GAME ON - GoM 2

23

Something startled Tom up an hour before dawn. Alex was sound asleep. He prompted himself up on his elbow, careful not to wake her up, and paid attention. There it was. A soft scratch on the roof outside his window. He stole out of bed and approached the window. He'd let it open, and the cool night breeze brushed the curtains.

His keen eyes spotted the crouching shadow that crawled stealthily up the roof, but his brain needed an extra moment to process what he was seeing. Because that slithering shadow sneaking closer was Diane. Yet it wasn't her. Once more, her eyes glowed golden in the moonlight, and the sharp fangs showed out her parted lips as she let out a low hiss.

He knew he couldn't let her reach the window. He couldn't risk a fight so close to Alex. So he pushed up the sash and threw his legs over the sill, his bare feet finding a little grasp on the tiles. The woman stopped when he came out, and stuck her belly to the steep roof.

Tom leaned forward, in case she jumped on him. And she did. Tom couldn't believe how fast she moved. Only out of instinct, he deflected the claws aiming for his face. But he lost his balance when he pushed her away. Both of them stumbled and rolled down the floor, falling to the backyard.

The woman got back to her feet as Tom rolled away from her, ignoring his sore bones. When she attacked him again, Tom threw a punch to her chest. She staggered back with an angry growl. Tom took his chance to attack her. Before he could punch her again, she spun on her heels to try a high kick. Tom ducked, and with tears stinging his eyes, he hit the back of her neck with the edge of his hand. He would've wanted to miss the soft crack of the snapping neck bones. She crumbled down to the grass at his feet.

He waited a whole minute, his heart still racing. Only then he crouched down by her. She had no pulse, and her head moved in a weird way when he rolled her over. Diane's human, dark eyes stared blindly up at the sky. Her teeth and hands were back to normal, too. Tom set his jaw and closed her eyes gently.

A low humming caught his attention. It came from Diane's chest. He straightened up and stepped back when her mouth opened, letting out a dark fog. It floated closer to Tom and swirled away, as if looking for something. The night breeze dissipated it slowly.

Behind the kitchen's locked window, Alex saw the end of the fight and bit her lip in impotence. She waited for the fog to disappear to unlock the backdoor. But Tom's voice stopped her before she opened the screen.

"Stay there."

She did, watching Tom lift Diane's body in his arms and head for Trent's backyard past the low hedge.

Alex ran back upstairs to get dressed. While she did, she looked out the window. Some lights were on now at the tech's house next door, and she had a glimpse of Tom and Trent crouching together just outside the backdoor. She didn't bother to tie her sneakers and hurried out.

Tom was on the phone when she jumped over the hedge to join them. Diane lay between him and Trent, who cried quietly.

"We don't know," Tom said. "We think she came out for her cat, tripped and fell." He shot a warning look at Alex. "No, she's not breathing and she doesn't have a pulse."