Chapter 9: 9. Taste of Misfortune

“Amy! Can I get some help here!” Callum shouted as he smashed a gob on the side of its head with his hammer.

“I’m a bit busy here!” She screamed back as she stabbed away at another one.

The pair cursed their luck as they stared at the gobs climbing the stairs. Tom had led them through a department store as soon as they heard the first squeaks out on the streets. They knew staying out in the open would have been suicide. But now, Callum and Amy were left defending the staircase to the first floor to buy the others some time!

This is just the first wave. Callum thought as he glanced at their scattered numbers while swinging furiously. We’re dead for sure if the rest of the horde catches up!

His eyelid twitched as he glanced over his shoulder. The stragglers from the group were several ruined shops away. It’s not enough… Callum turned his attention to the gob struggling to keep its balance on the stairs. He barged his shoulder into its chest and chuckled as it toppled over, making the line of gobs behind it resemble dominoes as chaos ensued on the stairs.

That’ll keep my side busy for a while. However, Amy was not faring so well. He dashed to the other side of the handrail that separated the stairs into two halves and buried the claw end of his hammer into the eye of a gob. The creature squeaked in frustration as it gnashed its teeth together. However, Callum had already pulled his hammer away from the beast and retreated.

When the gob saw the ruined, wet globe that was once its eye hanging on the hammer’s claw, it dived towards Callum with its mouth wide open without a second thought! That led to a grin appearing on Callum’s face. He sidestepped the beast and a loud bang ensued.

The gob had struck the handrail behind, which caused it to bend towards the other side! A second later, the creature bounced off the stairs and rolled down them. Which led it to knock several others over in the process!

“Try to knock them over! They’ll exhaust us if we keep trying to kill the damn things!” Callum grunted as he stepped in next to Amy and helped to finish another gob off.

“Thanks!” she replied as she kicked at the corpse to send it against the one behind. “There’s no end to them!”

“I know.” Callum sighed as he glanced towards their group again, where Rachael was waving at them. “That’s our cue! Let’s go!”

The pair spared the thrashing gobs a last glance before turning and bolting away. They must have found a way out. Otherwise, Rachael wouldn’t have bothered calling us away from the stairs! Callum’s heart raced at the idea of the gobs being able to move freely on that floor. In his mind, there was nowhere in sight that would be as easy to defend.

“Come on!” Rachael screamed. “Down here!”

Callum and Amy dashed after her as disappeared down a hall between two of the stores. The pair smiled when they spotted the group on the other side of smashed glass doors that led to a multi-storey car park! Smart move, Tom. There’s bound to be a way out if we go down a floor. Meanwhile, the gob horde will be slowed down just trying to climb the stairs!

Amy grunted as she nicked herself on the glass as she stumbled through it. “Damn it!”

However, they did not have the time to stop and look at how bad it was. Their feet pounded in the dark as they raced around abandoned vehicles and caught up with the group. The people made room for them to reach Tom at the front. However, Amy chose to stay at the rear and warn them if the gobs caught up.

“What’s the plan?” Rachael asked as they neared Tom, who was leading the group down a ramp.

“Once we’re out of here, we need to put as much distance between us and them as possible,” Tom grunted as he looked at them. “I just don’t understand how they knew where we went. It should have taken them much longer to find us. Even if they arrived at the library soon after we left.”

“You’re saying they can track us? How? I mean, they don’t seem to have noses and I don’t think their eyes work all that well.” Callum frowned as he struggled to catch his breath.

“What do you mean?” Tom asked as he perked up his ears. Callum’s comment had aroused his curiosity.

“Well, when I first arrived here, there was one of those things staring right at me. But it didn’t react at all. Not until… Oh, shit!” Callum groaned as a concerned expression plastered itself on his face.

“What is it? Cal? Come on! What’s wrong?” Rachael struggled to contain the panic that invaded her voice.

“That gob. It didn’t react until it flicked its tongue in the air.” A dark expression crossed Callum’s face as he pieced that together with what was happening and what had happened in the gardens previously. “I think they can taste our scent in the air. That explains how they always seem to know where we go!”

Rachael looked like she was going to be sick as Tom tortured his chin with his hand. However, it was Tom who broke the silence first.

“If that’s right, then their sense of taste must be unimaginable. It has to be powerful enough for them to tell where the source is coming from, despite the scent being scattered in the air.”

“It’s worse than that,” Rachael said as she stared at Tom with a haunted expression. “What if they can tell where we are without having to follow our exact route? If our scent is carried in the air, then maybe the horde will pick it up before going through the mall. Which means the stairs won’t slow them down!”

“Instead, we’re making it easier for them to catch up! Since they can take a shorter route to our location!” Callum quickly filled in the last part of Rachael’s reasoning.

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“How did you lose them before?” Tom quickly asked as the scale of what they were dealing with sunk in.

