Chapter 9: The Fittest
Rosalyn Tamlin
Rosalyn's eyes met with the eyes of the woman's outside. She wasn't sure why, but something about the way the woman's colorless pupils shot around in her eyes was hilarious. She waved to the woman outside, laughing while it clawed at the door. "Isaac! You gotta see this!" She laughed and gestured for her brother to come see.
"What? Who...is it?" Isaac asked, jumping up from his victory at the chess table and running from to the door. He was the only one in the room who wasn't drunk. He placed his eyes over the hole in the door and glared at the woman outside. He peered over it for a few seconds and then jumped back. He had a certain amount of terror in his eye, although for what, Rosalyn didn't know. This was hilarious.
"What's the matter, bro?" Rosalyn asked him through her laughing.
"Who's at the door?" Anna started, blinking rapidly. "And why's it so fuckin' funny?"
"This...is not funny!" Isaac shouted with intense fear in his expression. None of the rest of them could comprehend what had the man so spooked. "This...is not funny, it's dangerous! I don't know...what the thing out there is...but it's not Mrs. Ottwell!"
"Her mouth is moving! And she's not saying any words!" Rosalyn laughed, stuttering a bit. She'd only been this drunk twice before. The first time was on their twenty-first birthday, and the second was the first time she ever drank. Neither of those times he she gotten drunk on wine.
Isaac looked very confused and scared. None of the people in their apartment really knew why. "You guys...gotta believe me! We're in danger!"
"Well, why don't we go outside and have a look?" Larry asked, seeming pleased with his own suggestion. Anna nodded and stood up, walking toward the door along with them. Rosalyn thought this was a good idea. They could say hello to Mrs. Ottwell while they were at it.
Isaac pinned himself to the door and the hard knocking against the other side only grew louder. "No!" He shouted, wiping the spit from his lip. The fear in his eye grew as the three of them surrounded him. "You can't...go out there! We're in danger!"
"What kind of danger are we in?" Anna hiccuped. She lurched forward, trying to look out the window. "Let me see!"
"Rose!" He shouted, staying pinned to the door. Rosalyn's annoyance grew, as her urge grew to pry her brother from the doorway. Mrs. Ottwell just wanted to come in and drink with them... "Remember all those times...those times when you protected me? Now...now I'm returning the favor."
"How are you protecting me by keeping me prisoner in my own home?" Rosalyn frowned. She couldn't think of one thing about this situation that made Issac's reaction sensible. "LET ME OUT!"
The scratching of fingernails on the wood outside the door became harder and louder. Rosalyn heard a sort of groan on the other side. Mrs. Ottwell must really have wanted in. "I'm not...letting you guys out! There's a monster out there! You're all...fucking drunk!"
"Let us out, asshole!" Larry yelled at him, walking forward slowly.
Rosalyn watched as her brother reached behind him and fiddled with something on the door. Isaac swiftly rushed away and dodged behind them as they lunged for the door. Rosalyn fumbled with the doorknob, but was annoyed to find it was locked. "Isaac!" She yelled. "You can't keep me in her forever!"
"No...not forever..." Isaac replied. "Just as long as...as you want your damn wine."
Rosalyn turned to see Isaac holding his arm out of the window, gripping the half-empty bottle of wine in his clutches. They were on the second story. Dropping it would surely shatter the glass. All that wonderful wine...gone. "Isaac!" Rosalyn shouted at him. "Put the bottle down!"
