With his last ounce of sanity, Andre pulled out his knife and shoved it through the throat of the mountain lion crouched behind him.
He tried to speak again, but his voice caught in his throat. He wasn’t in control anymore, but the searing coals atop his head kept burning. Like his head had been dipped in acid, the pain was excruciating. And his fingers tearing through his flesh didn’t help.
30
“Hal!”
“Did you hear that?” Sally asked.
Nitsy had been sitting next to Robbie on the floor. He squeezed her hand from time to time to assure her she wasn’t alone, but other than that, they sat in silence. Silence meaning they didn’t speak much between them, because silence definitely wasn’t in the building. The things outside wouldn’t stop banging on the door and walls. Phyllis and Bradley sat across from her, both with their hands over their ears.
She was so tired, and her eyelids kept bouncing like miniature basketballs. Even though she was terrified, her body was forcing her to sleep. Thomas seemed to have no problem resting. He was even drooling. Seeing him out cold only fueled her desire to sleep. Nitsy’s eyes were dancing lazily when she heard the cry for Hal. She pulled free from Robbie and stood up.
“I heard it,” she said.
She stepped toward the tent and peered through it to the other side. The hatch at the top of the ladder was still open.
“It sounded like Andre,” she added, “yelling for Hal.”
“The siren’s going strong,” Hal replied, “what could be the problem?”
“Maybe he needs your help with something,” Sally suggested.
Nitsy felt a cold chill down her back. That wasn’t how it sounded at all. She thought it sounded more like a painful cry or screaming for help. Not the kind of help Sally was talking about. He didn’t need somebody to hand him a wrench so he could tighten a bolt. Something bad had happened to him.
When Hal moved toward the tent, Nitsy put a hand on his arm. “Wait. Don’t go.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“I think something’s wrong.”
“Wrong how? This whole situation’s wrong.”
“I mean wrong with Andre. When he yelled your name… it sounded like he was scared.”
Hal thought about it for a second. “I don’t imagine Andre being scared of much.”
“Exactly.”
“Want me to go with you?” Grant asked.
Hal nodded. “Might be a good idea. We don’t know what’s up there.”
Sally covered her ears with her hands. “I wish he’d kept that damn siren off.”
The siren was so loud. It set Nitsy’s nerves on edge. Between that and the insistent pounding coming from outside the building, she thought she was going to lose her mind. She didn’t know much about structures like this, but she couldn’t imagine it would withstand much more force. The door was going to come off the hinges soon. She thought she heard debris falling on the inside of the building, like the doorframe might be giving in.
“Sally,” she said. “Look.”
Sally glanced over at the door and shrugged.
“It sounds like it’s crumbling,” Nitsy informed her. “I don’t think we have much time.”
“Grant?” Sally said.
By the time Nitsy looked back at the men, they were already inside the tent, making their way to the other side.
“They’ll be back soon,” Sally said.
Nitsy hoped she was right. She and Robbie both watched with the pads of their fingers touching the transparent material of the tent. Hal and Grant moved slowly past the bugs, careful not to squash any. There were so many. For a second, Nitsy was reminded of that game in school where her teacher filled the jar with jellybeans, and everyone had to guess how many were in there. The person who guessed closest to the correct number won the entire jar. She never got close. As she counted a few of the ladybugs and tried to come up with an estimate of how many were in there, she realized it was a waste of time. She would be wrong. She would guess nowhere close to the correct number.
“How many do you think are in there?” she asked Robbie.
“A million,” he said, and he wasn’t joking.
“There can’t be that many, right?”
“I’ve lost count eight times already. I counted well over a thousand and I was still at that bush over there.”
“I’d say there are about seven hundred fifty-five thousand of them,” Thomas said from behind, making them both jump. Nitsy hadn’t even seen him there.
“Damn, that’s a random ass number,” Robbie said.
Thomas only shrugged.
Hal and Grant made it to the other side of the tent and carefully crept through the Velcro seal. Nitsy could see them move to the ladder. Hal was out front. He seemed like a brave man.
“Andre!” Hal yelled. “You okay, buddy?”
At least that’s what it looked like he was yelling. Nitsy couldn’t hear him over the sound of the siren. It really didn’t matter what he yelled. Nitsy knew he wouldn’t get an answer. If Andre were still alive, he would have returned by now. The siren had been going on for several minutes already.
“I don’t like this,” she said, turning toward Sally.
“Me neither,” she said.
“If something’s wrong, I mean if he’s alive, they can’t leave him,” Robbie argued.
“I don’t know,” Nitsy said.
“He could have slipped or tripped. What if he broke his leg? It could have nothing to do with what’s going on out there? It sounds unlikely but people still get hurt.”
She knew he was right, but she doubted it was a slip and fall or a sprained ankle. Andre was dead. Or worse.
Hal yelled something else up the ladder. It was clear there was no reply because he turned toward Grant and they discussed it. Grant shrugged his shoulders. Hal took a deep breath then gripped the ladder, clutching a pistol in his hand as he started to climb.
“Don’t!” Nitsy yelled through the tent.
Hal turned toward her and stepped off the ladder. He motioned with his hand over his ear to say he couldn’t hear her.
“Don’t climb the ladder!” she yelled.
He still couldn’t hear her. Nitsy opened the tent and stepped inside. Right away, a ladybug landed on her arm. Another touched down on her nose and another on her head.
Hal and Grant stepped through the other side.
“What did you say?” Hal asked her.
The ladybug on her nose walked around and it tickled. She giggled.
“I said don’t go up there,” Nitsy said. “Please.”
“We have to check on Andre,” Hal said.
“And close that hatch,” Grant added.
Both men were barely inside the tent when something fell through the hatch behind them. It was heavy and hit the ground with a thud. Nitsy watched in horror as Hal and Grant both turned to see Andre rising on the other side of the tent flap.
There, they stared face to face with what remained of their friend. His scalp hung loosely from the top of his head, like tattered clothes ripped apart by razorblades. Blood ran down his face. His eyes were beet red and drool dripped from his lips. His left leg was broken, most likely from the fall, and he dragged it as he stepped closer to the tent.
“Nitsy, get to the other side,” Hal ordered.
She was frozen in fear, and she could only watch as Andre, with one quick jerk, reached through the tent, grabbed hold of Grant’s shirt, and yanked him out through the other side. Grant screamed and thrashed around wildly, but Andre bit down on Grant’s neck and ripped his head to the side, tearing off a huge chunk of flesh.