CHAPTER ELEVEN

2.6K 165 3
                                    

I'm dead

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

I'm dead. For sure.

I think.

But the pain coursing through me suggests otherwise. All my muscles and bones ache so bad, I can't move at all. But pain means I've gotta be alive. And besides, I'm having thoughts. Dead people can't think, can they?

Unless I'm a ghost... But ghosts aren't this cold, right?

I'm freakin' freezing.

"Under the new Cerberus laws, she'll be charged with murder." A man's deep voice cuts through my throbbing head, echoing strangely. He's got an interesting accent that I can't place.

"Keep your voice down." A woman responds in a near-whisper. She's also got an accent, but it's different from the man's... Irish. "I do not operate under the new laws. We work for the Guardians, not Cerberus. Screw their laws."

"Don't let anyone from Cerberus hear you say that," the man says. "Mark my words, Chloe. This is gonna be trouble for us."

Is there a TV on somewhere? They need to turn the volume down. I try to open my eyes, but my eyelids seem to be glued shut. Something sharp is rudely cutting into my cheek and my hip, and I'm facedown in something wet. But I can't move, not at all. A stiff breeze blows over me, and water splashes directly up my nostrils, adding insult to injury.

"Mark my words, Ethan. The chancellor will agree with me. You'll see," Chloe says. "The girl will say yes, and this will all be over shortly."

"Yeah, and then we'll be caught in the middle. I hate this political crap."

"Too bad. She's one of us. Cerberus and the Shifters' Council will turn this into a real circus if we hand her over. She'll be a scapegoat, and you know it."

Ethan snorts. "Even better reason to leave now and let it play out."

Murder... Circuses. Huh? I'm so foggy brained. Where am I? How did I get here? What am I listening to? And why can't I lift my head or open my eyes? I try to raise my head again, but I can't bear it. Oh, good God, the pain.

"Once the Shifters' Council discovers what happened here," Ethan continues, "they'll demand a full investigation. Cerberus will give it to them. You want to become a scapegoat too?"

"There'll be nothing for them to investigate," Chloe says. "It'll all be under our jurisdiction at that point, and the girl will be cleared of all charges."

"Once again." He groans. "We have no idea what happened here!"

"Shh! I have a feeling, okay?" Chloe says. "And I'd be willing to bet you my wand that when we hear the whole story, it's self-defense, plain and simple."

"That's a bit speciest of you, don't you think?" Ethan snaps. "If the Shifters' Council, or Gods forbid, an ArchGuardian, heard you talking about Shifters like that..."

Atlantis Academy: The First ElementWhere stories live. Discover now