She helped me move and bury the body, all the while wearing her black dress. We worked in silence, speaking only when necessary. When we were done, she fell asleep in her car for an hour. When she woke up, she drove away without letting me know she was leaving. I spent the rest of the night cleaning up the mess from the party.
***
The next day, a delivery man showed up at the gas station with a package made out to “Mel.” Where the return address should have been, there was only the name “Jeremy.” I tried to accept the package, but the delivery man was adamant that he could only leave the package after it was signed for, and it had to be signed for by the named recipient.
At first, I couldn’t understand why Jerry would send a package to Mel. Unless he was trying to be too clever for his own good. Maybe this was his way of circumventing any postal demons set to intercept my packages. I fought and begged and even tried to bribe the guy, but he insisted he’d lose his job if he didn’t see an I.D. to match the signature for someone named “Mel.” I asked if he’d do me a solid and wait for me to get Mel to come down to the gas station. He said he’d give me half an hour in return for free sodas for life.
I called O’Brien and told her to meet me at the gas station. I kept it brief, but I let her know it was an emergency.
She got there ten minutes later, and I explained to the postman that this was actually “Mel.” It was short for “A-MEL-ia.” He looked at her I.D., then at her badge, and let her sign for it.
“That was the emergency you called me out for?”
O’Brien seemed pissed.
“Yeah, I worried you might not come if I didn’t call it an emergency.”
She shook her head at me and gave me the worried look of disappointment that I was getting all too familiar with.
“Listen, Jack, I looked into Calista.”
I put the package under the counter. It could wait until after this conversation.
“Why?”
“I wanted to see. She’s got a birth record, you know? Calista Malloy grew up here. She went to school. Her photo is in the yearbook. She had library books that were overdue. And now she has friends that are missing her.”
“So?” I said. “That just means that they are really good at building a fake identity. They went the extra mile so that anyone who looks closely won’t see. I’m telling you; Calista Malloy didn’t exist a week ago.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“What are you asking, Amy? Are you asking if I accidentally murdered somebody? I didn’t. Are you asking if we buried an innocent girl last night? She was a monster. She was one of them. I don’t know why she didn’t regenerate. Maybe I hit her in the exact right spot. Maybe she just didn’t feel like coming back. I don’t know. But I’m not crazy! Okay?”
O’Brien walked up and gave me a hug, then said, “I’m sorry.”
Before I knew it, she was gone. I didn’t have time to waste. I didn’t have time to mourn. I had to keep moving.
***
Inside the box were two things. On top, there was a note.
Hey Jack,
By now, you’re probably aware of what’s going on. They’re everywhere. They can look like anyone. And they want you dead.
I told you already, you don’t deserve to die. You shouldn’t be so lucky. You should see what happened, and know that this was all your fault.
I didn’t want to kill him. I didn’t want any of this. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t put a smile on my face.
This is for you. Figure out what to do with it. You’re good at digging holes, right?
The severed head inside the box hadn’t been dead long. I don’t know what compelled me to do so, but I immediately reached inside and took it out. I wasn’t in control of my own actions anymore. Something else had taken over. All I could do was watch.
What?
What is this?
Why?!
Why would he send me this?!
I held the head in my hands and inspected it. The feel of the loose, cold skin… the wet hair… the way the bottom jaw fell open… these images will forever haunt me, but none more than that look in its eyes. I wish to God the eyes weren’t open. I wish he weren’t looking back at me… I wish I didn’t recognize whose head this was. The dark blonde hair, the scraggly beard. There was no mistaking it; Jerry was dead, and I was standing here frozen, staring into his lifeless eyes.