Page 16 of Galen
“H-Hello?” I asked. Yeah, that’s what morons did in scary movies, but all reason kind of left my brain.
Something scurried across the floor to the left of me. I whipped my head that way, squinting through the dark. My eyes were adjusting a bit, but all I saw were dark shapes. More scampering. It sounded like sharp nails on the hardwood floor. A cat maybe?
Oh god. Please let it be a cat.
“What the hell?” I crinkled my nose. It smelled like bad barbeque, like when you left the meat on the grill for way too long and it burnt to a crisp.
A shadow dashed in front of me, and I jumped backward, my legs knocking into the bed and sending me off-balance. My ass hit the floor as the stench of something burning grew stronger.
And then I felt it—hot breath on my cheek.
Shivers ran down my spine, and I couldn’t move for a second. I was too paralyzed with fear. However, an inner strength flared up inside me. I refused to sit there and do nothing.
I rolled to the side and jumped to my feet. Sharp nails clicked on the floor behind me as I ran. I lunged for the baseball bat. Right as I grabbed it, my pursuer barreled into me and knocked the bat from my hand. My body slammed against the wall before something sharp sunk into my calf and threw me into the air. I hit the ground hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs and to silence the scream tearing through my throat.
When I was finally able to suck in a deep breath, I started gagging. Along with the charred scent, I also got a whiff of rot. I’d never smelled anything so horrible in all my life. Smoke swirled around me, and my eyes stung.
Was something on fire? It had to be.
I pushed to my feet and unlocked the dead bolt on the door before yanking it open. I limped down the stairs, gritting my teeth against the sting in my leg. Blood streamed from the wound and dripped on the steps. The thing followed me. I could hear its hoarse breathing.
Reaching the bottom landing, I hobbled toward the exit door. If I opened it, the alarm would go off. Help would arrive shortly.
I never got the chance.
Teeth sunk into my injured leg and brought me down. Tears pooled in my eyes, both from fear and from the stench of rot and smoke. I stared up at the door. It wasn’t even two feet away. Claws dug into my sides, and I was flipped to my back.
Pressure landed on my chest, and I cried out as sharp nails slashed at my shirt. I couldn’t see anything but darkness above me. I swung out my arm to knock the thing off me, but another set of teeth clamped down on my bicep. I didn’t know what the hell they were, but there were at least two of them. With my shirt hanging in tatters now, sharp claws dug into my skin and sliced my chest open.
I screamed before inhaling the smoke and coughing.
They were going to rip me apart. And there was nothing I could do to stop them. I couldn’t evenseethem.
People said your life flashed before your eyes before you died, but I didn’t see beloved childhood memories playing on a loop in my head. I only saw darkness. I didn’t feel anything but pain and crippling fear.
“Galen! He’s down here!”
Whose voice was that?
The creatures attacking me suddenly disappeared. Grunts sounded from a few feet away, then a high-pitched screech followed by crackling, like flames dying in a pit. The burning stench lessened. I tried to keep my eyes open, but it didn’t do any good. I was losing consciousness.
“Fuck,” the man said, his voice closer now. “He doesn’t look good. What should we do? Drop him off at the hospital?”
“No. He won’t survive that long.” A gentle pressure touched my cheek. There was something comforting about it. “We’ll take him with us.”
His voice.I knew it from somewhere.
The center of my chest began to warm, and the intense pain subsided a bit.
“Alastair will be pissed,” the other guy said.
“Let him.” Arms slipped under me, and I was lifted from the floor. Something brushed across my forehead. “I’ve got you.”
I probably should’ve cared that a complete stranger was carrying me. But he’d saved me from being eaten alive by those damn creatures. And he was so warm. Familiar. I pressed my face to his bare shoulder, breathing in his scent. Sandalwood with a subtle hint of citrus.
The slight rocking of his body as he walked relaxed me even more. Cold air touched my face, and he held me closer to his chest. He must’ve gone outside. The alarm didn’t go off when he opened the door. Did he disarm it? Stupid how I thought of random crap at a moment like that.
I managed to open my eyes, if for only a moment, and saw the night sky, the stars shining bright. Stars that seemed closer than usual.
