I pointed to the corner. “We should put the camera there. Won’t catch the light, even with the door open.”
Doc looked back at the door before he reached for it. He pulled it open a bit more before the door got snagged in one of the women’s hair.
Doc froze.
“Here, I got it,” I muttered.
I walked over the bodies and bent down, unraveling the knotted blonde hair from the corner of the door. But when I stood, I found Doc staring at the knotted chunk of blonde hair that wasn’t attached to any sort of head.
“Hey,” I said.
He drew in a quick breath and his eyes snapped to me. “What?”
I knew what he was thinking. “It’s not Liz.”
He nodded and cleared his throat. “Right, right.”
One by one, I watched all of my brothers—well, most of them, anyway—fall in love with the women that were cordoned with us because of this shitstorm swirling all around us. Seeing Doc trip up over himself was something else, though. He was always put together. Always had an answer. Always had a different way of looking at things. And, most importantly, he always had a smile for someone. I always admired him for that, though I’d never tell his ass that in a million fucking years.
There were no smiles to go around, though.
Not with death surrounding us.
“You need help?” I asked as I watched him make a break for that dark corner.
“You’re right about the light,” is all he said as I watched him study the corner.
I waited around for a few moments until I knew he’d be able to mount the camera himself. And then, I slipped silently out the door. I could only take the smell of death for so long before it threatened to turn my stomach inside out.
I wish I brought some of that mint shit Doc used sometimes.
Right under the fucking nose.
“Fifteen minutes!” Cap barked out. “And no turning on any lights! Use your damn flashlights! We don’t know what’s being tracked!”
I made my way further down the hallway, grabbing doorknobs and jiggling them to see if I could open them. Most of the doors opened just fine, but there wasn’t much in them. My hand slid to the flashlight on my belt and I pulled it out, clicking it on so that I could sweep them across the rooms.
There was a lot of blood on the walls of these rooms.
I clenched my jaw as I continued exploring.
I kept one ear to the ground, in case the assholes that ran this place decided to head back earlier than we figured they would. But the motorcycles that King’s crew were on should keep them entertained, at least until we could vacate the fucking place. With every window I came across, I clicked off my flashlight and peered outside. I looked for any signs of movement. Any signs of shadows. Any signs pointing to the fact that the assholes we lured out had come back.
Until I came across something weird as hell.
“What the fuck?” I asked.
I clicked on my flashlight and shined it onto the floor. I noticed scuff marks on the carpet. I furrowed my brow as I bent down and ran my fingers through it. Nope, not ash. And it wasn’t dirt that came up easily. Some of the dirt was sharp, like particle board. Okay, maybe not sharp, but it definitely wasn’t dirt. It almost reminded me of those cheap-ass doors and how they shed unless they were on a smooth, solid floor. But when I looked around, all I saw were a couple of the hallways’ doors that opened onto the inside of the respective room.
And there certainly wasn’t a door in front of me swinging open.
The hallway was a dead fucking end.
“Huh,” I muttered as I stood to my feet.
One of my knees creaked as the other popped.
“Getting old,” I muttered to myself as I swept the flashlight around.
