Blood Ever After

6

Around three days after the 'incident', standing and staring out the rumpus room glass doors, Tyler said, "I need to go."

Hannah stood beside him. She hadn't spoken much since the moment.

"I really need to get outta here."

In a dull, flat voice, the damned teen said, "You can't. They'll kill you. There are too many of them. I've seen them. Trust me."

A fuzzing from the CB radio. Tyler's eyes lit up. He wandered over.

Brett sat on the lounge, throwing a ball again and again against the far wall. "God's a bastard."

Tyler placed his ear against the receiver.

Times had been hard since the death.

After the funeral, Hannah had gone quiet, only opting to speak for absolutely essential things, like when the food needed sourcing or a message appeared to be coming through the CB radio.

Other than that the girl just moped about.

She had started on the tequila from her mother's stash, looking through the glass doors to the backyard at night.

The day after the incident, the three had sought to strengthen the boards around the windows. They'd moved back up the street to what used to be Mr. Erskine's house. Dragged boards back from his garage. Planks of wood. They'd grabbed hammers. Nails. Used the neighbor's ladder to reach the high-up windows, or just stood on the unkept lawn knocking thicker boards and thicker nails over windows.

Tyler had suggested they board-up those glass doors too, but Hannah shook her head. 'This is Fieldhurst." She tapped the glass three times. "Nothing can get through these doors. They cost $3000 bucks to install."

'What ... those burglarproof ones?" Tyler said, but the girl only stared.

Tyler turned, staring at the rough craggy wood covering the living room window. Blotting out the daylight. Blotting out life, death.

He held the radio, but the voices didn't occur again for now.

Thursday, he stood out front.

Hannah hung from a ladder before him, hammering and hammering. "Nail," she said. Tyler held one up. Wham, wham, wham, wham. The girl smacked the nail four times as it pierced through the window frame. The sounds stung Tyler's ears, but he tried not flinching. "Nail, Tyler. Come on. Nail."

"S-Sorry," said Tyler, reaching into his pocket for another nail. As he pulled one out all the others spilt from his pocket, down into the thick grass.

Sunlight pounding their necks, Hannah glared down. "Are you freakin' hopeless at everything? Pick the cunts up and give one to me, would ya?"

Tyler's knees cracked when he crouched, and for a moment he stood by the bank, the thing swimming through the darkness getting closer, closer.

He now noticed a white glint to the thing's skin, as though it had never been struck by the sun in its life, as though it didn't even know what sunlight was.

As a three quarter moon glinted, Tyler frowned, staring into the shimmering, wavering water.

Trees on the far side arched, their leaves fluttering. The chill breeze swept through his shirt. Who is that? Who is it that comes for me, and what does it want? He remained on that dim, dull bank, staring at the thing swimming toward him.

Behind him, a sound. The creaking of taut rope. The swaying of something in the breeze....

Hannah reached down toward Tyler, bringing him out of his daze.