What Devours Also Hungers: Hearts in Darkness, #3
By D.G. Valdron
5/5
()
About this ebook
Horror stories by D.G. Valdron, author of 'The Mermaid's Tale,' 'Giant Monsters Sing Sad Songs' and 'There Are No Doors in Dark Places.' 'The Squad,' about the army enlisting the men in the masks, horror movie slashers as unstoppable, uncontrollable soldiers; 'Piggyback' about the ultimate serial killer; 'The First Men,' a Lovecraftian tribute; 'Silence' about a thief hiding in the home of a killer; 'Moonwalker' and a cyberpunk apocalypse; 'The Viruses of Quiet Desperation' about love, choices and things beyond the universe; 'Time in a Bottle,' a nondescript physics lab has captured the ultimate monster; 'Secrets' where a man accidentally receives a magazine for serial killers; 'Centipedes' where a trans-dimensional incursion brings a terrifying response, and many, many more. Melancholy horror, chilling horror, dark visions
D.G. Valdron
D.G. Valdron is a reclusive Canadian writer, hiding out in the Manitoba wilderness. Like many shy woodland creatures, such as the grizzly bear, he is more afraid of you than you are of him. He is an acknowledged authority on obscure pop culture topics, LEXX, Doctor Who, Fan Films, Cult Television, and Pulp novels,particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs. He also writes Science Fiction and Fantasy. He is the author of such novels as 'The Mermaid's Tale,' 'The Luck,' 'Yongary vs Pulgasari,' 'The New Doctor,' and collections including 'Dawn of Cthulhu,' 'Fall of Atlantis,' 'Giant Monsters Sing Sad Songs,' and 'There Are No Doors in Dark Places.'' He is a prolific wrtier of fiction and non-fiction, specializing in quirky and off the wall material. His style marries breezy familiarity, casual friendliness and razor sharp observation. He can be found on facebook, or at his website where he blogs regularly.
Read more from D.G. Valdron
The Fall of Atlantis, and other Curious and Exotic Speculations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dawn of Cthulhu, and Other Curious and Exotic Speculations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5LEXX Unauthorized, Series 4: The Little Blue Marble Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mermaid's Tale Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLEXX Unauthorized, Series 2: The Light at the End of the Universe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLEXX Unauthorized: Backstage at the Dark Zone Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGiant Monsters Sing Sad Songs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Drunk Slutty Elf and Zombies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Last Pirate's History of Doctor Who Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Axis of Andes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThere Are No Doors In Dark Places Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bear Cavalry, A True (Not) History of the Icelandic Bears Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLEXX Unauthorized, Series 3: It's Hot and It's Cold Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNew World War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBenny the Antichrist and other stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDrunk Slutty Elf and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnother Pirate's History of Doctor Who: A Journey into the Unauthorized Corners of the Who Universe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrawling to the Moon and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStarlost Unauthorized Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat Devours Always Hungers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to What Devours Also Hungers
Titles in the series (2)
What Devours Also Hungers: Hearts in Darkness, #3 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5There Are No Doors In Dark Places: Hearts in Darkness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
The Gloaming Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Worse Than Dying Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTry Not to Die: Reading this Sampler: Try Not to Die Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNightmare Farm Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCurse of the Werewolf Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Magic Wagon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Light of the Damned Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Husk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Carbon - Vol 1: Black Carbon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeyond the Gate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Valley Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAvailable Darkness: Book Two: Available Darkness, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeyond the Black River: The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard, Vol. 7 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Autumn: Exodus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Quarry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wind In My Heart Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sweetman Curve Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Keepers: The Cedar Hill Series Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Shadows Deep (Shadows #2) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Edgewise: page-turning horror from a true master Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Something In The Groove Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSacrifice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Old Fears Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bleak December Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Absence of Natural Light Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Death Trance: disturbing horror from a true master Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Devil Breed Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Drago Descending Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Curse of Onegin: Stories and Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rainy Season Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Ghosts For You
In Ghostly Japan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Behind Her Eyes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mouthful of Birds: LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE, 2019 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bird Box Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selections from Fragile Things, Volume Five: 7 Short Fictions and Wonders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fever Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Imajica Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miss Kim Knows and Other Stories: The sensational new work from the author of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Collected Ghost Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nightmare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silent Companions: The perfect spooky tale to curl up with this summer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Spirit Bares Its Teeth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selections from Fragile Things, Volume Four: 9 Short Fictions and Wonders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selections from Fragile Things, Volume One: 4 Short Fictions and Wonders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selections from Fragile Things, Volume Two: 6 Short Fictions and Wonders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You’d Look Better as a Ghost Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLost Gods: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Delphi Complete Works of Lafcadio Hearn (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn the Night Wood Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Looking Glass Sound: from the bestselling and award winning author of The Last House on Needless Street Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida: A novel of modern Japan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selections from Fragile Things, Volume Six: A Short Fiction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bedtime Stories (A Horror Short Story Collection) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Tales for Twilight: Two Hundred Years of Scottish Ghost Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related categories
Reviews for What Devours Also Hungers
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
What Devours Also Hungers - D.G. Valdron
INTRODUCTION
––––––––
There is absolutely nothing interesting about me.
