A Beautiful Torment

6. The Darkening

6. The Darkening

It felt like my blood had turned to ice in my veins.

"What are you talking about?" Emma yanked the compass out of Dylan's hand and shook it a few times, her brow furrowing. "It's probably just broken."

"Yeah," Scott agreed, rolling his eyes. "Don't be so overdramatic, Dylan."

He fumbled with his backpack for a few seconds, rooting around for his own compass.

I thought my heart might punch its way through my chest, it was beating so hard. It's just broken. The compass is just broken. It's not pointing at you. That's not possible.

"Look –" Scott's voice halted abruptly, his eyes flicking nervously in my direction. "Um... Emma?"

Emma took the compass from his hand and glanced at the dial. The look on her face told me everything I needed to know; Scott's compass was pointing toward me, too.

My body started to tremble. "What's going on?"

"Something's coming."

Four heads swivelled in Wyatt's direction. He was staring at the dark, darkening sky, his expression tense and alert. His shoulders were completely rigid.

"What?" I spoke up.

"We need to start moving. Now."

"I disagree." Scott folded his arms challengingly. "I mean, who put you in charge?"

Wyatt's face was like stone. "I wasn't talking to you."

Scott's face turned a strange, blotchy red. "For all we know, you're just playing a trick on us!"

Dylan seemed to find his voice, and it was shaky and scared as he said, "Yeah, Scott's right. All of this started happening when you showed up."

"You're a freak, Blackw –"

Fury, thick and dangerous, shot through me. It was stronger than anything I'd ever felt before; my body felt full with it, like there was no room for anything else.

"STOP!" I exclaimed. "Stop it, both of you!"

The boys turned to stare at me. Scott and Dylan looked taken aback at my outburst. Wyatt's hands were balled into fists and they shook at his sides.

Tears pooled in my eyes, unbidden.

I thought of my first day at Maycrest High School; the anticipation, the fear. The feel of my hand encased in Rachael's, heavy with the weight of her support. She wasn't here to hold my hand now, right when I truly needed her. I had to be Dizzy. I had to be the girl I wanted to be, underneath the fear.

Their compasses point to me. How was that even possible? Even if I was somehow carrying a magnet strong enough to cause that kind of shift, why hadn't they started pointing at me sooner? Why was it happening now?

I looked at Wyatt, my heart thrumming rapidly in my chest. "What did you mean by, 'Something's coming'?"

A muscle ticked in his jaw and he stared at me for a long time before he finally answered, "I meant that something is coming for you."

My pulse leapt.

"Oh, for god's sake!" Scott exclaimed. "This isn't funny! You're just scaring her!"

"Is this your idea of a sick joke?" I was startled by the sheer volume of venom in Emma's voice as she faced Wyatt. "She's been nothing but nice to you! Why pick on her –"