Seth slid to his left, his hand inching further and further along the wall as he hoped and prayed the door frame would be within grasp in the next step. It wasn’t. He dared a glance behind him. There it was. He had crossed most of the room, leaving the door several feet to his right. As he looked ahead to watch the door again, he saw the wolf. It was indeed waiting for him to look away before making its move.
He brought up the rifle again and fired…well wide. The wolf fell back onto its haunches as if he hit it square. He took aim again and fired. This time, he connected between its eyes, and it tipped over dead.
Mikel stepped through the doorway, reloading his shotgun. He had fired at the same time Seth started firing rounds. It had been his shells that brought the beast to its knees. Seth saw him and wept for joy. He couldn't express himself with words but pointed at the body of Edward, then the wolf.
Mikel noted the bloody arm in the basement, and Seth nodded in agreement. After waiting for Seth to regain his composure, the two entered the next room. It was empty, though the front door was missing, and there was a trail of blood leading away from the shop's entrance.
"Let's regroup with Sal and Byron. We should also make sure everyone else is good." Mikel said. His demeanor had completely changed. Earlier, he had seemed timid and weak. Now, he appeared to be a force to be dealt with. Seth would never have figured him to be a savior of anyone, let alone himself.
They went back into the previous room and stopped at Edward. Seth was feeling some intense emotions.
“Ever feel pissed at someone and sad they’re gone at the same time? Had he listened to me, he’d still be here, but he didn’t. He went ahead all gung ho. Then, I ruined our surprise by knocking everything down inside and announcing to the world that we were there. Good job, right?”
“Shit happens. Sometimes, you’re ready. You go in, you own the situation, and nothing goes wrong. It’s a perfect win. Other times, you go in, trip on the rug, smash their television, spill the ashes of their dead husband into their fishtanks, insult their daughter’s photo, and then accidentally kick their dog, all before introductions. Shit can go bad fast, and it’s not always your fault. Who puts a loose rug next to a door that lifts it up every time the door opens?” Mikel spoke from experience. He had visited several people throughout the years as an investigative journalist/editor.
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“That…is a messed up story. Did she give you the interview?”
“Hell no. She threw a cup of hot tea at me and threatened to call the cops. Then she set her…what did she call them…Willies…yeah. They were Rottweilers. She called them Willies. She set them on me. One of them bit a hole in my car tire. Mean dogs, Rottweilers. Probably fine if raised by people that aren’t murderers, but what do I know.”
Throughout this conversation, Mikel had effortlessly led Seth through the process of covering Edward in a sheet, carrying him down the stairs and into the basement of Sal’s, then going back to the other shop to barricade the basement door.
Seth was getting back to his normal self. The two of them went back to Sal's and headed up the stairs. As they opened the door to the bar, they were met with a terrible scene. Holly was standing with her back to them, and Maggie was lying on the floor in an unnatural position. The rest of them were standing several feet away, aside from Julia, who was on top of the pool table. In a flash, Mikel had his shotgun drawn on Holly as he circled to her left.
“Umm…What the hell, Holly? What did you do? Why would you hurt Maggie? Kind of understand, Julia, but why Maggie?”
Holly spun towards him and lowered her hands. She just stood there, blood covering her face and matting her hair down to her head. Her hands dripped with Julias' blood from the pool table. She spoke to Mikel.
“I’m just cleaning things up around here. No more lazy freeloading. Where’s Byron? He’s next. Seth might be on the list. Rob’s gotta go, too. Plus, and I mean this with the most disrespect I can, that tube of human bile that is Sal. They all have to go. They are human stains. I can smell them. It’s disgusting. I could smell it when you brought Edward back into the basement. I was so happy when his foul blood left this place.”
“Oh, okay, I get it. You’re nuts.” Seth added his thoughts to the conversation.
"I'll go ahead and take care of you now, Seth." She moved fast but not fast enough. Mikel's shotgun took her full in the midsection. Her lower half kept moving towards Seth, but her upper torso fell to the ground with a squelching sound. She screamed at Mikel.
“You bastard! You ruin EVERYTHING! YOU EVEN RUINED SAL’S! NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE! WHY CAN’T YOU GET?”
Jesse pulled the trigger on her handgun, permanently ending Holly’s rant.
“Nobody likes me?” Mikel asked, confused.