Tommy Nightmare (Jenny Pox #2) (5 page)

A swirl of images flashed across her brain.
How she'd run into the crowd, spreading the pox everywhere,
watching people she'd known all her life die horribly, as spasms
twisted their bodies and sores ruptured open all over them. Chasing
them down, even when they’d given up trying to lynch her and
started running for their lives.

She ran to the bathroom and puked. She and
Seth had eaten everything in her house when they got home—frozen
pizza, canned peas—and now whatever her body hadn't absorbed came
burbling up.

Jenny sat on the worn tile floor and leaned
her head against the cabinet door under the sink.

There was one rule, one absolute law that her
father had taught her since she was little:
never touch
people
. Because when she touched people, they got sick. And it
didn't take long for them to die.

Seth was lucky. He was the opposite—when he
touched people, he healed them. He'd even brought Jenny back from
the dead. He didn't have to avoid people like she did, or obsess
over how much of his skin was exposed where other people could
touch it. He couldn't just flip out and slaughter a whole crowd of
people.

All those people
, Jenny thought. She
could see their faces, from Mayor Winder and Coach Humbee and even
people like Shannon McNare, who weren't really so bad, just caught
in Ashleigh's spell.

Jenny stood on shaking legs. The weight of
what she'd done pressed down on her like a million tons of
darkness. There was no fixing this, no going back and undoing the
damage.

She went back to her room and sat on the edge
of the bed.

“What's happening?” Seth asked through a
yawn. “Where are we?”

“My room.”

“Oh.” Seth sat up. “Don't let your dad catch
me here.”

“Who cares?”

“He might.”

“Seth!” Jenny said. “I think we have bigger
problems.”

“Like what?”

“Like I'm a mass murderer! All those
people.”

“So? They tried to kill us first. They
did
kill us.” Seth sat up and stretched. “What's for
breakfast?”

“Are you kidding?” Jenny put her face in her
hands. “I can't believe I...I...” She started crying. Seth hugged
her, but she stiffened against him. “You don't know what it feels
like.”

“No, you're right,” he said. “But remember
what we saw when we were dead? This isn't anything compared to the
past—”

“Oh, right. I was a mass murderer in hundreds
of other lives, too. Thanks for reminding me.” Jenny had a few
broken memories of the time between when she'd been dead, before
Seth brought her back with his healing power. She'd seen herself
spreading plagues in ancient times, in medieval times, usually in
the service of some king or emperor. “We're evil, Seth. I am,
anyway.”

“You're not evil. You were defending
yourself.”

“Maybe at first,” Jenny said. “But then
something came over me. All the evil inside came out. I wouldn't
let anyone escape. It's like I was a different person. But that's
who I really am, isn’t it? A demon.”

“That's a pretty strong word—”

“I should die for what I did,” Jenny said. “I
wish I could infect myself with Jenny pox.”

“Don't do that.” He kissed her cheek. “I love
you, Jenny. We're not what we used to be. We're more human. We're
learning, lifetime by lifetime—”

Jenny pulled away from him. “It's so easy for
you. You can do so many good things with the power you have. I can
only hurt people. And kill them. Lots and lots of them.”

Seth didn't have anything to say to that.
After a while, he asked, “Is your dad home?”

“He must still be at June's house.” Jenny
covered her eyes. “He's going to hate me. He spent his whole life
teaching me not to hurt anyone, and what good did that do? He
should have killed me when I was born.” Jenny looked at the picture
of her mother on the wall—young, cheerful, with Jenny's blue eyes.
She had died at Jenny’s birth, the first victim of the Jenny pox.
This lifetime, anyway.

“We'll explain what happened,” Seth said.
“He’ll understand.”

“I’m not sure about that.” Jenny took a deep
breath. “Now what the hell do I do? Turn myself in to the
police?”

“You killed the police.”

Jenny slapped her palm against her face and
groaned. Seth sang a verse of “I Shot the Sheriff,” until she
punched him.

“You can’t turn yourself in. Nobody will
believe you, anyway,” he said.

“But I can show them.” Jenny opened her left
hand. With a thought, she summoned boils and blisters to the
surface of her palm.

“Then they'll lock you up,” Seth said. “Or
kill you.”

