The Unseen

Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33

I woke up the next morning and glanced at the clock. 10:00 AM. I had slept in.

Shivering with fright, I recalled the horrors of the previous night. I could see Quinn's dead body sprawled across the pavement, and my own screams echoed in my head.

Quinn is dead. Dead. Because of me. A choking sob rose up in me again as I thought of his face. Never again would he laugh, or smile, or tell a joke. He wouldn't be there when his soccer team made it to state. He wouldn't be able to graduate from high school with us next year, all because of me.

How would Hunter take it? Surely the police had identified Quinn by now, and it would be all over the headline news. Curious, I flicked on the television in my room, while I still remained buried under my blankets.

I was right. A local news reporter stood in the exact same spot I had been standing last night. To her left was the young cop who had shot Quinn. He was pale, worried and nervous. I tried not to hate him as I watched him on the TV.

"Hello, this Jenny Castine with your local news, I'm here with the night patrolman, Derrin Tack. Would you please describe what you saw last night?"

Derrin's eyes looked red and misty. He seemed confused and lost, but he answered the blond's question.

"I was just making my rounds, when I came by this place and I saw The Unseen, in costume, fighting The Wolf."

"What did you do?"

He gulped, scratching his head with his hand. "Right before he jumped her, I pulled up and grabbed my gun and saved The Unseen's life."

That wasn't how it happened! Quinn could easily have killed me in the time before Derrin pulled up and when he shot Quinn. What a liar. I felt angered at how he shamed The Wolf. No matter how evil, The Wolf had been a great opponent, and his life should not have been minimized by some lowly policeman's false report. Quinn deserved better than that. His story should be told right.

Shaking her head in awe, Jenny, the news-lady, spoke into the microphone. "Did The Unseen thank you?"

Derrin glanced away. "Um, yeah. For saving her life." Geez, did he forget how mad I was? Did he forget me yelling at him, asking if he knew my name?

Did he forget that he had watched me cry over Quinn's dead body?

My hands shook angrily as I watched Derrin speak, and I couldn't believe the lies that were being told. I felt like chucking the remote at the TV, but the result would be pointless.

Jenny excused Derrin and turned to the camera. "The identity of The Wolf has now been discovered." She glanced at a paper in her hand. "His identity was Quinn James Mallden."

I heard a gasp and discovered my mom right behind me, watching as well. She had peeked into my room without me noticing.

 So the news really was out. Now everybody would know his secret.

"Didn't he go to your school?" Mom asked, and I nodded silently, wondering what his poor parents were thinking right now. This must have been such a shock to them, along with the rest of the city.

Jenny glanced back up, looking straight into the camera. "It is true, this boy was in the same school as your sons and daughters. He was only seventeen. That just goes to show how dangerous simply going to school, or anywhere for that matter, can become. The question that everybody wants to know is, does The Unseen go to your school as well?"

I clicked off the television and turned to mom, who looked awestruck.

"Isn't it terrible?" she said, shaking her head. "This is all so crazy. Like something from a movie."