Taoree: Taoree Trilogy #1

by Michele Notaro

  Chapter Three

  The screams were horrible. Each person would scream like they were dying for about ninety seconds before they started yelling words in a different language. But the worst part of it was the fact that every single person was yelling the same thing. They were joining in, like a chorus of unintelligible words. Scream your head off, then chant with the rest. More and more were joining in.

  The four of us jumped up with our bags and moved toward the fence, away from the crazy crowd. I put the book bag over my shoulder and Colt bent down and snatched up the blanket, pulling it and rolling it in a ball.

  “What do we do?” I asked as I searched up and down the fence for a gate or a way out.

  Colt took charge. “We walk along the fence until we get to the exit, then we get the fuck away from here.”

  I could only nod. When he started walking and I didn’t follow, he came back and grabbed my hand. I was too distracted to notice how good it felt because there were so many people losing their minds right in front of me. When Colt started pulling me away, I reached back and grabbed Cal’s hand to pull him along with us. Cal grabbed Nolan too, and Colt started walking us back toward the fairground entrance.

  A lot of people were walking in the same direction as us. A few times, I saw someone who had a screaming family member try to tug them and get them to calm down. People were crying and freaking out everywhere I looked. I felt terrible for everyone I saw.

  There were others trying to escape the chaos who kept pushing through us and running us over, but Colt never let my hand slip out of his. Cal and I lost our grip on each other one time and I had to pull Colt to a stop to wait for Cal and Nolan to catch up. So many people had gotten between us, I was afraid we were separated for good, but luckily, Cal was able to reach us. We held on tighter after that. The crazy chorus was getting louder and louder. New screams were being added every other second.

  By the time we made it through the front gates, not only had the police shown up, but the military was there, too. When we walked past a Hummer, I saw the driver step out and I was surprised to see that he was a Taoree specialist. All military that dealt with the aliens had a big black patch with a gold T in the middle. Not very original, but better than an alien face on it or something.

  Colt pulled us over to his SUV, unlocked it and helped each of us get in before sitting in the driver’s seat. When he shut the car door, locked it and turned it on, he twisted to face us. “Is everybody okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Cal responded.

  I heard a quiet, “Yes,” from Nol.

  Colt prompted with a worried glance, “Jeremy, you okay?”

  I nodded and finally found my voice, “Yeah, are you?”

  He smiled sadly at me. “I’m fine, but we’re gonna be stuck here for a while.” He nodded toward the windshield.

  I looked around and saw that there were hundreds of people just pouring out of the fairgrounds. And he was right, we would be stuck here for a while because there was no way for him to drive through all the people walking around. But that was okay because being in the car felt a little safer. Though I knew all four of us were still freaking the fuck out.

  I leaned over and turned on the radio to try and block out the crazy. Every station had news going on about the same exact thing happening all over the country. Thousands upon thousands of people were screaming and chanting the same fucking thing, over and over, all at the same time, like they were mind-controlled or some shit.

  After listening to the news reports for a few more minutes, I was starting to shake a little. I tried putting my hands between my knees to hide it, but Colt must’ve noticed because he grabbed a CD and put it in, then reached over and squeezed my hands with one of his. He left his hand there and I let him because it was grounding me. I squeezed his hand back and held on tight.

  A little while later when the crowd started to thin some, Colt said, “I think we should drive home tonight.”

  “Well, I don’t know about you, but I didn’t want to sleep in the SUV, big brother,” Cal said sarcastically.

  “I mean, I think we should drive all the way home to Drumville tonight,” Colt said just as sarcastically back. He wanted to go home, to our parents and siblings.

  “That’s a good idea. We should leave as soon as possible, make sure everyone back home is okay,” I agreed. There were only three more days of school before the break anyway. That was, if school even opened after this. “Actually, we should probably call them.”

  I let go of Colt’s hand with one of mine, keeping one of my hands in his, and I reached into my pocket to pull out my cell, only to discover there was no signal. I tried calling anyway, but it wouldn’t go through. “No signal,” I announced to the others.

