Page 12 of After the Burn

­—move

—now

—Taryn—

Hands grabbed me.

Gently.

Not trying to hurt but trying to pull me back.

Or maybe push me forward.

I couldn’t tell.

Then the world tilted. And the house⁠—

No.

The house wasn’t right.

The door⁠—

It was open.

Why was it open?

It shouldn’t have been. I knew it as well as I knew my own name.

The darkness outside wasn’t empty.

It was waiting.

And then—movement.

Too fast.

Too many.

They didn’t break in.

They were already there.

A body hit the floor near my feet.

I didn’t look at the face.

Didn’t want to know.

A gunshot cracked somewhere behind me, loud enough to rattle my teeth.

Then another.

Closer.

“Back!” Ben’s voice—clear for a second, cutting through everything else. “Get the hell back!”

Something slammed into me from the side.