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She glanced at the door and then at Dewey. “We’ll never make it to the door in time. Go.”

His eyes widened, and he shook his head, worry etched on his face. “No, Paige! We’re a team!”

“Go,” she shouted. “I can’t hold him for much longer. And we both can’t make it.”

Dewey clamped his jaw shut, tears welling in his eyes.

He flicked his gaze to the door before he tightened his grip on the poker in his hand. “No!”

He tossed the poker in the air, grabbed it underhanded, and rammed it into the wolf’s paw. The wolf screeched, and the pressure against the door let up. Blood dripped onto the hardwood.

The gap closed as Paige regained her footing, shoving it closed. She rammed it against the wolf’s wrist, eliciting another howl.

Dewey pulled the poker from his paw and smacked the wound again. The beast withdrew his paw, and they pushed the bookcase closed.

“Let’s go,” Paige said, grabbing Dewey’s paw.

He landed on her shoulder, balancing a paw against her head as she raced through the splintered door. They scurried through the halls and into the foyer. A cool breeze blew in through the open door.

Paige skidded to a stop, changing direction. Her fingertips grazed the floor as she struggled to keep her balance. Dewey’s claws dug into her shoulder to hang on. Behind them, something loud banged, and a wolf roared as he burst into the library, having broken down the bookcase.

Paige sought to find purchase on the polished floor. She finally gained traction and shot through the door, spotting the contingent of copied Paiges standing by the car with the mirror.

“Unlock the door,” she said to Dewey.

He aimed the key fob at it, clicking the unlock button. Yellow lights cut through the fog lifting off the nearby loch. One of the ten Paige copies wilted to the ground, falling to dust and blowing away in the breeze.

“Put the mirror in the car,” she shouted to the other copies.

One pulled open the back door as another melted to the ground, turning to dust. The mirror wobbled on the side, hitting the gravel hard.

“Oh no,” Paige said as she closed the distance. “Dewey, get in the car.”

She hefted the fallen corner of the mirror up as another Paige flopped to the ground. She shoved the mirror into the car with the help of the remaining copies. It smacked into the door on the opposite side.

A fourth Paige copy shriveled to the ground.

“Thanks, Paiges. I’m sorry, but I have to run.”

“Good luck, Paige,” the remaining six Paiges answered in unison.

As the real Paige slid behind the wheel, another copy withered. Paige fired the engine.

“Go, Paige, go,” Dewey shouted.

Paige glanced up, following the direction of his trembling paw’s pointed finger. Her eyes widened as the wolf appeared at the door.

Blood still dripped from his injured paw. Spittle dribbled from his fangs as he narrowed his yellow eyes at the car.

She threw the car into reverse and sped backward, spinning the wheel and spiraling the car in a semicircle. She twisted the wheel hard as she pulled the shifter into drive and tromped on the gas pedal.

The tires whirled, churning gravel in a high arc behind them as the wheels dug into the driveway. Finally, the car shot forward.

“AHHHHHH!” they both screamed as the car careened down the driveway wildly.

“Paige! Get a hold of yourself and drive!”

“I am driving,” she shouted.