TYBEE ISLAND Continued from the May 2017 Beachcomber. Catch up @ http://tybeebeachcomber.com/magazine The chief stops when he notices the blood all over Todd. “What the F&%$ happened to you Todd?” With an effort to stay calm, Todd explains what happened when he and Cappy went to check on Bobby. “Halloween was two months ago Todd.” But before Todd can respond, a horrible gargling sound comes from behind the door, followed by scratching and clawing. “What the hell is that?” “I’m telling you Chief, it’s Bobby. He’s stark raving mad. The way he ripped open Cappy’s throat, I mean, he’s full of a rage I’ve never seen before, and I’ve seen some shit. We’ve got to go in there… and you’d better be ready to shoot Bobby, cause if he grabs you, he’s gonna kill you.” “You’d better not be shitting me. If this is a joke and I shoot Bobby you’re going down for murder.” “I’m not shitting you Chief. Bobby’s one of my best friends. I wouldn’t do that.” He unlocks the door and looks at the chief. “Be ready Chief… what you’re going to see isn’t Bobby. It’s something that will haunt your dreams forever!” The chief draws his revolver, slowly turns the door handle, takes a deep breath, and shoves the door open. It slams into what used to be Bobby and knocks him backwards to the other side of the room. Bobby snarls at the chief and begins his attack. The chief quickly puts two bullets into Bobby’s chest and he flops to the bed. Bobby jumps back to his feet and begins another attack towards the chief. The chief’s revolver explodes a third time and Bobby falls to the floor with a neat, round hole between his eyes. “That’s not possible,” says the chief. “What the f&%$ is going on here Todd?! This is insane.” “I told ya Chief. Look at Cappy over there. He looks like Bobby did when we found him. LOOK AT HIS EYES CHIEF!” Cappy’s eyes had turned yellow and red and he was bleeding from his nose, his mouth, his eyes, and his ears. “We need to call someone. This is way above my pay grade. Come on Todd, let’s go outside and figure out what to do.” They walk out and lock the door. “Did you hear that?” A gurgling was heard behind the door. “Damn. I need to call the mayor. Stay here and don’t let ANYONE near this door until I get back.” It was around noon when the men in the white suits showed up. One more gunshot was heard. The pier burned at 7pm. Some locals still remember what really happened, but it’s only talked about behind closed doors. Rest in peace Bobby and Cappy. While you seem to have been the first victims of this deadly disease, you certainly won’t be the last. TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JULY 2017 33 By By Paul Paul Cales Chapter 2 The Pier Incident - Part II Todd shows up for work at the pier at his usual 9am. As he walks up the ramp, he notices Cappy sitting by the concession stand sipping on a coffee and watching the fog roll out. “Not fishing this morning Cappy?” he asks. “Nothing out there biting Todd. It’s freaking December!” Cappy says. “Bobby seems to do quite well with the shee-,” Todd begins. “Shut it Toddly! Bastard took me for a C-note last night. I made the mistake of betting him he couldn’t catch a sheepshead in less than 30 minutes.” “Big mistake. Speaking of Bobby… where the hell is he? Trash ain’t emptied and the damn pier lights are still on from last night.” “Haven’t seen him since last night. By the way, when he was walking out of the water something took a hunk out of his ankle. Nasty bite. Must have been a baby shark.” “If a shark bit Bobby I bet that shark is still drunk. I don’t know how much blood Bobby has in his alcohol system. Let’s go wake him up.” They make their way over to Bobby’s room and start banging on the door. “Wake up ya old pickle back!” Cappy shouts. There’s no response from behind the door and Cappy knocks again. “What the hell Cappy? You think he’s alright?” “Maybe we should break the door down.” Todd pulls a bundle of keys from his pocket and dangles them in Cappy’s face. “No need to destroy a perfectly good door when I’ve got these.” He unlocks the door and swings it open to an eerie calm. Bobby is laying on his back with his left leg on the floor and the rest of him sprawled on the bed. It’s dark and musty in the room. “You smell that Cappy?” “Yeah man. Smells sweet and rancid like roadkill,” Cappy says as he moves closer to Bobby. “You okay bud?” There’s no movement at all. He leans forward to get a closer look at Bobby and says, “Damn Todd, he’s got blood coming from every hole in his head.” He looks back at Todd and exclaims, “His eyes are wide open and they’re freaking me out. They’re red and yellow Todd, RED AND YELLOW!” Just as Cappy leans in to see if Bobby is breathing, Bobby lurches up and bites solidly into his neck. Cappy screams and pulls away. His blood paints Todd from head to toe. Cappy falls to the floor in a heap and goes into convulsions. Bobby turns his attention to Todd, who is seemingly frozen in shock. Bobby lunges for him and Todd barely moves out of the way in time. He rushes for the door, exits, and slams it shut. He locks the door and reaches for the radio on his hip. “Chief Bronson, you there?” Todd leans his back against the door and slides down to the floor. He puts his face in his hands and waits for the chief to show up. About ten minutes pass and he spots the chief walking up the pier ramp. “Over here Chief!”
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