Getting Back To You (Book 2 of Under The Floorboards)

Chapter 17: Kendall

Across the room, I can see Mark shaking. Crouching down, I shuffle toward him. I move quickly and quietly, hoping I don't give us away. "Mark," I whisper when I get to him. He gasps, his eyes dart towards me.

"Kendall. Is that you?" he asks me in a startled voice.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" I ask him.

"Nothing. I thought I saw something but it's nothing," he shivers. I nod through the darkness, going back to keeping my mouth shut.

Cole presses his head to the door, focusing on the noises outside. "I don't hear anything," he whispers.

"Let me," Leo nods, listening as well.

"I don't either," Leo shrugs. Cole hesitates before sliding the door open a crack once more.

"I don't see anything," he announces, opening the door more.

"It looks pretty clea-" he begins, but something cuts him off. It is a brief scream before something leaps onto Cole. He falls to the ground with a thud as groaning noises come from the figure on top of him. A girl, she haw short hair and purpling skin. Her eyes are rolled in the back of her head and blood is trickling down from her ears. She bites at the air towards Cole but he holds her away. She flails her arms at him, swiping at his face. Chaos rises, Leo rushes to Cole's aid. Ty shoves the girl off, Lazaro pins her down. Chase lets go of Nina, joining in to keep the girl's legs from kicking with the help of Zane. Damon and Wren take her arms and pin them down as well. She snaps at the air, growling and screaming randomly. She isn't as loud as the others, but it still freaks me out. My heart is racing, everyone stands up and rushes to crowd around her. The rest of us don't know what to do, I don't know if there is anything I can do to help or if I should stand back.

"Who are you?" Nina bellow/ at the girl. She answers with more screams. "What do you want?" Nina screams louder. "What do you fucking want?" Nina raises her voice as loud as she can.

The screams stop as Cole scrambles to his feet. She stops struggling to get away, stopped fighting to kill. She rests her head against the floor and tries to catch her breath.

Her gasps of air turn to small breaths, her eyelids close as she seems to calm. I notice her veins, how they bulge out of her skin as if they are wires strung around her. Her teeth are a rotting yellow and her lips are scarcely chapped. The room grows colder as snow blows in, my stomach growls. I learn to ignore those things. "Kill me already," she sputters, the blood runs from her ears in larger amounts.

"Alright. Fine," Cole's face hardens.

"Wait, Cole," Pen winces.

"Shut up, Pen," He snaps, shoving his way through the crowd. He grabs a metal bar that is resting on a shelf, swinging it at the girl before anyone can do anything.

I gasp, freezing in place. It is a quick motion, blood splatters Cole. A small cracking noise sounds, reminding me of the house and the demons we fought inside of it. He throws the bar at the wall, it clatters to the floor. He scoops up the body, tossing it out into the cold winter. A tear trickles down Yvoni's face. "We could've handled it," Chase states.

"What? Let her go? So she can come back with more like her, so we all die?" Cole shouted. Chase goes silent.

"You're right. You took care of it, you did the right thing," Maria assures him. Cole runs his fingers through his hair.

"I agree with her," Lazaro nods stiffly.

It is quiet for a few moments before Cole finally goes outside to check out why the train had stopped. Conversation breaks out, voices speak over each other. I stay quiet, taking a seat on the floor against the wall. I breathe in and out, trying to clear my head.

Cole hops back into the cart. "It just stopped, there isn't anything wrong with it," he shrugs.

"I bet whatever was controlling the house has something to do with it," Hazel rolls her eyes.

"Agreed," Ivy nods. Leo takes a seat next to Pen, the both of them exchange smiles. I decide that it is better for me to let them be.

Arizona takes a seat next to me, taking a breath as well. "What's going on with you?" she asks me.

"Nothing. Just all the talking. You?" I ask her.

"Same here," she agrees. We sit there for a while talking about how things are, how much we miss home.

After a bit, we all get out of the cart. We decide to find a new train to ride, hoping to find a way out. Maybe we are searching for nothing, maybe it doesn't even exist. But we aren't ready to give up, not that easily at least.