<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should go outside,\u201d Molly said quietly, edging towards the emergency exit.<\/p>\n
Daryl nodded, still looking down into the darkness, trying to follow the sounds of the others drifting up.\u00a0 \u201cDo you think there are more monsters out there?\u201d he asked softly.\u00a0 \u201cI mean, that\u2019s what that freak was saying, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly\u2019s hand was on the panic bar of the emergency door; she hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cThey weren\u2019t\u2026\u201d She paused and took a breath.\u00a0 \u201cThey were just sick people.\u00a0 Maybe the burns made them crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever they were, if that chick was right, I don\u2019t want to go outside in the dark and invite them to tea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just those people in the train,\u201d Molly\u2019s voice sounded thin, shaky.\u00a0 The others came into view.\u00a0 \u201cThey were burnt.\u00a0 They were sick\u2026 We have to go get help for them.\u201d\u00a0 She looked at the wounded man, the blank stares of the two women and the child.\u00a0 \u201cAnd for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daryl turned towards her.\u00a0 \u201cA fireball just ripped through a\u00a0 subway tunnel and tore all hell out of a train.\u00a0 Where are the rescue workers?\u00a0 How come nobody is here to help us now?\u201d\u00a0 He pointed towards the door.\u00a0 \u201cSomething\u2019s wrong out there, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The others, standing in a tight group, just listened.\u00a0 The young boy sat near them, eyes fixed on nothing.\u00a0 He stood when the brunette put her hand towards his face and snapped her fingers, but it seemed like an automatic movement.\u00a0 Stand up, take her hand, continue to stare into middle space.<\/p>\n
Molly looked from the huddled group to Daryl and back again.\u00a0 \u201cWe can\u2019t stay in here!\u201d\u00a0 She looked back at the stairs, \u201cThat thing is still down there.\u00a0 This air is going to kill us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daryl leaned on the railing of the stairs and looked into the blackness below.\u00a0 He clicked his tongue but didn\u2019t know what to say.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what are you proposing?\u201d The blonde woman stepped towards the emergency exit, standing beside Molly.<\/p>\n
Daryl looked at the wounded man.\u00a0 Whatever was wrong with him, he was doomed if there wasn\u2019t any help out there.<\/p>\n
The blonde stepped up close so he had to focus on her face.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re saying we stay here and hide?\u00a0 Or suffocate, more likely?\u00a0 Wait for that thing to climb up and rip us to pieces?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daryl sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to get out,\u201d the brunette said.\u00a0 She clutched the man\u2019s arm with one hand and had her other arm around the child.<\/p>\n
Daryl shook his head, turning towards the door.\u00a0 \u201cWe have to\u2026 We have to think about this.\u201d\u00a0 He tried to keep his voice calm and patient.\u00a0 He wanted out just as bad, but up here he felt that he had a defensive position.\u00a0 They had the advantage if someone came up the steps, and the emergency door was impenetrable from the outside.\u00a0 Or near enough.\u00a0\u00a0 He was sure that there were more of those things \u2013 monsters, sick people, whatever they were.\u00a0 Where there were four, there had to be others. The emergency door led out to a suburb of several hundred thousand.\u00a0 But the smoke was growing thick.\u00a0 There would be no choice in a few minutes.<\/p>\n
He looked at each of his fellow survivors in turn, \u201cSomething\u2019s going on\u2026 Burned corpses don\u2019t walk around beating people up.\u201d<\/p>\n
They froze, staring at him.\u00a0 He had put it into words.\u00a0 He had said what they were thinking.\u00a0 Did that make it more real for them?<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could be out there, too.\u201d Daryl continued, pointing at the door.\u00a0 \u201cDo you want to run out into a night filled with those creatures?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are the options?\u201d Molly asked, her hand moving towards Daryl\u2019s arm, then drawing away again.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re being an idiot,\u201d the blonde said, nodding her head towards the stairs, \u201cDo you think we can stand up here and defend against a trainload of\u2026\u201d She looked at the child and swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe go outside.\u201d The brunette said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d the wounded man muttered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to try.\u201d The blonde muttered,\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll poison ourselves sitting up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly nodded and pressed down the panic bar on the emergency door.\u00a0 She hesitated for only a second, looking back at Daryl, then she pushed the door open and stepped into the night.\u00a0\u00a0 Cool air rushed into the tunnel and, despite his fears, Daryl sucked in the clear air and followed Molly outside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[404],"class_list":["post-396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nachos-lousy-novel","tag-nachos-lousy-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=396"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":852,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions\/852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}