Outcasts

by Craig MacLachlan

  “We only wanted to say hello. You didn’t have to be so rude.” Samantha clicked her tongue. “Let’s go.”

  Skylar rested her hand on Haley’s head. Haley sat up and flashed a sheepish smile.

  “You’re okay,” Skylar let out a deep sigh.

  Skylar shifted gears with purpose as she drove through town. The mountains were the last place she wanted to go, but there was no other choice.

  Skylar broke the silence. “That boy sure was cute.”

  “Trevor?” Haley tightened her grip on the closed book.

  “Yes, Trevor.”

  “I could eat him all up and pick his bones clean,” Haley licked her lips.

  “Hilarious. We can call this our after-school program. What do you think?”

  “I only care that it works,” Haley opened her book. “How about calling it detention?”

  Skylar shook her head. “Read your book, traitor.”

  “At least I can read,” Haley waved the book near Skylar’s face.

  “At least I can drive.” She jiggled the keychain hanging from the ignition.

  At the edge of town, they arrived at a storage complex. Driving inside to unit eleven, Skylar switched her Camaro for an older truck, her first vehicle. She’d been allowed to keep it as a backup.

  Gunning the accelerator, the tires squealed on the pavement and Skylar drove off toward the nearby mountains.

  “Did you get any feelings today you’ve never felt before?”

  Not bothering to look up, Haley remained buried in her book. “I still don’t want to be there. It’s a bad idea. I hate it.”

  “I meant feelings of—I don’t know—I got them when I looked at boys today.”

  “You mean Trevor, right?”

  “Uhm, yeah, right,” Skylar answered as she turned the truck onto a dirt road.

  She followed it for several miles before turning onto a road overgrown road with brush. A short distance later, she turned down a steep road leading to the valley below. Reaching the bottom, Skylar parked the truck in front of a large pine tree blocking the road.

  Haley wasn’t reading anymore but looked to be in deep thought.

  “What’s up?”

  “I feel at home out here.”

  “What about your family?”

  Haley shrugged. “They’re alright, I guess. But you know who my true family is.”

  Skylar rested a hand on Haley’s shoulder. “I’m going to find out more about this Trevor dude, and you’re going to help me. It’ll be fun.”

  Haley sighed, “If I have to, I guess.”

  They exited the truck, the sound of rushing water in the distance. They walked along a nearly hidden trail and came to a creek, and followed it upstream.

  The smells of nature caused Skylar to shiver. The sounds of animals made her lick her lips. The tranquility caused a boil of raw emotions. She dug her nails into her palms to divert her attention. One thing for certain was that every trip to the mountains allowed Skylar to more deeply suppress and control the beast within her.

  She looked back to see Haley sipping water from the creek.

  “That’s going to make you sick one of these days.”

  “Oh well,” Haley said and took another drink.

  Skylar sighed and they continued on. “How can you still want that dirty, uncivilized way of life?” She askedas they arrived at the creek crossing.

  “How can you not?” Haley hopscotched to the other side of the creek. Skylar followed, more careful with her footing.

  “The mountains are no longer my home, Haley.”

  The trail led them away deeper into the forest.

  Haley sniffed the air like a bloodhound. “She’s frustrated, I can tell.”

  “I understand, but she’s not ready yet.”

  “It’s taking so long, Skye.”

  “We’re not professionals remember.”

  The trail ended and merged into a small clearing with a weathered log cabin in the center. The roof was covered in moss and the cabin had no windows. A padlock secured the door.

  Using a set of keys from her pocket, Skylar removed the lock. Opening the door on creaking hinges, they walked inside. A lone candle on a lopsided table dimly lit the darkness and Skylar went to. On the table were opened and unopened cans of food, water bottles and silverware.

  In front of Skylar was the reason they were both here.

  Sitting cross-legged on the floor facing the rear of the cabin was a girl, her long blonde hair stained with streaks of blood. The hair covered her body, forming a soft mound on the wooden floor. A chain led from a shackle around the girl’s bruised and red chaffed ankle, snaking away into the darkness of the cabin.

