to get him out of a city gone mad. If he hadn’t seen the hospital or Mrs. Palmer’s corpse-like doll hadn’t come flying out the window at him– if he hadn’t just heard something growl at him through his door, Henry wouldn’t risk Dave’s trip. He’d rather hole up and wait it out. Whatever “it” was. He wondered why Dave wanted him to come. Why was he risking himself and his family to come get Henry when he could just drive straight to his brother’s cabin, straight to safety? Henry quietly stacked his bags on the fire escape, trying to guess if he had left anything important behind. He looked at his supplies with sudden unease. Was Dave just using him as a quick way to get supplies? Was he going to leave him there with nothing? Henry wasn’t going to give him a chance. He picked up his bags, slinging them over his shoulder and began climbing down the slippery fire ladder. The snow was coming fast now, and Henry strained to see if he could see Dave’s car or any of the crazy people walking around him. Just snow, sparking in the street lamp’s tired light. Henry tried not to look into the apartment windows as he climbed down, equally afraid of seeing a bloody face or a tranquil, twinkling Christmas tree. He kept his eyes on the metal rungs and tried not to make any noise. He dropped down to the ground next to the dumpster and crouched behind it.
He was trying not to move as his legs stiffened in the cold when he felt the phone vibrate on his thigh. He tried to fish it out without banging his elbow against the hollow metal of the dumpster. “Hello?” he whispered.
“Henry? Are you ready? It’s Elizabeth.”
“Yes, I’m next to the dumpster where the fire escape ends. Is anyone following you?”
“No, we’re okay. We’ll be there in a few seconds. I’m so relieved you are coming.”
Henry hung up the phone. It was Elizabeth then. She’d persuaded Dave that they needed him. Henry couldn’t blame her, he wouldn’t trust his life to Dave by himself either. The car was almost silent on the snow and Dave had turned the headlights off. It rolled to a stop near Henry and he jumped up and opened the door, throwing the bags in before him. He slid into the warm car and tapped Dave on the shoulder to let him know it was okay to take off. He looked back at the apartment building as they drove away. The soft glow of Christmas trees dotted the building’s windows and the snow fluttered and clung, softening the building’s edges in the gold street light. Henry wondered how many people would be drawn in by the calm scene only to meet the thing inside. He hoped that his warning sign would work.
He turned back to his companions. Marnie was asleep in her booster seat next to him, her small face a white smudge in the dark. “Everyone okay?” he asked.
Elizabeth smiled at him. “We’re okay. We’re probably just overreacting. I’m sure things will be straightened out in a day or two, but better safe than sorry, right? We’ll just have a little vacation at the cabin.”
Henry smiled at her, but his eyes flicked to Dave’s in the rearview mirror. “The cabin is a few hours away. Why don’t you two get some rest and I’ll wake you up to switch with me if I get tired,” said Dave.
Henry was troubled. “And if we–” he glanced at Marnie, who was still sleeping. “If we run into any obstacles, you’ll wake me up, right?”
“Obstacles? I think traffic will be light at this time of night,” Dave said.
Henry shook his head, thinking of the woman in the traffic accident that morning. “Look, just wake me up if you have to stop for any reason, okay?”
“All right,” said Dave.
Henry settled back onto the seat. Marnie’s soft breathing and the little halo of heat that her body made in the car caused Henry to drop off quickly. The sound of Elizabeth and Dave fighting drew him out of sleep. He looked over at Marnie who was sitting up and looking anxious. Her teddy bear had dropped into the