They didn’t need to get out of the vehicle to realize something was wrong. The hospital’s large, automatic doors were wedged open. A wheelchair blocked the door to the left and a prone body caused the right door to bounce open every time it bumped against the man’s thigh. He was dead, in a pool of his own blood, and beyond him, the lights were on, but nobody was at the reception desk. Someone was always at that desk.
Grant thought the night secretary’s name was Brenda. He’d come in once complaining of chest pains, and it had been Brenda in that seat. He was sure of it now. She was a sweet woman who spent the quiet evening hours weaving at that desk. That or reading one of her romance novels. He’d had to spend a couple of nights here while the doctor ran tests and returned him to normal.
Clementine stepped on the gas, and the truck lurched forward and picked up speed. She drove them up onto Maker’s Hill, a spot that was usually used by teenagers as a make-out point. Tonight, it was empty. No cars filled the bald spot where the grass had been rubbed free from constant tires rolling over it.
Grant hopped out of the truck and moved to Sally’s side, taking her hand and intertwining his fingers through hers. Hal stood to his right and Clementine off to their left. They all stood staring down at the town they knew so well. From here, they could see the entire shopping area. Downtown was too far away, but the bingo hall, the restaurants, the car dealership, and across the street were quite clear.
The dental clinic was dark and quiet, but across the parking lot the two-story, ten-screen movie theater was on fire. Grant wondered how it had happened. Were there people in there when it went up in flames? Or had it happened during some kind of battle with the creatures? He imagined people inside watching whatever movie was hot right now when one of the creatures walked into the auditorium. That’s all it would take. One of them. Only one and then the entire theater would be stark raving mad.
You’re one of the lucky ones, Grant.
As unlucky as he felt, he had to admit things could have been worse. If he hadn’t gone to the diner that morning at that exact time and sat at the counter, who knew how things would have turned out. Sally could be dead too.
He probably would have been at home, but that didn’t mean he was safe. All it would take was for one of those things to come marching up to his doorstep. He would have probably assumed it was someone trying to sell him something or one of the people from the church there to convert him. If he’d even opened the front door, he would be one of them.
Things definitely could have been worse.
Down in the parking lot near the movie theater, figures moved around. Wanderers in search of something. They could have been humans searching for a safe place, but he doubted it. The slow pace at which they walked and the mindless roaming told him they were probably the infected, searching for another scalp to jump to.
“How do you suppose it works?” Sally asked.
Nobody answered. Hal shrugged his shoulders.
“I mean,” she continued, “if those things jump to somebody’s head and then they jump off, wouldn’t they take the infection with them?”
“I suppose some stay behind,” Hal said, “or there wouldn’t be any to jump on somebody else.”
“Lice lay lots of eggs,” Clementine said.
“My daughter got them once,” Hal said. “Or twice. Twice, I think. Those damn things wouldn’t come out. Thank God her mama took care of it.”
Nobody replied to that. Everyone in Clydesville knew everyone else’s story and plenty had heard about what happened to Hal’s little girl. It was a damn shame. Grant didn’t know how he could survive after something like that. A daughter and a wife taken from him? That had to be hell.
Grant thought back to the way Hal stood there in the Walmart greeting card aisle, watching one of those things rush at him, completely unmoving. Hal didn’t even budge. Maybe the man had a death wish.
Keep Sally away from him. She don’t need to be near anybody wishing to die.
“So, you think they’re laying eggs,” Sally said softly. “Makes sense I guess.”
It didn’t matter if it made sense or not. None of them would ever get close enough to find out without turning into one of the creatures themselves. Grant wondered if there were scientists somewhere in a lab tinkering with these tiny but so deadly creatures. Were they picking at them with scalpels? Had some of them escaped and started this whole thing?
There wasn’t a lab for many miles. He supposed it was possible researchers at West Virginia University could be involved, but he doubted it. Once again, his mind went to the government. Hal thought they were aliens. Could be. He supposed they could have come crashing down on some shooting star or small meteor. He couldn’t remember one hitting the area.
“God, that thing is burnin’,” Hal said.
The movie theater was roaring. Flames licked at the night air. No fire department was coming to its rescue and if anyone was trapped inside, they were dead by now.
“They done got the police station,” Grant said, “the hospital, the movie theater, the damn bingo hall. There ain’t nothin’ left to destroy.”
Hal whipped his head to the left. “Shit. The kids.”
“What kids?” Clementine asked.
“There is somethin’ left to burn,” Hal said. “Stonewall Forge is packed with teenagers for some kind of conference.”
“Grant,” Sally said.
“Oh, hell,” Grant replied. “You’ve got to be kiddin’ me. They had to come this weekend.”
“Come on,” Hal said as he headed back to the bed of the truck, “if there was ever a reason for the four of us to make it this far, it’s this. We gotta save those kids.”
He was right. Nobody said a word as they piled back into the truck. Grant and Hal worked together loading all the weapons. They had a rescue mission ahead of them.
25
“What do you think, Mr. Andre?” Phyllis asked, as the stern, lumberjack of a man peered out the cafeteria window and watched the line of unmoving animals. Nitsy glanced over his shoulder and saw one of the motion lights pop on outside. Beneath it, an infected student wandered aimlessly, searching for its next victim. The animals stared straight ahead, their eyeballs reflecting the lamp’s light, giving their pupils an amber glow.
Andre turned toward Phyllis and said, “Just Andre, please. I ain’t ever been a mister.”
“Sorry,” Phyllis replied.
“They’re still watching us, not moving.”
“I think they’re listening,” Robbie said.
Andre turned toward him and waited to hear more.
“We bumped into a bunch of them outside,” Nitsy said. “When we were still, it almost seemed like they couldn’t see us. The moment we made a noise, they came running.”
“They hear us,” Andre said to himself. “Listen, I want to get y’all out of here. I have a bit of a plan. Something I’ve been cooking up since my cousin Carl turned into one of them things. Since my truck flipped and I—”
“You’re the guy that park ranger was looking for,” Nitsy said. “Remember, Phyllis?”
Phyllis nodded.
“What park ranger?” Andre asked.
Nitsy shrugged. “I don’t know. He was here asking Mr. Hayes about you. Said a guy flipped his truck and went missing. He was asking if anyone had seen you.”
“I… I didn’t know anybody was lookin’ for me. I went to see if my wife was okay, but she… the whole trailer park… it was gone. I thought maybe they’d been relocated or somethin’.”
“Or something,” Bradley said.
Everyone remained silent for a moment. Andre stared at the floor for at least a full minute before tearing his eyes away and going back to the window.