Fire Birds by Shane Gregory Read Free Book Online Page B

separated–”
    “We won’t,” Sara interrupted.
    “If we do, we’ll meet up at the silo and go from there. Let’s try to stay together. Grant and I will do as much of the killing as we can with the maul and axe. Let’s not shoot unless we have to. Are you ready?”
    They both nodded.
    “I’ll look out for you, babe,” Grant said, putting his hand on her shoulder. Sara jerked away.
    “Fast as we can.” I said. “Okay?”
    They nodded again.
    I took in a deep breath, let it out, and set off in a jog across the pasture. I still had one horse left out there, but I never paid any attention to it. It had taken care of itself all this time. Alone, it had not been able to keep the pasture eaten down, and the grass was about waist high.”
    I heard it nicker from somewhere out-of-sight.
    “You have a horse out here?” Grant said, huffing behind me.
    “Somewhere,” I said.
    “You can’t let him eat all these fescue heads, bro, he’ll founder.”
    “I have no idea what you just said, but I can’t monitor what he eats.”
    “Dude, this is bad for him. Have you noticed his feet splitting? Is there any bloating?”
    “I just told you, I don’t notice anything with the damn horse,” I said. “Now stay focused; we’re about to cross into the woods.”
    Most of the fencerow was swallowed up in honeysuckle and cluttered with young poplar and mulberry saplings, but the spot where we had crossed was relatively clear of vegetation. We each climbed the fence in turn then stood there a moment staring into the woods. I let my eyes adjust to the reduced light. There were spots, here and there, ahead of us where an opening in the canopy allowed bright pools of light to touch the ground, but it was mostly shaded. The majority of the trees were deciduous and large–thirty to seventy-five years old. There weren’t any old growth forests around in this part of the state anymore. The last of those trees had been cut in the 1950s. It would be a stretch to even find a tree more than one hundred years old, and if it were found it would likely be sold to a lumber mill. Relatively speaking, however, this was an old woods. Most of the newer growth was around the perimeter, but sometimes a sapling could be found struggling to find light under the umbrella of its grandfathers. I’d always loved spending time in the woods, but since Canton B, being there scared the shit out of me. The things were in there; I knew they were. I just couldn’t see them yet.
    “Okay,” I whispered. “Let’s go.”
    I headed straight for the creek. I was so glad for the rain the night before that had moistened and quieted the dry leaves underfoot. Even so, I still thought we were loud. I saw the first creature before we got to the creek. It was off to our right about fifty feet away. It had been a man once. The brown, naked body was swollen in the torso, but shriveled to the bone in the extremities. Its penis was missing, but the testicles still hung and swung. Its mouth dropped open when it saw us, and it bounded toward us with the lithe movements of a baby deer. Grant met it with the axe and caught it right under the chin. The head flipped into the air. The body ran two more steps before the knees folded up and dropped it. When it hit the ground, the belly of the thing split open like an overripe melon, and a gooey mess spilled out that didn’t even come close to resembling entrails.
    None of us spoke. Sara and I didn’t even break stride. Then the woods began to move around us. They had blended so well with their surroundings. Their mottled skin seemed to act as camouflage. Protruding bones resembled the branches of trees. Splotchy, hanging flesh was like leaves and shaggy bark. I heard Sara whimper.
    “Just keep moving,” I said. “The creek isn’t far.”
    I picked up my pace. That gallon jug of water kept bouncing against my back. Sweat was pouring from all three of us; the humidity was awful. Grant intercepted a second creature with the