Page 8 of Split You Open

“I found a place we can bunker down for a bit. You ready to go inside and check it out?”

Blair’s head lifts and she studies the outside of the house. She hums, with what I assume is her approval, and reaches for the car door. When her hand finally lets me go, my heart sinks. Pushing the feeling away, I follow her lead and climb out of the car.

The smell of something rotting reaches my nose as we walk up the two steps onto the porch and then carefully balance on the moldy, rickety wooden boards. My nose wrinkles as the stench grows stronger. I start to reach forward to push open the door, but Blair holds up a hand to stop me.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

She nudges her head toward the window closest to the door. “Notice the nails on the interior of the frame and the blackout sheet covering it? That’s not normal.”

Before I can even turn my head, she nudges her head down.

“There’s a mangled body of a fox, stuck in a bear trap just over the railing. Weird spot to put something like that if you ask me,” she mutters. Tilting her head up she points out, “There’s a thin wire just above your head that’s attached to a hook slightly behind you. Its stretched taunt and goes through a small hole drilled in the door. My bet—it’s attached to something like a gun on the other side.”

My eyes find the wire and when they do, my mouth pops open in surprise.

“How’d you even see that?”

Blair shrugs. “I grew up being taught how to spot abnormalities. Step aside real quick for me, will you?”

I do as I’m told, curious to see what she’ll do next.

When it’s her turn to step out of the way of the door, she steps in front of me. I don’t clock why until she leans back, using her body to push me a little further out of the way at the same time she pushes the door open with her hand. The explosion of a shotgun and the spray of bullets that fly by us harmlessly causes me to flinch.

“SHIT!” I yelp in surprise. In nearly the same breath, I shout, “What the fuck? Did you just try to use your body to shield me?”

She turns to look up at me, her expression perplexed. “Well, yeah, I was⁠—”

“An idiot?” I offer, cutting her off. “Yeah, I know. Don’t do it again, got it?”

My heart is hammering in my chest as adrenaline courses through me. To my surprise, Blair giggles.

“What’s so funny? We could’ve been killed! What psycho sets up a trap on a house that’s falling apart?”

Blair shakes her head. “Nothing’s funny, I guess. Maybe it’s your reaction, I don’t know. I figured as much would happen, but I forget that’s not common knowledge. I’m kind of surprised the trap stayed in place given how the door’s off kilter.”

She steps away from me, but I mirror her move, following in case I need to yank her away from danger.

Blair studies the line. “Judging by the ‘no trespassing’ signs posted on the trees over there, the multiple rain barrels that are way too big to be needed for this little house, the little car covered in deteriorating camo netting, and the exposed cameras peering up at us from between the remaining floorboards of this porch, I think we’re dealing with a paranoid individual having once lived here.”

“How are you so sure they’re not living here anymore?” My eyes jump from each item Blair is ticking off. “Maybe this was a bad idea…”

“No, this was a good call, Rhett,” Blair objects, her voice soft but certain. “As for how I know we’re in the clear… Do you smell that?”

“That stench? Yeah, it’s hard to miss.”

“That’s not the smell of a dead fox. That’s human.”

Before I can ask her how she’d know this, she steps into the house. My heart leaps up into my chest. Panic has me following after her.

“Wait, Blair! What if there’s more traps?”

Blair stops just inside, causing me to run into her. She stumbles forward and I catch her, grunting as her elbow gets me in the gut. When we’ve steadied ourselves, I let her go to look around. Immediately, my eyes snag on the item hanging from the ceiling. The way the shotgun is rigged looks precarious at best and is still smoking from its attempt to keep intruders out.

Fuck…

“Yup, just what I suspected,” Blair announces. “We won’t be bothered.”

My head turns to follow Blair’s line of sight. “What are you talking ab⁠—”