And as Dr. Howard Varley murmured, 'Fascinating,' a huge blister formed on his cheek, burst, and oozed bilious green pus that trickled down and dripped off his jaw.
CHAPTER EIGHT
'Get out of there!' Matt yelled. 'Get out while you—'
But it was already too late. The four grad students reeled back from the altar, and as they did, sores appeared on their faces as well.
Something slammed down on the back of Matt's neck, driving his face against the ground. Blood spurted from his nose. He twisted to look over his shoulder and saw Hammond looming above him. The professor's hands were clubbed together and lifted to deliver another blow.
Matt shot an elbow back into Hammond's belly. The impact knocked Hammond to the side and gave Matt the chance to roll away from him. As he did so, he lifted a booted foot and caught Hammond under the chin with a kick that sent the man sprawling.
Matt scrambled to his hands and knees. He saw Varley climbing out of the pit. The elderly professor's face was covered with sores now, the red marks standing out in stark contrast to his snow-white hair.
'Doctor, get away from that thing!' Matt yelled as he came to his feet.
Varley roared, 'Shut your motherfucking mouth!' He stepped off the ladder onto the ground at the edge of the pit and pointed at Matt. 'Get him!'
Scott was right behind Varley on the ladder. With almost superhuman agility, he leapt out of the excavation. He had brought his shovel with him, and he gripped the handle and swung the blade at Matt's head with blinding speed.
Matt ducked under the swinging shovel and stepped in to slam a punch into Scott's midsection. The blow sent Scott staggering back a couple of steps, but he caught his balance quickly.
Chuck was out of the pit by now, also armed with the shovel he had used to help unearth the altar. He raised it high above his head, unleashed what sounded like a rebel yell from his throat, and brought the shovel down. Matt leapt aside from it. The shovel clanged loudly on the ground.
April reached the top of the ladder. Her wholesome beauty was gone now. Sores had erupted all over her face. Green corruption dripped from them, and strips of rotting flesh peeled off her nose and chin. She screeched curses as she ran at Matt with her hands extended in front of her, the fingers hooked like claws.
He grabbed her arms and flung her against Chuck. The two of them got tangled up together. Matt needed that respite because Scott was coming at him again. He caught the shovel before the blade could bash his brains out. His foot snapped out in a kick that caught Scott in the left knee and made the young man's leg buckle. Matt shoved him to the ground.
The yelling had gotten the attention of the others on top of the mesa. From the corner of his eye, Matt spotted several of them running toward him to find out what was wrong.
He waved his arms at them and yelled, 'Get back, get back!' He didn't know how far-reaching the effect given off by the altar might be. Even though it hadn't changed him as it had the others, he could feel it, radiating from the carved face of Mr. Dark like ripples in a pond.
This was what had happened to the people who lived in this pueblo almost a thousand years earlier, he thought. Madness had spread from the altar and washed over the mesa, leading to a frenzy of slaughter and depravity.
Blood Mesa was a good name for the place, all right. It had been drenched in blood in those long-ago days . . . and soon might be again.
'Get in the truck and the pickups!' Matt shouted at the others. He didn't know if the vehicles would provide any safety, but they would be more secure than the tents. Maybe if he could get the rest of the group to flee, he could stay behind and deal with the ones who'd been changed by Mr. Dark.
That meant he'd probably have to kill all of them.
Or be killed by them. While some mystical force seemed to protect him from the touch of Mr. Dark, he could be harmed by those who had been prodded into evil by the creature.
Brad Kern and Noel McAlister were the closest of the grad students from the other groups. They had run ahead of Maggie and Rich. Suddenly both young men stumbled and clapped their hands to their heads as if they had been struck by migraines at the same instant.
Brad fell to his knees and clawed at his face. Chunks of flesh came away, shredded by his fingernails. Noel managed to stay on his feet, but sores were appearing on his face, too. Matt watched in horror, wondering if waves of evil had reached out from the altar and touched them, too. Was there any way to stop this, to reverse what was happening, to save these people?
Hell, was there any way for him to save himself?
Noel's unsteady gait strengthened. He lowered his hands, laughed, and charged at Matt. Behind him, Brad surged to his feet and joined in the attack.
Like a football lineman, Matt went low and threw himself at their knees. They crashed into him and tumbled out of control over him. Matt slapped his hands against the ground and pushed himself into a roll that carried him past the two fallen grad students.
Maggie and Rich had stopped and were staring at Brad and Noel, clearly confused about why they had attacked Matt. Matt hurried to his feet, grabbed their arms, and urged them toward the truck.
'Go! Go!'
Behind him, terrified screams filled the night. Matt and the students swung around and saw that Astrid had stumbled into the path of Hammond, Varley, Scott, Chuck, April, and Sierra as they gave chase. Varley had hold of her and clawed at her face as she screeched.
'Kill her!' Varley cried. 'Kill the fucking cunt!'
Scott and Chuck shoved him aside and started flailing at Astrid with their shovels. Her screams were cut off short as the two young men battered her to the ground.
The horrific scene had distracted Brad and Noel. They ran to join in as everyone who had been affected by the altar swarmed around Astrid and began tearing her to pieces.
After seeing that, Maggie and Rich didn't need any more urging to make a run for it. They dashed toward the truck.
Matt ran behind them, glancing over his shoulder as he did so. He realized it wouldn't do any good to seek shelter in the pickups. Scott and Chuck could just shatter the windshields and windows with those shovels.
The truck might be a different story. It was taller, the windshield and windows not as easy to reach, and he had the keys to it in his pocket. If he could get in the truck and get it started, he might be able to use it as a weapon.
Ronnie and the students who had been with her ran up to Maggie and Rich. Matt was close behind them.
'Hide in the ruins!' he told them. 'Grab some shovels or something to use as weapons! Go!'
Ronnie clutched his sleeve as the others scattered. 'Matt, what . . . what's happened?'
'They killed Astrid!' Maggie said with a hysterical sob. 'They tore her to pieces, Dr. Dupre! They're crazy!'
'You need to get out of here, Ronnie!' Matt said. 'And don't go anywhere near Dr. Varley's excavation!'
The pursuit should have caught up to them by now. Matt looked over his shoulder and felt cold horror go through him. Hammond and the others hadn't resumed the chase. They were gathered around Varley, who was carrying Astrid's head, which had been hacked raggedly from her neck with the blade of a shovel.
'My God,' Ronnie said in a voice hushed with awe and fear. 'They're . . . they're insane.'
She couldn't see the evil taking physical form on their faces the way Matt could, but she could see the results of it still dripping blood as the head swung back and forth in Varley's hand as he held it above his head and the others circled around him in some sort of macabre dance.
Matt took hold of her arm and began to back toward the truck. 'Remember the bones in the kiva,' he told her. 'The people who lived here went mad and turned on each other. That's what's going on.'
