Alex heard Skye cluck her tongue in sympathy before she concealed her beautiful face with a morbid mask and stepped out of the shadows, lifting the knife to her own throat and pretending to slash her neck. The group of guests backed up slowly and collided with Reuben, who revved the engine of his chainsaw. For the hundredth time that night, the grounds were filtered with ear-splitting screams. But this group didn’t follow the unscripted plan. Three of the kids bolted straight ahead, exactly where they were supposed to go, but the whimpering girl veered to the left and disappeared into the trees.
No, no, no, Alex thought. There was no one else left to go after the girl. She hesitated, willing Jonas, someone, to appear so she wouldn’t have to go alone. But she had no choice.
The girl was fast. Alex kept pace easily, perhaps because she no longer needed to breathe. She just needed to concentrate on following the girl. When they scampered past the butterfly tree, Alex realized how far they’d gone. Fabulous, now they were both going to get lost.
It wasn’t until they reached a clearing and the moon provided some light that the girl finally stopped and keeled over with her hands on her knees, gasping violently. Alex was so irritated she considered smacking the girl. She strained to listen for any sounds to indicate how they might find their way back to the mansion. The droning of the chainsaw erupted far off in the distance, and despite the girl’s heavy breathing, Alex heard a series of raspy whispers, each overlapping the last. She shook the voice box in her hand, wondering if it was somehow having an effect on her. The Voix stone rattled inside the cube, but the whispers neither shook nor ceased. She thought about what Van Hanlin had taught her in Intro about searching to find the visibility of sound, and then the trajectory would lead to the source. She studied the night air, and from the center of the field sparks of calligraphic letters escaped into the night, dissolving and quieting once the world broke them apart. She slowly crept close enough to find a black chest the size of a shoebox nestled in the overgrown grass.
This had to be a joke.
She waited, thinking someone might jump out and claim the babbling box, but her senses could only catch the chattering teeth of the runaway girl. In the distance she heard a faint buzz of energy, like the humming of electricity. Across the field, the runaway raked trembling fingers through her disheveled hair.
What’s the matter? The voice was comforting, like the familiar beats of her favorite song.
“Chase?” she called out before remembering he wasn’t there. This was not a dream. Chase, she thought in her head.
Alex. Are you okay?
She wasn’t dreaming—at least she didn’t think she was, so how could she hear him?
The buzzing returned. This time, it was no more than a few yards away. Whatever it was, it was fast. Her intuition slapped her with fear.
Jonas appeared so quickly that Alex was in his arms before she even realized he was there. He cradled her tightly like someone, or something, was about to rip her from his grasp.
“How—”
He breathed panic into her ear. “Don’t make a sound.”
Someone emerged from the dark protection of the woods and floated noiselessly into the clearing. When the moonlight illuminated his features, Alex swallowed the terror that clawed its way up her throat.
“Don’t scream,” Jonas commanded, tightening his grip.
In the glow of the moon, the carcass of the man seemed faded like an old photo. His pasty hair hung lifelessly, stringy and wet, draped over his face. He came to a stop directly behind the lost girl. She shivered, sensing the danger she couldn’t see.
He slowly moved around the girl, watching her with sunken eyes. Then, he turned abruptly to focus on Alex and Jonas. Both pupil and iris were coal-black, and framed by webs of crimson mazes spiraling demonically. For the first time since she’d died, Alex wished for her human eyes, which could not have seen this man. Could she even call him a spirit?
Jonas clutched his fingers around Alex’s chin, pulling her face to his. His eyes locked into hers. “Don’t look at him. Look at me. Are you listening?”
She nodded. She wouldn’t dare open her mouth to allow the scream to escape.
“When I say the word, you run. As fast as you can,” he ordered. “Don’t stop.”
The “you” stung Alex, setting her voice free. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to distract him.”
There came a loud zap. Alex snapped her attention back to the man. His body shook violently, traveling towards them, convulsing in its electrocution, his stringy hair whiplashing his face.
Jonas flung Alex behind him and began to run forward.
“No!” Alex thrust out her arms and shoved the air in opposite directions, separating Jonas from that monster. The force of it pushed into the ground and rose, curling into two waves, knocking Jonas to one edge of the clearing and the demon to the other.
She swatted away the dirt kicking up in her face, in time to see the heap of a man straighten. He rushed forward, writhing, opening his lips, baring his gray teeth. From his mouth spewed a bloodcurdling screech.
The shrillness of the wail sent shocks through Alex’s head. She fell to her knees and couldn’t stop herself from screaming out in agony.
Alex! Chase resounded in her mind.
The word dulled the screech only slightly before the pain sliced her head again. The scream was alive, tearing into her scalp, scooping out pieces of her mind, and stabbing her soul. She was going to die here, she realized. Without Chase. But the pain was so intense, she didn’t care. She just wanted it to end.
Alex? Chase’s words were strained now. Where did you go? Alex!
She gasped. With each word, the scream became more hollow and distant. She needed to form a word in her thoughts, but it seemed impossible. How could she think? How could she talk? She couldn’t remember how.
Alex, don’t listen to it. Talk to me. How was his voice so strong? He was always so much stronger than she was. SPEAK! he commanded, but she couldn’t think through the mind-numbing pain. Then she thought of the one word she could say even if she did lose her mind. The most beautiful word in the world.
Chase.
He was urgent now. Talk to me.
She tried, but she had no words, no thoughts.
Come on, Alex.
Chase. It was all she could say, and it wasn’t enough. She could feel the whipping threads of the demon’s hair, and smell the stench of his breath as he wrapped his body around her.
Her mind snapped shut.
18
It was like a blackout, except everything turned gray. Alex blinked her eyes several times, but a sheet of ice blocked her vision. It surrounded her, constricting her movements, forcing her to keep her palms pressed against the glacial coffin. The numbness began in her fingers and toes and spread throughout the rest of her.
The unbearable ache gave her the sudden urge to scream, and writhe, and fight, until a figure appeared on the other side of the ice. It was impossible to see who it was, but they placed their hands over hers, and Alex began to feel the tingles of warmth—of life—in her fingers. She heard a crunch as the ice cracked.
BOOM! An explosion resonated from the depths of the ground. The grayness disappeared, and she found herself back in the field.
A dozen figures appeared and positioned themselves equally around the perimeter of the clearing. A small girl with the definition of an Olympic gymnast broke ranks and twirled through the air, sending strikes of energy to lash the screaming demon. She spun gracefully but viciously, kicking one foot in the direction of the spirit’s deranged face. There was no impact, but the force generated a loud smack. The other foot followed, knocking the screaming man to his knees. She swung her arms, chopping the wail with an invisible sword. The pieces of it turned to jagged sparks, charring the night. The man collapsed further, breathing heavily, and glaring up at the girl who stood defiantly with her hands extended.