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It’s a door opening and closing.
“What was that?” Melody whispers, suddenly awake.
I get out of bed and grab my clothes. I pull them on, listening intently, and I hear it: the sound of someone climbing the steps. More than one person, if I had to guess.
“Don’t move,” I say right into her ear. “I’ll handle this, okay?”
“War.” She sounds afraid now. “What’s going on?”
“Just don’t move.” I head over to the trap door, glancing around for a weapon, but there’s nothing, only old books and puzzles and games.
I yank it open and step down onto the staircase.
It’s pitch dark. There’s no moon, no stars here. Whoever’s climbing up is getting closer, toward the middle, and I shut the trap door behind me, plunging the place into pure black. I move by feel, groping along at the walls as the stairs twist and turn.
I stop about ten steps down and listen. Two people, still coming on.
“Whoever you are, if you don’t turn and go back now, I will hurt you.” My voice is calm and startling in the blackness.
But the footsteps pause. I hear furtive whispers. Then the climbing continues.
“All right,” I say and ready myself for violence. “If that’s how you want to play it.”
I move down another couple steps and press myself against the wall, waiting. My eyes adjust slightly and I can see maybe five feet into the gloom. Whoever’s coming up is moving faster now, maybe afraid, maybe thinking they can surprise me with speed. I stay where I am, straining to listen and see, and suddenly, they’re right there, a vague shape in the darkness. I hold back, keep on waiting, let them get parallel to me, then slightly past—
Before I reach out and grab them by the collar of their shirt and pull as hard as I can.
There’s a retch, a gag, and a grunt of shock as they fall backwards. The second person’s further down below, and I hear them crash to the steps, followed by some thuds as they tumble. But the falling stops quickly, not too far, and they’re cursing as they get up.
“You motherfucker,” one snarls, a male voice. I recognize it vaguely, distantly. I heard it before within the last few days. “You little bitch. I’m gonna fucking kill you.”
“I have a feeling you were planning on doing that already.”
He comes charging up at me. It’s Melody’s cousin Evan, the oldest of the trio, and he slams into me, knocking me back. He hits me twice and it’s hard to dodge in the darkness, so I ram my knee into his balls until he screams in pain and rolls off. I try to get on top of him and slam my forehead into his nose, but the second guy grabs my ankle and yanks me down.
I thump against the stairs hard then Dean’s on me. He’s burly and heavy and he tries to pummel me with his fists. I manage to get my arms up and protect myself, and his blows aren’t very accurate in the darkness. I wiggle sideways and he punches the stairs, and as he howls in frustration, I reach up and jam my thumb into his left eye.
His howl turns into a scream. I jam harder, shoving him back, and he hits the stairs and goes down. I turn in time to take a fist to the mouth as Evan comes at me. It turns me and I nearly fall, but I manage to grab onto the railing. Evan follows up by punching me in the ribs, and I barely manage to dive at him, tackling him to the stairs and sending us both sprawling.
I crawl past him, panting and in pain, tasting blood. He swings and misses, and I get the high ground before kicking down hard. I connect with his shoulder, and follow with a punch, cracking him in the jaw. He grunts, and I brace myself against the walls, lift myself in the air, and kick him as hard as I can in the chest.
He flies into the blackness. I hear him hit and roll, thumping down and down, followed by another scream of pain.
The lights come on then. Blinding and intense. I blink against their brightness as I limp down the steps and find the cousins near the bottom in a tangle of limbs. Dean’s not moving, but Evan’s conscious and groaning, his wrist at an awkward angle.
I drag him off his brother and leave him slumped against the wall. I check Dean and let out a relieved breath to find his heart still beating. Fucker might be a mess after this, but he’ll live at least.
Evan groans as I kneel down on his chest and stare into his eyes, fury dripping from me like sweat.
“Who sent you here tonight?” I whisper. “Why’d you come here?”
“We were gonna scare you,” he says, moaning in pain. “Fuck, I need a doctor. I think Dean needs a doctor too. Please, War, let me go. We need a doctor.”
“You fucker,” I say, getting in his face. “You came here in the middle of the night to hurt Melody, didn’t you? I bet you didn’t expect me to be here.”
“Please, War,” he begs. “Let me go.”
“Why does your father listen to Daisy? Why does everyone go along with her shit?”
