Page 65 of Haunted Spurs

"GET OUT!" Sam roars at the top of his lungs. He waves his arms frantically to get our attention. "Come on, move!"

We don't need to be told twice. We sprint toward them, regrouping in the entrance. Josh grabs the brass handle of the front door and pulls, but it doesn't budge.

"Fuck, it's locked!" he snarls.

Levi throws himself at the door, leveraging his shoulder. They fumble blindly, desperately, yanking on the solid wood, until, with a terrifying crack, the lock gives way and the double doors burst open into the cold, foggy morning.

"Where is he?!" Cole yells, checking over his shoulder.

"He's upstairs!" Sam answers, shoving the girls outside. He's out of breath, his chest heaving. "We pushed him back and bought some time, but he'll get back up. We have to get the hell out of here, right now!"

"To the gates!" I yell.

I have Ollie tucked tightly under one arm, heavy as a boulder, and with my free hand I reach for Selene's. I lace my fingers through hers—her hand is small and freezing in mine—and pull her with me down the porch steps, plunging into the fog.

We start running down the dirt driveway.

The early morning air is biting, thick with moisture that pierces the lungs like ice needles. There's a dense, low-hanging fog crawling across the ground and wrapping around the trees, making everything look ghostly. The sound of our ragged breathing and the crunching gravel fills the void.

We're almost halfway there.

Then, a groan of pain.

Susan trips badly over her own feet and crashes to the ground, landing hard on her knees and palms.

We freeze.

"There's another damn horror movie cliché," Cole huffs, running a hand through his hair, looking down at the blonde girl on the ground.

We all turn to glare at him. Cade doesn't waste a second: he grabs Susan by the elbows and hoists her back onto her feet.

"Seriously... do you have a single shred of tact anywhere in your fucking brain?" his twin scolds him, though the shadow in his eyes tells me he was about to make the exact same joke.

"Keep running!" Levi roars.

We resume our flight. The fog seems to be thickening. A raven lets out a sharp, harsh caw that sounds like a mocking laugh. I feel my heart hammering in my temples. The sweat on my skin turns to ice.

Finally, the colossal shadow of the great wrought-iron gates emerges from the gray mist.

We made it.

Josh and Sam throw themselves at the iron. They shove with all their brute strength, forcing the gates wide open with a metallic clang that echoes across the valley.

We cross the threshold, spilling out onto the dirt road that leads to civilization, panting, ready to scream for help, and...

We freeze. All of us. Like we've been paralyzed.

There is no escape.

Blocking the road completely, parked horizontally across the dirt, is a perfect line of four massive, black pickup trucks. And, with demonic synchronization, their high beams flick on all at once, blinding us in the fog.

A second later, the horns start blaring. All of them together. A mechanical, deafening, continuous, aggressive roar that makes us curl in on ourselves, clapping our hands over our ears.

"Feels like we're in fucking Christine," Cole comments under his breath, squinting against the glare.

Carolina, standing next to him, shields her face with a hand. "What?!" she yells, trying to be heard over the blaring horns.

"Stephen King!" he yells back.