Pus Junkies

—8—

“Where are we going?” Kip opened the passenger door, looked ready to jump from the car.

“Close the fucking door, man! Kip… come on.”

Kip eyed the street as it sped by under the car, then finally slammed the door shut again, faced Zak and flailed his arms. “You have to take me back! Why are we leaving!”

Before Zak could answer, Kip growled and flung himself forward. His left shoulder slammed into Zak, made the car swerve, then Kip reached out and grabbed the steering wheel with both hands, tried to spin it back the other direction. Zak held on tight, slammed on the brakes, hit a curb and rolled the front driver’s wheel over it.

He threw Kip back toward the passenger side, and when his cousin roared again, threw himself back toward the steering wheel, Zak threw a punch that landed right on the kid’s nose. Blood blossomed, zits popped. Pink paste oozed over Kip’s face, and he cupped his nose, leaned back in his chair, moaned.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t want to, Kip… but you’re not yourself. What’s the fucking matter with you? What the hell was that back there?”

The zits on the back of Kip’s neck thumped and pulsed, the open wounds on his face where the other kids had sucked the pus out oozed blood.

What did he say about his acne? That it was super human?

Zak knew for damn sure that pimples didn’t gyrate like that, and he had never seen one hold so much pus and blood before, pop so easily. And when Kip’s zits popped, they were like small explosions, the pasty insides splashing out like tiny balloons filled to capacity with curdled milk.

Kip could only cry as he cupped his face, finally pulled his hands away and stared at the blood filling his palms. “Y-you broke it. You fucking b-broke my nose.”

“Well you fucking needed it! Now answer me…what the fuck is going on!”

“I don’t know,” Kip said through his sobs. “I have no idea, Zak. All I know is that they liked me. For once in my life, they actually liked me. They wanted me. Did you hear them calling my name? Did you see how much they needed me?”

Yes, Zak certainly did. And he stared at the pink goo on his knuckles and nearly licked them clean, but wiped his hand off on his jeans instead. “Kip, something weird’s going on. Can’t you see that?”

Kip breathed hard as he stared at Zak, his mouth propped open as he gasped, blood staining his teeth, tears and blood and pus glistening on his face. He looked like someone else, like a monster who had killed Kip and was now wearing his face.

But as Zak stared into Kip’s face, the boy’s expression softened. It was like whatever trance he was in, he just snapped right out of it.

“Zak… I’m scared.”

“Me too. None of this feels real… can’t be possible.”

Kip crossed his arms, stared at the glove compartment, through it. “I’m a freak. That’s what. I’m not normal. What was happening to them? Why were they acting like that?”

Zak wanted to tell Kip not to call himself a freak, but at the moment, Zak had to agree. “It was your acne. The pus. Something in the pus was making them crazy. Like a strong drug or something. And you too, Kip. You had this look on your face… shit, man, it fucking scared me. Still scares me.”

“It’s like I barely remember what happened. I mean… I remember Jade kissing me. I remember her freaking out and shoving me. Then everything is kind of a blur after that. I know they wanted me… I can remember them reaching out for me and calling my name. It was like a weird dream.”

“It was bad. I thought they were gonna eat you alive, man. Like fucking zombies or something. And then that fucker Chuck shows up with his buddies, all three of them smashed out of their minds. I had to use my gun… I’m sorry, cousin. It was either that or—”

“The bang. I remember the bang. Did you shoot someone?”

“Just the ceiling. Twice. Then I got us the fuck out of there.”

Kip nodded. “Good. What do we do now? Ow… my nose hurts. My head too.”

Zak pulled up to a red light, then leaned over and inspected Kip’s nose. “Doesn’t look broken, just busted up a little. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He squinted, glared at the blood on his hands. “Am I some kind of monster or something? What if I’m an alien?”

“Shut up with all that shit, will you?”

“Well what then? I never knew my dad, and when I ask my mom about him, she just changes the subject. What if my dad wasn’t human? A demon or something?”

“Slow down, Kip. You just called yourself a freak, a monster, an alien, and now a demon. How do you know this kind of thing hasn’t happened before? Maybe we should be talking to a dermatologist or something.”

But Kip just shook his head. “I’ve spent enough time with those people. If this was something normal, they would have said something by now. No… this is something else. Something big. And I’m terrified to know what it is.”

“What if it’s some kind of side effect from those pills you’ve been taking? That seems more plausible than fucking aliens and demons.”

Kip didn’t seem to like that possibility, like it wasn’t dramatic enough. He just stared at the dashboard and frowned. “Maybe. I guess…”

Zak sighed, lit a cigarette.

“Me too. Please…”

Zak handed the lit cigarette to Kip, then lit another for himself. “Well we have to talk to someone. Maybe we should call the police… you know. Just in case people start trying to come to the house or something. Do the other kids know where you live?”

“In a town this small, everyone knows where everyone lives. Plus… there’s only one Toad. Every now and then the house will get toilet papered or egged or spraypainted. Yeah… they know where I live.”

“Well shit, man. Maybe we should stay at a motel. At least just for tonight. Maybe once they all come down off… off their high or whatever, they’ll forget about it. Or at least come to their senses.”

