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From under my hands, I watched each classroom go black, one after another. Darkness swept across the windows, closer and closer to us.

“We need to get out of here,” he said, his voice low and urgent. The tendons flared in his neck and clenched fists, and when he finally met my gaze…gone were the arrogance and the wry gleam in his eyes and the smirk he wore so often I figured it was permanent.

The classroom, dry, in both temperature and substance—and way less dramatic—almost lured me to forget Ryder’s plea. But the second we locked eyes, all of that seemed to have fallen away. Staring up at him was like staring upwards into a forested canopy: disorienting in a good, heart-pounding way.

“I need to grab my bag?—”

He shook his head, cutting me off. “There’s no time.”

With my phone and what little cash I had in my pocket, I guessed I didn’t need the extra five pounds of books weighing me down…I tugged at the headphones still looped around my neck, the ear cushions sopping wet. “Okay. Where do we go?”

He dropped his shoulders and softened his stance. For a second try, he reached for my hand, and this time I laced my fingers between his. I flinched as a light shock zapped me at the contact. His touch was electric.

“Follow me.” He gave me a squeeze. “And whatever you do, don’t look back.”

I didn’t follow his advice. Obviously not right away, but as I shadowed his footprints across the snaking concrete, I turned and saw…a school with a power outage?

Class would be let out early. My classmates would be stoked. What was the problem?

Ryder steered me around the terraced stairs and through the muddy fields, never dropping his pace or his eyes, or my hand. We darted into student parking, shielded by the rows of Toyota Priuses, and stopped at an old Chevrolet pickup.

Low and long and painted all black, aside from the red accent on its rims that matched the cross-shaped logo on the front of its silver squarish grill—it was the type of car that turned heads wherever it went and had collectors selling kidneys for it.

With all his lurking it had never occurred to me that he could drive. Couldn’t say I was mad about it.

Since it was too old a model for a simple click to unlock it, he fumbled with the keys. With his focus there, I snuck another glance behind me, scanning the football stadium behind us, eyes cataloging grass, metal, and rain.

Stands stood empty, sidelines a ghost town, despite the scheduled scrimmage. A yellow goal post towered above the end zone, while its twin on the opposite end of the field remained dark and obscure—covered, I figured. That is, until it mobilized and barreled towards us.

“River, get inside!” Someone jerked my hand—Ryder. I jumped back from his touch. I’d almost forgotten about him with the obscure heap of dark matter rushing at me. He was already in the truck, leaning over the passenger seat, fighting the epic wind to hold the door open for me. Before my instincts could push me further away, he pulled me inside, and it slammed shut.

Inside, the rain hit like bullets spraying the roof. I wasn’t sure I could breathe. My eyes stayed locked outside the window, frantically sweeping the parking lot’s shadows for any sign of what I’d just seen.

“What was that?” I wiped my face with my sleeve. “It didn’t look like the average storm cloud…”

Ryder failed to respond, too busy turning the key in the ignition and slamming his palms into the wheel, when a dreaded click signaled his failure to start the engine.

Impeccable timing, really.

Because that’s when a mass built like a linebacker landed on the hood. My screams filled the silence.

Whatever this was, it wasn’t human. It stood on two legs, but too many limbs jutted out of its back and stretched into the rain. Fluid oozed from its mouth, staining its teeth, as it let out a growl so deep and threatening it made the car shake. Glossy red streaks smeared over death-gray limbs, bloated from decay and rage. I couldn’t shift my gaze from its beady red eyes, not even as Ryder swore and frantically jerked the key.

The car still wouldn’t start.

Totally fine, because any minute my mind would rationalize the situation, and this pallid beast spreading its featherless wings would actually be something like a pelican with rabies.

Can birds get rabies?

Its bill opened with a shriek that competed with my own, revealing rows and rows of sharky teeth. I flinched at the wave of saliva it spat onto the hood of the car, sizzling like acid where it struck.

So, reality was playing hard to get.

Finally, the engine caught, and the shadow creature lost its footing as Ryder launched the car in reverse. Fortunately, I, the very unsuspecting passenger, caught myself on the dash before diving through it headfirst.

I gritted my teeth. “A heads-up would be nice.”

“Buckle your seatbelt.” Undeterred by my near-death experience, he swerved in and out of the open spots, the Chevy’s tires not the only thing screeching throughout the lot as the creature followed us.