Call Me Martin

As the sun dropped below the western horizon, Ari found a frozen pizza in the freezer and heated it up. Little Amber set the long table in the dining room and waited for Martin to sit before sitting herself.

Ari looked across the table at her, awed at how quickly she had adjusted to things. Rebecca followed his gaze and seemed to read his thoughts.

“She’s making herself at home.”

Ari nodded.

“Whether it’s the London Blitz, 911 or a severe storm, kids adapt, not like us adults.”

Rebecca took a bite of her pizza and drank a glass of soda.

“I adapted, eventually, when I realized that no one was going to come to my rescue, and so long as I laid low, gave up on escaping and accepted my plight, I would survive. Here I am.”

Ari shook his head.

“Seven years.”

Rebecca leaned closer to Ari.

“You don’t trust me, do you?”

“No, I don’t.”

“You think I’m collaborating with the townies, huh?”

“That I do.”

“Then why did I help Sherman?”

Ari’s eyes wandered to the staircase.

“The ‘townies’, as you call them, want us alive so those predatory demon things can hunt us down and feast.”

Rebecca frowned.

“And you think I’m one of them—a townie?”

“No,” Ari said. “But I do think you struck a bargain with them; keep on eye us; give us a little sprinkle of false hope by pretending to radio for help; guarantee that we stay here just like you.”

Rebeca’s jaw dropped open. She pushed her chair back and stood up.

“You asshole.”

Ari looked up at Rebecca.

“I had hundreds of clients, from my days as a public defender to my former practice. I learned to tell when people are holding back, and you, my dear are holding a lot back.”

Rebeca glared down at Ari.

“Don’t you call me, ‘dear’. Did it ever occur to you that maybe you were wrong about some of your clients?”

Ari turned away from Rebecca and finished his soda. He stood up and looked up into Rebecca’s eyes.

“I was wrong about a lot of things, but you are not telling us the truth, are you?”

Rebecca took a deep breath and looked sadly at little Amber. She motioned for both Martin and Ari to follow her into the kitchen.

“Can I come?” Amber asked.

“No,” Martin said. “We’ll be right back.”

By the time Rebecca reached the stove, tears were rolling down her cheeks. She sniffled and motioned for Ari and Martin to come closer. She glanced at the doorway and lowered her head, her eyes glued to Ari.

“They like children.”

“What?” Ari asked.

Rebecca glanced at Martin.

“I watched the whole group I came with make a run for it. The monsters swept down and took the children first, then came back for the adults.” Rebecca nodded and wiped tears from her eyes. “I watched three boys and a girl devoured right before my eyes.”

“Oh my God,” Ari said, rubbing his forehead.

“That’s not all,” Rebecca said. “In a few hours, you’re going to be very frightened. This is ‘Primo nocturne,’”

“First night,” Ari said.

Rebecca nodded.

“Yeah. They will come at precisely midnight. You will hear them outside. This is what they do, perhaps to frighten us into making a run for it, perhaps to take in our scents. They already tasted our blood.”

“What?” Ari asked.

“Yeah,” Rebecca answered. “Sherman’s, actually. They pulled that bloody conduit right through the roof.”

“Will they get in?” Ari whispered.

“I don’t know. They’re acting different this time. They were watching us closer, perhaps because they saw you come into the hardware store and then they saw me come here.”

“Shit,” Ari said, looking over the wet bar at the rear door and window. “Maybe, we should board up the windows, lock this place down.”

Rebecca shook her head.

“If they want to get in here, they will.”

Ari ran his fingers through his hair.

“Then why didn’t they come through the roof before, right after they ‘tasted’ Sherman’s blood?”

“I don’t know. Something stopped them from doing that. Maybe, they’re only interested in us when we run or try to fight them.”

“We were walking last night,” Ari countered.

“You were scoped out,” Rebecca said. “They sent a scout who would not have done anything other than do a fly-by and report back to the pack.”

“Tremor shot at it.”

“Tremor?”

“Sherman’s older brother. He had a Glock 17”

“Pea shooter,” Rebecca said. “He probably did nothing more than sting the creature.”

