Evil Origins: A Horror & Dark Fantasy Collection Read Free Page B

‘Major’,” he said to Samuel.
    “Is
that a name or a rank?”
    Major
smiled and shook his head. “You ask too many questions.”
    Major
placed his knife and sharpening stone on a rock, and the glint of the blade
sparkled when it caught the dull glare of the daylight.
    “You
saved my life,” said Samuel.
    Major
shrugged.
    “Thanks.”
    “You’re
welcome . . . er?”
    “Samuel.”
    “You’re
welcome, Samuel.”
    Major
stood and walked over to Samuel. He slid a rock around and sat facing him.
    “What
do you remember?” he asked.
    “The
noose.”
    Major’s
eyebrows pushed the headband up slightly.
    “It
didn’t work. I know it was tight on my neck. I don’t remember that, I just know
it. Then it was at my feet, and the bruises on my neck turned red.”
    “Before
that?” asked Major.
    Samuel
shook his head. “Nothing.”
    “Family,
friends, work, women?”
    Again,
Samuel shook his head.
    Major
whistled and stood. “Haven’t seen many that close that don’t end up with rigor
mortis.”
    “Close
to what?” asked Samuel.
    Major
waved his hand in the air and bent down to rummage through a rucksack a few
feet from the fire pit. He pulled out a plastic jewel case. The cover had four
symbols on it, and the spine read “Threefold Law— Revenant .” He tossed
the CD to Samuel.
    “Know
what that is?”
    Samuel
smiled. “I’m not an idiot. It’s a CD.”
    Major
snatched it from his hands and tossed it back into the sack. “Personal, not
cultural,” he seemed to say more to himself than to Samuel.
    Samuel
stood and stretched his back. His stomach moaned, and he stepped toward Major. “I
can’t remember the last time I ate anything.”
    The
comment shook Major from a momentary daydream. He pulled the rucksack closed
and reached into a blue, plastic shopping bag behind it, grabbing cheese on
wheat crackers wrapped in cellophane. He tossed them to Samuel.
    “One
of the few of those I have left. Might be one of the last ever.”
    Samuel
ignored the remark as he tore into the snack crackers. The overpowering sting
of salt flooded his mouth and overwhelmed his senses. And then, as quickly as
it came, the taste disappeared. He chewed what now tasted like dried cardboard.
    “At
least you got a glimpse, a surge of sensation. Most of the shit I find now
doesn’t even give me that much.”
    Samuel
finished the crackers and immediately recognized how thirsty he had become. He
gave no mind to Major’s cryptic remarks.
    Major
walked to the nearest pine, lifted a twelve gauge shotgun, and laid the barrel
over his left shoulder. He loaded a lead pumpkin ball into the chamber and
clicked it shut. Major grabbed the rucksack and swung it over his head.
    “I’ve
gotta go.”
    Samuel
stared at him.
    “I
left you a water.”
    “Hold
on! Where are you going?”
    Major
ignored the question and strode past Samuel toward the enveloping darkness of
the forest. The filtered light retreated downward from the sky, leading Samuel
to believe it was nearing dusk.
    “What
if the wolves return?”
    “They
will,” said Major. “But not for two or three nights. I wouldn’t linger here for
too long, if I were you.”
    ***
    Samuel sat at
the base of the tree that had become his refuge from the pack. He leaned his
head back and closed his eyes. What he recognized as night returned, smothering
what remained of the reflected light in the sky. He decided against following
Major into the woods. The man must have been here much longer than he had, and
it would not be difficult for Major to lose him. And then Samuel thought of the
wolves and thought better of venturing into the wilderness on his own.
    He reached over
to the water bottle Major left and noticed a scrap of paper underneath it. Placing
the bottle to the side, he unfolded the note.
     
    Most of the
bodies have nothing of value. Scavengers have cleaned them out. The trinkets
lying in piles are worthless or don’t work, neither of which will help you. I
can’t tell, but