With the combined strength of a nerve-racked Javeon and a horrified Niko, the door to the gas station nearly flew off its hinges.
Sweat was raining down Javeon’s head, and his white T-shirt now looked gray and stuck to him like tape. Niko, who would normally put on hand sanitizer after touching a door handle was spread out star-shaped on the floor inflating and deflating as she gasped for air.
In front of them were rows of aisles with the register counter at the side of the store. Outside there was only one car parked in the parking lot, presumably belonging to whoever was here at the moment. The music was a song Javeon had heard a lot lately, a pop song with a constant beat.
Javeon heard walking. He looked down the aisle to see a gas station employee observing the two with a wrinkled face. “Uh, you both alright?” she asked.
“Not really,” Javeon answered finally, throwing his drenched black jacket on the floor.
“Spiders!” Niko said between breaths. “There were Spiders out there! Chasing us! They bit Makenzie!”
The cashier curled her upper lip, revealing pink braces. “Uh, are you two high on something?”
“No. She's telling the truth. There were spiders that were like, eight feet tall or something. They invaded our school and started eating people.” said Javeon.
The cashier lowered her eyelids at him. She nodded her head and said, “Sure.”
Niko finally sat up. “They bit Makenzie! They snapped her body in two and the sight was awful and everyone started screaming and now…now….” Niko’s voice grew wide and she began wailing on the floor, slamming the cold tiles.
Javeon stared at Niko. The girl had a lint ball in her fuzzy pink hair. Javeon wanted to pull it out, but the more appropriate thing to do in this situation was to give her a hug, and Javeon wasn’t one for hugs. Especially not when he was angry.
Niko watched Javeon walk past her. “There’s gotta be some alcohol somewhere. I got a million cuts.” His eyes were searching the aisles, lifting boxes only to slam them back down. He began to mutter to himself, his deep voice slowly rising until he was audible.
“....I told Mom and Dad. I told them. I said ‘This place isn’t safe. This town may look all quiet and calm, packed away in a forest, but they experiment here. They try to mutate nature. One of these days they're gonna start a creature revolution and kill the whole population living here, but did they listen to me? No!” Javeon slammed something that made Niko jump. His voice then went high-pitched. “Javeon, the school gives college-level classes, this is a great opportunity, blah blah blah I ALMOST GOT KILLED TONIGHT!? YA’ HAPPY NOW MOM!?” Javeon yelled in his own voice.
The whole gas station felt a lot more quiet after that.
The braces-wearing cashier returned, with two sodas and chocolate bars. “Just watched the news. Turns out you two weren’t lying. Consider this an apology. She gave some to Javeon, and then offered some down to Niko. When Niko just sat there, staring, the cashier dropped the snacks beside her and left.
“They…they” Niko couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“I know what they did to Makenzie. I was there, Niko.” Javeon said, ducking his head. He walked back near the entrance and leaned against the newspaper rack.
Niko chugged her soda, even though her throat was burning from it. She felt sick to the stomach, but she unwrapped the candy bar. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and since she used all her adrenaline running. She didn’t want to pass out.
“huh.”
Niko saw Javeon’s eyes on her. “What?”
“It’s just, you’ve always been like, afraid of germs and stuff, so I wouldn’t imagine you’d eat that candy bar bare-handed after being in a ‘disgusting gas station.’” Javeon wavered his voice and shook his hands at the last part.
Niko looked down at the chocolate bar she was gripping. “Oh, I didn’t notice.” She slid it back in the torn wrapper. “I’m just… focused on surviving I guess.”
They were quiet for a moment, letting the pop song fill the silence between them for a bit.
“Crap! I forgot my phone at school!” Niko smacked her teeth and held her head, her lip trembling. “Javeon…do-do you have your phone on you?”
“I never took it off,” Javeon pulled his phone out of his pants pocket.
“Can you call your parents or something? I need a ride home.”
“My parents are in the state above us, and I can’t call them.” Javeon said, his breathing returning to normal.
“Why not!? We can’t stay here! The gas station isn’t far enough away from school! I’m sure they’ll understand once you tell them giant spiders started killing everyone.”
“No, no they won’t. They want me to go to school, study hard, become some doctor or scientist, and then return home successfully. I would never dream that they'd understa--”
“Javeon, I wanted to finish highschool as the prom queen with an A honor roll. I never dreamed that my shirt would be splattered with the blood of my best friend. I never dreamed I would run through mud and collapse on a the floor of a gas station. I never dreamed that I'd be holed up in a filthy gas station with the distant quiet kid who hates me." Niko's lip trembled and her eyes glazed again. "We both never dreamed any of this would happen! "If all this is possible, you can call your little strict parents.”
Javeon straightened his mouth and took a deep breath. He went to his contact list and clicked, Old Boss.
A few seconds later a cracked voice went “Javeon? Why are you calling me when you should be at school?”
Javeon looked at Niko, who nodded at him. “Dad, listen…”
My latest novel, Shook, is being published to Hive in parts! See all released chapters in this post.
Hey there! I’m Shila! I’ve loved books since I could read, and decided I would write books I wanted to see written for others! Check my children’s book Imagination on Amazon!
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