Lords Of The Tooth Claw
Matthew Bissonnette

 

The Lords of Tooth and Claw

         by Matt Bissonnette




The sun had just peaked over the east horizon when Jack finally turned away from the passenger side window and looked longingly at Talia. Six hours of total silence was interrupted when he said, “Where are we going exactly?”
Talia replied in a tired voice “Somewhere they will never find us.”
Jack looked down at the gym bag lying near his feet, inside was stacks of bills and a clear bag full of white powder. He let out a deep sigh.
Talia asked “Second thoughts?”
“I don’t know if we are ever going to be able to get away. There’s fifty thousand here, maybe twenty grand worth of coke. Is that going to be enough start a new life.”
Talia turned a looked at him with her deep, innocent eyes. “Deek never would let us leave, we had to do it.”
Jack could feel the gun in his pocket, icy steel pressing against his thigh. “We don’t have to worry about Deek anymore, it’s just his buddies we have to watch out for.”
Talia looked ahead. The highway seemed to go on forever. She whispered “They won’t find us.”
But she had doubts. Her former husband Deek was a connected man, and there would be people looking for them.
Jack looked around. “Where the hell are we?”
Talia shrugged. “I think we are in Florida.”
“Maybe we should get off the high, find some little out of the way place and hide for awhile.”
   She nodded. “Ok, I’ll get off on the next off-ramp. I thin-”
Talia stopped talking, put her hand on her stomach and cringed. Jack gasped and said “Is something wrong with the baby?”
Talia slowed the car and pulled over to the side of the highway, a smile forming on her lips. “I think I felt her move Jack, I think I felt her move.”
For the first time since Jack had shot Deek, he felt a little bit of calm. Talia clasped his hand and placed it on her stomach. She turned to him. “Our baby.” she said, tears forming in her eyes.
Jack really thought he could feel the child moving, though he was sure it was just in his head. The baby wasn’t even a month old, but that didn’t diminish the glee the two where feeling.
For a moment, Jack Hanes wasn’t a pusher now murder and Talia Kay wasn’t a thug’s moll who went behind her husband back. They were simply two people who where in love, who where going to have a child.
He kissed her then pulled away. They stared at each other for a moment, each feeling a swelling joy inside them.
“Let me drive,” Jack said, “try and get some sleep.”

As the day dragged on, Jack really started to regret leaving the interstate. He was on a dirt rode that seemed to be getting narrower, vast swamp on either side.
Talia slept peacefully, using the leather coat her bastard husband bought for her as a pillow. Jack took his eyes of the rode and looked at her. Even though she was reaching her thirties, she still had the youthful beauty of a teen. Even though she had surrounded herself with the lowest scum New York had to offer, she was still a kind, good-natured person. Jack didn’t even know what she saw in him.
Jack turned back to the road then quickly slammed on the brakes. Everything in the car heaved forward as the tires squealed. Talia flew forward and hit her head on the dashboard. Jack’s eyes where fixated forwards.
“Jack?” Talia said groggily.
He was frozen in his seat looking ahead. Talia looked in front of the car and screamed.
An alligator was lying on the road in front of them, it’s snout pointed right at them. It was motionless, it’s jaws open, it’s bone white teeth gleaming.
Talia started to shake, but only a little. She grabbed Jack’s arm and said, “What do we do?”
Jack shook his head. “Wait for it to leave I guess.”
Both stared at the scaled beast for a couple of seconds in total awe until Jack said, “Where’s Crocodile Dundee when you need him.”
Talia didn’t laugh. Because she was to scared and because it really wasn’t funny at all.
  She whispered “Any bullets left?”
“Five, but it doesn’t matter. It can’t get in the car.”
Suddenly, the alligator lurched towards the side of the rode and slipped into the swamp.
Jack looked at Talia. “Well, that was exiting.”
Talia fell back into her seat. “Let’s just go.”
She looked nervously around at the swamp that seemed to envelop them. She began to think of how many other gators where in that murky water.
Jack said “My god, that sucker must have been at least twelve feet long.”
Talia sighed. “Did you see those teeth, that thing could have probably of ripped right thrown this car.”
“I think you’re over estimating the animal just a little. It’s just a stupid, brainless creature.”
A stupid, brainless creatures with some big god dam teeth she thought.

