Gabriella knew she was dead the instant that icy hand clamped down on her arm. She had always thought in a situation like this, she’d scream and jerk away from whatever was holding her. Not that she’d spent a lot of time worrying about monsters under the bed since she was eight years old, but the possibility had always been there. And she’d always pictured herself breaking free and running away from the monster. But in the moment, all she could do was lie still and know with complete certainty that she was already dead.

Claws raked over her arm, and there was a flash of hot pain as her skin split. This was enough to break through the fatal fog she seemed to be in. Her mind suddenly cleared, Gabriella ripped her arm away. She swallowed a scream at the feeling of the skin ripping further as she wrenched it away from the claws, then rolled over to see what had her. In the pink glow of the room, she saw an arm slide back under the bed and out of sight.

It was too fast, too fluid to be anything natural.

Tears streaming down her face from both pain and fear, Gabriella reached for her phone. Normally she fell asleep listening to music, so it was always sitting right beside her pillow. But as her hand grasped empty air, she realized with sinking horror that her phone was on its charger across the room.

Damn that productivity and wellness website. This had been a terrible week to start that new bedtime routine.

Gabriella took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. She needed to get to her phone. Once she got to her phone, she could call James and he’d come help her. It was just another case. She happened to be a rookie with no supplies on her. Which made this case even more difficult. But just a case. She’d done fine tonight, she just needed to do fine for a little while longer.

What would James tell her to do right now? Or Robin? She took another breath, trying not to move the bed too much as she attempted to stop trembling. They’d say to stay calm. It was just like tonight at the house. The plan changed, but there was still a plan in place. She just needed to stay calm and follow it.

She shifted as silently as possible on the bed and heard something echo that movement underneath her. Okay, first she needed to reach the lamp on her bedside table. The light probably wouldn’t get rid of the monster, but it would at least give her the ability to see what was happening and maybe scare it a little. The pink glow in her apartment was usually comforting and cozy at night, but right now it was just dangerous.

Holding her breath and not moving any other muscles in her body, Gabriella reached out toward the lamp. She was flat on her back, arm dripping hot blood onto the pillow as she moved it. The searing pain was almost too much for her to handle, but the alternative was rolling over to use the other hand and alerting the monster. Then it would know exactly what she was doing and strike again.

Her trembling hand finally brushed the cool base of the lamp. Encouraged, Gabriella ran her palm up the body of the lamp toward the switch, listening desperately for any sound around her. A low, guttural growl, something she felt more than heard, vibrated up through the bed and she swallowed a sob.

She couldn’t have brought at least the salt in with her? Gabriella had left the bag of supplies in the car with James and thought nothing of it. Nope, never again. If she survived this, she was going to keep her own bag at home at all times.

James. She needed to reach James. He’d be able to fix this.

But first, the light.

With a barely whispered prayer to nobody in particular, Gabriella flipped the switch under her thumb. There was a click, and a beat where she held her breath. Then the room filled with a golden light just as a window shattered on the other side of her.

Not bothering to suppress this scream, Gabriella jumped and whirled around in time to see a shadowy figure slide back underneath the other side of the bed.

Her phone was charging on the table next to the breakfast dishes she’d left there before work. It was maybe six steps away from the bed, which was fine. She could make it six steps right? And it wasn’t like the thing didn’t know she was up here. There was no element of surprise to be had here for either of them.

Gabriella took a breath, then let it out slowly.

One.

Two…

Before she mentally got to three, she darted off the bed and over to the phone. Barely stopping to pull it off the charger, she grabbed it and flew out the front door of her apartment, slamming it shut behind her.

Breathing shakily and not even trying to keep in her sobs anymore, Gabriella held the knob in place with her good hand. There was no movement behind the door yet, but the cheap doors in this building wouldn’t be enough to keep anything in for long if it really wanted to get out.

When a few seconds had passed without any kind of fight, Gabriella let go of the door, looking for something, anything, to block it. There was nothing in this dim, dusty hallway that would offer even the illusion of protection. Now crying in fear and frustration, she pulled out her phone, monitoring the door for the creature. After a few false starts, she finally got James’s number and heard it begin to ring on the other end.

