Grace Lost by M. Lauryl Lewis Read Free Book Online

to
drive.”  He looked at Gus for confirmation.
    “He’s right, Zoe.  Anything
bothers you out here just honk and if we don’t come running, drive off. 
Find somewhere to hide.”
    I was upset, but knew arguing
would be pointless.  “Hurry back?” I asked, directed at Boggs, with a
concerned and slightly pleading look on my face. 
    “You bet, kid.”  He winked at
me.
    Gus and Boggs walked toward the
shabby looking trailer.  Boggs held the Kahr in his right hand, at his
side.  Gus kept his shotgun strapped over his left shoulder.  I
climbed between the front seats to take my position behind the wheel and
watched as they approached the front door of the trailer.  Boggs stopped
several feet shy of the door while Gus walked to it and rapped with his knuckles. 
Several minutes passed before Gus looked back to Boggs and signaled him to move
behind him.  The rain was pouring heavily now and the wind was blowing
hard.  I saw Gus put his ear to the door and listen for several
seconds.  When he seemed satisfied, he turned to Boggs and gave him an
exaggerated shrug.  They spoke briefly, their words too far away for me to
hear.  The windshield was becoming a blur of water and plant debris from
the storm, so I turned the wipers on low in an attempt to keep my companions in
sight.
    Boggs stepped back a few more
feet, centered himself in front of the door, and raised his weapon. Gus turned
the knob slowly, cracked the door, and stood back as it swung inward.  He
scrambled back to join Boggs and readied his shotgun.  It took all of my
willpower to stay in my seat when all I wanted to do was get out and yell for
them to get back in the car.  I watched them both retch and cover their
mouths as they stepped farther away from the open doorway.  Moments later
the smell hit me though the open car window.  I was tired of being
offended by the smell of rot and decay.  I got out of the Explorer, the
engine still idling, and stood behind the open door.
    The creature that emerged from the
doorway was different than what we’d seen so far. The old man was skeletal, his
skin mummified.  Long yellowed hair fell from his scalp, which was falling
away from his skull.  His lips were drawn back making his browned teeth
occupy more of his face than they should.  His eyes had long ago
shriveled, leaving dark holes in their place. He stumbled forward, following
the living by some unknown sense of desperation that must have substituted for
sight.
    Gus didn’t hesitate.  He
raised his shotgun and felled his uncle with a single shot.  The decayed
old man was thrown backward, his head now unrecognizable from the spray of
pellets. He lay on the rain-soaked ground, his skeletal right arm halfway
submerged in a deep mud puddle.  Gus lowered his shotgun and looked to the
car, then to Boggs.  “That was Chuck.  Looks like
he’s been gone a long time.”
    Boggs was still aiming his .45 at
the trailer.  “Sounds like he wasn’t alone.”
      “Boggs?” I called. “What is it?”
    Without taking his eyes off the
trailer, he called back to me.  “I hear one of them in there, Zo. 
Stay back!  And for Christ’s sake get back in the car!”
    Gus walked back over to Boggs and
readied his shotgun.  He held a hand up, signaling me to stay put.  I
shivered as the cold rain soaked through my summer outfit.  I wiped at my
face with the back of my hand, wishing that I also had a gun.  The three
of us stood watching the open door, waiting for horror to emerge.  I saw
Gus nod to Boggs, and watched as my best friend stepped into the dark trailer,
his Kahr outstretched in anticipation of an attack.  Gus entered behind
him, his shotgun at the ready.
     I waited for what seemed an
eternity, not knowing if I’d ever see Boggs or our new companion again. 
The thought of being alone was almost as unbearable as falling victim to one of
these unthinkably evil creatures.  The noise of the storm became distant
and was replaced by that of