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Once I climbed out of the hole, I lowered myself to the dirt, flashlight tucked into my side, and took the time to catch my breath. Quietly. The monster could be anywhere, and it already had my scent. If that was how it hunted.
I hoped not—though running through algae infested water may have helped me. I sniffed my arm, and shrank back from the stench of sewer and me combined.
I wanted to find the kids, but I was alone, didn’t have any idea where they might be, and not a weapon in sight. The duffle bags were with Sam.
Feeling like I failed everyone, I got to my hands and knees, the flashlight clutched in my teeth, and started crawling over to the building. After testing the wall for stability, I used it to stand, leaning against the welcome support.
I took the flashlight out of my mouth, shined it on the mess of bruises and swelling that masqueraded as my ankle, and put some weight on it. My left leg cried and moaned, but if I kept most of the weight on my right, I’d make it to the exit leading up to—
Wait—Candace and Jake were here, with the injured boy. Probably Dad and Misty as well. I wouldn’t be alone, and maybe they already found the other kids.
Anxious, and relieved that help was nearby, I used the building as a support, limping down the side alley, hoping I could get my bearings when I reached the front—
A noise stopped me. I held on to the building, straining, waiting. There—a low moan, like someone was in pain. I lifted my head, spotting the window right above me, the broken glass looking like jagged, ugly teeth. I stiffened at the next sound that floated out—a sob, coming from the other side of that broken window.
Adrenaline pushed me forward, masked the pain of my ankle. I pulled myself up to the boardwalk, inching along the front, my flashlight pointed down, lighting far enough ahead of me to make sure I didn’t go through rotted wood.
The door was locked, and there was fresh glass in the window next to the door, which told me I was on the right track. Dread knotted in my stomach, because there was no way a giant, punk black teddy bear could walk into the local hardware and buy a piece of glass. It had an accomplice. A human accomplice. It confirmed the suspicion I’d had since I saw the video in Mrs. Swiller’s office.
Covering my face, I smacked my elbow against the corner of the window. It shattered under the pressure—and a sharp pain shot up my arm.
“Ouch—oh, damn,” I gripped my elbow, expecting to find blood dripping from a nasty gash. It sure felt like the glass had gone straight through my hoodie and into my arm. No blood, but man, that hurt. At least I did what I intended.
Using the cuff of my hoodie to protect my hand, I knocked the loose shards out of the frame, reached in, and unlocked the door. It squealed when I opened it. I froze, waited for an attack. When nothing happened, I squeezed through, leaving it open. If someone, or something came in behind me, it was a guaranteed alarm.
I moved the flashlight over the room. It was empty, with only one other doorway, leading toward the side of the building where I’d heard the distress. I inched forward, along the wall, and discovered the old trick of walking along the wall to avoid a squeaky floor was a lie. At least in this case. Every step announced my presence.
A gasp echoed out of the doorway, and scrambling sounds. They already knew I was here. I didn’t want to scare them any more than they already had to be. So I moved as fast as I could, the flashlight pointed straight at the dark doorway.
“Hello. I’m not going to hurt you—I’m here to help—oof—” I almost fell backward as a small weight slammed into me. I managed to hold on to my balance, the shaking body, and my flashlight, which I moved until I could see what held on to me with a death grip. My heart jumped. “Katie?”
“Alex—you came—you found us—” Quiet, heartbreaking sobs cut her off.
I wrapped my arm around her, whispered soothing words until she calmed down enough for me to talk to her. “Is there someone else here with you?”
She nodded. “Matt. He’s in the other room. His leg is hurt, so I came out to make sure the monster didn’t hurt him again—” She took in a shaky breath. “I thought you were it, or its accomplice.”
“Did you see their face?”
“No. But it was a man. I saw that much before he tossed me in here. Matt’s brother Marky escaped, but I heard him—” Her voice broke. She held on to me tighter. “Is he—”
“We found him.” Katie pressed her face against me, crying again. “He’ll be okay, sweetheart. Candace and Jake are taking care of him. I’m going to get you both out of here.”
Katie led me into the room. My flashlight found Matt, huddled in the far corner, a rough bandage on his right thigh. The monsters—I lumped the accomplice into that category now—left them here, in complete darkness.
I moved over to him, slowly, talking the whole time. “Hi, Matt. My name is Alex, and I’m here to take you both home.”
Tears stained his face. “Marky—”
“Is okay. A friend of mine is taking good care of him.” Hope lit in his eyes, and he straightened. “Let’s go join him.”
He nodded, grabbed my outstretched hand. Katie helped him stand, and even though he topped her by several inches, she kept him steady as he limped forward. I moved ahead of them, checked the outer room again before waving them forward. The breaking glass would have brought anything in hearing distance.
