“Run!” Alyssa screamed, but it didn’t work. The woman probably couldn’t hear her over her screeching. And then, Ms. Turley shifted as well. Right there in her muumuu, she suddenly sprouted fur and a muzzle. The screams became howls and her fingers became claws that dropped the popcorn in favor of swiping at Vic.
Vic spun, his nostrils flaring as he scented the new stench. He growled at the woman and she growled back.
“Stop it!” Alyssa screamed, but it was no use. The two were siting each other and whereas Vic was hobbled by his shoes, Ms. Turley had been in Crocs that were easily kicked aside. “Don’t you dare!” she bellowed at the woman. And when that didn’t work, she tried any of the other screams that had sometimes worked.
“Take it outside!”
“I’m calling the cops!”
“I don’t fucking believe this!”
Holy shit.She was hysterical, and that wasn’t going to stop her brother and a sweet old lady from attacking each other. Which is when she saw the fire extinguisher on the wall.
It was her only hope and she grabbed it like the lifeline it was. She popped the pin with fumbling fingers, then aimed and shot. She got Ms. Turley in the face and then she went for Vic. Both of them snarled at her and advanced, but she didn’t stop. It wasn’t exactly a water hose, but it was enough. Before long, the two were hissing and spitting on the slick floor. And while they were gasping for breath, she tried again to reach them.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Vic? You had it under control! And Ms. Turley, aren’t you hungry?” She scrambled around as fast as she could to grab the popcorn tin. Then she slid it across the floor straight into the woman’s side.
Ms. Turley’s nose started twitching and she looked over. A moment later, she was muzzle deep in the tin, eating without the use of her hands.
One down. One to go.
She glared at Vic who was wiping away the foam with hands, not claws. And that gave her hope.
“You in there Vic? You got it together yet?”
He didn’t answer. At least not at first. She caught a flash from his eyes as he glared at her, but he didn’t attack. Then he jerked himself around, flopping onto his ass as he grabbed at his shoes.
“Fucking things,” he muttered before he kicked them off.
She feared he would leap up and attack then. He had mobility. But instead, he leaned back against the side of coin machine and released a heavy sigh while he stretched out his feet.
Alyssa blew out a breath. “Vic? You in there?”
“I’m never wearing shoes again.”
She liked them. That was twice now that she’d managed to escape him because he was hobbled by his own shoes.
“You ready to listen?”
He scraped foam off his arm and chest then gave up the task as useless. “The water’s bad,” he said, his voice deadpan. “I drank a ton at the fountain and then refilled the bottle.”
“You said you liked it.”
“The monster likes it,” he said. Then he looked up at her, his brown eyes wide and rimmed with red. “The monster likes it a lot.” Then he turned to look at Ms. Turley. “She probably had it in her tea.”
Yeah.Ms. Turley enjoyed a pot of her Chinese herbs every morning and another in the afternoon. Especially during allergy season when her migraines were the worst. That’s why the woman bought the popcorn. She’d feel a headache coming on and reach for her tea and popcorn. Between the tea and the THC, she said her pains would dull enough that she could function.
“She’s okay right now,” Alyssa said. “I’m more worried about you.”
Vic looked up. “It’s like ants under my skin. Fire ants with pinchers. And yeah, I want to kill someone.” He took a deep breath. “I want to hurt whoever did this to me and to an old pothead like Ms. Turley.” He must have seen Alyssa tense because he shook his head. “I’m under control.”
“Yeah?” she challenged.
“Yeah.” Then he looked at Ms. Turley. “What are we going to do with her?”
Like she knew? But of course, she had the answer downstairs. “Let her finish the tin. That will quiet her enough to get her into one of the cages.”
He nodded as he slowly stood up. She couldn’t stop herself from tightening her grip on the fire extinguisher. If he went nuts again, it was her only defense. His eyes narrowed when he saw it, but then he sighed.
