Sherry, May and Becky were running.
The dark was spreading behind them, out across the street from somewhere I couldn't see — a low black tide moving under the lamps, swallowing the pavement as it came.
"We just need to reach the apartment." May's voice came out unsteady, her eyes going fast and hard, reading something written on the air that nobody else could see. "That's all. Just the apartment."
Breath tore in and out. The street behind them stayed empty.
"Let me cover you."
Becky stopped.
"Don't be stupid." Sherry's head turned a fraction and her stride never broke. "Becky, he'll—"
May didn't let her finish. She caught Sherry's hand and dragged her forward, fingers locked, both of them already pulling distance.
The streets were empty. The lamps were going out and coming back on down the whole length of the road, one after another, like something was passing underneath them — a black pulse travelling the wires.
The two of them ran.
Becky held her ground.
