Joss Ware - Beyond the Night

Night closed upon them.

All of the young people realized it at the same moment, as the sun dipped suddenly behind the jagged horizon, permitting only a thread of gray to illuminate their stark faces. Laughter and conversation evaporated, leaving them silent and uneasy.

Their vehicle sat where theyd left it, a few miles away. The stupid thing had clunked to a halt two hours ago, and wouldnt start again. With the optimism of youth, fueled by the frenetic energy of the verboten crystal dust, theyd decided to continue to the meeting place on foot, unaware of how quickly the sun would slip beneath the horizon. Anything had seemed possible at the time they set out from their broken-down van.

But now....

The buildingsmossy, moldering ruins, which during day might offer shelternow loomed over them, close and eerie with their pitched angles and jutting beams broken by the sprout of a tree or hanging vine. Large trees grew in the middle of what had once been streets, and the glint of eyes low to the ground accompanied the scamper of animal feet.

Even without the influence of the crystal dust, the place would have been sinister and alarming... but the gritty, mind-altering dust made it more so.

The smashed and rusted-out vehicles with missing windows and upholstered with fuzzy green moss lined the street, appearing larger and more fearsome than the inanimate lumps they really were. None of these abandoned cars, sitting next to broken and bent signs and parking meters, had been started for decades and wouldnt be of any help to them.

What had once been ten- or twenty-story buildings had tumbled into angry mountains of brick and beam, ragged glass and metal, folded in on each other in an unnatural terrain, softened by a thick layer of lichen and moss. What had once been smooth, landscaped walkways and wide thoroughfares jutted and cracked beneath their feet, making each step in the dark unsettling.

Theyd never seen this world as it once had been: tall, glittery buildings, lit so brightly that night held no more secrets than day, filled with throngs of people, cars, noise; smooth and hard and spare.

How much farther, Geoff? asked one of the girls. The effects of the dust ebbed as real fear began to sink in. What had they done?

Since they were children, theyd been warned: how, in the blink of an eye, the sun could sink, and take its frugal warmth and light.

And release the fearsome things.

It cant be much farther, he said brightly, neglecting to admit that hed left the map in the van. But he remembered the way well enough. And Nurmikko will be there, waiting for us, and then hell take us on to Hemps Point. To safety, freedom... and more dust.

That was what theyd come for.

Then another of the teens, Linda, choked on a shriek when she saw the orange glint. It blinked before its other eye came into view from around a ragged, viny brick wall. Two orange eyes were joined by two more... and more and more. They came from the shadows, filtering from somewhere below ground where they lived in darkness, spilling onto the streets from all directions, released by the setting sun.

Moving slowly, steadily, they came. Much taller than a man, with massive legs and bulky arms. Grayish skin, tight and bone white under the sliver of moon, orange eyes, black holes where a nose might have grown. Gaping mouths and powerful, clawed hands moved in a horrible parody of the humans theyd once been. The ganga.

The teenagers huddled together, too paralyzed to save themselves. The last vestiges of their optimistic, frenetic mood disintegrated, leaving them cold and dark and frightened. They bumped up against a large vehicle, whose roof had been crushed into a vee, and sprouted grasses from beneath its hood.

One of the creatures growled ruuuth... ruuuth .

Geoff gathered his shattered wits and dipped to the ragged ground below, scooping blindly for a stone or some other object to throw. He rose, a hefty rock in his hand, and flung it at the nearest creature, at the same time shoving at the group of his friends. Go! he shouted, his head pounding.

The stone thudded into the chest of one of the creatures, but it seemed to have no effect.

The creatures were close enough now that their rank scent filled the air. The young people gaped at the huge hands that reached for them, bumping into each other, stumbling and tripping in their efforts to elude the dangerous grasp.

Benji screamed, staggering away even as she stared back with bulging eyes, holding her hand out in front of her as if to ward off the creature. Marcus picked up a rock and pitched it at one of the monsters, striking its shoulder, but it only growled more loudly, lunging at its attacker.

The creatures continued to swarm, Zac fell and was grabbed by two skeletal hands the size of dinner plates. As Geoff watched in horror, his friend was mauled by the teeth and hands in a horrible parody of old slasher movies. Only, this wasnt a parody. The sharp smell of blood, the dull scent of exposed human entrails tinged the night air, and Geoffs belly lurched.

Benji, too, fell prey to the nearest of the creatures, but instead of tearing into her with claws and teeth, heitflung the blonde over his shoulder as if she were a rag doll. She screamed, pounding on cold gray flesh that was barely covered by tattered clothing, terror choking her cries as he plodded away like a Frankensteinian monster of old. Horrified, Geoff snagged another stone from the rubble and lobbed it even as more of the creatures lunged toward him.

Then a shout reached their ears, accompanied by the sudden pounding of hooves as a wild mustang galloped toward them. The woman riding bareback clung to the horses mane, her long hair streaming behind her as she stampeded into the cluster of monsters, sending them scattering heavily.

Run! she screamed, and even in the dark Geoff recognized her. She wheeled her horse around and started back into the group of orange-eyed creatures as they pressed closer.

One of them grabbed at her, and she must have kicked her horse, for he reared up and clocked the monster in the face with a solid hoof. But the undead creatures surged closer around her, inexorable and strong. Run, dammit! she ordered again, when the stunned youth still hadnt moved.

Suddenly, a mans voice shouted. This way! Now!

Geoff looked into the darkness and pointed, began to stumble toward the disembodied voicewhich had come from a completely different direction as the horsewoman. The others followed as quickly as they could.

Benji struggled against her abductor, screaming. But there was nothing they could do for her as she was toted in the opposite direction, and nothing they could do to help the horsewoman as the monsters closed in around her.

Then, from the direction of the voice, something flew out of the night. Something that glowed and made a streak of light in the air. It landed on the ground between the slowest of the humans and the surge of creatures, exploding with such force that the lagging man was pitched forward. The horse reared again, screaming crazily, but the woman remained seated as flames burst around them.

The explosion sent several of the creatures crashing to the ground like a rampage of boulders. Their clothing and skin scorched and burned, flames dancing eerily in the darkness. The mustang leapt from the burning circle as another streak of light arced through the air, landing with a crash and an explosion at the second wave of the attackers, destroying even more of them.

The screams of the kidnapped girl rang through the night, growing more distant as a third missile pitched and crashed. By that time, the cluster of humans had moved out of sight of the creatures, leaving them growling in the darkness.