User:Posti/Replacement Cost
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Works by Bob Stein on Shifti |
Replacement Cost
Austin yelled and grabbed the dashboard as the Subaru went airborne, then slammed down and skidded sideways in the sand. His side lifted up, bringing the car perilously close to rolling over before Jim twisted the wheel and dropped them back to all four wheels. Their excitement was fueled by the added risk of being caught – tonight’s playground was the shallow hills of a nature preserve that started just above the flat and boring beach.
A ticket would most likely cost Jim both the battered little 4-wheel drive and his new driver’s license. And with Austin still a month away from even a learner’s permit, the two boys would be back to bicycles and the bus. Luckily, this particular stretch was a good mile away from the million-dollar beach homes that bordered either end of the preserve. They’d be able to see headlights long before any other vehicle got close, and the station wagon was practically invisible as long Jim didn’t hit the brakes.
Not a problem, as the only pedal the 16 year-old had used so far was the accelerator. He straightened the wheel and launched them up the next dune with a shout that turned abruptly into a scream as they slammed into a large, dark shape on the opposite side.
The world spun around in a series of jarring somersaults, each impact throwing them in a different direction. Both of them were still screaming when the car finally teetered on its crumpled nose and fell back with teeth-jarring force.
Austin remained hunched over in his seat, eyes tightly clenched, until he became aware of Jim’s voice. “Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit!” His friend was clutching the now-bent steering wheel, staring at the shattered windshield. They looked at each other, panting and wide-eyed a moment, before Austin remembered countless movie scenes and fumbled frantically at his seat belt. “We gotta get out of here! The car could explode!”
Jim’s door was stuck, and they both ended up scrambling out of the car from the passenger side, then staggering off to what they thought might be a safe distance before finally collapsing onto the sand and looking back. The Subaru was unrecognizable, a crumpled shape that popped and hissed in the dark. Austin stared at the wreck for almost a full minute before he thought to check himself for injuries. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jim do the same.
He had some minor nicks and scrapes, and he’d banged his head against the roof a couple of times as the car flipped. But his thick tangle of brown hair had cushioned the impact enough keep damage down to some bruises, and nothing was broken or even bleeding bad. Austin let out a shaky sigh of relief, then looked over at his friend.
Jim hadn’t fared quite as well. His blonde buzz cut hadn’t been as effective a pillow, and there was blood running down the left side of his head. It was weird seeing him without his ever-present glasses – they must have come off in the accident. Still, the tall, lanky boy managed a weak smile and nod to indicate he was OK.
“Holy crap! What did we hit?” Austin stood up slowly and looked back, but the point of impact was hidden by the crest of a dune.
The older boy remained seated, staring blearily at his car. “Oh, man. I am so screwed. Totally screwed. Mom and dad are gonna kill me. Shit! I blew all my savings buying it, too! I’ll never be able to replace it!”
“Maybe we can say we blew a tire or something?” Austin tried to think of a plausible lie to help his friend out. “Or maybe somebody was chasing us and we were…” His voice caught in his throat as he saw something big step out from the gnarled trees further inland. “Shit! What’s that?” Even as he spoke, more large, dark shapes emerged. Then he relaxed as the leader stepped into a patch of moonlight. “Ponies.” The sanctuary was home to several herds of wild horses, though they didn’t usually come near humans.
“Wonder what are they doing out here? I thought they stayed back in the forest.” Jim got up and squinted at the approaching animals – it looked like they were more curious about the impact site than the boys.
Austin felt his gut clench. “I think you hit one of them.”
“No way!” There was a note of alarm in the other boy’s voice. “I mean, they woulda heard the car and run away!” Then he sagged. “Oh, shit. What if it’s hurt bad?”
The silence was not encouraging. Austin started up the dune, retracing the car’s path. Some of the ponies were close enough to make him nervous now, but they didn’t seem to be aggressive.
“Hey, don’t go over there! What if they bite?” Jim stayed by the car until he was almost to the top of the dune, then jogged to catch up. “What can we do, anyway? I mean, if we did… well, you know.”
Austin had to force himself to take the last few steps, and when he saw what lay beyond, spun and threw up. His friend hung back, looking scared and pale. It was probably good that the world was a blur to him. Steeling himself, Austin wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and went down to crumpled shape. The horse had to be dead – half its guts were spilled out on the sand. It helped that the moonlight and shadow didn’t show gore as clearly as sunlight.
“Is it dead?”
“No shit, Sherlock!” Austin felt annoyance at the older boy. Even minus glasses, that much had to be obvious. Morbid curiosity drew him around to the other side for a better look. The pony had shaggy, off-white fur with large brown splotches. He thought it might have been female, though there was so much damage it was hard to tell. The Subaru had caught her square in the side, crushing the chest and ripping open her hide as it rolled past.
Slight movement caught his eye, and for a moment he had a flicker of hope. But the motion came from the mass of internal organs, not any of the horse’s limbs. He leaned closer for a better look, frowning at something that looked out of place. A bone? No – a small leg. Realization hit as the tiny limb jerked once more.
“Oh, God.” Kneeling in the gore, he reached into the still-warm entrails and felt around, his stomach heaving. It only took a half-minute to pull the foal clear of its dead mother. Even as it slid free, he knew the effort had been wasted. It was not fully formed, probably months premature. Dead before it could even be born.
“Jesus, Austin! What are you doing?” Jim peered down from the top of the dune.