  Furry, disgusting remains of a small animal sat next to the girl. The smell that reached Skylar was enticing, like the blood letter had been.

  “How are my girls?” asked their pack leader Morgan Brood.

  Chapter Three

  Morgan picked up the chain and dropped it.

  Skylar stepped closer, looking at the dead carcass on the floor. “I thought we agreed—no wild meals.”

  Morgan shrugged her shoulders, “It’s your favorite. I saved the rest for you.”

  “No thanks. That’s not us anymore, you know that. How did you get it?” Skylar asked, morphing her urge to devour the remains to sadness for the creature.

  Morgan raised her arms, covered in a mix of dirt and blood, demonstrating breaking the animal’s neck.

  “Haley and I made sure this place was sealed.” Morgan licked her fingers, squinting. “I’ll find where it got in.”

  “He saved us from them,” Haley chimed in.

  Morgan swiveled on the creaky floorboards and faced Skylar and Haley. Her hair barely covered her nakedness and her face was remarkably clean compared to the rest of her body.

  “Who saved you?” She asked, looking only to Skylar.

  “Do you have to always be naked?” Skylar asked.

  “It’s natural.”

  “You need to start wearing the clothes I brought for you.”

  “Cool down—wait, its chill down, right?”

  “Chill out,” Haley responded, standing between them. “They were mean. I hated them!”

  “Did they harm you?” Morgan’s eyes narrowed, and Skylar needed to take control.

  “They called me a dirty pig,” Haley said somberly.

  “Both of us, Haley.”

  Haley sat next to Skylar, leaned forward and reached for the carcass. Skylar slapped her arm and she withdrew it.

  Morgan immediately petted Haley’s leg, undermining Skylar’s authority.

  “There, there.” Morgan rubbed Haley’s hands in her own. “Nobody upsets my girls.” Morgan stretched her leg out and rested her locked ankle at Skylar’s feet.

  “Look, it was nothing. I took care of it, and yes, Trevor stepped in to help.” Skylar’s face warmed at the mention of the boy.

  Morgan eyed her with both suspicion and curiosity.

  “There’s something different about you, Skylar. You’re in heat. Shut it off.” Morgan sniffed the air.

  But Skylar didn’t have to do what she said anymore. Skylar paused, taking a few breaths.

  “Have you been studying? We want you with us as much as you want to be.” Skylar asked.

  “I can’t wait to join my girls,” Morgan said.

  “Me either!” Haley squealed with delight.

  “We will demand respect.”

  “I’m up for that. Just as long as we keep our secret safe.” Skylar wanted to become popular like other teenage cliques.

  “Sure, Skye,” Morgan replied so that Skylar couldn’t tell if she agreed or not.

  “Please keep trying for me,” Haley paused. “You’re learning so fast.”

  Morgan shook her left leg attached to the shackle.

  “You’re not a prisoner,” Skylar said.

  Morgan let out an almost inaudible growl.

  Morgan still had some ways to go, but it was
like her brain had flipped a switch. Somehow, she was grasping things quicker than ever. Whatever the reason, it only made Skylar push Morgan that much harder.

  “What’s on my lesson plan for today girls?” Morgan asked.

  There had been so many lessons since they had captured Morgan. Suffering at the hands of strangers like they had wasn’t an option, so they started rehabilitating her themselves. Between the two of them, they assumed they were experienced enough to do it. At times Skylar became so frustrated she wanted to give up. But both she and Haley held out hope even at the grimmest and most violent of times.

  Skylar bent to inspect the metal cuff locked on Morgan’s ankle. The dead chipmunk smelled worse near the floor. Skylar kept her feral instincts subdued, but the rotting odor sickened her. Reaching for the table, she took some used napkins and covered the carcass.

  “How did our little meal sneak in?” Morgan asked, as if it were a riddle.

  Grabbing the cold chain, Skylar followed it to the back of the cabin. It was dark, but she felt where it was attached to a hook in the wall. It was secured and in place. She returned to her friends and sat in a chair. The blood-written letter flashed in her mind. Skylar would tell Morgan and Haley about it some other time, but not now.

