Crescent World

12

I shot up and ran after them, ignoring my Pack's calls.

I burst through the doors and grabbed Eve by her shoulders. "What are you doing?" I demanded.

Eve knocked my hands off her shoulders with a ferocious growl. "None of your damn business."

I noticed a second too late that Darian was there, his huge form nearly taking up the entire width of the hallway. He looked like he wanted to kill me as per usual, though this time I completely ignored him, more concerned about Bryce.

Bryce looked absolutely terrified and he stared at me pleadingly.

"What are you going to do with him?" I demanded.

"Again, none of your business," Eve growled.

Darian growled menacingly and stepped forward.

I opened my mouth to snap back but more guards appeared in the doorway. I wanted to help Bryce get out of here with every fiber of my being, but I knew there was no way I would be able to get him out of there without getting us both killed and it could blow our cover if it wasn't already discovered since I was sure that was why he was being hauled away.

"Go in there and be a good little girl and eat your food," she said in a mocking baby-like voice that caused my hands to clench into fists.

I watched helplessly as they marched him down the hallway, trying to figure out what to do next.

***

I didn't go back into the dining hall. I went straight to Donald and Anna's office. I flung open the doors, startling Anna, who was sitting behind her desk. She'd been staring into the distance blankly. Her skin was abnormally pale and looked sickly. Her usually perfect and not a strand out of place hair was disheveled and a complete rat's mess. She seemed out of focus, as though she weren't comprehending what was going on around her. But it was the black veins that were crawling along her skin that took me completely by surprise. They disappeared in the blink of an eye. She leaned over, clutching her stomach, gasping loudly.

I stood there, gaping at her, trying to make sense of what I just saw.

"W-what are you doing?" she said after she caught her breath.

I was so taken aback by what I just saw I temporarily forgot what I came here for.

"Well?" she snapped. The harshness in her voice brought me back to awareness. "Are you just going to stand there or what?"

Tension lines that weren't there before etched on her face, making her appear ten years older than she was.

"D-do you know what happened to Bryce?" I stammered.

"No!" she screeched. "Get out!"

I turned on my heels and ran out of there.

***

Sarah was waiting for me outside my door. "What was that all about?"

I opened my door and gestured for her to go in. After we stepped in, I locked the door behind me and I told her what I saw in Anna's office.

Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. It was so freaky. I'd never seen her like that. I was even scared of her."

Sarah sighed and laid back on my bed. "This is so crazy."

I laid beside her. "I know."

We laid there for a while, staring up at the ceiling, both of us trying to make sense of what was going on in our very disturbing lives.