The Hunt of Altswood High (The Altswood Saga #1)

Chapter 13 - Detonation

Chapter 13 - Detonation

The entire school was in shock.

There were dazed faces all around the next day as classes started back up, a permanently stunned expression that didn't match the mourning states their bodies were expressing.

Students had taken it upon themselves to wear black scarves with the uniform despite the scorching heat. Others had on wristbands, or a dark bandanna tucked into their pocket. 

"This is weird," I whispered to Annabelle as we walked through the front gates together.

"Tell me about it," she muttered, uneasily adjusting her blouse. "We've gone through this before, you know. With Beatrice."

There was that name again.

"That was tragic and even then it wasn't this morbid," Annabelle continued on before I could ask further.

The both of us seemed to have skipped on the black accessories, but we were exceptions. I even spotted a teacher hurrying past, dressed entirely devoid of color.

"Birdy is awake," a voice murmured straight into my ear. Annabelle and I jumped at the same time, twisting to see who had inserted themselves in the gap between us.

Even before hearing his hoarse voice, it was obvious Jules was exhausted, dark shadows printed under his eyes. His clothes were wrinkled like they were day-old. 

"What?" I exclaimed. "Since when? How do you know? Did she say anything about who shot her?"

Annabelle shot me a wary glance, a warning to tone it down.

"My dad is a nurse in the hospital," Jules explained for my benefit. To the both of us, he said, "I was with him early this morning when she woke; she's not very talkative. Her eyes are open and all but it's like she's still not quite conscious."

"She did sort of survive being shot in the head," Annabelle muttered. 

"Have you heard?"

I jumped again, and it took a moment to place the new face that appeared: the brunette who was at Manny's house so long ago.

"Talia, normal people say hello," Annabelle sneered with a smile.

Talia narrowed her eyes, and didn't bother retorting to Annabelle. She turned to me instead, and said, "Alicia Wertruse had Francis."

I blinked, uncomprehending. "What?"

"Francis Lloyd?" Talia said, waving her hands as if she could hurry the wires connecting in my brain. "Look, it's a small island, so don't ask how I know this—" she rummaged into her bag for her phone, and pulled up a picture onscreen, "—but does he look familiar?"

I made a grab for her phone, eyes going wide. "This is my hunter." I recognized his face as the one who had shot at me before the basketball game. All that Gabriel had told me about him two nights ago when we were writing up profiles fought to surface in my mind, trying to put together what this meant.

"Who has who?" another voice piped in as they walked closer. Livana's dark, curly hair popped into view first before her face tilted toward the phone screen curiously. "Oh, don't tell me you guys are still involved."

Annabelle and I exchanged a guilty glance.

"This isn't good."

I turned to see Gabriel's head hovering over my other shoulder. There were half-moons under his eyes too, his hair all over the place like he had woken up with it that way and forgotten to look into a mirror.