My hand found his skin and worked its way to his chest. The guy started to say something, but a pained look came over his face. I closed my eyes as his life flowed into me. He wobbled and fell to his knees, but I held on. I was holding him up now. Slowly I was returning to normal, and he was dying. Desire to live compelled me to hold on. Only one of us would survive. The monster within said it would be me.
After a minute, I felt the heat leave his body. He was dead. I opened my eyes, horrified at the disfigured face inches from mine. He was wrinkled and withered. No one would mistake him for a high-school student. He looked about ninety years old. I’d done it again, and this time it was a kid my own age. I was so disgusted with myself I wanted to vomit. But the hideous creature I’d become forced me to move him before someone found us. Between teachers on hall duty and the cop who patrolled the halls, this place had security all over it. It wouldn’t be long before someone came. Suddenly being the new kid who freaked and ran out of English lit seemed pretty good. I’d never be able to explain what had happened here.
I reached my arms around the guy and lifted him by his armpits. Immediately I could tell I wasn’t strong enough to carry him out of here. Stealing a person’s life didn’t make you superhuman. A monster, yes, but not superhuman. I decided to slide him across the floor. There was an emergency exit behind us. It would set off an alarm, though, and I’d never be able to drag the body away before someone saw us.
I leaned him against the door while I thought about my options. This exit wasn’t going to work, and no way could I drag the guy up the stairs. I went to the stairwell door, leading back to the hallway, and looked out it to see if the coast was clear. It wasn’t.
The school cop was walking down the hall, and he was heading my way.
CHAPTER EIGHT
I LUNGED to the side to get out of view of the window in the door. I had to do something. Now! I rushed to the exit door, a plan already forming in my mind. No one would recognize this guy as a student. I searched his pockets for a wallet, identification of some sort. His school ID was in his back pocket. I took it, shoving it into my jeans. I looked around for something to break the glass on the door. I had to make it look like this guy was breaking into the school.
I remembered seeing a fire extinguisher on the landing. I sprinted up to it and used the little metal bar meant to break the glass in case of an emergency. This definitely was an emergency. I grabbed the fire extinguisher, careful not to cut myself on the glass, and rushed back down the stairs. I peeked out the window. The cop was only a few doors down the hall. I ran at the emergency exit and rammed the end of the fire extinguisher into the glass. It took a few tries, but I managed to break it. And with the help of the handle, I was able to pull some glass shards so they fell on my side of the door. Maybe that would make it look like the window was smashed from the outside. I used my shoulder to open the exit door. The alarm blared in my ear. Definitely loud enough to give an old man a heart attack.
I took off back up the stairs, pausing only long enough to put the fire extinguisher back in the case. I ran the rest of the way up the stairs and waited behind the door. I was sure there would be an announcement the second the cop found the guy.
The alarm stopped, and the PA system crackled on. “Attention all students, faculty, and staff. The school is going into lockdown. Any students in the halls should report to the nearest classroom.”
The announcement repeated, and I walked to the nearest room. Oh crap! Mr. Ryan’s class. I knocked on the door.
“Ms. Smith?” Mr. Ryan looked at me like he’d seen a girl who’d committed social suicide. Even he knew I was off to a bad start here. “Come in, come in. I was about to lock the door.”
“Sorry. I was in the bathroom when I heard the announcement.”
“No problem. I guess this is turning out to be some first day for you, huh?”
The girl sitting in the desk by the door stuck her foot out and tripped me as I walked by. “Walk much?” she said with a laugh so nasty I wanted to smack her. If only she knew who she was dealing with. If only she saw my Mr. Hyde.
“You okay?” Mr. Ryan asked me after he told the class to push the desks to the back of the room and away from the door.
“Yeah.” Only I wasn’t okay. My victim count was up to three. I’d never be okay again.
I took an empty seat. Mr. Ryan looked around the room and smiled at us, probably trying to keep the class calm. Everyone was on edge since the announcement, and they didn’t have a clue that the real danger was in the room with them.
We were stranded in the room for another forty minutes. Mr. Ryan finally gave up and let us talk or do homework. Since I didn’t have a friend in the class or any homework to speak of, I sat there trying not to think about what was going on downstairs—what the police would find. I’d tried to keep my fingerprints off the emergency exit. But there was the broken glass on the fire-extinguisher case, and my fingerprints were all over that. Someone was bound to notice the broken glass case sooner or later.
The PA system crackled to life. “All students are to report to lunch. Sophomores report to the multipurpose room. Juniors and seniors report to the cafeteria. Lunch will be served in both locations. All teachers and staff not assigned to cafeteria duty, please report to the auditorium for a mandatory meeting.”
After the announcement repeated—because apparently they liked to say everything twice around here—Mr. Ryan unlocked the door. “Everyone to the cafeteria please. I don’t know what happened, but I suggest none of you cause any trouble. Do as you were instructed.”
Nods went around the room. People listened to Mr. Ryan. I was the last one to leave.
“Oh, Ms. Smith.” Mr. Ryan followed me out of the room. “I hope tomorrow’s a better day. Don’t judge us just yet, okay?”
I nodded. So far the school hadn’t done anything wrong. I had. The freak-out in class over the book we were reading, the fire alarm—they were my doing. And neither of those compared to the corpse in the stairwell.
I went to my locker, thinking maybe Ethan would meet me there before lunch. I’d grabbed a copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from Mr. Ryan’s class on my way out, so I actually had something to put in my locker this time. It took me a minute to remember the combination. My hands shook, and my mind was spinning. I kept trying my old combination, from my old life. Who would’ve thought I’d miss my old life? But I did. Sure, the cancer had made things rough, awful even, but right now, I would’ve taken that over whatever this was. I’d rather be the one hurting than hurting other people.
I finally got my locker open, and the first thing I saw was a silver necklace hanging from the hook. I reached for it, surprised by its weight. It looked heavy, but it wasn’t. It was a spiderweb pattern, and in the center was a ruby, just like my ring. I’d forgotten about my ring. I had to ask Ethan when he thought we could drive out to his storage box and get it. I really missed wearing it.
I looked around for Ethan, expecting him to jump out and surprise me…again. The necklace was the first surprise. But since Ethan didn’t seem to be around, I put the necklace on myself. It felt oddly warm against my skin. After all, it had been hanging in a cold, empty locker. Ethan must have had it in his pocket before he snuck it in here. He amazed me sometimes. I didn’t even think he’d seen my locker combination on my schedule. He was sneaky, and I loved him for it.
I was so happy about my gift that I almost forgot about what was going on in the school. A teacher carrying a walkie-talkie started ushering kids out of the hall. “Get to where you’re supposed to be.” His voice was stern. “Seniors report to the cafeteria. If you’re not a senior, you have no business in this wing as it is, so move!”