Mort reached for the handle and pushed it sideways. Itrumbled open to his surprise. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a badthing. The interior of the house was dark. The living room's white carpet wasspattered with blood, and Mort gripped his hand tighter. They knew immediatelythat someone or something was in the house... they could smell it. The wreckageof an entertainment center was strewn across the living room and the furniturewas knocked over. A fight had happened here.
They had come this far, so they decided to press forward.The smell of rot and death intensified. A central hallway bisected the house withrooms on the left and the right hidden behind doorways. Mort jumped as Loubanged on the wall.
Immediately, they heard a thumping behind one of thedoors.
"Maybe we ought to just ignore that room," Mortsaid.
Lou nodded at him, and then said, "You stand next tothat thing. I'm going to see what I can find. If that door breaks down, yougimme a holler."
"You got it."
Mort stood next to the rattling door, trying not to jumpevery time whatever was on the other side bashed into it. In the other parts ofthe house, he heard Lou tossing and searching the rooms. He heard items clatterto the ground. Bang. Jump. He heard drawers being torn open. Bang. Jump. Heheard metal hangers scraping along dowels in closets. Bang. Jump. Then it wasquiet.
Mort waited for another bang. But there was nothing. Heleaned against the wall, his head tilted up. The afternoon heat caused waves ofsweat to drip down his face, and he could feel more trickling down the small ofhis back. He wiped his hand across his face to keep the sweat from getting inhis eyes, and that's when the door across from him swung open, the creature onthe other side using dormant memories to manipulate the door handle.
A gray face with curly black hair was upon him in aninstant. He managed to bring his hammer up between him and the snarling manthat was attacking him, but they fell backwards. His weight was crushing, andthe smell of the dead man upon him was sickening. How long had he been rottingin that room?
"Lou," he rasped, unable to devote any breathor energy to yelling louder. All of his strength was going into keeping theclacking teeth of the dead man from sinking into his skin. The man had a nastywound on his forehead, and a flap of skin fell down, obscuring his left eye.Blood dripped from the wound, and Mort squeezed his eyes shut as the coldliquid fell on his cheek.
He turned his head to the side and yelled,"Lou!" as panic welled up inside him. Suddenly, the weight was liftedoff of him, and Mort dared open his eyes again. The man was large. An orangeconstruction vest hung over a white T-shirt that was too large for his swollenand rotting gut. Lou shoved the man backwards against the wall.
Mort got himself to his feet, and Lou followed after himas they backed into the living room where there was more room to swing theirweapons. The construction worker staggered forward, that lone flap of skindancing with each movement. The creature gargled something at them and thenreached for Lou.
In mid-swing, Lou tripped over some wires and fell backwards.He went down. Mort acted fast. Swinging his hammer at the man's head. Heconnected with the construction worker's jaw. The crack of the hammer echoed inthe living room, and teeth flew and landed on the already bloody carpet. Theconstruction worker seemed dazed for a moment, but he still came forward. Mortswung again, his arm already sore and tired.
The man's broken jaw dripped more blood onto the carpet.Mort gasped for air, but he didn't have enough strength to crack the man'sskull. He swung the hammer anyway, but the dead man was on him again, his coldhands grasping at him, his mouth trying to work. He felt the dead man's faceupon his own, and he screamed.
The man's face cocked to the side as Lou bashed him withhis baseball bat, killing him instantly. As the limp weight of the dead mancrashed into him, they fell to the ground. Mort scrambled out from under theman and picked up a misplaced throw pillow. Frantically, we swiped it acrosshis face where he had felt the creature's teeth pressing into his skin.
"You, ok?" Lou asked, a wary look in his eye.
Mort said nothing. He kept wiping his face with thepillow. Then he flipped it over to the clean side and did it again, looking atthe pillow to see if any of his own blood was there. There was nothing. Hewiped his face again, needing to be sure. Still no blood. But he couldn't stopchecking.
"It's alright, Mort," Lou said.
"He got me, man. I know it." Mort wiped at hisface again, needing to be sure.
"You're not bleeding. You're fine. Calm down."
"Fuck that, Lou. I ain't going out like that."Still no blood on the pillow.
Lou stepped over to him and pulled the pillow away."You're fine. There's nothing there."
But Mort could still feel those hard teeth pressing into theskin of his cheek. He sank to his knees and shuddered. He felt tears forming inhis eyes as he put his hands to his face. Lou squatted down next to him, andput his hand on his shoulder. Mort flinched for a second, but then he acceptedit. His shoulders bobbed up and down as he silently sobbed.
Lou moved closer and put his arm around Mort. Mort's handreached up and grasped Lou's encircling arm, as if he were holding on for life,which in fact he was. They all were.
****
It shook Lou to see Mort in the state he was in. He knewhow he felt. Emotions. They were real. For his whole life, he had been told notto have any, not to show any. But they were real, and in this world, they werealways being tested. Emotions this deep, where every moment could mean thedeath of you or someone you cared about, were everywhere. When Zeke had died,it was like he had
