I linger in the trunk, foot ready, waiting for the first sign of trouble.
"It's not a kid," says Spiderweb. "Kidkiller, maybe. But not a kid."
"Sure looks like one," Mohawk says.
"Quit being an asshole, Donnie," says Grinner. "We hand her over, we walk out, we don't even need to see it happen."
"How the fuck is that thing any different from her?" says Mohawk. "Something's wrong, guys, I think we're being duped."
The car screeches shut, banging my head against the trunk. I watch as it opens. "Donnie," Spiderweb says. "Did you leave your balls back at the diner? Cos we can go right back and-- the fuck is the trunk--"
I leap out of the trunk and start running down the cliff highway. If I can make it onto a path down to the beach, I'll hide in a cave and sleep, make a plan, then enact it. All I need is another form, I've clung onto this one for far too long and if I don't change I'll be dead.
If I can just make it down this road I'll be okay.
If.
A sharp pain stabs me in the calf. I fall over, meeting hard tarmac. I squirm around and see a dart embedded in my leg, stinging like a wasp. But with each wave of pain my vision dims a little more. Grinner saunters over, playing with a miniature blowgun. I try to crawl, but my hands are like jelly, and my muscles burn, and soon I return to unconsciousness.
And for the first time in a while, I remember something that I know.
It's college, years ago. Chatting up girls, getting drunk, playing videogames, no plan and no intent to make one. What lectures I don't miss, I turn up hungover or stoned. The vaguely academic activity I enjoy are the campus experiments that pay you five bucks for participation. This one's some vague crap, a list of psudeoscientific adjectives smushed together. However, I was bored, so sign me up.
Well... There were other reasons.
A. There was this girl. Not like the other ones, beautiful. Couldn't get close to her, but a little birdie told me she was a researcher on this.
B. A drunken bet made at a frat party. People said the experiment drove people nuts, FOAF stuff, so I made some big claims. The others asked me to back it up. So I did.
C. There was this guy. I did some shit, he reacted badly, we split. He wouldn't answer his phone but I heard he was on the subject list, so maybe I could...
D. Genuine curiosity. Despite the jargon bullshit, there was some intriguing concepts in there. College didn't engage me on the level I wanted, but this... This was something else.