Page 86 of Dark Verse

The shadow moves again.

And somewhere beneath the roaring in my ears, I hear myself make that awful sound again—half gasp, half choke—as the shadow lifts the knife for another strike.

The flash of the blade is my only warning as the shadow comes back for another piece of me.

And another. And another.

Pain like a red-hot iron being pressed to my skin erupts all over my arms and upper body.

I reach up to stop it, but all the strength drains from my left side, my body and mind falling into a heavy stupor where pain no longer registers.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

KNOX

I’VE HAD my fair share of rude awakenings throughout my lifetime, but nothing like this. I pace back and forth in the small hospital waiting room, the soles of my shoes so thin I can feel the coolness of the tile floor beneath me.

“Buddy, she’s going to be okay,” Zeke says.

“You don’t fucking know that,” I spit back, looking down at my clothes.

Everything I’m wearing is at least ten years old and covered in blood. Ven’s blood mostly. I continue to pace for another ten minutes. Zeke and Cash are sitting down in the chairs by the window. The television screen is on but turned low. We all look towards the door as it swings open, Via stepping in. I don’t hide my disappointment well.

“I brought everyone a change of clothes,” she says, holding up two bags.

Zeke and Cash move towards her quickly, thanking her. Zeke leaves first, but Cash hangs back, whispering something to Via I don’t catch. In response, she smiles, a sad smile, and kisses him softly. He nods once before leaving. I stay rooted to my spot, unable to decide.

“Knox, do you want to change?” Via asks, holding up the bag.

“Yeah,” I say, although I still haven’t moved.

She takes a step towards me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I repeat, looking down at my bandaged hand. The slash across my palm is deep, but it didn’t hit any bones or tendons. I’ve needed more stitches from playing peewee football.

“She’s going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that,” I repeat, a little calmer than when Zeke said it.

Via sighs. “You’re right, I don’t know that. But Raven is a fighter.”

My laugh comes out choked. “Don’t I know it.”

At last, I stop pacing, nearly collapsing into one of the hard plastic chairs, literally the most uncomfortable option in here. But I need that right now, need the discomfort to stay somewhat present.

When I woke to Ven’s screaming, I thought it was some violent hallucination within a dream at first. It was still too dark to fully make out what was going on, but my body reacted before my brain had a chance to make sense of what I was seeing. I lurched up and over Raven’s body towards the human shape, the serrated blade cutting a jagged line across my palm. The pain was intense, but I kept moving forward, tackling the figure to the ground.

We grappled right there in the dark, the intruder and I switching positions more than once. I got the knife at last and slashed back at him, but he was quicker than I expected. Shouts and screams started coming from down the hallway, and the stand-off broke. The intruder turned from me and went for the window, throwing himself out of my range and back out into the night.

The light flipped on, and the first thing that registered was the blood over everything, over my chest and hands. On the floor.

“The fuck!” Zeke’s voice reached me first.

“Oh my god! Call 911!” Via screamed.

“Octavia? What…” Raven’s broken voice reached me.

“Stay still, Ray,” Via said. “Help is coming.”