Whimsicallyy

I almost gasped. "What, mom? No," It seemed like our morbid thoughts have rubbed off on her. Poor Brigitte looked at Mom with wide, almost judgmental, eyes.

"We can start fresh, just us, girls," Mom smiled but her eyes looked tired, her face sunken and long, even her pumpkin earnings looked dull.

"What about dad?" Brigitte whispered.

Mom sighed again. She seemed to be doing that a lot tonight. "He'll just blame me, everyone will,"

"It's not your fault, mom..." At my words, her face twisted, wrinkled into a cartoonist frown. The light from the party illuminated her tears and she didn't say anything.

I tugged at Brigitte's sleeve, getting out of the car. "Just... lock your doors, okay?" I said to Mom and we quickly walked away.

The party seemed like it might've actually been fun, if we weren't looking for an almost-turned Ginger. It was loud, with loud music and even louder voices trying to talk over the lyrics. The smell was a mixture of cigarette smoke, weed and sweat with an occasional whiff of cheap perfumes that somehow made the wide selection of scents even worse. 

Everything was dark, I couldn't see my feet and recognizing faces was harder.

I squeezed Brigitte's hand tighter, hoping not to lose her between the people, who were bumping into us. And finally, I spotted Sam's rooms open door. That part of the greenhouse was empty, the chaos now far away.

Sam's voice echoed as he yelled at Ginger and through the small gap in the door, I could see him. He screamed and fell to the ground when I opened the door, revealing Ginger.

Ginger didn't look like herself anymore, her hair fully white, face wrinkled and eyes lost somewhere in a sea of hunger and furry.

"What the hell!" I yelled. Sam whined on the floor and my stomach twisted. 

Ginger only snarled and pushed me with unexpected force. I screamed and fell, more like flew, back onto the desk, the impact knocking some stuff from it. My back pounded from the pain in my spine that crawled up until my neck and sparked in my fingertips, making them numb for a few seconds.

I collapsed to the ground. Someone was screaming: Sam, Brigitte, Ginger - all of their voices mixed together. My vision wasn't very helpful either, just a mix of colors and shapes, all dotting around. 

I patted around on the ground.

"Take me!" Brigitte's voice came out clearer and my vision started to clear too. Trying to crawl to Brigitte, I glanced at Sam. His eyes were on me already, wide and worried, like he had forgotten his own pain.

Brigitte was slicing her hand with a knife and after standing up, barely holding myself up, I grabbed at her but she yanked away. "Brigitte, what are you doing?"

My vision got cleared and clearer with every blink and I could finally understand what was happening. Brigitte was slicing Ginger's hand now and with absolute horror, I dropped on my knees, peeling the knife away from Brigitte and grabbing her other hand. Her palm was sweaty under my fingers.

"No!" I screamed, holding down her trembling hand. My voice was cracking but I didn't care. "What the fuck are you doing!"

Brigitte pulled her hand free and intertwined it with Ginger's, letting herself get infected like signing herself up for death. Sam yelled somewhere behind me and I threw myself between them, trying to rip they hands apart. Brigitte pushed me, grasped my arm and forced me to look at her.

She was silently asking me to trust her, to understand. I slumped to the floor, lip trembling, until Brigitte pulled Ginger and I out of the room.

"We've got to go," She said. I looked back at Sam, who was still on the floor in pain, before disappearing into the crowd of the party.

We stumbled out of the greenhouse and Ginger stopped, her voice changing between hers and a hollow sound.

"I can't..." She panted. "I'm... turning too fast,"

I was about to pull her to continue but she groaned and with a clang, fell down. Sam was standing behind her unconscious body, shovel in hand.

"Why the fuck did you do that?" Brigitte yelled while I looked at Ginger, who laid completely still.

Sam was breathing hard, clenching his hand. "I can't let you do this," He said, looking between Brigitte and I.

"The cure works, we just need to get Ginger to our house, we can make more of it there," I said.

"Well, shit, how was I supposed to know that?" Sam said, throwing the shovel to the side. I looked at his hand, concerned.

"Can you drive us home?" I said with a wild heart. "I don't think any of us can walk..." I looked at Brigitte, who's face had turned pale. She clutched her sliced hand.

Sam nodded but didn't look away from my face. Pretending not to notice, I helped Brigitte lift Ginger.

