And then he licked it up. Slowly. Meeting the eyes of every guy facing him.
I said, he whispered, you really dont want to do this.
Claire heard a great big buzzing in her head, like a hive full of bees. Oh, Im going to pass out, because that was gross.
Shit, Ian whispered, and backed up. Fast. Youre sick, man!
Sometimes, Sam agreed. Eve, go get her. Nobodys going to touch you.
Eve cautiously edged past him, hurried to Claire, and gave her a fast embrace before she hauled her upright again. Can you walk?
Not very well, Claire said, and gulped down nausea. The world kept coming in hot and cold flashes, and she felt like she was going to throw up, but somehow it was all smeared and funny, even the terror in Eves eyes.
Not so funny when Coffee Bar Jerk decided to grab Eve, though.
He lunged over the bed, reaching for Eves wristClaire was too fuzzy to know why he was doing it. Maybe he was hoping to use her as some kind of shield against Sam. But whatever he meant, it was a bad decision.
Sam moved in a flicker, and when Claire blinked, Coffee Bar Jerk was up against the wall, eyes wide, staring at Sams face from a distance of about three inches.
I said, Sam whispered, nobody was going to touch her. Are you deaf?
Claire didnt see it, but she imagined he probably flashed some fang right about then, because Coffee Bar Jerk whimpered like a sick dog.
The other boys moved out of Eves way without even trying to stop her.
Monica, Claire said. I think it was Monica. She got Ian to ask me.
What?
Monica got him to ask me. Told them to do this.
Bitch! Okay, I take it all back. She needs a good blowtorching.
No, Claire said faintly. Nobody deserves that. Nobody.
Great. Saint Claire, the patron saint of the kick-me sign. Look, keep it together, okay? We need to get out of here. Sam! Come on! Leave them!
Sam didnt seem inclined to listen. Manners, boys, he said. Looks to me like nobody ever taught you any. Its time you had a lesson before somebody else gets hurt.
Hey, man Ian was holding out his hands in surrender. Seriously. Just having fun. We werent going to hurt her. No need to go all Charles Bronson. We didnt even really touch her. Look. Clothes still on.
Dont even try. Sam continued to stare at Coffee Bar Jerk, who was looking less like a predator, and more and more like a scared kid faced with the big, bad wolf. I like these girls. I dont like you. Do the math. Consider yourself subtracted.
Sam! Eves voice was loud and flat. Enough with the macho hero stuff. We came to find you. Lets get out of here and talk.
Im not leaving, Sam said, his eyes fixed on the boy he was holding. Not until Disney Princess here apologizes, or his head comes off, one of the two.
Sam! What we need to talk about is important, and Disney Princess is not!
For a second Claire thought nothing Eve could say would get through, but then she saw Sam smileit wasnt a nice smileand he let Coffee Bar Jerk slide back to the floor. Fine, he said. Consider yourself horribly tortured. Make sure you think about all the ways I could have hurt you, because if I hear about anything like this happening again, I want you to know whats coming.
Coffee Bar Jerk nodded shakily, and kept his back to the wall as he slid over to join his posse.
Sam turned toward the girls, and came forward to touch Claire lightly on the shoulder. Are you all right?
Claire nodded, a loose flop of her head. That was a mistake; she nearly pitched over, and it took all of Eves strength to keep her on her feet.
When she was able to open her eyes and focus again, Sam had moved away, to the door.
What? Eve asked. And by the way, youre blocking the escape hatch.
Hush, Sam said softly, barely loud enough to be heard over the pounding, relentless beat of the music.
And then Claire heard the screaming.
In a blink, Sam was gone from the doorway. Eve moved out into the hallway, craning her head to look over the rail, and Claire looked, too.
It was chaos down there, and not the happy chaos of a dance. Knots of screaming, pushing people, desperately jamming up the exits from the big open room, all in black clothes, white faces, some splashes of red here and there
Blood. There was blood.
Sam grabbed both her and Eve by the shoulders, swung them around, and pushed them back inside the room. He looked at Ian, who was still cowering against the wall. You. O Positive. How many exits?
What?Oh shit, did you just call me by my blood type?
How many exits?
The stairs! You have to take the stairs!
Sam cursed under his breath, went to the closet, and yanked it open. It was a walk-in, pretty large, filled with junk. He shoved Claire and Eve inside and held the door open. You, he said to the four boys. If you want to live, get in. Touch these girls and Ill kill you myself. You know Im serious, yeah?
Yeah, Ian said faintly. Not a finger on em. Whats happening? Is it, like, one of those shooting things?
Yes, Sam said. Its like that. Get in.
The boys piled into the closet. Eve dragged Claire to the farthest corner, shoving piles of rank-smelling athletic shoes out of the way, and sat her down. Eve crouched next to her, ready for action, and glared at the guys. They kept their distance.
Sam slammed the door.
Darkness.
What the hell is going on? Coffee Bar Jerk demanded. His voice was shaking.
People are getting hurt, Eve said tightly. Could be you if you dont shut up.
Just shut the hell up!
Silence. The music was still pounding downstairs, but over it Claire could hear the screaming. She started to go into that funny gray place, but jerked herself back with an effort and squeezed Eves tense hand. Its okay, Eve whispered to her. Youre okay. Im so sorry.
I was doing okay, Claire said. Surprised, actually, that it was true. Thanks for saving me.
I didnt do anything but find Sam. He found you. Eve stopped. All right, whos touching me?
A high-pitched male voice out of the darkness. Oh shit! Sorry!
Better be.
There was a tense silence in the dark.
And then Claire heard heavy footsteps coming down the hallway.
Quiet, Eve whispered. She didnt need to say it. Claire felt it, and she knew everybody else did, too. There was something bad out there, something worse than four horny, stupid, cruel boys.
She felt something brush against her. A hand. One of the boys, she didnt know which onewas it Ian whod slumped against the wall nearest to her?
She took it and squeezed. He squeezed back, silently.
And Claire waited to see if they were going to die.
Chapter Twenty-seven
The screaming stopped, and the music cut off in mid-rave. That was worse, somehow. The silence feltcold. Claire held on grimly to consciousness. The effects seemed to be coming and going. Maybe she was going to be okay.