“Are you okay?” Faith came over to her.
“No, I’m not.” Gwen hugged her.
“We need to get upstairs, now.” Terrance grabbed the basket of food. “Benny, get all those knives you can carry.”
“What if they get in?” Gwen stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Won’t they just come up there?”
“We don’t have a choice.” Terrance pushed her up the stairs. “They say we go, now.”
Gwen looked back as the glass shattered. They had broken the window. They were getting in the house.
“Run.” Faith shouted.
Gwen ran into her bedroom, followed by everyone else. Terrance and Benny tried to shut the door. It was no use. Those things were coming in too. How would they keep them out if they were already in here?
The two men were fighting those things off. Or at least, trying to. Benny stabbed one of them in the face. It fell to the hallway floor. Terrance stabbed another one.
The door slammed shut, making her jump. The lock clicked in place. She watched them scoot her dresser in front of the door. Were they safe now? Would they ever be safe again?
“We need to block the door.” Benny said. “That dresser won’t hold long. We need something heavier.”
“It’ll hold.” Terrance told him. “Catch your breath.”
Gwen sank down on the floor. Would this nightmare ever end? She covered her ears with her hands, trying to block the noise out. The house sounded like it was full of whatever those things were. Was her mother in the house too? Would they have to kill her as well?
Faith sat next to her. Terrance and Benny were trying to make the door more secure. It wouldn’t work. Those things would get in here, just like they had downstairs. They weren’t getting out of this alive.
How could they possibly stop these things from getting them? The window hadn’t stopped them. What made them think this door would? They were relentless.
“Gwen, is there any other way out of the house?” Terrance knelt down in front of her. “Can we get on the roof?”
“I guess so.” She looked at the man. “What good will that do?”
“That’s what I was going to ask.” Faith told him. “We can’t trap ourselves on the roof. What if those... whatever they are get out there?”
“We may not have a choice.” Benny said. “Can we get to the roof?”
“We can if we go to my parents’ room.” Gwen chewed her lower lip. “It’s right above the back porch. What do we do once we get there?”
“Hope there’s a way down without running into those creatures.” Terrance went to the window. “We just need to get past them to get to your parents’ room.”
What was he looking for? There was no way out here. The only thing out her window was the ground. Where did he plan to go?
He was just staring out the window. Had he found something useful?
He looked around the room. What was he planning? She didn’t think they should move at all. Maybe if those things didn’t hear them they would go away?
“What do want us to do?” Benny was ready to move the dresser.
Was he crazy? He would let those things in here. They couldn’t unlock that door. Terrance wouldn’t let him open it, would he?
If he moved the dresser could those monsters break through the door? She didn’t want to know.
“Benny, what are you doing?” Faith stood up. “Don’t open that door.”
“They’re gone.” He shook his head. “Don’t you hear it? There’s no noise out there now.”
“We don’t move that dresser.” Terrance grabbed his wrist. “We stay put until we know for sure they’re gone.”
“What are you so afraid of?” The boy demanded. “So, your plan is to just run? I say we fight them.”
“Fight them?” Faith laughed. “Have you seen how many there are? We don’t stand a chance of winning against them.”
“She’s right.” Terrance raked a hand through his hair. “We can’t stand up to those things. Trying would only get us killed.”
Gwen hugged her knees to her chest. She didn’t want them to get in here. She didn’t want to fight them. She wanted to get away from this nightmare.
Why did Benny want to fight them so badly? Did he have a death wish? She was in no hurry for those things to get anywhere near here.
She looked down at her ankle. She could still feel that thing touching her. She just wanted to wash it all away. If only she could take a long hot bath. It wouldn’t wash the memory of that monster away, but she would be clean.
She took her shoes and socks off. They could argue about this all they wanted to. She wanted to change clothes. She walked over to the closet, opening the door.
“What are you doing?” Benny snapped. “Put your shoes back on.”
“I will.” She stepped inside the closet. “As soon as I change clothes.”
“Is she serious?” He looked at Faith.
“She looks pretty serious to me.” The woman said. “It’s okay, Gwen. I understand. You want to get all that dirt and stuff off of you.”
“It would be better if I could take a bath.” She frowned.
“Get over yourself.” Benny Started to move the dresser. “The world is in chaos and you want a bath.”
“Sorry, I said anything.” She closed the closet door.
He was worse than the creatures trying to kill them. What had made him so mean and hateful? For all she knew it was just his nature.
Gwen changed her clothes. She felt better having the dirt off her. She was pretty sure that thing had only had hold of her sock anyway. She slipped on another pair of socks and shoes.
She opened the door just as Benny moved the dresser out of the way. He couldn’t go out there. She didn’t know any of these people very well, but she didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to any of them.
“Benny, don’t go out there.” She grabbed his arm. “Please, don’t open the door.”
