Feeding Frenzy (Watty Award Winner)

Bang: Chapter Twenty

When she reached the Ash Tree, Tonya was shocked to find the body of Professor Rudolph still lying on the ground. She shone her flashlight on his face and, stooping a little closer, smelled decay. Tonya noticed white roots growing up through fallen leaves into his eye sockets, and had to fight back a wave of nausea. What did it mean, and why hadn't the hospital taken the body away?

Tonya, don't go. Come sit with me a while.

In her head, he used the same calm voice she remembered from his history lectures, which made everything so much worse. Tonya backpedalled, then retreated past happy beer drinkers and teens talking around the bonfire. She wanted to scream at them to evacuate, but it was hopeless with a malfunctioning loud hailer. She would just be ignored or laughed at again.

It wasn't until later, when she heard the sirens of the O.P.P. and campus police, that she slowed down enough to take a breath. The authorities were arriving via the road which led to her Aunt's shop, whereas Tonya was leaving from the opposite end of the woods. She wouldn't meet them on the path back to campus, and it was just as well. If she saw the police, Tonya would be tempted to rush over and warn them of the epidemic. They wouldn't believe her, and after calling in a bomb threat, she had to stay anonymous.

Pausing under a lamp post, she pulled the megaphone out of her bag. She cracked the back open and noticed it lacked batteries. How could Donna have said she tested it? Tonya pulled off her Hazmat hood to get a better look, but as she did a cluster of dark specks caught her eye. Even in the lamplight she could see a group of tiny holes, deliberately punched into the back of the hood. So much for an airtight infection barrier. She hadn't noticed the sabotage when she got dressed, but it explained how she could smell Professor Rudolph's corpse.

She craned her neck to examine the rest of the suit. The front looked fine, but she discovered tiny holes under the arms and along the seams of the legs. At the hospital, Tonya had told Donna her suspicions and her plan, and the woman had set her up. She wanted Tonya to fail at getting the kids out of the cemetery, and she wanted the air to infect Tonya while she was there. She shook her head. It was hard to believe a choir lady had betrayed her, somebody who used to drink coffee with her Mom in their own kitchen.

Working at the hospital, Donna was ideally positioned to learn all of Loon Lake's medical secrets, and pass them on to her large clan. If only Aunt Helene or her parents hadn't refused to teach Tonya the family history! She had a vague idea that her family had enemies, but Aunt Helene refused to talk about 'ancient grudges.' Whenever Tonya's mother tried to argue, she would say: 'What this town needs is peace and a new beginning,' and in the end Tonya's parents had kept their secrets.

By protecting Tonya, Aunt Helene had put everyone at risk. Tonya didn't know how many people she was up against. She felt all the more helpless when she realized that with her parents gone, she and her injured Aunt were the only ones left to defend the town. Another siren passed the university on the highway, headed for the cemetery.

Tonya's stomach growled. She craved chocolate, and steak. Maybe a bit of each. Although she was prone to nibbling when she was anxious, Tonya wondered if her sudden hunger foretold something more ominous than cheating on her diet. Before she could ponder further, a widespread shuffling attracted her attention.

Frowning, foot-dragging beings shambled out of the forest en masse. Tonya paused, unsure whether it was safe to approach this tide of... Sleepwalkers? Zombies?

No. Judging by their swearing and muttering, and by the way some wore beer guzzler hats, these foot-dragging students were stalling to delay their exodus from the woods, and to express their annoyance at the cops for breaking up the party. As the slow mob of pissed-off party-goers went by, one pointed to Tonya.

"That's her! The one in yellow. She's the one who wanted us out. She must have called the cops!"

"Get Tonya!" called a girl, but not just any girl. Eva had bullied Tonya in high school. Tonya had avoided Eva since September, but now she was here, at the optimum moment to torment her again. Tonya thought about standing her ground. Everything she had done was to save the students after all. She wasn't afraid to face Eva. She stepped forward to meet her accuser and explain the danger, except... 

A wave of shouting guys and gals charged. Tonya ran off the path and back into the trees. With the mob behind her, she didn't dare look, but she could feel their beery breath on the back of her neck. Tonya slammed her hood on, and raced back toward the cemetery, hoping they wouldn't follow, but they did, and they sounded angry! Like a pack of wolves, Eva barked orders at them, describing how they should outflank and eviscerate Tonya.

With no other option, she fled further into the bushes. The woods weren't as thick here as in the wilderness, but she tripped over brush and roots in the dark. The sound of her pursuers was softer now, but she didn't dare turn on her flashlight. They were waiting on the path, watching to see where she went. As quietly as she could, Tonya pushed through the scrub. She kept moving forward, hands ahead of her. With her gloves off, her skin was getting cut by branches, but she couldn't slow down. Tonya had to find the bike she ditched in the bushes, before they found her.

It was taking so long Tonya wondered if she were lost. Hoping she was deep enough into the trees to be hidden, she turned on her flashlight, shielding the beam with her body. Was this even the right place? She searched the brush ahead for a familiar landmark, not daring to make a sound, until something glinted nearby. Bingo! She picked up the bike and switched on the headlamp. She mounted and wove her way between the trees.

Tonya emerged onto what looked like a deer path, hoping she was headed back toward the cemetery. She smiled to herself inside the Hazmat hood. She had escaped that bully and her pack of beery nutcases, or at least she thought so, until she heard footfalls on the path behind her.

They had followed her right into the brush. One guy was so close she heard his heavy breathing as well as his feet on the leaf-coated path. He must be big to make that much noise on soft ground, but Tonya didn't risk turning her head to look. On a path this narrow, a moment of inattention could slam her into a tree. The only way was to outdistance him. Tonya pedalled harder, until the burn in her thighs was painful. She should be out of reach soon...

What was with this guy? He didn't seem to be getting tired, even though she was on a bicycle. The runner was gaining on her. There was a whoosh of air at her back, as if he had tried to grab her and missed. Pain forgotten, she pedalled faster than ever in her life.

"I got her!" he announced. His voice was bass and powerful, as if he weren't even winded.

Tonya snuck a glance back just in time to see him lunge. She feinted to the left, but it would only be seconds before he caught up again and pulled her off the bike.

With the puffy hazmat suit encumbering her legs, she could feel herself losing speed, just when she needed it most. Even a much faster rider would never reach the authorities in time. The only hope left was to somehow lose him in the brush.

Then she saw her salvation, a track descending off the deer path. On her bike, she would roll downhill faster than anyone could run. She swerved left and headed for the dip, which twisted right, then left, before suddenly turning into a drop.

She hurtled down the hill on a tiny track, visible like a pencil line on charcoal. Keeping clear of the trees was hard as speed turned them to a midnight blur. The only sounds were the wind rushing past her Hazmat hood, and her panting, which was steaming up the view. It needed wiping but at this speed it was hard to keep control. She could brake, a little, and steer even less, but she needed both hands on the handlebars. She would just have to...

— Bang!

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Maaja