Carver Pike - Scalp

“Holy shit,” Grant said. “You nailed that asshole.”

“We have to get to the campus,” Hal demanded.

“Did you see that?” Clementine asked, slapping the steering wheel as she hopped up and down in her seat. “Took him out quick.”

“It ain’t the first one we killed,” Grant reminded her.

“I know, but that was a perfect shot!” she called out. “Did you see the way the blood flew out the back of his daggone head?”

Hal’s gaze was fixed on the body he’d just sent to the soil. He heard a strange growl that at first seemed to be coming from the man. By the time he realized it wasn’t coming from him at all, it was too late. The pitter-patter of feet racing toward them was coming too quickly, and Hal couldn’t gauge its location. It seemed to be on the left, but he wasn’t sure if it was approaching from behind them or up ahead.

Clementine wasn’t paying attention. She’d turned in her seat to peer out the rear window at Hal and Grant. The beast tearing through the trees seemed to sense her lack of alertness. The big, grey wolf charged at her on all fours. The fur near its ears was matted with what looked like mucus and blood. Its snout seemed to have lifted up as if trying to peel off its face. The shrieking, furious monster hit the glass face first and smashed through the driver’s side window, landing on Clementine and clamping its large jaws down over her forearm. Sally screamed and kicked her feet at the wolf.

“Sally!” Grant yelled. “Get out of there!”

“Clementine!” Sally screamed.

“Get it off me!” the older woman hollered.

In her terrified craze, Clementine mashed her foot down on the gas pedal. The truck shot forward, veered left, and slammed into a tree. Hal and Grant both flew forward in the bed of the truck, hitting the cab with their bodies before falling back into the bed.

Hal climbed to one knee and saw the entire front end of the truck was crushed. Smoke billowed from under the hood and the engine hissed. They wouldn’t be driving it anywhere now.

Through the rear window, Hal saw that Clementine’s head was at an odd angle. She was in bad shape, and the wolf was still hanging on, dangling out the window, growling as it shook its mouth back and forth.

For a second, the older woman seemed to be out cold. Oblivious to what was taking place around her and what was happening to her.

The skin on Clementine’s arm came apart in the beast’s mouth. It stretched and tore. The woman regained consciousness with a screech of pain like nothing Hal had ever heard before. She screamed in agony as the wolf’s teeth ripped through her muscle and bore down on bone. Its entire snout was painted red now.

Sally went crazy when she saw the blood. Her flight instinct took over and she shoved herself backward out of her seat, tossing herself through the passenger side door and onto the hard ground outside.

The wolf gnawed on Clementine, and even when Hal pointed his rifle at it and blew a hole through its center, the beast kept its clench on her.

Clementine, her face a mask of pain, yanked and pulled, trying to shake her arm loose.

Through the smoky screen obstructing his view, Hal swore he saw the wolf’s hair move.

“No!” he yelled, fully aware of what was about to happen.

He pointed his rifle at the wolf and shot it again. This time it fell from her arm, its teeth momentarily stuck in her flesh before its body plopped to the muddy ground.

But Hal was too late. He knew it the second he saw her suddenly go rigid. Like every muscle in her body spasmed at the same time. Her back snapped into a perfect posture. Her jaw fell open and the only sound that came out was, “Ohh… ugggg.” These weren’t moans of pleasure or even pain. They were the body’s inability to rationalize what was happening. She was in total shock. In awe. Then it was like realization suddenly came over her. “Sally?”

Sally had risen to her feet and was terrified standing outside the door, and she had every right to be, as Clementine’s short-lived clarity became all-out madness. With an agonizing cry, the older woman threw her fingers to her scalp and clawed at herself.

“It hurts!” she cried.

“Get away from her!” Grant yelled at Sally as he leaped out of the bed, grabbed hold of Sally’s arm, and pulled her away from the truck.

Sally, who wasn’t ready to be yanked off-balance, tripped and fell on her ass. She frantically swatted at herself, slapping her own arms and legs, driving her fingers through her hair and scratching at herself.

“Did they get on you?” Grant asked.

His gun was pointed at Sally, and he shook with his finger an inch from the trigger.

Hal didn’t know what to do. These were his friends, and all he could do was stand there and watch them while he contemplated whether or not he needed to kill them.

Clementine screamed from inside the truck. Hal needed to do something, so he climbed out on the passenger side. Grant moved out of his way, giving him space to reach the truck’s cab.

“Did they get on you?” Grant repeated.

Sally glanced up at him, snarled, and said, “Grant, get that fucking gun out of my face!”

Grant lowered his gun. Sally climbed to her feet.

“Did they—” he started to ask again.

“No,” Sally replied. “I don’t think so.”

“Grant, watch your backs,” Hal reminded him. “Where there’s one wolf…”

“Yeah,” Grant agreed as he turned toward the trees.

“Clementine,” Hal called out to the older woman still seated in the driver’s seat.

Clementine stared back at Hal with bloodshot eyes. She reached to her head and dug into her scalp. Her nails broke the skin, sending rivulets of blood down from her hairline. She pulled so hard one nail lodged in her flesh and broke in half. The others raked the skin down, ripping it and causing more blood to soak her temples, cheeks, and on down to her neck.

Hal kept his eyes on her as he leaned back and called out to the others. “They got her. She’s turnin’ into one of them things.”

“Get away from her, Hal!” Sally yelled.

He couldn’t believe his eyes when Clementine grinned at him through gritted teeth covered in blood. It seemed like she was trying to speak to him, but red spit dribbled out of her mouth with each unintelligible grunt. He backed up a step when she began to slide along the seat, dragging her ass along it as she swiped her arms out at him in a desperate attempt to bring him closer.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered to her as he lifted his rifle, aimed it at her head, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet tore through her skull, exploded the back of it, and shattered what was left of the driver’s side window. Clementine went slack. Her face was destroyed.

A growl came from the woods behind him to Grant and Sally’s right, and before any of them had the chance to react, a rabid fox leaped from the trees and bit down on Grant’s leg. It was small but fierce as it tried to climb his leg. Grant, unable to keep his balance, fell to the ground and used his free leg to try and pry the animal off him.

Hal aimed his gun at the fox, but he couldn’t take the shot without destroying his friend’s leg.

Sally backed away and turned to find she was face to face with a small black bear. It was only about six feet away from her. She screamed, “Hal!”

“Fuck!” Grant yelled as he kicked his leg and threw his head back against the ground, trying to keep his hair as far away from the fox as possible. His gun was useless with the creature wrapped around his leg. It was clear he was as afraid to take the shot as Hal was.

The fox’s fur shifted. The lice were about to pounce.

The bear in front of Sally lifted up on its hind legs, putting itself too close to her hair. Hal sensed she was in the most danger, so he turned toward the bear and shot it in the neck. It fell to the ground and whimpered, but it didn’t stop coming.