoe and used a pencil to scrape off the blutom which I also tossed inside. After careful inspection of the rest of my shoe, I sealed the top of the container and handed it to Madelyn.
“Here hold onto this.” She raised her eyes but didn’t hold out her hands. I shrugged and shooed her towards the door. Once she was outside, I set the container on the floor. “Just keep watch while we dress.”
She opened her mouth as if to argue but I put the door back in place before I could hear what she was going to say.
I was fully dressed before I noticed that Pete hadn’t made a move to change.
“Get moving.” I grabbed my heavy army surplus boots and laced them up. I had toyed with the idea of wearing my running shoes but decided at the last moment to go with the boots. I could still run in them, though, not as easily, and they might provide additional protection against the blutom. Even though Pete had assured us it wasn’t dangerous to the touch until it went to level ten, I thought it best to take all the precautions I could.
Pete stirred. “I’m not sure going back to the lab is the right move.”
“Did some of that stuff get into your system? You’re the one that’s been insistent this whole time we need to get back there.” Was he afraid he was going to get into trouble for letting their little project escape? Was there something more that he wasn’t telling me? Or was this just another attempt to ditch Madelyn and me?
“I know, I know. But I left in quite the hurry.” He finally stood and dressed. “What if that was just the tip of the iceberg? They could all be like that. Every last employee. We may find a hundred more like them.”
“What else would you rather do?” I grabbed by workman gloves and rummaged through the contents of the trunk in front of my bed, hoping to find another can of kerosene. After a few minutes, it became obvious I’d only had the one. I picked up the blackened can and shook it to make sure it was empty. In my haste, I hadn’t been concerned about trying to conserve more for later.
“I don’t know.” Pete pulled on a shirt.
“We’ll start at the lab and go from there.” I pulled out my backpack and loaded it with ammo for both my pistol and shotgun. I
“Love what you’ve done with the place.” Madelyn flashed an impish smile. It was one her favorites. One late night I’d got her to admit that it was her standby. That wily grin of hers combined with a flick of the head was her main way of influencing men. She’d claimed it worked seven out of ten times.
It had worked all of the time until I’d learned the truth. Now, it made bile rise in the back of my throat.
She gave me a level look as if she could tell what I was thinking so I smiled wickedly back at her. “Help me scour for any more of the stuff.”
Madelyn nodded.
I was pulling my belongings out from under my bed and setting them on top when Pete finally walked into the room. His face was pale and I instinctively reached to where I’d set my shotgun on the floor as I closely examined it for the red mucus the other blutom monsters had developed. It was clear.
For now.
Along the side of my old statistics book, I found a small ball of the blutom. It had been sticking to the spine and I’d accidently touched it when pulling it out from under the bed. When it was discovered it headed in the opposite direction, elongating itself out like a snake but moving forward without any side to side movement. Somehow it now knew that we were a threat to it.
“Found some!” Madelyn picked up one of my running shoes and turned it towards the back so we could see a quarter sized amount of goo. At first, I thought it was gum but then I saw the mass quiver as if smelling.
Rummaging around, I pulled out a plastic box from under my desk and thrust the book inside. Originally, I’d planned on using the cooler, but as there was just a little bit, the box made more sense. I grabbed my running shoe and used a pencil to scrape off the blutom which I also tossed inside. After careful inspection of the rest of my shoe, I sealed the top of the container and handed it to Madelyn.
“Here hold onto this.” She raised her eyes but didn’t hold out her hands. I shrugged and shooed her towards the door. Once she was outside, I set the container on the floor. “Just keep watch while we dress.”
She opened her mouth as if to argue but I put the door back in place before I could hear what she was going to say.
I was fully dressed before I noticed that Pete hadn’t made a move to change.
“Get moving.” I grabbed my heavy army surplus boots and laced them up. I had toyed with the idea of wearing my running shoes but decided at the last moment to go with the boots. I could still run in them, though, not as easily, and they might provide additional protection against the blutom. Even though Pete had assured us it wasn’t dangerous to the touch until it went to level ten, I thought it best to take all the precautions I could.
Pete stirred. “I’m not sure going back to the lab is the right move.”
“Did some of that stuff get into your system? You’re the one that’s been insistent this whole time we need to get back there.” Was he afraid he was going to get into trouble for letting their little project escape? Was there something more that he wasn’t telling me? Or was this just another attempt to ditch Madelyn and me?
“I know, I know. But I left in quite the hurry.” He finally stood and dressed. “What if that was just the tip of the iceberg? They could all be like that. Every last employee. We may find a hundred more like them.”
“What else would you rather do?” I grabbed by workman gloves and rummaged through the contents of the trunk in front of my bed, hoping to find another can of kerosene. After a few minutes, it became obvious I’d only had the one. I picked up the blackened can and shook it to make sure it was empty. In my haste, I hadn’t been concerned about trying to conserve more for later.
“I don’t know.” Pete pulled on a shirt.
“We’ll start at the lab and go from there.” I pulled out my backpack and loaded it with ammo for both my pistol and shotgun. I
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