Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 23

His scream is bloodcurdling and worms its way under my skin like maggots as I clap my hands over my ears.

The scream is too much like the one I had heard before I found him dead.

Astrid springs into action as she grabs the black moonstone and seems to whisper to it as she cups it in her palms. Finn's scream cuts off abruptly as he falls back onto the tray, his eyes rolling up to show the whites. Astrid doesn't hesitate as she snaps her fingers and the dust from the cracked bones disappear as she flings the sheet over his head before she slides his tray back in and shuts the door.

"We have to get out of here, someone's coming," she says as her eyes focus on something else past us.

We don't get to do anything about it because we can suddenly hear the nearing footsteps of someone heading for the morgue. Astrid's face tightens with fear as she reaches for her wand and does a quick twirl with it. The air suddenly becomes cooler and I press up against the wall and tug Tessa to my side as the door to the morgue opens. I look over at Astrid, who is standing with her hands planted firmly on one of the tables in the center of the room, she herself looking like she's about to get sick as she stares blankly ahead.

A police officer walks in, the lights of the morgue flicking on as he flips the switch for them, his hand hovering near the gun that is clipped to his belt. He has a shock of gray hair on his head and his face is marred by wrinkles as his dark eyes scan the room, skipping right over Astrid who is standing very still, her breathing light as I notice that sweat has begun to bead on her forehead.

Luke is standing on the other side of the doorway, his back pressed against the wall as his eyes widen when the police officer walks further into the room. I hold my breath as the officer takes a step toward Astrid.

We're invisible, not non-existent I realize as he takes another step and Astrid takes one backwards, he could still feel us if he bumped into us and we can still make noise.

Next to me, Tessa suddenly reaches down and takes off one of her sneakers before she leans around the doorway of the morgue and hurls it into the hallway. There's a loud clap as the sole of her sneaker makes contact with a wall before it thuds to the tiles.

The officer's head whips around at the noise and he jogs into the hall, letting the doors shut behind him. Astrid slumps with relief for a moment and her hands shake before she draws herself up.

"Come on," she hisses, "we have to get out of here."

I follow her out as she ducks through the doors and into the hallway before we pause on the other side. The officer is further away and is marching down the hallway, having left Tessa's shoe behind because it's probably invisible too. Tessa scoops it up as we creep by and start in the direction of the elevator hub, only to have another police officer poke his head out of one of the elevators.

"Xander? You down here?" the man calls as he stands in the doorway of the elevator.

We freeze as the first officer replies, his voice not more than a few feet away behind us.

"Yeah, I'm down here."

I dare to turn my head in the direction of his voice to see that I'm right.

Luke is frozen in place, his eyes wide and rounded as he breathes shallowly. The officer takes another step forward and Luke's eyes clamp shut as he comes within inches of brushing shoulders with him.

"I was wondering where you went," the man in the elevator replies, "you disappeared."

"I thought I heard something," the officer says in a lazy tone, "it must have been from the coffee that I drank."

"I told you to stop getting that nasty sludge from the gas station," the man in the elevator grunts, "are you coming back up?"

"In a minute, I was going to check around one more time," the officer says.

"Alright," the other man mutters as he begins to step back into the elevator.

Astrid suddenly reaches back and grips my wrist tightly as she pulls me along behind her, her hand cool and clammy as she tugs me into the elevator with the man before the doors can shut. Tessa and Luke scurry in behind us as they carefully avoid the man who is standing at the button panel.

The man jams his finger against the '1' button before he steps away as the doors shut and Tessa skitters out of his path as he paces around the elevator. I shrink against the wall as he gets close to me and I will myself to be as flat as possible before he passes me by, his arms swinging like he's trying to loosen them up as they come within inches of touching Luke before the elevator bings as we make it to the first floor.

Astrid doesn't hesitate and nearly runs into the man as she sprints out of the elevator and dashes across the lobby for the front doors. I follow close on her heels, trying my best to keep my footsteps light even though hers clap loudly on the tiled floor.

She bursts through the doors and they swing open, making the secretary at the front desk look up in surprise as the rest of us follow. The air outside is cool and brisk even though I can feel a slight change as the invisibility fades.

I glance back at the police station and then the road as I suddenly sense that I'm being watched, yet I don't see anyone around as we slow down and come to a stop under an oak tree that cloaks us in shadows.

"Astrid?" Tessa says in a low voice as she struggles to catch her breath.

I turn around to see that Astrid is pale and shaking as Tessa takes a cautious step toward her, her socked foot bright in the darkness. 

"Fine, I'm fine," Astrid mutters, though her teeth chatter as she says it, "just get me back to the academy, do not take me to the hospital."

She tries to stand up straighter, but instead, she stiffens like she's pulled a muscle before her eyes roll up and she falls forward. Luke grunts as he catches her before she can hit the ground and cradles her in his arms as he looks to us.

"I'll call up an Uber, let's get back to the academy before someone notices that we're gone," he mutters as he gently lowers Astrid to the ground and pulls his phone out of his pocket.

"I agree, though I'm probably going to have nightmares for the next couple of weeks," Tessa says as she shudders and sits on the sidewalk next to Astrid to pull on her shoe as she ties the laces. 

I nod in agreement and think back to Finn's words. 'Please stop him,' I can still hear his plea clear as day.

But who is 'he'?