and right into Grey . They fell into the bookshelf , sending dolls , toys and audio books tumbling down onto them . Old Man , covered in cuts and with blood seeping into his shirt , stomped towards them , huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf out of fairy tales .
“ It was never personal ,” he wheezed . “ I never felt any happiness feeding your friends to Tabby . But now , I ’ m going to enjoy giving her your blood .” He brandished the bloody boxcutter in front of him . “ After I ’ ve fucked you both up pretty good , that is .”
Grey lay there , Knives lying in his lap while CD cases and toys covered them both . He searched frantically with his eyes for something to use , something to keep Old Man at bay . What he found were more toys and audio books , so he threw a teddy bear at him . Old Man batted it away with barely a glance . He did the same with a copy of When Marnie Was There on CD and an Alice in Wonderland doll .
Growing desperate , Grey reached out and prayed for something that couldn ’ t be batted away so easily . What he came back with was Old Man ’ s gun . Registering what he ’ d found , Grey didn ’ t even think . He pointed the gun forward and fired wildly .
The boxcutter flew out of Old Man ’ s hand as the bullet ripped two fingers off . He screamed and stared at his hand , now a bloody , mangled mess . Grey fired again . Old Man fell onto one knee with a wail of agony . Under his knee , a new bloodstain formed on the carpet . From his lap , Knives said , “ Hand me the knife .” Grey , having forgotten that he still had it , gave it to her . Knives pushed herself off him and ran at Old Man . The latter watched her come with wide-eyed confusion , as if he couldn ’ t comprehend how things could have spun so out of control or why .
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