About an hour later, they happened apon a small village of no more than ten buildings. The closest building was a gas station, even though that the pump looked older then Jack and Talia put together. The town itself was surrounded by swamp, the seemingly endless swamp.
Talia said, “We should get some gas.”
Jack looked down at the gauge, the needle was barely above E. He turned the car and parked next to the pump at the gas station. He turned to Talia and said, “Is it self serve or what.”
Suddenly, a man walked out of the gas station. He looked old, really, really old. He had stringy white hair that was creeping out from under a dirty old cap he wore. His face resembled a beanbag, wrinkled and misshapen. He limped a little, but Jack noticed something. Even though there was an old man walking towards the car, his eyes seemed strangely out of place. They didn’t have that worn glare Jack usually saw in the old, more like the eyes of a used car sales man when you pull into the lot Jack thought.
Jack rolled down the window as the old man came around the front of the car.
“Good day to ya.” the old mans in an oddly low voice.
Wally replied “Good day, ugh, could you fill her up please.”
The old guy snickered and pulled up his cap, revealing his truly ugly hair. “There ain’t going to be any gas till tomorrow, trucks coming tomorrow noon.”
Jack looked at the gas gauge then looked back at the old man. “How far is it to the gas station?”
The old guy cackled, a frightening cackle, it sounded sort of sinister. “Ain’t any station for at least another two hours.”
Jack sighed. “Is there a place we can stay for the night here?”
The old man scratched his head. “Well, park your car behind the station, then walk to the green house at the end of town. Knock and say Garland sent you.”
Jack asked “Is this a bed and breakfast or what?”
Garland smiled, showing his yellow teeth. “Of kinds boy, of kinds.”

That walk threw town had to be one of the weirdest strolls either of them ever took. Every house they passed, the door would open just a crack and the residences would just gaze at them. Some snickered things, some laughed, and other’s where silent. In the exact middle of the town, a large rusty pole with a sign on top sat at the side of the rode. The sign read “Kenana”.
Jack supposed it was just the name of the town. On the other side of the sign though, words had been spray painted across it. There where lots of illegible phrases, he could only make out two. The Lords of Two Legs and The Great Fire.
Talia held Jack, a deep fear growing inside them, neither sure why they where feeling such dread.
They felt a little relieved when they reached the house Garland had directed them to. They stood on the porch and Jack knocked on the door.
The door opened just a crack and an eye peered out at them. “Who’s there?” a girl’s voice said.
“Someone told us there was a place to stay for the night here.” Jack replied.
The door opened completely. A blond girl, no more then twenty stood there in front of them in a fading blue dress. She was pretty, a handsome pretty.
“Why the hell did you come here then?” she said bluntly.
Talia said, “Garland said there was a place to stay.”
The girl giggled. “My father said that, well ok then.”
Talia and Jack looked nervously at each other.

Despite the fact that Jack and Talia tried to decline, they ended up having dinner with Garland and his daughter.
They sat around a small circular table in a poorly lit kitchen; a single, low watt light bulb hung directly over head. They all ate quietly until Garland finished eating.
He looked at Jack and asked “So, see any gators on your drive?”
Jack wiped his mouth with the dirty rag he was supplied with and said “What?”
“Gators boy, scaly bastards.”
Garland’s daughter, her name was Ally, looked at Talia. “Yeah, there are a lot of gators around here.”
Talia nodded. “Yeah, we saw one coming here, it was pretty big.”
Garland pulled out a cigar and lit it. “Gators have been known to snatch kids away from us, now and then.”
Talia asked “Why do you live so close to the swamp?”
Garland chuckled. “Because, this is a good place to live. Far away from the world, just us and the gators.”
Jack shrugged. “Don’t see what the big deal is. Just like any animal, shoot it and it’s dead.”
Garland smiled a horrible smile. “But, they’re quick, and smart and the-”
Ally nudged her father with her arm. “Dad, maybe we shouldn’t be talking about this.”
Garland yawned. “Maybe your right dear, I think I’ll retire. Show them to there room.”