  Maybe she never would.

  “Sorry,” she told Morgan.

  “I would not trust I either,” Morgan said, Haley snickered and so did Skylar. “What?”

  “Me, I wouldn’t trust—”

  “Me either,” Morgan interrupted. “Got it. Tell me more about this school.”

  “Haley can start filling you in,” Skylar said.

  She headed outside, walking around the cabin.

  Skylar inspected every nook and cranny but found no way for the chipmunk to have snuck inside. The only other option was the roof. Heading back inside, Haley was demonstrating how Skylar had nearly run over Trevor.

  Going to a drawer, she retrieved a flashlight and turned it on. The counter was stacked with educational material, rows of food, and bottled water, filling the space.

  Skylar checked the ceiling in the first half of the cabin and saw no way in or out. Passing by Morgan and Haley, the light illuminated the mess Morgan made on a daily basis. The floor was littered with food and debris and she still insisted on eating with her fingers.

  “You sure you don’t want a mattress Morgan?” Skylar asked looking at the bed made of brush.

  At least Morgan was using the bedding supplies and sleeping bag.

  “I have nature’s mattress.”

  Surveying the ceiling and corners in the back half of the cabin, Skylar again found nothing. Stumped, she returned to her chair and sat.

  Morgan slid onto her stomach and nudged the chipmunk forward with her nose, causing it to touch Skylar’s shoes. Their eyes met and Skylar saw the wildness in Morgan’s stare.

  “Skye? Morgan?”

  Skylar couldn’t break her connection with Morgan to answer. She didn’t dare twitch a muscle—she’d already learned from that mistake on several occasions.

  And then Morgan slithered backward, pushing herself along with her hands.

  Skylar was barely able to see Haley’s wide-open mouth. As Morgan crept into the darkness, she stopped, and Skylar could only see the thin, sideways grin on Morgan’s lips. Skylar shivered as Morgan melted into the nothingness beyond the light.

  Skylar grabbed Haley by the wrist, against her will, and dragged her from the cabin.

  Chapter Four

  With Morgan confined in the cabin and Haley home, Skylar sandwiched the blood-letter beneath her mattress. Falling onto the bed, she looked at the ceiling. She pointed a finger and tried to connect the white beads of paint into comforting images. Instead, all she saw were the words from the blood-letter and a dead chipmunk.

  Mentally exhausted, Skylar’s eyes fluttered, her eyes rolling back, and everything became a swirl of confusion.

  With a start, Skylar opened her eyes to a room that was no longer her bedroom.

  She was in her room at the rehabilitation facility, but, to her, it was a padded cell, except for the white beaded ceiling high above. Pictures formed of foliage and animals from the forest, as well as her pack members.

  Sitting up, Skylar looked about the plain room, then to her white clothing. She didn’t want to be here—she wasn’t supposed to be here. She was free and in high school. Jumping from the bed, Skylar ran to the door with its small round window.

  Seeing only a door across the hallway, she punched the window, but it was shatterproof. Her knuckles pulsed with pain, swelling. Her breathing became labored. Sweat streamed down her face and moistened her hair.

  Skylar bolted for a padded wall. She ripped at it with her fingernails, but nothing happened. Her fingers tinted with crusted blood.

  Skylar screamed, her ears ringing. Everything she had learned, as well as her new promising life—gone. Nothing was left but an untamed animal.

  The door to her cell opened. She swung her head to see two muscular men in white holding needles rushed. Her body cooled, hair rose on her arms and Skylar bounded to a far corner, cowering in fear.

  A woman she recognized stood in the doorway, watching. Skylar tried to speak, to tell her she didn’t belong here, but instead, she only grunted.

  Strong hands subdued Skylar and she lost focus. Her head tilted sideways, held in place despite her struggle. A needle pushed against her neck. She heard and felt a pop when the needle broke through. Pain rippled as liquid seared the nerves and muscles and tendons in her neck . . .

