The Hollow Skull

by Christopher Pike

  “My boyfriend. My little sister.”

  “What are their names?”

  “Why?”

  “I need to know.”

  “Why?”

  His voice was strong. “You’re asking for my help. To give it to you I need to know all the facts. What are their names?”

  “No. First you have to give me something. What is the stuff in the mine?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you are aware that there is something weird in that mine?”

  He hesitated. “That mine has been under observation for some time.”

  “Yeah, since World War Two. Since some of the miners who worked there got infected and began to mutate and go nuts. Isn’t that true?”

  “I wasn’t working on this project at that time.”

  “Right, you don’t know its history. Listen, Professor, I can help you but you have to help me. Obviously you think there’s something to my story or you would have hung up on me within ten seconds.”

  “What do you want?” he asked.

  “Information. Support. Why did you leave that mine accessible if you knew it was potentially dangerous?”

  “It hasn’t been accessible for many years.”

  “Yes. But starting ten days ago you or your colleagues dropped rumors in town that the lifts were working once again. I think you wanted people to go down there.”

  “For what purpose?”

  “You tell me, Professor.”

  “I cannot answer such an accusation, it would only lend credence to it.”

  “But aren’t you concerned with what’s happening here?”

  “I am concerned.”

  Cass had to take a breath. “Good. Where are you?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “I want to meet you and discuss this matter further. I can come to you. You must be in southern California.”

  “No. That won’t be possible. I’ll come to you.”

  “To Madison?”

  “Yes.”

  “When?”

  “Soon,” he said.

  “That won’t work. My boyfriend and my sister and I are leaving here today.”

  “I would strongly advise against that. You say your town is in danger. You’re one of the only ones aware of that danger. I need you to remain in Madison and keep me informed of what’s going on.”

  “How stupid do you think I am? You work for the government. You have resources at your disposal that I could only dream of. I’m a teenage girl who just graduated from high school. What can I do that a dozen of your people couldn’t do a hundred times better?”

  “I cannot explain at this time. Nevertheless, it is important that you do not leave Madison.”

  “Why not?”

  “I told you, I’m not at liberty to answer that question.”

  Cass got a real creepy feeling. “I know how you guys work. If this town is infected with something and you and I know it is—you’ll try to have it cordoned off.”

  “Listen, I’ll be straight with you. That’s always a possibility where there’s an outbreak of illness. Any reasonable person wouldn’t want a virus or bacterial illness to spread.”

  She felt he was being anything but straight.

  She hardened her tone. “Any reasonable person wouldn’t allow an illness to start in the first place. You know what, I think you left those lifts on so that people could become infected so you could observe what happens to them. I think you’ve been using the population of Madison as guinea pigs. We’re just a big live-action test tube to you bozos in the military.”

  He was a long time in answering. “That’s an interesting opinion. But that doesn’t mean it’s true.”

  “Bull. I bet you have spies in town right now observing what’s going on. Or maybe you’ve lost your spies to the virus. Is that a problem you’re experiencing? Tell me, Professor, what does happen to people after they’ve been infected for some time?”

  Again he was slow to respond. “That’s not a question you want me to answer.”

  “Why not?”

  “Trust me.”

  She sneered. “I don’t trust you at all, Professor. I regret I even told you my name. But I’m not afraid of you or your cronies. Madison is in the middle of the desert. It won’t be an easy town to encircle. It will take your people time to isolate it, and by then my sister and boyfriend and I will be long gone.”

  He was brisk. “Don’t leave town. You’ll regret it.”

  “I doubt it. Would you have me go to the afternoon assembly and see if they turn me into a Pod Person?”

  “I’m not telling you to do anything in particular. I’m only asking that you act as our eyes and ears in town until we can sort this matter out.”

  “No thanks. I’m now even more convinced that you allowed this to occur. Your whole manner says so. Furthermore, I’m not sure if you want to stop this disease from spreading. In fact, I’m not even sure you know what you want. I think you’re just like children playing with forces you don’t understand.”

  The professor sighed. “I agree that there is much about that mine we don’t understand.”

  “Then why don’t you help me? Why can’t we work together?”

  “I am sorry, Cass, my hands are tied. I have probably said more than I should have.” He paused. “I’m sorry about your friend.”

  She had to close her eyes and bite her lip. “Yeah, so am I. Her name was Jill Leper and she was eighteen and beautiful. Put that in your records. But I guess her life is just the price of research these days.”

  “You honestly do not have the whole picture.”

  “Nor do you, from the sound of it. I have to go now. I have to find my sister and boyfriend.”

  “Can I give you a word of advice?”

  “I’m not going to stay in this loony bin an hour more.”

  “What I’m going to say is that you have entered into a situation where nothing is as it appears. Where no one is how he behaves. If you are clear of this contamination then you can trust only yourself.”

  She chuckled bitterly. “But you think I may be contaminated, don’t you?”

  “The thought has crossed my mind.”

  “Yeah. I’m sure it has. Goodbye, Professor.”

  “Good luck, Cass.”

  Cass hung up the phone as Fred came through the door.

  “I didn’t see her,” he said.

