“Come here Spencer,” Jack said. It wasn’t a request, it was an order.
“Jack,” said Spencer. “You’re out of your fucking mind.”
Spencer turned and ran with every bit of the uncanny speed that he’d learned in the streets and forests of Nowhere Blvd. He was sure he’d make it, even with Suzie slowing him down he was already three fourths of the way towards the Grand Closet. And Jack was twice that distance away from him.
Spencer didn’t even come close.
Jack moved with all the preternatural speed of a jumping spider. His very movements a blur. Spencer was overtaken as if he’d been doing no more than calmly sleepwalking. Jack dealt him a glancing blow as he shot past. Spencer lost his balance and went sprawling, losing Suzie in the process. She landed with a thump and rolled away, too dazed by the impact to cry.
Spencer landed at a half roll and was on his feet in a second, the hunting knife drawn and readied on the way. He attacked by reflex, not giving Jack time to think as he slashed at the smiling face.
Jack deflected the knife and whipped it away with such grace and speed that one of Spencer’s fingernails was caught and torn away with it. In the same moment Jack slammed a fist into his chest that sent him flying across the hall into a pile of toys. Spencer landed in a heap, arms clutched around his chest. His breath had been knocked out of him and his attempts to suck in more only ended with a wretched choking sound. He’d never been hit like that in his life.
He was out of his league here, he knew it now more than ever. For the first time in a long time he felt like a little boy caught by the monster under the bed. All his long nightmares were about to come true.
His vision began to fade, replaced with a swirling bluish black haze. He saw Jack look away from him, still smiling in scorn. The last thing he saw was Jack start to walk towards Suzie. He could still hear though, could hear when she started screaming.
Spencer beat at his chest, trying to force his lungs to work as his mind shut down piece by piece. And miraculously at last they did. He breathed again, and found when he came back to full consciousness that he was already standing, having somehow dragged himself back up without realizing it.
I’ve got more knives. Maybe while Jack’s back is turned to go after Suzie.
But he saw now that Jack wasn’t looking at Suzie, or at him. He was looking down towards the entrance of the long hallway.
Spencer followed his gaze and saw something both monstrous and wonderful. The hallway was filling with creatures out of a nightmare, but they weren’t Jack’s creatures any longer. The Rejected things had seen the firelight in the sky, had remembered the way out of Nowhere Blvd.
They moved tentatively forward, not sure of what to do. Clearly Jack was alone, and yet they all still knew fear of him.
Spencer pointed one of his claws from his right hand towards Jack. He drew in as much breath as he could, the better to speak with.
“Now’s your chance,” he said in a breathy croak. “He’s weak, and alone. Kill him. Now or never.”
He wasn’t sure if they heard, but in the streams of moonlight Spencer could see their eyes. Eyes filling with enough rage to push out the fear. Their slithering and crawling and stalking was that of the predator, trapping its prey. Jack’s smile subtly turned from one of surprise to one of apprehension. His eyes betrayed fear for the first time that Spencer had ever seen.
But only for a moment. Then he turned that horrible smile upon Spencer, and there was triumph in his eyes.
“See you around Spencer.”
Smiling Jack ran for the closet door, moving infinitely faster than even the closest of the Rejected Things. Spencer ran after him desperately, knowing that if Jack escaped now it was only a matter of time before he found Suzie again.
Only a matter of time before Spencer fell asleep.
As he ran after Jack he thought-prayed over and over, Don’t see it in time, don’t see it in time.
And Jack didn’t. He opened the closet door and took one glance back as he stepped through. The POP of the metal spring and SNAP of the steal was loud enough to echo down the long hallway. Instead of sliding into the liquid darkness of the closet, Jack fell to the ground. Clawing at the bear trap that now crushed his ankle.
Jack had found Spencer’s present.
He’d meant it to be a deterrent, had meant to jump over it on his way into the closet if anyone was following him on the way out. Spencer didn’t pause to appreciate the irony of it.
Instead he charged straight towards Jack, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his chest. The Rejected Things charged to, sensing the inherent weakness of a downed foe.
Smiling Jack screamed, and there was no pretense of humanity in that sound. It was what a spiders scream would sound like it you burned it in its own web, only it was loud enough to rattle the very windows in their frames. Everyone in the room stopped, frozen by that sound. Spencer paused only for a moment though, knowing Jack was still only inches from escape, that this would be his last chance. But the Rejected Things cringed in place, unsure of attacking anything that could make that sound. It was truly a terrible thing.
Spencer ran up behind him as Jack pried open the trap by brute strength alone. He couldn’t let go to deal with Spencer without letting the thing clamp shut on his ankle again, and Spencer knew it. He wasted no time, using his bear claws to tear and maul at Smiling Jack’s face. The fake skin tore away, revealing again the dead gray fleshy substance beneath. Spencer tried to tear at that too, but it was very tough even for all its looseness. Thick and leathery. He scratched at the black eyes but they wouldn’t puncture, were hard like crystal. Jack almost had the bear trap off.
Finally in desperation, Spencer grabbed with both hands at the thin metal wires that held the hooks at the edges of Jack’s smile. He pulled as hard as he could, yanking that joyless smile into a rictus grin. He put his feet against Jack’s shoulders for leverage and strained and jerked at the wires until reddish black blood began to froth at the corners of Jack’s mouth.
It was enough for the Rejected Things, who had been moving closer the whole time. The sight of blood was enough of a signal to attack any fallen foe. They swarmed on Smiling Jack, tearing at him with tooth and claw and tentacle. Jack killed what he could get his hands on, ripping out a throat or crushing a skull that fell within reach of his flailing arms.
Spencer didn’t flee, but instead pulled a knife from his ankle holster and joined in, stabbing down with both hands on Jack’s face. Finally he landed a blow hard enough to crack through the shell of one of Jacks black eyes. Again and again he stabbed at that weak point while the Rejected kept Jack’s hands too busy to defend himself. A final savage blow with all his strength and he penetrated the eye all the way up to the knife’s hilt.
Jack spasmed, a seizure of death ripping through him. He jerked around for a time, then was still.
Spencer crawled away, gasping for breath. He went over to Suzie, who sat quietly. She was awake, her eyes wide and filled with tears. She didn’t cry though. Perhaps in too much shock, he thought. She didn’t look too badly hurt. He lifted her into his arms and looked around the room. All eyes were on him.
“You’re free now,” he said wearily. “But you can’t go through that closet. You’re monsters. That’s not your home anymore. Your home is here now.”
He told them because it needed to be said, and didn’t have enough humanity left to care about whatever sense of loss they might experience from the words.
They can’t go back, he thought as he looked up at the Grand Closet door and prepared to leave. Not like me.