Evolution

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Morton, Missouri

You can smell the gunpowder in the atmosphere and can hear the screams of the fallen. A new society has risen, one with savage intent. The soldiers footsteps echo in the lime caverns as they search the “marked” for reserves of ammunition, weapons, food, or anything the Morton twins deem helpful.

Jedd shakes his head and continues to search the fresh human body. What a world we live in now, he thinks to himself as he finishes up and drags the “marked” into a pile with the others. Oh how he hates that word “Marked” only during the worst of times can we deem another human life lower than our own. We have the power, we have the weapons, and we have an abundant source of fresh meat.

He sits down on the splintered wooden crate and slowly pulls a cigarette from the crumpled pack residing in his shirt pocket. He is reminded of his dire situation and the deal with the devil. He chuckles to himself, Devil? No...Devils, apparently evil runs in packs. Those damn Morton twins are both the best thing and worst thing to happen to this town.

 He lights his smoke and watches the tip illuminate the dark room. The orange glow from the cherry and the feel of sweet smoke expanding and swirling in his lungs relaxes him a bit. A small part of him wishes for death.  He closes his eyes and remembers how it was before the twin demons. Before “Morton, Missouri.” He had a wife damn it. A wife and a child and a normal life in Neosho, Missouri.

I guess it shows you that good old Charles Darwin was right, only the strong survive! Or in our case, the nut jobs that own a gun shop and have been preparing for an unforeseen apocalypse survive.

He finishes his smoke and flips it against the far wall watching the cinders from the cherry dance momentarily, caught in an updraft of current leaking through the dank cave. As he walks past the “marked” he kicks the body in the rips hard, relieving built up anger.

“Why did you have to be so stupid!” he yells at the body

“When a man with a very powerful gun points it at your head and asks you to swear allegiance to the cause, you should know what happens if you don’t.”

A sigh slowly escapes him. Live with defeat or die with honor! this thought plagues him. What if he was wrong in his choice and this man had it figured out. A bullet to the head seems a much better fate than a lifetime of servitude to the twins or a midnight snack for a pod creature.

He shivers as the wet slurping sounds replay in his mind. He watched two men dressed in military fatigues snatch up the marked and drag it out of the cave. With a hard thud, the marked was thrown over the fence and soldiers took aim. Jedd had no desire to watch this horrific scene.

Slowly but surely, the fresh body was surrounded by creatures of all shapes and sizes. He could hear the muscles being ripped apart and creatures making satisfying grunts. Gun blasts filled the air and the sound of death followed. The Morton’s brilliant plan use the unworthy as bait was in full swing!

Jedd slowly walked through the cavern, counting the torches that lined the wall as he weaved his way deeper into the belly of the compound. He knew the rules. No one in the bed chamber until nightfall! What are they going to do? Kill me? he thought to himself as she slide the solid metal door shut and latched it. That would be welcome relief at this point.

He kicked off his boots and pulled the only human thing he had left from his backpack. A hand mirror. A silver hand mirror with a die cast rose curling around it and painted red. No...not red, Crimson. He smiled into the mirror. At least that was what the bottle said when I painted the dang thing, he thought.

He recalled sitting in his shop pretending to work on his “project”. A 1977 Monte Carlo he inherited. A piece of junk that he never fully intended on restoring. The body was rusted out, the motor was seized up, and the seats were missing. Jedd knew the truth though, it was there because he was a sentimental old fool. Even back then he was. The car had belonged to his father and upon his passing Jedd couldn’t bare to see it scraped for cash.

He sticks his tongue out at himself and clutches the silver hand mirror to his chest, the only thing he had left of his wife of twenty years. He closes his eyes and falls asleep cuddling Marilyn, thinking of times much better than this.

His sleep was fitful and his body teetered on the edge of the cot, staying onboard by luck alone. His mind registered the noise, but didn’t fully realize what was happening. The word “Baboons” hung in the air. He saw baboons in sundresses slowly eating cotton candy and riding unicycles in a wondrous big top carnival. They obeyed their master and slowly rode up the little ramp and onto a wire. We all clapped and cheered as one baboon fell of his unicycle and clung to the wire, only to flip his body back up on the bike. A true spectacle that only a top notch circus could pull off.

In the background light gunfire echoed through the cave and death could be heard all around. Jedd’s eyes rapidly flicked back and forth behind his eyelids, transforming the sounds, absorbing them into tangible illusions only his brain alone could comprehend. The baboons fell from the wires and into little cannons. colorful clowns tugged at the strings and the sounds of explosions erupted before him. He watched from the crowd, his family right beside him, his daughters laughter lifting his soul as the mammals bodies were propelled through the air and across the room. One bye one, the little creatures soared through air and exited rings of fire.

The gun blasts were getting louder and the baboons were screeching with such ferocity that even the deepest sleep couldn’t contain the reality any longer. Jedd's eyes shot open and he shivered as he finally understood.  He throws on his boots and slowly opens the door. Through the tiny sliver he sees vines...hundreds of them. Jedd swallows hard and pushes gently letting the scene unfold little by little.

Dead bodies littered the cavern floor like candy wrappers and wasted popcorn at a cheap cinema.  A cold shiver runs up his spine and his throat is coated with thick saliva. He lifts his gun and prepares to exit the only truly safe room in the complex. Wait...

the thought repeated itself in his mind. The only safe room in the complex. It was a moment like this that truly defines a man. Jedd allowed his fear and his moral obligation arm wrestle for his soul. Die fighting for the Morton twins, or slam the door shut on this horrific scene and survive?

His hands shaking and his courage starting to fail he starts to push the door open once more. A loud screech stabs his ear drum. An eye,, followed by a putrid green face appears before him. Slamming the door shut and locking it, Jedd clings to his chest and feels the soothing cold metal on his back. He slowly slides down the door and cradles his knees, the dam containing his sanity has a hairline crack in it and its threatening to spill.

The image of cute creatures in sundresses fade , replaced by the terrible sight behind the door. Baboons! Jedd shivered. How can that be? The plant life seems to have evolved overnight.