A door behind me creaks open. I jolt and suck in a breath at the same time I shove all of my weight against the window, making myself as flat and as small as possible.
A foot slides across the exposed wooden floor. A board creaks. A silent curse. Nails scratching against the plaster.
With my head angled to the side, my chin nearly touches my shoulder. I strain my eyeballs further past me, making out the shape of a body. “Lenny?!” I whisper yell, pulling my sweaty torso off the glass with a draggingshnick.
“Fuck!” His scream bellows out, echoing down the hall,bouncing off the ceiling for four long, drawn-out, and far too freaking loud beats. His hand flies to his bare chest, which is slick with rivulets of… something.
I bring myself closer, unable to help my increased, rapid breaths. I haven’t stopped panting since we got here. I’m about to pass out again any second. I can feel my brain screaming from not getting enough air to circulate.
One of his eyes is swollen shut. My gaze travels up—and that’s when I scream.
Blood.
Dripping out of his forehead.
A lot of it.
Lenny slams into me, slick arms clutching mine. We both grunt at the point of impact. I stumble back, cursing again as my spine is jarred against the wooden frame of the door.
“Someone’s behind me,” he pants in my ear, a weak whisper that trembles. All the blood drains from my head. If Lenny wasn’t pinning me in place, I would’ve collapsed.
My eyes shoot wide as something comes into view behind him.
Something… green. The stuff from literal freaking nightmares.
Oh, Jesus… there’s so many of them.
I wail, unable to hold it back. Lenny shivers, his own weak sobs coming out heavily against me. His tears trigger more of my own as we cower together in pathetic heaps, waiting to be slaughtered.
Gnarled, exposed teeth flash just below another set of glowing eyes—this time green. The face is warped, like he’s been melted or something, but I don’t freaking know, and I don’t care to, either. I shove against Lenny’s big body, my fight or flight kicking in—and it always saysrun. Get the heckaway.
“Red!” The word is screeched right into my ear, making my eardrum pop and explode. I bellow out in pain at the burst, followed by a pounding ring. I crumple to the ground, clutching my ear as sobs wrack me. ThatRedechoes. Deeper. Into my very core.
Red.
Red…
I could’ve freaking saidredthis whole time?! What the fuck? How could I forget that out of everything I read? Everything I was so meticulous and cautious about?
It’s like the moment I stepped behind that black door, it all disappeared, and all I was left with was the instinct of survival—anyway, anyhow.
Even if that meant…
My head blanks out.
The presence of another body steps away, leaving me painfully cold. I shiver from my balled-up form on the floor. “Red,” I croak, far too late.
“Let’s go.” A grunt. Then, my arm is snatched up with really long green and black fingers that… I shudder, eyes rolling back as my stomach convulses. I keep my eyes on the floor, unable to look at the monster tugging me along. Lenny’s bare feet are in my peripheral, slapping against the debris-covered floor like he doesn’t feel every uneven, splintering board. Or the loose screws and nails. Or the shredded carpet probably covered in rat droppings.
I catch sight of my own bare body and vomit right there.
I hunch over on a retch and upend the contents of my stomach—which isn’t anything but good ol’ watery stomach bile. Bright green and yellow splatters across the ground as it spews from my mouth. The smell seeps into the air.
Another grunt. “Surprised your queasy ass lasted so long.”
Please don’t look at me.
I clutch my stomach on a whimper and wipe the back of my hand over my mouth. Eyes pierce the back of my head as I push myself up, forcefully keeping my eyes off the freaking clown collar wrapped around my throat.
