“I’ll be fine, but I couldn’t stay with them Devon, and you know that.”
He nodded briskly, his hand gently caressing hers before he released her. Cassie fell into line behind Chris. She struggled to keep herself calm and steady as they moved toward the school, she knew that Devon would have no problem with taking her back if he felt that she was too distressed to go on. Julian held the other crossbow tightly, his hair a bright beacon in the light of the moon that spilled across them. The moon’s beam ran over the snow in a bright path that led straight to the double doors of the school. Though it should have looked pretty, and inspiring, it was gloomy and threatening to her.
Behind him, Dani kept her head bowed, her shoulders hunched up in her jacket. She carried no weapons, as none of them trusted her with them. Chris was carrying another crossbow at the ready; his eyes wildly searched the open landscape of the school grounds. They were vulnerable out here. There was nowhere to hide once they stepped out of the woods, no way to keep themselves out of sight if there were any creatures around.
Devon stepped closer to her, his chest pressed lightly against her back as they moved slowly forward. She caught a glimpse of the gun he held. They had found the gun amidst the tangled remains of the shattered countertop. It must have been hidden in the shelves, or the register. Though it may not kill the monsters, it would help to slow them down.
Julian reached the doors, pulling them slowly open. Dani shuddered, taking a small step back as Julian clicked on his flashlight, directing the beam inside. “Move,” Chris said softly, pushing Dani slightly forward.
They crept inside, slipping into the darkness of the school. Though she fought against it, Cassie could not stop the shudder of dread that tore through her. Devon rested his hand lightly on her shoulder, trying to comfort her, but she could find no comfort in this place. Julian flashed the light over the dark halls, its beam bounced off of the concrete walls.
Cassie pressed tighter to Devon as the beam revealed large streaks of blood running down the walls. Julian hissed softly, his shoulders tightened as he tore his attention away from the blood soaked walls. Cassie could feel the hunger pulsating off of him, the desire to feed.
“Julian,” she said softly.
He held up a hand, shaking his head. “I’m fine,” he muttered, focusing the beam on the wall that was not covered in blood. “Where to?”
Dani inhaled shakily, pointing ahead of Julian. “Straight ahead,” she whispered. They moved swiftly down the hall, the only sound the occasional soft squeak of someone’s shoe on the linoleum. Dani led them down another hallway, turning sharply to the right. “Here.”
Cassie recognized the doors they had escaped from, the doors that had also helped to keep them captive. A sign on them read, ‘Basement, authorized personal only.’ Swallowing heavily, she pressed tighter against Devon, needing his comfort right now. The right door had been ripped from two of its hinges; it hung at an awkward angle, the bottom hinge the only thing keeping it attached to the wall.
Julian moved swiftly through the ruined remains. Cassie remained frozen for a moment, stiff as she stared at the ruined door, trying hard to fight off the rush of memories that threatened to consume her. “You don’t have to go,” Devon murmured in her ear.
She remained where she was for a moment, extremely tempted by the prospect of not having to return to those shadowed, dark depths of horror. But she could not back out of this, she had to face it. “Yes, I do.”
Chris glanced back at her as he moved through the double doors. Cassie followed slowly behind, keeping her gaze focused upon Chris’s back, refusing to look around and take in her surroundings. She was greatly afraid she would flee screaming if she allowed herself to take in too much, or to think about it.
She didn’t bother to count the floors as they wound steadily lower. Julian reached the next set of double doors. They were both firmly intact, but Julian reached forward and pulled them easily open. A shudder of dread ran down Cassie’s spine, she clearly recalled Dani locking those doors behind them. How had they gotten unlocked? And why were these doors still intact, while the ones above had been ruined? It didn’t matter why the doors were the way they were, she realized. All that mattered was that it was apparent that more of the creatures had escaped after them.
Cassie’s hands fisted, the crossbow dug tighter into her palm. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and slowly swung it off of her shoulder, grasping it firmly in preparation for an attack. “Get us to those rooms as quickly as you can,” Julian growled at Dani.
She nodded as they moved swiftly through the doors, sweeping into the hallway. Cassie didn’t stop to think about it before she stepped into the hall. The smell hit her instantly, causing her stomach to flip, and an involuntary gag to escape her. Dani doubled over, her hand over her mouth as she tried not to vomit. Chris took a quick step back; his hand was over his mouth and nose as he turned three shades of green.
“What is that?” Cassie gasped, instantly wishing that she hadn’t opened her mouth because now she could also taste the foul odor.
“Death,” Julian answered.
Cassie’s stomach rolled again and it took every ounce of willpower she had not to vomit. Dani retched harder, her vomit splattered across the floor. Cassie turned away, pulling her shirt over her nose before she threw up everywhere too. Though it blocked the smell a little, it didn’t help much. Devon reached around her, placing his hand gently over her face, covering her nose with his jacket. She inhaled deeply, savoring in the enticing, wonderful smell of him that helped to block out the stench of the halls.
She smiled thankfully at him. He watched her intently, his gaze searching as he pulled her tighter against him, keeping his hand firmly in place. He and Julian seemed not to be affected by the scent, but then again, they had probably smelled it many times before. They had probably caused it many times before. She shuddered at the thought, and swiftly tried to shove it aside.
She turned her attention back to the dimly lit hallway. The emergency lights had still been flashing when they’d fled, but now there were only dim, sickly yellow lights lining the long hallway. “Why are the lights on?” Julian demanded in a harsh hiss.
Dani straightened, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her coat. She glanced quickly around, placing her hand over her mouth as she studied the lights. “I don’t know. It must be a safety thing. These aren’t the normal lights.”