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But I stopped myself. I don’t want to set him off.
I remember the cult, how quickly men can snap, the sudden eruptions of violence.
“No,” I whisper. “I’m sorry about whatever’s happening to you. But I can’t come with you.”
“Do you think you have a choice?”
He leaps at me.
All at once, time speeds up. I’m running down the alleyway, my breath loud in my ears, my legs feeling stiff and way too slow.
Laughter follows me.
I look behind, almost crashing into a dumpster can.
Jerry’s not even moving quickly. He’s jogging after me, seeming to enjoy this, then I see why.
The alleyway is a dead end.
I turn from the graffiti-covered walls, the reek of trash all around us.
Jerry steps forward slowly, his hand near his hip like he’s going to grab a weapon.
“Please,” I whisper. “You don’t have to do this. I’ve got money.”
He laughs gruffly. “I’ve been following you for half a week. You do not have money.”
“I do,” I say, noting the way his face changes. “We’re living in that crummy apartment building because we’re hiding. But we have cash.”
He folds his arms, a twisted smile on his face like he’s humoring a child. “Oh yeah? How much?”
My mind spins. It can’t be too much or too little. It has to be realistic.
“Forty-three thousand,” I tell him. “And a couple hundred. We’re saving. But it’s yours if you let me go.”
He grinds his teeth from side to side. For some reason, he looks up at the sheer walls of the buildings blocking the sun.
He returns his gaze to me, narrowing his eyes as he unfolds his arms.
“No, that won’t do. I need you. What I want, the glory I’m seeking...it’s worth a hell of a lot more than forty grand. Are you going to come with me peacefully?”
Finally, he reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small pistol, an easily concealed weapon that looks silly in his hands. Or itwouldlook silly if I wasn’t currently wondering if I’m going to pee myself.
He aims it at my head. “I’ve got zip-ties. Put them on, and we’ll walk around the block, to my car, and then….”
He yells and leaps back.
I scream, doing the same, my shoulder bashing into a trash can when I almost fall. It pulses numbly, but I barely notice it, barely notice anything except for the wolf.
The wolf that just crash-landed in the middle of us that must’ve just fallen – orjumped –from one of the roofs.
It’s the same one from before, from my hallucination, except Jerry is on his back, staring up at it like it’s real.
The wolf is on its hind legs.
I was wrong before.
It’s nottwicethe size of a regular wolf.