Sorry.
I kind of like it that way. I plan to keep it that way. So, sorry. I have nothing to say, and there’s really nothing worth learning about me.
What I am, is an invisible presence, I’m a voice in your head. That’s all I need to be.
Sometimes feverish and urgent, sometimes calm and measured. I’m trains of words, images and ideas, that you read. And if I’m very good at it, some of this will be with you after you’ve closed your eyes. Some of me will linger.
There are fifteen stories here. Stories of predators, the things that devour, the things that are always hungry. There are fevered dreams of things outside reality, and there are encounters with the ruthless urges of serial killers. There’s a tribute to H.P. Lovecraft, and pastiches of the faceless strangers of slasher movies. There is a story of an ultimate monster, and stories driven by love, by desire, by sex and reproduction.
These are stories of monsters and victims and heroes. Sometimes it’s hard to tell which is which.
I have many stories, here and elsewhere.
If you’ve already read me, then welcome back.
And if this is your first, then I hope you will join me after this on more journeys to strange lands.
Join that voice that whispers in the night.
The End
Return to
Table of Contents
***
THE SQUAD
––––––––
An armoured limousine drives through the desert across an empty dirt road. A cloud of billowing dust rises up behind it. In the distance a series of guard towers loom. As we get closer we see that they're connected by three layers of cyclone fences and barbed wire. Ominous signs appear: Trespassers will be executed.
Minefields Active.
Powerful stadium lights illuminate the landscape beyond.
Cut to the inside of the armoured car. There are two people. The driver is ranked as a General. He's smoking a cigar. He's in his late fifties, prematurely gray and wrinkled. His passenger is a Lieutenant, clean cut, crisp, by the book, female and stern.
GENERAL -This is all just for show. They throw money at us; we have to spend it on something. Worst goddamned duty in the service as far as I'm concerned, sitting in those towers waiting to be killed. Pushing paper at Checkpoint Charley. The real protection is distance. We've got another sixty miles to go. Sixty miles of the most godforsaken, desolate territory on the face of the earth. No water, no plants, not even a lizard can live here. We made sure of that. We got a geosynchronous satellite up there permanently stationed right over us, watching. I can’t tell you what that cost us. A bird flies over this place, we know it. We got traps and deadfalls, minefields everywhere. Set a man down in here, and he's dead within a day.
The Lieutenant looks doubtful.
GENERAL - Distance is what it is. This car is wired to explode if anything happens. Those sons of bitches will have to walk out. They're a lot faster than they look, don't be fooled. But even they, take em most of a day to get out this far, takes them even longer to get anywhere. By that time, we can organize a response.
LIEUTENANT -Sounds like a tough set up.
GENERAL - Not tough enough. We almost had a break out in 1999. They decided to go for a walk, the whole bunch of em. Cut right through the fences as if it wasn't there, the minefields, the towers, didn't matter more than swatting flies.
LIEUTENANT - Briefing report says that they're all just psychopathic criminals. But my dossier doesn't tell me anything, just names and bullshit. Like this: Likes teddy bears.
What does that even mean? There’s no psychological profiles, no personality assessments, just random notations. I expected the dirty dozen, but this.... There's no specialties identified, there's no history for any of them. I can't believe they're regular army.
GENERAL - They're not.
LIEUTENANT - Permission to speak freely sir?
GENERAL - There's just us here.
LIEUTENANT - This is fucked, Sir. What the hell am I supposed to be doing?
GENERAL - You lead them, Lieutenant. You take them out into the field, and you maybe try to point them, and then after, you try to get them to stop.
LIEUTENANT - Why me?
GENERAL - You're a woman. You fit a profile.
LIEUTENANT - So... What? They don't kill women?
GENERAL - They kill everyone and everything. Men, women, children, dogs, cattle. There ain't anything they don't kill. But sometimes, it looks like maybe they don't like to kill certain women. Or at least, they don't try as hard. Or maybe they can’t. We’re not sure.
LIEUTENANT - Who are these men?
