Barry and his new ally Sheila continue their struggle against the vampire bunny monster, or whatever it is.
Last we saw them, they’d knocked the monster silly and were running away out of the T Station to make their escape.
Or at least that was the plan.
Artwork copyright Revensis and Mikhail Matsonashvili, licensed through Dreamstine
What Lurks Between - Part Seventeen
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Sheila was well past scared and more than a little frustrated, and it showed in her strident tone as she shouted the words.
I could not blame her.
At the top of the stairs, the retractable steel bars that closed off the station after the T shut down for the night were closed and locked with a padlock that appeared nigh-on indestructible. I checked the time on my watch - somehow it still functioned. 2:30 pm. What the hell??
That explained why no one else was in the station. But why was it shut up? And why would the train stop at a station that was closed?
I shook the bars, knowing it to be futile even as I tried it. But that’s what you do when you encounter a barrier in your way: at least try to see if there is an easy way to get past it.
“Oh crap, Barry. What are we going to do?”
That was the second time in as many minutes that Sheila asked that question, and this time I had no answer. The thought of going back down there, where the bunny monster waited, somewhere, was unacceptable. But waiting up here, where there was no where to go, was not much better.
I looked out, past the bars, at the street outside. The station was set ten or fifteen meters back, but I could see a number of pedestrians walking along the street. This area of town was much better than the one we had left not so long ago. If we could get one of those pedestrians to call for help, we might be able to…
Then it hit me how stupid I was being.
“You have a mobile? Mine’s sitting on the coffee table at home.”
Sheila blinked, then her eyes lit up. She fished in the inner pocket of the light jacket she wore, then pulled out her phone with a smile of triumph. She punched in 911 and held the device up to her ear. She bounced from foot to foot eagerly as she waited; she was practically dancing, the way she was going on.
A few seconds later, her eyes widened, and she said, “Yes. Hello? Look my friend and I need help.”
She continued speaking with the operator, but I put the conversation out of my mind. Now that she was engaged, I went down a few steps and peered down into the station. The bunny monster was down there. It was certainly injured, and pissed off to no end as well - that was probably putting it mildly. And it would not be hard to figure out where we had gone. Fortunately, we ought to be able to see it coming from here.
Sheila hung up the phone and came down to stand beside me. “They’ll be here in about fifteen minutes, with someone from the transportation department who can let us out.” She did not sound particularly pleased. For that matter, neither was I.
“What did you tell them?”
She frowned, looking sidelong at me. “That we are locked in here and had been attacked by an animal.”
I snorted softly. Attacked by an animal. While true, it was rich. “Well I guess we wait then.”
Sheila nodded. She glanced down the stairs and I could see she was still more than nervous. She licked her lips. Her momentary elation at talking to the authorities was wearing off fast. I needed to get her mind off things, keep her calm.
I needed to do the same thing for myself.
“Why did you stop nursing school?”
Sheila gave a little start, then made a little sound that was half sob, half chuckle. “Ran out of money,” she said, her eyes never leaving the landing, some thirty steps below us.
“There are scholarships…”
Sheila snorted. “Not for me. Just drop it, ok?”
I raised my hands defensively. “Ok. Sorry.”
We sat in silence for a while. Or at least it felt like a while before Sheila spoke again.
“Do you think it’s…”
“Dead?”
She nodded.
I shook my head. “Getting run over by a truck didn’t kill it. I doubt a fire extinguisher will do the trick.”
Frowning, Sheila looked back down the stairs toward the empty station below. I followed her gaze, not wanting to say what I knew to be true: that as soon as it got over the shock of being whacked on the head a few times, the bunny monster would be coming for us.
We didn’t have fifteen minutes.
*****
Previous Posts:
- Part One
- Part Two
- Part Three
- Part Four
- Part Five
- Part Six
- Part Seven
- Part Eight
- Part Nine
- Part Ten
- Part Eleven
- Part Twelve
- Part Thirteen
- Part Fourteen
- Part Fifteen
- Part Sixteen
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