“Which is exactly what I deserve.”

“No, Jenny!” He touched her hand, and all the
boils and blisters healed. “You can't.”

“Give me one reason.”

“Because I don't want to live without
you.”

Jenny leaned her head against his shoulder.
“I don’t want to live without you either, Seth. But what am I
supposed to do? Just keep going like it never happened?”

Seth scratched his head. His strawberry blond
hair jutted out everywhere, in stiff clumps. “Well,” he said. “When
was the last time you fed Rocky?”

“Rocky!” Jenny jumped up. Seth followed her
to the kitchen and lifted the big bag of dry kibble.

Outside, Rocky was knocking his empty clay
bowl around the yard. The shaggy bluetick mix raised his head and
wagged his tail when Jenny stepped out the door. He let out a
throaty bay and kicked his bowl again for emphasis.

Seth carried the bowl back into the shed,
placed it next to Rocky's dog house, and filled it with food. Rocky
watched him from several feet away. He looked from Seth to the
food, and then took a few cautious steps to the bowl.

Seth reached down to pet his head, and Rocky
scurried back.

Seth squatted in the dirt.

“Come on, boy,” he said. “Come on.”

Rocky took a few more cautious steps toward
Seth and the food. Seth rubbed the back of his head, and Rocky
wagged his tail and began eating.

“Maybe you shouldn't get him too used to
that,” Jenny said. “I can only keep him because he's afraid to be
touched by people.”

“He likes me okay.”

“I mean, what if he starts expecting me to do
that? He'll get Jenny pox if he comes too close.”

“So should he go the rest of his life without
anybody touching him?”

“No.” Jenny shook her head. “I know what
that's like. Sucks.”

Back inside, Jenny saw the red light
flickering urgently on the answering machine in the living room.
Lots of messages. She pushed PLAY, and the cassette inside whirred
as it rewound.

“Jenny,” her dad's voice said. “Are you all
right? I tried to come home, but soldiers was blocking the road.
Call me back at June's right now.” (
beep)

Jenny and Seth looked at each other.
Soldiers?

“Jenny, you home or what? I done tried Seth's
house and ain't nobody answering. I'm worried about you.”
(
beep
)

“Jenny, pick up the damn phone!”
(
beep
)

“Jenny, are you there? We got to get you one
of them cell phones. Call me back at June’s soon as you get this.”
(
beep
)

“Jenny, just let me know you’re okay. I’m
over at June’s still, and I guess I’m stuck here. The National
Guard’s got Fallen Oak all blocked, and don’t nobody know what’s
happening. They’re saying some kinda toxic waste
or—”(
beep
)

“I got cut off. Just let me know what’s
happening. I’m at June’s.” (
beep
)

“Holy shit,” Jenny said.

“The National Guard?” Seth ran to the front
window and looked out, as if expecting to see uniformed men in
Jenny’s front yard. “You think they’re still out there?”

“I have to call him back.” Jenny picked up
the old rotary phone next to the answering machine. No dial tone.
She depressed the jack several times, but the phone was dead. “This
ain’t working!”

“Calm down,” Seth said. He gave her his cell
phone.

Jenny tried it. “It says ‘no signal.’”

“What?” Seth looked at the phone. “I always
get reception here. What’s going on?”

“They’re coming after me.” Jenny sank onto
the couch. “I ought to turn myself in.”

“Come on, Jenny.” Seth sat beside her and
took her hand. “Even if somebody tells them, they’ll never believe
it. There’s nobody left to talk about it, anyway.”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
Jenny snapped. “Besides, you’re wrong. All those girls saw what I
did to Ashleigh.” Jenny thought about it. “Or, I guess she was
hanging out the window while they were all inside. But they had to
see her body after, out in front of her house.”

“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

“Yeah,” Jenny said. “You’ll unleash the
healing touch on them. Clear up their colds and headaches. That’ll
show ‘em.”

“Very funny,” Seth said. “I meant my family
has some good lawyers.”

“Lawyers…” Jenny shook her head. She tried
the rotary phone again. “And this stupid thing is not working!”

Seth picked up his car keys. “I’ll go check
things out.”

“Wait.” Jenny stood up. “I’ll go with you. I
can explain what happened.”

“No, Jenny! They’ll think you’re crazy.”