Kip just shrugged. “If that makes you feel safer, then that’s fine with me.”

“Aren’t you scared? That was some fucked up shit, man.”

Kip didn’t answer. He smoked his cigarette and stared out the window.

Kip had lied. He remembered everything. There was no blur, no blackout.

He had felt like he was in a sort of trance, but he had still been in control. And he had never felt more amazing in his entire life. God, just thinking about Jade’s soft body against his, the way her hard nipples poked him, the way her tongue swirled within his mouth. Every part of him wanted to go back to the party. He was a god there. The kids were his worshippers, and they needed him.

Kip didn’t blame Zak for freaking out, though. He had to admit it was a little much to take in. At first, it didn’t seem real, and he was sure he had passed out and slipped into some intense wet dream. But once he knew for sure it was really happening, it just felt right. Like it was what he was meant to do. As if all the teasing, all the ridicule and mental torture had been leading up to this moment, this occasion.

The craters on his face, neck, and chest that used to be bulging zits rippled, and he could still feel the sensation of the kids sucking the pus out, sliding their tongues over his flesh.

They called for me. They couldn’t get enough of me. I’m not a toad anymore. I’m a fucking god. I’m their entire fucking universe now.

Kip finished his cigarette and flicked the butt out the window, then side-eyed Zak. He wondered if maybe his cousin was jealous of all the attention Kip was getting. Zak, the good looking new kid, the David Beckham look alike. A guy who had never once had to worry about his appearance, never had to stress about girls because they always flocked to him. The guy who showed up at Bowie High and was fucking the hottest girl in school in less than a week.

That’s what it is. He’s jealous. He can’t stand that they want me now… not him. Well I won’t let him stop me.

Kip’s flesh got to vibrating again, and he caught himself making himself angrier and angrier as he glared at the side of Zak’s face. Kip unclenched his fists, relaxed his jaw. His skin stopped thrashing, slowed to a standstill.

No. No, not Zak. Zak’s my only friend. My best friend. He wouldn’t do that.

“You all right?” Zak used the butt of his first cigarette to light another. He offered another to Kip but Kip waved it off. “You look deep in thought.”

“I am. Still trying to figure out why this is happening and what it all means.”

“Well, whatever it is, I think you need to be careful. Whatever is inside of your acne… it’s potent. Works faster than any drug I’ve ever seen, man. Those kids were jonesing for it. I’ve seen that look before. And there’s something else too…”

“What?”

“I felt it too. Like I wanted to pop your pimples and suck the juice right out. I swear that’s how I felt, for a little bit anyway. I was just as bad as the rest, but I sort of snapped out of it. Probably because I was so worried about you, cousin. Didn’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Really? But you didn’t, right? How could you crave it if you didn’t try it?”

“I don’t know. It was something in the air, like your body was releasing some kind of chemical. Just being in that room almost made me crazy. And I’m no homo, but cousin, I wanted to lick your skin.”

Kip sort of chuckled. “You don’t… I mean. You don’t still want to, do you? Because if you want to try it, I can—”

“No! Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

“Of course I am… I was, I was just fucking with you.” He wasn’t. He wanted Zak to try it, wanted his cousin to feel what the others felt.

“I hope so. You saw what it did to those other kids, Kip. Don’t mess around. This is no fucking joke, okay? Promise me.”

“Promise you what?”

“Promise me that you won’t let them have anymore. It’s too dangerous… we don’t know what we’re dealing with here. Okay?”

Kip snorted, shook his head. He stared out the window but could see Zak’s refection staring at the back of his head.

“It’s not even a big deal. I don’t understand why you’re—”

“Fucking promise me, Kip. I’m not kidding around here. Don’t do that shit anymore, no matter what, okay? All right?”

“Okay! Okay! Happy now? What, do you think I’m an idiot?”

“You don’t remember. You didn’t see what I saw. This is bad. This is so fucking bad.”

They didn’t say another word the rest of the drive. Zak pulled into the first hotel they saw, parked around back so his car couldn’t be seen from the street. Kip offered to pay for his own room, but Zak insisted that they share a room.

He doesn’t trust me.

And for good reason too. As soon as he got the chance, Kip had planned on running right back to the party, back to his people. But now that plan was ruined. Kip even thought about popping one of his zits into Zak’s mouth once he had fallen asleep, turn him into one of his followers like the others, but ultimately decided against it. Zak was only trying to help, Kip knew.

As Kip lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, he could feel the emptied pockets of flesh filling back up. The wounds tingled, felt electrified as the pus bubbled in and swelled the red skin back up to bulging. He wondered if his chemicals could be sensed from this distance, if the kids would be able to sniff him out. He hoped so.

He missed the feel of Jade’s body. Her tongue. Her roaming hands. He missed all the groping fingers and mouths of the others too, boy or girl. Kip was no homo either, but even when the males had their mouths on him, drinking in his fluid, it felt so fucking good. Not in a sexual way really, but in some other way. Maybe like a mother feels when she’s breast feeding her child. Kip didn’t know for sure. He only knew that he wanted to feel it again. And again and again and again.

For the first time in his entire life, he couldn’t wait for school in the morning.