“Shut up.” He pushed her to the ground. “You’re not my mother. I don’t intend to spend the rest of my life trapped in this room.”
Gwen watched him open the door. The hallway was empty. Had he been right about them leaving? She didn’t like this.
“See, I told you. They’re gone.” Benny stood in the doorway.
“Benny, look out.” Terrance reached for the boy’s arm.
Gwen scooted back against the closet door. She couldn’t stop watching. One of those creatures had Benny from behind. The boy tried getting out of its grasp. The creature bit into the side of the boy’s neck, causing him to scream out in pain.
She covered her eyes. They had to do something. They couldn’t let that thing kill him. Why weren’t Terrance and Faith doing something?
“Help him.” She screamed. “Make it leave him alone.”
Faith went to her. Gwen stared at Benny as Terrance slammed the door shut. How could he just let it take him? He locked the door, sliding the dresser back against it.
“Why didn’t you help him?” Gwen stood up. “You let him die.”
“There was nothing we could do.” Faith put her arm around her. “Once you’ve been bitten, you turn into one of them. We told you that downstairs.”
“Remember what happened to your mother?” Terrance stood in front of her. “That’s what will happen to Benny. We couldn’t save him, Gwen.”
She sank onto the bed. She didn’t want to end up like that. She didn’t want to be a killer like those things were. All they thought about was killing. Why were they like that? It was as if they never got enough to eat.
Was that what being one of those monsters was like? Was it a never-ending hunger that couldn’t be satisfied? She couldn’t live a life like that.
“What do we do now?” Gwen looked at them. “He’s right. We can’t stay in this room forever.
Those things will get in here.”
“Don’t think like that.” Faith sat next to her. “We’ll figure something out.”
“Benny was too reckless.” Terrance went to the window again. “He was trying to fight a group of those things when we found him. We barely got to him in time.”
“He didn’t deserve to die like that.” She buried her face in her hands. “He was a human being. He deserved to live.”
“What about your mother?” Terrance walked over to her. “Didn’t she deserve to live?”
“Of course, she did.” Gwen shook her head. “Why is this happening to us?”
“We may never know.” He sighed. “We may not live to find out.”
“Terrance.” Faith chewed her lip. “Don’t say things like that.”
“It’s true.” He went back to the window. “It doesn’t look like we’re getting out of here any time soon. We have to face reality here. This is probably going to be the place we die.”
Why did he have to say that? He was stating the obvious. They all knew they weren’t going to make it through this. Would they even make it through the night? Those things knew they were in here. They wouldn’t just go away.
They would wait until the door was open. They didn’t have anything else to do. All they would do was wait for their food to come to them. She would rather die locked in the closet. Starving to death would be better than being eaten.
“Gwen, come here.” Terrance said suddenly.
“What is it?” She walked over to him, Faith right behind her.
“Does that thing run?” He pointed to an old pickup truck.
“Yes.” She frowned. “It won’t do us any good though. We can’t get out there, remember?”
“If we distract those things, we can.” He scratched his chin. “Where are the keys?”
“In the kitchen.” Gwen took a deep breath. “Those things are down there.”
“That’s why we have to cause a distraction.” Terrance opened the window. “We need a way to make noise. If we can get them out of the house...”
“We can get to the kitchen.” Faith finished for him. “How will we get to the truck though?”
“I haven’t figured that part out yet.” He looked out the window at the ground below. “We need something that will make enough noise to get them to this side of the house.”
“What about the stereo?” Gwen asked. “Couldn’t we lower it down somehow. They should come to the noise, right?”
“Is it loud?” He grabbed the stereo.
“It should be loud enough.” Gwen smiled. “It certainly drives my dad crazy.”
“How can we lower it to the ground?” Faith asked. “Do you have a rope?”
“In the closet.” She shrugged her shoulders when they looked at her. “I used it to sneak out once.”
“Get the rope.” Terrance turned the stereo on. “It’s not very loud. We can turn it up, can’t we?”
Gwen nodded, going to the closet. This plan had better work. They had to get out of here before something bad happened.
Would they all make it to the truck? What if one of them got left behind? She couldn’t think like that. They had to get there. All of them would be all right.
“Here.” She gave the rope to Terrance. “It will definitely go louder. Just wait to turn it up until you get ready to lower it.”
“We don’t them coming in here.” Faith agreed with her.
“You two ready?” Terrance held the stereo just outside the window.
They both nodded. Gwen watched as he turned the volume switch all the way and began lowering it. She really hoped this worked.
Faith walked over to the door. She put her ear against it, listening for any noise. Was it working? Were those creatures leaving?
What about Benny? Was he one of them now? Would he follow the noise as well? She didn’t want to see him at all. That thing had torn him apart.
“I think they’re leaving.” Faith smiled. “It’s working.”
Terrance looked down at the stereo. He stared for a long moment. What was he waiting for?
