tail lashed like a whip, scattering lab equipment and its teeth clicked together, chomping on its tongue. Bloody foam bubbled from its mouth.
Guy quickly put the shotgun to its head and pulled the trigger. The bestial head rocked back, then just as quickly lunged at Guy, mouth agape and flashing yellowed fangs.
Guy was even faster. He leaped back just out of range, then stepped back in with the long blade in his hand. His downward swing cleanly decapitated the rat with a butcher’s efficiency. The head rolled across the floor, spraying blackish blood.
Drake stumbled backward. “Aw man, that’s just…”
Michael collapsed against the cabinets, breathing heavily. Guy looked at Fran.
“Not bad, Fran. I wouldn’t have guessed you knew how to handle a gun.”
A startled look flashed across her face. She uttered a half-hysterical cackle as she looked at the pistol in her hand. “Single woman. Have to be careful these days, right?” She dislodged a bullet from one of the scattered clips and held it up. It gleamed in the dim light.
“I’ve never seen bullets like these.”
Guys stared intently down the hall. “You wouldn’t. They’re specially designed for maximum damage to the Others. Tip is iron. Casing is filled with a blend of garlic, silver nitrate, crushed holly, and salt. A lethal cocktail for just about any manifestation.”
He wiped his blade with one of the lab towels. “Just like this blade. Iron, not steel. The Others would just laugh off steel.”
Fran set the bullet on the counter. Her hands trembled. “It’s just… so much to grasp, you know? Just this morning I came to work, just another day, and now…” She gestured uselessly.
Michael picked up a large hammer from a tool bag on the counter. He peered down the hallway alongside Guy. “I know. Seems like a lifetime ago.” He looked at Guy. “That’s it, right? That’s all of them?”
Guy methodically reloaded his shotgun. “No.”
Drake’s head swiveled wildly. “Whaddya mean, no ?”
“The Others will be back. They know we can hurt them, so they fell back to regroup. But they’ll keep coming until they get what they want.”
“What the hell do they want?”
Guy sheathed the blade. “I’m afraid it’s me that they want.”
“What… what are you talking about?”
Guy sighed. “These minions aren’t all that intelligent. They’re simply hounds. All they know is that one of us here is a threat to them.”
The rest of them exchanged frightened glances.
“So you’re saying…”
“They don’t know which one of us is the threat. They’ll keep coming in waves until they kill everyone in the building.”
They all paused at the thought.
Michael cleared his throat. “So… what do we have to do?”
“Stay close to me. I’m sorry that you got caught up in this. We have to move. It’s not safe here.”
Fran looked up. “It’s not safe anywhere , if you’re telling the truth.”
Guy rummaged through his duffel bag. “True. But that’s beside the point. We have to go upstairs. Probably to the roof.”
Drake’s eyes practically popped. “The roof ? We’ll be trapped up there! Why do you want to go all the way to the roof ?”
Guy looked upward. “The point of convergence between dimensions is always stationed at the highest point. A beacon. It’s what’s blocking the cell phone signals. It’s what’s attracting this storm.”
He looked at each of them in turn “I won’t lie to you. It will get worse from here. We never faced any direct, coordinated attacks. Just random attempts to enter our world.”
“What does that mean?” Michael asked.
“That their leader, their master may be behind this. The Other One, we call it. If so, then this is a desperate act for them. We have weakened them as they have weakened us. It may all come to this moment. Right here, right
Guy quickly put the shotgun to its head and pulled the trigger. The bestial head rocked back, then just as quickly lunged at Guy, mouth agape and flashing yellowed fangs.
Guy was even faster. He leaped back just out of range, then stepped back in with the long blade in his hand. His downward swing cleanly decapitated the rat with a butcher’s efficiency. The head rolled across the floor, spraying blackish blood.
Drake stumbled backward. “Aw man, that’s just…”
Michael collapsed against the cabinets, breathing heavily. Guy looked at Fran.
“Not bad, Fran. I wouldn’t have guessed you knew how to handle a gun.”
A startled look flashed across her face. She uttered a half-hysterical cackle as she looked at the pistol in her hand. “Single woman. Have to be careful these days, right?” She dislodged a bullet from one of the scattered clips and held it up. It gleamed in the dim light.
“I’ve never seen bullets like these.”
Guys stared intently down the hall. “You wouldn’t. They’re specially designed for maximum damage to the Others. Tip is iron. Casing is filled with a blend of garlic, silver nitrate, crushed holly, and salt. A lethal cocktail for just about any manifestation.”
He wiped his blade with one of the lab towels. “Just like this blade. Iron, not steel. The Others would just laugh off steel.”
Fran set the bullet on the counter. Her hands trembled. “It’s just… so much to grasp, you know? Just this morning I came to work, just another day, and now…” She gestured uselessly.
Michael picked up a large hammer from a tool bag on the counter. He peered down the hallway alongside Guy. “I know. Seems like a lifetime ago.” He looked at Guy. “That’s it, right? That’s all of them?”
Guy methodically reloaded his shotgun. “No.”
Drake’s head swiveled wildly. “Whaddya mean, no ?”
“The Others will be back. They know we can hurt them, so they fell back to regroup. But they’ll keep coming until they get what they want.”
“What the hell do they want?”
Guy sheathed the blade. “I’m afraid it’s me that they want.”
“What… what are you talking about?”
Guy sighed. “These minions aren’t all that intelligent. They’re simply hounds. All they know is that one of us here is a threat to them.”
The rest of them exchanged frightened glances.
“So you’re saying…”
“They don’t know which one of us is the threat. They’ll keep coming in waves until they kill everyone in the building.”
They all paused at the thought.
Michael cleared his throat. “So… what do we have to do?”
“Stay close to me. I’m sorry that you got caught up in this. We have to move. It’s not safe here.”
Fran looked up. “It’s not safe anywhere , if you’re telling the truth.”
Guy rummaged through his duffel bag. “True. But that’s beside the point. We have to go upstairs. Probably to the roof.”
Drake’s eyes practically popped. “The roof ? We’ll be trapped up there! Why do you want to go all the way to the roof ?”
Guy looked upward. “The point of convergence between dimensions is always stationed at the highest point. A beacon. It’s what’s blocking the cell phone signals. It’s what’s attracting this storm.”
He looked at each of them in turn “I won’t lie to you. It will get worse from here. We never faced any direct, coordinated attacks. Just random attempts to enter our world.”
“What does that mean?” Michael asked.
“That their leader, their master may be behind this. The Other One, we call it. If so, then this is a desperate act for them. We have weakened them as they have weakened us. It may all come to this moment. Right here, right
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