Chapter 10 #2
His father’s threat last night returned to the front of his mind and Ryker clenched his jaw.
He didn’t have time to deal with foolish idiots willingly getting themselves into car accidents.
What he should be doing was figuring out a way to either convince his father to change his mind, or threaten him against it.
No one was separating them. As pissed as Ryker still was at Rue, he refused to give him up.
Refused to allow him the satisfaction of getting away a second time.
Even if it made them both miserable, he would chain the other man to him until Ryder either woke or one of the three of them died waiting for that to happen.
Reminded that Ryder had had him, and that he’d thrown him away, brought another wave of fury, and a low growl rumbled up his throat before Ryker could help it.
No one else seemed to hear or notice amidst the rest of the chaos, but Rue tipped his head in Ryker’s direction, eyes going wide when he saw whatever expression Ryk must be wearing.
Did he know the anger was directed his way?
Probably.
“This is absurd.” Eulalie had stopped just beneath the doorframe.
Darae and the other two had already been swallowed by the fog. The parking lot was a few yards away, so it would take them a minute to reach the bus—if they could even find it—so there was nothing to do but wait and see if the sound of an engine coming to life came.
“Guess watching Delta die really messed with her,” Ellery tutted at Ryker’s side. “Maybe we should have offered to let her gut the worker responsible. Cool her off. Even though I’m not driving through this shit, that bus is our only mode of transportation.”
“Cosima and the rest of the staff who did arrive must have vehicles,” Ryker disagreed. “And since we’re waiting it out, once we call—”
He heard the hissing noises first, the sounds instantly stopping him. He’d only just taken a step toward the door when a piercing scream followed by shouts shot through the fog, along with an accompanying harrowing roar.
“Darae?!” Eulalie leaned over the doorframe, and from the corner of his eye, Ryker saw Rue take a step forward.
Before Ryker could tell him to back off, a figure appeared from within the fog, Hollis’s arms coming into focus before his face.
There was absolute terror flashing in his eyes, his pallor as ghastly as the white tendrils that seemed to lick at his skin and try to cling to him as he raced toward them.
He practically shoved Eulalie out of the way when he got there, tripping over the lip of the doorway, slamming hard on his hands and knees. It didn’t slow him, and he scrambled forward on a crawl before twisting onto his ass. “Close the door!”
“The others are still out there,” Eulalie said, and almost as soon as she had, Esti’s voice called out.
“Help!” She materialized five or so feet outside, dragging her left leg behind her. There was blood smeared across her cheeks, and when she saw Eulalie, a desperate sob passed her lips.
Eulalie ran out, grabbing the girl around the arm and pulling it over her shoulders. They weren’t far, a few steps at most, but with the way Esti was struggling, their movements were slow going.
“My mom!” Esti sobbed. “My mom!”
“What happened?!” Eulalie asked, turning to glance over her shoulder. Doing so caused them to pause just before the entrance, but the moment she noticed something the rest of them couldn’t yet see became apparent when her whole body tensed.
A large shadow loomed in the gray, slowly rising until it seemed to hover at nine or ten feet tall.
There were no lights like before, when Ryker had gone after Rue, but the hissing noise was there, and when the thing directly behind Eulalie and Esti bent forward, the unmistakable sheen of bone jutted through the thick fog.
There was a flash of matted black fur, sticky with something, and the curve of a jaw bone without anything on it, as though it’d been skinned.
It happened in a split second, the creature snapping downward, that horrific visage coming into view for a brief moment before it latched onto Eulalie’s right shoulder and clamped down hard enough there was a distinct wet crunch.
She screamed and somehow managed to shove Esti at the same time, sending the younger woman through the door.
No one moved to catch her, and Esti ended up falling onto her side, rolling away from the entrance and the creature who was currently dragging Eulalie into the cover of the fog.
Ryker predicted what would happen next before it did, managing to get ahead of Rue by a single second, just enough time to wrap his arms tightly around his body and haul him back, away from the danger.
Rue fought him, kicking and crying out for his mom, clawing at Ryker’s arms.
All at once, the screams cut off, the shrill sound echoing and fading into the nothingness. The quiet was somehow worse, and they all froze, Rue practically dangling in Ryker’s hold.
A long drawn-out moan reached them then, and the wet slap of a palm against a solid surface. Something dragged itself forward, and just before Ryker could order the door closed, Eulalie’s head appeared.
She was on the ground, seemingly dazed. Her movements were muddled, one arm reaching out to pull herself forward, followed by the next in such a slow motion it felt surreal to watch.
The second her fingers hooked around the raised lip of the doorframe, and she heaved herself a couple of inches over it, the rest of her body became visible.
Or, what was left of it.
Rue made a sound unlike anything Ryker had ever heard before. A broken, wretched keening that caused his whole body to shudder.
Eulalie lifted her gaze, eyes unfocused before they found her son’s. Recognition was there, and the corner of her lips turned up ever so slightly in what was clearly meant as a reassuring smile.
A large black blur shot from the fog, five dagger-like claws instantly hooking through her back.
This time when she was dragged away, she was silent.
Another crunch and a splat, the grotesque noises of chewing, finally knocked sense into the rest of them.
Ellery was at the door in a heartbeat, slamming the heavy wood shut and flicking all three locking mechanisms into place.
For good measure, he yanked one of the benches over, wood scraping against wood to scratch at the polished surface of the expensive flooring.
He didn’t stop until it was positioned completely across the entrance.
“Take care of them,” Ryker ordered his friend, indicating the injured. “No one goes outside. If they try—”
“Anyone who opens a door or window gets personally shoved out by me,” Ellery threatened.
Ryker didn’t linger to see if the rest of their pathetic party listened.
He picked Rue up and carried him to the stairs, taking them as quickly as he could.