her chances of reaching the safety of the next car down.
It was about eight to ten feet below her, but farther out. Too far out to attempt a leap into its seat. More than likely, she would miss and fall behind it. She might be able to shinny down one of the outer wheels that slanted down from the side of her gondola, but even that seemed like too great a risk.
Face it, she’d thought, you’re a chicken.
She’d spent too long out there dangling in midair.
Besides, getting to a lower gondola would be no more than a temporary solution.
It would put her closer to the other troll, who was still a good distance below.
Unless she was ready to try climbing all the way down…
No way.
I’ll make my stand right here, thank you.
Now, with the one-eyed troll no more than an arm’s length away, she wondered if she had made the right choice.
“Don’t come any closer,” she said. “I’ll knock you down, dammit!”
A grin slid up his face.
Robin reached down to the seat. The cuffs lay there beside her right knee. She curled her fingers inside one of the bracelets.
“I’m warning you,” she said.
“I’m trembling.”
Hanging on to the seat back, she thrust herself away as the troll’s left hand dropped onto its edge. He leaned toward her, the gondola rocking under his weight. Before he could lurch forward and pounce in beside her, she grabbed his wrist. She tore his fingers from the seat, shot her other hand up from beside her leg, and swung at him. The loose cuff, flying at the end of its short chain, lashed his cheek. The impact knocked his head sideways. His mouth jerked open in pain. Robin twisted on her knees, yanking his clutched wrist across her body, tearing him off the beam, and letting go.
The troll yelped with alarm.
His right hand caught the back of the gondola. His left hand batted the air. Before it could find a hold—while he hung by only his right hand, twisting and kicking—Robin clawed his fingers off the edge.
He dropped straight down, yelling, “Noooooo!”
Joan had felt stunned and disgusted by the carnage in the dark room, nearly numb with worry about Debbie, but only a little frightened.
This spooked her.
A man hanging by his feet in the middle of the hallway. Waiting for them.
She felt as if an icy snake were squirming through her bowels. A chill climbed her back. Goose bumps swept up her legs and arms, prickled her face and the nape of her neck. Her nipples went achy and hard. Under her tight stocking cap, her scalp seemed to crawl.
She halted and stared at the man.
What’s he doing there?
He didn’t move.
Just waited, hanging in shadows not quite reached by the light of the few candles glowing along the walls of the corridor. Something about his indistinct shape made Joan suspect he was naked. And something about his shape was wrong.
She raised her revolver, aimed at him, and started walking closer.
“How does it look ahead?” Dave asked.
She glanced around at him. He was still walking backward, keeping his eyes on the door of the dark room. “See for you-self,” she said.
He turned. “Jesus!”
He swung his flashlight forward. Its beam found the hanging man.
He groaned.
Joan felt an odd mixture of revulsion and relief. The guy looked sickening, his guts drooping out like that, but this wasn’t any worse than what she had seen in the room. She was glad to know that he was dead. He wasn’t so scary anymore.
Dave turned the flashlight away from him.
Joan waited for Dave to come up beside her, then quickened her pace. When they neared the body, he hurried ahead. He kept his flashlight off it. He turned sideways, back to the wall, and stepped past it. Joan did the same.
Then she ran behind him. A couple of times she heard metal gratings ring under her shoes.
She recalled the stories of how Jasper Dunn used to lurk in the Funhouse and peer up skirts. This must be where he’d done it, she thought.
The next time she came to one, she glanced down and saw the faint, pale blur of a face. She gasped.
Dave’s head snapped around.
“Nothing,” she said. “Keep going.”
She saw more faces beneath the slatted panels.
A goddamn audience.
Dave halted. He had come to the end of the hallway. On the right was a closed door. On the left was an opening low in the wall.
He went to the opening, knelt down, and shone his light inside. “Christ,” he muttered.