𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐔𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 - 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘐𝘐

11: The Beginning of the End X

The Beginning of the End
Part 10

Susie was currently ready to pull her hair out.

She was seriously considering grabbing it by the roots, and yanking until she had two satisfying clumps of greasy red locks tangled around her dirt and blood stained hands.

"Well you're- you're acting like a- a big fat jerk!"

"Luke, please-"

"No! You're a liar!"

"Luke, you have to be more quiet, okay? We can't be loud out here," Susie pleaded.

"He's right! You're mean!" Liam joined in, crossing his arms in a pout.

"Liam, please don't start," Susie groaned, tugging fitfully on her hair.

"But I don't wanna cut my hair! I want to leave it like it is!" Liam protested, glaring at the scissors his sister had set on the ground beside her.

"Guys, seriously, it's getting long, you need a trim," Susie said, sitting back on her heels. She had holed up the boys in a small cabin they'd stumbled across in the woods. She had a decent supply of food and water, and there was a creek nearby that she could fill bottles in.

The creek also brought animals, meaning that if it really came down to it, she could try to hunt or catch something. She didn't know how long this place would be home, she still stood firm on her disdain for stationary camps and nowhere was easily defensible for her, given that she didn't really have any help.

"Why don't you cut yours, then?" Luke asked, staring accusatorily at Susie's long hair.

Susie considered this. She had been planning to cut her own hair as well, it had been seeping into her mind that one of the dead would grab ahold of it and end up leaving her brothers all alone. This thought had then transferred to her brothers themselves. She worried the same might happen to them, and all concern for her own life flew out the window.

"You know what, fine," Susie conceded, she grabbed the scissors, took a hold of her hair and chopped it extra short. The section she'd held had been shortened to about an inch from her scalp. Absolutely too short for anything to grab onto. She didn't wait long before hacking off the rest. It was choppy and messy, but Susie didn't care. She felt a weight lifted from her head and instantly the air around her felt cooler.

"Okay, who's next?" Susie asked, shaking the hair from her shoulders. Luke and Liam stared at her like she'd just painted clown makeup on her face and honked her nose.

"Susie!" Luke whisper shouted.

"What?" Susie asked, looking at him challengingly.

"Your hair!" Liam protested, "Your hair!"

"It's just hair, guys. And this way none of the monsters can grab ahold of it," Susie said, emphasizing her words by attempting to grab onto her hair. There was nothing there for her to grip.

"Do mine next," Luke said suddenly interested in doing what his sister had done.

"No mine!" Liam argued.

"How bout you guys do your own, huh?" Susie suggested, "Give it a try."

She passed the scissors to the boys. They argued over them for a second, before finally playing a round of rock-paper-scissors to decide. Liam won, meaning he got the scissors first. He began chopping away at his hair, leaving it messy and uneven. He'd barely cut the back at all, and the front was pretty much gone. The hair around his ears was sticking out like fur brushed in the wrong direction.