A loud clunk brought me out of my sleepiness. I shook head to bring myself out of my drowsy state, and rubbed my eyes. I suddenly remembered why I was in the hallway in the first place, and sat up to attention. I checked my watch. 12:48.
There was another loud clunk. I got to my feet and pressed my back against the wall. I slowly pulled the walkie-talkie from my belt, pressed the "On" button with my thumb, and cautiously brought the walkie-talkie to my lips, wary of making any sound. "Scully, come in. Raksalsa on the move. In position? Over," I said softly.
"In position. Over."
"Get ready. Out." I placed the walkie-talkie on my belt, and slid the knife from its sheath. I gripped the handle the way Sam had shown me, the blade pointing down and the handle of the knife held close to my chest. I waited, breathing shallowly and counting the seconds.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
I had counted up to twenty-three when a small click caused me to stiffen with panic. I held my breath, the knife pressed against my chest, and waited.
The door creaked open. It opened all the way, tapping the wall right next to me, and John stepped out.
I could already feel the rush of terror and adrenaline. I gripped the knife so tightly that my knuckles felt ready to pop off. Just do it now I thought. Before you lose the rush, and your strength along with it. I had to fight against the emotional high that was urging me to take the thing head on, and waited.
The Raksalsa stretched, and let out a long yawn. This struck me as slightly odd. The thing was in a strange way humanlike. With as long as it lived and who-knows-how-many kids it gorged itself upon, it must have picked up a few human habits along the way.
This has to end now I thought savagely, curling my fingers on my other hand around the pepper spray. No more kids should die because of its hunger.
I tensed up as the Raksalsa looked down the other end of the hallway. Without a doubt I knew that in less than a second it would look my way.
One chance. One shot. No opportunity for mistakes. I lifted up the pepper spray as the thing turned, and hit the button.
And the fight was on.