Carver Pike - Scalp

“We need guns,” Grant announced again.

“You keep saying that,” Sally replied.

Hal set his gun on the floor. “He’s right. Or at least some ammo.”

Grant picked up the gun and found it empty. “Great.”

“I used it all out there,” Hal informed him.

“You shot people?” Sally asked, moving away from him as if repulsed. “What if they can be changed back? What if this is temporary?”

“I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, Sally, but I wasn’t going to let any of those assholes get close enough to me to find out. Out there, it’s either run faster than they can and farther than they can or hit ‘em right here.” Hal touched the center of his forehead.

“Think we can make it to Clementine’s?” Grant asked.

Hal stared at the floor and then slowly shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. The thought of going back out there scares the shit out of me.”

“It’s only about four blocks that way,” Grant said.

“Yeah, I know where it is, but those things are everywhere. That’s why I was pressed up against this building, trying to blend in with the shadows. I still can’t figure out if they got senses like humans or if they’re able to smell us, hear us, or see us better.”

Sally picked up the gun and hefted it in the palm of her hand, letting it fall slowly. She could have been playing with a feather. “I think it’s safest to assume all their senses are better. I say we stay in here ‘til the army arrives.”

“We haven’t called the army,” Grant reminded her. Then he turned his attention to Hal and said, “Any idea how we call the army?”

Hal chuckled. “No. But damn if they don’t make that look easy in all the movies, right?”

“911 doesn’t seem to do it,” Grant said with a snicker of his own.

“I’m glad you guys find this funny,” Sally said and then laughed a little herself.

Grant was still laughing when he noticed movement outside. He turned toward the big window and hesitated for a second, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. From across the street, he thought he saw somebody approaching. It was a big bull of a man rushing toward them.

Hal and Sally both followed his line of sight and tensed up as he said, “The hell is that?”

The time it took him to get those words out was all the time he had. The man coming at them launched himself at the glass.

The window exploded inward.

He roared, his face a bloody mess, as he fell through the shattered glass, arms flailing, reaching for anything he could get his hands on.

Sally screamed.

Hal yelled.

Grant let out an “oomph” as he stood too quickly and toppled backward over the desk behind him. He regained his composure and climbed to his feet in time to see Hal swing a metal lamp at the thing’s head.

Sally ran for the back door while Grant and Hal worked together, grabbed the nearest bookshelf, and shoved it down onto the man.

His growl never stopped, even as the heavy piece of furniture pinned him to the floor.

“Stay away from him!” Sally screamed from the back of the room.

“Look at his hair!” Grant said, pointing down at the tufts sticking out from under the bookshelf.

The man’s long, scraggly locks moved on their own, reminding Grant of the old tales of medusa. It seemed to slither, searching, trying to find something to attack.

“What’s wrong with his hair?” Hal asked, staring down at it with his mouth agape.

It wasn’t only moving, but it was whining in some strange insect language. Clacking and clicking to itself.

“Come on, man,” Grant said as he grabbed Hal by the arm. “Don’t get any closer.”

Hal looked back at Sally and shook his head in disbelief. “Did you see it?”

“I don’t wanna see it,” she replied.

Grant passed him and followed Sally to the back of the store. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Remind me why we’re the ones doing this,” Robbie whispered as they stood at the music room door, trying to get up the nerve to leave.

“Because we’re brave,” Nitsy said.

He passed her a smile and shook his head. “Yeah, that must be it. Brave Robbie and his girlfriend Nerves-of-Steel Nitsy.

Your girlfriend? Oh, she’s definitely going to notice that. No takebacks now, man. She’s your girlfriend.

“Girlfriend?” she asked, not missing a beat. “Shouldn’t you ask a girl, first?”

It was dark, but he knew if he could see her face she’d be blushing. She had an adorable grin, and he wished he could see it now. It might actually relax his nerves a little. Her face remained hidden in the darkness, refusing to step out and calm him.

“You’re trying to take my mind off this stupid plan to go get the phones, aren’t you?” she asked.

He chuckled and shook his head. “Not a chance. If we get out of here alive, I need you to be my girl.”

She leaned forward and stood up on her tiptoes. He met her halfway, putting his forehead against hers.

“I’ll be your girlfriend right now,” she said, “how about that?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “You gonna ask me first?”

She pulled away from him, but he grabbed her around the waist and held her tight. He pressed his lips against hers.

“You’re mine, all right?” he asked between their lips.

She kissed him hard and backed up a step. “Absolutely. Now, stop trying to waste time, and let’s go get these phones.”

“If I die out there, I’ll be so disappointed.”

“You won’t be the only one.”

“You definitely won’t be the only one,” Lance added from behind them. “We’ll all be pretty disappointed.

Robbie had almost forgotten about the rest of the kids waiting on them to leave. He didn’t care though. They were going to be here, safe, secure in this room while he and his girlfriend would be out there risking their lives to search for this bucket of cell phones. Its whereabouts? Nobody knew for sure. They’d be traipsing around in the dark, blindly seeking something that could save their lives.

This whole ordeal started early this morning, as far as Robbie could tell. It was the longest day ever. How could it have been this morning that he’d been woken up by Nitsy and her morning crew? Was it really only today that he’d shared breakfast with her before the big meeting? It seemed like so long ago.

When death comes in waves the way it did in the auditorium, death itself seems to take on a whole new meaning, or its own persona. It becomes death as a whole. So much death. The individuals get lost in it, and for the first time since it started, Robbie thought about some of the faces he’d seen in the crowd. He remembered conversations he had with kids, nameless companions, excited to be a part of this big leadership conference. The laughing, the joking, the elation. All positive energy.

They were all dead now. Or worse, they were those things . Their parents were at home looking forward to seeing their children again soon. Waiting to hear all the stories. Excited to watch the digital recordings promised by the program. Only thirty dollars each if the kids wanted to bring home a video of their experience here at Stonewall Forge. Robbie’s parents had paid the fee. He was sure Nitsy’s had too.

He’d never seen a cameraman on site, which meant there were cameras around. The thought had never crossed his mind before, but he bet the auditorium had a few. Would anyone ever see what happened in there? Would the local news get ahold of it? Would the government reach it first? This seemed like one of those situations that would result in a cover-up.

They could die right now on their way to get these phones and there was a good possibility nobody would know the truth.