GENERAL - They're not men.
LIEUTENANT - Then what? Martians? Aliens? Werewolves? Vampires? Genetic experiments?
GENERAL - No one really knows. They started showing up in the Eighties. Or at least, that’s when we started noticing them. Then, the historians poked around, and whatever they are, that goes way back. But we’re not sure. We don't know much about them. We know names, but that doesn’t tell us anything. We know where each of them came from, sort of. We know what they've done. But what are they? You tell me after you meet them.
LIEUTENANT - What's the point of this?
GENERAL - You know the Iraq War, how Baghdad just fell apart? You heard of the Chinese Border incident, though we hushed that one up pretty good. That mess in Africa? Scottsboro? That's them. It's what they do. When things are really bad, alien invasion, vampire infestation, zombie outbreak, we send them in. And then...
LIEUTENANT - And then...
GENERAL - And then, Lieutenant? We pray.
LIEUTENANT - That they succeed?
GENERAL - No, Lieutenant. We pray that sooner or later, they stop.
The Lieutenant looks out the window. There's no answer. The car proceeds in silence through the sterile and endless desert. They pass by a human skeleton half buried by the side of the road. The Lieutenant watches it as they go past.
* * *
The building looks like it was a gas station in the 1950's. The old fashioned gas pumps are still there, covered with dust. There is a drive through around the back. The General pulls up to the window. No one appears.
GENERAL - Checkpoint Charlie. The last stop before them.
There’s an emphasis on the word ‘them.’ The Lieutenant doesn’t respond. The General fishes out a clipboard and pen from the dash and makes a few notes. They wait. After a few minutes, the General honks the horn. Nothing. The General peers at the Clipboard.
GENERAL- They’re on a nine day rotation. In, then out. After that, counselling, suicide watch, medication, whatever it takes. They’re only six days in, should be fine.
Nothing. Abruptly the General guns the engine, pulls out to the front of the station and parks. For a moment, the motor idles, then he shuts it off.
LIEUTENANT - We’re not supposed to exit the vehicle, Sir.
GENERAL - Whatever.
He puffs his cigar.
GENERAL - What are they going to do? Court martial us?
The General steps out of the vehicle, and the Lieutenant, impelled by some random feeling of solidarity, gets out with them. They walk over to the bay doors of the old garage. The windows are caked with decades of dust. The General wipes as best he can and stares in. Then he proceeds to the front door. The Lieutenant follows, but as he turns, she glimpses, over his shoulder, four hanging bodies. The General strides through the front door, there’s a counter, and beyond it, desks, telephones, piles of paper, all the detritus of a normal office. The General pounds on the counter and bellows.
Eventually an MP comes out from the back. He’s got dried blood on his uniform, across his left shoulder, and spattering down the front of his shirt. He’s got a crude bandage wrapped inexpertly around his temple. He is dishevelled, shirt untucked, buttons missing, fly unzipped. His eyes are a little wild.
GENERAL - Paperwork.
MP - Ah, yes.
The MP takes the clipboard, and starts leafing through it.
GENERAL - There should be five men on station. Where are the others?
MP - They’re around.
GENERAL - I saw them. What happened to you?
MP - Light fixture, Sir.
GENERAL - (nodding) - They can’t take the weight. Maybe you were counting on getting electrocuted?
MP - Belts and suspenders, Sir. Make sure. Important to make sure. They wouldn’t let us have guns. Not allowed anything sharp.
The General grunts. The MP stamps a page.
MP - Papers are in order, Sir.
GENERAL - Where were you when we came?
MP – Bathroom, Sir.
The General shook his head.
GENERAL - You’re going to wreck the plumbing.
MP - The plumbing doesn’t work, Sir. Nothing works. It’s all just here. You can feel it every day. You can feel them from here. Like a stain. Like you’re drowning in it.
GENERAL - You have three days left, Soldier, before relief.
MP - Yes, Sir.
GENERAL - Until you are relieved, you are not to kill yourself. Do you understand? That is an order.
MP - But General!
GENERAL - THAT’S AN ORDER! Not until you are relieved.
The MP looks like he’s about to break down and cry, a tear trickles down his cheek. He trembles, but in the end he salutes.
***
The armoured car pulls up on a ramshackle sprawling building. Shingles are peeled off the roof. The windows are broken. A door barely clings to its hinges.
GENERAL - Used to be a residential compound for the Prometheus Project. This is all that's left.
LIEUTENANT - Prometheus?
