The Thing in the Alley (Anomaly Hunters, Book 3)
Page 25
25
“Where the hell are you going?” said Cynthia.
Calvin bent down, wincing at the pains in his thighs, and grabbed the long, stake-like splinter from the ruined bat.
“I’m going out there to help them.”
“You can hardly walk! You’re staggering about like a drunk on a merry-go-round.”
“I can’t just stand by and watch.”
Tiffany brushed past Cynthia and joined Calvin.
“I’m coming with you,” she said.
Cynthia rolled her eyes.
“Okay, fine,” she said with a flap of her arms. “I’ll come, too. If we’re all gonna get eaten, we might as well do it together.”
“We’re a Three Musketeers bar,” Tiffany agreed with a firm nod.
“Uh…” Cynthia had no idea what to say to that.
From the warehouse floor came a string of clatters and crashes. It sounded like merchandise falling off the shelves. A moment later a voice yelled something. The words were indistinct, but the tone was clearly Violet’s.
“All right,” Calvin said. “We’d better get out there.”
He took a deep breath and flung open the door, raising the shard of his bat like a vampire hunter about to stab his prey. Judging by the cacophony in the distance, the leucrota wasn’t anywhere near the office door, but it didn’t hurt to be safe.
He shone his flashlight through the doorway. The beam revealed gray plastic bins, a butcher’s knife with the tip broken off, a torn swatch of black leather, and a few small splatters of blood here and there on the concrete. Not great, but at least it didn’t look as if anyone was dead or seriously injured. Yet.
Calvin leaned out and quickly shone his flashlight first to the left and then to the right to make sure nothing nasty was lurking on either side of the doorway. Tiffany’s flashlight still lay on the floor against the outer wall of the office, its beam shining at nothing. There was no sign of the leucrota.
In the distance the crashes and clatters continued. A voice shouted something, the words obscured by the din. This time it sounded like Brandon.
Satisfied it was safe, Calvin looked back over his shoulder at Tiffany and Cynthia.
“Let’s go,” he said, and stepped out onto the warehouse floor.