The damn idiot just rushes up the alley, ignoring all the potential for death and destruction. I want to hit him.
I stalk after him, giving him a narrow-eyed glare that he pretends he can’t see.
“Are you insane?” I hiss. “You had no idea whether it was safe or not!”
“Were you worried about me?” He flutters his lashes and smirks.
“That was stupid. So freaking dumb.”
Jarek just smiles wider and reaches out to cup my cheek. I dodge him, but it doesn’t look like it upsets him at all.
“Just don’t do it again!” I snap.
I don’t want people dying for me. I would never, ever want that. Why can’t they understand that it’s not personal? This is my decision, so I don’t have to…No, I’m not thinking about that. Not here, not now.
We follow the alpha as he leads us towards the school. The warm day turns into a cool night, and the silence in Foreen is more terrifying than the screaming.
I scan everything as I walk, the hairs on my arms raise, and I want nothing more than to suggest we go hide somewhere.
Did they kill everyone already? Or is this a trap?
Bird’s call, and the leaves shift and hum in the breeze. It’s not complete silence, but where are the people? Where is the smell of blood coming from?
My hair lifts in the wind, floating in front of me. I hear something loud, like a mechanical scream. Flashes of colour and buses that I’ve only seen in photos drive straight towards me.
I blink, and it’s all gone.
Sweat beads on my temples, and I swipe it off. Am I going crazy? Has the fear of my impending death in this nightmare sent me insane?
I keep putting one foot in front of the other, plodding along.
A scratching in my chest stops me. I turn my head just enough so that I can look over my shoulder. What is that?
The feeling comes stronger, and fear blooms in my chest. I slam into Cadel and claw at his arm.
“Hide. We need to hide. Right now.”
He doesn’t ask questions; he leads us deep into the buildings, threading through, following paths the rest of us can’t see until he finds a tiny room hidden ten stories above the ground. I sit perfectly still. The night hasn’t gotten colder; it’s gotten icy.
But I can hear it.
The click, click, click of claws, the hot huffs of his breath. It should have been a nightmare. It was never supposed to be real.
I curl up tighter and watch intently, my eyes stretched wide.
Jarek shifts his weight, but I hold up a hand. He stills immediately. Five more slow minutes pass, and then, on the street, a shadow that is darker than the shadows moves in a way that is not human, not animal. It is something else.
Cadel leans forward, watching intently, his eyes glowing red. The creature sniffs at the ground and looks up at the buildings and specifically in our direction.
I feel like he can see us, hear us.
Impossible,I say to myself. That was a dream, a nightmare. He wasn’t real.
My fingers clench as I watch it disappear. A long time passes before Mordecai turns to me.
“What was that?”
I bark out a short, choked laugh. “How do you think I would know? I thought it was a nightmare when I saw it for the first time.”
