Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 19

It feels like I've only just fallen asleep after being dropped off by Officer Marshall when I am suddenly shaken awake by a rough hand. I blink my eyes open and squint against the sunlight that is now pouring into the room. Tessa is standing beside my bunk, her eyes wide and the expression on her face making me snap into full awareness as I sit bolt upright.

"What's wrong?" I demand.

Tessa doesn't say anything as she presses a finger to her lips, motioning for me to stay silent. She points a trembling finger in the direction of Astrid's bed. I turn my head and freeze as the blood rushes out of my body.

No. 

Astrid is lying on her bunk on her back, the covers torn away to reveal that she's wearing a baggy t-shirt and plaid, fabric shorts. She's lying unnaturally still, her eyes blank as they stare towards the window, unblinking and unseeing as my heart thuds in my chest. Her arms lie at odd angles, her fingers slightly curled as I note that blood stains her fingertips. 

As I try to make sense of the situation, letters begin to scrawl across the wall in black ink.

"Murderer," I whisper as the last letter writes itself out.

The black letters turn a deep shade of red and begin to drip down the wall, making them almost look like blood. I shiver at the sight, my heart beating hard enough I could almost trick myself into thinking I could hear it. A ringing fills my head, making my temples ache as I grit my jaw. 

"You killed her." 

I jolt at the sound of Tessa's voice, nearly leaping from my bed in terror. I gasp in a sharp breath, her voice sounded strange, like the words have been programmed into her by someone else.

Surely she didn't think that I did this.

"I didn't," my voice trembles, not helping my case. 

I struggle as I try to get out of my bunk, but it feels like I've been strapped into it. The sheets feel unbearably tight and heavy, like I am being constricted. 

All I can do is stare up at Tessa in shock, unable to move. Cold has swept through my body, an unbearable chill that goes far deeper than my skin and to the bone. I can scarcely breathe, every breath a ragged gasp that doesn't quite fill my lungs as I feel dizzy from the fear. 

"You did," Tessa points down at my hands and I follow her gaze.

A knife is clenched in my right hand. 

I flinch in shock as I notice that the blade is stained with blood. I drop the knife immediately and it clatters to the bedroom floor. I'm shaking as I stare at my freshly bloodied palms.

This can't be happening. 

"I...I didn't," I whisper.

Astrid suddenly turns her head and stares at me, her eyes glazed as a chill enters my veins.

"You're dangerous," she hisses, "Unfamiliars aren't meant to survive."

                                                                                            ****

I jerk awake to find myself covered in sweat, my hair plastered to my forehead as I gasp in a ragged breath of air. My heart is thudding painfully in the back of my throat, like it's going to burst out of my mouth and onto the floor. Something flashes in the corner of my eye and I whip my head to the side to track the movement as I brace.