The Remedy Read online

  Bugger slapped Grizzly in the chest.

  “Did you hear something?”

  Dale jumped out the backside of the brambles and began to sprint. He was sure the two attackers could see the bush shake with his exit, but perhaps they would not actually see him leave the shrubs. Either way, he ran harder than he ever had in his entire life. Tree limbs smacked his face, thorn bushes scratched his skin, but none of it slowed him in the least.

  The lake, however, brought him to a dead stop.

  He could hear his pursuers getting closer and panic squeezed his chest like a socket wrench. A patch of cattails stuck out of the water’s surface to his right. It was his only chance.

  Dale plunged into the cold water and reached the cover of the tall green stems just as Bugger emerged on the shore. From the way his eyes scanned the lake, Dale could tell Bugger hadn’t failed to notice the ripples from Dale’s frantic movements. A moment later, Grizzly joined him by his side.

  “Look at the water,” Bugger said, pointing to the ripples. “Something’s out there.”

  Suddenly, a fish broke the surface with a strident splash. Grizzly pointed his finger at the source of movement.

  “Yeah, it could’ve been a fish,” Bugger said quietly. “But just in case there’s something out there that isn’t a critter,” he paused and then raised his voice, as if speaking directly to Dale, “I wouldn’t be taking a dip if I were you!”

  Dale clenched his jaw to silent the sound of his chattering teeth. A gentle wind came and blew at his weak cover, making the brown cattail cones sway side to side.

  “You’re not gonna like how you look when you come out!” Bugger continued. “I can promise you that. But if you show yourself now, Grizzly and I can fix you up! We have the cure for what ails you!”

  With that, Bugger raised his arm to reveal that his skin no longer showed any sign of the green fungus. There wasn’t the slightest hint of fuzz anywhere on his limb.

  He popped the remaining chunk of Red’s intestine into his mouth and licked a bloody finger. “Mmm! Just what the doctor ordered!”

  Dale squeezed his eyes shut.

  “Hell,” Bugger shouted with a laugh. “Even if we do kill ya, I can downright guarantee it’ll be far less painful than what you’ve got ahead of you!” Bugger waited for three beats and then elbowed his larger companion. “Fuck it, Grizzly. Man or marmot, it’s not worth our time. Let’s get that meat back to the house.”

  Without another word, both of the men disappeared from sight.

  Dale waited another thirty minutes before emerging from the cattail patch. There was no way of knowing if the killers were still at the campsite, but he didn’t dare find out. The other side of the lake wasn’t too far away, and he’d always been a decent swimmer. Without a second thought, he began an overarm stroke toward the far shore.

  It did not take long for feeling to return to Dale’s numbed body as blood pumped back into his muscles. And as his nerves began to reawaken to the sole sensation of burning flesh, Dale realized what a grave mistake he’d made. He should have taken Red’s murderers up on their offer.

  His arms, legs, neck, and face were now covered in the insatiable fungus. When his vision blurred and his eyes began to burn, he knew it had found its way behind his eyelids. He could feel it reaching back toward his retinas, searching for his brain.

  Chapter 1

  Leigh Swanson looked up from her Dean Koontz novel just in time to see the disgusting leftovers of a squished raccoon flash past the car window. She’d been ignoring her present company for almost the entire ride back from Montreal, and instantly regretted coming up for air now. While it was indeed engrossing, her attachment to the book was spurred mostly by the one glaringly obvious fact that Leigh had been trying to overlook the entire weekend:

  There were worse things than being a third wheel. Sometimes third wheels served an important purpose, like on a tricycle or wheelbarrow. But this was not the case for Leigh.

  She was a fifth wheel, a metaphor so absurd it had no literal counterpart.

  “Oh, shit!” Rob clutched the steering wheel and whipped his head around for a moment to follow the mangled corpse of the dead animal disappearing behind them. “Did you guys see that?”

  His girlfriend, Eliza, laughed from the passenger seat. “Well, I for one don’t mind if you want to go back and get it.”

  Rob turned to the girl sitting directly behind Eliza—her sister, Alexandra. “Didn’t you say you were hungry, Alex?”

