“Wh
at are you going to do?”
“Try to drive it back to where it came from.” Or at least send it off to find someone else to eat who was less trouble.
“What can I do to help?”
“Pray for a miracle.”
Jordan hugged her daughter’s trembling body. They were both huddled in the back corner of the pantry, as far away from that abomination as they could get. They couldn’t see what was happening, which somehow made things more frightening. If Ryder failed, they’d have no clue the monster was coming for them until it was too late.
“It’s gonna eat us,” whispered Anne. “Just like in my dreams.”
“No, baby. Ryder’s going to kill it and we’re all going to walk away.” The lie didn’t sound convincing, even to Jordan’s own ears.
“I don’t want to die, Mama.”
“You’re not going to die.”
A rumbling roar bellowed out from the monster, shaking the canned goods on the wooden shelves. Anne flinched and tightened her hold around Jordan’s waist.
Ryder shouted a violent curse that rang with pain. A gunshot went off. The monster hissed and hit a wall hard enough to topple some of the dry goods from their shelves. A can of green beans rolled toward Jordan’s toes.
Anne was right. They weren’t going to make it out of here alive, not if Jordan didn’t help him.
“Stay right here, baby. I’m going to help Ryder kill it and I’ll be right back.”
“No, Mama. Don’t go.”
Jordan cradled her daughter’s precious face in her hands. Tears streamed down her pale cheeks, and her blue eyes pleaded for Jordan to stay. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”
Anne shook her head. “You don’t know. You haven’t seen what it can do.”
“Those were just dreams. You’ll see when this is all over that the dreams weren’t real.”
“The monster showed up like in my dreams. Ryder showed up like in my dreams. We’re gonna die like in my dreams, too.”
“No. I’m not going to let that happen. You stay here. Stay quiet. I’ll be back in just a few minutes.”
Jordan kissed her forehead, maybe for the last time. Tears stung her eyes as she soaked in her daughter’s face. She didn’t want to leave her, but she’d do whatever it took to even the odds against that thing.
“Love you, baby.”
“Love you, too,” said Anne, her voice weak with fear and tears.
Before Jordan could change her mind, she turned and left.
The shelving in front of the kitchen door was a mangled mass of metal. The bag of flour had burst open, covering everything in a fine layer. Blood splattered the floor, mixing grotesquely with the white powder.
The fight had moved back into the main room of the coffeehouse. She could hear the hissing of the monster and Ryder’s acidic curses coming from the next room.
Jordan hurried over the floor, careful not to slip in the flour. She grabbed the knife caddy on her way out, thinking she could hurl them at the beast if nothing else. She wasn’t a fighter, but she’d do whatever it took to protect her baby girl.
As she cleared the doorway, she saw Ryder dodge a massive tentacle that shot out from the monster’s stomach. The tip of it gleamed red with his blood, as did the claws on one of the beast’s giant paws.
Ryder had been injured. He was a strong, fast, capable man. What chance did she have against something as huge and powerful as this?
A panicked gale of laughter rose up in her chest. She fought it down, not wanting to give away her presence. Maybe if it didn’t know she was here, she could get in a lucky shot.