The Extremely Crappy Days at Ashfield High

Chappy Twenty Eight: Evil Doggies and Granola

Nancy Williams passed away one early Sunday morning. She was only sixteen years of age, but the disease was not merciful. Her death was a heavy blow to the Williams family, as Mr. Williams, the cofounder of the Langer Company, had previously died in a tragic airplane crash.

The last immediate survivor of the family, Anthony Scott Williams, was sent to live with his godfather and godmother…
---

…It took a full moment for Joshua Townsend to realize he was lying flat on his stomach. The heavy mist blocked out his vision, and the only thing he could make out was his granola bar a few feet in front of him. He weakly got onto his feet.

He looked around, squinting, trying to see through the dense fog. What had happened to the others?

"J-Josh?"

The brunet spun around, seeing Myron limp out of the fog behind him. "Myron!" exclaimed Joshua. "What happened to Nicole, and Ms. Mason, and-,"

"I d-d-don't k-know… The c-car's gone."

"What? That can't be! It crashed into some building… Damn, how long-,"

A growl. A sinister growl. The two turned, eyes wide, as a peculiar doglike beast glared at them, bloody fangs showing. The granola bar lay at its feet…

"My bar!" Before Joshua could react the creature snatched the bar up into its mouth and sprang off. "Get the hell back here!" yelled the teenager as he rushed after it. "H-Hold on!" came Myron's call.

Joshua wasn't listening though, his mind set on catching up with the thing and getting his granola bar back. Of course, four legs are faster than two… Still though, he pushed on through the fog- ridden streets, the mist swirling at his feet.

He strained his ears trying to focus on the monster's sounds as it disappeared into the fog. Soon enough, though, it came into view. He watched as it let the bar fall out of its mouth and sniff it.

"You damn dog thing!" he hollered while lunging at it, knocking it over. They rolled for a few moments before he ended up kneeling above it, hands wrapped around its neck. "Damn you, damn you, damn you, damn you!" He banged its head repeatedly against the asphalt, the pace growing… until the creature stopped resisting.

"Stupid dog…" muttered the brunet harshly as he stood up and turned to gather his beloved granola bar. However, his triumph was cut short when five more beasts appeared from the fog, surrounding and circling him before he could even blink.

"Oh… shoot…"

He noticed the granola bar was right behind the dog directly facing him, and Myron was standing a little ways off. "Uh…"

'Just shut up!'

Joshua remained deathly still, not wanting to provoke the things. Yeah, that was something. He'd never seen or read about an animal like these. They looked almost exactly like bloody corpses of regular canines… and they pretty much were.

One of the monsters grew tired of waiting and sprung towards the teenager suddenly. Luckily, someone fired a gun, as the creature was shot down in the middle of its jump. All of the other beasts turned immediately, fangs bared as someone dressed in black came forward out of the fog. "Now, now, little puppies, run along before I have to unleash my bullets on your undead asses."

Two more gunshots rang through the air, frightening the dogs off. Joshua watched as Zeik walked into view, stopping when he saw the teenager. He gasped dramatically. "You? Again?"

"Um… yeah… Who are you again?"

"Hey, it's y-you… that w-w-weird g-guy…"

Zeik turned to the voice, grounding his teeth while Myron approached. "The geek! Ha, splendid! I can enact my revenge now! Perfect!" He raised the gun, grinning widely. "Prepare to die!"

"Oh yeah!" Joshua said while snapping his fingers. "I remember you now! You're that jerk who blew up mom's car! And you made that robot dog attack me at that store! And you made the Happy Burger explode!"

"I l-l-l-liked eat-t-ting t-there…"

"And you tried to do something else! And-,"

"SHUT UP! Damn! Can't you be quiet for one second?" Zeik exclaimed while covering his ears tightly. After about a second he recovered, his crazy gaze jumping from Myron to Joshua, who looked around, locating his granola bar. "Yay!"

He darted over to it, picking it up and waving it around which caused Zeik to leap behind Myron frightened. "Put it away! Put it freakin' away!"

"What?" Joshua dropped it into his pocket. "It's not like I'm going to eat it now; got to save it."

A howl reached their ears, and all three turned their heads to the sound. "Uh oh…"

"H-How m-m-many b-bul-lets do you h-h-h-have l-left?"

Zeik glanced at the gun, shrugging. "I don't know; not many."

"That's not good," Joshua remarked, much more serious. "We better get moving!" With that, he dashed off in the direction opposite the sounds; Myron followed as fast as he could. Zeik only stared at their disappearing forms within the fog, and he sighed.
---

Noah burst out of Brookhaven Church, his left hand placed loosely on his most recent face. He'd underestimated Walter Sullivan, or whoever he was, and paid the price for it. He was forced to waste that silver bullet, the one he had with him for years… but it was pointless to think about that now. He had to find Jeremy Blackheart.

How he was going to find him was the problem. There weren't any vehicles available; it's not like he could drive in his current condition anyway. He had only one choice: he would have to find Jeremy's destined location and somehow get there. Knowing Jeremy, it would most likely be Toluca Lake… for a multitude of reasons.

Noah ground his teeth, trying to control the pains that would jump throughout his body. His vision blurred just a little, but he could make out two people making their way towards the church. He looked around again, noticing Cheryl's car already a fair distance away.

'I should take an alternate route… If, for some reason, I'd end up encountering them… Best to play it safe for now…'

With a groan he forced his way towards the left, out of the sight of the couple.
---

That boy, Myron Cartland… Yes, he was a student of his, and now he was running after him… Him… Was it really him? No… It was Joshua… Joshua Townsend… Yes… That's it…And that man… What was his name? He'd seen him a few times… Zeik… was what he called himself…He was running too… after Joshua and Myron… Myron… that night, the night he met with… Douglas… Cartland… Yes…

Walter Sullivan gagged, clinging to the edge of the wooden pew. He was on his knees, his head on absolute fire.

A cross… gold... Of course… the handicapped man… He gave it to her… and now it was close to him… No… close to Joshua...

Walter had gotten used to these brief, sudden "flashes" since his revival about fifteen years ago. They happened at random times, but were usually extremely short, showing him only bits and pieces of what was occurring with Joshua Townsend. The longer visions, however, he experienced while dreaming…

The doors opened, and Henry Townsend walked inside, soon followed by his wife. He eyed Walter warily, glancing so often at Eileen. "What happened here?"

"…I'm not sure…" answered Sullivan as he rose, regaining his composure, "but I do know Joshua isn't here. I believe he went with Cheryl Mason and an accomplice of hers. I don't know exactly."

"Mason?" That was Eileen. "You mean the teacher from Ashfield High School?" It was clear to both men she was trying to keep herself from exploding on the spot at Walter in a very violent manner, but that would be terribly unwise, as well as unnecessary.

"Yes," Walter replied with his eerie grin, however, it was obvious it was somewhat forced. "It is the exact same person. She seemingly has some connection with The Order, but that is not of my concern any longer." The blond cleared his throat. "I believe I have some useful information for you, though…"

"And what might that be?" responded Henry in the most calm tone he could summon at the moment. "Well… I think I may know where Joshua is..."