“They’re coming.” He turned around. “They are heading straight for it.”
“Then we can go?” Gwen asked.
“Not yet.” He stopped her from opening the door. “These things are pretty slow. We should wait for a few minutes.”
“We need to make sure it’s clear before going out there.” Faith told her. “Benny didn’t check the hall.”
Wait, and check to see if it was clear. Would the stereo keep them distracted long enough? What if it stopped working?
“Please let this plan work.” Gwen looked at the two of them again.
“Once we get to the kitchen we’ll go out the back door.” Terrance moved the dresser. “We need to stay together and run as fast as possible.”
“Don’t worry.” Faith assured him. “We’ll stay right next to you.”
“I’m going to check it out.” He unlocked the door. “You two follow me.”
Gwen grabbed Faith’s hand. They stayed behind Terrance as he slowly made his way down the hallway. He stopped at the top of the stairs. He looked down into the living room. Motioning for them to follow him, he started down the stairs.
Faith stayed right behind him. She was so close that she could have grabbed his arm if she needed to. Gwen hadn’t let go of her hand. She wasn’t planning to let go of her.
The house was clear. They made their way to the kitchen. Gwen pointed to a nail by the door. Terrance grabbed the key, slowly opening the door.
“Do you see them?” Faith whispered.
He put his hand up to silence her. Gwen watched him lean out a little. He was looking around the house. He grabbed Faith’s hand, inching his way to the edge of the house.
“We run on three.” He told them. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Faith said. “Gwen?”
“I’m ready.” She whispered, not wanting those monsters to hear her.
“One, two…” Terrance started to move. “Three.”
They all ran for the truck. Those things were still trying to get the stereo. Good, that meant they were going to make it.
Terrance ran to the driver’s side, jumping into the truck. Faith opened the door, waiting for Gwen to get in. She got in the truck next to Terrance. She looked at Faith as she was pulled to the ground.
“Faith.” Gwen started to get out. “Terrance, do something.”
Faith grabbed onto the door. There was blood all over her. Gwen took her other hand. One of those creatures pulled her back down. She made a noise that could have been a scream just before she went silent. Gwen looked down at her lifeless body. That thing was eating her throat. Gwen couldn’t move.
“Gwen, shut the door.” Terrance put the truck in gear, taking off.
Gwen reached for the door. She couldn’t get it to shut. Terrance went around a turn, throwing her to the side. She screamed reaching for the door handle. He grabbed her arm just before she feel out. Gwen looked down right as the door slammed shut.
“There’s one of them hanging onto the truck.” She looked at Terrance. “I think he’s stuck or something.”
“Just hold on.” He pushed down on the gas pedal.
Gwen stared straight ahead. Was she really seeing this? There were at least a hundred of those things on the road in front of them. It was as if they were converging on this one house. Terrance didn’t slow down. He ran them over, taking them down with the truck. Would that kill them?
“Terrance, look out.” She cried as he lost control of the truck.
They started skidding along the side of the road. She held on as tight as she could. The truck came to an abrupt halt when it hit a tree.
Gwen put her hand on her forehead. She was bleeding from a gash in it. She took a deep breath, looki
ng at the man beside her. She shook him. He wouldn’t wake up. He had to be alive. She needed help.
She opened her door, taking a look at her face in the mirror. She heard something on the other side of her. Her gaze went back to Terrance. There was one of those things standing there. She watched it bite his face. It was too late for him. She was on her own.
She couldn’t stay here. She had to keep moving. That was the only way to get away from them, wasn’t it?
Gwen turned to get out of the truck. She froze when she saw the creature. It couldn’t be. He wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be dead.
“Daddy?” Gwen screamed as he lunged for her throat.
The End
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A DARKER SHADE OF CRIMSON
Alice La Roux
DEDICATION
For my husband, may my mind always both terrify and amaze you.
Xavier Rossi was not a man to be meddled with. He only came to these stupid Halloween-themed galas to find the perfect playmate. After all, All Hallows Eve is when evil roams the street and ghouls terrorise the living. What better holiday to unleash your inner demons? Besides, why else would he choose to spend his Friday night in a museum if not to secure someone to share his night with tomorrow?
Smiling at the blonde hostess — he’d already forgotten her name — he claimed a glass of champagne from the tray. Taking a luxuriously slow sip, he enjoyed as the golden sparkling wine slid down his throat — and why shouldn’t he? It had come from one of his own wineries after all. Xavier was the proud owner of vineyards across the globe; it made him rich, and being rich made him one happy man.
Weaving through the glamorous elite, he grinned and played the part of the playboy millionaire socialite he’d been cast into since he turned twenty-one. If they only knew what lurked behind the bright blue eyes, sun-kissed olive skin, and square jaw. His mother had been a Greek beauty, something that had worked in his favour as he’d grown into his looks.
Tricks or Treats: An Anthology for Charity Page 15