We made our way to the front door, the youngest and smallest of us the most able bodied. I sincerely hoped we didn’t run into either of their abductors.
Edging around the partially opened door, I scanned both sides of the building, and the alley beyond. I hated not being able to see anything coming at us. But in the scan, I caught sight of the still lit main street, which put us close to the exit leading up. To safety.
“Stay close,” I whispered. “We're almost home free.”
My fingers brushed over what felt like a big, old key, sticking out of the wall next to the door. Shining my flashlight on it, I realized what it must be. Swallowing, I tested my theory, and turned it.
Gaslight flickered to life, inside the room, and along the outside of the building.
Katie looked up at me as I let out a breath. “Cool.”
Smiling, I hugged her, then Matt. “Let’s get out of here.”
I turned off the flashlight, keeping it in my hand. I felt better having some kind of weapon—just in case.
I got us off the squealing boardwalk, but stayed next to it, wanting the cover of the buildings at my back. Matt gasped every time he moved his right leg. I heard Katie talking to him in a low voice, coaxing him.
“We're almost there, Matt. I know you can make it.”
I wanted to believe her.
We reached the main street, and I was relieved beyond belief to recognize our location. We were just down the street from the exit, and freedom.
The town sign was just a block away when my ankle twisted under me.
I grabbed the splintered wood of a support post, felt a small hand on mine. “Alex?”
“Okay, just a hinky ankle.” I pushed off. “Let's get out of here.” We headed to the ladder leading up to the surface. I expected Candace and Jake to still be here, taking care of Marky. Or at least Dad and Misty, resting before they climbed up to the surface. I must have been down there longer than I thought. “Come on. Katie, I want you and Matt to go up first, and wait for me at the top. This leads to the back of the McGinty house, so don't be scared when you come out.”
Matt spoke for the first time since I found them. “I won't be scared of much, ever again, compared to this.”
My heart ached at the grim look on his face. He was too young for such a memory. Hell, we all were.
Katie flashed a smile, helped Matt to the ladder. “Take your time,” she said. “I'm right behind you.” She sounded like a pint sized grown up. I was just glad for her calm, even if it was faked. I saw her hands shake on the ladder.
I took my flashlight out, snapped it on. “I’ll shine this up behind you. It’ll help until you get to the top.”
Katie helped Marky on to the ladder, waited until he started climbing before she stepped on the first rung. She glanced down at me. “Thank you for—Alex, look out!”
I swung around. And the flashlight beam found a furred black chest. “Katie, move!”
I shot the beam right into the glowing green eyes and ran.
An inhuman scream echoed behind me. I knew I only had seconds before it shook off the effects of the light. I scrambled up to the boardwalk and into the first door I found, backing into the pitch black room as I heard heavy footsteps just outside.
Good news—it came after me, like I wanted, to give the kids time to get away.
Bad news—I didn't think beyond that. Now I'd trapped myself inside a dark building, with no way to defend against it. I decided to remedy that, while I had the chance.
I swept my flashlight beam around the room, looking for anything I could use to fight back. Anything.
Broken, rotting furniture littered the floor, smashed picture frames leaning against the walls. The torn remains of the photos were scattered across the floor, like someone in a rage tore them apart. Beyond the carnage I spotted another doorway, in the opposite wall.
Hoping I wasn't about to trap myself, I moved toward it, expecting the monster to come crashing through the door at any second.
Halfway across the room the smell hit me—that same sweet scent, with a familiar undertone. Heart pounding, I stopped in the doorway, let my flashlight scan the interior. And froze when I heard the low growl behind me. I had found the monster's nest—the real nest.
And it had found me.
~ ~ ~
Every brain cell screamed at me to turn around.
Instead I bolted into the nest, hoping I could find something in there to defend myself. Or a way out. The coward in me was definitely praying for a way out.
The flashlight beam found color, and more color. Every sweep landed on a swath of fabric, a pile of bright pillows, curtains framing a window.
A window.
I headed for it, realizing how huge the room was when it took longer than I expected to get to the wall with my escape route. I knew the monster was behind me. I could feel it, smell it.
Why didn't it come after me?
Once I got to the window I understood.
Bars covered it—thick iron bars I didn't see because they blended with the dark. As I flashed my light across them I noticed there was one bar missing. Maybe I could squeeze through...
That hope died when I focused my flashlight on the narrow space left by the bar. I was small, but not that small—
A flat yellow glow splashed over the bars. A familiar glow that stopped my heart.