Brigitte and I were cramped in the front passenger seat and she was leaning on me for support, breathing heavily, eyes closed. I opened her injured palm. The cut was already healing.

"Jesus..." Sam whispered, noticing the wound. "She could've killed you, y'know. Ginger, I mean," He nodded to the back of the truck where we locked Ginger up.

I bit my lip. He was right but I couldn't leave Ginger alone or Brigitte with her. 

Thinking back to how I ran away from Sam, my body heated up. "Sorry about earlier..." I muttered, very quietly, hoping that maybe Sam didn't hear it but he did and gave me a smile.

"When we get to the house, we cure Ginger then Brigitte," I said.

Sam didn't say anything for a second. "Then what?" He asked with a deep, tired voice.

"We run," Sam only looked at me, his eyes betraying unsaid words. We had to make it out alive first. 

Brigitte stirred by my side, followed by a muffled cough from Ginger. She was turning fast and we didn't know how much longer she would hold on.

When we got to the house, Brigitte was up, trembling and unsteady but determined. She opened the garage door for Sam.

"I'll be right back," She said, taking the syringe, while Sam and I got out.

"How's your arm?" I asked, pointing at it. He had it gently tucked to the side.

"Feels like shit," He said but quickly added after seeing my frown. "But I'll be okay,"

I nodded. Cold air filtered in through the open garage door and I took a deep breath.

"Shit," Sam suddenly cursed loudly and I almost jumped. He was looking at his vans back door, which was ajar. My heart dropped to my stomach. I could hear it pounding in my ears. "Yeah, so... I meant to fix that,"

Brigitte inhaled. "Did she get out?"

I peeked through the window with Sam by my side. "God, I hope not..." He muttered beside me, squinting into the darkness. Brigitte passed him a flashlight and I backed up.

All of us were too scared to breathe.

A leap and a roar broke through the doors, knocking Sam back and into the wall. For a second I saw something before it knocked down Brigitte and I too. Whatever it was, was not human and definitely not Ginger.

The creature was loudly growling, breaking stuff all over the place inside the house. Sam cursed and crawled over to Brigitte and I, where we squatted in the doorway.

"The monkshoods is in there," I whispered. Our breathing was the only thing I could hear.

"This is crazy," Sam whispered back.

I almost gasped. "What, mom? No," It seemed like our morbid thoughts have rubbed off on her. Poor Brigitte looked at Mom with wide, almost judgmental, eyes.

"We can start fresh, just us, girls," Mom smiled but her eyes looked tired, her face sunken and long, even her pumpkin earnings looked dull.

"What about dad?" Brigitte whispered.

Mom sighed again. She seemed to be doing that a lot tonight. "He'll just blame me, everyone will,"

"It's not your fault, mom..." At my words, her face twisted, wrinkled into a cartoonist frown. The light from the party illuminated her tears and she didn't say anything.

I tugged at Brigitte's sleeve, getting out of the car. "Just... lock your doors, okay?" I said to Mom and we quickly walked away.

The party seemed like it might've actually been fun, if we weren't looking for an almost-turned Ginger. It was loud, with loud music and even louder voices trying to talk over the lyrics. The smell was a mixture of cigarette smoke, weed and sweat with an occasional whiff of cheap perfumes that somehow made the wide selection of scents even worse. 

Everything was dark, I couldn't see my feet and recognizing faces was harder.

I squeezed Brigitte's hand tighter, hoping not to lose her between the people, who were bumping into us. And finally, I spotted Sam's rooms open door. That part of the greenhouse was empty, the chaos now far away.

Sam's voice echoed as he yelled at Ginger and through the small gap in the door, I could see him. He screamed and fell to the ground when I opened the door, revealing Ginger.

Ginger didn't look like herself anymore, her hair fully white, face wrinkled and eyes lost somewhere in a sea of hunger and furry.

"What the hell!" I yelled. Sam whined on the floor and my stomach twisted. 

Ginger only snarled and pushed me with unexpected force. I screamed and fell, more like flew, back onto the desk, the impact knocking some stuff from it. My back pounded from the pain in my spine that crawled up until my neck and sparked in my fingertips, making them numb for a few seconds.

I collapsed to the ground. Someone was screaming: Sam, Brigitte, Ginger - all of their voices mixed together. My vision wasn't very helpful either, just a mix of colors and shapes, all dotting around. 

I patted around on the ground.

