Extinction Event¹ ━ FTWD

CHAPTER 5: Deck Chairs on the Titanic

EXTINCTION EVENT

chapter five: deck chairs on the titanic

[ season 1, episode 3; the dog ]

NIGHT 03

For a moment, everything was still.

Their breaths held, frozen in time at the introduction of a potential new enemy. The air seemed almost thick, like a blanket smothering them. Over the muffled roar of the crowd outside, Meghan could swear she could hear the others' heartbeats perfectly.

Then, Holly, sensing the tension caused by the noise, bared her teeth and tensed on Meghan's bed, preparing to bark.

Katie rushed over to the bed in an instant, hands clamping down over the dog's mouth. They couldn't make any more noise than necessary — there was no telling what could end up happening.

Heather slid into position behind the door, knees slightly bent, knife raised to her chest and poised to strike at whoever laid in wait for them in the hall. She was taut, and tense as a live wire. Her eyes flashed to Meghan's, giving her a single sharp nod. She was ready.

That left Meghan.

The nineteen year old made each step as careful as she could, her feet barely gracing the floorboards before a soft creak would sound, earning a flinch from the group. Not even her grey area rug or light feet could soften the obvious wear the building had experienced. The room had served as a home for freshmen classes going back decades, and had received little care since then.

Bloodied teeth and strips of skin caught on rhinestone studded nails flashed through Meghan's mind, and her breath caught. She shook off the vision, and steadied herself for whoever—or whatever—awaited her on the other side of the door. For her own peace of mind, she grabbed at the spray bottle full of cleaner fluid atop her desk she had been using the other day to clean her laptop screen. It wasn't much, but it could at least stun whoever was on the other side so that Heather could attack.

Beside the door, her sister worried at her lower lip as Meghan approached, but her grip was firm, and steady.

Red light glinted off the doorknob's silver varnish before vanishing under the student's pale grasp. She double-checked with her mother, sending a silent question with her eyes. Her mother had the final say on whether or not she should open the door.

Katie nodded from her position by the bed, giving her the affirmation and boost of courage she needed to turn the knob.

The girl took a quick inhale of breath, steeling herself for whatever lay on the other side. Go for the eyes first, they're the most painful — but what if they're like Georgie? She didn't feel pain, and from that position, she could get bitten. Neck, then — but that left the same issue.