The Long Mile

The wind outside was a physical assault. It screamed in their ears, drowning out the strange, rhythmic clicking coming from the treeline.

Elias had Julian’s left arm draped over his shoulder, bearing nearly all of the other man’s weight. They moved in a staggering, three-legged gait, their feet punching through the crust of the snow.

"Don't look back," Elias grunted, his lungs burning with the cold. "Just look at the light."

In the distance, a faint, sickly yellow glow pulsed through the blizzard. The gas station. It was maybe a mile away. In these conditions, it felt like an marathon.

Behind them, the voices followed.

"Wait up!" Mark’s voice called, cheerful and dead.

"I love you, Eli," Sarah’s voice whispered, right in his ear.

Elias squeezed his eyes shut for a second, forcing his feet to move. "It’s not real. It’s not real."

Julian was a dead weight. He was sobbing quietly, the pain of movement clearly agonizing. "Leave me," he gasped. "It’s getting closer. I can hear it breathing."

"Shut up!" Elias roared. "We’re almost there!"

Something brushed against Elias’s coat. A touch. Light, almost tentative. Like a finger tracing the fabric.

Elias screamed and lunged forward, dragging Julian with him. They slipped, crashing into the snow. The yellow light was close now—two hundred yards. A 24-hour automated station. Glass doors. Safety.

Elias scrambled up. He grabbed Julian by the collar of his coat. "Get up!"

"I can't!"

Elias didn't argue. He hooked his arms under Julian’s armpits and heaved. He dragged him. He dragged him through the slush, his boots slipping, his muscles screaming.

The creature was right behind them now. The mimicry had stopped. Now, there was only a low, wet growl, like a drowning dog.

"Open the door!" Elias screamed at the sensor as they crashed onto the concrete forecourt.

The automatic glass doors slid open with a cheerful *ding*.

Elias hurled himself and Julian across the threshold. They collapsed onto the linoleum floor, panting, coughing, half-frozen.

Elias scrambled to his knees and looked back.

The glass doors slid shut.

Outside, just beyond the glass, the snow swirled. Darkness pressed against the store. Nothing entered.