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“N-no, of course I don’t consent. What the hell are you—?”

“Did Noemi agree? Did she put up her hands and tell you to do it quickly? Or did you make that decision for her?” The woman takes another step toward him. “You don’t need to answer. We both know you weren’t thinking about setting her free. You murdered her for your own freedom.”

The big guy lunges and grabs him, and Raymond’s whole body convulses with relief. The big guy is a paramedic. He won’t let this woman kill anyone. He pulls Raymond out of her way … and then his hands go around Raymond’s neck.

“Henry…” the woman says. “We had a deal.”

The big man doesn’t answer. His hands only tighten, and it isn’t until Raymond can’t breathe that he fully understands.

The guy isn’t helping him. He’s killing him.

Raymond punches, and it’s wild, but it hits the guy in the stomach and he grunts, and his hands relax enough for Raymond to yank free.

Then Raymond runs. He bears down, biting back the pain of his leg and running, with the two in pursuit and—

There’s something on the ground again. A long, white log. He can jump over it, but it looks odd and …

And then it moves. It rises up, and it’s not a log but the monstrous thing that chased him earlier, on the bike. The tall, skinny man who is not a man. The man with no face, just those impossible jaws.

“What the hell?” the big man says behind him.

The thing starts toward Raymond, jaws opening, showing row upon row of razor teeth.

“What is that?” the woman says.

“No idea, but we’re not staying to find out.”

Raymond wheels, and he sees them both running away, the big guy’s hand on the woman’s arm. Sticking together. Always sticking together.

“Weak.”

He spits the word, snarling when he says it. Too weak to stand on their own. Just like those two kids, the girl breaking down when her boyfriend died. At least the kids had been an actual couple. These two just met, and they’re clinging to each other like they’ve been best buddies all their lives.

Weak.

Didn’t you get into this mess because you were rushing home to stop Bryce from leaving?

It’s not the same thing. Besides, from what that bartender said, they were all destined to show up here. Maybe that text from Bryce was fake. Yeah, that makes way more sense. It was fake. Bryce would never dump …

Raymond realizes it’s gone quiet behind him. That he had, for a moment, forgotten why he was running because there are no sounds of pursuit.

He glances back and, sure enough, nothing’s there.

Raymond chuckles under his breath as his heart rate slows. That monster isn’t allowed to hurt him. He made that deal with the bartender. The creature can only scare him. Mostly, though, it scared the other two, which is exactly what Raymond needed. He’s safe, and they’re on the run, and now he can pursue—

The pale man slithers from the undergrowth. It’s on its belly again, wriggling, jaws opening and closing. Raymond takes a slow step backward, and something hits him hard. He falls to his knees just as the slithering creature springs. He twists, trying to scramble away, but there’s a second one on his back.

Raymond grabs at the first creature. His fingers touch cold, slimy skin and the stink of carrion hits him, but he digs his fingers in, trying to wrench it off him.

The one on his back rears up, as if feeling the pain of Raymond’s grip on its brethren, and Raymond smiles at that. Then the second creature’s mouth opens, keeps opening, jaw wide, and its head swings down, teeth clamping on his shoulder, his entire shoulder disappearing into that massive maw. Then it jerks its head back and …

And it’s still holding his shoulder in its mouth. His shoulder with his arm dangling from it. Raymond looks to see a hole where his shoulder had been, and he screams. The other creature has him by the leg, and it bites into his knee and takes it, leaving his calf and foot falling to the ground.

Raymond screams. He screams with the agony and the horror as he waits for it to be over. It must be over soon. He’ll bleed out in minutes.

But he doesn’t bleed out. Somehow, he doesn’t bleed out.

And it isn’t over soon.