No. No, no, no, no!
I drop to my knees and crawl to Vera. Her eyes are open wide, blood cascading down her cheeks like thick tears. Her skin is split from the corner of one eye to her lips, colored in deadly crimson. I can't even bear to look at the rest of her.
“No, no, please no,” I whimper, tears streaming down my face. “I didn’t mean to. I turned it off!” Releasing a choked cry, I touch her face, her neck, her hand. Searching for some sign that she’s still alive. That I can fix this. But I know I can’t.My gift destroys.That’s all it does.
I can barely hear Gordon in the background calling for backup.
I collapse on top of her, uncontrollable sobs pouring out of me as I cling to her body. I want to fix it! This wasn’t what I wanted. I just wanted to make it stop.
“Vera!” I’m yanked away from her by strong arms. “No! Let me go!” I fight them, desperate to get back to her. To somehow make this right.
“Careful,” Gordon warns. “She’s dangerous. Put her in solitary until we figure out what to do with her.”
A sharp jab hits me in the neck. My muscles relax immediately, the fight and strength leaving me before my vision fades to black.
I’m dangerous.
Chapter one
Raegan
My world comes crashingto a halt the moment I see her. Maybe Joe damaged my brain when he slammed my head to the ground.
I’m seeing dead people.
But a quick glance at the others, at Dane, tells me I’m not the only one seeing her. It doesn’t mean I believe that she’s real. It’s a trick. An illusion. Iknowshe was gone. I felt her last moments.
She looks nothing like the last time I saw her. She’s whole; unbroken.
Vera takes in each of us when we arrive with a calculating gaze. There’s no warmth or familiarity when she looks at the others. Then she looks at me, and I see it.
The scar that runs through the corner of her eye down to her lips. A scar exactly where I remember her skin split apart.
“It can’t be.” I must have said it aloud because Vera’s hazel eyes—the ones that mirror Dane’s—snap to mine. Hatred burns in her glare, and her face contorts in disgust.
I don’t entirely blame her for looking at me that way. I would probably do the same to my murderer. Or…almost murderer? I’m still not sure how this is possible.
She faces Dane again. I take an automatic step closer to him at the threat she poses. The threat only I know about, which means I’m Dane’s only defense.
The rush of wind and beating of the helicopter blades means she’s forced to yell to be heard over it. “Dane! Get away from her!” Her wavy blonde hair is cut just below her chin as it whips around her face in the rough breeze. She’s dressed in the same black tactical gear as all ofthem. Even with the GE logo stamped on the front and back in case there’s any question of her loyalty.
Dane doesn’t bother looking at me. His eyes are glued to Vera like he’s afraid she’ll disappear if he blinks. He takes a step toward her, and she retreats. “Vera, what are you doing?” His voice cracks with emotion, but he holds it together. “Come here. I’m here now. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Vera shakes her head and takes another step back. “No.Shekilled me, Dane.She’sthe one who destroyed the island. She’s amonster. I’m not going anywhere near her again.”
The other three swing their gazes to me, but I refuse to lose sight of Vera and Dane for even a second. Vera’s speaking the truth. It’s what I’ve been telling them all along, and they refused to believe me. Well, Aiden may have taken my word for it, but who knows what’s really going on in his head.
I know I should probably keep my mouth shut, but I need answers after everything I gave up by killing her. And now she’s notdead. What was it all for?
“You don’t look dead to me,” I retort.
Dane clenches his fist. I’m sure he wants to defend Vera from me, but he’s too terrified she’ll run the second he turns away, so he doesn’t.
Her face darkens, and there isnothingleft of the girl I once knew there. “I did die, and you know it. I was lucky someone could save me before it became permanent.”
I purse my lips. Something still doesn’t sound right. I’ve heard of people dying and being resuscitated before, but her body was destroyed. It wasn’t about getting her heart pumping or oxygen flowing again.
“Vera, come back with us and we can figure this all out. You don’t need to be with them,” he pleads.
