The Zona Read Online Free PDF Page A

alien and his mind was bruised by the sun.  He brought the water bowl to his lips and finished it in a single swallow.  He wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
    “I’m here on behalf of our Lord and Savior,” he said.
    The old woman smiled.  A villager handed her a steaming bowl of stew.  She offered it to Lead, who traded it for his empty water bowl.      
    “Jimson Datura,” she said.
    Lead’s stomach clenched at the smell of boiled vegetables.
    “I and the Lord thank you,” Lead said gratefully.
    The villagers hummed in unison with crickets and cicadas and all the other creatures accustomed to night.
    Lead watched villagers dip bowls and cups into the cauldron. He smelled the stew and took a sip.  It tasted like water, dirt, and potatoes.  On the surface, white petals of some native flower floated.  Lead took another sip and chewed the petals which were thick and flavorless.  The villagers danced around the fire without a break in the hypnotic humming.  A primal chant rose from the dancers.
    “Noumenal, Noumenal, Noumenal.”
    Lead watched and ate.

    Lead woke with sweat pouring down his face.  It was deep into the night.  The stars had shifted long on their sphere and those which Lead had seen before were replaced by other gods and constellations.  The fire still blazed, still cut the night, but the villagers were silent.  They all stared at Lead; a sea of large misshapen eyes with pupils dilated to black pits and mouths that gave no sign of friend or foe.  One of the villagers barked.  Lead got to his feet.
    “You’re in violllaaa ub…” Lead’s tongue and lips were too heavy, his lungs felt tight.  Words refused to take proper form in his mouth.  One of the villagers smiled in the darkness, another barked.  Teeth and eyes sparkled in the moonlight and all remained silent.
    “Brooooooough!”
    Gibberish spilled forth from Lead’s mouth.  The villagers circled the fire, the old woman stepped forward.
    “You of Stormbringer,” she yelled with an accusing finger pointed at Lead.  A low chant rose among the villagers.
    “Ohhhh, ohhhh, ohhhh, ohhhh…”
    Panic seized Lead’s heart.  He reached into his shirt and gripped the Van Cleef.
    “You no good!  You no righteous!  You be sand!” the old woman shrieked into the night sky.
    The chanting villagers stepped away from the fire, into the darkness.  Their eyes dazzled ruby red and fierce.  The teeth in their grinning mouths grew with an unnatural speed.  Front teeth grew past their bottom lips and chins, enormous and sharp like rats.
    “Homme Jesus Lord Gob!”  Lead screamed as the creatures lunged at him.  Their legs turned pencil thin in the shadows of night, like crickets legs, yet they held the weight of their bodies inexplicably.  Their teeth grew past their chests and swung like bone swords with each stride.
    One of the beasts grabbed Lead’s shoulder with a clawed hand.  Lead pulled the Van Cleef and fired into the creature’s chest.  The beast clutched the wound and twisted into nothingness.  It burst like a sack of sand.  Lead swung his gun at the next nearest monster and pulled the trigger.  The crack of pistol fire broke through the villagers’ chants a second time.  The wounded beast put a hand to its neck and gurgled blood before falling to its knees.
    Lead was engulfed by the horde of monsters.  He screamed and whipped his pistol across the face of another beast.  A glint of light reflected on teeth and blood as they showered the desert sand.  Lead smashed his gun against the skull of another beast and twisted through clutching hands and gnashing teeth.  He broke free bolted into the darkness beyond the fire.  Behind him demons giggled and crashed through the brush.
    Lead ran with the strength of fear.  He desperately tried to remember the Church’s teachings on the Devil and demons, but his mind refused to focus on anything but blind panic.  Lead glanced over his shoulder.  His eyes adjusted