“T-they found a body.”
And my world stops, all the possible outcomes of who it could be ringing in my head.
“Did you see it?” Grey says, and he’s trying to contain his emotions. Jaqueline nods her head. “Who?” he prompts, and blood drains from my face.
Every warning clock rings in my head, telling me something is so fucking wrong, especially through the way Jaqueline looks at me with both sympathy and evil glints in her eyes. A look I have seen in far too many people, especially Emilio Ricci’s.
“It’s–”
She doesn’t have time to finish her sentence because I’m on my two legs within one second, all nausea forgotten as I rush out of the bathroom.
Please, don’t tell me it is anyone I know.
It might as well be, from the way Jaqueline looked at me. Nausea churns in my stomach, and I must fight the instinct to vomit again. As though a tsunami alarm sounds just before deadly waves rip lives apart, a warning alarm rings in my body, alerting me to serious harm about to befall me.
I rush into the corridors, stumbling forward as I hear footsteps behind me, and I know Grey is following after me. I have no idea where to run, but I know there is an urgency within me, prompting me to move forward as I try to catch my breath while running.
There is a maelstrom of people gathering together, all curious and wanting to exit the building to see what’s outside. I push my way to the front as I run through the garden and out to the larger enclosure of the outside space.
Farther away, a large group of people and guards try to separate and push everyone away.
“Naya, wait!”
But I don’t wait. I let the adrenaline carry me through the crowd, letting the bushes tear through my skin as I work my way to the front.
This feeling inside me is indescribable, the same feeling I felt when I was a child and came home to an eerie silence and a pungent smell–that time when I witnessed the thing that changed my life forever.
My bare feet ache, the gravel pressing into my already sore heels, but that doesn’t stop me.
I come to a large part of the area outside with lots of trees and abruptly stop when I see what’s in front of me. Grey barrels into me, and I hear his breath coming in short bursts as he swerves to avoid crashing into me.
A wooden noose hangs from one of the thicker branches of one of the trees.
Chapter 30
Naya
My world stops, andit’s not a momentous thing. No, there is a dangerous tilt in the world around me as it halts, which will leave devastating consequences. As I stare at the sight before me, my heart feels like it’s stopped beating, and my veins feel like they’re no longer circulating blood. The grotesque sight in front of me brings to mind horrible memories. It’s a sight that makes me want to sink below the surface and never return. I’m drowning, gasping for air, struggling against the weight of water that floods my lungs and suffocates me.
I’m standing in front of all the others, in front of the guards who are so stunned by the emotional breakdown that they haven’t had a chance to tear me away from the scene that unfolds in front of me. Seeing her body fills me with familiarity, and I am flooded with the dark pit of memories I’ve tried to forget but cannot.
Death. Too much death, and it feels like my heart is giving up too.
Screw escaping, dying would be a better escape than living with this pain surging through every cell in my body, causing my skin to tingle. Death is the gateway to freedom. I have known that since I entered Grimhill Manor.
I have lost control of my body and am no longer aware of what is happening around me. The voices mix in the background like a noise that gnaws at me, some full of authority and throwing orders here and there to make the patients listen and retreat to their rooms. But no one touches me, and for that, I am grateful.
I stumble forward, refusing to believe my eyes, for there is a body in front of me. A dead body, with her skin pale as the color of snow glistening in the air during winter. The winter season has arrived, signified by snowflakes trailing mournfully down from the sky; it is the season of death, perfectly matching the dismal atmosphere of the institute.
When I look into her eyes, I wait to see if there is any evidence of life, any sign that she is still among the living, but her gaze remains unchanged. A cacophony has broken the silence inside my head of screams coming from my inner ear as I watch Rebecca’s lifeless body slump against the tree, hanging with the rope tightly around her neck, her pale face and hands half-drowned in blood as if she was fighting for her life. The scream tears from my throat as I watch her, her neck a mixture of blue, green, and purple from the bruises of the noose.
Everyone’s faces fill with amazement, as if she’s an exotic animal in a zoo, as if this is the most exciting thing they’ve seen in their lives.
Nobody knows her except me, no one will genuinely mourn her loss except me.
I’m held in a secure embrace, strong arms that prevent me from running away or disregarding the hug. Grey’s strong arms beckon me as dark floral and earthy forest scents fill my nostrils, and I can’t resist leaning into him. Tears run down my cheeks as my gaze stares at Rebecca’s body in front of me. Grey’s body trembles, and when I glance up at him, I see his skin is just as pale as my skin when I vomited earlier.
Never before have I seen him so distraught about something.
