Leech 01 Caleo Read online

  “Like I have a choice, whether you're singing or not.” Caleo snorted at his own joke.

  Jack smiled. “Oh, now who’s being the clever one?”

  “Nice eye, albino boy.” Caleo stiffened at the sound of Bruce’s voice. I didn’t hear any car. Stupid radio! Bruce suddenly appeared from the side of the van and looked at Caleo, shocked when he saw that Caleo’s eye was fine.

  “Nice lip, Bruce. Hey, where’s your boyfriend?” Caleo grinned, looking at Jack for support, but he only shook his head in disapproval.

  Bruce grabbed one of Caleo’s sandwiches saying, “You don’t mind, do you, albino boy?”

  Before Caleo could react, Jack stepped forward. “No. Wait, man, have one of mine.” Jack snatched Caleo’s sandwich from Bruce and replaced it with one of his own. “You don’t want him crying to Jillian later.” Caleo stared at Jack in disbelief and hurt at the jab.

  “Thanks, man,” Bruce said, taking a big bite out of the sandwich.

  “So, what is it you wanted?”

  “Oh yeah, your sister called and asked me to come tell you that you need to come home. She said your grandma is flipping out about something and you need to get home ASAP,” Bruce said, finishing off the sandwich in one big bite.

  Jack tilted his head to the side. “My sister called you?”

  “Well, no. She called Mike.”

  “My sister called Mike? I thought they were still fighting on the account she kicked his ass yesterday at school?”

  “Well, he called her,” Bruce corrected, clearly getting frustrated at Jack’s prodding. “Anyway, Mike told me to tell you to get home.”

  Jack looked dumbfounded for a second. “Well, tell her, I mean tell him to tell her, to tell Grandma, I'll be home as soon as I can.”

  “Okay. Thanks for the sandwich. I’ll see you later, albino boy. Oh, and next time, learn to fight your own battles.” Bruce walked back to his car and jumped in.

  Caleo stood up, cupped his hands in front of his mouth, and yelled, “Yeah, and just how did you get that fat lip?”

  Bruce opened the door, but when he saw Jack eyeing him up, he slammed it shut and yelled through the open window, “And how did you like your shower?”

  Caleo started after Bruce, but Jack pushed him back down to the bumper and held him there with his foot.

  “What the hell?”

  “He’s not worth the trouble,” Jack said, talking out of the side of his mouth as he wore a big fake smile and waved to Bruce as he drove off.

  Caleo pushed Jack’s foot off. “Yes, he is.”

  Still talking out of the side of his fake smile, Jack said, “He’s not worth the wrath of Jillian. You should know that.”

  As soon as Bruce was out of sight, Jack snatched the remaining half eaten sandwich out of Caleo’s prune-like ghost white hand, and shoved the whole thing in his mouth at once.

  “That’s mine!”

  “I gave mine to Bruce and I’m still hungry!” Jack mumbled through his overstuffed mouth.

  “Why did you give him your sandwich in the first place?”

  Jack just stuck out his tongue and smiled. “Because that’s the sandwich I already licked!” Caleo burst out laughing. “Sometimes it’s all about being 'ninja' and getting vengeance. No wrath of Jillian and he still looks like a fool.” Caleo gasped for air and clutched at his sides. “Okay, now you’re looking like a fool!” Caleo let out a snort trying to hold back his laughter. “We better get dressed and head back before Jillian has a bitch fit and Mike has to send Bruce back out here.”

  Jack walked around to the side of the van and grabbed a towel out of the back seat, throwing it to him. Caleo watched as he dried off a little before wrapping the towel around his waist and slid out of his trunks. Oh my God. Are we getting changed out in the open? What if someone sees? Jack had just stepped out of them when he stopped. “Earth to Caleo! What’s wrong?” Realizing he was staring, Caleo began looking around nervously.

  “I, uh …” Caleo stumbled for his words as embarrassment and fear flushed his face. “I just don’t want anyone to see me. I thought we would get dressed in the car like we always do.”

  Jack laughed as he slid on his underwear under his towel. “Caleo, there's no one around, it’s just me and you. No one's going to see you, and I've seen your pearly white cheeks my whole life.”

