Stay Dead: Kings of the Castle (Part Six)

Nightfall came quickly for the kids but the creatures could care less. They continued to pull and pry at the siding, to scrape at the doors, and claw at the windows. Keith, Connor, and Kayla sat cross-legged in the center of their room with the window open. They hoped by being quite that maybe the things would forget, or find something else to chase after, as they often did. There were too many this time, it was as if they kept each other going.

The man in the van had given up on watching and crawled to the back of the van where he would be out of eyesight. He snuggled up on a bench seat and wrapped himself in a child’s blanket. The blanket had little farm animals arranged in an obnoxious pattern. He closed his eyes and hoped he could catch a few winks before introducing himself to the kids.

Connor’s eyebrow moved up in curios arc. He had an idea. “Firecrackers,” he mumbled.

“What,” Keith asked his younger brother.

“Firecrackers,” he repeated.

“Oh, man! Why didn’t I think of that,” Keith said.

“Think of what,” Kayla asked sheepishly.

“We can distract them with firecrackers,” Keith said excitedly.

“Mom took them away from me… she hid them in her closet,” Keith frowned.

They hunched over and snuck over to Keith and Connor’s parent’s bedroom. They didn’t often venture into their room. The family pictures made them sad and often pulled tears from their eyes. The room smelled of perfume, clean linens, and looked just as it did before the monsters came. Keith opened the closet door and his father’s work shirts hung across the distance from wall to wall. Aside from different colors they might as well have been the same shirt. Connor pulled a step stool from the back of the closet and Keith used it to reach the top shelf where his mother had hid the firecrackers she took from him a few months ago. He had completely forgotten he had ever had them. His small hand felt around the dusty shelf and could feel only boxes. So, he pulled them down and handed them one by one to Kayla and Connor. Then Keith stepped off the stool and they all began rummaging through the boxes. They came across old photographs and keepsakes, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, lingerie, and adult magazines. They opened the last box and found a treasure trove of all the things their parents had taken away from the over the years; a pocket knife, whoopee cushion, throwing stars, plenty of other juvenile trinkets and of course the firecrackers. Connor jumped and grabbed them. Keith grabbed the lighter and throwing stars. Kayla grabbed the pocket knife. They all hurried back to their room and tiptoed toward the window.

Keith lit the first pack of firecrackers and launched it out the window. It landed on the front lawn a few feet past the persistent creatures. It crackled and popped. The noise caused many of the dead things to turn toward the noise. Keith lit another pack and was able to throw it a foot or two further. The same noise and the same result; most of the creatures were now away from the house. The rear of the house still had a number of them biting and scraping at the walls. Keith, now in the bathroom, threw the last package of firecrackers out the window which faced the back yard. It worked. All the creatures Keith could see were now moving away from the house in search of a noise they would never be able to find. The three of them high-fived each other and then headed downstairs to the kitchen. Keith grabbed three giant bowls and spoons. Connor pulled a variety of cereal boxes from the pantry and put them on the table. He then grabbed a bottle of soda. The milk was long-gone so, the three of them ate cereal and soda till they felt as if they would pop.

…to be continued in Stay Dead: Kings of the Castle Part 7!