The Surge

  "Sheriff Wayne?" a careful voice said from the bathroom. It belonged to Marley. He walked in, closed the door behind him, and pulled the shower curtain aside. Inside the tub, he found the two girls and the dog. They were sitting, arms wrapped tightly around each other, bodies shaking. Two sets of fearful eyes looked up at him. Wayne drew in a deep breath, relieved to see that the two girls were unharmed.

  "Wayne!" Ellie Mae exclaimed. "Are they gone?"

  He shook his head, his heart slowly sinking. How am I supposed to tell this girl she is now an orphan? Why did I let Joanna jump? Why did I let her sacrifice herself when it should have been me?

  "I’m afraid not."

  Wayne stood for a few seconds, not knowing quite what to do. They could hardly get out of the house the way things were now. Then there was the matter of telling Ellie Mae about Joanna. When would be a good time, if there ever was one? Now? It would only crush her. He wasn't sure he could bear that right now. Later? She would get mad at him for not telling her earlier.

  The sound of marching boots rumbled underneath them. The shower curtain was shaking, Wayne's toothbrush and his shaving gear were clattering.

  The girls whimpered. "What are they doing?" Marley asked.

  Wayne looked at the boarded-up window and the plywood that he in his sadness and desperation had put up right after losing Arlene. Why had he done that? What had he thought he would accomplish by that? To forget what happened? To never have to deal with it?

  It was useless.

  Wayne grabbed the window and pulled it open. Then he slammed his fist into the plywood as hard as he could several times, releasing the anger he had cooped up inside for so very long. The plywood soon came loose on the side and, with one more punch, he could get it off. The wood fell and landed on top of the screened porch beneath with a loud clash.

  Wayne wiped the sweat off his face with his bloody hand, then looked outside, down at the long lines of soldiers. They were walking slowly, stomping their boots as they marched towards the hole, one after another dropping into it, sometimes even going two or three at a time.

  Marley and Ellie Mae came up next to him and looked down.

  "What are they doing?" Marley asked.

  Wayne sighed. "They're going in. All of them, I think."

  "They're going into the hole?" Ellie Mae asked, her big eyes landing first on Wayne, then back on the yard. "But there are so many of them."

  Wayne looked at the surrounding fields that used to create such a peaceful atmosphere for his quiet little place out there in the countryside. Now it was nothing but an ocean of faces, of marching soldiers, trampling everything down as they moved forward, walking so close it seemed almost impossible for them to even breathe.

  "Whoa," Marley said. "I have never seen that many people before."

  "I don't think anyone has," Wayne said.

  "There must be at least a gazillion soldiers," Ellie Mae said. "You think they'll all fit into the hole?"

  Wayne sighed again and then looked at the girls. "I don't know. Seems like this might take a while, though, doesn’t it?"

  "Where is my mom?" Ellie Mae suddenly asked. "Is she downstairs?"

  When Wayne didn't answer, her big eyes once again landed on him. He could feel her gaze, even though he tried to avoid it, tried to ignore it.

  "Is she?"

  Chapter Eighty-Three

  Ridge Manor, Beneath

  "So, you're Susan?"

  Joanna looked at her old teacher with a mixture of awe and sadness. "And this is where you’ve been all this time?"

  They had walked into the living room since the smell coming from whatever was left of Tang was unbearable. Susan was groaning and looking at her wounds. Arlene was still covered in sticky saliva and whatever else she had encountered inside that thing. Joanna had asked her if she was alright, and the girl had said yes, nothing was broken, except for her finger that Tang had bit, and now it was crooked and slowly turning purple.

  Other than that, she seemed intact, at least on the outside. On the inside was a completely different story. She seemed to still be in a state of deep shock and kept staring at her finger.

  Susan nodded.

  "Everyone was looking for you. They even thought your husband killed you at some point."

