“What the fuck did you do!” Zak grabbed Jade by the shoulders, spun her around. The tips of his fingers dug into the meat of her arms, but she could only sob, her dilated eyes streaming an endless torrent of tears.
“He’s dried up,” she said through her violent weeps. Ropes of thick saliva connected her lips like harp strings. “I need him, Zak. Do something. You have to fix him!”
“Zak… we need to get him to the hospital. Like… now,” Gwen said from behind him, placing a soft hand on his shoulder.
Zak growled and threw Jade backward and away from Kip as hard as he could. Jade hit the door, her blood-stained breasts jiggling, then dropped to her knees, continued to weep.
Zak could only imagine what was going through Gwen’s mind right then. He wanted to turn to her, explain, but there wasn’t time. He cradled Kip’s body in his arms—it was so light. The skin felt hot to the touch. Zak figured that had to be a good sign. A dead body would be cold, especially on a cool night like this.
Turning toward his Corolla, Zak carried Kip’s body across the lawn. Gwen jogged beside him, staring at Kip’s face and torso with wide eyes and a furrowed brow, her head slightly shaking. She threw the back passenger door open.
“What’s wrong with his skin? Why is it that color? And why the hell is Jade Brewster here, naked and covered in blood? And Chuck?”
“I told you… everything is fucked up. But his skin… it wasn’t this color before. I don’t know what’s—”
Zak was just about to place his cousin into the back seat when Kip’s eyes burst open.
It surprised Zak, induced a scream, and he nearly dropped Kip. Once Kip’s skin got to moving again, thrashing and bubbling, Zak did drop him, backed away.
Kip hit the lawn with a thud, and Gwen started to rush toward him, but Zak caught her by the arm and pulled her away. She struggled for a few seconds until she caught sight of the pulsating skin, the empty wounds filling with pus before their eyes, but it was a creamy purple color, the boils the color of blueberries as they bulged fatter and fatter.
“Zak… what’s wrong with him? His skin… oh my god…”
“Toad!” Jade sprinted across the lawn, bumping into Gwen as she passed and knocking her over. “Oh my god, baby… I was so scared. I thought… I thought you left me. Don’t you ever leave me, not evereverever!”
Kip stood, the blue and purple boils still thumping, and he smiled at Zak. Even his teeth seemed to have a blue tint, his eyes twitchy and rimmed in a neon green color. His skin sparkled in the moonlight as the juices flowed and rejuvenated him, each open wound now a pustule filled to bursting with that purple substance.
“Zak,” Kip said, eyes blinking one at a time, pupils vibrating. His voice was deeper, almost like a growl. His smile took up half his face, green at the corners, his lips split down the middle to allow the smile to stretch further. The gums looked black, his tongue the same. “My cousin. Where have you been?”
Jade held Kip tight, rubbed her tits and groin over his left side, humping him like some horny dog, whimpering and moaning, begging him.
But Kip ignored her completely. Because his eyes were now locked on Gwendolyn.
Gwen just stared at the scene unfolding before her, jaw hanging, head shaking.
Zak quickly helped Gwen to her feet, shot a nervous glance toward Kip. He didn’t need his cousin getting jealous. His heart pounded in his chest, made it hard to breathe.
Kip’s eyes were still locked on Gwen, and when he loosened his smile, black blood oozed from his cracked lips, dripped from his chin. Jade thrust her head forward as if to drink it up, but Kip caught her by the throat, pushed her away, then finally let his eyes roll back to Zak.
Kip’s stare was hard, accusatory, pupils still shaking and rattling. His green-encrusted nostrils widened, and he took a long step forward. His flesh had slowed now, and his body looked swollen, infected. He had a stench like insecticide.
And then he smiled again. His eyes stayed hard, but his mouth pulled tight across his face.
“Zak, I see you’ve met Gwendolyn. Hi, Gwendolyn. Remember my cousin I was telling you about? Isn’t he fucking dreamy?”
“Whoa whoa,” Zak said. “She came here because she was worried about you, Kip. I thought maybe she could help, so—”
“Yes, always worried about me. Always felt sorry for me. Isn’t that right, Gwendolyn? Never a shortage of pity for the Toad, yeah?”
“Kip, w-what’s wrong with you? What happened?” Gwen stepped forward, but quickly took a step back when Kip approached her.
“It’s the same old thing, Gwendolyn. I thought things would be different now. I thought they wanted me. Thought they needed me. But they don’t want me. They don’t give a fuck about me. Never did before, and they don’t now. It’s what’s inside of me they want.”
Zak knew Gwen must have been beyond confused, and he now wished he would have filled her in, regardless of how ridiculous it all sounded. But he didn’t expect this. Zak wondered if the monster inside of Kip was surfacing more and more, slowly eating away at the old Kip, taking over him. The thing in front of him was not his cousin.
“Kip, listen to me.” Gwen took a deep breath, reached out and took Kip’s hand. She only hesitated for a second before grabbing it, and Zak wanted so bad to pull her away, get Kip’s purplish, pus-filled skin away from hers.
Kip’s expression softened then, and he blinked rapidly as he stared down at his hand in Gwen’s. For a second, he looked like himself, scared and shy, a boy with a crush.
Jade screamed on the ground, tearing out fistfuls of grass and dirt and flinging it all around. She bared her teeth as she stared at Gwen holding hands with Kip, and Zak stayed on the defensive in case she tried anything.
“You’re better than all those fucking assholes at school. You should know that. Five years from now, all those popular dipshits will be fucking worthless, probably bagging your groceries or stirring milkshakes. But you? You’ve got great things ahead of you. Don’t let all this high school bullshit get to your head.”
Kip’s chin dipped until it touched his chest. When his shoulders started jumping, Zak thought he was crying, thought that maybe Gwen had somehow gotten to him, that maybe Kip would snap out of it and be the kid Zak grew up with again. His best friend again. The kid that loved comic books and video games and shitty horror movies.
But Kip was laughing. The laugh grew in volume until it became a cackle, and he leaned his head back and howled at the moon. His hand clenched around Gwen’s, and she tried to pull it away, shot Zak a quick glance that begged for help.
“Kip, let her go, man. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Kip’s laugh was cut off at once, and his head snapped forward so fast, a splash of purple pus erupted from his face into the dirt, narrowly missing Gwen.
“What’s wrong with me, cousin? I’m all alone. Just like I’ve always been. I thought at least I had you. My own fucking cousin, my flesh and blood. But even you betrayed me.”
“Betrayed you? You’ve got it all wrong, Kip. Please.”
“Let me go!” Gwen balled her hand into a fist and swung, catching Kip on the chin and making him stumble back. His hand slipped free of Gwen’s, and she stared at the iridescent mucus coating her knuckles, gagged.
“You see? She thinks I’m fucking disgusting! She always did!” Kip held his hand out for Jade, and she gladly took it, was hauled to her feet. Kip pulled her in and kissed her, made sure both of their tongues were visible for Zak and Gwen. He squeezed her breasts, her ass, then smiled wider than ever.