New Horizon [Morganville]

Chapter Thirty-Two

“Claire!” Michael yelled as he stood over her. He shook her violently as Claire screamed and wept. Wait, he wasn’t touching her. She was shaking herself, in vicious spasms.

“Do something,” Eve shouted. She reached over to touch Claire’s face and wipe away her tears, but Michael grabbed her arm and stopped her from moving any further to Claire. “Michael! She’s in pain, I need to do something!”

“You can’t touch her, Eve!” Michael yelled back. “She’s having a seizure.”

Claire’s back arched as she violently shook on the bed, and loud and shrieking screams filled the house. Eve’s eyes were red and her nose was puffy, and it was clear that she had been crying. The Goth princess looked like she was ready to burst into tears again, and Michael looked like he had been crying too.

“So we just let her thrash in pain?” Eve cried. The tears started to drop from her eyes, and this time her eye makeup was seriously damaged.

“We can’t do anything, Eve. We’re...” Michael’s voice cracked as he spoke the last word. “We're powerless.”

Eve gasped as a loud sob escaped from her throat and she moved her hands over her mouth, attempting to cry in silence. That didn’t work out to good.

Over Claire’s screams, Eve’s crying and Michael’s attempts to calm down both Claire and Eve, they were all pretty sure that someone would have called the cops and that a SWAT team was on the way.

“Michael,” Claire choked as her forceful tremors slowly died down. “You have to go after her.”

“Who?” Michael said and sank down next to Claire on the bed. Apparently it was safe to touch her again, because he smoothed hair out of her tear-stained face.

“Naomi. She…killed him.”

Michael frowned and shook his head, acting if he didn’t understand. He looked over his shoulder at Eve, and she shrugged at him.

“Claire, what are you talking about? Who did Naomi kill?”

Claire’s bottom lip shook as she stared past Eve and at the door where she had watched Naomi snap Shane’s neck and then take his body and disappear.

“Shane,” Claire cried. “She murdered him.”

Michael paused, and his hand stopped on her forehead. Eve came to stand next to Claire, and she held her hand. She’d stripped off her Goth costume, and was dressed in plain black jeans and a dark purple shirt with a single skull on it.

“Claire, honey,” Eve said softly. “Shane’s outside now, looking for whoever broke into the house.”

“What?” Claire blinked. “No. Naomi killed him. I saw her!”

“Claire –” Michael began, but Claire cut him off.

“I’m not crazy, Michael. I saw her in my room, and she snapped Shane’s neck!”

“Shane’s been with me all night,” Eve said. “He was helping me with the fire?”

“But,” Claire shook her head, and she pointed to the broken bookcase. “Naomi was here, and she pushed me into the bookcase when Shane walked in.”

Michael and Eve both looked at the bookcase, and then exchanged glances. Claire looked at the bookcase, and it was broken. So, she wasn’t entirely crazy.

“If it was Naomi, I don’t think she could have gotten in,” Michael said.

“This isn’t Morganville!” Claire shouted. “There is no barrier to keep her out! She killed Shane, I saw her!”