Matt stepped back when Simon snapped at him. For a moment he was afraid that the rage he'd just witnessed would be turned on him. Would Simon attack him? Matt didn't think so, but then again, he never pictured his best friend as the type who would rip a man's throat out.

"Don't take this out on them," Matt scolded, focusing on something other than his own apprehension. If he was helping someone else he didn't have time to let himself succumb to fear. "Your parents didn't ask for this. Can you blame them for being afraid? Can you blame me?"

Matt swallowed hard. He hadn't meant to admit that Simon was right. It slipped out as he was struggling to keep it all together. "It doesn't matter. We're still here. So get your head out of your ass and let's come up with a solution to this problem. Cowering naked in a pool of blood and biting our heads off isn't going to help!"

Matt paused before he sheepishly coughed. "Wrong... choice of words but you catch my meaning."