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I slide the glass doors closed behind me and try my best to catch my breath, but the girls are watching me, and I know that the people outside can easily see into the house.
Misha didn’t say stay in the living room. He said go upstairs and lock yourself inside.
“I hate to say this,” Bryony says, her voice shaky. “But I think someone needs to call the cops.”
“Way ahead of you,” Sierra says, showing us her phone.
The knot in my stomach tightens. “Come on,” I say. “Let’s talk about this upstairs.”
TRINE
There are a few things I know for certain. One of them is that this flimsy wooden door isn’t going to keep the horde that’s coming for us out.
The girls are talking between themselves, but I’m not paying attention. I go up to the window and look down at the brawl near the pool. It’s hard to discern, from up here, who is who.
I’ve never been great at math, but this is simple arithmetic.
There are only four people fighting for our side and a lot of people attacking them. I’m supposed to be down there helping, but instead, I ran up here like a fucking coward. And I can’t exactly go back downstairs and try to join them now, when Misha told me to bring the band up here.
In the distance, I hear sirens.
Fuck. I think I’m gonna be sick.
The girls stop talking among themselves and look at me. I can see their reflection on the window behind me. I can see their faces peering at me, the concern in their eyes. I try to swallow down the knot in my throat.
“Trine,” Alana says, her voice measured. “What the fuck is going on?”
“It’s, uh, complicated,” I say. Where do I even start with this?
Luckily, Bryony jumps in. “I’m sure Trine can fill us all in when this is over and done with,” she says. “For the time being, I have one question. Do you think the cops will be able to stop this?”
“I don’t know. I’m hoping they’ll be enough to chase them off,” I say. “If they aren’t…”
“It’ll be okay,” Kelly says quietly. “We’ll probably need to talk to them. Maybe someone drugged the drinks or something. Did any of you drink?”
We all nod.
Kelly looks away thoughtfully. “Maybe it was one drink,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. “Or something. What the fuck is happening down there?”
“They’re after me,” I say softly. The fan spins overhead, the room getting much colder than it was before. “I’m sorry. I should’ve never agreed to this gig. I should’ve never…”
Sierra rolls her eyes. “Look, babe, I love your flair for the dramatic as much as anyone else,” she says. “It’s one of the more interesting things about you. But you’re not responsible for crowds of people turning into zombies and trying to attack us. That’s just drugs.”
“Well, I’m really fucking sober,” Bryony says. She sits on the bed next to me. “I didn’t even finish my rum and coke. Worst gig ever.”
Alana laughs as she sits next to her. Sierra and Kelly stand by the door, both of them with their arms crossed.
“I hope the cops are enough to spook them,” I say. “They can’t just…take everyone in, right?”
“Oh, no, they’re definitely going to get shot,” Bryony says plainly. Alana glares at her. “What? She asked.”
I can’t help but think that this is all my fault. If it wasn’t for me, if it wasn’t because of everything that’s going on with me, none of this would’ve happened. Everyone would be okay. The band would be okay. All of Alana’s instruments wouldn’t be getting trashed. Her deck wouldn’t be covered with a fucking bloody drawl.
I look down at the fight. It’s still happening. I can hear the sirens getting closer now. Alana can control the gate with her phone, so she must’ve already let them in, but the drive isn’t that short.
I keep watching the fight, even though the girls are asking me something. It takes me a little while to discern who is who, but I find Rei relatively quickly, his orange bomber jacket enough for me to glue my eyes to it. He’s a tall guy, pretty spry, but there are so many people around him that he doesn’t have a chance.
This isn’t like the movies. This is brutal; each strike against him seems to connect. He does his best to defend himself, and he blocks quite a few blows, but he’s overwhelmed by the people around him.
