Page 36 of Death and Do-Overs

At least it was better thanfffffor herdie die diekick from earlier.

“Let’s check the table first.” I pulled my protective gloves on and lifted her. There was no mess on the table. “Looks good.”

Nie’s cloudy eyes lit up like those of a half-starved zombie cracking into a skull. I was fairly certain I didn’t need to be concerned, as Wendy’s magic didn’t create zombies. Only Rose’s bites did that.

Did I look equally ravenous when I was hungry? I guessed so.

“Fry,” Nie demanded.

I fed her another fry, then another, stopping only to work on my sandwich and a few fries of my own. I saved a bit of my bottled water for brushing my teeth, then settled into the bed to rest.

Exhaustion struck hard and fast, carrying me off to a heavy and dreamless sleep.

Scratch.

A quiet yet persistent noise prickled at the edge of my awareness.

Scratch scratch.

I tried to peel my eyelids open. The room was still so dark, there was no good reason to wake up yet. After the day I’d had, I’d earned this sleep. I needed it.

Scratch scratch scratch.

With a sigh, I flopped to my side and forced my eyes open to see what Nie wanted, and how she’d made that noise.

Nie’s eyes were closed. She was asleep, and not making any sounds at all. My unconscious brain must have imagined the entire thing.

Scraaatch.

My blood ran cold.

The noise was real. And it came from across the room. My heart pounded in my chest. Any lingering sleepiness completely evaporated.

I tried to convince myself that it was the heater, but this sound was different than any other I’d heard in the room. Someone was most definitely in the room with us.

The violent thudding in my chest left me paralyzed. I pressed my lips together so as not to gasp. I held my breath, afraid that if I did move, whoever or whatever was making that noise would notice me.

I stared in the direction, not moving any part of my body but my eyes, searching for the unknown threat lurking in thedarkness. I found nothing, but that didn’t make me feel any better.

I kept looking.

A flutter of movement caught my eye, not inside my room, but just beyond. A blurry shape lingered on the other side of the glass door, on the balcony.

Was it a person, or something else?

An arm lifted, then dragged a fingernail slowly down the glass.

Scraaaaaatch.

In the darkness, pitch black shadows swirled around the creature. It definitely wasn’t human.

The whites of its eyes flashed to me.

And without a single thought of what came next, my body leapt into motion.

A primal fear took over, propelling me forward in a blur of urgency and pure terror. My breath came in frantic bursts. I ran faster than I’d ever run in my life, and my legs didn’t slow until I was out in the hall.

The door beside mine flew open. Half a second at most had passed since I’d burst from my own room.

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