The Aliveagainers

6 - Drive

Priya's eyes are full of malice. She's starin’ at me in the reflection of the rear view mirror. I frown a bit then tilt the mirror up.

We're headin' west down the back roads off the interstate. A little after we left the town some folks was runnin’ along and started hollerin' and chasin' at us. I knew they'd be trouble so I'd slammed the gas and gotten out of there. Késhaun had looked at me all disappointed like but Priya had actually laughed. She was actin' so strange and her face had seemed to change even more. It seemed impossible but her eyes had actually turned blue. When I pointed it out to her she just stared at me and spat out that they was always blue.

The drive is quiet and we move into the countryside. Once by the side of the road we see one. The Aliveagainer is hoverin' by this long ago fallen down buildin'. It seems to have its head hung low, turned away from us, starin' at the ruins. It pays us no heed as we zoom by.

"Where we going?" asks Késhaun.

"Goin' up to Lake Clair, my mom lives out there," I say.

"Why?"

"It’s a small place. Real quiet. She's got a house up in the woods. It'd be a good place for us to be."

The roads are quiet, I bet most people made for the highways rather than these little country ways. I'm not quite sure what to do if we come across people. I keep checkin’ the mirror, sure I'll see someone speedin’ up behind us.

"Why didn't you call me earlier?" says Priya.

I look up. She's starin’ at me.

"What are you talkin' about?" I ask.

"You should have called when she didn't come home. I would have come back earlier. Could've helped find her."

Késhaun shifts uncomfortably in his seat.

I stay silent and Priya turns to look out the window. I can hear her mutterin' but can't make out what she's sayin’. She's been actin’ real weird ever since—well, since she got hit.

We'd been walkin' through the hotel carpark. She was tellin’ us about how she’d been copin’ the last few days. She’d been at college when things started to go down. She went back to her apartment with her friends and they hung out there for a while, then the army had rolled in and told everyone to get up and go right away. They’d headed downstairs, and just as they was about to go outside she saw the first of the ghosts come in, then another and then another. Soon the place was swarmin’ with ’em and they went to run to the army trucks.

Then the soldiers had opened fire, just shootin’ at everythin’ in all the chaos. One moment her friend was by her side, the next she was twistin’ half around in the air and tumblin’ over a stairwell. After that she hid for a day in a broom cupboard and waited till all the screamin’ was long gone.

And then she found us, and soon enough we were makin’ our way into the hotel. It was drizzlin’, a cold, steady grey, and she said she saw somethin'. We crouched down and held on to our cans and lighters. Priya had taught us that you could get rid of them with enough fire.

After a while we'd made our way inside. We was tired and on edge, just wantin’ to find shelter before it got dark. As we opened the door to the stairway an Aliveagainer had burst out. We had no time to see it, just instantly heard its crazy yammerin', which rose to an awful howl that made my skin crawl.

It flew right onto Priya who screamed. The Aliveagainer wrapped itself around her and she tumbled to the ground. Looked like some giant spider wrappin' all around a fly; thin, black, smoky arms or tendrils stitchin’ fast high and low around her so. She fell to the ground, but slowly, softly, like she was bein’ laid out. I could hear her wailin’ and sobbin' but even that seemed to get covered up until it was just a mufflin’ noise. I had taken Késhaun and pushed him behind a trolley while I had the lighter ready to go, 'cept I couldn't use it ’cause I'd have to burn Priya too.

Then, with a sigh that echoed around, the thing was gone. Priya had just been layin' there on the ground. She looked fine but she was out cold. Késhaun had stepped forward and laid his hands on her. I remember feelin' all warm all of a sudden.

Késhaun had tears in his eyes and I remember tellin' him, “Sshh, it'll be all right,” and he'd just shook his head.

We'd lugged her up the stairs and put her in one of the rooms. She seemed OK, unharmed. We weren’t sure what to expect.

Certainly not this.

We hit a pothole and I snap my attention back to the road. I've been daydreamin' again. Always off with the fairies, that’s what she would have said.

I look to Késhaun and he smiles weakly back at me.

"It's pretty here. I like the trees."

I look around. We've been risin' a little, followin' the road up into the hills. The trees are thicker here, the farms becomin’ less frequent. We’re gettin’ up to the higher country out here. Less people, a better place to ride things out.

I look in the rear view mirror. The road is clear, and I notice Priya's fallen asleep. She breathes in a deep, troubled way.

"She's not the same."

I turn to Késhaun. He's lookin’ right at me, with those big, dark eyes.

"She's going to change more," he says and looks ahead.

"Why's she gonna change?"

"She's not just Priya anymore. She's turnin' into her."

The boy's totally freakin' me out now and I clench my hands on the wheel.

"Turnin' into who?"

"To that lady. The Aliveagainer."

I glance up and have to swerve to take a sharp turn. We’re definitely in the woods now. The road twists and turns. The trees hang above the roads, their thick branches intertwined above us.

I shudder and think about Priya and the one that hit her, its arms all outstretched reachin' around to ensnare her. It did almost seem like it went right inside her, right into her body.

"How come you know this? I ask.

He looks down and shuffles a bit in his seat, then looks up to the dashboard. He opens his mouth to speak then a rumblin' noise shakes and I look instinctively in the mirror.

Behind us I notice a truck, big and camo-colored, headlights flashin'. It's comin' up fast and I tense up, not sure whether to pull over or go faster. Késhaun sits up and shimmies in his seat to look back as the truck races right up on our tail, then moves out and passes us. 

As it drives by I look into the window and see the guy in the passenger seat. He's dressed in army gear and has silvery black hair and a mean ol' expression that stirs a cold memory.

The truck speeds ahead and moves back in front of us; then another and then a third drive by. As the last one passes I see soldiers sittin' in the back, all dull eyed and sullen. Their helmets hang low over their heads and they hold their guns high.

Késhaun is excited and asks me a bunch of questions. Who are they? Where did they come from? Where are they going? It must be good that the soldiers are still here, no doubt they'll be sortin' things out. I ain't too sure what to tell him and he eventually quietens down. I want to talk to him more about what he was sayin' but I know we left that moment way back down the road.

We keep drivin', followin’ the road as it winds through woods and passin' the occasional farm. We're movin' upwards, headin’ to the low hills. I'm runnin' on memory, not quite sure if I've driven along this road before or one just like it. Seems pretty much everythin' round here looks kinda the same. I try to remember the turns and landmarks near my mom's house, up close by the lake. I remember there was a sharp turn after a long run through the woods, where the road snaked up and to the left. It looked a little like this place.

Next up is just a blur. I think Késhaun might be shoutin’ but I can't be sure. I spin the wheel hard. A man standin’ in the road. Then there is a thud and we twist around and everythin’ flips. Glass shatters and I see sparks fly in a shimmer of light. Pain wracks my body as I cough and cried out. I hear hard footsteps crunchin’ the gravel and then night comes.