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Chapter 10

Sighing, Quinn picked up her bag and threw some books into it absently. It seemed impossible that training would still be going on after the weekend she'd just had, but nobody else knew yet.

She hadn't spoken to anybody - she'd barely left her house. Her entire brain felt numb, and there was an ache in her chest that hadn't left her since that day. She'd kept her promise to herself and not cried once, and it had given her an ongoing migraine for the past day and a half.

She wasn't sure how she was going to tell them. If those things really were here, then everybody in the town would have to know about them. And it would be difficult to tell them all that it was her fault. She hadn’t slept at all since it had happened, wracking her brain, going over every interaction she'd had with him, every time she'd told him something she'd never have trusted anybody else with. She wondered vaguely what would have happened if she'd noticed what Adam was right away. He'd probably have killed her.

No 'probably' about it. He would have killed her.

It had happened exactly the way the books had said it would happen. She knew they were good at faking and making themselves seem approachable, but she hadn't realised they'd be that good. She'd been overcome with the instinct to talk to him at least ten times that day already before the reality dawned on her.

It dawned on her over and over again and still wouldn't sink in.

She'd decided to just try to move as quickly as possible into denial, forgetting he'd ever existed, hoping she could reach anger before she had to see one of the creatures again. She'd heard the stories. They hunted people down with no rhyme or reason. He wouldn't just stick to her. And she knew there were more out there. She had people she needed to protect.

There was one person she was used to protecting like it was second nature, and she wasn't sure she could ever break the habit.

At least everyone else had gotten away alright. She'd seen the others about town, acting the same as always. None of them had approached her, but at least they were alive. She needed to talk to them. She needed to start thinking clearly, and to do that, she'd need people to confide in.

She really didn't want to face another one of those things alone.

The gates were wide open, as usual. Everyone was waiting outside, predictably. Nothing was any different. She could see the others stood in their usual spots, looking mostly unharmed. She was being ridiculous about it. There hadn't been all that much, really. Just one empty and a few jump-scares. It wasn't as if they were even that dangerous. They played nice, then made it slightly harder to move. No issue. Easy to get rid of.

Her hand went to her neck, which was still cut and scratched and ringed with red and blue marks in the shape of thin fingers.

"Hey guys!" She said, in an attempt to sound alive. Her voice caught in her throat from lack of use. "You all... You all got out okay?"

"Well, yeah," Noah replied. "Why wouldn't we?"

She hesitated, taken aback by his calm tone. "I don't know, it's just been bugging me. Who screamed?"

"I don't know, maybe it was a connection thing," Jem told her. His voice was cold and far too quiet. Up close, she could see a scratch across his forehead, diagonal and wide. Underneath, it seemed to be bruised.

"Probably..." She mumbled. "So what -"

The bell rang suddenly, making her jump.

The others gave her identical calculated stares, and she laughed loudly, trying to diffuse the tension. "Sorry, I just... Jesus Christ, that's loud."