Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The morning light hit Isaac's eyes and he awoke. That was when he saw the creature standing at his feet, staring down at him. It was towering and broad with a bluish skin as if carved out of marble. It had gray, cloudy eyes and stringy brown hair down to its shoulders, and it wore dirty mechanic's coveralls with a name patch that read Jeremy.

Isaac screamed, awakening Katie and Simon who yelled also when they saw the creature. The children threw off the tarp and dashed out into the chill of the desert morning. They took refuge behind a collection of large rocks, staring back at the unkept gas station in which they had spent the night. Four stocky pumps with mechanical counters sat under a sun hood with rusted metal trimming, and an office with broken windows abutted a garage with a sign that read 24 Hour Service. The only other man-made structure was the road, which stretched like a thin black ribbon in the distance.

"Oh my God, that was close," breathed Katie.

The children stared intently at the opened side door of the garage.

"What are we going to do?" asked Simon. "All our stuff is in there."

The thought had already crossed Isaac's mind. The red wagon had become a part of their existence, an ever-present appendage essential to their survival.

"We have to get it back," said Katie. "What else can we do? We wouldn't last a day out here without it."

"Maybe it'll leave. Let's just wait and see," replied Isaac.

So they waited. The sun moved higher toward its apex, but nothing came from the garage - no sound, no movement. The children sat in a sliver of shade next to the boulder with their heads bowed.

"I'm thirsty," said Simon.

"We're all thirsty," replied Isaac with irritation. "Try not to talk. It'll make it worse."

But after a slight pause, Simon spoke again. "What kind do you think it is?" he asked.

"I don't know," Isaac responded.

"It might be a Mr. Joe," said Simon. "I hope so. I hope it's not a runner. And I really hope it's not like your dad," he said to Katie who remained silent.

Isaac glanced over at Katie and then addressed Simon. "I told you to stay quiet. We'll know soon enough."

So the children remained quiet until the sun was nearing the horizon, and still, there was nothing, no indication from within the garage about what the creature was doing.

"We have to do something," said Katie. "We can't just sit here forever."

"Alright," said Isaac. "We have to lure it out."

Katie considered this for a moment. "How?"

Isaac approached the garage with a rock the size of a baseball in his right hand. He stepped lightly, keeping his eyes on the opened side door, prepared to run at any moment. He glanced to his left where Katie and Simon hid behind a bush peeking through leaves, ready to sprint into the garage to get their supplies.

Isaac nodded to them and refocused on the side door. Next to it was the large metal service door of the garage, which was drawn closed. He was near enough to it now to know that he could hit it with the rock in his hand. Taking a deep breath, he threw the rock as hard as he could at the service door, and when it struck, the clang reverberated hollowly within. Isaac didn't wait for anything to appear. He turned and ran as fast as he could, but when he craned his neck to see if anything was following him, he tripped and slid on his stomach, scraping his hands on the sharp pebbles embedded in the hard dirt. He turned and glared at the side door, but it remained empty.

Isaac got up and rubbed his hands on his shirt. He glanced at Simon and Katie, who were watching him intently. After a quick search, he found another rock and approached the garage again. When he was close enough, he heaved the rock through the doorway into the shadows and heard it clatter on the concrete floor and hit metal with a dull clank. Isaac held his ground, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did.

Isaac glanced at Katie who mouthed the words, Try again.

So Isaac skimmed the ground for another rock when something came out of the doorway and landed a few feet from him. Isaac jumped. It was the rock that he had thrown moments before.

Fighting the urge to run, Isaac kept his eyes on the shadow of the doorway. He cautiously picked up the rock and hurled it once more into the doorway. The rock once again clattered on the concrete and hit something metallic, most likely the steel drum filled with rags that he had slept next to.

After another moment, the rock was tossed out again, landing a few feet in front of Isaac.

For a third time, Isaac picked up the rock and flung it as hard as he could into the doorway, and after a slight pause, the rock was tossed back out, landing in roughly the same location as before.

Isaac glanced over at Katie who shook her head and shrugged, but Simon had his mouth opened with astonishment as if he had just seen something magical.

The children regrouped behind the rock and reevaluated their plan.

"Did you see that?" exuded Simon. "I think it wants to be our friend!"

Isaac looked at his brother with disdain.

"It does not want to be our friend, you dummy," he said.

"How do you know?" asked Simon. "It looked like it wanted to play catch."

"It probably was just trying to lure us in so it can chew our faces off!" Isaac said. "Not to play catch like it's recess or something!"

"Maybe it's lonely," said Simon.

Isaac stared with disbelief.

"How can you say that after all we've been through, Simon?" he asked. "They're monsters!"

"Not all of them. Not Mr. Joe. I think he would have helped us if he could."

"I don't believe this," said Isaac.

"Let me try to throw something in," Simon proposed.

"No! Absolutely not!"

"Why not? I can run as fast as you! I just want to see what it'll do. That's all."

"No! Mom and Dad will kill me if they knew I let you take a risk like that!"

While Simon and Isaac we're arguing, Katie peeked at the gas station.

"Guys…guys… Look, " she said, pointing.

At the place where Isaac had been standing was the red wagon with their supplies piled high.

Simon's face lit up with excitement as if perhaps something magical was indeed happening.

"I knew it! See! He wants to be friends!" he said.

But Isaac's mood darkened.

The full moon was bright enough to cast shadows as Isaac and Katie advanced on the wagon, staying low like thieves, all the while, keeping their eyes on the doorway, which was completely black. They reached the wagon and quickly inspected it.

"Our weapons are gone. And so are some of our other supplies," Katie whispered.

"It'll have to do. Come on, you pull and I'll push," replied Isaac.

Katie nodded, and the two began to move the wagon, but the tires squeaked with every rotation, which made them wince each time.

"Should we pick it up?" asked Katie.

"It's going to be too heavy. Let's just keep moving." Isaac gazed behind him at the doorway, but this time, he noticed something different. A shape, darker than the night, stood at the threshold. Isaac narrowed his eyes to see if something was actually there, but then it moved.

"Go! Go! Go!" said Isaac.

They pushed and pulled the wagon as fast as they could over the rough terrain that was cracked and embedded with stones. The wagon bounced erratically, causing its contents, including the water jugs, to be nearly bumped off.

The wheels squeaked loudly like chattering birds. Isaac saw Simon waiting for them behind the rock, and he was about to yell to him, to tell him to make a run for the highway, when his right foot slipped into a hole and twisted violently.

Isaac heard popping sounds as he fell to the ground, and he cried out in agony and clutched his ankle, which emanated a searing pain.

No! No! No!

"What happened?" Katie asked breathlessly.

"My ankle. I can't move it. Take my brother and go to the highway!"

"I'm not leaving you," she responded.

Simon rushed to them at that moment.

"Isaac, it's coming!" he said.

The dark shape stepped out into the moonlight, walking deliberately towards them.

"Just go!" pleaded Isaac once more.

But Katie wasn't listening. She looked around frantically and picked up two stones. When the thing was close enough, she threw the first stone, which missed it entirely, and the second stone, thrown with all her strength, struck it squarely on the shoulder, but it kept moving until it towered over the three petrified children.