Page 7 of Demon of Dreams

I turned and ran.

Sorry, Red.I appreciated all the help he’d given me, and was grateful for the work, but there was no way in hell I was staying around to find out what those monsters wanted.

The trouble was, I couldn’t sprint down the hall to the obvious exit, because that would take these creatures past the two occupied guest rooms. Maybe the monsters wanted me specifically, but maybe they just wanted anyone they could find. I wasn’t going to put anyone else in harm’s way.

Instead, I sprinted past the desk and into the back office, then through a door to the laundry room, which in turn connected to what passed for a kitchen at the motel. Red’s offered complimentary ‘continental breakfast,’ which really just meant individually shrink-wrapped mini-muffins and coffee strong enough to burn the roof of your mouth, but we still had to have somewhere to prepare it.

Opening all those doors slowed my progress, and as the creatures followed me, panic gripped my throat. Could I even make it out of the motel before they caught up with me? They could move faster than I could, that much was clear. My saving grace was that they seemed clumsy, none too agile in dodging around the desks and boxes and long metal island in the middle of the kitchen. But their single-mindedness was also scary. They lumbered into anything in their path in their haste to get to their quarry—me.

I threw open the next door into the dining room. It was dark now, and I stumbled through the maze of little tables and chairs that awaited tomorrow’s breakfast. I caught my hip on one of them and let out a yell, but bit it off quickly. I didn’t want the guests opening the doors to see what was going on. I had to keep the monsters away from them.

On the far side of the dining room, another door beckoned, its bright red exit sign lit up in the dark. I slammed my body against it and had just made it out into the freezing night when I heard those creatures crash into the dining room behind me.

I was in the back parking lot, and I had a decision to make. Red’s Motel was right by the highway. Did I run back towards town and the possibility of help? Or did I head for the highway, and do my best to keep these monsters away from the rest of Churchill?

I heard a crash behind me and saw the back door open, the creatures pouring out into the night. I froze for a second, then made my decision. Highway. I didn’t know what these things wanted, but I couldn’t lead them into town so they could hurt others.

I sprinted out of the parking lot, my lungs gasping for air. I knew I shouldn’t look over my shoulder. It only slowed me down. But it was hard not to as the monsters’ grunts grew louder, the thud of their footsteps growing closer.

Maybe they just want to talk to you?

The thought flitted across my mind wildly, and I almost laughed, imagining that this was all some big misunderstanding, that these three nightmare creatures just wanted to ask me about nearby tourist attractions.

Then something hot and acrid whooshed past my ear, and I was barely able to swerve around a fireball that smashed into the ground at my feet. I looked over my shoulder again and saw the one with the wings raising his fist, another angry red sphere crackling in his hand.

So, not tourists, then.

I turned around and tried to run faster. The entrance ramp to the highway loomed up out of the darkness and I turned onto it. It was probably suicide to run onto the highway itself, but it was the only thing I could think of.

At that moment, something else rushed by my face. Another fireball? No, nothing exploded in front of me. I risked another look back and gaped. Something was swirling around the heads of the monsters. Something small and black and—wait, was that the raven?

An angrycawconfirmed it.

Fuck you, buddy, I thought.Was this why you were following me all day?So you could lead these creatures to me?

The raven cawed a second time, much louder, and something else whooshed out of the night and past my face. Then another something. And another.

My head whipped around again, and I almost tripped. There were five ravens now—no, ten—no, even more. So many I couldn’t count. And they were attacking the monsters. A storm of them descended from the sky, creating a tornado of wings and otherworldly screeches around the things chasing me.

The birds were…helping me?

My mind struggled to make sense of that, but I didn’t have time to stop and think. I would take any advantage they gave me. I reached the end of the exit ramp and started running down the shoulder of the highway in the same direction as the traffic. I could hear the monsters behind me on the ramp, but farther back than before. Whatever the ravens were doing, it was helping.

A pothole appeared out of the dark on the shoulder, and I darted into the right lane to avoid it. A second later, a squeal of brakes ripped through the night behind me. I turned again and saw a beat-up old station wagon screech to a halt three feet from me.

The driver, a middle-aged guy with a baseball cap and a short beard, was already leaning out of his window, yelling about what the hell did I think I was doing, but I didn’t bother to listen. I ran up to his car and began tugging at the passenger side door.

“Please! Please!” I shouted. “You have to let me in. They’re going to kill me.”

He stared at me, and then, to my shock, unlocked the door. I didn’t stop to question it. I swung the door open and threw myself inside.

“Drive,” I begged. “Just drive. We have to get away.”

The guy gave me another strange look, but again, didn’t object. He just put his foot on the gas and drove. I let out a shaky breath as the car accelerated, speeding down the road once more.

The whole chase had taken less than five minutes. And the driver still wasn’t saying anything. My mind raced.

What was he thinking? And why had he let me in? Who picked up hitchhikers anymore?

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