Tiptoeing across the border of the lanes, we headed up the bleachers to the upper deck. The lights were off in the overhead office, but the reflective glimmer from the pool still highlighted the objects on Coach’s desk. A landline phone. Reese twisted the doorknob. It was locked. Before I could curse, Reese held up his finger, handing his blade over to me before digging into his back pocket for his wallet. He plucked out a gift card and slid it into the crease of the door, pushing the plastic down on the latch. It clicked. Reese shot me a small smile, turning the knob.
Okay, even now I was impressed.
We headed in, and I closed the door behind us as he rounded the desk to the phone.
“Holy shit!” He suddenly ducked as a metallic pole came hurtling at his head. The beam smacked into the filing cabinet behind him, and he swiftly grabbed it, wrenching it forward. A mass of blonde hair flung out from the shadows, stumbling right into him.
Reese clumsily caught hold of the person, only to be immediately shoved back. “Carly?”
Another stealthy figure emerged, and the business end of a baseball bat caught the light.
“Watch out!” I bellowed.
Reese promptly stepped sideways, rushing the attacker. His hands blocked the attempted swing just before he hooked his arms around the assailant, driving them both into the far wall. They disappeared into the shadows, and I blindly felt around for the light switch. The overhead lights crackled on, causing everyone to wince.
Reese finally looked up at his attacker who was still pinned in his hold against the wall. “McDowell?”
“Get off me, you freak,” Mark sneered, shoving Blackburn away.
Carly’s face lit up at the sight of me, but Mark quickly yanked her back.
“Don’t,” he warned, snatching up his fallen bat. “They’re probably like Danny.”
“What happened?” I demanded, looking to Carly.
Her chin trembled and her entire frame was shaking. “Daniel… He…he killed Eric…and Rob, and Jennifer, and Tiffany…” She could barely talk. “His eyes…”
Reese headed back to the entrance, taking back his blade from me. Carly shrieked, and Mark quickly raised his bat in response.
Reese didn’t pay any mind. “Show us your necks.”
“What?”
“Unless you want this buried in your chests, show us the back of your necks,” Reese ordered, priming the blade in his hand.
Carly hesitantly swept her tangled mess of hair to the side, pulling it away from her neck. She turned around, revealing untarnished, milky white skin.
“You, too,” said Reese.
“Why?” Mark growled.
“It’s the only way to know for sure that you’re not one of them.”
“How?”
“That weird tattoo,” muttered Carly. “Daniel’s had it for weeks...”
“Show us your necks then,” countered Mark, motioning to Reese and me. We both took turns showing them, and Mark finally relented. We were all clean.
Reese lowered his blade, heading back to the desk.
“It’s no use,” said Mark, grabbing the cord to the phone. It had been cut. “We had the same idea. We tried the other offices too, but it’s the same thing.”
“What happened to Daniel?” Carly uttered, shakily bringing her hand to her mouth. “When he started attacking everybody, we tried stopping him, but nothing worked.”
Reese and I both shared uneasy glances.
“What?” Mark charged over to us, blocking our way to the door. “I just witnessed my best friend on a murder rampage, sporting fangs and glowing yellow eyes. Okay? We’re past the point of the whole ‘you wouldn’t believe me if I told you’ bullshit.”
“Look at what we have here.”
We all stiffened.
“An appetizer, my main course, a little dessert, and the girl of the hour.” Trace sauntered his way around the pool, heading towards the bleachers with an axe brandished in hand.
Mark slammed the door shut. “Help me move the desk.”
“We can’t barricade ourselves in here,” said Reese.
“Why?”
“You don’t want to be in a confined space with him. Trust me.”
Carly grabbed her metal pole again, which I now realized was a cleaning rod for the pool, and we all hurried out the door.
Reese ordered for us to aim for Trace’s head as we reached the bottom of the bleachers.
“So, which of the three little piggies am I to eat first?” Trace beamed, twirling the axe about gleefully. It seemed someone had already tried attacking him because his sleeve was torn and blood dripped down his arm. As expected, he didn’t feel a thing.
I stepped forward.
“Kat,” Reese snapped.