  Caleo looked around one more time before he proceeded to follow Jack’s lead. He untied his trunks as he tightly held the towel that was wrapped around his waist.

  He looked up when he heard Jack laughing. “What?”

  Jack stopped laughing and smiled at Caleo playfully. “Relax; you’re all scrunched in a ball trying to hide your body. Have you ever thought that maybe if you weren’t so busy trying to hide your skin from everyone, that they'd stop thinking of it as odd and see that it's actually … ” Jack turned around and slid his shirt over his head. Then bent over and picked up his trunks and his towel as if he was finished talking.

  Actually what? A freak, a monster, deformed? Why is Jack so worried if I hide my body now? He used to be the one who told me to wear more clothes so the kids didn’t make fun of me … Caleo glared at the back of Jack’s head. “Actually what, a circus attraction?” Jack turned around and Caleo could see by the look in his eyes that he had something else to say, but was holding back. “You don’t have to pretend to be my friend. I don’t need anyone. I can fight for myself.”

  Jack’s face paled and he shook his head. “You can be so stupid sometimes. I'm not pretending to be your friend. You’re the only one I ever hang out with outside of practice.” Jack looked down at his feet, took a deep breath, and then turned his head as if refusing to look at Caleo.

  He wants to be my friend? Why? I’m a nobody. To be seen with me would get him kicked out of the popular crowd … But he hasn’t been hanging out with any of them anymore. All he does is swim on lunch and all his other free time. His friends haven’t been around much either. Caleo opened his mouth to argue, but fought his natural instincts. “I’m sorry.”

  Jack looked up at Caleo and smiled. “Hurry up and get changed, we better get going.”

  Caleo let his trunks drop to the ground and stepped out of them.

  “Think fast!”

  Caleo jerked his head up at the sound of Jack’s voice, only to see a white blur as Jack’s towel flew through the air at his head.

  Out of instinct, Caleo blocked the towel with his free hand only to find that Jack was running up behind it. Jack tackled Caleo to the ground landing on top of him.

  Embarrassed, Caleo angrily pushed at Jack. “Get off me!”

  Jack rolled off and jumped to his feet, yanking both towels free from Caleo. He ran to the van, slamming the back door shut before running to the open side door. Jack jumped in and closed the door behind him all before Caleo even had a chance to react.

  Caleo jumped up, concealing himself with his hands, and ran to the van door. The moment his hands touched the handle the doors all locked.

  Caleo cringed as Jack started laying on the horn, yelling through a small opening in the window, “Help! He’s going to get me!”

  Caleo ducked down beside the van, trying to make himself as invisible as possible. “Cut it out, let me in.”

  “Vampires don’t burn in the sunlight. We're all doomed!” Jack blew the horn a few more times, yelling as loud as he could while laughing.

  “This isn’t funny! What if someone—” Caleo froze as the tones for an emergency broadcast announcement came across the radio, followed by the voice of a somber disc jockey.

  “Attention: the United States government has issued a terrorist warning. They are strongly recommending everyone seek shelter and stay inside until further notice. Reported attacks include New York, D.C., Texas, and Georgia … Again, the United States government has issued a terrorist warning. They are strongly recommending everyone seek … ”

  The sound of the radio was blocked out by the sound of an explosion from the other side of the l
ake. The ground below Caleo’s feet vibrated.

  Caleo watched a massive cloud of black smoke rise in the distance. Panicked, he turned to Jack, who looked just as scared as Caleo felt. “What the hell was that?”

  “No clue. Maybe a fuel tank exploded or something, but it seems too big.” Jack slid the door open and stood next to Caleo, watching as the smoke rose. “Get dressed. We’d better head home.”

  Remembering his nakedness, Caleo ran and snatched his clothes out of the van. He had just slid on his pants when another explosion vibrated the ground and filled the air. It’s coming this way. He turned in time to see a black wall of smoke rising no more than a mile away. Without a word, Jack ran to the driver’s seat. Following suit, Caleo shut the side door and jumped into the passenger seat.