  “Same here,” Cal said.

  “Yeah, nothing,” Nol added.

  I looked at Colt and he shook his head. Well, shit. I squeezed Colt’s hand a little tighter.

  “Okay, okay,” Nolan breathed out, “I think we should run back to our dorms and pack up as much as we can. We don’t know how long before we’ll be able to come back.”

  I looked over at Colt who was worrying his bottom lip again. “What do you think?”

  He looked at me with his beautiful eyes filled with concern. “I don’t think we should waste any more time going back, but Nolan has a point. Maybe we should stop and get our stuff. It could be a long time before we make it back there.”

  I looked out at the parking lot, still filled with people, though a few cars were finally moving at a snail’s pace, then I looked back at Colt. “Do you think you can start driving now? Maybe we can see how the roads are before we decide. We have to drive past the college anyway, right?”

  “Yeah, we do.” He gave my hand one last squeeze before letting go and putting the SUV into drive. With a heavy sigh, he said, “Let’s do this.”

  It was slow going. It took a half hour just to get out of the parking lot, and the traffic wasn’t moving any faster out on the road. We passed several cars that were abandoned on the side of the road and some that were abandoned right in the middle, causing traffic to go even slower. It ended up taking us over three hours to get close to the college; it was horrible.

  Colt randomly slowed down about a block away from the Taoree camp. When he put the car in park, he turned around to face us all and said, “I know this wasn’t the plan, but this is my meeting place for my friend. If he doesn’t show up in an hour, it means he wasn’t able to… get away and we’ll leave, but I have to try.”

  I eyed him for a moment, then asked, “Who’s this friend? Is it the same one you met with last night?”

  “Yes. You don’t know him,” he said, turning back to the front and avoiding eye contact.

  “How would you know? If he lives around here, I might know him,” I said.

  “You don’t know him, Jeremy,” he said with finality. I narrowed my eyes at him, but didn’t say anything else because I could be meeting the guy soon, anyway.

  But the guy never showed up. We waited for over an hour, and I could tell that Colt was worried and irritated. He kept fidgeting in his seat and obsessively checking all his mirrors. We had been hearing people screaming in the distance, but luckily there didn’t seem to be any crazies nearby.

  “Is this guy your boyfriend?” I finally asked the question that had been burning in my mind as we sat there.

  He finally looked at me with huge wide eyes. “No! I never would’ve… I mean… you and…” He closed his eyes and took a breath before looking at me. “I like you, Jeremy, and I never would’ve been flirting with you if I was dating someone else.”

  Cal was snickering behind us.

  “Oh,” was all I could say at his blatant honesty. I cleared my throat. “Um… right, then.” I had to turn to look out the windshield, and away from his piercing gaze.

  Without looking at him, I took a deep breath, then reached across the center console and gripped his hand, lacing our fingers together and giving them a sq
ueeze. When he squeezed back, I looked at him and found him smiling hugely at me. I smiled back and sent him a wink. Then we sat there for another half hour, holding hands and waiting for some mystery person.

  I spoke up when I knew we had to make a decision, “I think we should run inside and get whatever we can, including food. If that was any indication, I’m thinking it could take an entire day to get home.”

  Colt nodded. “I think you’re right. We need to get some changes of clothes, food, and any other supplies for a long trip.”

  When Cal and Nolan agreed, Colt turned into campus. It was in complete chaos. There were people running around all over, a ton of trash floating around the grounds, and bikes just abandoned on the sidewalks. There were a few people chanting in the middle of the square and it seemed like every student on campus was outside. It was like nothing I’d ever seen.

  Colt suggested, “I think we should stick together. We’ll run into my dorm first since it’s closest, then hit up your guys’,” he pointed back at Cal and Nolan, “then go to Jeremy’s.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Cal said.

