“We need to go,” he said. “Now.”

Right as we made it to the top of the stairs to head back down to the first floor, a loud bang sounded somewhere below us.

Donavan cursed again. I remembered a hall closet behind us and took him by the hand and dragged him there. We both stepped inside, and I pulled the door closed.

“Whoever that is saw my car,” Donavan whispered. “They had to have. It’s the only car in the parking lot. We are going to get caught. Either by the cops or by whoever owns that knife. This is going to go on my record.”

“Or you’ll be dead,” I whispered back.

“Exactly.” He was quiet for a moment. “Do you think this is funny? How do you think this is funny?”

“I don’t . . . well, it is a little. I feel like I’m in a Heath Hall movie.” I was scared too. My heart was racing, and my nerves were heightened. But it was also kind of exciting.

“A Heath Hall movie?”

“That’s the character Grant normally plays in movies.”

“I know who Heath Hall is,” he snapped.

“Oh.” I reached out and my hand met with some part of Donavan. His back? His chest? It felt like a shoulder blade maybe. “Don’t stress so much.”

“When should we start stressing, then?” He paused for a minute. “Wait, is this some kind of joke? Did you set this up?”

“You’re the one who brought me here. How would I set this up?”

“True.”

We both went quiet as a set of footsteps sounded outside the door. They didn’t slow down, just walked right by. I could feel the tension release from Donavan. We stayed in the closet until I could no longer hear any noise at all.

“Thanks for coming with me tonight,” I whispered.

“Is this the new experience you were going for?”

I was shut inside a small, dark closet with a guy, tension and heightened awareness thick in the air. It kind of was. “It’s actually helped a lot.”

“I’m glad something came out of it.”

“Should we sleep in here tonight or make a run for it?” I asked.

“Those are our only two choices?”

“Yes.”

“I guess we’re running.” As if he’d been waiting for the suggestion all along, he swung open the door and ran for the stairs. When we got to the window where we’d entered, he practically threw me out, then flung himself out, rolling to the ground with his momentum before he stood and stumbled to his car.

I caught up with him, not able to control my laughter.

“It’s not funny,” he said when we were safely inside his car, the doors locked.

“It is funny. Like one hundred percent. Not even one percentage point less than completely funny.”

He turned over the ignition and drove out of the parking lot, then finally said, “I’ll give you seventy-five percent. No more.”

I laughed again.

After a few quiet minutes, Donavan said, “What would you have done?”

“What?”

“If whoever was in there had opened the door and discovered us. What would you have done?”

“Turned on my zombie mode. The hissing, the limping, the works. It would’ve confused them just enough for us to get away.”

“You really would have done that,” he said as a statement, not a question.

“Yes,” I answered anyway.

“You’re crazy.”

“Don’t forget it.” I studied his profile as he looked out the window. His jaw was tight, his lips set in a thin line. “What would you have done if we’d been discovered?”

“I have no idea. I think I might be a flight kind of guy in the fight-or-flight scenario. My only instinct was to run.”

“You sound sad about this.”

“I am. I always knew I hated conflict but this . . . I’m extremely disappointed in myself.”

“You wish you would’ve what? Went charging after him in a blind rage? Asked him if you could join him for his recreational pastime?”

“No . . . I don’t know.”

I grabbed hold of his shoulder and shook it. “Lighten up, dude. You totally pushed me through the window first. You can hang on to your man card for another day.”

“Did you just call me dude?”

“I did. Better or worse than Choir Boy?”

“Equally bad.”

“I think you mean equally charming.”

“You do think you’re pretty charming, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. And you do too, so don’t try to deny it.”

He shook his head, but the smile on his face proved I was right.

Something caught my eye out of the side window. I pointed. “All those new experiences made me hungry. Let’s go eat.”

“With you looking like that?”

“Will this embarrass you?”

He gave me a sideways glance, then shrugged. “Probably not.”

“Let’s do the drive-through.” It was better that way. I didn’t think anyone would recognize me off set, but just in case, I didn’t need more bad pictures on the internet.

Dancing Graves

INT. THE MANSION LIBRARY—DAY

SCARLETT is getting worse by the day. She has not transitioned but feels like she is dying a slow death. She wants to leave to spare her family and BENJAMIN pain, but he is worried for her safety.

BENJAMIN

Where will you go?

SCARLETT

The cemetery, I think, with that old abandoned church nearby. You can leave me supplies there.

BENJAMIN

I cannot bear it. You must stay. For just a little longer.

SCARLETT

Promise me something. If I start to worsen, if I begin to require what the others eat, you must stop me. By any means necessary.

Ten

What I’d told Donavan was true. Getting out of my daily rut was important when I was feeling uninspired. And our experience the day before had definitely fired me up. I felt ready to work. Or I would be ready if I could find my kneepads. I had to crawl over benches today, and wardrobe had given me a pair just for this purpose.

I got down on my hands and knees again and looked under the rack of clothes. I couldn’t find them. I took every hanging piece and moved it to the couch. The only thing on the floor was a pair of Converse I’d forgotten I’d brought to the trailer.

“Faith!” I called out my trailer door as if she stood waiting for me at all times. She wasn’t there. I glanced at the time on my phone; I had two minutes to be in the church building. I wasn’t going to be late again.

I hopped down the steps and halfway there noticed my favorite helper across the way. “Aaron!”

He was talking to someone from the crew and looked up when I called his name.

“Have you seen my kneepads?”

He put his hand to his ear as if he couldn’t hear me. I waved him off and kept walking. Faith stood at the doors to the church.

“Faith. Are there any extra kneepads?”

“You lost yours?”

“I thought they were in my trailer, but I couldn’t find them.”

“I’ll bring you another pair. Hurry in, they’re waiting for you.”