Chapter 16
Ryker threw up his arm defensively, hissing when the blade sliced through him. Ignoring the instinct to stumble back, he shot forward instead, using his larger form to force Thea against the counter, grabbing her wrist and twisting in the process.
She screamed and struggled, eyes bloodshot, skin covered in a sheen of sweat.
Either the fear had gotten to her or something else had, but one thing was for certain, she was no longer acting like the person she’d been before the lights had gone out.
Her nails swiped at him, adding more cuts to the larger one where the skin on his left forearm had been opened up.
A gunshot sounded and then her body went still, slumping against him.
With a curse, Ryker stepped away, watching her lifelessly fall to the floor.
“Seriously?” Ellery glared at his cousin. “What did I tell you about saving bullets?”
“She was clearly unhinged.” Uriel lifted a single shoulder then checked the magazine to count the remaining bullets, leaving the rest of them to discuss everything.
“Ryk is armed,” Ell reminded. “He carries that damn switchblade around like it’s his baby.”
Rue had grabbed a bandage roll from the first aid kit and made it to Ryker’s side, grimacing when he saw the damage.
“It’s not that bad,” Ryker reassured him. “Doesn’t need stitches or anything.”
“Wrap it tight,” Ellery instructed, then caught Ryk’s gaze. “We need to hurry.”
There wasn’t just a fear of losing sunlight now, which was already murky at best due to the weather, but without electricity, it was going to be nearly impossible for them to find their way back to the main lodge once they were outside.
They needed the lights to help guide them through the dense fog.
“We’ve wasted enough time,” he continued. “We have to move.”
“No.” Rue wrapped the bandage around Ryker’s arm. “That’s final.”
“Sweetheart, this isn’t up for debate.” Ryker ran a hand through his hair.
“I’ll go check the breakers,” Fran offered, moving toward the stairs.
“Stick with a buddy system,” Ishleen suggested, but Ellery snorted.
“That worked out really well for Cyril and Thea.” The Black Hart peered down at their bodies. “Something must have happened to make them go feral like rabid dogs. Any ideas?”
“Someone is behind this.” Ryker hadn’t planned on saying as much out loud, not wanting to cause any more panic among the others, but at this point… “My only guess is something was done to them. Probably without either of them knowing.”
“Like a drug?”
“Potentially.” That would make the most logical sense.
“Hold on,” Penn held up a hand, “what do you mean? You’re saying someone is purposefully doing this to us?”
“The creatures outside are mimicking us,” Ellery reminded, but their classmate didn’t seem to agree.
“That doesn’t prove anything. Whatever is out there is a predator, and there are plenty of things that can mimic sounds and use that ability to their advantage. There’s nothing to suggest that whatever out there is being controlled by a person.”
“It does sound a bit farfetched,” Ishleen agreed, giving Ryker an apologetic look.
“Believe what you want.” He wouldn’t argue with them over it. “But I want to be certain.”
“Regular creatures can’t read the room,” Rue stated. “That thing knew we were making out, and knew reminding me we’re step siblings might make us stop.”
Esti nibbled on her bottom lip, then glanced at the others. “An animal wouldn’t comprehend when something isn’t socially acceptable.”
“You’re making it sound like something is controlling those things,” Penn said.
“Potentially feeding them information,” Ryker mentioned.
“How?”
“No clue.”
“Well then, it’s pretty obvious that Jesse is responsible for killing Cosima,” Penn stated, unwilling to drop it. “Maybe those two,” he motioned to the dead workers, “were in on it.”
“We should put plans on checking the pool house on hold,” Esti suggested. “Worry about finding Jesse before he can hurt anyone else.”
“You’re all just choosing to ignore the similarities,” Ellery sighed.
“The way he lost it and murdered the Smiths the other day is pretty damn similar to how Cyril and Thea just acted. But I do agree that we shouldn’t wait around for Jesse to show up on his own.
He does need to be found. Maybe we’ll even be able to get answers from him. ”
“No one was able to get him to say anything useful before,” Fran told them. “We tried. He just kept repeating he didn’t know what happened. He said he doesn’t even remember killing them in the first place. Whatever came over him when he did it, he was fine the last time I saw him. Normal.”
“He’s a liar,” Ellery grunted. “It’s not that easy to forget a killing.”
“If the power doesn’t return, tonight is going to be a lot more difficult to get through,” Uriel warned them. “Are you all prepared to deal with that? Things are a lot spookier in the dark, and you’re already terrified as it is.”
