Skin Walkers

Chapter 3

There she was, my mom. Smiling over me, though the vision was still a little hazy. A door opens and closes in the distance as my father steps into view. "She's waking up." a female voice sounds. I blink once, then twice. 

"I got her these." A male's voice sounded and something is self down next to my bed. My nose fills with daisies and roses. "Her favorite.'

Then I zone out, falling back into the darkness.

I wake up to Nancy tapping on my shoulder and I look over my shoulder to look at her. 

"Good morning, Mel." She jumped on my back and I smiled.

"Good morning Nancy."

"Daddy said we are leaving the house today!"

I sit up smiling as she laughs from falling off my back.

"Did he say what time?"

"About an hour." Charles said as he walked in the doorway drying off his hands. He leaned against the door frame and looked at me. "I need you to remember something."

"I can try.."

"I need you to remember where you and your family went during the Summer of 2010."

I looked down at my hands, nodding. 

The Summer of 2010. My family and I went the beach. Isle Of Palms, to be exact. The salty sea hair tangled my hair, and we always tracked sand into the hotel rooms. The cool water circling around my ankles as I dip the water pail into the water bringing it back up to dad so we could make a sand-octopus. His laugh, my laugh, my mother's laugh.

"Isle Of Palms."

"In Charleston?"

I nod and he sighs. "Alright, better pack and find a car."

*******

Once we packed the rest of the food and water bottles into book bags, Charles and I each pulled out our guns. "Alright." he said, "Don't shoot unless you have to." He handed me a large kitchen knife and I nodded. He turned to Nancy and knelt down saying something to her and she nodded at him. He kissed her head and stood up and looked at me. "There are abandoned cars the next street over, we can look there." He took a deep breath. "Ready?"

"Ready."

He put a hand on my shoulder then moved it to the door knob. He unlocked every bolt slowly and turned the knob. As the door flew open, a gush of the early Autumn air brushed us. A single skinwalker, I decided to call them, was sitting on the ground. It was the man that lived around the corner from my house, Hr. Hudson. I winced. He looked up at me and his pale grey eyes centered on me. The loss of life was almost to overwhelming. Almost. He started staggering toward me. "Go ahead." Charle's voice was behind me. "You take him, you need to practice." I nodded and started towards the skinwalker. He moaned a scratchy moan and gaped his mouth open. I picked up speed and pulled out my kitchen knife and sped walked right to him. I aimed my knife at his throat and watched his head roll down the road and the body collapse.

"Good job." Charle's big hand landed on my shoulder and walked past me. I looked down at my now bloody knife and followed him.

 I scanned the horizon and houses as we walked, suddenly no longer afraid. 

We walked another block or two when we heard a motor. A car was driving down the road and the it was only getting closer. Charles hid Nancy behind a trash can and stood on the side of the road with me right beside him. The man driving the car was a man everyone in the neighborhood knew. James, a registered sex offender. 

I kept my eyes down, for he dated my best friend. The one Charles killedd. They never did anymore then kiss, the media made it a lot worse then it really was. She was sixteen at the time and when her parents found out, they instantly called the cops.  The car stopped in front of us as I watched to tires roll into view.

"Need a lift somewhere?" His voice was scratchy and I heard some liquid slosh around.

"No, we are fine. Thanks though." Charles responded.

"There isn't a filled car for miles, c'mon. Lemme give you a lift."

I raised my eyes to James who was staring at Charles. I looked over at Charles who was staring at me then his eyes flickered to his gun then back to me. I nodded.

"Sure, you can give us a lift. We need to get to Charleston."

"Wow. That's out there isn't it? Is it just you two?"

Nancy came from behind the trash can and grabbed my hand. I squeezed it tight.

"It's us three." I said, trying to sound brave.

James laughed. "Alright then. Get in."

Charles appeared by my ear. "I'll sit up front, you and Nancy stay close to my side." I nodded and opened the back door climbing in as Nancy slid in next to me.

His car reeked of tobacco and alcohol. I could tell Charles smelt it too, because he flipped down the visor and stared at me. I grabbed Nancy's hand tightly and she turned and looked out the window. "This one isn't yours." James broke the silence, jabbing his thumb at me. "Where did you find her?"

He doesn't remember me, I thought. I looked at Charles and fidgeted slightly in his seat. "I shot her friend." He said quietly, almost so faint I couldn't hear him.

My eyes lowered thinking about Jessica. Last time I saw her was at school when we would past notes and droll over our Biology teacher. I remember watching her wave her girlie wave by wiggling her fingers as the teacher blushed.

All of that is gone now. I slit my wrist hoping for a new world, only to wish I had the old one I once had.

I looked up to see James staring at me through the rear view mirror. I could almost see the gears working in his head. Thinking of something, something I must know.

                        *                         *                    *

As night started to hit, James was starting to drift off while driving.

"Um, maybe I should drive?" Charles suggested. James huffed and pulled over after looking at me one last time.

"I'll get in the back." he slurred sleepily as he stumbled back and climbed in. I slid Nancy across my lap and put her in the passenger seat beside Charles. He shot me a look of gratitude and I nodded slight, hardly at all.

James scooted over so our knees were touching. I moved over to where Nancy was sitting and rested my head on the window. I looked into the night to see a skinwalker, straggling along the woods and just stared at it.

I felt James touch my leg with some part of his body. I cringed and pulled away. But the feeling of another human touching me felt amazing. It was like the loneliness faded away.