  “You didn’t look long.”

  Fred was defensive. “That’s because I don’t think she’s walking around town. I think she went back to your house.”

  “She wouldn’t go there again.”

  “You’re wrong, Cass. You keep thinking that she hates your father as much as you do. But leaving him is tearing her apart.”

  Cass was annoyed. “That’s not true.”

  “It is true and it’s obvious to everyone. Mary loves your father. I’m sure she’s at his house right now. To tell you the truth, I think she went and visited him last night. I know she went out, I saw her coming back in.”

  “Are you calling her a liar?”

  “No. I’m calling her a little girl who’s confused about who to trust. Now stop snapping at me just because I don’t agree with you. That’s no way to run a relationship. “

  Cass quieted. “I’m sorry, really. I’ll try to watch my mouth. You want me to call home?”

  “Yes. Then I want to get out of here.” He paused and rubbed at his thin mustache nervously. He could hardly stand still. “There were a lot of people out there staring at me. I don’t know what it means.”

  Cass reached for the phone. “I’m glad you could see for yourself.”

  He gestured to the card in her hand. “Did you call the person who can help?”

  “Yes. But it was a waste of time.”

  Fred tried to look at the card. “Who was it?”

  She put the card in her pocket. “Nobody.” She dialed her number. Her fath
er answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Dad? This is Cass. Is Mary there?”

  “Yes. Where are you?”

  “At Fred’s. We’re going to swing by in a few minutes to pick her up. Is that OK?”

  He considered. “You want to leave town today?”

  “Yes. We’re all ready. We just need to get Mary.”

  “You know there is an important assembly this afternoon at two?”

  Her guts turned to ice. She stammered. “Yes. I heard about it.”

  “Will you and Fred be attending?”

  “Yeah. Of course.”

  “But you just said that you were leaving town?”

  “I meant we were going to leave after the assembly.” She paused. “May I speak to Mary?”

  “She’s in the kitchen eating.”

  “Can you put her on for a second?”

  “I want her to finish her lunch.”

  “I see.” Cass chewed on her lower lip and tasted blood. “How are you feeling?”

  His voice had energy. “Great.”

  “I’m glad. Hey, why don’t you just take Mary to the assembly at two? We’ll meet you there. Does that sound like a plan?”

  “That sounds smart, Cass.”

  “Good. See you soon, Dad.”

  “Take care. I love you.”

  He never said that. Her eyes burned with hate.

  “I love you, too,” she said, and put down the phone.

  Fred stared at her. “Why did you tell him that?” he demanded. “I ain’t going to their goddamn assembly.”

  The chill had not left Cass. She had been a fool to let Mary walk around at a time like this. Her father had definitely changed in the last twenty-four hours. “I was trying to pacify him,” Cass muttered.

  “Why bother?”

  “Because I think he’s one of them. And don’t give me that doubting expression. You’re becoming more of a believer every hour.” She stopped. “Do you still have your dad’s revolver?”

  He was cautious. “Yeah. I have it packed.”

  “Do you have ammo? Not practice rounds but the real thing?”

  “Cass! We’re just going to meet Mary at the assembly. We’re not going to shoot your dad.”

  She held out a hand. “I want the gun and I want the bullets. I’m going to my dad’s to get Mary—you can come with me, but I decide what has to be done to get my sister back.”

  He shook his head. “You’ve only gone shooting with me once. You’re not experienced enough to carry a gun.”

  “And you don’t have the balls to use the gun!” she yelled.

  It was, to put it mildly, a tense moment. Fred finally shook his head and turned away. He was probably wondering what he was doing with her.

  “I’ll get it and load it,” he said. “You want to go now?”

  Cass simmered. “Right now.”

  14

  Cass insisted they park down the street from her old house. The area appeared to be deserted. The time was a little after twelve noon, two hours before the holy assembly of local Pod Politics. Cass checked that the revolver was loaded with six live rounds and stuffed it under her shirt. Some way to disguise it she looked like she was pregnant with a gun. As they walked up the street, she told Fred that they were not knocking on the front door.

  “We’re going up to the side of the house and peering in the windows,” she said. “When we see Mary, we rush in and take her, no asking, no trying to be polite.”

  “What if he tries to stop us?” Fred asked.

  “Then he’ll regret it.”

  “You can’t shoot him.”

  Cass gave Fred a hard look. “You just grab Mary, let me worry about him.”

  Fred was uneasy. “I’ll grab Mary and get her safely to the car. That’s all that matters, nothing else has to happen.”

  “You think I’m bringing a lifetime of resentment into this screwy situation? You’re wrong, take it from me. I’m not the only one who knows that there is bad stuff coming out of that uranium mine.”

  Fred eyed her. “The man you called knows?”

  Cass waved her hand. ”I’ll tell you about him later.”

  Quietly, they went up the side of the house and peeked inside. Mary was sitting at the kitchen table eating, of all things, a bowl of cornflakes. Father Strobe was not visible. There was a door from the outside that opened directly into the kitchen. Cass knew the lock on it was broken. Without speaking she gestured to the door and Fred nodded. Silently she conveyed that he should run in first and that she’d bring up the rear. The plan was OK with her boyfriend, but his face darkened when she pulled out the revolver.

