Carver Pike - Scalp

Lance screamed, and it was too dark to see clearly, but Bradley swore he saw the small rodent run up Lance’s pant leg and all the way to his face. The bully turned around and the mouse was there. It was big, plump, closer to the size of a rat. Its teeth were lodged in Lance’s lip, and its fur moved.

“Holy shit,” Bradley said.

Phyllis screamed.

Yasmin cried out, “Get it off him!”

“I’m not touching it,” Beau insisted.

Bradley wasn’t either. He wasn’t going anywhere near that thing. “Don’t touch it!” he yelled. “I think it’s infected, like the other kids.”

“Oh, shit,” Beau said, backing up with Yasmin so there were some desks between them and Lance.

Lance continued to yell. He dropped to his knees and grabbed his hair, wincing and screaming through clenched teeth.

“Lance?” Phyllis asked.

“Go!” Bradley said, as he pushed Phyllis toward the door.

They went around a row of desks to make sure they stayed as far away from Lance as possible. Beau and Yasmin weren’t as cautious as they should have been. Instead of following Bradley and Phyllis, they went the long way around, taking them behind Lance on their way to the door. Beau was fast and had already reached the door. Yasmin was right behind him when Lance threw his hand out and caught her by her hair, yanking her into his embrace.

Yasmin screamed.

Beau turned and ran at Lance, immediately swinging his fists at the bigger boy’s face. Lance soaked up the punches and lashed out at Beau, grabbing hold of his shirt. The young lovers fought with everything they had, punching, kicking, and clawing at Lance, but they were too close.

Bradley heard a poof sound, like the sound the city buses back home made when they lowered to allow passengers easier access to the stairs.

Then Yasmin and Beau were screaming the same way Lance had been seconds before.

It didn’t matter how dangerous it was outside. The threat was now inside. Bradley threw the lock and yanked open the door. Phyllis followed him out. Behind them, in the classroom, the three students cried out in pain until it seemed they were howling with rage.

The transformation took seconds.

Bradley knew they had to get far away. They needed to find a hiding space. At first, the hallways seemed quiet. The overhead lights popped on as soon as they stepped away from the music room.

“Where do we go?” Bradley asked, his voice quivering.

Phyllis shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Psst, over here,” came a soft voice Bradley thought he recognized.

He peered across the dimly lit courtyard and couldn’t see anyone.

“The cafeteria,” the voice whispered.

Bradley and Phyllis followed the voice blindly. The courtyard lights shone down faintly over them. Across from the Stonewall Jackson statue, in the shadows of the cafeteria building, Nitsy was crouched down with Robbie by her side. Someone else was behind them.

“Eggo?” Phyllis asked softly.

“I think that is Eggo,” Bradley replied, “with Nitsy and Robbie.”

The music room door crashed open and out ran Lance, Beau, and Yasmin, all roaring with anger. Bradley yelped, and the three infected students homed in on the sound. The chase was on. The creatures ran down the hall, the overhead lights popping on one by one the closer they got.

Bradley didn’t need to look back to know they were gaining on them. Phyllis was faster than he was. She let go of his hand and sprinted toward the cafeteria. Bradley ran as hard as he could. He was past the statue when a dark, growling figure stepped out from behind Stonewall Jackson.

The creature clawed at the air, nearly reaching Bradley when he dove onto the ground and rolled. It wasn’t a planned move, and it wasn’t a perfected one. He didn’t come around gracefully like the action superstars in the movies. His arms and legs flailed, and he found himself sliding across the ground.

He peered up at the cafeteria building and saw Eggo running toward him with what looked like a rake.

All four creatures were close to Bradley now. The one that had emerged from behind the statue was only a few feet away, and Bradley kicked out at it while at the same time bracing himself for the pain that would come at his scalp. He prepared himself mentally to scream the way Lance had. The way Beau and Yasmin had.

“Get back!” someone yelled.

It was a gruff, manly voice.

A gunshot rang through the air and the creature closest to Bradley flew past him. It went silent.

Bradley scrambled to get away from it, knowing how the insects jumped.

“It’s in the hair!” came the gruff voice. “Get away from it!”

“Bradley, come on!” Nitsy yelled.

“Bradley!” Phyllis joined in.

Over his shoulder, he saw Lance, Beau, and Yasmin coming at him. They were close. Maybe ten feet away. On the other side, past the statue, was a big man in camouflage pants, a black long sleeve shirt, and a green, backwards ball cap. He had a beard, wore a wicked grin, and held what looked to Bradley like one of the sniper rifles from his video games.

The man was on one knee, holding his rifle steady, when he whispered, “Bang.”

He pulled the trigger and Bradley heard the grunt before looking behind him to see Lance fall. The man calmly turned his rifle, ejected his cartridge, and fired again. This time he nailed Yasmin in the forehead. Beau went down just as easily.

Nitsy, Robbie, and Eggo stood outside the cafeteria door, in awe, watching the mysterious hero shoot down each of the infected students. For a second, and only for a second, Bradley felt a twinge of guilt. These were kids, like him, who’d only come to the conference for the experience and to help them get into a good college. It was a bragging right. Now, they were dead.

And I was almost one of them. If not for…

“Come with me,” the hero said as he stood and held out his hand to Bradley.

Bradley accepted it and climbed to his feet.

The man turned toward Nitsy and the others. “Y’all need to come with me. I can get you out of here. If you stay, I do believe y’all are fixin’ to die.”

“Go with you where?” Nitsy asked.

“I’ll tell you about it on the way,” the man said. “We need to get goin’ now. Are there any more of you alive?”

“Not that I know of,” Nitsy replied.

“Holy shit,” Robbie said from behind her.

“What’s your problem, boy?” the man asked.

“You’re not planning on taking us out that way, are you?” Nitsy asked.

Bradley and the man turned toward the front gate. On the other side of it, standing in the tree line fifty feet or so beyond, was a long line of animals.

Side by side they stood.

Quiet.

Intense.

Unmoving and watching.

A variety of West Virginian mammals. Large animals like bears, wolves, mountain lions, stray dogs, and boars. Smaller ones were mixed in. Tomcats, foxes, beavers, possums, raccoons, and more.

Bradley had never seen some of the animals out there on the tree line. All with fur. Each taken over by these… these head lice.

“Well this ain’t good,” the man said.

“Slowly move back into the building,” Nitsy said.

The man nodded his head, agreeing, and never taking his eyes off the beasts beyond the gate. If even one of them moved, all of them would. If one pounced, they’d all pounce.

Bradley and the man backed up into the cafeteria. Once they were inside, Eggo shoved the rake through the door handles and held his hand out to the man.

“Eggo,” he said.

The cafeteria was dark, but Bradley could see the man had bandages on his head.

“Andre,” the man said as he shook Eggo’s hand. “Andre Pete.”