I was prying wildly at the crack I had opened up, and a chunk of concrete flew up as Rusty started thundering down the steps. I looked up as he reached the bottom, and I felt my heart sink at what I saw.

He was still Rusty, but there was a wrongness to him now. My brother was always clever, and I’m sure he had learned to hide it well enough when he was in control of himself. But he wasn’t in control of himself now. His expression was wild and crazed, and as he dashed around the perimeter of Harvey’s prison to reach me, I saw the terrible truth of him in his eyes.

He wasn’t just willing to hurt and kill me. He wanted to.

I dodged to the side at the last moment, but he compensated and hit me in the ribs, falling on top of me even as I felt my shoulder crack painfully into the concrete floor. I tried to get away from him, but his hands were clawing at my shoulders and head as he tried to leverage himself into a better position atop me. In a second he’d be on my back and then it’d all be over.

So I did the only thing I had left to do. I took the hammer and swung it hard at his head.

The effect was immediate. His limbs went limp as he started to slide off me. I thought for a moment he was dead, but then his eyes started to flutter open as blood dripped down onto his eyelashes. By the time I was on my feet, his gaze was steady and hot as he started reaching for me again.

Enough of this. It was time to be done. Time to pay.

I stepped behind Rusty and wrapped my arm around his neck. He struggled weakly at first, but then he saw I didn’t mean to choke him out. Instead I was dragging us both inside of Harvey’s circle. He began screaming and wailing then, a newfound strength born out of terror making it harder to hold onto him as I crossed the hidden salt threshold. Gritting my teeth, I clung on tightly and fell backward, using my body weight to yank him the rest of the way inside.