I yelped and tried to leap out of the way, but cremated ashes coated me, head to toe. A heavier fragment landed on my nose, and I battled it away so hard that I poked my eye.
Clark fought crazily, back and forth, trying to get out from the cloud of burned dead people.
Oh, God. I coughed. This couldn’t be healthy.
He jumped around like something was stinging him, his eyes wide and crazed. “Dead people,” he bellowed, twisting and turning. He slid through the thick gray material on the ground and crashed into the still attached shelves on the other side of the closet, which came tumbling down. “Oh, God. Dead people ashes,” he yelled, jumping around like a burnt puppy.
More thick material with small bone fragments blew around the entire room, and I ducked as Clark swung out in a panic.
“Stop,” I yelled at him through the murk. “You’re only making it worse.” My skin crawled as if a million ants swarmed me, and I tried to smack away the mess.
He paused, sucking in air with the insane look only seen in rabid wildcats.
Nausea rolled through my stomach and I turned toward the door, ashes falling from my hair.
Krissy held up her phone and snapped several pictures.
A siren quieted the crickets outside. They’d called the cops? My shoulders slumped and more material fell to the floor, where my shoes were already covered.
Clark pushed past me. “Is this dangerous? I need a shower. Where’s the shower?”
Rich shoved him back into the room with one hand on his chest.
Clark skidded through the thick pile on the floor and nearly ran into me. “We’re covered in ashes. Breathing ashes,” he bellowed, his back vibrating crazily. A little drool slid out of the side of his mouth and mingled with the dust, creating a ball of ash near his bottom lip. Particles danced through the air, landing on us.
Krissy lowered her phone. “You’re covered in pulverized bone fragments. The term ‘ashes’ is inaccurate.”
“Bone fragments?” Clark whispered, frantically trying to wipe down his arms and shirt. “Oh God, Oh God. Fragments? We’re breathing in dead people? Where’s the shower?” He lunged at Rich, who moved out of the way, disgust on his face and both hands up to ward Clark away.
“Ahhhh,” Clark yelled, his arms waving wildly as he ran toward the reception room, leaving a cloud of what still looked like thick ashes behind him.
“Clark,” I yelled, running after him. He was leaving a trail as he barreled through the reception room, peeked into the ceremonial room, and then ran through another doorway and down some steps to the basement. The crematorium was probably down there, and I so didn’t want to go into that room. “Stop. Seriously.” I coughed and sneezed, trying not to think of the combination of dead people ashes covering my entire body.
Clark tripped and tumbled, coming up and not losing a step but leaving a perfect palm print of ashes on the wall.
He skidded down a hallway and turned into a green tiled room with a smooth cement floor circling a drain. He lunged for a sink set into a white Formica counter and flipped on the faucet, leaning over to frantically splash water onto his face.
I paused and looked at the two sheet-covered tables and then the machinery on the counter as well as the many closed cupboards. We were in an embalming room. At least the tables were vacant.
I sneezed and tried not to think about whose remains were just in my nose. “Clark?” I croaked out.
He turned, and now a muddy paste covered his face and his shirt. “Ashes,” he whispered, turning to toss more water all over him, thickening the concoction even more. It was a shade lighter than his dark skin, and it seemed to be hardening pretty quickly.
I gulped and grit ground between my teeth. “That’s not helping.”
He groaned and reached for the hand soap, lifting it above his head and pumping the soap all over his very short hair. Bubbles popped through the air. It glopped onto the muddy mixture and slowly slid down the sides of his head, covering his ears. His shoulders slumped.
Krissy leaned to my side, lifted her phone, and took another picture.
“Freeze!” The voice was loud and aggressive and came from the doorway behind me.
Clark froze. So did I.
I partially turned just as Krissy snapped several more pictures of me. Then she and Rich stepped out of the way, and a uniformed Bud Orlov came into view.
Bud looked us up and down before holstering his weapon. “You have got to be kidding me.”
Clark whimpered behind me.