Letting out a shaky breath, I turned around, my heart starting up again, and pounding so hard I felt it in my throat. The monster stood in the middle of the room, those glowing green eyes watching me. I finally had time to see the source of that glow, sitting in the middle of its chest. A pendant, hanging from a worn leather cord. A pendant shaped like the Algiz rune.
Safe haven.
It had come back, expecting to find just that. Or—God, maybe it had never left—
All thought flew out of my head as it smiled, the attempt horrifying, and reached up to touch the pendant. The yellow glow winked out, leaving my flashlight as the sole light source. Those green eyes studied me, unblinking, the rest of it blending into the darkness. And I understood the reason for the spiked fur. I couldn't see where its body ended and the dark around it began. The perfect camouflage.
It took a step forward. I recoiled, slamming into the wall.
My bare foot hit something cold and solid. I pointed my flashlight down, just long enough to see the length of iron. The missing bar. And I got an idea. A stupid, likely to get me killed idea, but at this point I had nothing else. I had to play in the monster’s midnight world, but I was going to do it on my terms.
I pointed the flashlight straight at its eyes, its scream soundtracking my moves. It never seemed to understand the danger of the flashlight until too late. All I cared about was the extra seconds it gave me.
Crouching down, I grabbed the iron bar, whispered a quick prayer, and turned off the flashlight.
The bar turned out to be heavier than I expected. Slipping the flashlight in my hoodie, I gripped it with both hands and stood, closed my eyes, and listened. My dance teacher’s voice echoed through my head.
“You will listen to Madame Chloe, feel my voice. Now move, and feel your partner—keep your eyes closed, let the blindfold do its work. Listen, sense, touch. Find them, dance with them, feel the music. You do not need to see to know.”
I heard the monster shift, just to my left, a low growl rumbling in its throat. It could see me—how clearly I wasn’t sure, but I knew by the light sensitive eyes, and the listing in the guide, that it was nocturnal. I just hoped it took more than a few seconds for it to recover from the flashlight beam.
Swallowing the panic that clawed up my throat, I forced myself to focus, let my other senses kick in.
The smell came at me first, then the sense of movement. And just like in dance class, I could almost see the monster’s hand reach for me. I swallowed, prayed I was right, and swung the bar straight up.
It smacked into something, the impact nearly wrenching the bar out of my grip. I knew by the angry screech I had hit my target. I heard the claws tap on wood, moving away from me. My wrists ached from the first blow, and the weight of the bar. At most I had one more shot—
I screamed when the monster tackled me.
The bar flew out of my hands as we slid over the fabric draped on the floor. I opened my eyes, looking right into the furious, glowing green eyes inches from my face. I let out another scream as claws found the bare skin of my back, tried to escape them when they scraped their way up to my shoulder. I could hardly breathe for the pain.
The monster looked down at me, and I could see the triumph in those slitted eyes. It knew I was done, and now it just had to finish me off.
I was trapped, and I lashed out the only way I could.
I poked my fingers in its eyes.
A horrible shriek blasted me. The monster threw me across the room, and I hit the far wall back first. Fresh pain roared through me. I slid to the floor, forced myself to keep moving. I had to get out—I didn’t have anything left if it came after me again.
I managed to get as far as the front door before the pain in my back dropped me. I dragged myself over the threshold and on to the boardwalk, listening for any sounds of pursuit. All I heard was a quiet whimpering, and in spite of everything, guilt speared through me.
Pushing it aside, I got to my hands and knees. My fingers brushed against a hard, cold object. I pretty much knew what it had to be before I looked down. The iron bar.
I grabbed it, feeling safer with the weight in my hand, and crawled as fast as I could to the edge of the boardwalk. With every move, the fabric of my shirt rubbed at the claw marks on my back, until it felt like my skin was on fire.
I made it to the end of the boardwalk and eased my legs over the edge. Next step, standing. I hoped it would actually happen once I put weight on my legs. The bar would come in handy for that. I braced it against the ground, held on with both hands and leaned over.
That move saved my life.
The monster clipped my shoulder instead of tackling me. It was enough to knock me off the boardwalk. Instinct had me jerking the bar up. Just as the monster charged me.
The raw edge punched into its body like a lance. Horrified, I let go. The monster sank to its knees, gripping the iron bar in one claw, the other tearing at the wound, each move weaker. Thick, dark liquid poured over both claws, pooling on the dirt. Blood—
I let out a low cry and crabbed backward. I couldn’t leave, knowing I’d caused this. So I knelt, tears streaming down my face, and watched the monster collapse, curling around the bar before it went still.
The knowledge of what I had just done drove through me. I wrapped both arms around my waist, the pain of it wringing sobs out of me.
I had killed.