  Susan chuckled. "Ha. I bet he would have if I stayed, the old bastard. No, I fell into a sinkhole. What is it? Gosh, it's almost twenty years ago; I can hardly believe it. I was driving down Cummer Road, where it meets Evergreen Court, on my way to Lacoochee Elementary School, when the road started to crumple underneath my car and suddenly opened up. It simply sucked me inside and I fell and fell into the darkness for what felt like hours, but well…you know how it was…I’m guessing that’s how you got here too. Anyway, I never really realized anything until I landed here. The car took the worst of the fall, luckily. It completely destroyed it, but I was left with only a bump on my forehead and a broken ankle. I’ve been trying to get back ever since."

  Joanna whistled. "Wow. What a story. And all this time, people didn't know. There were so many stories and rumors about what happened to you."

  "Well, here I am," Susan said, throwing out her hands. Her smile wore a deep sadness to it. "And now you're here too."

  "I think I remember that hole," Joanna said after thinking for a few seconds. "Everyone talked about the sinkhole. It wasn't far from the school grounds and they were terrified that the entire area was going to sink in. They had these engineers from the government come check it out and we had a few days off from school; that's probably why I remember it," Joanna said with a light laugh. "It was filled up with tons of sand later on. They drove truckloads of it in and poured it into it. But no one ever thought that it had anything to do with your disappearance. Not a single person."

  Susan nodded pensively. Joanna thought about Mr. Johnson and how terrifying it must have been for him to lose his wife that way, not knowing what happened. Not knowing if she just left, whether she was out there somewhere or not. At least Joanna had been able to say goodbye to Jack.

  And wanting him to die. That's what you did, wasn't it? In the end, you couldn't bear it anymore and you wanted it to stop.

  A wave of guilt shot up inside of her once again. But it was the truth. She had wanted it to be over. At the end, she hadn't been able to bear seeing him in pain like that anymore; she knew there was no hope even though she kept telling him she believed there still was. She was ashamed to admit it, even to herself, but now she finally did. She had wanted him to die, wanted it to be over so she could move on, so she could escape the unbearable pain it was to watch your loved one die a slow and agonizing death.

  It felt good to finally admit it to herself, and for the first time since he died, she could finally let him go. It was what she should have done all along, but she hadn't been able to. She had to forgive herself and now she finally could.

  A gasp of relief emerged from her throat, while Susan put a hand on Arlene's shoulder and squeezed it. She smiled at Joanna, who asked, "What was it?"

  "What do you mean?" Susan asked.

  Joanna nodded towards the kitchen. "That thing. What is it?"

  Chapter Eighty-Four

  Ridge Manor, Above.

  "No! You're lying!"

  Ellie Mae stomped her feet on the bathroom tiles. Her nostrils were flaring as she stared defiantly at Wayne.

  Wayne grabbed her by the shoulders. "It's true, Ellie Mae. I saw her jump myself and then I heard the major general say that she had been killed. I am so, so sorry, sweetie, but it is the truth."

  Tears sprung to Ellie Mae's eyes as he spoke.

  "I don't believe you."

  Wayne exhaled deeply. "I know it's painful, I know you're hurting, I can't even imagine what it must be like, losing first your dad, then…"

  Ellie Mae removed his hands with a snort. "She's not dead. I know she’s not. She can't be."

  "But she is, sweetheart. She's gone, and so is my…so is Arlene." Wayne felt a knot grow in h
is throat and he tried to suppress it. "Now, we have to focus on getting out of here alive."

  "She's not dead. She's not dead. She is not dead."

  Ellie Mae was yelling now, her voice so determined and angry that Wayne recoiled from her.

  Ellie Mae looked out the window, then back at Wayne. "She's not dead," she repeated.

  "I don't know what to say to you," he said. "I know it's hard to believe; heck, I find it hard to believe that Arlene is gone, but…"

  Ellie Mae shook her head and interrupted him. "Nope. I am telling you, she is still alive, and I am going to prove it."

  Determined, Ellie Mae grabbed the handle and opened the door. Before Wayne could react, she stormed out into the hallway and started to run for the stairs.

  "Ellie Mae!" he yelled and ran after her, but when he came out, she was already way down the stairs.

  "ELLIE MAE!"

