Carver Pike - Scalp

The streetlamps were on a timer and they popped on as he stared out, causing him to jump away from the window.

“For the love of God!” he yelled.

Sally giggled behind him, and when he turned toward her, he saw she had her hand over her mouth, laughing into it. It was the sweetest thing he’d ever seen, and soon after, he was laughing with her.

“You should have seen how high you jumped,” she squealed.

“Scared the bejesus out of me,” he admitted.

She stepped toward the window, still laughing, and stood next to him. With the street illuminated, all didn’t look as safe as it had seconds ago. The sidewalk across the street was stained with blood, a spray of it, like someone had gotten cut badly. The body it belonged to was nowhere in sight.

“Do you think they eat the bodies?” she asked.

“Back at the diner, it looked like they take over the body, like some kind of blood-sucking parasite.”

“Vampires?”

It was his turn to chuckle. This time she didn’t join him. He hadn’t meant to be insensitive, but the word vampire sounded childish. Like something out of a scary book. He didn’t think Clydesville was being overrun by the fanged undead.

As if staring into an underwater view through one of those thick glass viewpoints at Sea World, Grant felt safe inside. The sharks were on the other side, with the fish, not in here where it was warm and dry. Did he really want to venture out there onto the street? Did he really want to put Sally’s life at risk? He didn’t. He preferred the company he had. For a moment, he considered staying put. They could ride out the initial phase of this storm and then maybe those things would starve to death or kill each other or maybe simply fall down and die. Maybe the damn army would show up and wipe them out.

And what if they don’t? You can’t stay in here forever.

He’d zoned out only for a moment, lost in his thoughts when a bloody hand slapped the window in front of them. The thwack was so loud and so unexpected that Grant and Sally both jumped this time.

Dragging himself down the sidewalk was one of the creatures. It looked like a man. Of course, it did. They all appeared to be human. This one wore a ripped and bloody park ranger uniform.

“Don’t move,” Grant said softly from the corner of his lip.

If they didn’t budge. If they remained stoic, maybe the thing would think they were mannequins. Maybe it sensed movement and by not giving it anything to chase, it would continue down the sidewalk in search of someone else to attack.

Grant’s heart pounded in his chest. He’d seen how strong and how fast they were. If it turned toward them now, it might be able to throw itself through the window. Then what? They could run. They could try to make it to the back door. Sally was faster than he was, so he might be able to save her if she ran and didn’t look back, but then he would become one of them, wouldn’t he?

“Grant?” Sally whispered, her voice quivering with fear.

“Don’t move,” he repeated.

It slapped its bloody hand against the window once more, leaving a red handprint a few feet away from the first. It could barely hold itself up and needed the window for support.

The thing had long, greasy hair and a beard. Grant thought he recognized him. Or who he used to be before he was changed. He didn’t know the man personally, but he’d seen him around. He was one of those folks who left Clydesville at some point and then decided to move back. A lot of people did that.

They would be okay. The thing was almost past them. He wasn’t going to see them.

It slapped the window again, leaving another red palm print on the glass, and this time it was so close to Sally’s face, she accidentally flinched.

The thing whipped its head to the right and glared right into Sally’s eyes.

She screamed.

It slapped the window harder.

“Let me in!” it demanded.

“Back up,” Grant ordered.

Sally stepped back, and he grabbed her by the hand. They would run for the door.

“Please,” the man outside said, “let me in.”

His eyes weren’t angry. They’d been determined. Now, they were hopeful. The man pulled a gun from his belt and pointed it at the glass.

“Grant!” Sally cried.

“I’m not one of them!” the man outside said. “I promise. Please. Let me in. It’s dangerous out here.”

“What do you think?” Grant asked Sally.

“Hal?” she asked.

“You know him?” Grant asked.

Sally didn’t reply. She went to the door, unlocked it, and pulled the door open for him.

“Oh, thank God,” Hal said as he fell through the door and landed on the floor.

He was hurt. His hair was matted with a mixture of sweat and blood. Sally dropped to her knees beside him.

“Hal, what are you doing out here?” she asked.

“I wrecked my truck,” he said. His lips were dry and cracked. His tongue stuck to them as he tried to speak.

“He needs water,” Sally said.

Grant only stared down at the man. He didn’t know Hal, but he knew the man was beat the hell up. He’d been out there on the street, in the war zone, and had seen things that had him practically paralyzed with fear.

“Water,” Sally repeated.

Grant snapped into action. At the rear of the store, next to a small card table with two plastic chairs, was a small refrigerator. Sally and he had found bottles of water in there earlier along with a bag of apples, a jar of pickles, and some banana popsicles in the freezer. The old lady who ran the store was wise enough to keep snacks. Scooping up a couple of the water bottles, Grant made his way back to Hal, who was now lying on his side, exhausted.

“We have to get ahold of the police,” Hal said.

“We been tryin’,” Grant informed him. “Done called at least fifteen times. Ain’t nobody answerin’ that phone. If I had to guess, I’d say they’re already out on the street takin’ care of business.”

“They ain’t takin’ care of shit out there. I came all the way from Burger Bin,” Hal informed them.

Grant handed Hal a bottle of water. Hal twisted off the top and swigged the cool liquid, then winced as it ran down his throat. “Cold,” he said. “God, that tastes good.”

Sally stared out the window. “We were at the diner. I was working. Grant came in as he usually does. Then everything went crazy. I can hardly remember how it went down, yet I can’t get most of it out of my head. I know it doesn’t make sense. It’s like… my timeline is all messed up. I can see the people changing and hear the screams, but I have a hard time putting events in order.”

“I get it,” Hal said.

“Not me,” Grant replied. “I remember it all, in order, every single damn word spoken before it went down and everything that came after.”

Hal sat up. His strength seemed to be coming back to him. “I was trying to get a bite to eat and some guy walking a dog attacked me. And the dogs… they all went nuts. Wrecked my truck, crawled away, and stumbled all through town trying to get to the police station.”

“That’s a long walk,” Grant said.

It was. It had to be at least three miles between the Burger Bin and where they were now. On foot, with those creatures out there, that was a hell of a long way to travel. Grant decided he liked Hal already. He’d continue to like him as long as he didn’t try and squeeze his way in on Sally.

Stop thinking about the girl and focus on the real problem.

“You’re hurt,” Sally said.

“It ain’t that bad,” Hal replied. “Got a nasty gash on my side and hit my head pretty hard when I crashed, but I’ll be fine.”