He took another step forward, but I yanked him to a halt again. “No! You’re not facing that thing. Not when you don’t even know what the hell it is! What happens if you go all Gladiator on its ass, only to find out that none of your blades work on it?”
“Haven’t thought that far,” he said, continuing on his way.
“Maybe you should, because you’re gonna wind up looking like a victim from Saw,” I sneered.
“Well, if your boyfriend wants to help out, then he’s more than welcome. But as far as I can see, Reynolds’s conveniently absent at the moment,” growled Reese, motioning down the abandoned hallway. “Hate to break it to you, but right now, I’m the only person here who can deal with this. Just stay here. If anything happens, you run. Understand?”
He didn’t wait for my response.
The cheering that sounded from the gym grew louder, drowning out the sound of his footsteps as he disappeared down the hall. A tug in my chest stole the air right out of me. It was that inexplicable pull I’d felt when Brenda got hurt in P.E., and it urged me forward. Considering how things had ended the last time, I didn’t hesitate. Just as he was about to turn down the adjacent hallway, black mist ignited all around his frame.
I bolted after him. “Reese, don’t-”
A loud thud echoed from the end of the hall, and I caught sight of Reese’s body slamming against a set of lockers as I came around the corner.
“Okay, definitely not my best plan,” the magician huffed, staggering up to his feet.
Despite its warped stature, the creepy figure moved far more stealthily than I’d imagine. It sprang forward, gripping Reese by the throat and yanking him clear off his feet. Whirling around, it tossed him across the hallway right into the brick wall like he weighed nothing. Reese lurched toward where his sword lay nearby, but the creature swiped a taloned hand down at his arm, forcing him to recoil before it tore into his flesh.
The metallic nails slammed down on the linoleum floor, slicing four long lines into the tiles. Adrenaline overcame me as I raced towards the action. A sickening mixture of rotten eggs and burnt meat batted me in the face upon arrival, making me gag. The creature remained with its back turned toward me as it scuttled after Reese. I grabbed the silver-infused blade off the ground, prepared to swing it. Only, the sword was a whole lot heavier than I’d imagined, and my arms were still killing me from art class. I clumsily drove the weapon through dead air.
Nice.
The momentum spun me around in a full circle, and I nearly dropped the blade as I steadied myself. With every movement, a small cloud of ash billowed into the air off the monster’s burnt robe. I leapt to the side, trying to stay in the creature’s blind spot as it lurched about the hall in pursuit of the Magician. I lifted the blade again, positive of my stance, and swung all-out at the figure’s back. The cloth tore open, and the creature snarled as it staggered forward. I looked at the end of the sword, expecting to see blood on the tip. Instead, gooey red gunk hugged the blade, forcing my eyes to the spot of impact. I shrieked, stumbling back a step to see a section of fleshless ribcage bones with exposed muscle clinging to the skeletal frame.
The creature hissed, stealing a look over its shoulder. I staggered back another step, seeing the full extent of its face. It looked human; only the skull was a great deal longer. Its jaw appeared to be dislocated, as it hung crooked with a gaping expression. Patches of skin still clung to its face, but it was thin and flaky, revealing dehydrated muscle underneath that looked like spoiled turkey jerky.
The creature roared, and the tendons in its cheeks visibly stretched. It sniffed through the decayed remains of its nostrils. Empty eye sockets bore down at me from its seven-and-a-half foot stature, making me recoil all the more. Bones creaked as it twisted around and faced me.
“Et alterum ad dominum,” the creature hissed like a snake. It even had a forked tongue.
I swung the blade defensively, hoping it would make the beast recoil. Instead, it lurched forward, forcing me to swing again. Lacking the momentum and obvious accuracy, the blade merely skimmed its arm.
“Hey!” Reese barked, regaining the creature’s attention. He had a new sword in hand, poised in a battle-ready stance.
A jeering sound escaped the skeletal figure, and it slashed a hand at the significantly smaller blade. The steel sliced off in four separate sections, where each of its fingernails connected with the blade, leaving Reese with nothing but a stump.
The boy went pale. “That’s not good.” He suddenly whipped the nub at the creature’s face, and of all things, the fiend wrinkled its nose in surprise. Reese slinked to the side just as the creature feverishly thrashed its hands out where he’d just been standing, repeatedly clawing into nothing but air. And that’s when I realized…it was blind.