  Fred opened the door and immediately gestured to Mary to keep quiet. The girl looked startled but didn’t speak. Cass might have overdone it by brandishing the weapon. When Mary saw the gun her right arm jerked reflexively over the tabletop and she knocked over a glass of juice. It fell to the floor and broke with a loud crash.

  “Christ,” Cass swore under her breath. “Grab her!”

  “We have to go now,” Fred whispered as he reached for Mary. But the moment he had her in his arms Daddy came through the door from the living room. Cass raised the revolver and her hand shook slightly.

  Daddy displayed disappointment, but he didn’t seem overly bothered by the artillery.

  “What are you doing?” he asked quietly.

  “We’re taking Mary,” Cass said in a cold voice. “We’re leaving, and we don’t want any trouble.”

  Mary moaned, but didn’t speak.

  Daddy nodded to the gun. “Where did you get that thing?”

  “It’s mine,” Fred said quietly. “We’re not going to use it. We’re just going to leave.”

  He glanced at Fred and his calm showed cracks. “You’re not taking my daughter.” He reached for her. “Give her to me.”

  Fred backed off and Cass jumped in front of him. She was now between them, as was the revolver. She could feel her sweat on the trigger. Mary wept softly.

  “Don’t push me,” Cass warned.

  Her father snorted. “What are you going to do? Shoot me?”

  Cass cocked the gun and listened to her heart roar in her ears. To her it sounded like a battlefield. Madison had become such a place, a place where only the strong could survive. Too bad for all of them that they didn’t know she would pay any price to stay free. Her voice dripped with bitterness.

  “I heard you bring up the assembly this afternoon. I know that that means you’re one of them.”

  “Cass,” Fred said. “Let’s just go.”

  Her father took a step forward. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Don’t!” Cass screamed. “One step more and I swear I’ll blow your goddamn head off! You won’t have Mary and you won’t have me!You won’t destroy us the way you destroyed Mom!”

  He paused, “Your mother died in an accident.”

  “Liar! You killed her!”

  Mary whined in pain. “Cass?” Fred pleaded.

  Daddy was angry. He held out a hand.

  “Give me that gun,” he demanded.

  She put pressure on the trigger. The roar in her head escalated to explosions. She knew he was one of them; she was sure of it.

  “I would kill before I gave up this gun,” she whispered.

  Maybe he didn’t believe her. Maybe he did and was still willing to face the consequences. In either case he lunged for the gun as she pulled the trigger.

  Many things happened at once. Cass saw her father take a bullet in the left shoulder close to the armpit. Dark red blossomed there and spit out gross matter—it was almost as if a portion of his body exploded outward instead of taking in the slug. Cass knew the bullet was gruesome—a .357 magnum hollow point that was supposed to spread out on impact. But because it was a high-powered round, the recoil made her arm jerk up and she wasn’t able to get off a second shot right away. As a result her father’s original lunge carried him toward her, and she couldn’t stop him. They co
llided painfully and went down hard. The back of Cass’s head whacked the floor and her vision momentarily went out of focus.

  Or maybe the whole world went out of focus. Cass heard Mary scream and Fred swear. But she couldn’t see them, only the mass of her father, as he labored on top of her, his warm blood seeping onto her shirt like diseased mucus from a mad biologist’s petri dish. He wasn’t fighting her, not directly; he seemed to be having trouble breathing. But she was aware that she still had the gun in her right hand. That she could bring it up if she so desired and put a bullet in his brain.

  It was while she considered the idea that something cold and heavy stepped on her hand. She wondered what it was but wasn’t given a chance to find out. It was as if a black silk sheet had been thrown over her face—she almost caught sight of it as it landed on the tip of her nose. There were more people in the kitchen than she had realized, but she didn’t have a chance to identify any of them. The black curtain smothered her. Again she heard Fred swear and Mary scream. Then she felt a massive blow and her brain ceased to function.

  15

  When she came to she was sitting on a hard concrete floor with her hands tied behind her back. Even before she opened her aching eyes she guessed where she was. The high school gym was the single largest building in Madison, and she was very familiar with it. She wondered if it was after two o’clock in the afternoon.

  She opened her eyes and confirmed that she was being held prisoner in the dark, cool basement of the gym. It was ironic because she had once helped clean it out her sophomore year as a punishment for toilet papering the principal’s house on Halloween. Now, of course, the man was probably wearing a permanent Halloween costume and was no doubt a master of tricks and treats. Cass was both saddened and relieved to see Fred unconscious beside her. He was bleeding from his forehead and mouth, someone must have hit him pretty hard—a dozen or so times. Her own nose and jaw ached—she felt as if she had been kicked in the head by a steel boot. The position of her arms made her back spasm.

  “Fred,” she whispered. “Fred!”

  He stirred and moaned. His hands were bound with rope behind his back, and his feet, like hers, were tied. Faint light filtered through the narrow windows pressed close to the ceiling. It appeared near to sunset but she couldn’t be sure.