Worm

23

It was Tony that found Marv after Marv staggered out of Tessa Saldane’s house, the carving knife still in his hand.

“Hey,” he said.

Marv clicked on a flashlight and aimed the beam directly in his face.

“Jesus,” Tony said, covering his eyes.

“Who… Tony?” Marv breathed. “What’re you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?”

“Sorry.”

“I guess we’re all on edge tonight.”

“Yeah.” Tony swallowed. “Ain’t that the truth?”

“I’m glad you’re still kicking.”

“Neither of us’ll be kicking long if we don’t get out of this slop.”

They trudged side by side. After a time, Marv said, “The worms?”

“Yeah.”

They exchanged stories quickly. There was no beating around the bush. They’d both seen them and there was no doubting the reality of the things. The hows and whys would have to be hashed out later.

“Have you checked out any other houses?” Marv asked.

“Yeah. They’re either empty or… well, they’re not empty and nothing’s alive in them.”

They took a breather after a few minutes, the muck wearing them down. It was like wading through wet cement. They leaned against a light post, gripping it like they might get sucked away.

“What are we going to do?” Tony finally asked, dragging off a cigarette.

Marv sighed. “We’ll get back to my house. We’ll hole up there with Fern and the kids. We find anybody else, we bring ’em in with us. I’ve got some guns, camping equipment in the garage if we need it—lanterns, flashlights, a cookstove. We should be all right.”

It seemed reasonable, Tony figured. As reasonable as anything he’d heard lately anyway. Together, they might have a fighting chance while they waited for the National Guard and emergency services. He was going to say just that when Marv grabbed his arm.

“Somebody’s coming,” he said, listening to a slow, dragging splashing moving in their direction.