“Hey, Gabs, what’s up?” James asked easily as he picked up her call. “Just wrapped up with Brad and-”

“James,” she choked out. “James, oh God, it’s in my apartment.”

She heard the sound of him standing up. “What’s in your apartment?” he asked, voice now deadly serious. “And are you okay?”

“The thing from tonight, I think it followed me home,” Gabriella said, the words coming out in a rush as she watched the front door for any signs of life.

“Are you okay?” he asked again.

Her arm was throbbing, and the blood was soaking through her t-shirt as she clutched it tightly to her chest. “It got me in the arm but I’m not too bad,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

“And where are you now?”

As James spoke, she heard a door opening on his end, then footsteps on pavement. He must have still been at the headquarters when she called.

“I’m outside my apartment in the hallway.”

“Do you have any salt?”

“No.”

She felt foolish and under prepared, but James just kept talking. “Okay,” he said. “Here’s what you do. I’ll be there in ten minutes. You wait there. I’m sorry to put this on you, but you need to make sure it doesn’t leave the apartment. This thing is the Foundation’s responsibility and we’re on our way to help you with it.”

“How do I keep it in the apartment?”

James didn’t answer, and she heard the sound of his car starting up. “James,” she repeated, unable to keep the edge of panic out of her voice. “How do I keep it in the apartment?”

James was quiet for a second, then he sighed. “Just watch for it,” he said. “And tell us if it leaves. I guess there’s really nothing else you can do right now.”

She knew he didn’t mean to make her feel small when he said it, but even despite her fear and pain, she felt that shame sparking low in her stomach. She really was helpless right now, wasn’t she? She’d been doing this for over a week now. Yeah, it wasn’t that long, but she should have been able to do something. What if there was something in her training that she just wasn’t thinking of right now?

And who didn’t have salt in their apartment? Did she have a shaker sitting in the cabinet? Would it have made any difference?

The ten minutes seemed to stretch into hours as she stared at the silent door, silently yelling at herself and watching for any signs of movement behind it. James stayed on the line with her as he drove, so she could hear him and whoever else was with him getting closer.

She was in her shorts and a crappy college t-shirt right now. They were all going to see her terrible sleepwear. But small favors, at least she hadn’t decided to sleep naked tonight.

There was a monster in her apartment. Was that really what she should be concerned with right now? There were five other units in this building, what if it tried to go after her neighbors too? Could she do anything about it? Probably not.

The door didn’t move the entire excruciating time she waited for the others to get there. Finally, she heard the building’s front door open and a rush of footsteps hurrying up the stairs.

“Gabbie!”

James grabbed her and gripped her in a tight hug. Her injured arm scraped against his jacket and she hissed in pain, but still huddled up to him, trying not to shake too hard. Then James stepped back and looked at her. “Shit, Gab, that’s a lot of blood.”

Gabriella looked at her arm, which was still tightly pressed against her chest. “It grabbed me,” she said.

As she said the words, the reality of the situation seemed to slide back over her. There was a monster in her apartment. It got there without her knowledge and it tried to kill her. This was a real thing that had just happened to her.

How had it even gotten there? Did it attach itself to her somehow on the way home? She hadn’t seen much of it, but it had looked like the same thing they had gotten in the house, a shadowy, malevolent presence. It had to be the same one. But what mistake had she made that resulted in it following her home?

James gently took her injured arm and looked at it in the dim light. “Shit,” he said again. “This looks like it’s going to need stitches. Bradley, can you bring her to the emergency room? Me, Madelyn, and Amelia will take this.”

The whole team was there, apparently. Except Robin, who was still on his day off. Madelyn was leaning on a cane a little further down the stairs, but Bradley and Amelia had just run up right behind James.

Bradley stepped forward and took her arm brusquely. She flinched, then relaxed slightly as he more gently examined the cuts. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Come on, Gabriella.”

“We’ll take care of this,” James said. “Don’t worry, Gabs. It’ll be fine.”

She nodded shakily and started to follow Bradley down the stairs. As she passed Madelyn, the other woman put a comforting hand on her good shoulder.

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “We’ll take care of it.”

Gabriella nodded, feeling tears burning her eyes again. Bradley said nothing, just continued to lead the way outside.

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CONTINUE TO CHAPTER 10