Threnody (030).

(This is a 500-word-a-day novel project.)

He was wild eyed and still had his hand firmly wrapped around the gun, finger on the trigger, and, she noticed, with the safety off.

Ryan, give me the gun, she said softly.

Forget that, he said. And then, his fear getting the best of him, he raised it at her chest, stepping backward. And forget you. Come to think of it, how do I know you’re not one of them things? You could rip your face off any second now, or something worse.

Don’t be ridiculous, she said.

I’ll be what I want to, he said, his voice sulky. I got no idea, you could by anyone or anything so just stay where you are, okay?

She held up her hands, her heart picking up speed. There’s nothing I can say to convince you that that’s not true. But if it is true, is a gun really going to stop me?

He grit his teeth, and Jesse was sure that this was the moment, that he would shoot her and kill her – and then who knows what would happen? Maybe she’d just turn gray and hang around here, waiting for the next person to come along so she could grab them and eat them or whatever the dead did. Maybe they turned into trees.

Ryan lowered the gun slowly. He flipped the safety back on, but did not give it to her, instead returning it to the back of his jeans.

I’m going crazy, he said. I’m going right out of my mind.

Yeah, Jesse said simply. I think we’re in a race to see who gets there first.

Ryan stared at her for a moment, and then laughed, the color returning to his cheeks. Oh man, he said. I wish you could have met Maddy. She would have liked you.

He leaned over, gripping his knees while he took several deep breaths. Jesse waited, watching him battle his fear. Eventually, calm won out.

Okay, he said, nodding to himself. He took a step towards the boy, some of his bravado returning. You talk? Hablo English? Speaky-German? Parly voo Frenchey-says?

The boy did not say a word. Jesse had the sudden, revolting idea to touch him, and she could not refuse it. She began to lean forward, her hand outstretched.

Looks like these other trees are all messed up, Ryan said, not seeing what she was doing. They’re all black and – hey!

Before he could stop her, Jesse had touched the boy’s shoulder. There was an instantaneous reaction – the bark around his body began to crackle and break, and the tree began to sway ominously. Ryan pushed her out of the way behind him, both of them watching as the thing fell to pieces, the top portion falling over slowly, ejecting the boy, whose body seemed to pour of the broken stalk like tree sap, becoming solid.

The air was then silent; the boy stood free, looking at his hands and then down at himself with a bewildered expression.