“Barney.” I said more out of habit then with any real hope that Lloyd might start calling him something other than that dog.
Lloyd nodded before slipping from the shadows of the woods and hitting the street. We followed swiftly behind, staying close on his heels as we darted down the street far faster than we had moved down it last time. We stayed close to the buildings, in the darkness it was hard to see the bricks and debris in the way but I was able to avoid most of it by following Barney.
I found that I could hardly breathe, found that my heart was hammering with terror, but my feet continued to move and so far we were all still alive. So far. It wasn’t that hot out but sweat was running down my face and into my eyes. I had to juggle my gun to wipe my brow with the back of my arm. I felt ill. I wanted to vomit. I wanted off of this damn street and I wanted to go to sleep tonight and wake up in my bed, in my room, in my home, with my siblings and my mother. I wanted this all to be just one horrendous nightmare; I wanted Cade, and everyone that had been lost, to still be alive.
I wanted it all so badly that I could nearly taste it. Wanted it so badly that for a moment I almost froze. For a moment, I was so filled with longing and a desperate need for all of this to not be real, that I almost sat down on the sidewalk and lost myself to the memories and despair engulfing me. I grit my teeth as I fought against the waves of misery threatening to consume me. This was not the place, and this was not the time to completely lose control. In fact, there was no time for thoughts like the ones I was having. Not anymore. Not if I wanted to keep my sanity, not if I wanted to keep waking up every day. Not if I wanted to retain any measure of hope.
There was only time for survival in this world, and we had to survive.
I forced myself to take deep breaths in an attempt to ward off the panic attack I felt clamoring at my insides. “What is that?”
I turned, expecting Jenna to be right behind me, but she had stopped moving and fallen behind us. I stepped closer to the building, pressing myself flat against the cool brick as I searched for whatever it was she was talking about. “What’s what?” Bret asked quietly.
Though it was dark I could make out the fierce frown that marred Jenna’s pretty features. I just couldn’t see what was causing it. I stepped slightly away from the building to search the area that she was staring at, but I saw nothing. “Let’s go!” Lloyd hissed sharply.
“Jenna what is it?”
She shook her head, appearing confused as she turned back to me. “Never mind, it must have been nothing.”
Barney remained by my side, but he seemed unfazed as he lay down for a moment, his head resting on his paws. He wouldn’t be so relaxed if there was something out there. But there was one thing I had learned over the past month, it was never just nothing. “We have to go.”
Barney fell into step beside me again as I turned away and hurried after Bret. I wanted off of this damn street, I wanted out of this freaking eerie Godforsaken town. I wanted to find the hospital; I wanted to be with Aiden and Abby again. I wanted this whole experience over with and just to feel one moment of security, no matter how false it was.
Lloyd broke into a run as he darted across a side road. He was momentarily exposed before he reached the other side and plastered himself against the building. Bret bolted across next, with Barney following behind at a leisurely jog. I was about to follow after them when I heard Jenna mutter something.
I took a step forward at the same time that I turned toward her. The uncoordinated move almost caused me to fall on my ass as I stepped off the curb, but I managed to keep myself upright by falling against the building. Aggravation spurted through me as I shoved off of the cool brick façade. “Jenna!” I hissed.
But she was already moving away from me, creeping back the way we had come. I frowned in confusion. What the hell was she doing? Was she trying to get us all killed?
“Hello,” her call was soft, but it caused the hair on the nape of my neck to stand on end and my heart to plummet straight into my stomach. We had struggled to stay as quiet as possible and now she was calling out into the dark night as if it were the safest thing in the world to do. When it most certainly was not.
“Jenna!” Her name was grated from my lips, quiet in the night, but I knew that she could hear me.
“There’s someone…”
Goose pimples broke out on my body, the sweat coating me suddenly turned frigid. A sense of impending doom slipped down my spine, causing the hair on the nape of my neck and arms to stand on end. I was shivering, I was terrified; I was going to vomit, or run away. But before I fully registered what I was going to do, I was already doing it.
I darted down the street, racing for Jenna who was somehow already a good hundred feet away from me. She took a step closer to the road, her attention fixated on something across the street. I was finally able to see what had her so enraptured. What had entangled her so completely that she seemed to have forgotten all sense of self preservation. I inhaled sharply; my legs nearly gave out beneath me as I caught sight of the slender boy within the shadows of the buildings on the other side of the road.
Time seemed to slow, everything became crisp and clear. The world was stunningly vivid around me. I could make out every detail of the night, every different strand of color within Jenna’s red hued hair, and even the colored particles within the air. The lack of light was suddenly no longer a problem as I saw everything in brilliant detail, and recognized the death lurking within the shadows. It was a disconcerting feeling, one that left me shaken, but did not slow my onward rush as my legs pumped faster than I had ever thought possible.
Jenna stepped off the curb and into the street. I clearly recalled the young girl that had killed Sarah, the young girl that had seemed so real and vulnerable, yet harbored a hideous monster. A girl that Jenna had been told about, but had not actually seen.
“We can help you!” Jenna called softly.
“No Jenna!” I gasped.
I flung myself off the sidewalk, my adrenaline fueled mind was oblivious of the danger it was in as I lurched at Jenna. The young boy unraveled swiftly to reveal the hideous fiend within. The creature lunged forward, one of those awful tentacles whipping out with amazing speed and deadly accuracy. I hit Jenna with the full force of my body. Knocking her off balance, I shoved her out of the way of the deadly attack seconds before it would have demolished her chest. I stumbled, nearly fell, but the thing slammed into my shoulder knocking me back as it pierced my body.