His plan changed when Steve put a knife against Kaitlyn’s throat.
It was just a pocket knife, but Alex guessed Steve kept it sharp. He probably uses it all the time on small animals. Or kids. Or his parents.
The grin on Steve’s face showed that he was enjoying this. His eyes darted back and forth. Kaitlyn’s arm was pinned against her side. She swung her head back, hoping to do some damage, but only hit his chest, which he would barely feel through his stiff leather jacket. She stomped on his feet, but his thick boots protected those as well.
I can’t hurt him, Alex thought, looking for some weakness in the much taller boy’s suit of armour. Evidently, Steve knew exactly what Alex was thinking.
“Whatcha gonna do, Alex?” he asked, his chin now pinning Kaitlyn’s head to his chest, her neck more exposed as he pressed his knife blade against it. His other arm wrapped around Kaitlyn’s chest in a horrible embrace.
Alex said nothing as the knife dimpled Kaitlyn’s neck. At any second, a drop of blood would appear at the end of it. Then more blood. He froze. What could he do? He couldn’t talk Steve out of this. He certainly couldn’t overpower him. He couldn’t disarm him; he imagined reaching for the knife only to have it stabbed into his arm. Maybe his face. He was lost.
Fortunately, Kaitlyn came up with her own solution.
She grabbed the arm across her chest with both hands and lifted her feet into the air, swinging them out in front of her. Steve’s stance went wide to catch his balance. On the back swing, she bent her knees and drove both feet into Steve’s crotch, effectively launching herself out of his grasp, as well as knocking him to the floor.
Steve looked up with tears in his eyes. His face went red with rage as he reached for his dropped knife. He breathed hard through gritted teeth, wads of spittle flying out as he did. “You’re fucked, you stupid, fucking bitch.”
Alex and Kaitlyn backed out of the room and ran down the hallway. Their only safety would be to get to the others. He glanced at her to see how she was reacting; her face looked shocked and pale. He assumed his own looked the same. A smear of blood marked a small cut on her neck from where Steve had the knife pressed against it when she jumped.
Alex turned and saw Steve pull himself out of the room they had just left. He was almost doubled over at first, but quickly straightened up.
“Don’t even fucking run!”
We can’t hide. Even if we find everyone else, he’ll still come after us. He doesn’t care. He’ll knock down a door. He’ll kill someone else or threaten to until we come out.
“Run!” Alex shouted, clutching Kaitlyn’s hand and pulling her along. If they got outside, they could hide until Steve got far enough away that they could double-back and lock him out. If that worked, at least part of the problem would be solved. No one would want him back inside. He would be an outcast.
But first they had to get him outside.
As they approached the bedroom, Nicole came out. “What are you—” was all she got out before Alex and Kaitlyn ran past.
Alex turned back, realizing that Nicole would just be a minor obstacle that Steve would have no problem cutting through to get to them. “Watch out!” he yelled, as the older boy gained on them, his face now fixed in a snarl.
“What?” Nicole turned around, straight into Steve. She managed another “what” only to be thrown aside, against the wall and onto the floor as if she weighed nothing.
Nothing, it seemed, would stop Steve from getting Kaitlyn.
They ran down the darkened stairs to the front door. Alex hoped Steve was a slow runner as he threw open the door, not bothering to check for anything outside. Mudmen were the furthest thing from his mind.
The sudden brightness of daylight almost blinded him. For a moment, all the world was white; anything could have been in front of him, but he couldn’t stop. Stopping meant death. He knew that. Darting out of the alcove, his first thought was for them to run along the building, get around the corner and hop the fence, hoping that Steve would be far enough behind to not see them. Maybe if he was temporarily blinded as they had been they would gain a few precious seconds.
Steve wasn’t that far behind at all.
Alex heard the door fly open again, smashing against the wall just a few feet behind him.
Steve let out a growl-like scream as he kept after them.
There was nothing to protect Alex or Kaitlyn in the parking lot; nothing to hide behind. This wasn’t going to work! He had screwed up and it would cost him and Kaitlyn their lives. Probably Nicole’s life too; she had clearly seen Steve for what he was and he wouldn’t ignore that. He’d make short work of everyone else at the centre. Alex regretted not telling everyone sooner what had happened in the woods. He had failed everyone.
Steve screamed, “I’m going to fucking kill—!”
Then nothing. No quick footfalls; no spit and rage-filled breath on their necks as Steve got closer. His threat—his guarantee—cut short by a sudden snapping sound.
Whatever had stopped Steve, Alex knew it wouldn’t last. When he got to the corner, he glanced at the fence and quickly realized how foolish it would be to try to climb it before Steve got to them. They would be wide-open targets. He decided they should cross the yard to the houses across the street.
