Carver Pike - Scalp

“I need them to be followin’ me,” Andre said.

He stopped the truck completely.

“Maybe that ain’t a good idea,” Grant said. “You know, stoppin’ the truck like that.”

“They need to catch up to us,” Andre replied.

Grant shook his head. “Yeah, but damn. We don’t want ‘em jumpin’ into the truck.”

“See anything?” Hal asked Nitsy.

Nitsy shook her head. A few feet beyond the tailgate, the dust dissipated, and a mountain lion shot through the remaining dirt. Its front paws landed on the tailgate. Its large teeth were razor-sharp, and its bloodshot eyes were wild with rage. It was halfway into the bed of the truck when Nitsy screamed and Andre stepped on the gas.

The truck leaped forward, and Andre turned right onto the highway. The force yanked the mountain lion to the side. It slid along the tailgate, scrambling to find purchase, and crying out in a banshee-like wail.

Thomas pointed his pistol at the big cat and pulled the trigger just as Andre put his foot on the gas again. The truck bucked, Thomas rocked, and the bullet flew into the beast’s ear. It screamed in pain, but it didn’t let go of the truck. Its fur shifted and Hal’s eyes went wide. He knew what that meant.

“Shoot it, kid!” Hal yelled. “Shoot it before it’s too late.”

Thomas took aim again and pulled the trigger. The slug slammed right into the cat’s forehead. This time it went down. Hal looked in the side mirror to see its body bounce off the street. It was only on the ground a second or two when the remaining horde of animals trampled it and kept coming.

Andre continued his back and forth pace all the way up the mountain. Hal’d been all over Clydesville, but he’d never been up this mountain. He hadn’t even known there was a road up this way. The bushes were thick, the road was rough, and he figured that was exactly what Andre liked about it. The more unforgiving the terrain, the less likely cops would choose to travel that way.

Before long, they came to a dead end, and there in front of them was a tall, white, square building with an antenna on top. It looked like it might’ve once been a radio station.

“What the hell is this?” Hal asked.

“I told you,” Andre replied. “It’s my farm.”

Sally scratched her head. “This don’t look like a farm.”

Hal had only seen one farm like this one. It was during a trip with Sheila down to Nicaragua one summer. It was before Susanna was born. Back when they loved each other dearly. Back when they found time to do things together. They’d asked a local man, a friend of the hotel owner where they were staying, to drive them around and show them around the small town. He took them to a shrimp farm. It was all indoor, and it looked a lot like Andre’s place.

“All right, hurry inside,” Hal yelled at the kids in the back of the truck.

Andre had sped up as they ascended the mountain, probably giving them a good five minutes lead time. Five minutes wasn’t much time at all.

The kids were barely out of the truck when a siren shrieked from above. Hal glanced toward the roof and saw Andre up there cranking an old-fashioned tornado siren.

“What the hell are you doin?” Hal shouted up at him. “And how’d you get up there?”

“Is he fuckin’ crazy?” Grant asked.

The kids all ran inside.

“You should see it from up here,” Andre yelled. “I can see clear to Walmart! And they’re hearin’ me all right. You should see ‘em go. A whole crowd of ‘em is searching for the source of this sound. They’re comin’, boy!”

In the distance was the sound of dogs barking and other random animals growling.

“You’re getting the attention of a lot of unsavory things!” Hal yelled up at him.

“What?” Andre asked.

The siren was going strong. He wasn’t going to hear him.

Andre finished cranking the siren and hopped down from the roof. The machine continued to wail.

“That oughtta blow for a little while,” Andre said.

“The fuck’s wrong with you, man?” Hal asked.

“What?”

“I said—”

“I know what you said. I told you. We need them all to come this way!”

“You’re crazy!”

Coming up the driveway was the crowd of animals. Grant and Sally raced into the building.

“Shit,” Andre said. “We better get inside.”

“You’re crazy,” Hal repeated as he followed Andre to the door.

Andre went in first. Hal looked once more at the monsters headed their way. Not only were there every form of wildlife the area had to offer, but two-legged beasts had come up the mountain too. People, most of whom he would probably recognize on a normal day but now looked like shit, walked beside the animals. All infected. All eager to spread their disease.

“Lord help us,” Hal said as he pulled the heavy metal door shut behind him.

Andre barred it. “Don’t worry, friends. They ain’t gettin’ in here ‘til we want ‘em to.”

The scent of the farm hit Hal first. It was earthy, a lot like the woods he patrolled. The light scents of flowers came to him first and then cilantro. He knew that smell very well because his favorite Mexican restaurant loved to cook with cilantro, and he had to ask them to tone it down a notch every time he ordered from them.

When he finally turned around, he saw all the kids, Grant, and Sally staring slack-jawed at the center of the room. His eyes hadn’t made it that far, but once they did, he understood what had captured their attention. Behind him, the creatures banged against the door and the walls, providing a drumroll for the magic there in front of him.

At the center of the room was a giant, plastic, transparent tent. Inside it stood three humungous trees that reached the ceiling. Their gigantic trunks and branches were swarming with thousands… quite possibly millions of ladybugs. The miniature, living friends of so many of the world’s children looked like soldiers in a red and black army climbing over each other at the lower parts of the trees.

Between the trees and the tent’s door was a blanket of grass with flowers and other shrubbery. The ladybugs were everywhere. It was like an island right in the center of Clydesville where all the planet’s ladybugs had decided to call home. Some of them took flight, making their way from branch to branch or from flower to flower.

“My God,” Hal said.

“Told ya,” Andre said. “Ain’t they beautiful?”

“What is this?” Sally asked.

“My farm,” Andre said proudly. “It’s not really legal right now, but this here’s for all them organic farmers out there who don’t like using chemicals on their fruits and vegetables. So they use ladybugs. They buy ‘em in bulk and let them roam around the farm, eating all the little parasites and pesky bugs.”

“And you think they’ll eat,” Grant started and then paused and pointed at the door with all its knocking and pounding coming from the other side, “those things?”

“They will,” Andre assured them. “I seen ‘em do it.”

“This is unbelievable,” Hal said. “Smells like cilantro.”

“Yeah, they love that shit,” Andre replied.

“It’s so cool,” the young girl with no hair agreed. “I’ve loved ladybugs since I was a kid, and this… this is fantastic.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” the other young girl added.

“Badass, evil parasite eating ladybugs,” the boy with the glasses said.

The big country boy only stood there with his mouth agape.

“What are y’all’s names?” Hal asked.

Nitsy was the cute bald one. It seemed Robbie was her fella. The big ol’ boy with the gun was Thomas. The boy with the glasses was Bradley and the other girl was Phyllis. He’d more than likely forget the names, but at least, for now, he knew what names to shout out if shit got bad.