  Stumbling, Wayne ran after her, down the stairs where soldiers still walked in the line, marching slowly towards the backyard. He spotted Ellie Mae as she pushed her way through the crowd, going between their legs, sneaking under arms and pressing through, and that was when he realized where she was heading.

  Oh, dear Lord, she's gonna jump in.

  Wayne tried to follow her, but as he was much bigger, it was a lot harder for him to press through the crowd of soldiers who were marching like zombies, not even noticing him, their eyes only fixated on where they were going.

  I have got to stop her somehow. I simply have to.

  "Ellie Mae!" he yelled, but the girl didn't stop. He saw the tip of her hair by the door to the yard and caught a glimpse of her freckled face one last time before she slid outside.

  Using all his strength, Wayne pushed the soldiers aside and managed to press himself further ahead, desperation in his voice as he cried her name over and over again, but the sound of his voice was drowned out by the sound of the marching boots across his house.

  "Stop, Ellie Mae," he said when he reached the door, and was almost carried ahead by the flow of people moving forward.

  He came into the yard just in time for him to see Ellie Mae make the plunge.

  Chapter Eighty-Five

  Ridge Manor, Beneath

  "There used to be a lot of them here," Susan said.

  They had made some hot tea using boiling water and some leaves Susan had brought in her bag. They were sitting on the floor, holding their cups between their hands, trying to keep warm.

  "Years ago, when I just got here, they were everywhere. They are these chameleon-like creatures that can change themselves into anything they like. They're a true menace and used to eat, kill, and destroy everything around here. Like a plague anywhere they went. So, we chased them away. The other drifters and I captured the queen and threw her into a hole in the ground, up in the mountains not far from here. They're like insects and follow their queen everywhere she goes, so, as we did it, all of her little followers went inside as well. Then we covered the entrance to the hole with a huge rock so they wouldn't come back. Haven't seen any of them for at least fifteen years, not till I walked in here today. Where did it come from?"

  Joanna looked up for a second and her eyes met Susan's. "He came the same way I did."

  Susan nodded. "So, they found a way back, I guess. Won't be long before the rest of them come here too, then."

  Joanna nodded. "There's a lot of them. They invaded everything up there, all of Ridge Manor at least, I don't know what else. There are millions."

  "They came up from the ground and suddenly they were everywhere," Arlene said. They both looked at her. "I saw it. On the TV. They drilled holes in the earth everywhere to get all of them up. I told my dad they were coming when I called him. I said the Chinese are coming from underground."

  "So, they have multiplied. I knew we should have killed them instead," Susan said. "But Bert told me not to."

  "Bert?"

  "He's one of the other drifters," Arlene said.

  "A good friend of mine," Susan said.

  Joanna looked at Susan. "You said you put the queen in a cave?"

  "In the mountains, yes."

  "Could we find that cave again?" Joanna asked, hope in her voice. "Maybe we could go back that way? I mean, if the chameleon-creatures found their way to Ridge Manor through it, then maybe we could too?"

  Arlene lit up. "Yeah."

  Susan blew on her hot tea, then shook her head. "Not possible."

  "Why not?"

  Susan sipped the tea, then looked up. "There was an earthquake a couple of years ago. Turned the mountain into rubble. There is no way that cave exists anymore. Come to think of it, it might have been that very earthquake that led them to Ridge Manor."

  "Mountains and earthquakes in Florida?" Joanna asked, disappointed. Time was running out for her. She looked at the old grandfather clock. It was evening where they were but morning back home, and that was when Ellie Mae was going to try and jump. There was no way she could make it back in time to warn them. She didn't dare try the phone since it would just be them picking up, and not Wayne. The thought of Ellie Mae was crushing.

  "Oh, you're not in Florida anymore," Susan said. "This is a completely different place."

  "So, there really is no way back to Ridge Manor, then?"

  Susan sighed and drank from her cup. "If there were, don't you think I would have used it by now?"

  That was when the floors beneath them began to shake.

