Dead Land Journal July 24th

Oh, Crap I Fucked UP!

Fucking thing showed up last night like I was hoping. I wish it hadn't.

I was sitting at my bedroom window, window up, screen open, a Winchester SXR rifle in my lap, loaded with .300 Winchester Magnum rounds. Found it in the next door neighbor's house. I am not a gun expert but it feels like a cheap gun to me. The trigger assembly is friggin plastic!. However the magnum rounds are powerful enough to take down elk.

It was carrying something in one of it's front paws? Not really sure of its anatomy. Even in the light, its features are hard to make out. It shambled out into the center of the lawn. That scares me because I thought the light was protection. It seemed bothered by the light, but not distressed. The thing it was carrying was a baby. I briefly considered that it was bringing me the baby because it thought I could tend to it. I actually began to question all the instincts that were telling me that this thing was pure evil. It set the baby on the ground and I knew there was something wrong with it. His abdomen was writhing and jumping like that scene from Alien where the little bugger pops out of the crewman's chest. Then the creature lifted its paw and a long thin claw extend out. My blood turned to ice. It stabbed into the baby's tiny chest. He convulsed and blood welled up. I screamed and raised the Winchester quickly lining the thing's head up in the scope.

I have fired a lot of handguns and a few .22 rifles when I was a kid. But never anything like this damn Winchester. I was totally unprepared for the recoil. The blast knocked me off my feet. I need to either work out more, or stick to smaller guns. I quickly picked up the rifle, intent on finishing the thing if it was not already dead. But it was. The head was completely gone. Red and black goo puddled on the ground at the stump of the thing's neck. Using the scope as a telescope I quickly checked the baby to see if there was any hope for it.

It was a Goddamn doll.

The thing had stuffed a live rat into the doll's belly for some reason.

Suddenly the night was filled with screaming and wailing. Shadows at the edge of the lawn began to break off and drift towards the dead creature. I realized what should have been obvious to me. This thing was not alone. They gathered around their fallen comrade, all moaning and wailing The entire back yard was now a mass of writhing black wraiths. I fumbled with the rifle and dropped it. It shot a hole in the ceiling and the lights went out. I grabbed my .357 and checked to make sure it was loaded. Standing there in the dark like that my fear was physical presence. I looked out the window again and they had scattered, taking the dead body with them. The doll was still there though. I ran down the stairs and quickly made sure the doors were all locked before going to the garage and getting the big Coleman lanterns out and lighting them. In my paranoia I stocked enough of these battery powered lanterns to put one in every room. I started downstairs and worked my way up.

There was one of them in my room when I got there. I had left the window open. It had the rifle grasped in its front paws. For the first time I got a good look at those paws. The pads were huge and widespread, long curved claws hinged up from them like a raptor from the three center most toes, but the longer toes from the sides looked fully capable of grasping and holding objects. Like the rifle it now had. For some reason the only feature I remember of its face was the two obsidian eyes. I just could not seem to focus on its face. It stood by the window staring at me. The rifle was pointed at my midsection. I don't think it could have pulled the trigger, I did not take any chances I ducked back through the door. I fired the .357 blindly into the room from around the door frame. When I chanced a peek into the room it was gone. The rifle was broken into pieces on the floor.

I will miss this house but I don't think Dee and I are safe here any more. Packing up all that matters and leaving today. That wild shot shorted out something in the motors for the solar panels and fried the main controller for the whole house electrical system. While I am sure that I could fix it given time I can't do it in a day. They are out there and they know where we live. I don't think it will be long before they get the nerve up to come in.

Dee never even woke up. Damn that child can sleep through anything!

© 2009 R. Keith McBride