As for Kathy, the companion he’d called for, the poor woman was missing the entire side of her face. There was nothing left of it but exposed bone and a mess of caved in flesh. What had they used to do that?
Blood was dried into the grout of the shower-wall, and the floor of the tub. Emery stared at it all, an odd sound of distress falling from her mouth a split second before she began to vomit from fear or disgust, probably both, right onto the lower halves of the two corpses.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. That couple with her screaming my name, there was no way anyone in the house hadn’t realized we were awake. I moved past her and slammed the bathroom door, frowning at its simple push lock. I engaged it, rushing back over to the window, grabbing hold of Emery’s wrist on the way.
She’d been wiping her mouth. Unprepared for my ambush, she wound up on her ass, dragged the short distance across the tile.
“What are you doing?” she yelled at me.
“Helping you escape, get your shit together and get up. You can fall apart later.”
The window was of the older variety, the kind that wasn’t going to stay up on its own. Hearing the bedroom door fly open, I knew any luxury we thought we’d had of time was gone.
I gripped the wooden frame and shoved up, causing old paint to peel away in a storm of tiny flakes.
The thing was much heavier than I’d anticipated. Cool air siphoned in from the night along with the whining of a dog from somewhere close.
“You have to go,” I hissed at Emery.
She rose from the floor, looking out the window and seeing the darkness she’d be running into.
“What? No! How do you know its safe? And I can’t leave--.”
“Nova?” A feminine voice called from the other side of the bathroom door, cutting her off. “Emery?” The handle rattled, turning back and forth.
“We don’t have time for you to be a pussy, okay? So help me god if you don’t get your skinny ass through this window, I will throw you out myself.”
She came closer, still hesitant and moving like a damned tortoise.
If I didn’t have to hold the window up, I really would have tossed her out of it myself.
“Open the door!” the voice came again, banging against the wooden barrier separating us from them. “Come help me!”
Emery jumped, finally moving her ass. “I’ll get help,” she promised.
I didn’t have any words of encouragement for her. I had no idea if she’d make it anywhere beyond the back yard or even the roof, but one of us had to try, and I couldn’t leave her behind in either scenario.
“Go,” I grunted. I wouldn’t be able to hold the window much longer.
She grabbed hold of the ledge and struggled to hoist herself up, making it through on her third attempt, nearly kicking me in the process. She’d barely cleared the frame when my hands gave out on me. I drew back, letting the window slam shut.
Another hail of paint fell away, the glass vibrated in its frame. I flexed my fingers in discomfort, feeling the ache more heavily in my arms.
I had seconds to catch my breath.
“Move.” Carried from the other side of the door a split-second before it splintered off its frame with a loud crack, and a bang.
I took one look at Rhett’s face, and my heart fell into my stomach. The bathroom seemed to shrink to an even smaller size. I wished I could disappear through a hole in the floor. He came towards me so fast, my legs carried me backward before my brain could register what was happening.
With nowhere to go, I tripped over my own two feet, grabbing hold of the shower curtain in a pathetic attempt to keep myself upright. The whole thing came down with me, the long bar falling across my stomach as I landed partially inside the bathtub.
Something slippery transferred onto the back of my leg. I sucked in the stench of death and vomit, nearly adding to it with bile that rose up the back of my throat.
“Get away!” I screamed at Rhett, struggling to get back on my feet.
He moved the shower bar off me, and then took hold of my forearms, lifting my body from the tub. His arms closed around me, and my face was pressed into his chest. His familiar scent filled my lungs, clearing away the repugnant odor behind us.
“Calm down,” he soothed, running a hand down the back of my head.