My heart pounds against my ribs as chitinous legs scrape across asphalt. The sound is terrifying—a rhythmic click-click-click that sets my teeth on edge and has my entire body trembling. Jenny's hand clamps over my mouth. It's unnecessary, because there's no way in hell I'm going to scream and bring their attention to us, but strangely comforting.
Better to have company than deal with these nightmares alone, I guess.
"Don't move," Carlos mouths when he catches my eyes.
I nod to show him I understand. There's no way I'm going anywhere. Not with monsters nearby.
The creature pauses. A shadow falls over our hiding spot, and I squeeze my eyes shut. The stench of rotting meat wafts through the air, making my stomach roll. I didn't think anything had time to rot like that yet, but I'm not an expert in these kinds of things. I buy my meat from the grocery store.
It's a stupid thing to think about, probably.
Click. Click. Click.
Closer now.
