No Exit by Taylor Adams 2

had never actually been in a fight before, so she wasn’t sure
exactly what to expect, but she knew the movies were wrong.
“If you can,” she added, “try to keep one eye closed.”
“Why?”
“We’re going to fight him outside, maybe in the dark. So
try to keep one of your eyes closed now, while you’re indoors,
in the light, and then you’ll have an eye with a little nightvision.
Make sense?”
He nodded, half-hearted.
“And … you said you have asthma?”
“Mild shortness of breath. I’ve had it since I was a kid.”
“Well, when I was little,” Darby said, “I used to have
panic attacks. Really bad ones that made me hyperventilate
and faint. I’d be in the fetal position on the floor, choking on
my own lungs, and my mom would always hold me and say:
Inhale. Count to five. Exhale. And it always worked.”
“Inhale. Count to five. Exhale?”
“Yep.”
“So, in other words, breathe? That’s brilliant.”
“Ashley, I’m trying to help.”
“Sorry.” He eyed the door. “I’m just … I’m just having
trouble with this.”
“You saw him, too.”
“I saw a run-of-the-mill weirdo.” He sighed. “And now
we’re about to beat the shit out of him.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, touching his wrist. “I’m so sorry to
drag you into this. But I was dragged into it, too. And I can’t
save her alone.”
“I know. I’ll help.”
“If we don’t do something right now, Lars could snap and
attack us first. Every second we wait here is a second we give