“Except they’re animals,” Simon said. And then he shook his head. “You’re an idiot for following,” he said to her, but then focused on Vic. “And you keep it together or I’ll rip your head off myself. Got it?”
Vic didn’t answer. His skin was gray and his mouth pinched tight with pain. It had to be those axes and machetes he’d been talking about. But even with that, he was still following with one determined step after another.
Alyssa didn’t know whether to be enormously proud of her brother or terrified for their stupidity. Both, probably. Nevertheless, they all walked together across the street. Until Simon held up his hand.
“Stay behind me, no matter what. And when I say run, you run. Hard.”
She nodded and Vic did, too. Honestly, she wanted to be strong here, to back Simon up however he needed. But every step closer to the building had her knees weakening and her heart fluttering at panicked levels. She was really afraid that if he told her to run, she’d take the excuse and bolt. And she wouldn’t stop until she was in Canada.
In this she was unexpectedly helped by the stench in the air. Hard to run when she was gagging for breath. She glanced at her brother who was shaking his head.
“It’s not from me,” he said, as he showed her his bare and very humanlike hands.
“No,” said Simon as he put his hand on the door. “It’s from inside.” Then he hauled the glass door open and went in.
They followed a step behind, pushing through the dark curtain just as Simon had. But Alyssa never got farther than a half step before she felt Simon’s hand press flat on her belly.
“Run,” he said, his voice low and urgent. “Now.”