  Chapter Eighty-Six

  Ridge Manor, Above

  "Ellie Mae! NOOO!"

  Wayne screamed at the top of his lungs, but he couldn't stop her. She was already in the air when he yelled and there was no way back. Not until something else stopped her midair and pulled her away from the hole so fast Wayne barely had time to see what it was.

  It was a tongue. And on the other end of it was Major General Li Xiaoyan. She pulled Ellie Mae away from the hole, hissing and growling, then threw her on the ground, yelling at the girl, "Hole only for Chinese. Only Chinese go in hole."

  Ellie Mae was screaming as Wayne rushed towards Major General Li Xiaoyan, but not in time before she bent over the girl and said, "For this, you die."

  Major General Li Xiaoyan then shot out her tongue and wrapped it around Ellie Mae's neck and started to squeeze. Everything inside of Wayne screamed.

  You've got to stop her from killing Ellie Mae. You've got to do something; for once, you've got to act. Joanna would do it for you. She sacrificed her own life for your daughter. Now is the time for you to do the same for her.

  But how? How was he supposed to stop this strange creature from killing the girl? He had none of his weapons anymore, they were all taken from him, even the gun he thought he had hidden in the office was gone somehow. All he had were his bare fists.

  "That'll have to do," he mumbled and clenched them, then sprang for the major general.

  Wayne threw a punch at her. His fist landed in the side of her stomach, but that was where it stopped. Pain shot through his body and it felt like he was going to explode. It was like slamming your fist into an iron plate.

  Wayne screamed in pain and retracted his hand. Meanwhile, Ellie Mae's face was quickly turning purple and strange gurgling sounds were emerging from deep within her throat.

  "Stop it," he yelled, then sprang for the woman and slammed his fist into her face, but again the woman barely moved. He kicked her in the stomach, but her only reaction was to swipe her long tail at him. The blow from it caused him to fly through the air and land next to the house in the grass.

  The soldiers were now plunging into the hole by the hundreds at a time. Somehow, it made Wayne think that it was like the earth was hungry and just waiting to get filled up.

  "I don't know what to do," Wayne said as he looked at Ellie Mae, turning more or less blue now.

  "It’s a good thing I do," a voice said from behind him.

  He looked up and spotted a woman wearing a very wet and dirty purple dress, the belt from the dress wrapped aroun
d her forehead like some freakin' ninja warrior.

  "Mrs. Pattison?" he asked, but she had no time to chat. The rather plump woman stormed towards Major General Li Xiaoyan, a spray bottle in her hand, a very odd warrior cry emerging from her mouth.

  "Put down my grandchild, you creepy chameleon!"

  Wayne sat in the grass, mouth agape, as Martha Pattison lifted her spray bottle and started to spray Major General Li Xiaoyan in her face and on her arms. Thinking she had gone completely raving mad, he watched as Major General Li Xiaoyan suddenly burst into a loud shrill scream. That was when Wayne saw what was happening to her skin. It was bulging up in large areas all over her body, soon turning into blisters. Smoke was even emerging from it as - whatever it was - burned its way through the skin.

  Major General Li Xiaoyan growled and fell to the ground in obvious pain, but best of all, she let go of Ellie Mae, who soon landed in the tall grass. Wayne ran to her and picked her up.

  "Ellie Mae," he said and caressed her hair.

  "Is she breathing?" Martha Pattison asked. "Is she alive?"

  Wayne looked at the girl. All he could hear was his own breath. He put two fingers on her throat to feel for a pulse but didn't feel anything.

  "Wayne! Is she alive?"

  "I…I…I don't..."

  He held the girl tightly in his arms when he suddenly realized that the sound of marching boots had stopped. He looked up and into the faces of hundreds and hundreds of soldiers, who had turned their attention to him, Mrs. Pattison, and the major general lying on the ground, screaming from the burns on her skin.

  Seeing their angry faces, Wayne sank hard. Martha Pattison turned to look at him, then threw him an extra spray bottle she had in her other hand.

  "I might need a little help with this," she said.

  Chapter Eighty-Seven