What?
I pull on it, but it doesn’t move.
They can’t close now. There are other students still on campus at this time.
The lights flicker before the locker room goes black.
I stop breathing.
No, no.
This can’t be happening. Not again.
My pulse spikes as I reach into my bag for my phone. This time, I make sure not to drop it.
I’m trembling all over, my fingers barely able to type anything.
I search for Asher’s phone number, but before I can hit it, there’s another rustling sound behind me.
I spin around, but it’s too late.
My face slams against something hard and my vision goes black.
This is what happens when you don’t play by the rules, Reina.
You lose.
Hands reach out for me as I run down a dark, filthy alley.
“Rai…”
“Go, Rai.”
“Run! You have to go.”
My heart thumps louder at that voice. I know that voice.
That voice has been caught between my heart and my ribcage for as long as I can remember.
I’ve been missing that voice from my life, and it has finally returned.
Reina?
I startle awake, my chest constricting with a frightening force.
“Reina? Are you okay?”
I’m disoriented for a second. It’s like I’m still in that alley, battling against the invisible hands coming for me.
It takes me a few blinks to realize I’m home, lying on my bed. Izzy sits beside me, wiping sweat off my forehead.
The back of my throat feels dry and scratchy. “W-what happened?”
Her brows furrow with concern. “Aren’t you supposed to tell us that?”
My throat itches as I speak. “What do you mean?”
A look of sympathy covers her features. “Asher found you passed out in the locker room at school.”