  Colt got as close as he could to his dorm without running anyone over. He put the SUV in park, we got out, and he locked the doors before leading the way to his dorm. We walked quickly, avoiding as many people as we could, and made our way to the front door. Once inside, we took the stairs to the third floor and luckily didn’t run into any trouble. Everyone else wanted to avoid us just as much as we did them. I have to say, in all of my dreams, this was not the way I pictured seeing Colt’s room for the first time.

  He opened his door and ushered us inside. His room was immaculate; the beds were made, his desk was neat—as in every single sheet of paper, pens, pencils, and books were piled up in an orderly fashion— and there wasn’t one single thing on the floor. When I looked at his bookshelf and saw that his books were in alphabetical order, I said, “Wow. OCD much?”

  He glanced at me from the floor where he was pulling something out from under the bed and shrugged. “Maybe a little.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me,” I mumbled, “because you’ve always been so perfect at… everything.”

  “Is that how you see me?” he asked, looking surprised and maybe offended.

  I shrugged. “You were always good at school, good at sports… I dunno.” I shrugged again, wishing the conversation would end.

  “Well, I’m not,” he said angrily while throwing clothes and bathroom items into the suitcase. I opened my mouth to speak, but he kept talking, “And just for the record, I had to work for those things. I studied and practiced all the time.”

  “Hey.” I tentatively reached out and put my hand on his shoulder, making him freeze. “I know you did. I’m sorry. I… I think you’re a really great guy, Colt.”

  He blushed a little and whispered, “You do?”

  I nodded and smiled. “I do.”

  He finally smiled a little when he whispered, “Well, I think you’re great, too.” He took a step closer to me and I thought he might kiss me. His eyes were glowing as he put his hand on my hip and stepped even closer.

  “Guys!” We jumped apart. Cal kept talking, “Please wait until we’re no longer in the room.”

  Colt and I smiled at each other and a small laugh burst out of me. I looked at Cal and lifted one shoulder in apology. “Sorry, forgot you were there.”

  “Gee, thanks,” he said with a roll of his eyes before throwing one of Colt’s shirts at me.

  Just then we heard someone screaming—it sounded like it was coming from the hallway. We all froze and looked at each other.

  Colt cleared his throat. “Okay, let’s get the rest of my shit and get out of here.” He started pointing out where different things were so we could help him. “Jeremy, grab my backpack,” he pointed to it hanging on the back of his desk chair, “and fill it with the snacks I have in there,” he pointed to a door on his desk.

  I opened it and was surprised to see two shelves full of food. He had some chips, pretzels, a jar of peanut butter, and even a loaf of bread, among a few other things. When I held up the peanut butter and bread and raised an eyebrow in question at him, he shrugged and said, “Sometimes I get hungry in the middle of the night.” I shook my head before dropping it in the bag.

  Once everything was packed up, Colt took the lead again and cracked the door open, peeking out into the hall before turning back to us. “There’s a crazy at the end of the hallway,” he motioned—luckily—to the opposite end of where we needed to go. “So let’s just go quickly and quietly.” We all nodded, so he said, “Okay, go.” Then he opened the door and walked quickly down the hall with me right behind him.

  I couldn’t help but glance at the ‘crazy’ on my way out the door, though. It was a student; a young guy, probably in his twenties, wearing plaid pajama pants and a faded tee. He had dark, short hair, and when I squinted, I swore it looked like his eyes were clouded over—foggy—but I couldn’t be sure because I was too far away. The guy was just standing there, chanting in that weird language.

  I suppressed a shudder and turned away, following Colt down the hallway. We made it down the stairwell and out the front door without incident and as soon as we were outside, we all ran straight to the SUV, past all the other students running to and from the building. Colt threw his suitcase and backpack in the trunk.

  Once all the doors were shut, Colt hit the lock button, started the car, and we wordlessly made our way to Cal and Nolan’s building. Once there, we got out and this time, Cal led the way with Nolan behind him. I walked next to Colt in the back, but again, we were all quiet as we quickly went into the building.