  Jack frantically dug in his pockets. “Keys, keys! Where are the damn keys?” Another loud boom filled the air. “Caleo, where are the freaking keys?” Jack yelled, searching all around the seat and flipping the visors.

  Caleo looked around his seat and opened the glove box. “How the hell should I know? You’re the one who drove!” Caleo yelled in a panic.

  “Forget it, run!” Jack kicked open his door and jumped out.

  Caleo grabbed his shirt and jumped out. What the hell is happening? He started pulling his shirt over his head when he felt someone grab his arm.

  Jack pulled Caleo and forced him to run as he yelled. “Let’s go. Now! No one is going to care how white you are.”

  Caleo fumbled momentarily from the shirt blocking his vision while being dragged, until Jack grabbed the shirt from Caleo’s head, tossing it to the ground. Then he yelled in Caleo’s face, “Run!”

  Caleo did as he was told. Another explosion erupted directly behind him on the other side of the lake. “Holy Crap!”

  “Why would they attack here?” Caleo glanced over his shoulder and saw flames over the line of trees that surrounded the lake. “Why Butler? There’s nothing here.”

  Jack didn’t answer. He just seemed to push it a little faster while Caleo struggled to keep up. In between gasps for air, Caleo asked, “Maybe we … can hitch a ride … home?”

  “No one is going to stop with all these explosions going off!” Jack glanced back and increased his speed. “Faster!”

  “I don’t think I can go much farther.” Trying to ignore the burning in his lungs he pushed himself harder. His legs wobbled beneath him, threatening to give away at any step.

  “Look!” Jack pointed to an old truck that a man and a woman had just climbed into. As they approached, the trucks engine started. Jack ran to the window and pounded forcefully. “Can we get a ride?”

  The woman jumped and let out a small scream, but the man just made a quick jerking motion to the back to the truck. Jack jumped over the side. “Let’s go, let’s go.” He grabbed the cab for support as another explosion vibrated through the air.

  Caleo started to lift himself up over the side of the truck bed just as the truck shifted into reverse and backed out of the driveway. His legs dangled over the edge and he tried to swing them up and over, but his sweat dampened jeans sticking to the sides of his legs made it impossible.

  “Help!” Caleo yelled, trying to hold on to the side of the truck.

  Jack’s hand shot out of the truck bed and grabbed Caleo around his arm, but his hand kept slipping off. He reached down and grabbed Caleo by the waistband of his pants. Grunting with effort, he pulled Caleo into the truck head first. The old man slammed on the brakes as he switched gears, sending Caleo smashing into the front of the truck with Jack landing on top of him. Caleo rolled over, rubbing his head.

  He sat up and looked around frantically. “Are we heading in the right direction?”

  Jack ducked his head as an explosion hit nearby and a blast of hot air blew past. “If you mean away from the explosions, then yes!”

  Caleo looked at Jack, praying he knew what to do. Jack nodded as if he’d read his mind. As the truck started into the next small town, Jack said something, but Caleo could only see his lips moving over the chaos of cars and people running to get away. Caleo shook his head, not understanding. Jack grabbed his arm and pulled him closer so his mouth was next to his ear. Then he yelled, “We have to find cover! They’re getting closer and we aren’t out running them!”

  “Where?” Caleo looked around for a place to hide.

  There was a gas station behind them, the apartment buildings in front, and small restaurants and stores all around. Out of the corner of his eye Caleo saw two men just appear out of thin air beside the gas station.

  Where did they come from?

  Caleo studied the men who appeared so out of place. They wore big, black gasmasks and full body armor. He could see that the men wore gloves on their right hands. One of the men grabbed a nearby woman, who just collapsed the moment she was touched by the man’s left hand; the man repeated the process over again, grabbing the nearest person he could get his hands on till four people lay at his feet.

  They’re Leeches!

  Jack grabbed Caleo’s shoulder to get his attention. “One of the basements around here should work.” Jack pointed to a group of three-story apartment buildings just as the truck came to a skidding halt due to a traffic pileup.

  Jack stumbled forward towards the truck cab and Caleo went head first into the window, which cracked under the impact of his head, leaving Caleo feeling disoriented. Caleo felt someone grab the waist of his pants and pull him backward. He turned to see Jack already out of the truck and was desperately trying to pull him along.

