“What?” She spoke in a normal voice. “If the rat’s inside the box, it can’t help her.” She shook the brown box, whipping the rat around within it. “Yeah that’s right bitch!”
“Sybil, stop!” Lavender whispered. “Crissa’s or not, you shouldn’t do that.”
She rolled her eyes at us both. “Oh please. It’s not like the rat can tell her where we are. We’re perfectly sa?—”
“Marco!”
We all hit the floor at the sound of Crissa’s sing-song voice. The rat inside the box screamed and Sybil leaned across it, trying to muffle the sounds. Lavender and I tried to help, piling on top, but it was no use.
“Oh, now that’s just cruel.” Crissa’s voice drew closer. “Harming one of my sweet, innocent little friends…so inhumane.” She tsked before speaking in a deeper voice. “Filthy fucking humans.” The sound of her knocking over and throwing the chairs in the food court made us all jump. “I shall devour all of you…unless...” Her tone shifted again. “Ah, yes. I’ll make a deal with you. If one of you were to let my little pet go, then I’ll let you live.” We all stared at one another in disbelief. “You’re probably thinking I’m lying, now aren’t you?” She laughed. “Maybe I am! Or, maybe I’m telling the truth. There’s only one way to find out!” The sound of more chairs being thrown followed her shouts.
Sybil looked down at the box. I shook my head, but she only furrowed her brows.
Don’t you fucking dare.
“I’m waiting!”
Sybil wriggled out from underneath us and stood, throwing the box with the rat out into the food court. “Take it! But I get to live!” Lavender and I shot to our feet, staring out at Crissa as she smiled.
“Oh, poor,stupidSybil.” She snapped her head to the side as it cracked loudly. “Polo.”
Shit!
“Run!” We all climbed over the counter and quickly ran back the way we came, towards the pizzeria. Tons of rats suddenly appeared, flooding behind us as they scampered from the stores, chasing us down. Crissa’s evil laugh boomed through the mall as the storm intensified. It was like a scene from a horror film, only instead of being staged and fake, it was real. And it was fucking terrifying.
“Montey!” Lavender shouted my name, reaching the gate first. She gripped the base, yanking it down as Sybil slid under it. “Come on! Hurry up!” More rats swarmed outside Big Top as I sprinted towards it. A few ran to her leg and began to bite her. She screamed, trying to kick them away. “Sybil! Help!”
Instead of helping, Sybil just stood there, watching Lavender struggle.
I picked up my pace, quickly bolting to aid her. My hands yanked the rats from her leg, their teeth ripping her skin as she cried out and fell to her knees. One of the rats jumped from her shoulder to mine, biting my collarbone. I bit back my pain, groaning as I peeled it off and tossed it aside. “Get inside!” Lavender rolled around and crawled under the gate as I held it, and followed behind her, slamming the security gate shut. She quickly pulled the keys out and locked it, dropping them as the three of us stepped back as the rats slammed into the metal.
“Now what?” Sybil asked, out of breath.
I looked at her and Lavender; the three of us all panting and sweating. “Now,” I huffed. “We leave.”
And never fucking come back.
Lavender stood slowly, her eyes widened in horror. I followed her gaze and saw the cause, feeling the blood drain from my face. Standing on the other side of the gate was Crissa, smiling. And somehow, she was holding the pizzeria keys.
“Looking for these?” She wiggled them around and they jingled. Sybil and I stood, the three of us watching as she then leaned her head back and extended her tongue, dropping them into her mouth. She swallowed the keys with little to no effort, gasping before turning back to us with a tilted smile. “Ahh. Much better. And now, you’re locked in. Just the four of us.”
“Four?” Lavender quivered at the statement as we slowly backed away, keeping our eyes on Crissa.
She tilted her head and purred. “For now.”
The lock on the gate began to slowly turn again.
Not again!
“Run!”
CHAPTER 12
ZETH
A seaof rats swarmed the pizzeria ahead of me, running in all directions to find the remaining humans. They truly made the hunt much easier, allowing me to focus more so on how I would ensure Crissa’s revenge. As the vermin disappeared, I meandered into the dining room and listened closely. Aside from the wild thunderstorm outside, it was nearly silent. Circus music continued to crackle over the speakers while I listened closely, trying to pinpoint where the rest of my targets had wandered off to.
Where are you, little humans?
