Another note

As we ran, I glanced back through the darkness to see if the bats were following us. It was too dark. I couldn’t see them.

Brendan turned the corner ahead of me. I followed him, into another long hall. The screams grew louder. And as we ran closer, I saw some kids huddled in a doorway. They all stared into the pale light of a room near the end of the hall.

“What’s wrong? What’s happened?” Brendan shouted breathlessly.

He didn’t wait for an answer. He pushed through the crowd outside the door, and I followed him. We burst into a blue-wallpapered bedroom, two twin beds against one wall.

I stumbled. And gasped when I saw the girl in the middle of the floor.

It took me a few seconds to recognize her. Patti Berger.

Oh, no. Oh, no. Please—no.

Patti on the floor. Bent in half. Eyes shut tight. Her arms and legs all twisted like a rag doll.

I took a deep breath. I felt sick. My stomach lurched. I struggled not to puke.

Brendan was muttering under his breath, his face red. His hand shook as he lifted a piece of paper. Another note. He read it out loud in a trembling voice:

“Twister, Anyone?”

I uttered a sharp cry. My whole body shuddered and I staggered back, stumbling into the other horrified kids.

“No,” Brendan murmured. “This can’t be happening.”

He dropped down beside Patti. He spread his hand over her face. He touched her neck. He held his fingers under her nose to see if she was breathing. “No. Oh, no.”

I gaped in open-mouthed silence along with the other kids. We stood together in a close pack.

Brendan lowered his head to Patti’s chest and listened. With a cry, he grabbed her by the shoulders. He shook her. Shook her hard. Then he lowered her carefully to the floor. He tried to breathe into her mouth. One breath … two … three …

Finally, he turned away from Patti and raised his eyes to us. “This isn’t a joke,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “She’s dead.”

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20