  “Ugh, it looked like it got hit by a steamroller,” Alex said to the couple in the front seat. “You guys are sick.”

  Bemused, Leigh shook her head and pretended to return to her book. She’d been tolerating Rob’s childish antics since she’d first boarded his van back at the University of Vermont’s campus. She hadn’t known much about him except that he was a recent transfer student from out of state, who had started dating her best friend’s twin sister almost immediately after stepping foot into their first shared class. This didn’t surprise Leigh in the slightest, since Rob was exactly the type Eliza always fell for: the wanna-be rocker, consistently clad in a trucker’s cap and denim vest covered in Black Flag and Misfits patches. And while it didn’t seem to bother Eliza, Leigh never failed to notice how suspiciously well groomed he kept his perfectly “scruffy” five-o’clock shadow.

  Last, and most important, Rob was eternally obnoxious, especially after he’d had a few drinks. If it weren’t for Alex’s incessant pleading, there was no way Leigh would’ve agreed to be in the same vehicle with this loudmouthed poser for two-plus hours.

  “Come with us!” Alex had said in her usual, bubbly tone. “I know you don’t like Rob very much, but Marshall and Eliza will be there, too. You’ll have fun!” Even though she and Leigh had been roommates since sophomore year, they were an unlikely pair: polar opposites in appearance and social habits. While Leigh preferred to keep to herself and concentrate on maintaining her magna cum laude status, Alex was the epitome of a social butterfly. Blond, busty, and perpetually twirling her hair in that flirtatious fashion that guys somehow still fell for, Alex was a fantasy co-ed come to life. If it weren’t for the fact that Leigh had been blessed with attractive features as well—namely her slender body and striking eyes—Alex probably wouldn’t have given her the time of day.

  Fortunately, the utter superficiality of Leigh’s roommate never bothered her enough to affect their friendship. Minor character flaws aside, Alex was fun, even if Leigh had to hold her hair back after a night of excessive drinking a few too many times. She was Leigh’s link to the outside world, a valuable resource that kept her in touch with people her age. Not to mention it was nice having someone call her the “sexiest librarian” she’d ever seen, due to the tortoise shell glasses Leigh always wore.

  This time, Leigh had let Alex’s charisma and forceful personality get the best of her, too easily giving in to her pleading and whining to spend Labor Day weekend with her and the rest of the gang up in Montreal. While she didn’t care for Alex’s suggestion to have a fling with a “cute, French Canadian boy,” the trip seemed like a better way to spend her break than doing chores at her parents’ house. She knew her therapist would’ve been proud of her, having many times suggested that Leigh try to cut down on her chronic pessimism. Naturally, Dr. Blaine was right, as Leigh’s increasingly cynical attitude since graduating high school had spurred her to seek treatment in the first place.

  “Do you know what ‘fear’ stands for?” Dr. Blaine had once asked. “False events appearing real. We can’t always trust our inner voices because they have a tendency to lie to us. You have to learn to trust people once in a while, too.”

  So Leigh had heeded her doctor’s advice, reminded herself that fun only happens when you let it, and hopped aboard the Montreal express.

  And now here she was, wishing Rob would just shut up and press the gas pedal to the floor so this trip could be over already. Well, at least she had tried.

  “He
y, Marshall.” Rob glanced in the rearview mirror. “I’m sick of driving. You about ready to switch?”

  Marshall sat next to Alex, behind Rob. Tanned with shaggy, dusty blond hair, Marshall was yet another piece of evidence that proved Alex was all about appearances. They’d been dating since junior year, and it hadn’t taken long for Alex to fall for his surfer physique and “chill” attitude. Marshall was from San Diego. A shark’s-tooth necklace always hung around his neck. Simply put, Marshall was the spitting image of Chris Hemsworth on a surfboard. But to his credit, he wasn’t at all unpleasant to be around, and he was certainly better than many of Alex’s previous boyfriends.

  “Dude, I thought we agreed I’d take over after we cross the border.” Marshall leaned between the two front seats.

  Eliza turned from the window. “He’s right, Rob. That is what you said.”

