Underland(52)

She heard a growl in the distance, followed by a long, haunting howl.

Dip.

He smelled the blood.

He was on the hunt.

And if she didn’t get the blood down on the trail and away from her, he wouldn’t care who he mauled. She couldn’t pass through any solid surface with the clothes she was holding, so she’d have to lay the trail the hard way. There. The side spur that forked off the main tunnel was where she needed to smear the blood.

Her hands shook as she flew down the smaller tunnel. She didn’t know these tunnels. She didn’t like to stray this far away from home.

A loud bark echoed off the tunnel walls. Alice wanted to drop the clothes and run for her undead life. But she couldn’t. She hadn’t made any headway. If she failed, Dip would easily overtake her friends.

Alice sang a song from her childhood in her head as she took another turn and ended up winding her way back to the beginning of the tunnel system. Light shone—it sounded like Dip had already entered the tunnels and was somewhere behind her.

Alice made a dash for the exit. She pressed Kira’s jacket close to her heart and felt a moment of pride. She had done it. She had helped her human friend. Her undead life would not be in vain. She’d never be forgotten.

Alice’s head had just cleared the tunnel when sharp demon teeth punctured her leg and Dip’s powerful jaws clamped down on her. The pain! The heat! She turned as Dip dragged her back down into the tunnel. Disappear! Disappear!

It was no use. She couldn’t apparate when he had a hold of her.

She screamed. The demon dog’s teeth began to shred through her ethereal form. It burned her like fire, like it was raking coals across her soul. She tried to fly upward. Her hands scratched and scraped at the tunnel ceiling as she pulled against his grip.

He released her, and she clawed her way to the entrance. She felt Dip’s evil breath on her neck as he slowly stalked her. He was toying with her now, letting her crawl away. She whimpered. Her body flickered in the light, beginning to fade. The demon’s bite was killing her.

The tall man with the backpack! There he was again. His face grew white with fear when he saw the demon dog behind her. But she saw determination in his eyes too. She remembered his name now.

Chaz.

He shifted into cheetah form, and she heard his feline hiss. He was going to challenge the demon dog.

“No!” she cried out. “Help them.” Alice tossed the bloodied jacket toward cheetah. Chaz leaned down and sniffed the jacket. He shook his head and eyed the demon. He growled again, his fur standing on end, his back arched high as he took another threatening step toward the demon dog.

“It’s too late for me!” Alice cried, tears running down her face. “Help Kira. Save them.” Chaz turned and looked at the path she had flown down, and she knew he’d be able to find them. If anyone could outrun the Dip, he could.

She felt warm drool on the back of her neck. Dip was watching her fade away. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of facing him in fear and sadness. It was over. She had done well.

Chaz picked up the bloodied jacket in his mouth and took off running.

There. Now she could face him. She’d seen to her friends’ safety. Alice turned over to look into Dip’s red demon eyes.

“I’m not afraid of death.”

Dip’s mouth opened wide.





Chapter 23

“Wake up, sleeping ugly.” Zeke poked her in the side.

Kira groaned. She couldn’t move. Or at least she didn’t want to. How in the world had she slept so soundly swinging in a hammock suspended in an underground grain silo next to a freaking zombie? She rolled over and noticed Zeke hadn’t moved from his spot.

“Don’t you mean Sleeping Beauty, like the fairytales?”

“We don’t believe in fairytales.”

“Why not?”

“Because there are no such thing as happy endings. In our version, the princess—well, she’s not beautiful. She’s quite ugly, which is a compliment for our kind.”

“Are you saying calling me ugly was your way of paying me a compliment?”

“Uh….no?”

See, with girls, there never was really a safe answer when you just called someone ugly. She studied his panicked face as he laid there on the floor and decided to let it go. “Did you really stay there all night?”

“Yep.” He didn’t seem bothered by it.

“Do you ever sleep?”

“Not usually. Sometimes I can, but what’s the point? I don’t dream.”

“Then why wake me?”

“Because Den is back.” He sat up, dusted off his back, and moved to the edge. His feet hit the floor level seconds before Den walked through. He must have great hearing to hear him that far off.

But why had he moved away so quickly? Was he embarrassed to be seen so close to her? Was he was hiding something from her?

She couldn’t believe how much better she felt this morning. Renewed even. Maybe all of the adrenaline from yesterday helped. What had happened with Alice? She hoped to see her face soon.

***

Den burned with fury over the news he’d picked up in the city. It seemed like they’d caused more problems than they’d solved. He shoved open the silo door and announced loudly, “We’ve gone and done it now.” He dropped the box of supplies and looked around.