Alex tried to grab Jared’s foot, to pull him back, to stop him from butchering his dog—his constant defender. He didn’t get the chance.
In a flash, Shadow was back on her feet. She charged at Jared, clamping down on the arm that brandished the knife, flinging it back and forth. Alex could see desperate anger in her eyes. Jared’s rage matched hers, but it was also clearly mixed with pain. Alex was more proud of her than he had ever been of anything in his life. Maybe they couldn’t stop Jared, but Shadow would give him scars to remind him never to try it again. Maybe she would even make it so that he couldn’t do it again.
As he struggled with the dog, Jared stumbled back, almost stepping on Alex. Fearing further pain to his arm, Alex pulled it underneath him and balled himself up. He felt a solid kick to his side and a scream from Jared. He’s going to take us both out in one swipe! Me and Shadow. Then Ryan.
The scream, he quickly realized, was not one of anger, but of terror and pain. Jared’s weight crushed down on him, then rolled off. It wasn’t until the screams intensified that Alex realized Jared had rolled to his right.
Into the pit.
Alex didn’t see what happened to Jared next. He heard all of it. And imagined it: the mudmen growling in their frenzy as they tore and bit into Jared, their teeth and hands covered in gore. Jared screaming, trying to fight them off. But there were too many of them, and the pit too small and tight to give him any opportunity to fight them off or even to back up. He would have fallen right into the middle of them. He wouldn’t even get the chance to stand up.
Alex couldn’t force himself to watch. As much as he hated Jared, he couldn’t stand to see him torn apart by the mudmen. The screams were bad enough, and they seemed to last forever. Whatever they were doing to Jared in that dark, horrible hole, they were taking their time with it. Alex didn’t know if they were fighting over the meat, or if they were just savouring their meal. He didn’t want to know.
Instead, he dragged himself a few feet to lie with his dog. Hot, wet spots marked where Jared’s knife had pierced her. She was still breathing, though each breath came out as a whimper. When he patted her head, she licked him weakly.
“I love you so much, girl,” he said, burying his face into her wet fur. “Thank you. Thank you so, so much. I love you!”
She lifted her head and looked behind her. When he did the same, he saw Ryan sitting on the other side of her, also patting her.
“Be okay?” he asked Alex.
Alex nodded, not sure if Ryan meant the dog or him, and put his head back on Shadow. He closed his eyes and let the cold and darkness wash over him.
AFTER
ALEX
“He’s waking up,” a voice said from the darkness. “Grab that pillow.”
Alex opened his eyes and it felt like someone had cracked him across the temple with a golf club. He closed them quickly, hoping the pain would subside. Hoping that everything had been a dream: there were no mudmen, no emergency, everyone was fine in their homes with their families. When the pain didn’t fade at all—in fact, he felt it all over his body—he knew it was all too real.
He did, however, force himself into a seated position, despite the pain he felt in his wrist as he did so. It hurt, but not as much as before. He assumed he was just getting used to it.
“Grab me that cloth, and some water, too, if you can find any,” said the same voice as before. He realized, with a surprise, that it was Nicole. She had somehow found him and Ryan and—
“Shadow!” He forgot about the pain in his wrist. He looked around frantically, barely registering that he was no longer outside. “Where is she? Is she—?”
“She’s right here,” Nicole said, as she walked over to him with a wet rag in hand. “She won’t leave your side. As always.” She tried to gently shove Alex back down onto—he just realized as she did it—a couch. He resisted, feeling the pain shoot through his body as he did so, and reached down to pet his dog. Bandages wrapped each of her front legs and one large one circled around her chest. Red spots showed where blood had leaked through the lower wrappings.
“Is she ... is she okay?” Alex asked, the words barely coming out through his tears.
“I think she’ll be okay,” Nicole replied, trying and succeeding this time to push Alex back down onto the couch. “The bleeding has stopped, and nothing important got hit, as far as I can tell. She just needs rest. So do you, by the way.”
Alex tried to relax, but it was hard after all that had happened. He sat up again, suddenly. “Jared! What happened to—”
Nicole put a hand on his shoulder, pushing him down. She looked stricken for a moment, silently staring at him. She looked like she had something to say, but couldn’t find the words.
“Is he ...” Alex started, swallowing at the thought of the last time he had seen his lifelong bully. “Is he dead?”
Nicole nodded, then turned away. “Very.”
Alex lay back down. He looked around. It was someone’s living room—a small one, so one flashlight provided enough light for him to see. “Where are we?”
“Some house,” Nicole said as she stood, and moved to sit on a chair a few feet away. “Had to break in, but figured it would be easier to take care of you guys here than outside.”
Alex nodded, glad to be out of
