Nina screamed nonstop, unable to comprehend what washappening. Her first instinct was to get away, so that’s exactly what she did.Her voice cracking with every scream, she hopped back into her car and threw itin reverse. She could see out the back windshield, but driving in reverse wasnot one of her strengths.
The man who had landed on her windshield began tearingthrough the broken glass, his hands and arms shredding in the process. With herhead turned, she didn’t notice him get his pale arm through the windshielduntil he had a handful of her hair. Despite the threestory fall, the man still had quite a bit of strength, and he wrenched Nina'shead to the side, causing her to back into a large oak tree on the side of theroad. Her head banged against the headrest of her car, and the deployment ofher airbag broke the gray man's arm in half. She would have been safe if itweren't for the handful of monsters that were advancing on her unconsciousform. The first bite woke her. The second, third, and fourth made her wish shewere dead. The fifth granted her wish.
****
Gianni Grimaldi had it all. The car, the acting career,the house on the hill. The only thing he didn't have was much time. He was latefor the first day of shooting Marked for Vengeance, a medium-range-budgethorror flick with theatrical aspirations. It was one of his first starringgigs, and he was kicking himself for going out the night before. But what areyou going to do? It's your first night in a new town, you and your actingbuddies are stuck in a hotel with nothing to do, and you've got money and amodicum of fame waiting to spread the locals' legs if you play your cardsright. Of course, he was going to go out on the town.
He wondered if Spindly Jackson, ex-futbol star turnedactor, felt the same way he did this morning. His head ached, and he wonderedif makeup was going to be able to do anything about the bags underneath hiseyes. With his hair gelled up just right, he stumbled down to the lobby of theHotel Plush and set out on a quest for some coffee. It was 6:30 in the morning,and no one was around, not even the desk clerk was at their station.
On a metal cart, he spied two coffee containers next to astack of Styrofoam cups. Ah, just what the doctor ordered. There was nothinglike a good dose of caffeine in the morning to kick-start the old liver intofunctionality.
The sunlight streaming in through the front doors madehis eyes hurt, so he turned his back to them. Gianni grabbed a cup, filled itwith coffee, and then added a teaspoon of sugar. With his back to the lobby, hedidn't notice the bellhop shambling towards him, his eye missing from itssocket and the left sleeve torn off of his once pristine bellhop uniform.
The bellhop grabbed him from behind and took a bite outof Gianni's neck. They tumbled to the ground, and the last coherent thoughtthat Gianni Grimaldi ever formed was, Not the face! The world would weepat his death... or at least the twenty or thirty movie reviewers who hadappreciated him in bit roles.
****
Anan Abdullahi woke up in the morning to find that hermother was not there. This was normal. Her mother frequently stayed out allnight, especially when she had a new boyfriend, which seemed to happen once ortwice a month.
Anan lay in bed, wishing to close her eyes and fall backasleep, but it wasn’t meant to be. She could hear her little sister up tosomething in the other room. When her own stomach gurgled, she decided to getup and see if Emanna could use some food as well.
She stumbled out into the living room, across thestained, toy-littered carpet, and found Emanna jumping up and down on thecouch, not wearing a stitch of clothing except for a dirty diaper. Anan’smorning was already starting out shitty.
She pulled Emanna into the bathroom and helped her getinto a new diaper, she threw the old, stinky one into the garbage. They weredown to their last diaper. She hoped that Mom brought home more or else Emannawould be walking around pooping wherever she went. She would probably getblamed, and then she would get the closet. She didn't want the closet. It wasdark in there.
Hand in hand, Anan and Emanna walked into the kitchen tomake themselves some breakfast. The kitchen looked just like it usually did.The sink was piled high with unwashed dishes, flies buzzed around the mess,laying clutches of tiny eggs in the week-old, rotten milk left in the bottom ofa cereal bowl. Old fruit went to rot in a fruit dish on top of the microwave.It was all normal, and Anan and Emanna paid it no mind.
Emanna walked to the table, her toddler body desiring tosit in a big people chair instead of her highchair, while Anan walked to thefridge and looked inside. Old lunch meat, a few cheese slices, and no milk… itwas the absence of milk that really depressed her. She slammed the door closed,and pulled a couple of bowls from the cupboards. They were the last clean ones.She eyed the sink suspiciously, staring at the tower of dirty dishes. Someonewould have to clean them, but she decided that thought could wait.
Instead, she climbed up on the one clean spot on thecounter, the one spot where beer bottles and old juice spills had not destroyedthe tacky laminated surface. She opened the cupboard and pulled down a box ofcereal, a giant blue box of Rice Krispies, three freakish elves smiling back ather, giant spoons dipping into the bowl on the box.
She dumped the cereal into a bowl, not caring about thestray Krispie or two that bounced off the counter and onto the floor. Then itwas time to do it… time to put the water on. Anan hated the taste of water andRice Krispies, but her options were limited. It was either a bowl of RiceKrispies with
