Free From a Dream: Darkly Dreaming Part I by C. J. Valles, Alessa James Page B

French doors that led onto a balcony, and I wondered distractedly how far I could jump without breaking any major bones.
    “Come on, girlie. Stick around. Everyone’s ’aving a good time.”
    Scott let go of my wrist, which had begun to sting, but he was still blocking my quick escape to the door, which I was pretty sure he had locked behind him. I took a step back and then was startled by the sound of laughter. I watched as two shadowy forms appeared from an adjacent door. A wave of relief swept over me. It was short-lived.
    “Hey, pass me one of those,” Scott called.
    He caught a can in his hand, and I cast a wary glance at the two figures across the room. Blood rushed in my ears, and I wondered who would hear me if I screamed. There were people shouting and laughing all over the house. No one would hear me, and the chance of making it past, not one, but three guys, was unlikely. But I wasn’t going down without a fight. I took another slow step backwards and tried to steady myself.
    “I want to leave. Now,” I said with as much volume as I could muster.
    I tried to keep my voice from shaking, but I had run out of air.
    “In a while, new girl,” Scott said, his tone hardening.
    He began to advance slowly, the look in his eyes making my stomach clench. I glanced again at the other two. They hadn’t moved. Yet. Swallowing, I prepared to make a run for the balcony, ready to kick anyone that got in my way, when I felt a rush of cool air. Scott turned and stopped suddenly. The other two turned as well and were staring toward the balcony at something I couldn’t see.
    “H-hey,” Scott stuttered, fixated on something outside.
    Curiosity getting the better of me, I craned to see past him. My mouth opened. The doors to the balcony stood open, and Will Kincaid sat casually on the edge of the railing, his blond hair a little wilder than I remembered.
    “This is a private party, dude ,” Scott said, struggling to regain his composure. “How long have you been hanging out there, dipshit?”
    “Long enough.”
    Will’s words hung in the air, and I fervently hoped that Scott and the others would depart now that there was a witness standing right there. As unexplainable as Will’s appearance was, I was eternally grateful. But I couldn’t get myself to move.
    “Can you count?” Scott snapped. “We’re going to fucken destroy you if you don’t get out of here. Now .”
    “No problem. But the girl leaves with me.”
    Something in Will’s tone made goose bumps break out on my skin. It held a threat that seemed far from empty. Is he crazy or overly confident ? I wondered bleakly.
    “ What ?” Scott uttered a sharp bark of laughter. He shot a look at the other two. “Do you believe this asshole?”
    The larger of the two figures leaning against the wall straightened up.
    “You heard me,” Will said.
    His voice was steady. He didn’t sound worried in the least. I still couldn’t see him well from behind Scott, who began lumbering toward the balcony. My eyes darted to the other two. They remained where they were, taking long draws off of the beer cans they were holding. I contemplated how much damage I could do if I jumped on Scott from behind. Not very much, I guessed, since he must have outweighed me by nearly a hundred and fifty pounds. Then it occurred to me that the best idea was to run for the door to get help, but I was still rooted in place by shock.
    I watched in slow motion as Scott crouched low, like he was getting ready to push Will off the balcony. Screaming, I squeezed my eyes shut automatically. When I opened them again, I saw a bulky form hurtling through the air in the opposite direction and heard two more thuds and an awful cracking sound. I spun around dizzily, trying to make out shapes in the purplish light. Looking up, I was startled to find Will beside me. I looked up at him in confusion. He was in one piece. Across the room, I saw three crumpled figures in the shadows.
    “How?”
    “You