Alex’s breath caught in his throat.
He pushed Reid away and sucked in a breath. Looked up into Reid’s face to see tear-streaked cheeks and red eyes, though Alex had never heard him make a sound. It hurt even more to see him like that. Reid the bully. Reid the tough one.
With a heavy chest from the emotional exhaustion consuming him, Alex wanted to fall over. His heart was so broken he wanted to curl up on the floor and give up.
“Heather,” Alex whispered.
Reid closed his eyes, his face twisted in agony. “She’s gone, buddy. I’m sorry.” He took a deep breath.
Good that one of us should keep it together, ‘cause I can’t.
Alex kept shaking his head. His mouth opened, but no words came out. He wanted to say so many things, but what was the point?
He stopped shaking and composed himself enough to speak. “I give up.”
“No, you don’t. You can’t.” Reid’s face was a mask of seriousness. “No.”
Alex flung his hands up in the air. “What does it matter anymore? She’s gone! My little sister, gone.”
The words felt like poison stinging his lips. He couldn’t handle it, and he was losing his fucking mind.
“I let her down.” He sobbed and collapsed back on his knees.
“Get up,” Reid said, gently.
But Alex didn’t listen.
"Get up!" Reid tucked his hands under Alex’s arms and lifted him to his feet. It should have been demeaning, embarrassing, but Alex didn't care anymore. Call him a rag-doll and be done with it.
While holding Alex and bearing most of his weight, Reid glared at him. Alex couldn’t stand to look into his eyes, so he averted his gaze over his shoulder and stared at the wall. The wall that not long ago was strewn with evil little dancers. Dipping, diving, watching…
Reid shook him. “Get over yourself! You can’t quit. We can’t quit. I let you down, I know. I failed Heather. But I promised Clint we’d get out, so I failed Heather. we have to escape for them. For Danny.”
Alex shrugged out of his hold. “It doesn’t matter, it’s too late. I’ve been marked.” When he ran his finger along his temple, he felt the scratch and went over it again and again, wincing in pain as he remembered his failed attempt to grab the creature and save Heather. “Don’t you get it? I belong in this house now, too! Let’s not pussyfoot around this whole thing. I can feel it inside already. Behind my eye, like hot little needles poking me from my temple. It’s just a matter of time.” He tapped at his temple, and the pain seized him.
“No, it’s not! I won’t let it take you!”
Alex poked Reid in the chest. “You? You can’t do anything. You’re as useless as me.” He started to laugh hysterically. He could feel the veins in his forehead pulsing and that creepy wormy feeling behind his eye. “I thought I could be a hero. Thought someone could be a hero, like in the movies. But this isn’t a movie. There’s no fucking hero!”
Spit flew out of his mouth and hit Reid in the face.
He blinked a few times to clear his eye.
Alex held his breath, waiting for the rebuttal. Or a punch.
Reid ran the back of his hand over his cheek, removing the rest of the spit from his face, and stared right through Alex.
So Alex shoved him with all his strength.
Reid held his ground.
Alex pushed him again, but his feet did not falter.
“Move, damn you! Do something! Say something!” Alex pushed and shoved him, but he might as well have been trying to move a statue.
“Are you done now?”
Alex became silent. Two could play the quiet game. He raised his eyebrows.
Reid rolled his eyes. “Tantrum over? Good. Now let’s get going.” He grabbed Alex’s arm and pulled him to the hatch.
The urge to steal a glance back at what remained of Heather came over Alex, but Reid jerked him to attention.
“No. No looking back. I’m gonna get you the fuck outta here. We’ve been dicking around too long.”
Hatch open, he pushed Alex through first.
As he followed close behind, Alex called back, “We’re gonna get outta here, you mean.”
Reid closed the hatch door behind him and turned around to face his friend. “Yeah. Right. Well, someone’s gotta be a hero, and like you said, it ain’t you.” He smirked but wiped it off as quickly as it came.
If Alex had blinked, he would have missed it. It looked like that snarky shithead of a friend was back, and Alex was glad for it.
On the other side of the door, they discovered that they were once again in the first room they’d all entered. Cobwebs still hung from the ceiling, floor still dusty. But unlike when they’d first entered, it was disturbed by all their footsteps. A moment’s angst washed over Alex as he looked at those prints, picking out whose was whose. Heather’s were easy to spot. But the rest? Just a mess of dust.
And after glancing around the room, Alex realized the front door was still missing.