  Skylar sat up in bed, her mouth open in a silent scream. She covered her face and started to cry. No matter how often Skylar had nightmares of her past, they never got easier.

  Turning on the lamp, she looked into the mirror. Skylar stretched her face—she was more tired than her reflection showed. The envelope containing the blood-letter sat on the desk. She wanted to read it but refused to expose herself to the full aroma of chipmunk.

  Her inner voices argued. One told her to burn the letter and to forget it ever existed. The other tried to convince her to keep it and uncover whoever had written it.

  Morgan wrote the letter.

  Somehow, someway, Morgan had found a way to escape and place it under the wiper of Skylar’s car. Morgan’s tempting use of a chipmunk to lure her back to the wilderness became blatantly obvious.

  But it wasn’t going to work.

  Several factors weren’t adding up, such as the fact Morgan didn’t have a red pen or any envelopes. Even more confusing was how Morgan would know where she lived.

  Returning to the bed, she placed the letter back between the mattresses.

  “Breakfast!”

  “Coming,” returning to the bed, she placed the letter back between the mattresses.

  Skylar headed downstairs and into the kitchen where her mom was cooking potato cakes.

  “Morning, honey. Your dad left early. Ready for another big day?”

  “I guess,” Skylar took an apple from a bowl on the table, bit into it and liquid sugar filled her mouth.

  “You look tired. Maybe you should stay home.”

  “Nah, I’m good. I’m fitting in,” Skylar said taking a plate from the counter and sticking it in front of her mom, “For the road?”

  “Sit with me?” Her mom asked.

  “I’m late and I need to get Haley.” She pushed a button on her keychain, and a series of beeps sounded from outside.

  “Fine,” her mom sighed, depositing two potato cakes onto the plate.

  “Thanks.” Skylar scurried to the fridge and drenched the cakes with ranch dressing.

  “I love you, Skylar.” Her mom shook her head and blew a kiss.

  “Love you.”

  Making her way down the cobblestone path, she stopped in mid-bite, staring at the white Camaro as a figure materialized and slipped an envelope under the wiper. The figure’s face was smooth and blank. Stepping forward, the figure evaporated along with the letter.

&nbs
p; Spitting the chunk of apple onto the yard and cursing her imagination she climbed into the car. Setting the apple on the dash, she eyed the delicious breakfast on the plate.

  Gym was one of the classes Skylar and Haley shared with Samantha, along with some of her friends. Chatter echoed inside the large room as they prepared to play dodge-ball. Standing next to Haley—who didn’t appear ready—Skylar glared at Samantha who returned the favor.

  Revved from two espressos Skylar prepared to throttle Samantha and cared about nothing else. The teacher who blew the whistle.

  Skylar arrived at the center before anyone else. She snatched two balls and backed off, searching for her target, but she couldn’t spot Samantha in the sea of students.

  Searching and dodging, Skylar finally spotted Samantha hiding behind other students, following their movements so she wouldn’t get hit.

  Haley still hadn’t moved, so Skylar stood in front of her while balls whizzed past. Students were being knocked out quickly, and the boys were rapidly becoming the only players left.

  “Haley, help me,” Skylar asked, but Haley didn’t respond.

  Skylar threw a ball with amazing accuracy and eliminated a boy. Skylar looked at her hands in disbelief. She then put out two girls and grabbed more balls. Systematically, she took out the rest of the students Samantha had been using as her shield.

  Only Skylar and Haley remained on their team, Samantha the lone survivor on hers.

  “You’d better protect that pretty face of yours,” Skylar shouted.

  Students were cheering—not for them, but for Samantha. It didn’t matter. In a moment, their cheers were going to end.

  “I’m so sorry about yesterday. Can we start over?” Samantha asked as she approached.

  “Sure?” Skylar cautiously approached the center of the court.

  They stood face to face, looking each other over. The students began stomping on the bleachers.

  “I was wrong to judge you and your friend,” Samantha reached out her hand. “Accept my apology?” The noise got louder.

  The teacher blew her whistle. “Stop this nonsense right now!”