“So what?” Jenny ran back to her room to put
on some new clothes, replacing the shreds of Seth’s Easter
coat.

“And if they believe you, they’ll lock you
away from everyone.” Seth followed her to her room.

“I ought to be away from everyone.”

“Even me?” Seth asked.

Jenny didn’t want to think about that. But
she had to do the right thing.

“Just stay here,” Seth said.

“No. I’m going with you.”

They pulled out of Jenny’s dusty driveway in
Seth’s blue Audi, with the top down. The Cure played from Seth’s
iPod, over his car stereo. It was April, the day after Easter, and
honeysuckle and wildflowers bloomed alongside the road.

The beautiful afternoon seemed wrong to
Jenny. She felt dark, cold and monstrous on the inside.

Seth drove toward downtown. Jenny gripped her
armrest tight. She’d been there only last night, and she wasn’t
sure she was ready to see the carnage left behind. She steeled
herself.

They quickly discovered they wouldn’t be
going into town, anyway. Armed men in green uniforms had
constructed a roadblock, using trucks and plastic orange cones,
cutting them off.

Seth slowed to a stop as two of the National
Guard approached his car. One had a clipboard. The other, a heavy
plastic shield and a Taser.

“Name?” the one with the clipboard asked.

“Um, Seth,” Seth said.

“Last name?”

“Barrett.”

“Address?”

“What’s this for?” Seth asked.

“We keep a record of all attempted entries
and exits,” the Guardsman said.

“Attempted?” Seth asked.

“Address?”

Jenny noticed a police car parked by the side
of the road. It didn’t look like Chief Lintner’s car, and anyway
she’d left Lintner writhing with Jenny pox on the town green, after
he’d supported Dr. Goodling’s effort to lynch Jenny, like the
legendary slave-sorcerer the town had lynched in the 1700s.

This police car was black and white, and had
“Federal Protective Service POLICE” on the side. After that, it
said “Homeland Security.”

A uniformed officer inside the car snapped
pictures of Seth and Jenny. Jenny tilted her head forward, so that
her long black hair obscured her face.

The Guardsman studied Seth’s driver’s
license, then nodded and gave it back to him. “No one in or out of
the quarantine zone for now,” the Guardsman said. “You’ll have to
turn back.”

“What quarantine zone?” Seth asked. “What’s
going on?”

“I can’t say,” the Guardsman told him. “You
are advised to stay calm, return to your home, and wait for
instructions.”

“Instructions from who?” Jenny asked.

“You know,” the Guardsman said. “The
authorities.”

“I have to talk to someone in charge,” Jenny
said.

“I am in charge,” the Guardsman said. “And
I’m telling you to stay calm, return to your home—”

“This is important,” Jenny said.

The other Guardsman, the one with the Taser,
approached her side of the car. He raised the weapon toward her.
She felt very exposed in the convertible.

“Okay, never mind,” Jenny said. “We’ll go
home. Right, Seth?”

“Yep,” Seth said. “We’re staying calm,
returning home and waiting for instructions.”

The two Guardsman backed away from his car.
Seth reversed, turned around, and drove back.

In the sideview mirror, Jenny watched the
Homeland Security officer snap a picture of Seth’s license
plate.

The Devil came to Adelia’s house after
sunset, when she had just cooked up her small supper of collards
and fatback. A sweet potato pie cooled on the window sill, destined
for the mouth of her ten-year-old grandson Malik. He would visit
tomorrow, along with his mother Renna. Renna was Adelia’s youngest
and wildest daughter, but Malik was as sweet as saltwater taffy,
with none of his mother’s attitude or stubbornness.

And Malik loved sweet potato pie more than
just about anything.

Adelia dipped out collard greens into a
chipped bowl with a faded floral design. She sat down at the
kitchen table, where she could watch the television in the living
room. She liked to watch the game show channel, where they reran
all the good old shows from the 70s, like
Joker’s Wild
and
the original
Family Feud
with Richard Dawson.

She added one drop of hot sauce to her greens
and stirred it in. As she folded her hands to say the blessing, she
heard the squeak of the screen door on her front porch. She had the
front and back doors and all the windows open to catch the evening
breeze, since her aging little house had no air conditioning.