  “Caleo, let’s go!” Jack screamed, continuing to pull him out of the truck.

  Caleo had just gotten to his feet when another explosion caused him to fall back. Jack landed on top of him as the ground shook beneath them. Caleo turned to see that the gas station and all the surrounding buildings were destroyed.

  Pushing himself up, Caleo noticed Jack looking at a stream of water he was lying in. Caleo turned back to see that a hydrant on the hill was spewing water. When he glanced back to Jack he was lost in thought, looking down the hill. Following his gaze, Caleo saw that the water was draining down a caved-in storm grate on the far side of the street, with a construction truck parked on either side.

  “In there!” Jack sprinted to the storm grate.

  When he got there, he slid into the hole. “Caleo, let’s go! Get your butt down here now!” Jack’s voice echoed up from deep within the storm grate.

  Caleo had just pushed himself to his feet when he saw the same two men appear on the other side of the street out of thin air. “Steve?” Caleo watched as the men grabbed people at random while they ran for cover. Each person fell to the ground the second the men touched them, as if they had fallen asleep while running.

  The man in the back locked eyes with Caleo for a moment as a large, metallic object formed in front of the other man. Why would Steve do this?

  “Fire in the hole!” the closest man yelled, a hint of laughter in his voice.

  He stepped back and looked at the other man, who was still staring directly at Caleo. Then, the two of them vanished, leaving a pulsating metallic object behind.

  Caleo ducked down and covered his head in a reflexive action to protect his face from the explosion. After a few seconds of nothing, he looked up. It must be a dud. Pushing himself off the ground, he noticed that the knees of his pants were stuck to the pavement. Looking down he was shocked to see that the water that had been flowing to the storm drain was frozen solid. He pulled as hard as he could to get free with no success. Giving up, he unbuttoned his jeans and slid out to escape the frozen shackles. Looking around he saw that everyone had stopped their frantic attempts to escape, and were now staring at the object on the street surrounded by four bodies. It was a melon-sized orb with a green metallic shine to it. He felt a cold breeze blow against his legs and flinched as the flash of a camera caught his attention from the corner of his eye.

  Oh great, I’m going to be the poster boy for this. I
can see the newspaper photo now, me standing in front of the dud bomb in my Spiderman underwear. There's no way the guys at school are going to let this go.

  Caleo’s thoughts were interrupted as the orb slowly started to hover about three feet off the ground. Oh God! It exploded in a blast of yellow and green light. Out of instinct, he turned his back to the blast and threw his hands up to cover his face. The ground shook with a force that knocked him off his feet. Curling into a fetal position, a calming blue light filled his vision even though his eyes were closed. Then, everything went black.

  7

  A cool breeze blew past, surprising Caleo. He opened his eyes.

  “Where am I?” His world was gone. All he could see was white light. “Is this Heaven?”

  Confused, he got to his feet. A shadow passed overhead and his vision shifted. Without the glare of the sun reflecting back, he noticed that the world wasn't gone, just different. Everything was covered in a thick layer of white dust. “What’s going on?” Caleo shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and noticed the roaring sound of a fire behind him. Bewildered, he turned and immediately fell to his knees as he saw only mounds of burning rubble where buildings had been. There were no more people in the streets; it was as if they had all vanished. The hydrant up the hill was a melted mess on the sidewalk. Jets of water sprayed from cracks in the road only to turn into steam when it hit the bubbling tar of the asphalt.

  Tears streamed down his face. How could that little thing do all of this?

  “Caleo!” a muffled voice yelled.

  He whipped around, looking for the source of the voice. His eyes froze on the storm grate, but he was unable to move.

  “Jack?” Caleo tried, but his voice only came out as a whisper.

  Again, Caleo heard his name, but this time the source was clear

  “Jack!” he bellowed. The asphalt hissed under his bare feet like ice water dumped into a hot skillet while he ran towards the grate as fast as he could. Lying on his stomach he slid his head inside. “Jack, are you there?” He strained to see through the darkness of the hole, but his eyes were too blurry from tears. A moment later a flicker of movement caught Caleo’s eye.