“What if that’s what made them all go crazy?” Esti asked. “What if they just couldn’t handle the pressure and broke?”
“And decided to become murderers?” Ellery rolled his eyes, but left it at that.
“All right,” Ryker had heard enough. “We sweep the floors. All of us. One level at a time.”
“You do that,” Ell clapped Uriel on the back, “we’re sticking to the original plan.”
Damn it.
“Go check the breakers first,” Ryker told Fran, then motioned to Ishleen. “Go with him.”
She didn’t hesitate, merely helped Esti back onto the bench and then went to the stairs where the worker was waiting. Ryker made a mental note of her bravery, then cleared his throat when he noticed Rue’s eyes narrowed on him.
“If we lose the light, we’re screwed,” Ellery continued. “I’m not risking it.”
“Split into teams then,” Lenore suggested. “The three of you check the pool house while the rest of us conduct the sweep. How much time did you think you would need?”
Rue glared at her.
“An hour to be safe,” Ryker said.
She nodded. “Unless Jesse left the building, there are only so many places he could be hiding. We can check all four levels within that timeframe.”
“You’ll have to go room by room.” He pointed to the keys still hanging in the glass cabinet on this side of the check-in station. “We can’t risk him hiding out in a locked one. They all have to be checked.”
“Understood.”
“As long as we’re all moving on the same floor,” Bowie joined in, “it should be safe enough for us to spread out so all of the rooms are being checked at relatively the same time.”
“Yeah,” Penn jumped on board, “that sounds good. I’m in.”
“Same.” Esti sneered at Hollis, who’d yet to do anything other than sit there curled into a ball. “Can we just shoot him?”
“No!” Hollis shot to his feet. “I’ll help!”
“With Fran that makes eight of you,” Ryker pointed out. “Sweep the rooms in pairs. Time is important, but so is ensuring Jesse isn’t given the chance to get the jump on anyone.”
“What if he tries to hurt one of us?” Esti asked.
“Defend yourselves.” That seemed pretty obvious.
“The time is,” Ellery checked his multi-slate strapped to his wrist, “eleven.” He grabbed the circular speaker and made his way over to the front door.
“Once I toss this, let’s give it ten minutes.
That way the monsters can move from the other side of the lodge.
Then the three of us will sneak out the side entrance in the lounge area. Sound good?”
“Yeah.” Uriel moved to help him slide the heavy bench a foot away from the door, giving Ell enough space to undo the locking mechanisms and open it a few inches.
He bent down and placed the device onto the ground, then pushed it so it rolled away, disappearing into the fog. As soon as he was done, he slammed the door, and worked on pulling up a playlist on his device as his cousin replaced the locks and the bench.
Heavy rock music blared from outside, loud enough to be heard even through the thick barrier, and Ellery turned and gave them a thumbs up.
“You’re seriously going to do this?” Rue was seething at his side, but Ryker didn’t know what else to say. “Fine.”
Ryker motioned to the other speaker set on the counter. “Remember, this has to be set at twelve ten. Don’t be late. If there’s a delay—”
“You might not make it back, yeah, I fucking get it. I swear to Light, Ryker, if you don’t come—”
“I will.” He planted a chaste kiss to his forehead, and attempted a reassuring smile he wasn’t quite sure he managed. “I’d never leave you behind, Rue.”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing right now.” Rue pulled away and moved to where his friends were standing, purposefully snubbing Ryker in the process.
He could be mad about it, but he sort of understood where Rue was coming from. If their roles had been reversed, there was no way in hell he’d allow Rue to go out there. But their roles weren’t reversed, and Ryker was better equipped at dealing with stuff like this.
Besides, he had the other Black Harts with him.
They’d be fine.
They had to be.
* * *
They moved through the heady fog basically blind, Uriel taking the lead since he could see the best out of the three of them. They stuck close enough to always keep one another in view, pausing and ducking low whenever Uriel gave them the signal, moving only once he started walking again.
Things could be heard moving in the distance, the low buzzing and heavy footsteps cluing them in further as they went, allowing them to actively avoid those areas.
Each of them had memorized several paths to the pool house, so even if they were separated, they’d be able to find their way, but the goal was definitely to stick together.
Fortunately, the music had worked for the most part, and aside from the couple of creatures still making their way to the other side of the building, they didn’t have to worry too much about running into anything they shouldn’t.
It also helped that the lights were still on at their destination, further proving this play had been necessary.
No matter how against it Rue was.