“Of course.”I jumped to my feet.I was eager to help, if only to distract myself from the unease I was beginning to feel.Something didn’t feel right.It should be, but I didn’t know.It just didn’t.I was beginning to feel like I did when Lindie was going to hurt me.Or when someone broke into my house back in September.
As I reached the door, I gripped the doorknob, expecting to find a dimly lit hallway filled with busy nurses.Instead, I came face to chest with a person.
I blinked in surprise, taking a step back to put distance between us.He was tall, dressed in dark clothes.As soon as I looked at his face, my blood ran cold.He wore a black ski mask to hide his features.
“What the—”
Before I could react further, he shoved me hard.I stumbled back, the force sending me crashing roughly to the ground.Pain shot through my shoulder as it connected with the floor and I gasped, jostling to get back to my feet.
“What’s happening?”I could hear Janice scrambling, her chair screeching against the floor.
The man didn’t say anything, closing the door behind him with a soft deliberate click.
“What’s going on?”Erica demanded sharply, her voice like sharp glass.Her frail body may have been confined to the bed, but her presence was anything but weak.
I scrambled further back, nearly falling again with clumsiness.I didn’t stop until I felt the bed at my back, unable to look away from the man.
The man didn’t say anything.Instead, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a knife.At the same time, alarms rang through the hospital and it all clicked as screams broke out through the halls, a new kind of panic taking hold of everyone here.
Whatever this man’s goal was, the chaos in the hospital was part of it.The distraction.No one would notice what was happening to us as they dealt with the other emergency or emergencies.By the time they realized, it was going to be too late.
“W-what do you want?”I stammered, my voice trembling despite my attempt to sound steady.
His gaze shifted to Janice and even through the mask, his intent was clear.“Her,” he said simply, his voice cold and emotionless.
“Me?”Janice’s voice was barely a whisper.
His lip curled into a sneer as he took a slow step forward.He had no intention of talking anything out.He came here with one task and he was determined to complete it.Everything about him was cold and calculating.Maybe even bored, like this was just another day for him.
“No,” I shouted and took all the courage I barely had to move forward.“You don’t have to do this.”
The man snorted and stopped way too close to me.Just within reach of his knife.
“I only want her.You weren’t supposed to be here, so if you want to keep breathing, step to the side,” he said.
I swallowed hard, my heart thundering in my chest.The man’s icy voice was devoid of humanity.He shifted his knife and as it glinted from the movement, a chill ran down my spine.My knees felt weak, but I couldn’t let them buckle.
“No,” I croaked out.
“Cadence.”The fear in Janice’s voice steeled my resolve.
I just couldn’t.I was used to facing death.In fighting against my fear.I could never move from this spot, not by choice.“No,” I said again more firmly, more confident.My voice still shook, but I was going to hold my ground here.He had a knife, not a gun.
That meant there was a chance, right?
That meant he had to get close to hurt anyone, right?And he risked this whole thing becoming a mess if he wasn’t smart enough about it.
The man tilted his head slightly, as if amused by my silly stand against him.“You’re brave.Stupid too.”
Erica took in a sharp breath, her bed creaking as she moved.I refused to look away from the man to see what was happening.I couldn’t afford to.I felt like if I did, he was going to strike.
“You’re not doing this,” Erica said.
“Stay out of this, old woman,” the man responded.
“You’re in my room, disrupting my peace,” Erica shot back, her voice hard.“You’ll regret ever thinking this was going to be easy.”
He shifted, turning more of his focus to the old woman.Erica really was a badass and being sick in bed wasn’t going to stop her.
