The Empty Ones

Chapter Nine- Saved by the Bell

It was an instinctive reaction, grabbing her. He'd been having a lot of them lately; it was like his body knew what to do before his mind did.

They leaned against the wall, listening for voices, footsteps, anything. Lily watched from the pool table, not fearful, just curious.

Outside, something snapped.

His heart stopped. There was silence. Then the door gave a groan.

"C'mon, man," someone hissed. Their breath whistled through the keyhole.

"I'm goin', I'm goin'" a gruff voice snapped.

"Where are they?" Another voice, wavering like an out of tune instrument. "Where did they all go?"

"Shut him up, would you?" said the gruff voice.

There was another click, and Lily took a step back as if the door was going to reach out and eat her, back hitting the table. A ball thudded to the ground.

There was a beat of cold silence, then, "There someone in there?"

The breath built up in Harriat's and turned hot, burned.

Something changed in the gruff voice, turned soft. "Here now, there's no reason to be afraid. We're friendly, aren't we, boys? Why don't you open up this door, and we can talk?"

But Harriat didn't open the door. Friendly people didn't feel the need to tell you they were friendly.

"Now," said the voice, "I've already told you we're a friendly bunch. You don't open and, well, we'll just have to assume you're not friendly, won't we? Now, I'm gonna give you a choice. I'm nice like that. This door's coming down in three seconds, and you can either be friendly and open it, or you can stay put. But I gotta warn ya, we don't take too kindly to unfriendly people." He took a nasally breath. "One."

Harriat's heart slammed so hard against his ribcage it shook his entire body.

"Two."

Hayes made a strangled sound.

"Thr-"

"Wait," Harriat called.

Sielnce.

"Wait." He stood up on limp legs. "I'm opening the door."

He opened it.

The man on the other side was big, a stubble that looked coarse as a thorn bush creeping across his jaw. His teeth were dirty, eyes the colour of dirty water. He smiled, which probably didn't give off the effect he wanted. It was a predatory smile.

"Good choice, friend," he said.

He shoved past Harriat, his two friends- a scrawny man with a rodent-like face and a spectacled Latino- scurrying after him.

"Nice little place ya'll have here," the gruff man murmured, looking around.

"What do you want?" Hayes demanded. She was brave, Harriat would give her that. Braver than he'd ever be.

The gruff man smirked, stepped forward, and pinched her cheek. She flinched back. "What do we all want, little lady? Food, water, a place where those black-eyed freaks can't get to us."

"Don't touch her," Harriat said, surprising himself. It was that instinct again, body over mind. Only his body was an idiot.

"You know what, boys?" said the gruffman, smiling lopsidedly. "I'm sensing a little resentment here."

Harriat nodded at the storeroom. "There's food in the back. Take what you want and go."

He sighed. "Well, now, that might be a little difficult. Because what we want, friend, is a roof over our heads. A roof with, say, barred windows and blinds and locks on the doors."