“Oh shit,” he said under his breath. “Aurora?”
“Yeah?” My voice trembled as I slowly backed away.
“Run.” With that, he dropped the chair, pushed me in front of him, and did as he
instructed me to do. He ran.
I went as fast as I could, but with his six-foot-two frame, it didn’t take him long to
catch up to me. We both turned simultaneously down the hallway, sprinting for our
lives.
“Is there a window in the women’s bathroom?” he hollered.
“What?” I yelled back breathlessly, having a hard time hearing over the pounding
of my heart and the pursuing monsters.
“Fast! Is there a window in the women’s bathroom?”
I scanned my mind, trying to remember the layout of the restrooms, a hard thing to
do when being chased by a psychotic monster that wants to eat you alive. “Yes,” I
said uncertainly, my answer sounding more like a question.
“You better be damn sure, or we’re both dead,” Damian came back gruffly.
At his somber statement, I really concentrated, picturing the arrangement of the
bathroom interior. “Yes! Yes, there’s a window.”
“Good.”
Before I had a chance to take another step, I was thrown to the side. I went
barreling into the women’s room, forcing the door open with my body as I went.
Damian was a step behind me. He lurched into the room, his tall frame slamming
into mine and knocking me off balance.
As the door swung shut behind him of its own momentum, we both collapsed to the
floor in a pile of tangled arms and legs. The air rushed out of my lungs as his full
weight was thrown on top of me. One of my knees slid dangerously between his,
and I accidentally caught him in the ribs with an elbow. “Damian,” I groaned,
pushing against his chest with my free hand. “You’re squishing me.”
With a grunt of discomfort, he rolled to sit next to me, breathing hard. His hands
ran through his dark hair, and his fingers trembled with shock and adrenaline.
While I struggled to a sitting position, he touched a hand to his jaw and winced in
pain.
With his weight no longer on me, I was able to convince my lungs to start working
again. I sucked in deep gulps of air, my throat feeling raw.
As we both tried to collect ourselves, the door flew open, and three mutilated faces
stared in at us.
I stopped complaining. Scrambling to my feet, I threw myself against the door. It
closed for a moment before being smashed into from the other side, forcing me
backwards.
It opened enough for one of the men to get his arm into the room. I spun around,
pressing my back against the door, trying to dig my feet into the floor to give me
extra leverage.
Damian was on his feet in an instant. He hit the door hard, his hands on either side
of my head, the front of his body slamming into the front of mine. He was jammed
up tightly against me with my nose practically in his chest. His head was lowered
toward me, and I could see his jaw clench with effort.
The door slammed shut on the thing’s arm, and it gave an inhuman screech.
I glanced to the side to see the arm dangling limply next to my head. Blood poured
down torn skin and dripped to the floor.
I opened my mouth to scream when Damian pulled back and slammed into the
door again, knocking the air, and the scream, out of me. There was a sickening
wet noise as the arm detached, landing with a thud at my feet. Without the arm
blocking the door, it closed.
Damian reached above my head and clicked the lock into place. With a shaky sigh,
he leaned his head against the door just above my shoulder, his body still pressed
flat to mine. His breath was hot against the side of my neck, and his body covered
me completely. I could feel him all the way down to my toes. He was just a little too
close for a casual acquaintance, especially for one I didn’t like all that much.
I brought my hands up and pushed on his shoulders. “You can get off me now.”
He pulled his head back and looked down at me through his hair, his eyes glinting
with amusement. “If I must.” He lingered a second too long for my taste before
moving away from me.