“Yeah,” Ari said, “and it bit his head off.”

“Why do you call it ‘First Night’?” Martin asked.

“That is what they did to our group. They scared us, however, it’s different now. Something is different. They’re more aggressive.” Rebecca looked up at the ceiling. “I cannot guarantee that they won’t try to get in here tonight.”

“Shit,” Ari said. “I thought something was keeping them from doing that.”

“So did I,” Rebecca said. “But when Sherman shoved that the antenna through the roof, I didn’t expect them to swoop down and grab it. We weren’t trying to flee.” Rebecca looked Ari in the eye. “When I told you that there is not much more I know about them than you, I meant it. There’s no formula here, Ari. I thought they don’t bother you until the first full night.”

Ari looked towards the rear door and the window again.

“So, you’re saying, they might tear their way in here tonight?”

Rebecca shook her head.

“I’m not saying anything.”

Ari motioned towards the front door.

“Well, they left you alone in the hardware store.”

“That was seven years ago and only after they had a big meal. Except for Sherman’s brother, and your three wannabe warriors, they haven’t eaten yet.”

“Okay,” Ari said. “We need to find a way to give them indigestion.”

“What are you thinking?” Rebecca asked.

Ari folded his arms.

“Seems to me that once they yanked that conduit up and ripped open Sherman’s hand, the blood would have given them an incentive to do some remodeling on that attic.” Ari turned to Martin. “All living organisms respond to stimuli, good and bad. DEET repels mosquitoes. Loud noises will repel a bear. Fire will keep wolves at bay. Am I right?”

Martin nodded.

“Yes, providing these creatures are organic.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our concept of natural law might not apply to them,” Martin said. “Human beings are delicate. Drop a man off a 10-foot roof and you’re likely to kill him. Tremor got off seven rounds. They made their mark, but nothing happened. What if our weapons cannot stop these creatures?”

“Impossible,” Ari scoffed. “There must be a way to kill him. Give me a fucking nuke and I’ll show you.”

“We’re fresh out of nukes,” Rebecca said, her mouth twisting. “Listen, I know you don’t trust me. My guess is you don’t trust women period. If you think I’m some kind of mole, send me back to the hardware store. If not, then listen. I can still make another radio. It’ll take a couple of days, but we can try transmitting a distress call again.”

Ari shook his head.

“According to your earlier inference, we may only have a few hours left. We better think quick. It’s dark now.”

There was creak of wood from the stairwell followed by the thump of food steps. Ari and Rebecca hurried out while Martin remained in the kitchen. Sherman’s head appeared above the banister, his expression sour. He was rubbing the back of his head.

“Are you okay?” Ari asked.

“Yeah, man. My head hurts.”

Ari exchanged glances with Rebecca. Both nodded.

“What?” Sherman asked.

Rebecca half smiled.

“You have a hangover.”

“Damn,” Sherman said. “Give me something for it, okay?”

Rebecca walked over and helped Sherman down the last few steps.

“Any dizziness?”

“No, just my hand stings like hell and my head hurts.”

“You lost some blood,” Rebecca said.

Sherman nodded.

“I know.”

Little Amber walked up and handed Sherman a glass of water.

“You need to drink.”

Sherman smiled.

“Thank you, Amber.” He looked at Ari and Martin who were walking towards him. “How long was I out?”

“A good few hours,” Ari answered.

Sherman turned to Martin.

“For a little guy, you have a grip like a vice. Man, I thought an 800 pound gorilla was holding my legs.”

Martin nodded.

“You’re welcome. Rebecca gave you plenty of stiches.”

Rebecca folded her arms and motioned to Ari.

“Our resident attorney doesn’t seem to trust me, Sherman. He thinks I might be a mole.”

“What’s a mole?” Sherman asked.

“A nark for the townies,” Ari answered.

“What do YOU think?” Rebecca asked Sherman.

Sherman looked at the patchwork of stitches that ran from his left palm to the middle of his arm.

