“Cool. Cool,” she whispered, clearing her throat. “You all should get in there.”
“We’ll find your officers,” Dez promised, and I thought that probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do.
Dez caught ahold of my shirt as he walked past, bringing me with him. “I thought you weren’t supposed to reveal what you are,” he stated in a low voice.
“She doesn’t know what I am, and the Wardens already know, so whatever.” Taking a deep breath, I finally lifted my gaze to the actual school.
Immediately, I wished I hadn’t. Lights were on inside, a glare that was welcomed and yet grotesque. Hundreds of tiny bumps broke out over my skin. Like before, it felt like thousands of eyes were on me even though the lit windows of the first floor were empty.
They were still in there—the ghosts, wraiths and Shadow People. And they were waiting.
12
Iclimbed the wide steps carefully, not wanting to trip and break my neck in front of the captain. That would totally ruin my perceived badassery. My sedate pace had nothing to do with the creepy crawly sensation tap-dancing over my skin. Nope. Not at all.
Once we reached the covered entrance of the school, I drew in a shallow breath and looked to the two Wardens. The feeling of being watched increased tenfold. “I don’t think I’ve met either of you.”
“Only in passing,” the one with the clever shirt replied. “My name is Jordan.” He then nodded his head at the other Warden. “That’s Teller.”
The lighter-haired Warden nodded.
“It’s nice to meet you guys.” I refocused on the school. “I hope you all are smart and listen to me when I say you should stay out here.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Dez stated in a gravelly voice, having shifted as we’d made our way up the steps.
“I already know you’re not smart. I’m hoping they are.” Tension settled on the nape of my neck. “You guys aren’t going to be able to see what’s in there unless they’re really powerful. You might get lucky or unlucky, and be able to see the Shadow People if they want to be seen. Either way, there’s probably not going to be much you can do.”
“We know that,” Teller answered as he scanned the windows. “But we’re not letting you go in there by yourself. It’s bad enough that you’re even here. Nic’s going to have our asses for that alone.”
“You’re not going to talk us out of this,” Jordan confirmed. “We’re going in there with you. Arguing will just delay this, and what good will that do?”
None. Because if anyone was still alive in there, they needed to be rescued. Worse yet, I had a feeling that the captain would have to make a move to get her officers out, which meant more people would be going in there, and that was the last thing I wanted.
“Okay. If you need years of therapy because of this, you can’t say I didn’t warn you,” I said, starting forward.
My foot immediately snagged on the step I didn’t see. I stumbled forward, catching myself as Dez took ahold of my arm.
“You okay?” Jordan asked.
“Yes.” I sighed. “I’m basically legally blind—actually, I’m legally blind,” I said, surprising myself with the truth.
“Damn,” Jordan murmured. “I would’ve never noticed.”
“Really?” I said doubtfully.
I thought I saw a half grin. “I just assumed you weren’t very observant.”
“Well, that’s also true,” Dez commented.
I rolled my eyes, but I... I couldn’t believe I’d just admitted to virtual strangers that I couldn’t see well. I always either kept my vision issues to myself or played it off like it wasn’t that big of a deal, which usually ended with me walking into something sharp and painful or being unable to read instructions and winging it with disastrous results. It had taken eons for me to confide in Zayne, and I trusted him with my life, even now. I didn’t even know why I was so reluctant to tell people.
Okay, that was a lie.
I knew exactly why.
I didn’t want people to think my lack of vision made me weak or that I wasn’t capable. I didn’t want people’s sympathy or pity. I wanted to be seen as me and not the girl who was going blind, but the thing was, I was me—a Trueborn who knew how to fight and was ready to throw down, who loved marathoning old ’90s sitcoms and missed her mom, who knew what lost felt like and who was madly, deeply in love. I was also the girl who was going blind. What was happening to me wasn’t the sum of who I was, but it was a part of who I was.
Why it took some nineteen years to realize that, I had no idea, but I felt way mature. I was smiling when I walked into the school.
The smile didn’t last.
As soon as the door swung shut behind us, the air seemed to thicken and swirl around us. Continuously scanning the empty glass cases and closed locker doors, I walked forward. The goose bumps returned with a vengeance as my ears pricked. My steps slowed as I strained to listen...
“Is it just me or does it feel as if it’s damn near close to freezing in here?” Jordan asked.
I was half expecting to see my breath when I breathed, but that wasn’t what I was focused on. Brows knitting, I tilted my head to the side, listening for a few more moments. “I’m guessing you guys don’t hear that.”
“I hear nothing other than the voice whispering in my head that this place gives me the creeps,” Teller muttered. “And that’s my own voice.”
I cracked a grin. “I hear...chattering.”
“You don’t see anything?” Dez turned to me.
I shook my head. “Not yet.” I glanced up at what appeared to be a normal ceiling. “The cop that got eaten by the ceiling? They didn’t make it any farther than this, right?”
“Right,” Jordan answered.
I turned to my right, entire body tensing. The doors to the gymnasium were closed and the lights were on inside, but I remembered what was beyond the doors last time. A gym full of dead people who weren’t playing basketball.
“The portal is accessed through there, isn’t it?” Jordan asked.
I nodded. “I’m sure you all are eager to see it, but I don’t think it will be wise to go down there unless we have to. That’s where a bulk of the Shadow People were last time. I killed a lot of them, but I bet they’ve been replaced.”
“They’re guarding the portal,” Teller asserted.
“They’re definitely—” A dark shape moved past the windows on the gym doors, and a second later, a face appeared in the window, gray and distorted as the mouth dropped open, letting out a silent scream.