  Cal’s room was on the second floor and Nolan’s on the fifth. I suggested splitting up, but Colt was having none of it, so we all went to Cal’s room first. We collected his clothes—his room was far messier than Colt’s, there were clothes and god only knew what all over the floor—and what few snacks he had, then went back to the stairwell to make our way upstairs.

  When Nolan opened the door to his floor, he stopped cold, making me bump into Cal who was in front of me. Nolan slowly closed the door, turned back to us and whispered harshly with wide, terrified eyes, “There’s about seven crazies in the hallway.”

  I got a sudden chill, but whispered back, “They just chant, right? So we should be able to get past them and get your stuff.”

  “It’s not worth it,” he whisper-yelled.

  I knew that wasn’t true, so I calmly said, “Nolan, I know you have your grandfather’s watch in your room. We need to go get it.”

  Nolan looked back at the door for a moment before looking back at me. “I don’t think I can.”

  “Fine,” I said, “then I’ll go. It’ll only take a minute, give me your key.” I started walking past Cal, holding my hand out to Nolan.

  I was stopped when a hand landed on my shoulder. “You’re not going by yourself.”

  I turned back to Colt, who left his hand there, and informed him, “I’m going to get his grandfather’s watch, whether you like it or not.” I knew how important that thing was to my friend and I wasn’t about to let fear stop us from getting it. Honestly, I was terrified too, but I was also determined.

  “Then I’m coming with you,” Colt told me.

  I looked into his eyes and when I saw the worry there, I relented, “Fine, let’s go.”

  Nolan asked, “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, Nol, gimme your key,” I answered. He placed the key in my hand.

  “You want me to come, too?” Cal asked.

  “No, stay with Nolan,” Colt answered for me. I was gonna say the same thing.

  We shuffled around in the stairwell so Colt and I could get to the door, then I opened the door and immediately regretted volunteering. Nolan was right, there were at least seven crazies in the hallway and one of them was only about five feet from where I was standing. It was a woman with blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. When I looked at her eyes, my theory was confi
rmed—they were clouded over, looking almost pure white. It was probably the creepiest thing I’d ever seen.

  I noticed a man about ten feet farther down, and when I saw his white eyes, I decided not to look at them anymore. I stepped into the hallway and scooted against the wall to get as far away from the crazy woman as I could. I kept my back against the wall and slid down with Colt right next to me, doing the same thing. Neither of us talked as we slowly made our way through them. At one point, we had to walk across the hall to the other wall to get around another crazy, but that put us only a few feet from Nolan’s dorm.

  Luckily, I’d been to his dorm a million times, so I had no trouble finding it and using the key to open the door. I jumped about ten feet in the air when I stepped into his room and saw a large figure standing in the middle.

  “Holy shit,” I exclaimed. “You scared the fuck out of me,” I told Devon, Nolan’s roommate.

  “I scared you! You gave me a heart attack, Jeremy,” Devon claimed. He was a fellow freshman with sun-blond hair, grey eyes, and tanned skin. He reminded me of a surfer. “What are you doing here? Nolan’s not here.”

  “I know,” I said as Colt came in and shut the door. “He’s in the stairwell. We came to get some of his stuff. We’re heading back home.” I walked over to Nolan’s desk, grabbed his backpack and emptied out his books.

  He nodded. “Who are you?” he asked Colt.

  “Oh sorry, that’s Colt. Colt, meet Devon,” I said as I found Nolan’s grandfather’s watch on the desk and placed it in a front pocket of the backpack.

  “Hey,” Colt said, “Where’re Nol’s clothes?” Oh, I see how it is, he’s Nol, but I’m still Jeremy.

  Devon pointed Colt in the right direction and asked, “How did you get past those… people out there?”

  “We sorta just walked around them. They just stood there, chanting,” I answered as I searched Nolan’s drawers for anything useful. I found a few candy bars and a flashlight. Colt came over and stuffed some clothes into the bag, so I held up the flashlight to him and he nodded, so I threw it in, too.