“I don’t know, but I look like a scarecrow.”

Rebecca turned to Martin.

“What about you? Do you trust me?”

Martin took several steps forward and seemed to sniff the air.

“You’re telling the truth.”

“How do you know?” Ari asked.

Martin pushed down the brim of his fedora. A shadow fell over his sunglasses and the mask on his face.

“I know things.”

“Do you know a way out of here?” Ari asked.

“Not yet.”

“Do you know how to kill these things or at least fight them?” Ari asked.

Martin shook his head.

“Not yet. I need more time.”

Ari rolled his eyes.

“More time, he says. That must be the phrase of the day.”

Rebecca frowned and took Sherman by his good hand.

“Sit down and try to eat something.”

“I ain’t hungry.”

“We have pizza,” Amber said.

Sherman’s eyes lit up.

“You do?”

“Three pieces left,” Amber said, running into the kitchen.

Ari looked at his watch.

“8:45. When did they come the last time?”

Rebecca took a deep breath.

“Exactly at midnight. They shook this entire inn like an Earthquake. It was the sum of all nightmares. And it motivated our group to flee at first light.”

Ari rubbed his chin.

“So, your people waited until morning because only a maniac would have left in the dead of night, right?”

Rebecca nodded, her eyes narrowing.

“Okay,” Ari said. “Then, there it is. Sherman, can you walk?”

Sherman held his finger up as he stuffed a slice of pizza in his mouth.

“I guess that means, ‘yes,’ Ari remarked.

“What do you have in mind?” Rebecca asked.

Ari unfurled his arms and took his glasses off for a moment and put them back on.

“The way to win a war is to do what your enemy does not expect you to do. Our enemy expects us to cower under our beds tonight and make a run for it at sun-up. That is what any rational person would do.” Ari paused to weigh each word. “I am damn fucking tired of being rational.”

Sherman nodded and downed his glass of water. He reached his good hand up and high-fived Ari.

“Okay, General,” Rebecca said. “Give us a plan.”

Ari walked into the living room and looked around and motioned to the front door.

“When midnight comes, we are not going to be here.”

Rebecca laughed cynically.

“What, are we going to be in the church or my luxurious basement across the street?”

“We are not going to be here, period!” Ari said, turning to Sherman. “What was in that attic besides support beams and pipes?”

Sherman grabbed the back of his neck.

“That insulation crap. Freaked me out, man.”

“Insulation?” Ari asked. “How much?”

“The place is full of it,” Sherman answered.

“Enough to wrap around all of us?”

“WHAT?” Rebecca asked.

“Stay with me,” Ari said, pacing around the living room. He looked at Rebecca. “How many tires in the tire store?”

“10, maybe 12.”

“How many wine bottles do we have?”

“Five, counting Sherman’s upstairs.”

“How much kerosene and turpentine?”

“Three gallons.”

“Fertilizer?”

“One bag.”

“Ammonium nitrate based?”

“Maybe.”

Ari nodded.

“Give me about 10 minutes in your hardware store and I will give you a small, but lethal explosive, enough fertilizer moistened with kerosene and packed into a metal pipe supplemented by a mean pack of shrapnel--the equivalent of a bazooka.”

Rebeca gaped.

“You’re serious. How do you know all this?”

“I took a Chemistry class in undergrad.” Ari turned to Martin. “I’ll need some help, someone small enough to crawl up in that attic and scoop out every bit of insulation.”

“I can help,” Amber said, jumping up and down.

“Yes, you can,” Ari said, walking over to Amber. “You can help Martin carry the insulation.”

“Yes!” Amber exclaimed, clapping her hands.

“What about me?” Sherman asked.

Ari looked at him.

“Your job is to be lookout and scream like a banshee if those things show up.”

Sherman nodded.

“I can do that. Got my daddy’s voice. He was a vocalist.”

“Good,” Ari smiled.

“When do we start?” Rebecca asked.

“Now.”

“You’re going to need some help across the street,” Rebecca said.

“I know,” Ari said, heading towards the front door, “which is why you’re coming with me.”