The first of the scavengers fleeing the convenience store reached the end of the alley. Something huge and monstrous burrowed up from under the street.
Warren had never seen anything like the creature. It was as huge as an elephant with a gaping maw.
The lead runner vanished into the hole through the street. The demon reached out and captured another person—things were so confusing that Warren didn’t know if the victim was male or female—then bit down. Stumps of legs fell to the ground like crumbs.
The other scavengers tried to reverse their direction, but it was too late. A line of mastiff-sized demons vaulted over the back of the first demon and dropped onto the scavengers, taking them to the ground in their jaws.
Warren pulled Kelli into motion again, heading for the dead end. He halted at the bottom of the wall and formed a stirrup with his hands.
“Up you go.”
Kelli stepped into Warren’s hands. Thankfully she was slight of build. He had no problem propelling her up. She grabbed hold of the top and rolled over.
Warren leaped up after her, managing the top on his first leap, then pulling himself up. He flung himself over the top and pushed off. He landed and threw himself forward, seeing that Kelli already had a good speed worked up.
Seven
S omething smacked into the wall behind Warren. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a wedge-shaped head with ruby eyes hang on the barbed wire for a moment, then it slipped back down to the other side.
The fence is too tall, he told himself, and hoped that was the truth.
Then something—or several somethings—kept smashing against the wall. Wood splintered and gave way. By that time Warren had caught up to Kelli. They reached the street together in four more strides.
“Which way—”
Before Kelli could finish her question, Warren felt the warning itch increase again. He threw her down, covering her with his body. The broken window of the Italian restaurant ahead of them showed the menacing reflection of a feminine-shaped demon with wings. She missed them by inches.
Pushing himself up, Warren hauled Kelli up and started running again. She couldn’t keep pace with him despite her best efforts.
Run! Leave her behind! Warren knew that was what he should have done. But he couldn’t. He didn’t truly care about his flat mates. They had all shown too much disrespect over the last few months for him to trust them. But there was no one else in the world that he even came close to caring for.
The door of a comic book shop that Warren sometimes frequented stood open ahead. He ducked inside, pulling Kelli after him. She was out of breath, gasping hoarsely, all but undone.
Two of the hound-looking demons charged past the door.
Slowly, not wanting to attract their attention, Warren guided Kelli to the back of the showroom. Posters of superheroes with amazing powers covered the walls. Those worlds—not the impossible things that happened in them, but the way most things ended happily—seemed a million miles away. The heroes in those magazines weren’t afraid of death. But Warren Schimmer was. He’d seen it close up, had taken a life before and knew how easy it was.
“Quiet,” Warren breathed into Kelli’s ear. He tried to keep his fear out of his voice but doubted he succeeded. “Just stay quiet and we’ll get out of here.”
She was tense, shaking against him. She didn’t believe him. But that was fair; he didn’t believe himself.
One of the demons turned toward the comic shop and thrust its snout into the air.
Does it scent us? Warren didn’t know. He reached the back of the sales floor and went through the open door to the stock room. He’d never been there before. Too late, he saw that there was nowhere to go.
Boxes lined the shelves. A table occupied one end of the room. Thankfully the room was dark.
The demon approached the door and threw its snout into the air again.
Warren willed Kelli not to speak or make a sound. And he wanted her to obey him without him having to give instruction. She let him guide her like a child, dropping to the floor and crawling under the table.
Outside, the demon’s footsteps drew nearer.
Kelli almost screamed. Warren put his hand over her lower face. Don’t, he thought at her. Don’t make a sound.
She quieted, but her heart throbbed against his arm thrown over her body.
In the darkness, the demon was barely visible, but Warren made out its feet. They were gnarled and misshapen, nowhere close to anything human. But they were corded with muscle and sharp talons curled over the toes.
You can’t see us, Warren thought at it. Then he corrected himself. You can’t sense us. We’re not here. No one is in this room.
A moment later, the demon thrust its ugly head under the table. The slavering jaws were less than a foot from Kelli’s head. One snap of those powerful jaws would tear her face away.
You can’t sense us. We’re not here. Go away. We’re not here. Warren’s unspoken words felt like hammer falls inside him. A massive headache suddenly throbbed between his temples. He clung to the words desperately, and he clung to Kelli because she was shaking so hard there was no way the demon wouldn’t see her.
A moment later, unbelievably, the demon withdrew. Then it left the room. Stunned, Warren listened as the footsteps receded and finally disappeared.
Long minutes passed. During that time, Warren felt Kelli’s tears rolling across his fingers, felt her shaking as she silently cried. He also heard the screams and cries of those who didn’t get away.
After a while, he heard only silence.
“Stay here,” he told Kelli. “I’m going to go look.”
“No.” She caught hold of his shirt and tried to keep him with her.
“Let go,” Warren said automatically. His voice was more harsh than he intended, but his head ached so severely that he wanted to lie down and sleep.
Kelli let go.
Getting to
