clueless as he'd been about what was going on down below. Like him, they would awaken in complete ignorance and go about their day as usual; getting ready for work, packing a lunch, getting breakfast for the kids…..
Christ! The kids! Any time now, parents would be bundling their kids together, preparing to take them to Grandma's for the day or to soccer practice or day camp or wherever else parents unloaded the kids when there was no school to run herd while the parents worked. Mom and Dad would make sure that their little snowflakes had their bagged lunch or soccer gear or box of crayons and coloring book, and then they'd march them out the front door, straight into the mouth of the beast. Literally.
Was there any way Mason could warn them? Short of shouting at the top of his lungs or running from door to door, he couldn't imagine how. He entertained grandiose visions of spray painting a warning on the roadway or throwing rocks through windows, but every ridiculous idea was more preposterous than the last. Finally, he admitted that there was nothing he could conceivably do, and he assuaged his regret by assuming that not everyone was bound have quite his level of complete ignorance on the subject. If he hadn't been so adamant about closing off the world, a quick peek at the nightly news might have let him avoid the situation altogether.
The irony was not lost on him, but once he silently heaped an impressive array of curses upon his own misanthropy, he only added to the absurdity by thinking again of those faceless shadows in the windows and concluding once and for all, every man for himself . …..
Just as he came to that determination, one of the neighbors in his own building awoke. One of the newer residents. The discordant wail of a crying baby bellowed through an open window a few floors up, directly above his head. Mason didn't even give it a second thought until he saw the two crazies across the street stop feeding on the grisly remains of the fat man and raise their heads. They hovered over the corpse for some seconds, then they crawled to their feet and gaped sightlessly across the street, growling like animals. Suddenly, both creatures abandoned the corpse and launched themselves toward this new sound at a frantic run. One of them tripped over a newspaper box and fell hard, but he was immediately back to his feet, completely disregarding the fresh wound on his forehead and charging headlong after the other.
Mason saw both men racing toward him and froze in fear. Should he run? If he did, they'd hear him. But if he stayed, they'd run right into him. No choice. He had to make a break for it. But even as he made the decision, it was already too late. That single moment's hesitation was enough. Both creatures were suddenly there, barely five feet away from him, snarling and clawing up at the unseen baby like wild dogs baying at a treed raccoon.
Just like that, he was trapped. The alcove that was supposed to be his sanctuary had become his undoing. The horrible creatures dripping gore and snorting blood were barely more than an arm's reach away, gaping up at that open window. He slowly drew in a deep breath and held it, moving not a muscle. There was nothing else he could do. If he tried to run now, they would be on him. Fool that he was to not flee when he had the chance! He should have seen what was going to happen. As soon as the baby started crying, he should have done the math. Stupid! Even as he stared out at those two murderous creatures covered in another man's blood, he made himself a promise. If he somehow got out of this damned booby trap, he'd never let himself slip up like this again. If he was to survive this….… whatever it was…….he had to think fast. Any action was better than no action at all, so from now on, he had to make decisions on the fly and act without hesitation or second-guessing.
But first, he had to survive this predicament. He couldn't hold his breath much longer, and
Christ! The kids! Any time now, parents would be bundling their kids together, preparing to take them to Grandma's for the day or to soccer practice or day camp or wherever else parents unloaded the kids when there was no school to run herd while the parents worked. Mom and Dad would make sure that their little snowflakes had their bagged lunch or soccer gear or box of crayons and coloring book, and then they'd march them out the front door, straight into the mouth of the beast. Literally.
Was there any way Mason could warn them? Short of shouting at the top of his lungs or running from door to door, he couldn't imagine how. He entertained grandiose visions of spray painting a warning on the roadway or throwing rocks through windows, but every ridiculous idea was more preposterous than the last. Finally, he admitted that there was nothing he could conceivably do, and he assuaged his regret by assuming that not everyone was bound have quite his level of complete ignorance on the subject. If he hadn't been so adamant about closing off the world, a quick peek at the nightly news might have let him avoid the situation altogether.
The irony was not lost on him, but once he silently heaped an impressive array of curses upon his own misanthropy, he only added to the absurdity by thinking again of those faceless shadows in the windows and concluding once and for all, every man for himself . …..
Just as he came to that determination, one of the neighbors in his own building awoke. One of the newer residents. The discordant wail of a crying baby bellowed through an open window a few floors up, directly above his head. Mason didn't even give it a second thought until he saw the two crazies across the street stop feeding on the grisly remains of the fat man and raise their heads. They hovered over the corpse for some seconds, then they crawled to their feet and gaped sightlessly across the street, growling like animals. Suddenly, both creatures abandoned the corpse and launched themselves toward this new sound at a frantic run. One of them tripped over a newspaper box and fell hard, but he was immediately back to his feet, completely disregarding the fresh wound on his forehead and charging headlong after the other.
Mason saw both men racing toward him and froze in fear. Should he run? If he did, they'd hear him. But if he stayed, they'd run right into him. No choice. He had to make a break for it. But even as he made the decision, it was already too late. That single moment's hesitation was enough. Both creatures were suddenly there, barely five feet away from him, snarling and clawing up at the unseen baby like wild dogs baying at a treed raccoon.
Just like that, he was trapped. The alcove that was supposed to be his sanctuary had become his undoing. The horrible creatures dripping gore and snorting blood were barely more than an arm's reach away, gaping up at that open window. He slowly drew in a deep breath and held it, moving not a muscle. There was nothing else he could do. If he tried to run now, they would be on him. Fool that he was to not flee when he had the chance! He should have seen what was going to happen. As soon as the baby started crying, he should have done the math. Stupid! Even as he stared out at those two murderous creatures covered in another man's blood, he made himself a promise. If he somehow got out of this damned booby trap, he'd never let himself slip up like this again. If he was to survive this….… whatever it was…….he had to think fast. Any action was better than no action at all, so from now on, he had to make decisions on the fly and act without hesitation or second-guessing.
But first, he had to survive this predicament. He couldn't hold his breath much longer, and
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