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“Sorry Claire, I don’t know anything, honestly.”
Disappointed, she nods and turns away from him. She sees me, and her features instantly harden. She straightens her back and hastily composes herself.
“Hmm, I figured maybe you’d heard something. But it’s okay if you haven’t. I’ll just have to wait until the next test is announced.”
The second test seems to have rattled her, which is understandable. She could have died. And since each test is supposed to be more difficult than the last, I hate to think what awaits her in the third one.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m confident. I basically had no problem identifying the water from the lake. I instantly had this feeling – some kind of magical attractive force I guess is the best way to describe it. Anyway, I immediately knew which vessel to reach for. But I wanted to create a little suspense first.” She laughs. It sounds hollow and fake. She stops abruptly and pushes a strand of hair out of her face. “Anyway, I’m ready.” She gives me a look as if to make sure I’m clear on that. Suddenly, her forehead creases, and she focuses on something behind me.
Confused, I turn around and then stiffen when I see Kate standing there. Her pale face, disheveled hair, and bulging eyes create a rather alarming impression.
“Darkness. Darkness all around. A single, all-encompassing nothingness that swallows you. There’s no greater dread, no greater pain. No one is left. They’ve all gone, abandoned you. Loneliness. That’s all that remains in the end. You’ll be …”
I finally snap out of my stupor, rush over to Kate, and put my arm around her to make her stop talking. I hope Claire doesn’t suspect anything. She looks confused, maybe even a little scared.
“Kate, I know you’re having a hard time right now and that your parents’ fights are really upsetting you. But I’m here for you.”
I don’t know if Claire will buy this idiotic lie. But at least it’s an explanation for why Kate’s behaving so weirdly.
“Let’s go to your room,” I suggest as I steer her away from Claire. “Whatever’s on your mind, we can talk about it there.”
She shakes her head, and I turn back to Claire and Ayden.
“Things aren’t easy for her right now,” he says to Claire. I’m relieved and grateful to him for quickly playing along with my lie.
As soon as Kate and I are out of sight, I let go of her. “Are you okay?”
She smiles and seems to look straight through me. But at least she’s no longer speaking in riddles.
“Did you have a vision? What did you see?”
Kate walks past me and admires the pictures on the walls. Some student art project from years gone by.
“Such beautiful colors,” she mutters, reaching out to touch one of the paintings and then suddenly dropping her hand as if she’s completely lost interest. “We need to go to class,” she murmurs. She moves off, and I follow her.
At the end of our first class, our teacher Ms. Pilgram asks us to stay back. She looks at us with empathy. “I’m so sorry to hear what happened to you. Mr. Collins asked me to reiterate his offer of counseling with a pastor if you’d like.”
“Thanks, I guess the attack and Max’s death haven’t really sunk in yet. I need to process it all, and then I’ll know what I need. I’ll definitely take you up on that if I need to,” I reply.
Ms. Pilgram nods and looks expectantly at Kate, whose eyes are darting restlessly around the room as if the space is super interesting and she wants to memorize every detail.
“Miss Williams, how are you coping?” the teacher asks when Kate still doesn’t reply.
Kate slowly turns to look at her, and her forehead creases thoughtfully. “The body decays, all that knowledge, all those memories – gone forever. But as long as one person still remembers the deceased, a part of them remains.”
Ms. Pilgram nods. “That’s a nice way of putting it. We’ll never forget Miss Lewis, and we’ll cherish her memory.” She wipes a tear from the corner of her eye and makes an effort to regain her composure. “This afternoon’s classes are canceled, and there’ll be a memorial service in the auditorium. The Council wants to offer the students and teachers a chance to say goodbye.”
I know it’s going to be grueling. I’m reminded again of how many people I’ve watched die. Too many. Way too many. And although Max and I didn’t get along, she didn’t deserve this. Plus, I feel guilty. It was me who led that creature into the school. Could I have somehow prevented her death?
The memorial was emotionally exhausting but really nicely done. The principal said a few words, explained what actually happened, and that there’s an investigation into how a Noctu and key spirit managed to get inside the building. Songs were sung, photos of Max shown, and some of her classmates spoke. It was a nice send-off. Ayden was beside me the whole time. We didn’t say much to each other – and we didn’t need to. It was enough for me to hold his hand.
The memorial is over, and Ayden’s taking me home, and I’m glad not to be alone right now.
“I have no idea what was up with Kate this morning,” I say to him as we walk to the bus stop.
“That was weird. If she keeps pulling those stunts, it’s going to be hard to hide the fact that something happened to her.”
“Maybe people will just assume she’s depressed.” I shake my head. “It was creepy.”
