The Anomaly Project

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

AUTUMN

As soon as I open my eyes the next morning, I know something is wrong. I'm not sure what it is, a gut feeling more than anything, but one look at Noah's face tells me he knows it, too. There's something off, something nagging at the back of my mind but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Noah and I have awakened before all the others, which is unusual for me. As we've already established, I'm not exactly an early bird. But today, my brother and I are the only ones with our eyes open.

What's wrong? I ask him, referencing to the bad feeling we both have.

He shrugs. That's what I was going to ask you.

There's a shuffling noise behind us, and we turn. Tessa's sitting up in her bed, her tangled dark hair falling around her shoulders. She sees me and does a double take. "What? Autumn's actually awake?" she teases, smiling. But her smile fades when she sees our somber faces. "What's the matter, guys?"

Now, everyone else has begun to wake up. Haley yawns widely and Todd pushes his fists against his eyes, rubbing the sleep out. He looks so young when he does that, like a little boy, that I have to smile. Colton runs a hand over his short black hair and looks around the room. "Anyone know where Masato is?"

"He stayed outside for a bit; probably fell asleep out there," Brooke says, stretching her arms up toward the ceiling. "I'll go wake him up."

"Let's all go," David suggests. "Give him a surprise."

The group of us head out the door in a large clump. By the firepit, we see Masato on the ground, lying on his stomach, head resting on his folded arms. His shaggy hair covers his face and neck. Brooke smiles.

"See, what'd I tell you? Fast asleep," she says, and walks over to him. We all follow, and the nagging feeling in the back of my mind turns into dread, although I'm not sure what I'm dreading. I reach out for Noah and grasp his sleeve as we near Masato.

Brooke reaches him first. "Hey, wake up," she mutters gently, putting a hand on her fiancé's shoulder. Then she freezes, goes still as a statue.

"Brooke?" Travis steps forward. "Is... everything all right?"

She ignores him. With effort, she grabs his other shoulder and pushes him onto his back, revealing his front side to us.

My entire body goes cold, so cold I turn numb. I hear faint gasps from the others, and someone screams. Brooke. All the colour drains from her fair skin, making it as white as milk.

Blood coats Masato's neck and shoulders. The ground beneath him is stained bright crimson as well. His throat, just under his Adam's apple, has been sliced open. The cut is deep and rough; his neck is coated with blood, his hair stuck to it. His skin is disturbingly pale and his dark eyes are shut tight.

Brooke cups his face and shakes it slightly. "Mas, wake up," she croaks out. Tears begin to tumble down her ashen cheeks. Travis goes to her, puts a hand tentatively on her back, but she shakes it off. "No," she says. "No, no, no!" She grabs his shoulders, fingers digging into him. "Wake up!" she yells between sobs. "Wake up!"

I've lost feeling in my knees and I sink to the ground. I can't believe what I'm seeing. Masato's our leader. He's the one giving us pep talks, comforting us, cracking fun jokes when we need a laugh. Any minute now, his eyes will open and wipe the blood off his neck and there won't be a cut there, it was just my imagination. He'll sit up and grin at us and Brooke will be okay and he will be okay and it'll all work out.