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I lift my backpack, sliding the strap over my shoulder. “I know. Let’s go, okay? It’s a new day, and I’d like to do everything during daylight today, if we can.”
“Let's go, then.”
We pull up to the school parking lot, daylight shining over the top of the hill, even with the heavy clouds hanging in the sky. The remains of the school look so intimidating, such a large pile of rubble with so many bad memories in every inch of brick and burnt wood.
“Even when the school is burnt down, it looks scary as shit,” Blaire whispers from the back seat.
“Maybe I should just run and grab the book and we can get out of here,” I whisper, gripping my steering wheel.
“No. If something creepy happens. You’ll be there all by yourself. Let’s just go together, grab the book, and meet the guys at the bridge like we’re supposed to,” Vera says from beside me.
The guys took Malik’s car and went their own way. They needed to run to Malik’s house to talk about their business, and honestly, my mind blocked them out at that point. They said they’d meet us at the bridge, and none of us thought anything of it, but now that we’re here by ourselves, I feel like it was the worst decision we ever could’ve made.
“Okay, let’s go.” I turn off my car, stepping out, and they follow suit. We walk silently, and I feel ridiculous in Felix’s clothes, but my ripped shirt is long gone, and I didn’t want to stop home. If I did, my grandma and mother would take one look at me and lose their minds.
We don’t have time for that.
We walk up the hill, the fog of the morning lightening the further we get. Once we get to the top of the hill, I step over the yellow police tape, my boot crunching against a piece of broken glass.
“It’s over there,” Piper whispers as she points.
I glance around, and there it is, exactly where we left it. Even as it’s rained, and the wind has whipped, the book looks undisturbed, still in the same condition.
We walk over to it, and my knees shake as I bend down, the wind blowing in my face as my fingers brush the rough cover.
“This thing is so evil, guys. I can’t even explain the wickedness this book holds,” I say, my palm hovering over the top of it, feeling the negative energy radiating from the pages.
“Maybe it’s a key? Or a door! What if it’s the door?” Blaire asks.
I shake my head. “The school is the door. But this could be a key. I just have to figure it out, without causing anything else to happen to Castle Pointe.”
My fingers curl around the edges of the book, and as I lift it off the ground, the wind picks up, whistling loudly in my ears as I come to a stand.
“Let’s get out of here,” Piper says frantically.
I nod, and we start racing across the lumpy rubble as we head back to the car. Before I can make it off, though, I trip, my body slamming against chunks of brick.
“Ow,” I groan, rolling onto my side. My ankle feels trapped between bricks, and I go to pull it out, but the grip becomes tighter. Eyes widening, my head snaps up, my gaze flying to my foot.
A dark, pale grayish hand wraps around my ankle, the knuckles wrinkled and cracked as they hold me tight. It burns hot where the fingers press into my skin, the scorch working its way into my nerves and causing me to cry out.
“You guys, help!” I scream, pulling on my ankle, but another hand reaches from the beneath the rubble, grappling for my calf.
“Oh my God, what is that!” Vera screams. She picks up a piece of burnt wood, slamming it against the fingers. It isn’t fazed, and it starts dragging me across the ground. I grab at bricks and wood and anything I can get my hands on, but that grip is too strong.
“Please help me!”
Piper and Blaire come running, both grabbing onto my arms as they start pulling. Vera runs up to the hand, bringing her foot up and slamming it down on the wrist. The fingers loosen enough that I can tug my ankle free. I gasp, my fingers going to the burn marks against my skin. Piper and Blaire help me up, pushing me away from the debris. My hand swipes down, and I grab the book at the last second. We scramble toward the car, sprinting as fast as we can with panting breaths.
I unlock the doors, and we dive in. As I toss the book into Vera’s lap, she acts like it’s a bomb as she tosses it into the back seat.
“I don’t want to touch that!” she screams.
“Well, me neither!” Blaire shouts.
“Get it away from me!” Piper throws it on the ground, and they bring their feet up onto the seat, staring at it like it’s evil incarnate.
Which, I guess, it kind of is.
