Page 24 of Dead End

“What is going on?” Freddy asked at my back as he came up behind me, suddenly very out of breath.

“What’s with all the noise?” His twin asked on the other side of me as he stared at the last door on the right side of the hall.

Norman didn’t look so good. His lips were tinted a pale, almost colorless blue, and his skin was ghostly white. His gaze wasn’t on the door anymore like Freddy's, but instead, it was aimed right at the pulse in my neck, pumping fast and frantic after racing up the stairs.

Jason shoved us aside, breaking Norman's intense concentration on my pulse. He gulped roughly and went to stand behind us. Jason paused at the door, placing his left ear against it, but nothing came from the other side as we gathered at his back. He glanced over his shoulder in annoyance, but that only caused me to move closer because we had to know what was going on inside the room.

“Let’s just open the damn door already!” Freddy demanded as he snagged my hand and squeezed it, just as Jason slowly twisted the doorknob and sent the door flying open with a bang.

My mouth dropped open the moment I spotted Michael. His frantic, horrified eyes swung our way, and he started shouting as he pointed at the foot of his bed. “Don’t just stand there! Kill the fucking zombie snake!” He had a lamp in his hands, which he used to swing at the snake trying to slither its way up the bedpost.

I honestly didn’t know where to look first—how the ceiling of his room appeared to be wide open to the night sky, a shooting star moving across the expanse, how the air crackled with static electricity that made my hair stand on end, or how Michael’s veins were turning black the way they had back on the bus. The ink-like substance crawled up his arms, up his neck, and down to his six-pack of delicious abs, which I couldn’t stop glancing at. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t stare at that?

Focus, October!

I realized belatedly how quiet it was and glanced up from Michael’s abs, slowly realizing everyone was glaring at me. Except for Michael. He wore a satisfied, cocky smirk for about half a second, until his attention was once again on the decaying black python at his feet. Its tiny bones peaked through its shedding snake skin, and its red beady eyes were staring up at him with, dare I say, love? Affection?

“Don’t move, man. Let’s just figure this out,” Jason said. “What’s the deal with this place?” Jason ran a hand through his mocha hair as he glanced around the room until he met my eyes. “And why do I get the feeling this is your fault?”

“My fault?!” I screeched but was interrupted by Jessica, who skittered into the room and took a flying leap onto my shoulder.

“Holy pumpkin, people! Can’t an arachnid get some decent shut-eye around here?” She perched on my shoulder and faced Michael. “You’d think you’d be able to recognize your familiar when you see him. Honestly, what did Alfred ever do to you?”

I snorted and covered it up when the guys shot me a glare, but I could have sworn Norman looked a little smug. I noticed belatedly that he still had the little bat on his shoulder.

“Leave Billie out of this,” Norman hissed, inching away from me as he noticed me staring.

“Billie?” I asked in disbelief. “You named him?”

Norman rolled his eyes. “Jessica told me his name was Billie,” he said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. “Kind of rude not to use it, right?”

“I mean…” I shuffled on my feet under his intense stare.

“Guys!” Michael shouted. “I don’t want a fucking familiar! Get this thing out of my room right now!” Alfred slithered over the mattress, and Michael had no more room to back up. He was plastered against the wall now. “Holy shit, holy shit!”

“Stop being a baby,” Jessica drawled. “You’re going to feel really stupid about this later.”

Alfred didn’t hesitate. The snake slithered right up Michael’s leg, twisting upward until it wrapped around his torso. Michael froze completely, his bright blue eyes going wide. Before any of us could do a thing, the snake reared back and sunk its fangs into Michael’s flesh, and he cried out in shock at the pain. “Fuck! Get it off!”

“Just give it a second,” Jessica said with a laugh. Apparently, she found all of this incredibly amusing. Honestly, I kind of did too. It was sort of nice seeing my tormentors out of their element for once.

“What the hell is it doing?” Freddy asked, taking a hesitant step forward. Michael, are you okay, man?”

Michael’s eyes had gone completely black, and his whole body seemed to be calming down as the snake began to absorb into his skin. I blinked a couple of times, shaking my head. The snake faded like smoke, leaving behind what appeared to be a tattoo-type mark that wound around Michael’s entire torso. Michael glanced down, his shoulders losing all of their tension. I watched in disbelief as his lips tilted upward.

A black flame flickered over his fingertips as his fingers morphed into sharp claws. We stared in disbelief, and I stumbled, tripping over my feet and into a hard chest. A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist, catching my fall. I was too wrapped up in Michael to realize what was happening.

Freddy’s grip on my waist tightened as he seemed to force me back a step, as if protecting me from one of his best friends. Freddy’s muscles bunched, and something poked me in the side, causing me to yelp, but Freddy only shoved me towards his brother. Norman caught me and pulled me so close that I could feel him sniffing my neck. My pulse raced for many reasons.

Bro, are you good?” Jason asked hesitantly, stepping into the room.

Michael’s head popped up, and the black began to recede from his eyes and disappear from his hands and arms. “I’m good. Alfred won’t hurt me; we have a mutual understanding. Jessica was right.

“Of course I was,” she sniffed. “I told you I’d be your official tour guide, but did you listen? Nope!”

There was a hiss, right before a massive cloud of white filled the room, covering Michael in foam. It was only then that he finally snapped out of his trance and backed into the wall, sinking down and sitting in a daze on top of his mattress. That snake tattoo was still there, but the claws and fire were gone.

“Goodie, you kids are up!” Pip said, holding a fire extinguisher on her hip as the foam began to dissipate. I stared at the red canister in disbelief. Where the hell did that even come from? Pip continued before I could ask. “Chop, chop, lazy bones. It’s time to head into town.”

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