GENERAL - Classified. Biological warfare. The next generation of superbugs, back when the world was simple and we knew who the bad guys were. Communists, blacks, hippies, that sort. Something got out, everyone died. I hear it was pretty messy. We dropped a neutron bomb to try and sterilize the place. We think we got most of it. At least, it hasn't spread much since then.
LIEUTENANT - So this is a biowarfare and a radiation hazard zone? And you station men here?
GENERAL - I told you before, they're not men.... We're here.
The vehicle stops, in front of the building. A wind stirs through, but there's no motion. The windows are black. There's no sign of life. The General and the Lieutenant step out of the car. The Lieutenant looks around.
LIEUTENANT - No sign of life. Maybe they're all dead, considering the place.
GENERAL - That's one theory to explain them.
He hesitates.
GENERAL - No sense wasting time, let's go in.
The Lieutenant grabs her briefcase. The two proceed into the building. There is a large central hall, possibly a cafeteria. Tables and chairs are shattered or pushed to the side, light fixtures dangle from the ceiling. There are strange red splatters on the floor and walls. The place is empty. The two stand in the centre.
LIEUTENANT - Where are they? They must have heard us coming? Were they informed?
GENERAL - Patience.
From a darkened corridor, there's a series of heavy footsteps approaching closer and closer.
GENERAL - It's them.
The footsteps slow and heavy come louder and louder, but they can't see into the darkness. The Lieutenant draws closer to the General. Movement catches her eye; she looks behind them and screams. A hulking shape looms over them, a pale manikin’s face atop military fatigues. Suddenly, they're surrounded by hulking, masked figures all around, bearing primitive weapons. Axes, machetes, knives and clubs. All of them unnaturally still and silent.
GENERAL - Lieutenant, let me introduce you to your command: Michaels, Jackson, Sawyer, Vernon, Hatcher, Beane, Monk, Otis, Ed and Hatfield. Can't kill em, so we enlisted them.
The Lieutenant turns around and around, staring at the hulking passive figures, their attention focussed on her. As she moves their heads track her.
LIEUTENANT - They're all wearing masks.
GENERAL - Because they're all so damned ugly. Actually, some of them, Michaels, Vernon, they look human. They could pass. But they all like masks, it’s some sort of pathology. They cover their faces, even when there's no one to look. It's one of the little mysteries.
The figures begin to gather, closing in on her.
LIEUTENANT - Do they speak?
GENERAL - Sometimes one of them will say a word, so they can speak. But they don't. The best you can hope for mostly is that they'll listen sometimes.
One of them, Vernon, reaches out a hand to touch the Lieutenants hair. Trying not to show fear she moves away and bumps into Hatcher. She retreats.
LIEUTENANT - Get back! General, tell them to step back!
The figures continue to close in on her.
GENERAL - I said sometimes
they listen. Sometimes. You're on your own, Lieutenant. Consider this your test.
The Lieutenant continues to back away, turning from one to the other as they close in on her. Then she stops and visibly gathers herself.
LIEUTENANT - I have something in my briefcase. (Announcing, clear commanding voice)
They stop, expectant. Not so much dissuaded as curious. A couple of them tilt their heads. Finally, one shrugs and they advance. The Lieutenant holds up her briefcase and snaps the lock, opening it towards her. Again, they hesitate for a second. She spins the briefcase around, so it faces them.
It contains a teddy bear.
LIEUTENANT - I brought this all this way. Who wants it?
She lowers the briefcase, which is otherwise empty, and holds the bear out. A broad heavy shape wearing a leather mask made of human skin, Sawyer, shambles forward. It reaches out.
LIEUTENANT - You want this?
She pulls the bear away from Sawyer. She stares directly at him. Sawyer is still. The others watch. The two stare at each other. Finally, Sawyer nods. The Lieutenant holds the teddy bear out to him. Sawyer takes it, and clutching it to him protectively, shambles off.
Jackson, the largest of them, advances towards her. But suddenly, Michaels the tallest, is in his path. Jackson pauses and tilts his head. Michaels tilts his head as if in answer. For a second, the moment hangs. And then, as if there was nothing, Jackson and Michaels walk off smoothly in different directions. In an instant, the rest of them have vanished. Not disappeared, but just... it’s as if they’d all just casually walked away while she wasn’t paying attention. But she had been watching.
GENERAL - Congratulations.
LIEUTENANT - I passed a test?
GENERAL - They let you live. Come on, let's get out of here. The place gives me the creeps.
They walk out to the car. The Lieutenant gets in, slams the door shut, she's shaking visibly.
LIEUTENANT - My god, what are they!
GENERAL - I've got the papers for your first mission here. Read