Jack and Talia lay in eatch other’s arms for a couple of hours. Both awake, both not saying anything.
Suddenly, Talia sat up and said “What should we call the baby?”
Jack laughed. “What about Garland?”
Kay giggled. “That old guy was pretty weird, but it was nice of him to let us stay here for the night.”
“This whole damn town is weird. Did you notice that there were no children playing outside? I didn’t even see any cars.”
Kay frowned. “Know what else, there are no pictures in this house.”
Talia looked around at the bare walls. “You know, your right.”
Talia lay back and held Jack tighter. “I want to get out of here Jack.”
Jack gasped and sat up. “God, I left the bag inside the car.”
Talia shrugged. “So?”
“It’s open, Christ, if someone looks inside, they’ll see the money and the coke. I better go get it.”
Talia looked out the window, outside it was a dark moonless night. She clutched Jack. “Please, stay here. It can wait.” She was scared, but didn’t know why.
Jack kissed her then stood up. “I’ll be back in a moment. I just have to go down the street to the gas station.”
Before Talia could say anything, Jack was out the door wearing boxers and a tank top. She lay in her bed, listening to Jack’s footsteps go threw the house and listened to the door slammed shut.
God, Talia thought, why am I so sure something is wrong.
Then she felt a small twinge in her stomach, she thought she could feel the baby moving again. Love and hope replaced fear.
She whispered in the darkness of the room “Where going to be a family, a real family.”
But her moment of joy was interrupted by a scream, Jack’s scream followed by a most horrible noise. A nose like a very large bird would make.
Talia got up and ran to the window and tried to look towards where the car was parked at the gas station. She squinted to try and see better. She could see Jack being dragged away from the car into the darkness away from the lights of the small village.
Her first thought was that some of Deek’s men had found them, that they had killed Jack. She could feel an icy cold stabbing pain in her chest.
“Jack!” she screamed.
Talia grabbed Jack’s pants he had discarded on the floor and grabbed the gun. She was about to leave when Ally and Garland walked in, Talia yelped in surprise.
Ally started to cry and said “You can’t help him, sorry.”
Talia started towards them, Garland grabbed her. Despite his age, he had incredible strength. He grunted “The Lords of Two Legs have him, he cannot be helped.”
Ally was crying harder now. “Please, don’t go outside, they’ll kill you to.”
Talia was screaming “Jack! Jack! Got to save him!”
She broke free of the old man’s grip and bolted threw the house. She ran out the front door and looked towards the car at the far end of the small village.
“Jack!” she yelled, gun still in her hand.
Everyone in the town was awake now. All looking threw their windows, some frowning, most smiling, and a couple even cackling.
Talia started down the dirt street towards the car when she heard that same horrible squeal behind her. She turned and almost fainted when she saw it.
It was still pretty dark, but she could still make a lot of the creature out. It was a reptile, but it was walking upright and was about the same height as a man. It’s forearms where large a muscular, looking more ape in structure then human. Its head looked like a hideous composite of alligator a human. Its eye’s in front, instead on the sides like most reptiles. And from its eye’s, Talia knew it was thinking, that it had a mind.
Ally was standing on the porch of her house. “Get, back here, they won’t go in the house.”
But the thing was standing between Talia and the house. She raised the gun at the beast and fired, but she had never fired a gun before, and her shot came closer to hitting Garland’s house then the Gator-man itself.
The creature froze for a second then started to advance a little. Talia screamed and ran down the street, towards the car. The creature waited a second then began to follow
Talia reached the car and screamed again. Blood covered the entire driver’s side. She could her the heavy footsteps of the creature’s advance so she got inside the ca and locked all the doors.
The thing hit the driver’s door head on, and the entire car shook. Talia raised the gun again and fired at the creature threw the window. This time, the bullet hit dead between the beast’s eyes. It stood frozen like a statue for a moment, pure shock in its eyes, then fell to the ground.
Talia pressed against the passenger’s door and breathed a sigh of relief. Before she could even thing, something crashed threw the window behind her and grabbed her hair. Something cut into her scalp. She pulled away, painfully pulling out some hair and looked around.
A scaly fist had punched threw the window and was holding some of her hair. They’re where three large fingers he ad a huge talon on it.
Talia started to yell “Help!”
Two more creatures joined the other and started to break through the windows of the car. Talia fired the three remaining bullets, but in the madness, failed to hit a single creature.
“Help! God, please help!”
A creature then jumped from the ground to the roof of the car in an amazingly graceful leap. The roof caved in and Talia crawled into the little area where the passenger’s feet where suppose to go.”
“Please! Please!” she screamed.
One of the creatures had broken through the back window and was over the back seats towards her. Feeling the gym-bag still under her, she grabbed the small parcel of coke and tore it open. She then threw it at the advancing creature. It exploded into a puffy white cloud on impact. The creature quickly withdrew from the car and started that horrible bird like squeal.
The rest of the creatures stopped their assault and backed away from the car. Talia looked around nervously when the car suddenly heaved. She rose a little to see what was happening.
Five of the creatures had lifted up the car clear from the ground and where carrying it towards the swamp. Talia screamed “Help! Help! The Baby!”
Ally and Garland watched from there home, she as crying.
As the car began to sink into the swamp, Talia started to cry. The car started to fill with murky water and soon she was totally submerged. As she felt the scaly, clawed hands grab at her in the darkness of the water; she couldn’t help but think of the baby and Jack.

By noon, the residence of the small village had cleaned up all the evidence of the night befores slaughter. The man’s head was found not to far down the road. It was discarded into the swamp.
Garland was at the gas station, which never had gas, when Ally came to see him.
He looked wearily at his daughter. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Ally said, “Why do we stay?”
Garland shook his head. “There is nothing I the outside, just aging and death.”
Ally looked out at the swamp. “Is immortality worth all this death?”
Garland lit a cigar. “If you hadn’t drank from these waters, you’d would have been dead a hundred years ago. You know the pledge.”
Oh, she remembered. How two hundred years ago, the residence of the small Kenana saw a great fire fall from the sky and into the swamp. How the water changed and let it’s drinker’s live what seemed to be forever. But how the same water’s changed the local gators into thinking monsters that craved human flesh. How an unspoken pledge was made so long ago. The days where safe and the beasts could never cross the threshold of a home at night, how the thirty-four residence of Kenana drink the water a live forever.
But the price seemed to steep for Ally. Any children born in the town where freely given to the monsters, how the villagers had lure strangers to please they’re scaly masters. While most in Kenana enjoyed living in there own little world forever, Ally thought the price was too high.
One day, she told herself, she would end it. Poison the water, leave o the outside world and tell all.
One day, she told herself.
Another car pulled into Garland’s gas station, which hadn’t had any gas for almost sixty years.





    
   
  


  


 
     
  





























 

 

Copyright © 2006 Matthew Bissonnette
Published on the World Wide Web by "www.storymania.com"