"How long does it take to undo a simple knot?!" Lucy snapped, straining against the rope still biting into her wrists.
"Say one more word and I leave you on the floor," Christopher shot back through his teeth, fingers working fast at the knot without looking up. "And who the hell tied this in the first place?! Rebecca? Figures. The one time she decides to be thorough about something and it's right after she makes a mistake."
A sound from across the room cut through everything else.
Christopher's head came up fast. Sydney had her arm pulled in against her chest, teeth clenched, the kind of expression that meant something hurt more than she was letting show. A tentacle had caught her across the forearm and she was absorbing it, badly.
"Stop trying to block them!" Christopher called out. "Just move! Get out of the way!"