“It was a mother and foal.” Austin felt his eyes burn. “Shit!”
“Get away from there! That’s sick, man!”
A wave of revulsion made Austin shiver and scramble back from the lifeless animals. Tears ran down his face and he grabbed handfuls of sand and scoured the blood from his arms and fingers.
“Hey, get away from me!”
He looked up to see Jim backing away from a pony that had come up behind him. The animal whinnied and lunged suddenly, knocking the boy backwards with its muzzle. Jim tumbled down the dune with a frightened yelp, landing in a heap near the dead mare’s head. As soon as he saw where he was, he scrambled back as far as he could and then looked up with obvious fear.
The dunes surrounding them were now topped by equine shapes, all staring down at them. It had to be an entire herd. Austin saw a few gangly foals among the adult forms. What were they doing? A prickly feeling ran down his neck and he moved slowly to join his friend. Did horses feel grief? Anger?
“What’s going on?” Jim’s voice cracked. Without his glasses, he looked vulnerable and oddly childlike despite being almost a full year older. “Why are they looking at us like that?”
“Why do you think?” It was hard not to be sarcastic, even though the prickly feeling was getting worse. “You killed one of them. Maybe they know it.”
“Shit! They are animals! They don’t know stuff like that!” Jim’s voice cracked again, this time staying in the higher register. He had to be terrified.
Austin sighed. There was no point in beating up on his friend. Moving over to the still-seated boy, he looked down with a half-smile. “Hey, it was an accident. And they aren’t attacking us or anything. I bet they wander off in just a few minutes.” It was a strange reversal of roles – Jim was usually the leader, the adventurous member of their duo. Now he was the one cowering in the sand while Austin took charge. Poor guy. Austin reached down and patted his head in reassurance, half expecting Jim to knock his hand away. Instead, the boy leaned against his legs. God, was he shivering?
The horses didn’t move. After what seemed like a very long time, Austin began to feel his arms and legs start to cramp up a little. Damn. Guess he had more bruises than he thought. His jeans were starting to get a little stiff and tight as the mare’s blood dried, and his nose wrinkled at the metallic stink of death that was getting stronger every minute. What were they waiting for?
He shifted uncomfortably. They should go to a hospital and get checked out. His feet throbbed now, even his chest felt slightly constricted. There could be some internal injuries – maybe he was bleeding inside. Would that cause swelling? Finally, after waiting another five or ten minutes, he reached down and touched Jim, who was still leaning against his legs. “Come on. We need to get out of here. This is too weird.”
He took a couple of steps, wincing as his clothes cut into his skin. Jim got up as soon as he moved, staying close enough to brush against Austin’s back. A little annoyed, he turned around to give his friend a hard time, only to recoil with a guttural cry. The thing behind him was at least a foot shorter, with deformed features and dark skin splotched with hair. It was also wearing Jim’s clothing.
It took a moment to sink in that this ugly, fuzzy little boy had to be his friend. And with that realization came true terror. No matter what injuries they might have suffered, nothing could make a person get younger! His fear was so great that he almost didn’t notice the child was staring up at him with the same horror.
Austin felt his face with fingers that were very stiff and slightly numb. He seemed to have the same protruding nose and mouth that Jim had developed, though it also appeared that he was getting larger even as Jim shrank. Shit! This couldn’t be happening! Maybe it was all some stupid hallucination. He’d hit his head, right?
The air was suddenly filled with whinnies. He grabbed Jim and pulled him close instinctively, and felt small arms wrap tightly around his waist. All the horses were crying out, making a noise that hammered at Austin’s ears so painfully that he finally had to throw his head back and scream himself. His voice rose in volume and pitch, until it matched the sounds of the animals around them.
Then there was sudden silence. All of them horses and human, stopping as if a switch had been thrown. Austin swayed unsteadily, feeling awkward and off-balance. It didn’t help to have Jim clasping him desperately round the knees. Huh? Feeling dazed, he looked down. It was difficult to identify anything human about the tiny thing shivering at his feet, but whatever it was could hardly be more than a baby. Its entire body was covered in white fur, with splotches of brown. Just like the fur that now covered Austin’s legs. Just like the fur on the….
He looked automatically over towards the dead mare and found both an answer and despair. Instead of the shattered pony, there were two mangled shapes of nearly equal size sprawled in the sand. Nostrils flared, catching changes in scent both there and nearby. His guts rolled and squirmed, doubling him over with a deep grunt that did not sound human. Another internal spasm nearly toppled him forward, but he caught himself with arms that were far too long.
He had to twist his head to look back at Jim now, for his eyes had been pushed to the sides by an emerging snout. If he had hoped to offer any words of comfort, or even a simple goodbye, it was too late. Another internal convulsion rolled through his belly, and the tiny, misshapen thing that had been his best friend shimmered and vanished before his eyes.
Alone now, Austin shivered miserably as the final changes swept through his… no, her body. Her nose told her what her eyes could not. She was the mare now, a perfect replacement for the slain animal. And in her womb slept an unborn foal that had been Jim. Vision was distorted now, but she could still see well enough to recognize their human faces on the mutilated bodies. The sight startled her, and she snorted and backed away, then turned and trotted up to join the rest of her herd. There was a nagging sensation of loss, and a fleeting thought of sadness. Then even the sadness was gone, leaving only hunger and a desire to leave behind the stink of death.
The end