  Leigh had secretly resented Eliza since the beginning of the school year for introducing Rob into their circle of friends. For the most part, she enjoyed being around Alex’s sister and the accompanying sibling banter and bickering. Eliza and Alex were the yin to each other’s yang. While Eliza dyed her light hair jet-black and wore leather outfits and black eye shadow, the still-blond Alex maintained the plaid-skirted, solidly preppy look. And as far as Leigh could tell, Eliza liked having her around since she usually sided with Eliza during the arguments that arose between the twins.

  “What can I say?” Leigh always explained to Alex. “You’re my best friend, but your sister and I are just more like-minded. That’s all.”

  Then why had Eliza been so foolish to shack up with the king of all posers? Still, there were times that Eliza stuck to her honest nature, as was the case now, and Leigh was always grateful not to miss these moments.

  Rob sighed. “Yeah, I know that’s what I said. It just feels like we’ve been on this road forever.”

  “Well, whose bright idea was it not to take the highway?”

  Leigh regretted saying the words even as they were leaving her mouth.

  Everyone except Rob, who eyed her in the rearview mirror, turned to face Leigh in the van’s rear seat that she shared with no one.

  “What was that?” Rob asked, turning down the volume of the van’s stereo.

  Leigh darted her eyes out the window. “Nothing.”

  “She said you didn’t want to take the interstate,” Marshall said. A mischievous grin spread across his face. Both he and Alex loved to be entertained by the drama of others.

  Alex slapped Marshall’s shoulder and gave him a harsh “Shhh!” getting an “Ow! What did I do?” in response.

  “Yes, Leigh,” Rob shouted over the squabbling couple. “You’re correct. I didn’t want to take the interstate. Do you know why?”

  He didn’t wait for Leigh to reply.

  “Because taking the highway would’ve been a stupid fucking idea.”

  Marshall grabbed Alex’s wrists. She playfully struggled against him. “And why would that be a stupid fucking idea?” she asked with a giggle.

  Rob’s annoyed expression transformed to a genuine smile. He turned to Eliza and said, “Why don’t you tell them again.”

  Eliza’s lips parted to expose her bright, white teeth in a large grin. She punched the button on the glove compartment in front of her and reached all the way to the back. Like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat, she retrieved a very large plastic baggie, filled to the brim with marijuana.

  “Because how the hell would we get this past the border patrol?” She threw the bag over her shoulder to her sister, who caught it eagerly. “Yeah, baby!” she yelled.

  Marshall leaned forward, practically suffocating himself with the bag’s clear plastic shell, and inhaled deeply. “Shit, dude.” He nudged Rob. “I still can’t believe you were able to score this much!”

  Shrugging, Rob rolled down his window and rested his arm in the cool wind battering the van as they whipped along the backwoods dirt road. “Man, what did I tell you about Canada? Do you know how much that amount of weed would’ve cost me in the States?”

  Marshall shook his head. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

  Leigh placed her bookmark in the novel. She felt a headache coming on and rubbed her eyes, trying to suppress it. On their last night in Montreal, Rob and Marshall had told the girls to wait in the room while they ran what they referred to as an “errand.” Eliza seemed to know what the boys were up to, but whenever Alex or Leigh asked what was going on, she would only wink and say, “It’s a surprise.” An hour later, the guys returned with the largest quantity of pot Leigh had ever seen in her life. Although she’d bitten her tongue at the time, Leigh found herself with yet another reason to regret joining this escapade: possible jail time.

  And now, as she eyed the copious amount of marijuana, she couldn’t keep silent any longer. She had to voice her concerns or she’d have only herself to blame later if they faced the consequences of their foolish actions.

  Leigh decided to try for a coy approach to voicing her concerns. “Well, maybe,” she said, leaning forward, closer to Marshall’s ear, “what you should be thinking about is what you’re going to do with that big bag of illegal drugs if we discover this road does indeed have a border patrol.”

  Eliza responded before anyone else could. “Oh, give us a break, Leigh! Like they’d really bother with a road in the middle of nowhere that gets hardly any traffic.”

