Page 181 of Phobia
A lot of it.
Lenny slams into me, slick arms clutching mine. We both grunt at the point of impact. I stumble back, cursing again as my spine is jarred against the wooden frame of the door.
“Someone’s behind me,” he pants in my ear, a weak whisper that trembles. All the blood drains from my head. If Lenny wasn’t pinning me in place, I would’ve collapsed.
My eyes shoot wide as something comes into view behind him.
Something… green. The stuff from literal freaking nightmares.
Oh, Jesus… there’s so many of them.
I wail, unable to hold it back. Lenny shivers, his own weak sobs coming out heavily against me. His tears trigger more of my own as we cower together in pathetic heaps, waiting to be slaughtered.
Gnarled, exposed teeth flash just below another set of glowing eyes—this time green. The face is warped, like he’s been melted or something, but I don’t freaking know, and I don’t care to either. I shove against Lenny’s big body, my fight or flight kicking in—and it always saysrun. Get the heckaway.
“Red!” The word is screeched right into my ear, making my eardrum pop and explode. I bellow out in pain at the burst, followed by a pounding ring. I crumple to the ground, clutching my ear as sobs wrack me. ThatRedechoes. Deeper. Into my very core.
Red.
Red…
I could’ve freaking saidRedthis whole time?! What the fuck? How could I forget that out of everything I read? Everything I was so meticulous and cautious about?
It’s like the moment I stepped behind that black door, it all disappeared, and all I was left with was the instinct of survival—anyway, anyhow.
Even if that meant…
My head blanks out.
The presence of another body steps away, leaving me painfully cold. I shiver from my balled-up form on the floor. “Red,” I croak, far too late.
“Let’s go.” A grunt. Then, my arm is snatched up with really long, green and black fingers that… I shudder, eyes rolling back as my stomach convulses. I keep my eyes on the floor, unable to look at the monster tugging me along. Lenny’s bare feet are in my peripheral, slapping against the debris-covered floor like he doesn’t feel every uneven, splintering board. Or the loose screws and nails. Or the shredded carpet probably covered in rat droppings.
I catch sight of my own bare body and vomit right there.
I hunch over on a retch and upend the contents of my stomach—which isn’t anything but good ol’ watery stomach bile. Bright green and yellow splatters across the ground as it spews from my mouth. The smell seeps into the air.
Another grunt. “Surprised your queasy ass lasted so long.”
Please don’t look at me.
I clutch my stomach on a whimper and wipe the back of my hand over my mouth. Eyes pierce the back of my head as I push myself up, forcefully keeping my eyes off the freaking clown collar wrapped around my throat.
That feeling of being watched never leaves. It sinks into my spine, right at my nape, where it stays as Lenny and I are forcefully dragged down the hall and through a door that… isn’t a freaking door because it’s just awall.
Just as I’m shoved through the opening, I glance back to find a pair of white eyes pinned on me and even whiter, sharp teeth splayed wide, black lips stretched, and that god-awful, wicked tongue flicking outward.
I shiver, then whimper as I’m cast in darkness.
***
Collin, Brianne, and Kane all sit in metal chairs in equal states of undress and disarray. When Lenny and I step into the room, light suddenly blooming around us, everyone’s heads crank toward our entrance.
“Damn! Thought y’all were murdered or something,” Collin says as we shuffle toward our own chairs. Lenny plops down next to Collin, leaving me to take a chair next to Kane. He eyes me warily. I keep my head down.
Can we not talk about murder right now…
A bottle of water enters my peripheral. I take it with a mumbled thanks and upend the entire thing, trying to wash the taste of acid out of my mouth—and the taste of Static’s tongue…
