Instead, I peer over at the building next to us. It’s brick, like the rest of the buildings, but like the general store almost the entire front is a shiny glass window. The words “Butcher” are painted across in black and gold paint. “So … what’s this place? Are you friends with the owner, too?”
He glances over. “Sal works here. I generally bring my game here after I field dress it. They turn it into steaks or sausages or whatever it is we want. It’s also where we bring the chickens when they stop laying. The farmers bring their cows and pigs.” He grins at me. “So, yeah, he’s a friend of mine.”
“Great.” I push through the door. “Then introduce me.”
Like at the general store, a bell tinkles whenever the door moves. “Be out in a sec!” a man calls out from a door behind a counter filled with various meat products. My stomach twists seeing them all laid out behind the glass, glistening red in their icy beds.
Swallowing hard, I turn away from the counter, which runs almost the entire length of the wall farthest from the door, leaving only a small space behind it for whoever runs the shop. Above that space are large pieces of meat—as large as me at least—hanging from giant hooks on the ceiling. The rest of the shop is empty, all the way to its clean white walls. That’s where I keep my eyes.
Just then a man’s voice booms through the room. “Gavin! I was hoping you’d stop by soon. Doc stopped by with those blue gill you’d caught…”
I turn as he talks, but what he’s saying is lost when I see him. He’s a large man, barely fitting behind his counter in either height or girth. His hair—what’s left of it—is dark. His skin tone is somewhere between Gavin’s golden hue and Doc’s dark color. But it’s his apron that I’m staring at. That I can’t tear my eyes from. It was probably white, once upon a time, but now it’s completely covered in blood.
The rusty scent of blood is thick in the air, getting thicker the longer I stand here. It makes me nauseated and not a little scared. A horrible chill enters my bones and I shudder.
As if from a distance, Gavin asks, “Evie, are you okay?”
I nod, digging my fingernails into my palm and trying to force a smile. I will not be an inconvenience. Not again. It’s just a little blood. From the animals. It’s part of life.
My head spins, and I glance around trying to find something, anything to look at besides the blood on this man’s apron. I see the counter with all the meat in it, but instead of steaks and chops, it’s littered in body parts.
Human body parts.
Arms with their hands pressing against the glass as if trying to break out. Legs split open with their bones showing. Even severed fingers.
It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real. But when I turn away from the counter, looking at the butcher again, he smiles at me and I fight back a scream. His face is streaked with blood, his teeth painted in it and bits of gore. His whole body is blanketed in blood. From head to foot. Gleaming, shining brightly in the sun. Blood.
When we get to the end of the trail, there’s a body lying on the floor, surrounded by the light of my flashlight, just as I expected. But what’s there is far worse than anything I was anticipating.
There’s a man leaning over the body of a woman, who is most certainly dead. Or at least I hope so, because the man is ripping her apart …
… He slowly turns, so he’s facing us, then tilts his head to the side, watching us.
A shiver runs down my spine, and Gavin’s breath catches. I tighten the grip on the pistol, preparing to raise and fire if need be.
“It is my privilege to follow Mother’s orders. We don’t question Mother.” Then he leaps toward us.…
I run. I don’t stop to think. I couldn’t if I tried. I don’t know where I’m running to. I don’t care. As long as it’s far away from the butcher and his display of severed body parts.
The world spins uncontrollably. Black spots swim in front of my eyes. I can’t catch my breath and my heart is pounding as if trying to escape the confines of my chest. I hear Gavin calling my name, but it’s as if he’s kilometers away. I’m vaguely aware of falling before I completely succumb to darkness.
CHAPTER FOUR
Attention Outlanders: Only preapproved individuals are allowed entrance into Rushlake City. To obtain approval, please visit your local mayor for a visa.*
*Approval is not guaranteed. All outlanders approved for entrance are subject to the Rushlake City Community Standards. Any violation of these standards may result in the forfeiture of the visa and formal ban from readmittance.
—NOTICE ON VILLAGE BULLETIN BOARD
Evie
When I wake, I just stay where I am—from the softness under me I assume it’s my bed—while visions of what happened flit in and out of my memory. My body is stiff and sore. My arms feel like lead and it hurts to breathe—like I’m inhaling glass slivers. When I open my eyes, I find myself staring directly into Gavin’s silver-gray eyes.
“Gavin!” I exclaim, my voice hoarse, forgetting everything that happened to grab him in a hug. I don’t know why, but absolutely every time I see him, it doesn’t matter what I’ve been through. He makes me feel better.
He clings to me, his arms shaking a little. He just holds me like that for the longest time, and I enjoy every second of it, even though the pressure he exerts on my still-healing shoulder makes my chest ache.
He pulls back and looks into my eyes. “It happened again.”
I don’t know what to say to that. It’s not like I can deny it. It did happen again. Obviously.
I nod anyway.
“Damn it!” He pushes away from me to pace the small room.
Shivering from the sudden coolness that fills the space his warmth vacated, I hug myself and follow him with my eyes. There isn’t much room for him to pace, though. Not with all of the paraphernalia for his sister’s wedding packed onto her side of the room. He curses when his foot becomes entangled in something white and lacy.
“Gavin,” I whisper, my throat raw and burning and guilt eating a hole in my heart.
He spins back around and crushes me to his body again, causing me to squeak when I try to breathe. He buries his face in my neck.
“You scared me,” he whispers into my skin.
“I’m sorry.” I smooth his hair. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Before he can say anything, there’s a knock at the door. The boy from the general store, the one with the blue hair, pushes his head through the opening.
Gavin jumps up and blocks his way. “What the fuck are you doing here, Asher?”
“Nice way to talk around a lady, Mr. Hunter.” Asher lifts a brow and crosses his arms over his chest. “You kiss your girl with that mouth?”
“Kiss my ass.”
“Nah. You’re not my type. I prefer them slightly less hairy.” He grins at Gavin and I see the corners of Gavin’s mouth twitch before he firms them back into a straight line. Asher sighs. “Just thought you’d like to know my dad is on his way here.”
Gavin blanches. “What the hell did you do?” Then, before Asher can respond, anger flushes his face. “What is wrong with you? Destroying my life wasn’t enough the first time?”
Asher glares at him. “I had nothing to do with this. He heard his newest resident went tearing through town screaming her head off, then passed out twenty feet from the ocean. He thought he’d ‘check in on her and offer assistance if it’s needed.’ I, on the other hand, thought I’d actually be helpful and give you a heads-up. Especially since this might be a good way to get her the help Doc thinks she needs.”