Chapter 12

“Come on,” Mikey cajoled. “What’s he going to

say, really? You probably won’t even see him.”

The ache in my pants grew insistent,

throbbing in time with a growing discomfort in my bladder. Pushing

myself up on my feet, I swayed a bit but managed not to fall back

down on my ass. “I have to take a leak,” I announced. I’d worry

about the beers when I came back from the bathroom.

Mikey snickered as he watched me move slowly

toward the door. My head spun in one direction, the room in

another. “I’m locking the door behind you,” he warned. “I ain’t

letting you back in without the booze.”

“Hollow threats.” Somehow I made it to the

door, opened it without knocking myself down, and stepped out into

the hall. Down the dark maw of the steps to my left, silence

yawned. Yes, the game was over. Reaching both arms out in front of

me, I lunged across the hall and hit the door to the bathroom with

my palms. It opened on a clean, empty bathroom with a soft squeal