The Midnight Tour

Doesn’t smell too good, either.

What is that smell? she wondered.

Something’s dead in here!

“Eve?” she called.

“I’m here.” She didn’t sound very close.

“Where?”

“Just keep coming. You can’t miss me.”

“Is there something dead in here?”

“You bet there is.”

Dana grimaced but kept crawling. The ground felt moist and cool under her hands and knees. She was starting to breath hard from the exertion.

“How did you get in here?” she called.

“Dragged.”

“Jeez. Who did it?”

“Not sure. I went in the house last night...this is Saturday?”

“Right.”

“Midnight Tour?”

“That’s right.”

“Told you I’d make it.”

“Glad you turned up.” Dana stopped crawling and tried to catch her breath.

“Almost didn’t,” Eve said. “But I heard cheers and stuff.”

“That was us. Had an impromptu performance.”

“Good thing. If I hadn’t heard the commotion, I would’ve kept quiet. You get yourself in a place like this, you don’t spend much time yelling, I’ll tell you that.”

“Scared?”

“Who, me? You bet I am.”

Dana resumed crawling.

. “Know why they call me ‘Eve of Destruction? Cause I’m so scared, I make sure to get them before they can get me. Only this time I didn’t.”

“How’d that happen?”

“I got jumped from behind. Big-time. Up in the attic. Got myself creamed. Don’t know who did it. Stronger than shit. Might’ve been a beast.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Looked like a beast. Felt like a beast.”

“Had a lot of...experience along those lines?”

“A matter of fact, yeah.”

Dana panted for air, then asked, “How’s that?”

“My little secret.”

“Shouldn’t keep secrets...from your rescuer.”

“How come you’re the one? Where’s Lynn?”

“I beat her to the punch. Anyway, I’m bigger and stronger. Is this gonna call for brawn?”

“Might. Aren’t there any guys up there?”

“I didn’t wait around for volunteers.”

“Well, I sure appreciate...I can see your light!”

“Great!”

“You’re almost here.”

Huffing for breath, Dana crawled faster. “He dragged you all this way?”

“Guess so. I was really out of it.”

“Must’ve been a job.”

“Yeah. Too bad he didn’t have a heart attack.”

“Do beasts have heart attacks?” Dana asked.

“Not sure he was one.”

Just ahead of Dana, the left-hand wall of the tunnel seemed to vanish.

“You’re here,” Eve said.

Dana crawled the final distance. Shining her light to the left, she found herself looking into a hollowed-out area.

Eve was sitting naked on a rag-littered floor. Her raised arms, cuffed together at the wrists, were suspended by a chain that hung down taut from a four-by-four ceiling beam. Her skin was striped with scratches and furrows, some shiny with blood, others crusted over.

“Jeez,” Dana muttered.

Eve smiled. Her lips were torn and puffy. One cheek was badly scratched. Her right eye was swollen almost shut. “Looks better than it feels,” she said.

Dana turned her head and shouted over her shoulder, “FOUND HER!”

A moment later, she heard Tuck’s faint voice. “How is she?”

“I’LL LIVE!” Eve shouted.

Tuck’s faint voice called back, “Dana? Can you get her out okay?”

“Tell her yes,” Eve said.

“How’ll we get you out of the cuffs?”

“We’ll manage.”

“ILL GET HER OUT!” Dana yelled..

After a short pause, she heard Tuck call out, “Holler if you need help.”

Dana nodded. To Eve, she said, “We’ve got an ambulance coming. And cops.”

“Somebody better call the coroner, too.”

Reluctantly, Dana eased her beam of light away from Eve.

Two other people hung by chains from the center beam.

One looked as if it used to be a child. Not enough was left for Dana to tell whether it had been a boy or girl. The other body still retained one breasts, though it was missing a mouth-sized chunk where the nipple should’ve been.

Hunching over, Dana vomited onto the rag-covered floor.

People’s clothes.

Wave after wave of painful spasms racked her body as she choked up a burning flood of stomach acid and cheeseburger and beer and maybe even the Red Hot Beastie Weenie that she’d eaten for lunch. Tears ran from her stinging eyes. Her chest hurt so badly she felt as if she might start coughing up her lungs and heart.

At last, the spasms subsided. She gasped for air.

“Are you all right?” Eve asked.

“Those people...they’re eaten.”

“Yeah.”

“God! Are you okay?”

“I’m not missing any parts. Not yet.”

“What’d it do to you?”

“Nothing that hasn’t been done before. Let’s get me out of here.”

Though Dana still held on to the flashlight, it was half buried in the floor rags. She raised it and shined the beam on Eve. The brightness climbed to her raised arms, to her cuffed wrists. “Are they your cuffs?” she asked.

“Might be. I had ‘em with me.”

“Where did you keep the key?”

“Pocket of my jeans.”

Dana began shining her light on the scattered clothes, searching for blue jeans. A couple of times, she accidently glimpsed the ruined bodies but didn’t allow herself to focus on them.