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Carter grabbed my hand and pulled me down the other end of the wall, away from the security guard. I stumbled after him, feeling more crunching under the soles of my boots. We exited at the other end, and he led me down into the subway. Weak strip lights flickered along the walls, and the air was stale and foul.
“When I say, you run. Through the subway, make a left, and keep going. First alley you get to, go down it. My truck’s parked at the end. Wait for me.” He was so calm, his voice sure as he instructed me on what to do. As he was talking, he was pulling out a cylindrical object from his pocket, which he lifted into the air. “Go. I’m right behind you,” he hissed, then tugged the pin out of the top of the cylinder. Thick blue smoke began pouring from it as he held it in the air.
I didn’t wait any longer. I ran, flying through the subway, hearing a faint clatter and a shout from behind me as Carter threw the smoke grenade in the direction of the security guard. The ground began sloping upwards, and I emerged, breathless, onto the pavement by the side of the road.
I looked to the left, where Carter had told me to run. Tugging the hoodie and mask off as quickly as I could, I dropped them in a pile by the subway exit, next to a streetlamp.
Then, I turned right.
As I turned, the bird perched on the streetlamp took flight.
Behind me, I heard the heavy beat of wings and the harsh, warning caw of the raven.
I sat up in bed with a start, my heart pounding. Glancing over at my phone, I saw it was almost three in the morning. A soft breeze caressed my overheated skin, and dread rolled through my body as the realisation hit me.
The window was open.
I fumbled for my bedside lamp, flicking the switch, and in the dim glow, I saw a shadow detach itself from the wall. With a shriek, I dived under my covers, my whole body shaking with fear. Then the covers were ripped off me, and Carter was there, a dark, savage look in his eyes.
The relief at the fact that it wasn’t a murderer or killer clown was immediately doused by the complete and utter rage pouring off him, smothering me in his darkness.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” My voice came out hoarse and shaky, and I licked my lips nervously. He stayed silent, and then he slid onto the bed, as smooth and graceful as a jungle cat, crawling up to me.
“Do you know what I did tonight?”
Oh, shit.
“Where do I start?” His hands
pinned my shoulders down so I was helpless to move. If anyone heard him speaking without actually seeing what he was doing to me, they’d think he was discussing the weather with his conversational tone. But his eyes…his eyes promised retribution for what I’d done.
“Let me see…” he continued. “I met a girl. A girl who, in my mind, was a stranger.” He paused, licking his lips briefly. “I asked her if she attended Alstone High. Do you know what she said, Raine?”
I whimpered.
“She said she didn’t. Then, I asked her if she was from around here. She said no.”
Shifting on top of me, he lowered his head, his nose grazing over my cheek. I was immobile, the fear keeping me paralysed. “I thought things were going well, but she disappeared on me. All that I had left of her was this.” His hand disappeared from my shoulder, and I felt it slide down my side, before a piece of green fabric was waved in my face.
My mask.
“Something seemed familiar. I kept thinking, do I know this girl?” He dropped the mask next to my head, and his large hand returned to my shoulder, his grip bruising. “Then I looked at the photo I took of her when she was defacing the wall. Her boots looked familiar. Couldn’t think where I’d seen them before. Something about her voice, too. I drove around instead of doing the Halloween pranks I’d been planning for fucking months, turning it over and over in my mind. I suddenly thought of something. Caramel apples.”
“W-what?” I whispered.
He put his face to my hair and inhaled deeply. “Caramel apples. I should’ve known.” Drawing back slightly, his gaze returned to mine again, black and suffocating. “The hair colour threw me, until I saw you lying here. Oh, yeah, that and the fact that you kept fucking lying to me.”
“I’m sorry.” A cry tore from my throat as he pressed his weight onto my body, making all my breath escape from my lungs as he crushed into my ribs.
“You will be.” His dark promise slithered through me, sending tension coiling through my gut.
“Wh-what are you going to do to me?” My voice was weak and breathless.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
The first tear fell. “I’m sorry. I know it was wrong. I was…I was afraid of what you’d do to me if you knew.”
“You’re lying.” His eyes followed the movement of my tear as it fell. Then he shifted, and I gulped some much-needed air into my lungs. “Tell me why.”
