Chapter 23 is here! I apologize in advance for the feels coming your way.
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CHOMP CHOMP!
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TWENTY THREE
Sitting on the roof of the home of the Steven-o family -- Stefani family? De Savanah? Whatever the hell -- Melvin had come to decipher more about these snivelling suburbanites than he cared to.
With her family safe and sound, the mother spent most of her time weeping over the loss of something she called the English Paper, which Melvin eventually came to figure out was some kind of quilt. Apparently, the water damage would be irrevocable. The son, meanwhile, the one who barely escaped the jaws of the sharks, seemed less traumatised by his brush with death and more concerned with whatever complicated teeny bopper non-relationship he clearly had with the nose-pierced Maddie.
"What does it matter, Joey?" the Maddie girl was saying. "I'm here now."
"I'm just asking," the boy said. "I just wanna know. Why were you at Justin's house? Did he call you?"
"No, he didn't call me."
"So you went over yourself."
"It's not important!"
"I didn't say it was important. Why can't you answer the question?"
Maddie rolled her eyes. "God, do you ever shut up?"
No, Melvin suspected. The conversation had been going in circles for over a half an hour now. He doubted it would end any time soon.
The other kid, the Joey boy's older brother, was busy trying to make sense of the situation they found themselves in. And doing a poor job.
"What if they're super mutants?" he theorised to his father. "The sharks. You know, like created in a government lab somewhere. The military or something is probably looking for them. I mean, wouldn't they be?"
"Super mutants?"
"Well I don't know!" he snapped. "But something has to be going on! They weren't normal! Have you ever seen sharks like that?"
The boy's father shook his head.
Maddie glanced over at Melvin. He had seen sharks like that. He could tell she wanted him to say so. But he wasn't interested in adding to their conspiracy theories. Not when he couldn't escape them. So he stood up and sauntered over to the far end of the roof to check on the truck for what must have been the thousandth time. It sunk over an hour ago, taking the spear with it. But he could still see the shadow of the vehicle beneath the waves. With a bit of help, he was confident he could recover the gun -- if that Justin Heard kid and his Kayla friend ever got back with that boat.
"They're dead, aren't they."
Melvin turned to see Maddie standing behind him.
"Justin and Kayla," she said. "They've been gone too long."
It had been a good while. Melvin spat over the side of the roof. How long would he wait around for a boat that was never coming?
"Those things," said Maddie. "They ate them, didn't they."
He could lie. He could comfort the teen and tell her that he was sure her friends were fine. It was certainly the more attractive option. He wasn't particularly eager to comfort the kid after he told her that yes, her friends were probably dead by this point. But when a few more hours passed and still no boat showed up, he'd just have to answer the question again.
So he nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I think--"
The rumble of a motor interrupted his thought.
"What is that?" asked the weepy mother.
Melvin ran across the roof, looking out to the end of the road. The rumble grew louder. Most certainly a boat.
"Is it them?" asked Maddie.
A little fishing boat rounded the corner, headed towards the house, and over the roar of the motor he heard Justin screaming his name.
Melvin threw up his arms, flagging down the boat and when Justin pulled up along side the roof, he was hysterical.
"Do something!" the boy screamed. "Melvin! Do something! She just passed out! I dunno what happened!"
The girl, Kayla, lay unconscious on the floor of the boat, skin pale as a ghost. Melvin jumped down beside her.
"What happened?" he said calmly, lifting the girl across his lap.
"They found us," Justin panted. "The sharks. We were at the marina, and they swamped us. She fell overboard and the water was just...slime! It was slime! And there were more sharks. They were all dead. We barely got away, but she got covered in the slime. Is it the slime?"
Whatever Justin was trying to tell him, it had to do with the slick green mucous that coated the Kayla girl's body. But Justin was too worked up to make a lot of sense and Melvin didn't have time to calm him down. The girl was in bad shape. Her skin was cold and clammy to the touch. He placed two fingers to her neck, searching for a pulse.
He waited. Her skin was still against the pad of his finger.
He shook his head. "No pulse."
"You mean she's dead?" asked Maddie.
"What?" Justin pushed his way in beside Melvin and lifted Kayla's face, calling her name again and again. The girl didn't stir. Justin shook harder, her head rolling back.
"Stop it," Melvin growled. "Let me see her."
In tears, Justin forced himself to stop moving her, and Melvin leaned in for a closer look. He lifted one of Kayla's eyelids.
Startled, Melvin quickly pulled his hand away.
"What?" said Justin.
"That can't be," Melvin breathed. He lifted the lid again.
White.
Cloudy.
"Her eyes." The Maddie girl loomed over him, standing on the roof. "Her eyes are like the sharks."
"What does that mean?" asked Justin. "She's going to be ok, isn't she?"
No, Melvin knew. The girl had no pulse. She was dead.
His eyes roamed over the translucent skin of her arms, the veins blue and spider-like. He turned one arm over, and in the bend of the elbow he saw a boil, bulging and green with puss.
Kayla was dead.
But, Melvin wondered, how long would she stay that way?
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