He grunted and charged.
I pulled a dagger out of my belt and lobbed it at him. It hit him squarely between the eyes. He fell to the ground with a thud.
I looked behind me to see Ian swing into the cab of the truck. They drove back toward the SUV. In the back, the others fired shots into the weeds.
I bent low to pull my dagger from the boy’s head. I pulled the dagger, sticky with blood, from his little forehead. I felt sick. I turned and retched into the weeds. It was too horrible.
I’d just caught my breath when the truck pulled up beside me. Jamie jumped out and came over to me; Will went to the SUV to check on Summer.
Jamie put his hand on my shoulder. “You okay?” he whispered.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and stood up. “Yeah,” I said with a heavy sigh.
“Layla, you alright?” Ian called from the truck.
I nodded.
“Come on,” Jamie said. He took the dagger from my hand and cleaned it on the grass. He handed it back to me. “It’s done now,” he said, and we walked back to my SUV.
Will was talking to Summer, calming her.
“I’m okay now,” she whispered, wiping tears. She smiled at me and shook her head in disbelief.
“This is a lot of work for a 5 gallon can of fruit cocktail,” Dusty said finally, causing us all to laugh.
We loaded back into the vehicles and drove to the hunting club.
Chapter 12
We kept a sharp eye on the tall grass as we headed toward the building.
“We haven’t seen the Scout leaders yet,” Summer observed.
Everyone’s weapons were poised and ready. Will opened the door. The place was seemingly deserted. The kitchen was in a state of upheaval; brown bag lunches and puddles of blood covered the floor.
I heard Summer inhale sharply at the sight.
Bloody child-sized footprints marred the white tile floors.
“Stay close,” I whispered to Summer. I holstered my gun and pulled my sword from its scabbard.
We passed through the kitchen and down a hallway toward the reception hall. At the end of the hallway, we stopped and Dusty looked out.
“Eww, man, there are your Scout leaders,” Dusty said.
The terrible smell of decay filled the otherwise beautiful room. On the one hand, the room boasted a massive stone fireplace with an elaborately carved mantel. Overhead, a lovely chandelier twinkled in the morning sunlight. The windows were all outlined with stained glass which depicted woodland scenes. Rays of sunlight illuminated the colored glass which cast a rainbow of sunny blotches on the floor. On the other hand, the remains of two men lay heaped on the floor. Not much was left save their skeletons and hanging bits of flesh and entrails. A small boy, about eight years of age, was chewing on the rib-bone of one of the men.
Ian stepped forward and shot the undead child. The boy’s head exploded, a shower of blood and bits raining onto the floor, and his body toppled over.
“There could be more,” Jamie said. “Let’s sweep the building. You guys take that end,” he said, motioning to Dusty and Will, “Ian and I can cover this end. Summer and Layla hang here and watch outside for movement,” Jamie said, and they set off in opposite directions.
I slid my belt knife off and handed it to Summer. “Keep this on you. And we need to get you a gun.”
“Layla, you know I’m not . . . well, you know,“ she said shaking her head as she took the knife. She stuffed it into her back pocket.
I knew exactly what she meant. Summer was a gentle girl. She used to squeal when the boys teased her with worms. “Just in case,” I said.
She nodded.
Will and Dusty came back.
“All clear,” Will said. “Let’s head to the kitchen and get started,” he told Summer.
“I’ll keep watch here,” I said, and the three of them moved off.
I could not see anything moving outside. I headed toward the long hallway down which Jamie and Ian had disappeared. When I reached hallway, I heard their voices. Their words were heated. As I turned to go the other direction, I accidently caught a snippet of conversation. What I heard made me pause.
“All I’m saying is apologize, man. Not everyone can just blow a kid’s brains out. You’ve got no business yelling at her like that,” Jamie was saying.
“She knows it was just in the heat of the moment. She’s fine,” Ian replied.
“Christ, Ian, after everything you put her through you expect her to just pick up where you left off, with all your bullshit still intact,” Jamie said.
“What the fuck is it to you, brother? What are you doing with her all the time anyway? What have you got on your mind?”
“At least I’m seeing her for who she is, not who she was. Which is more than I can say for you,” Jamie replied.
“You better step off, brother. You better step off,” Ian warned.