“If you go, I go,” she said.
This was the first time she’d shown him any real attention. He’d had a small crush on her since yesterday when he walked her back to her room after their workshop. But he’d been afraid to take it any further. He always shot for the stars and fell flat on his ass. The girls he liked never liked him back and most of the time they never knew he liked them in the first place.
But Phyllis was here holding his hand now, and he saw there was a slight sparkle in her eyes. Moonlight shone in ever so slightly through the rectangular window set high in the wall. Bradley was focused on her pupils and her smile when he saw a shadow pass her face.
Yasmin screamed. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.”
“What the fuck is it?” Lance asked, backing toward the door.
Bradley heard the tiny squeak of the mouse before Yasmin yelled, “Rat! I saw a rat! Right over there!”
“It’s only a mouse,” Beau argued, wrapping Yasmin up in a hug. “It’s only a mouse.”
Lance laughed. “A fuckin’ mouse? You damn near gave me a heart attack.”
“Keep it away from me,” Phyllis added.
“A fuckin’ mouse,” Lance agreed. “How did I get stranded with such a group of pussies?”
“Excuse me?” Beau asked, pulling away from Yasmin.
Bradley cupped a hand over his mouth to hide his smile. Finally, someone was going to stand up to Lance, and it wasn’t going to have to be him. He wanted to, but he knew Lance would pummel him. Beau was tall and he wasn’t as wide as Lance, but he didn’t look like a pushover.
“Nothing,” Lance replied.
“Nah, man,” Beau said. “Repeat what you said.”
Lance was quiet.
“Yeah, keep your mouth shut from now on,” Beau said. “You don’t need to be saying shit about my girl.”
“Oh yeah?” Lance asked, suddenly getting up enough bravery to stand his ground. “Or what, tough guy?”
“Or maybe you’ll find yourself locked out there,” Beau said, pointing toward the door. “With those things.”
“Fuckin’ try it,” Lance said.
“There it is,” Phyllis shouted, pointing at the corner of the room.
“There what is?” Lance asked, turning around to look, arms out at his sides like he was a bodybuilder on his way to do a few more reps at the gym.
The mouse squeaked, and then it made a different sound. Bradley thought it sounded a little bit like crickets. Like a chirping but not as pleasant as the bugs that kept him up some nights. The crickets at home were so loud. This sound coming from the mouse was strange. The only word he could think to describe it was skittering like something was moving on its fur.
“Wish I had a BB gun so I could blast—” Lance started but then stopped. “Hey! Whoa. What the fuck?”
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.