Page 76 of Circus From Hell

Arlo holds his hands out in front of him like that’ll placate her, slowly walking backwards. He takes wide steps, trying to put as much space between himself and Karma, but she’ll lunge soon, and he’ll have to run.

Soren and I will need to hold her back until he can get close enough to the city.

I’m quiet as I move away, Karma fixated on Arlo, and I wave my hand to get Soren’s attention. I point at Karma’s legs and then him, making a grabbing motion. He looks at me like I’m crazy before understanding and nodding.

Karma got some good blows on him. There’s blue blood pooling from the side of his face, and his chest is scratched completely.

Tension circulates, and it takes a hell of a lot of self-control to stop myself from panicking when I see Arlo in danger. I’ve spent the past six years protecting him from the evil of this world, and now we’re thrown headfirst into the most dangerous thing we’ve ever experienced: falling in love with the undead.

“C’mon, pretty girl,” Arlo whispers, approaching the edge of the show tent. If he can run through there, it’s only the rest of the field and one road to cross.

Karma’s fingers disappear into the grass with every crawl forward. The calm before the storm. The slow before the start.

When Arlo’s back presses against the large tent entrance, he spins on his heel and runs, inciting the chase.

Karma lurches, but Soren’s been sneaking up, and he wraps his thick arms around her legs. Karma catches herself before her face slams into the floor, but she’s too strong for Soren to hold back any longer.

She’s still naked. I can see the stitching loosen on her problem leg as she pulls forward and relieves herself of Soren’s grasp. That’ll start to slow her down.

Karma’s not bothered by Soren or me—she’s too set on hunting Arlo, and she snarls as she rips through the tent entrance. Soren and I chase after her, and as we follow through, I watch Arlo run through the main entrance on the other side. That’s good.

Karma chases him, running at terrifying speed despite her leg, and I lose sight of the pair until Soren and I break back out into the night.

Karma’s leg wobbles, and Arlo manages to get to the edge of the main road before she starts gaining on him. At this time, there are no cars, and Arlo doesn’t miss a beat before heading into the city. Soren and I run as fast as we can, but there’s no way we’ll be able to keep up with Karma.

I track where they’re headed. Arlo doesn’t choose a back alley but rather a big side street. The loud reverberating music of the last few nightclubs still open bounces around the open space as Soren and I make it to the other side of the road. Buildings block my sight of them, and the last thing I see is Arlo’s terrified face as his hair whips back through the wind, his slender arms pumping him to run faster with Karma on his tail.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I shout, forcing myself to run quicker, my feet slamming against the stone ground. Despite his size, Soren’s fast, surpassing me and following their trail. We turn the corner into the side street, and my stomach untwists when I see Arlo still alive. He’s backed into a wall, Karma approaching him quickly, and he looks petrified with nowhere to go.

I can’t lose him.

Please, for the love of everything, don’t let me lose him.

Just as I think it’s all over, that this plan was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made, Arlo wraps his hand around a door handle in the wall beside him, and I see the relief on his face as it twists and opens. He turns inside and slams it behind him as Karma lunges. Her body collides with the metal with a force that makes me cringe. If she could feel pain, that would be brutal.

She’s quick to grab the handle herself, and I try to speed up, to get in there before she finds him.

Her pink and green hair disappears inside. Soren reaches the door before me. My chest hurts from how far I’ve run, and I’m panting as he tries the handle.

“She’s locked it,” he pants, and I push him out of the way, twisting the handle furiously and slamming my shoulder into the door. It doesn’t budge, and my throat constricts. I pound my fist against the metal, shouting Arlo’s name, begging for him to hear me.

“Get out the way,” Soren demands, and I move just in time as he charges to the door, his large body barrelling into it with force that makes the lock break and the door swing back.

I have no idea what kind of building we’re entering. We run in blindly.

I can see it’s abandoned. It looks like an old bar with broken furniture and dust on every surface, and the floorboards creak under the weight of my feet.

My heart lurches when I hear a noise I’ve heard before. Slurping, cracking, squelching. There’s no screaming, though, and I stumble with fear every step I take forward. There’s an old staircase with holes and broken planks, and the noise sounds like it’s coming from above us.

Soren tries to grab my arm as I dash forward, uncaring about the dangers that lie ahead.

My stepbrother could still be alive.

I love him. He needs to still be alive.

My foot breaks through the step, and I swear loudly as I try to pull it back out, but it gets stuck.

A scream comes from the level above.