"Again!" I exclaimed, my pulse quickening.
"Consimilis, calefacio!" she shouted gleefully, and I flung my foot at the door, screaming along with her.
The door gave way, and I fell forward, my momentum propelling me into the center of the room. Exuberant, I caught myself and turned. The door was swinging shut again, the lock a glowing mess of melted metal. The stench of burning wire was choking, and I grinned as Winona stared, her mouth open and her eyes huge and black in the dim light from the monitors. "I did it . . ."
"That was fabulous!" I exclaimed. Lurching, I stuck my foot in front of the door before it could swing back and melt shut. No way would it hold either of us again. The air, even a foot away from the glowing wires, was hot, and I held the door open with one foot while I reached in to help Winona up.
"I can stand," she said, scrambling up and balancing with no problem.
"You can stand!" I echoed, my smile getting wider. "You can walk!" I exclaimed, backing up when she trotted toward me, little hooves clacking on the cement.
"I was faking." Winona trip-trapped to where they had put her clothes and her purse. "I played the part of a cripple one semester. Got to be good at it." Frowning, she held up a long coat. It had a masculine cut that went to the floor and would hide her feet. "I think this must have been Kenny's."
My heart pounded. She tossed my coat to me, and I caught it. The dart gun was next, right in the drawer that Eloy had put it into. "Let's go," I said, looking up at the gray monitors, then hissed, "Wait!" when I remembered the data book.
Winona hesitated, and I scanned the books on the shelf, impatient until I found the one with the names of everyone they'd killed. "Okay," I said, excited as I tucked it under an arm. "Now we can go."
I fell into place behind Winona, marveling at how quickly she could move, almost as fast as a vampire. I couldn't help but stare at that little slip of a tail showing from under her coat. She was almost like a ghost as she went before me, her eyes seeing the boxes and low-hanging baskets before I did. Things were starting to look familiar from the monitors, and looking behind me, I saw a tiny red light glowing from a camera. Not knowing if they were recording this, I gave it the one-fingered salute and followed Winona to the stairway.
This wasn't bad, it was almost too easy. Winona slowed, looking up the stairs in consideration. "You need some help?" I whispered, thinking of her oddly shaped legs. She was doing great on horizontal surfaces, but this was almost straight up and narrow.
"I don't know." She put a hand on the banister and turned to smile. "I think I can make it, but I'll need to go fast. Maybe if you could open the door at the top so I don't run into it?"
Nodding, I touched her shoulder and crept up the stairs, listening. The woman was strong, I'd give her that. At the top of the stairs, I hesitated, then slowly turned the dented brass knob. I had no idea where we were.
The door stuck for a second, then the old paint let go and it swung open. Cooler air slipped past my feet, somehow smelling mustier than the basement. It was dark, and I gave the narrow, tall-ceilinged hall a careful look before slipping out. One way led to an open room, the other dead-ended at a window. It was even darker outside, no moon at all.
"Okay!" I whispered down the stairs, then stood in the hall and held the door while Winona tried the first stair. She almost fell, but then she backed up, gathered her long coat, and took the stairs at a dead run.
My eyes widened as she barreled up, making enough noise for six goats. She was out of control at the top, and I grabbed her arm to keep her from hitting the wall. Behind us, the door eased shut. I held her arm until she found her balance, then let go. Both of us were breathing heavily, me from fear, Winona from exertion. "You okay?" I whispered, and she pulled the long coat aside to look at her impossibly thin ankles.
"I think so," she said, then smiled, her thick canines catching the faint light. "Let's go."
There was only one way, and she tried to walk softly, but her hooves clacked on the old wood floor. If anyone was here, they'd hear it. Wincing with each step, we tiptoed to the end of the hall and looked into what seemed like a restored living room from the 1800s, complete with placards and roped-off chairs. Tall windows let in the faint light and cold through thin panes of glass wavering with age. Soft emergency lights lit the space, and by a set of official-looking doors was a reception desk. Thank God. There'd be a phone.
"Where are we?" Winona asked, and I sent my eyes up to the ceiling where a mock-up of the solar system shifted in the draft from the heating ducts.
"The observatory," I said, hope making me jittery. Damn, we were like ten minutes from my mom's old house. "Stay here. I'll make a call, and we can just sit and wait."
"Rachel," she hissed, but I was already moving. We could be home in an hour, have the entire HAPA crew in custody in fifteen minutes.
I slid behind the desk, looking for the phone. Seeing it, I picked it up and punched in Glenn's number. The 911 service would take forever.
"Rachel!"
"What!" I whispered loudly, then frowned. Why wasn't I hearing a phone ring? Hell, I wasn't even hearing a dial tone.
"Look out!" Winona shouted, and I looked up at the dark shadow coming at me.
"Get down!" Eloy shouted, and I threw the phone at him. It wasn't connected to the wall, and it sailed the thirty feet and crashed on the floor in a crack of plastic.
"Now!" Chris shouted from somewhere, and the lights flashed on, blinding me. Winona shrieked, and I heard Gerald grunt. Squinting, I saw him holding his middle and Winona running from him, those feet of hers easily outdistancing Jennifer, reaching for her.
"Son of a bitch," I snarled as I pulled the dart gun, aiming at Eloy and pulling the trigger.
Eloy slid to a stop five feet from me, the little dart with the red fletch hitting him right in the arm where I wanted it. His eyes went to it, and my bravado evaporated when he plucked it out and shook his head. Blanks! I thought, then threw the gun at him, pissed.
Eloy ducked, and the gun clattered next to the broken phone. In the background, Jennifer and Chris were trying to corral Winona. She skittered from them, her eyes almost shut from the light.
"Too easy," Eloy said as he reached for me. "I told them you could escape."
"Yeah? Well, you were right!" I said, and kicked at him. Or at least I would have if someone hadn't sucker-punched me in the head.