"Take me!" Brigitte's voice came out clearer and my vision started to clear too. Trying to crawl to Brigitte, I glanced at Sam. His eyes were on me already, wide and worried, like he had forgotten his own pain.

Brigitte was slicing her hand with a knife and after standing up, barely holding myself up, I grabbed at her but she yanked away. "Brigitte, what are you doing?"

My vision got cleared and clearer with every blink and I could finally understand what was happening. Brigitte was slicing Ginger's hand now and with absolute horror, I dropped on my knees, peeling the knife away from Brigitte and grabbing her other hand. Her palm was sweaty under my fingers.

"No!" I screamed, holding down her trembling hand. My voice was cracking but I didn't care. "What the fuck are you doing!"

Brigitte pulled her hand free and intertwined it with Ginger's, letting herself get infected like signing herself up for death. Sam yelled somewhere behind me and I threw myself between them, trying to rip they hands apart. Brigitte pushed me, grasped my arm and forced me to look at her.

She was silently asking me to trust her, to understand. I slumped to the floor, lip trembling, until Brigitte pulled Ginger and I out of the room.

"We've got to go," She said. I looked back at Sam, who was still on the floor in pain, before disappearing into the crowd of the party.

We stumbled out of the greenhouse and Ginger stopped, her voice changing between hers and a hollow sound.

"I can't..." She panted. "I'm... turning too fast,"

I was about to pull her to continue but she groaned and with a clang, fell down. Sam was standing behind her unconscious body, shovel in hand.

"Why the fuck did you do that?" Brigitte yelled while I looked at Ginger, who laid completely still.

Sam was breathing hard, clenching his hand. "I can't let you do this," He said, looking between Brigitte and I.

"The cure works, we just need to get Ginger to our house, we can make more of it there," I said.

"Well, shit, how was I supposed to know that?" Sam said, throwing the shovel to the side. I looked at his hand, concerned.

"Can you drive us home?" I said with a wild heart. "I don't think any of us can walk..." I looked at Brigitte, who's face had turned pale. She clutched her sliced hand.

Sam nodded but didn't look away from my face. Pretending not to notice, I helped Brigitte lift Ginger.

Brigitte and I were cramped in the front passenger seat and she was leaning on me for support, breathing heavily, eyes closed. I opened her injured palm. The cut was already healing.

"Jesus..." Sam whispered, noticing the wound. "She could've killed you, y'know. Ginger, I mean," He nodded to the back of the truck where we locked Ginger up.

I bit my lip. He was right but I couldn't leave Ginger alone or Brigitte with her. 

Thinking back to how I ran away from Sam, my body heated up. "Sorry about earlier..." I muttered, very quietly, hoping that maybe Sam didn't hear it but he did and gave me a smile.

"When we get to the house, we cure Ginger then Brigitte," I said.

Sam didn't say anything for a second. "Then what?" He asked with a deep, tired voice.

"We run," Sam only looked at me, his eyes betraying unsaid words. We had to make it out alive first. 

Brigitte stirred by my side, followed by a muffled cough from Ginger. She was turning fast and we didn't know how much longer she would hold on.

When we got to the house, Brigitte was up, trembling and unsteady but determined. She opened the garage door for Sam.

"I'll be right back," She said, taking the syringe, while Sam and I got out.

"How's your arm?" I asked, pointing at it. He had it gently tucked to the side.

"Feels like shit," He said but quickly added after seeing my frown. "But I'll be okay,"

I nodded. Cold air filtered in through the open garage door and I took a deep breath.

"Shit," Sam suddenly cursed loudly and I almost jumped. He was looking at his vans back door, which was ajar. My heart dropped to my stomach. I could hear it pounding in my ears. "Yeah, so... I meant to fix that,"

Brigitte inhaled. "Did she get out?"

I peeked through the window with Sam by my side. "God, I hope not..." He muttered beside me, squinting into the darkness. Brigitte passed him a flashlight and I backed up.

All of us were too scared to breathe.

A leap and a roar broke through the doors, knocking Sam back and into the wall. For a second I saw something before it knocked down Brigitte and I too. Whatever it was, was not human and definitely not Ginger.

The creature was loudly growling, breaking stuff all over the place inside the house. Sam cursed and crawled over to Brigitte and I, where we squatted in the doorway.

"The monkshoods is in there," I whispered. Our breathing was the only thing I could hear.

"This is crazy," Sam whispered back.