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My excitement quickly turns to unease—a feeling that spreads to the crowd as their volume dies down.
We leave the field and take spots in the stands, front and center, where the cheerleaders are positioned on the track. I don’t miss the way Natalie glares, both at me and Lily, who doesn’t seem fazed by the attention.
Five of our players make their way to the center of the field. Sara leans over. “Looks like Jacobi’s our quarterback tonight!”
“Yeah, but...where is Shy?” Lennon asks, looking at Lily expectantly, but all she does is shrug, frowning.
The knot in my stomach tightens.
“Good evening, Knights!” An announcer comes over the intercom. He has one of those made-for-radio voices, and everything he says is drawn out and punctuated with enthusiasm. “Tonight we have a special guest joining us at the center of the field for the coin toss. Please welcome the one and only, Mr. Malachi Black!”
Lennon elbows me. “That’s Thane’s uncle!”
Malachi strolls onto the turf, smiling and waving at the crowd. He wears a gray business suit and his long hair is bound at the nape of his neck. The coin toss reminds me of two things—my own coin I’ve lost and Thane’s persistent attention. Self-conscious, I crane my neck, looking for any sign of him.
“Anora?” I turn to find Lily watching me. “Are you looking for someone?”
“No,” I smile and shake my head, eyes settling on the field again. “What’s the coin toss for?”
“It determines who will be on offense or defense first,” Lennon says, leaning toward me.
Once the toss is made, the game begins and spirals out of control within the first fifteen minutes.
“This wouldn’t happen if Savior were here. Where’s that boy?” A gruff voice says from behind me. I don’t turn to look. I feel sorry for Jacobi. I know everyone’s thinking the same thing. The excitement I had about being at the game soon wears off, and anxiety gathers in my chest—how am I going to sneak away from my friends?
Behind me, the man mouthing off about Jacobi stands suddenly, yelling about a fumble, and knocks over his drink. The liquid spreads, soaking my shirt. Guess I should be careful what I wish for.
I stand quickly, wring out my shirt. The loud man hasn’t even realized he’s made a mess.
“Great!”
“Oh no,” I hear Lily say.
“We can go back to the dorm, get you a new shirt,” Sara says.
“No, no. It’s fine,” I say. “I’ll just go stand over the hand dryer for a little bit.”
“Want me to come with you?” Lennon asks.
“No, that’s okay. I won’t be long.”
I smile at them and hurry way.
The bright lights burn my back as I wander away from the football field. Ahead, the night is illuminated by a few electric lamp posts sprinkled across campus. I don’t mind the night—I prefer it. When we lived in the city, I used to wish there were fewer lights.
I follow the sidewalk as it weaves across campus, making my way to the trees where I captured Vera’s soul two days ago. I use my phone as a flashlight, shining it as I step, looking for any sign of the coin. At the edge of the woods, I start to feel like my energy is being drained. When I look up, I don’t see any dead, but something that strong can’t be good.
I resist the urge to investigate, clutching my fist tight, fighting the thread burrowing out of my palm. I came to find the coin, not the dead. I search the ground at my feet, but only find dead leaves, twigs and acorns. No coin.
That’s when I encounter the first dead guy. He’s standing still, eyes far off and glazed, blood drips from his nose and drool from his mouth. I step around him, heart racing, only to find another a few feet away. This one has burns covering most of his body. From the corner of my eye, I see another figure and another. They’re all around me.
I’m standing on a mass grave, I realize with horror.
The majority of these dead were killed in a fire. Their skin looks like they were attacked with a cheese grater: vibrant red scars, shiny with fresh blood and plasma. There are others with wounds to their heads and wrists, some with rope burns around their necks and tongues that loll out of their mouth.
I hold my breath and navigate around them, wishing myself invisible, hoping none of them are like Vera and follow me, when something grabs my wrist. A scream rises in my throat and a hand clamps down over my mouth. I bite into the flesh.
“Fuck!” The voice roars and I twist to find Thane behind me. “You bit me!”
