Icy fear splinters through my chest, sinks into my belly.
“Did somebody lock us out?” I ask, louder.
Louis ignores me, continuing to pound against the door with a growing intensity. “Adrian,” he shouts. “I know it’s you. This isn’t fucking funny!”
I look over my shoulder and my blood runs cold.
“Louis,” I whisper.
He continues pounding on the door and shouting, oblivious to my quiet terror.
“I swear to God, Adrian?—”
“Louis,” I say, louder.
“—if you don’t open this door right now, I’ll?—”
“Louis!” I shriek, and he finally stops.
He turns and sees what I see: the hulking creature at the bottom of the steps.
Chapter
Six
It’s hard to make out the monster’s features in the howling storm, but I catch glimpses through flurries of snow. The terrifying bulk of its broad shoulders. The fur covering it from the shoulders down. A pair of huge horns jutting out of wild dark hair.
An impossibly long red tongue, slithering over its lips and flicking the air as if tasting it.
“What the fuck is that?” I cry out, frozen in place by my fear.
Louis grabs my hands and pulls. I stumble behind him as he yanks me along the porch. When we reach the railing, he releases me, and climbs over onto the snowy bank alongside the house.
“Where are you going?” I ask, watching with my heart in my throat. On the other side of the porch is the side of the cabin, with just a few feet of space above a terrifying drop.
He turns back and gestures to me to follow, then begins to slide along the side of the building. After only a few feet, he’s gone, swallowed by the blizzard.
My breath shudders in my lungs. There are so many ways this could go wrong. One poorly planted foot, and I’m over theedge. Would anybody find me before dawn? Would they even try? How long would I survive in this weather?
I don’t know. But I do know that if I stay here, thatthingwill catch up to me. I would rather face the storm than whatever that was. So I grab the porch railing and swing myself over and into white nothingness.
Snow pelts my face, stinging and blinding. The worst of the wind is blocked by the cabin, yet I still can barely see. I set my back against the side of the building and shuffle along, squinting sideways in the hopes of a glimpse of Louis, but there’s nothing but white in my vision.
I move painstakingly slowly. With each second in the open air, the cold seeps into me, stiffening my limbs and numbing my face. I scream Louis’s name, but I can’t hear it over the roar of the wind. A particularly strong gust forces my eyes shut, and I stumble right into something solid.
A strangled gasp rips out of my throat. But a moment later, an arm wraps around me. I stifle a sob, pressing my face into Louis’s chest. For a second, I thought he left me out here.
He shouts something in my ear. It takes me a few tries to understand what he’s saying.
“Window?”
I follow his gaze upward and just barely make out the sight of a window on the side of the cabin. This one isn’t covered by metal shutters like the rest. My heart soars—then drops again. It’s too high up to reach, even for Louis.
But maybe he could?—
“Boost me,” Louis shouts close to my ear. I blink and pull back, staring up at him. “I’ll pull you up once I’m in.”
I bite my lip, looking from his face to the window. It does make the most sense. I don’t have the upper-body strength to pull him to safety if I go first. This is the only way for both of us to get through the window.