“It must have been Amy’s smoke in the gardens. It probably overwhelmed their taste buds!” Rachael replied as a glimmer of hope sparkled in her eyes.

“As for the church. I don’t think we lost them. I think the creature in there probably ordered them to let us go somehow.” Callum said as a deep frown appeared on his brow.

“Ok, so now we have a plan. We have to find a spot where Amy can release her smoke and allow us to slip away from the horde.” Tom nodded as the look of someone possessed with a purpose appeared on his face. “Here we are!”

The three of them walked around the barriers on the ground floor and back out onto the open streets. A moment later, Rachael raced off to find Amy and explain the situation. Callum glanced up and down the road. However, disappointment overwhelmed him when he did not see anywhere nearby they could put their plan to the test.

“That way!” Tom said as he pointed to a sign a few buildings away.

Callum’s eyes went wide as he read the sign for himself. A subway station? That could work! Excitement flared within him as he helped Tom to shepherd the group. The pair worked together to encourage the people and give them hope as they drove them onwards. However, that was when they heard the worst thing possible at that time.

“The gobs are coming!” Rachael’s voice sounded from the rear of the group as Callum cursed.

Seems like we were right. These noises aren’t coming from within the car park. They’ve gone around it!

“Get to the back and help those two out! I’ll deal with the group.” Tom said as he nodded while waving the people forward. “I’ll come help as soon as everyone is safely below.”

Callum grimaced as he pushed his way through the crowd. They were panicking now and did not have the presence of mind to clear a path for him. He groaned as people elbowed and shoved him. Callum wanted to scream at them. However, the fear in their eyes held him back.

That was when he saw them! The gobs had already caught up to the rear of the group and Rachael was already engaged with them! Damn it! That was too fast! As he burst out of the rear of the crowd, he spotted Amy stabbing one gob while forcing smoke down the throat of another.

There were just too many of them. Most of the creatures were avoiding the two women and aiming for the defenceless prey they were protecting. A wet, crunching noise reached Callum’s ears from his left. As he turned towards it, bile crept up his throat. A pair of the beasts were chowing down on the body of the man he had saved back at the library. However, it was the lifeless gaze of his daughter beside him, with half of her chest missing, that struck Callum the most.

Pure fury overtook the rationality of his mind as he dashed towards those gruesome beasts. His mind screamed at him to stop the ones encroaching on the helpless members of the group. However, his heart told him otherwise.

A feral shout escaped his throat as swung his hammer with every ounce of strength his body could give him. Adrenaline pounded through his veins as it crashed down on the head of one gob. However, he was not done just yet. Two will counters vanished from his right hand as he trapped them within the effects of his Slow ability!

Before either creature could react in a meaningful way, his hammer tore into them. Flesh, fur, and blood flew with every new swing of his arm. Their facial features became unrecognisable as Callum mangled them with his ferocity! Only when any signs of life fled the two creatures did Callum allow himself a moment to analyse what was happening around him.

Lights from the fragments the creatures released when death took them at the hands of a dreamwalker filled the air near Rachael and Amy. At the same time, Callum felt their warmth entering his own body, helping to clarify his mind. I’m sorry. Callum thought as he spared the young girl a last look, committing her to memory.

“There’s too many!” Callum yelled at the top of his lungs to be heard over the furious squeaking around them. “We need to regroup and slow them down!”

The two women acknowledged him as the trio fought through the enemy ranks that had slipped past them. However, their emotions swirled inside them like a tornado. They leapt over the mutilated bodies of those not swift enough to escape the horde.

Callum even recognised one of the elderly men from the library basement. His body was now a lifeless husk as his glasses lay twisted and shattered next to him. Callum had to fight back the wetness forming around his eyes as he bashed another gob in passing.

This is too much! Even if escape, how are we going to recover from this? We’ll always be on the run! They’ll always track us down, eventually! Callum felt the light of hope fleeing from him. Ushering in the dark clouds of despair and desperation.

“Now!” Rachael suddenly screamed, startling Callum from his thoughts.

Amy yelled as smoke poured from her body. It spread to either side of the street before encompassing the gobs hot on their heels! It was the first time Callum got to witness that ability of hers from up close. The smoke pours out of her exposed skin! But this amount in such a brief space of time is crazy!

Just as he had thought, the gobs acted confused as soon as they were enveloped in the smokescreen. Amy’s smoke really is the key to losing them! But that now makes her the most valuable member of our group! Callum’s mind raced to understand the complications of that as the trio turned the corner. Just ahead of them was Tom, ushering the last remnants above the ground down the stairs into the subway.

Amy, however, stayed above ground. Spreading her smoke as far as she could to force the horde into wasting time searching for them. Callum took the steps three at a time, eager to reach the apparent safety that could be found underground. As he set foot down there, only one thought crossed his mind. I hope they don’t check down here too soon!

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