Lauren and her parents left the restaurant in a hurry, but she didn’t quite understand why. A thick cold had washed over her. She hadn’t been able to think straight. The chair wasn’t comfortable. The noise had been unbearable. And her nose prickled with a pungent smell that made her skin crawl.


    Once outside, she had secured her seatbelt and watched people flock around her parent’s car. Dad muttered to himself as he moved onto the road. A few cars had knocked into each other. One had even mounted the curb. The people were running in droves, but then it just stopped and as easily as blinking the pain away when something gets stuck in your eye. Lauren and her parents sat there stunned, confused.


    “Why are we leaving in such a hurry dear?” Lauren heard her Dad say.


    Her mom shook her head and lifted her hands, “I’m not sure dear. Did you say there was something on the schedule?”               “Must have been the carnival,” Dad replied.


    Yes, that had to be it. Lauren thought.


    Lauren came to the carnival and helped out with the games and her parent''s book. She had enjoyed a few treats but couldn’t quite get the strange lunch out of her mind. What the heck had happened? As a teen, Lauren had never quite understood pranks and practical jokes. After the last few days, she didn’t have any answers, and it gave her a knot in her stomach when she watched people who could make light of a serious situation.


    The oncoming Carnival crowd filled the park, and officials came by to make sure the participants had everything they needed. Lauren’s Dad handled the conversation while Lauren focused on the crowd who swarmed to each booth or attraction with bubbly excitement, and squeals of delight.


    “Want to spin?” Lauren asked a group as they approached the table. “What we’ve got could be awesome for you, Mom and Dad.”


    The parents blushed and politely declined. Lauren put a smile and averted her gaze as a few gory-looking costumes shuffled past. The group was populated with older kids carrying grocery bags and soda bottles. One of them, in particular, had an old Viking double-bladed axe.


    Pull it together. Lauren focused on the crowd, but her mind danced around the last few days and how many things didn’t make sense. Why wouldn''t a murderer come to this town? Who would actually kill someone with an axe? There had been government agents swarming the town for several weeks now, and the police were almost a permanent fixture on campus. Had someone really attacked the businesses, or had it something dreadful but reasonable, like a gas leak and someone had been smoking in a bad spot?


    “You’re really giving away a luxury vacation?” a man asked. His fingers hovered over a pen, but he didn’t look entirely convinced.


    “Give it a try?” Lauren heard her dad say. “It''s one hundred percent open for the taking.”


    The man picked up the pen, signed a form, and reached to move the spinner while his kids started playing some ring toss games. Lauren waved at some people as they wandered by, but then she wrinkled her nose as the smell from before filled the area.


    “What is that?” her mom asked. She waved her hand in front of her face, but it seemed like a useless gesture.


    “I’m not sure,” Dad replied.


    Lauren was about to reply, but she heard a rustle behind the booth. Lauren turned and pulled the sheet back as someone disappeared behind some of the neighboring booths


    Someone was back here?


    Lauren fingered the sheet but then swiveled in place as the participants pulled away and took off at a run. The Jones heard people crying out; there was laughter and concern, but then the police officers swarmed the park.


    “Something is happening,” Mom said.


    “I’ve had three workers text me saying the police are responding to some kind of disturbance,” Dad said.


    “Let’s go home.” Mom said, “I don’t like this. Want to spend the night at home?”


    Lauren shook her head, “My apartment is just up the street. I’ll be fine.”


    They watched some cars pull out onto the road.


    “Plus,” Lauren added, “I think it''s going to take forever to get across town.”


    “Let''s secure the cash box, and I would like to walk you to the crosswalk.”


    “Thanks, Dad,” Lauren said.


    They chatted about basic security, and Lauren felt tired as she headed across the crosswalk.


    It was time to go home.


    She crossed the street and reached the next corner while people in costume were playing around in nearby restaurants, and she noticed purple, blue, and green lights spilling over the campus stadium’s bleachers and bandstands. There would probably be a dance there sometime in the next few hours. Maybe she would swing by.


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    Beep.


    The signal shifted and then proceeded across the next crosswalk. Her eyes itched with tiredness, and she thought about her schedule for the next day. A light chill kept her upright and her mouth began to water as she took in some of the ads posted in a strip of the restaurant windows that had been built into one of the larger apartment complexes. The food was inviting, even though it had been only a few hours since the visit to the Cows Tail. It seemed a lot longer to her stomach, and it was compounded by the rich chocolate goodness presented in a cake and milkshake shop.


    Lauren slowed her pace to take in the extraordinary culinary splendor. She had money, but she also had leftovers. If she hurried, she could shower and have a feast. Her roommates would most likely be in and out and bring out any number of goodies she could help herself to.


    When the curb met a stretch of grass, Lauren moved to the gutter and her stomach hardened when she spotted an overflowing dumpster. As a few cars drove past she spotted small creatures messing with wrappers and small containers. None of them honked, but the simple noises were enough to make each little critter scurry away. Lauren tried hard not to swallow or mull over the smells. The putrid barrage was merciless. Her feet skidded across the ground. She only had a few more blocks to go.


    along with the thick sand of spice meat and buttery goodness, all of which were etched in her nose. And made her mouth water. Those moments were quite heavy, but then there was an order. That ruptured the extraordinary culinary splendor. Lauren''s feet skidded across the sidewalk, and she wrinkled her nose. And try not to swallow.


