Desolate The Complete Trilogy

23



Howard sat up in his bunk, confused and startled. Did he get woken up by a loud noise or was that part of his dream? In his dreams, a woman was crying and screaming, but he couldn’t remember the details. He looked over at Carl’s empty bed and then heard the same woman’s voice crying once again from down the hall. It was Liz. He shot out of bed and headed for the commotion.

He reached the lab and it took a moment for his mind to comprehend the scene before him. Liz was kneeling on the floor cradling Phillip’s head in her arms. His eyes were open, his chest covered in blood. Liz, also covered in blood, rocked back and forth and sobbed.

Carl stood in the corner of the room holding the gun and wiping his face off with a paper towel. He noticed Howard and started to chuckle. “Hey man, sorry to wake you.” He hawked a wad of phlegm and blood into the paper towel and tossed it to the floor. “I gotta hand it to this little girl, she’s a firecracker. Got in a few good licks.” He inspected the deep gash in his palm where Liz had bitten.

“Bastard!” Liz screamed. Howard jumped at the noise.

“All right now,” Carl said to Howard. “Before you get your panties in a bunch, let me explain.”

“He tried to rape me and then he murdered Phillip,” Liz cried.

“Yeah well, I guess that does pretty much sum it up,” Carl chuckled. “Come on Missy,” he placed the muzzle of the Glock on Liz’s temple and pulled her up by her hair. Liz cried out and Phillip’s head fell to the floor with a sick thump. “We ain’t done yet. You’ll have plenty of time to cry over your dead hubby later if you’re a good girl.”

Howard finally snapped out of it. “Carl, for Christ’s sake, that’s enough. Leave her alone.”

“I’ll leave her alone when I’m good and goddamned ready,” he roared. He pointed the gun at Howard. “I don’t have time for your shit, man. You said you were on my team so get the hell out of my way.”

Howard’s courage evaporated looking down the barrel of the gun and he stepped aside. “That a boy,” said Carl. “Gimme a few minutes and you’re welcome to some sloppy seconds. You do like girls, don’t you?” Howard swallowed and said nothing.

Liz renewed her struggling as Carl attempted to drag her down the hall to the bedroom. Howard stood motionless for a moment as guilt washed over him. He thought of how Steve Creighton didn’t bat an eye when Howard shoved a gun in his face, but when Carl did it to him, he froze with terror.

Every day, Howard wished he could go back and prevent the shootings and restore the lives he destroyed in his moment of madness. Now he was faced with the choice of whether or not he could do the right thing here in the present. He knew if he stood by and let Carl rape and kill that woman, he was no better than the drunken lunatic that killed those people back in Wisconsin.

He quickly scanned the room for any kind of weapon and grabbed the fire extinguisher from the wall. It wasn’t much, but it was made of metal and it was solid. Howard pictured sneaking up behind Carl and hitting him on the back of the head with it. He could even spray him in the face, temporarily blinding him, and hopefully grab the gun.

Howard left the room, peered around the corner, and down the hall. Carl and Liz were about to enter the bedroom that he and Carl shared. They stood in the doorway for a moment and Howard snuck down the hall, picking up speed. He held his breath and lifted the extinguisher, ready to strike. In a matter of seconds he would be directly behind Carl and bring it down on his neck with all his strength.

They stayed in the doorway, yet just as Howard was about to reach them, Liz let out a scream. Howard stopped. He saw Liz struggle frantically to get away from Carl and she actually succeeded. She tripped over her own feet and tumbled backwards to the floor. He saw Carl continue to stand motionless in the door, which confused Howard, especially since Liz was getting to her feet. She was screaming as loudly as ever with a look of terror on her face that didn’t quite match the threat that Carl seemed to no longer produce.

Howard was splattered with blood as something suddenly protruded out of Carl’s back. He dropped the fire extinguisher and wiped his eyes. Howard could hear Liz, still screaming, running down the hall behind him, yet he didn’t move. He watched as what appeared to be a set of large talons grip Carl’s torso. Carl jerked and convulsed, producing a horrible gurgling noise from his mouth, just before he was torn in two. Carl’s lower half, from the pelvis down, fell to the floor and was showered in blood and bodily fluids from the upper half. That was still being held up by what looked like a large lobster claw. The claw released Carl’s upper half and it fell to the floor.