Heather couldn’t just watch Danny go through all that alone, so she moved closer, batting away Alex’s attempt to grab her again. Reaching out, she drew nearer to Danny, then froze a few feet from him. She grabbed the closest thing to her while staring at Danny. It was a tarp. She pulled it off, revealing a crib wrapped in cellophane. She reached it forward to wipe the vomit off Danny’s mouth, but the closer she got, the more she hesitated. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to get too close or touch him.
His eyes were all wrong. The whites were streaked with red. Fiery zigzag lines crept and swam out from the corners and grew, getting lost in the brown of his irises. Like something was alive in there, spreading its sickness through him.
Heather dropped her arms and stumbled back a few steps. She regained her balance and locked her fingers together behind her back.
“We should quit talking and get outta here. I mean, we’re wasting time.” Concern for Danny had been squashed by what she’d seen in his eyes.
Her words were met by a series of nods from the rest of the group, while Danny sat hunched on his knees.
“The window,” Reid said. “We’ll all squeeze through.” He dropped his backpack to the floor and began rummaging through it. He pulled out the hammer.
“No offense,” Clint said, “but I don’t know if we can all fit through there.” He shot Danny a sideways glance.
“We’re wasting time,” Heather repeated. “He doesn’t look so good,” she whispered.
She cast her worried gaze on Danny, who shimmied up against the wall for support.
Hammer in hand, Reid moved to the wall with the window. He strained onto the tips of his toes, trying to reach the bottom of the pane but falling short. He groaned.
“I got this,” Clint said to Reid. “Outta the way.”
Reid turned, scowling.
“Anyone give me a freaking’ hand?” Clint bent over the wrapped crib and started to yank it toward the window.
Relief crept into Heather’s heart as Clint’s plan unfolded. She hurried to help him, along with Alex. They lined the crib up under the window.
“Nice.” She patted Clint on the back.
“Wait.” Alex took a step back from the crib. “What if we shouldn’t touch anything. Heather touched the doll in the crib, and then the footsteps came.”
Heather rolled her eyes. “Don’t be a dumbass. The doll didn’t make anything happen. This whole house is wicked fucking haunted, no matter what we do.”
“I got it from here,” Reid said. “Stand back and hold the crib still.” He climbed into the wrapped crib, then pulled off his shirt and draped it over the glass. “Look out.” He grabbed the hammer, raised it above his head and took a good swing.
Glass shattered, but luckily most of it was shielded by his shirt. A few pieces rained down on Reid, who dipped his head and waited. Heather stood by, twirling her hair and watching as he took swing after swing until all that was left were a few jagged edges.
“Okay, Heather, you gotta get the rest. I’ll boost you up.” Reid pointed to his shoulders.
A trail of blood trickled down his temple, and a few shards still rested on his shoulders.
With the back of her hand, she gently dusted the glass off his bare skin. She climbed into the crib, then wobbled up onto his shoulders, grabbed the hammer, and began tapping out all the remaining shards.
“Okay, we’re good,” she called down.
The crib shook and creaked under their combined weight.
“This thing isn’t gonna hold long,” she said.
Reid turned his head and shook his shirt out before handing it to Heather. “Put this over the bottom of the window, just in case.”
As she lined the window with his shirt, she could hear Reid’s breath as he struggled to keep her on his shoulders while standing in the unbalanced crib.
“Now climb through.” Reid tapped her on the leg. “Then Alex, Clint. And then you guys can help pull me and Danny through.”
“Wait,” Alex said. “Not Heather first. What if—”
Heather was already working her way out. Her head and upper body disappeared though the window.
She called back, “Guys, it’s a hallway.”
With that, she pushed off and was through in an instant, slithering through like a wily snake.
There was a long silence when Heather got to the other side as she shifted and turned herself around. After contemplating the urge to inspect her new surroundings, she resisted, knowing forward was better than where they were. Had to keep moving.
She finally poked her head back through the window, gazing down on their expectant faces. “Come on, ass-wipes.”
Alex was the next through, getting a push from Reid and a pull from his sister. The crib protested under their weight, and Reid lost his balance and fell over.
Heather popped her head back through. “You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.” He waved. “C’mon, Clint.”
Clint had no problems either. Then came Danny.
Heather sighed in frustration, realizing everyone was still afraid to touch him. “Seriously, guys, we’re all in this house together. Grab Danny, already!”
Halfway through, Danny’s stomach rubbed from the tight squeeze and he let out a yip.
“What’s wrong?” Reid pushed at the bottom of Danny’s feet. “Keep going!” He slapped the side of Danny’s foot. “Go!” he grunted.
“Glass cut my side.”
“Sorry,” Heather said. “Thought I got it all.” She softened her voice. “But you’re almost there. Come on.”
“But what if there’s more glass?” Danny froze.
Reid sighed. “On three.”
In unison, Reid and Alex counted, “One…two…three!”
On the three, Reid pushed and Alex and Heather pulled Danny into the hallway. As Danny made it through, Heather heard a crash from back inside the room. After poking her head through, she saw Reid in a heap on the broken crib.
She was about to ask if Reid was okay, when he looked up at her and said, “Don’t you dare ask. Just don’t.”
Heather bit her tongue and watched Reid get to his feet.
“Can you guys reach down a bit? Pull me through if I jump?”
Alex poked his head through, beside his sister. “Shit, you crushed that thing.” He leaned down and reached for Reid.
Heather matched her brother.
Reid climbed out and shoved the crib aside, then lined up under the window. “Ready? Here I come!” He jumped up, reaching for his friends.
Heather missed. Alex
caught Reid, but the weight was too much. Reid started slipping out the window, the shirt sliding from underneath him.
“Whoa!” Alex yelled. “Help! Grab my feet!”
Heather pulled herself back through, and she and Clint grabbed Alex’s feet and pulled with everything they had, their own feet digging into the ground.
“Pull!” Alex shouted.
Heather moaned, exerting all her strength, and then finally got him through. She reached for Reid as he, too, was pulled inside. Just through, he made an Indiana Jones-type move and reached back to grab his shirt before it fell back into the room. Once everyone was tucked through the window, they collapsed to the floor.
“That sucked,” Heather said.
She rolled over to see Danny trying to get to his feet. He wavered, and there was nothing she could do to catch him in time. His legs buckled and he crumbled to the floor. His eyes rolled back in his head and then he was still.