    A few more cars zipped past, and two honked. Lauren pulled her red cape tighter across her shoulders as the gusts from the cars cut through her clothing.


    “Hey look!” someone yelled. “It''s Little Red Riding Hood and the scrawny, little wolf.”


    “What?” Lauren called out, but she didn’t see who had spoken. She did a complete circle and was facing back toward the restaurant when a single car merged into the street. Its brights cast heavy rays across the parking lots and the hedges of the campus buildings. Lauren could smell the exhaust, and she saw nothing until the car neared a tree that partially shrouded the dumpsters.


    Lauren blinked twice and spotted a thin but hairy frame crouching beside the tree. It wore shredded clothes that once looked like a sweater vest and a dress shirt. The figure moved almost dragging its arms across the ground. It had long claws, a scruffy snout, and piercing yellow eyes that were fixed on her.


    When the figure stretched and threw its head into the air. Lauren took off at a run. The eyes cut into her confidence and filled her with a spine-tingling with dread. Lauren pumped her arms and could hear a throat growl coming up behind her.


    “Help!” Lauren screamed, cutting across a length of grass, and stumbled into a parking lot. It was rectangular and chucked full of cars. There were a few lights on at the ground level, and she could hear noises coming from multiple apartments.


    “HELP,” Lauren yelled as something swiped at her foot, causing her to lose her footing, and she collapsed between two cars. Lauren forced her arms out to brace her fall. The overall force caused multiple car alarms to blare and shriek. Lauren cupped her hands over her ears and muffled a howl and a yip of discomfort.


    “What the devil!” Someone called, and with a beep, an alarm turned off.


    “Don’t mess with my car, you moron!” and the warning was accompanied by a door slamming shut.


    Lauren moved to her knees, and a few more cars turned off, but then others turned on. Lauren looked up and saw people messing with their keys and pointing at the sidewalk.


    “What''s going on out here?” A guy''s voice said. Lauren bit her lip as rocks cut into her skin, but she scrambled toward the tiny bits of light coming from the open apartment door.


    “I’m here, something is after me!” Lauren screamed, her vision blurring as her heart raced. She picked herself up and stumbled across the parking lot. The speaker, a guy in a dark blue football jersey, hurried over, and Lauren felt a pain across her back.


    “What happened to you?” he said, but Lauren couldn’t offer an answer, and his voice stuttered as a gunshot cut through the air. Lauren immediately moved to the ground, and she was grateful that the guy assumed a crouched position over the top of her. There were screams, kicks, punches and animal sounds, growls, whimpers and snarls.


    “Over here, Tom!” one of the residents urged, and Lauren let Tom pick her up by the waist, and together they scrambled only a few feet. The sounds continued, and then there was a howl followed by multiple gunshots. These were louder, and Lauren heard people scream and cry out. furniture was thrown over to create a barricade as windows were pierced or destroyed.


    Lauren curled up in a ball as she sat in a corner beside a discarded blanket. She blinked, tried to swallow, and then remembered to breathe.


    “That’s gunpowder!” a girl shrieked. “What was going on out there.”


    “I have no idea,” Tom said, “but I’m not interested to find out.”


    “The cops are on their way,” a boy with wavy black hair said from his hideout beside the kitchen table. The floor was covered with a few broken plates, and the sink’s water faucet was on and running; steam rose from the sink''s depths.


    Lauren covered her ears and closed her eyes, and she held them that way as tight as she could. There were a few shouts, more snarls, and growls. There was a punch, a scream, and even more gunshots and a yelp before all was quiet.


    “Stay down!” Tom urged. “If the axe murderer has upgraded to a gun, we’re all done for.”


    Lauren remained where she was, and it didn’t take long before her back and feet began to numb. Despite the discomfort, Lauren stayed stationary. The silence lingered, and then another resident moved into a room and pulled out their cell phone.


    “The cops should hurry,” a girl’s voice said.


    Lauren agreed, but she didn’t move and it took quite a while for the mood in the apartment to calm down. Lauren felt a hand on her shoulder, and once red and blue flashing lights bounced off the covered window, Lauren found a degree of composure.


    “I’m glad you’re ok,” Tom said.


    “Thanks,” Lauren replied, teary-eyed. She didn’t realize just how tired she was, and her hunger had escaped her thoughts and desires. Tom handed her a blanket and she graciously put it around her shoulders. The material was soft and warm. Lauren leaned back on the couch, and her eyes filled with tears.


    What had just happened!


    Lauren cupped a hand to her head. She couldn’t think straight. There was pressure on her shoulders, and nothing made sense about what she had seen or why someone would need a gun.


    “This is her?” she heard someone say.


    “Yes, she was freaking out in the parking lot, and someone had a gun. There was a lot of howling. It sounded like quite a fight.”


    “I see,” the voice said, and Lauren watched some EMT rush into the apartment, and she let them work and happily passed out.