Archie took the rope with both hands.
He looked like he wanted Malcolm to say something else. Something that would make it less real. Malcolm gave him nothing.
"Tie him to something heavy," Malcolm said. "Hands first. Then chest. Leave his legs enough room to move if he cramps."
Archie swallowed. "What if he gets mad?"
"Then he gets mad. It's better than him biting you."
Archie swallowed hard as they went back to the hallway.
Harry sat in the room across the hall, one arm pressed to his chest, blood soaking through the cloth wrapped around the bite. He looked at Archie, then at the rope, and gave a tired laugh that had no humor in it.
"Don't look at me like that, kid."
Archie stopped at the doorway.
Harry leaned his head back against the wall. "I'm not dead yet."
Archie's face twisted, and Malcolm saw the guilt there. The boy still saw the moment. His fall. Harry turning back. Teeth sinking into Harry's arm because of him.
But Harry made that choice.