  Alex spun her head and met Leigh’s eyes with a nervous expression. It seemed that she, at least, was finally starting to come to her senses.

  “But what if she’s right?” Alex looked from one passenger to another, searching their faces for signs of agreement. “I can’t get busted, you guys. My parents would fucking kill me!”

  “Would you guys quit it with this shit?” Rob said, a hint of doubt in his voice. “Look, I’ve been on this road before. My family used to take it on every vacation to Quebec.”

  Leigh scoffed. “Yeah, when you were a kid.”

  “Yeah. So what?”

  Marshall impressed Leigh by immediately realizing her point. He answered Rob’s question without hesitation. “Dude, that was back in the days before 9/11.”

  Even over the whistling wind and the blaring radio, Leigh heard Rob mutter, “Shit,” and saw his hands grip the wheel a little tighter. Despite her awareness that their shared problem was no laughing matter, she could do nothing to stop the smirk that automatically shaped her mouth when she noticed his frustration.

  Rob had now completely taken all of his attention off the road as he stared at her through the rearview mirror. Although she’d tried her best to hide her look of satisfaction behind her novel, Rob hadn’t been fooled.

  “What?” he said as the van began to drift. “I suppose you have a better idea. Let’s hear it!”

  Eliza suddenly gripped her boyfriend’s arm. “Rob…”

  “C’mon! She thinks she’s so fucking smart all the time.”

  “No, Rob! Look out!”

  “Fuck!”

  Rob slammed on the breaks. Everyone lurched forward as the van violently rocked, throwing its passengers into the seats in front of them. The van fishtailed, turning a complete 180 degrees before screeching to a stop.

  Though everyone else moaned as if stepping off a faulty carnival ride, Leigh could only hear her internal alarm system screaming in red alert. Her vision had gone blurry, a common result from severe head trauma. Had she hit her head and was in too much shock to feel it? Was she bleeding? She brought her fingers to her skull, praying they wouldn’t come back red.

  Relief replaced panic in an instant. This wasn’t a concussion or something even worse. Her glasses had simply fallen off.

  As she found her eyewear resting on the seat beside her, Leigh thanked herself for not voicing her initial concern out loud. She was also grateful for the seatbelt that had kept her securely in place. Her friends hadn’t been so lucky.

  Marshall ran his fingers through his mop of hair, gently massaging his sc
alp. “Damn,” he grumbled. “That sucked. You okay, babe?”

  Groaning, Alex gingerly rotated her neck. “Yeah, I’m all right.” Marshall brushed the tangled locks of blond hair from her eyes, but she pushed past him and punched Rob’s right bicep, hard.

  “What the fuck was that all about?!” she screamed.

  Rob ignored the blow and looked straight ahead. With his index finger pointing past the windshield, he said, “Why don’t you ask him?”

  Leigh’s eyes followed the direction of Rob’s finger.

  Fifteen feet ahead in the middle of the road, a stranger was walking slowly toward them.

  Chapter 2

  Alex’s dainty hand reached for the handle of the van’s sliding door and pulled hard. The door slid open loudly, letting in a cloud of unsettled dirt still hanging in the air after the van’s screeching stop.

  The stranger appeared to be their age—his youth evident in his energetic eyes and attractive smile. He sauntered in a relaxed manner, hands resting on the belt loops of his worn-out jeans. An old army jacket covered his upper torso, the solid olive green kind one would expect to find in any vintage clothing store. It was complete with a sewn-in nametag above the right breast that read “TUCKER.” A battered backpack hung from one shoulder and dangled by his waist. Its color matched the old, faded blue Montreal Expos hat that concealed his brown hair, except for a few tufts that peeked out near his ears.

  “Hey,” the boy said casually.

  No one in the van seemed to know how to reply to his nonchalant greeting. Just moments before, he’d come perilously close to the same fate as the smashed raccoon they’d passed.

  After a rather long, awkward moment of silence, it was Alex who finally asked, “Hey, man. Are you all right?”

  The boy just shrugged. “No harm done.”

  Marshall leaned over and stuck his head over Alex’s shoulder. “Sorry, dude. We totally didn’t see you.”