One Awake In All The World-7
156 Words
“Pass!” shouted Stiletto. “It’s open!”
Candle was already backing toward the door when he heard her, but not because he had any idea that it was opening.
Two Skilla lunged at him, claws and stingers carving through the space where he’d stood only an instant before. He swept the beam of the warflower from one to the other, dropping them both...and as soon as their bodies collapsed to the pavement, three more leaped into the gap.
Candle unleashed another spray of fire from the warflower and backed into the doorway. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Stiletto behind the door, waiting to pull it shut.
“On three!” said Candle. “One! Two!”
The last thing he saw before Stiletto slammed the door was one of those faces like a ragged, open wound, oozing saliva or mucus and crammed with a forest of teeth like shards of broken glass.
“Three!”
Even as the door crashed shut, Candle knew he’d see that face again in his nightmares.
- Writer
