Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
“Cute.” Josh’s unamused voice broke through the darkness.
I waited for him to pull out a flashlight or for her to light up her phone, but all I heard was rustling, followed by tense breaths.
“My phone won’t turn on,” Chelsea said quietly.
There was a long pause before Josh spoke. “Mine won’t either.”
I heard the graveness in his words. For the first time, he considered this might not be a prank after all.
There was a silver rectangle I’d stuffed in the front pocket of my jeans once I’d finished changing. After my shower, I’d examined my new souvenir lighter and discovered it was engraved with the Void logo and the year.
I flipped the lid open now with a sharp ting and used my thumb to turn the flint wheel. It lit on the first try, emitting a soft orange glow and casting our shadows onto the walls.
In the mirror was a reflection of three people trying to look brave, all to varying degrees of success. Josh continued to press buttons on his phone, hoping it would spring to life. Chelsea didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need to. Her expression announced she wanted to get out of here, and I agreed.
But something moved in the mirror beyond the glass. Something so dark and terrifying, my heart crashed to a stop, freezing me in place. The wraithlike figure was even more horrific when it was only lit by firelight. Its amber-colored eyes didn’t blink as it grew larger, or closer, or both.
Whatever the fuck the thing was . . . it wasn’t human.
Chelsea let out a sharp gasp and then silenced it under her hand, going wooden. Her sound of shock alerted Josh, and he followed her frozen gaze to the mirror. We watched in disbelief as the wraith reached the edge of the glass and began to push its way through, crossing over to this side.
He said it so fast, it was a blur of words. “What the fuck is that?”
I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. I grabbed Chelsea’s hand with my free one and took off for the elevator, jerking her along. It only took a half second for her to snap out of her stupor and start running with me.
But her boots.
Shit, they made it so hard for her to keep up, and if I’d had time, I might have considered I was wrenching her arm out of the socket while trying to pull her along. Footsteps pounded behind us, and gained speed, but I didn’t dare look back. It’d only slow us down, and I wasn’t going to waste precious time.
Pain shot through my arm as Josh collided with me, hard enough that it broke my hold on Chelsea and sent me crashing into a wall. The impact knocked the lit lighter from my grasp, making it tumble to the carpet.
Josh didn’t slow as he dashed forward, hauling ass toward the elevator. I peered over at Chelsea, who was also picking herself up from the floor, and . . . holy shit. Had he pushed us down intentionally to better his chances of escape?
I lunged for her, urging her back up onto her feet, and risked a glance behind us—
The wraith was completely out of the mirror now, but instead of moving directly at us, its long clawlike fingers dug into the wall, and it scurried up like an oversized spider. When it reached the ceiling, it charged forward, galloping toward the elevator and sending chunks of plaster and dust raining down.
It blew right by us, going after Josh, and since my lighter wasn’t casting much light from the spot where it had fallen on the floor, it only took a single breath for the wraith to disappear into the darkness.
“Oh, fuck,” Chelsea whispered, latching on to my arm with a ferocious grip.
There was a terrible scream, and Josh emerged from the dark, backpedaling toward us. The wraith must have beaten him to the elevator and dropped from the ceiling because it was on the floor now, stalking this way.
Was it herding us toward the mirror?
The only weapon I had was the lighter I’d dropped, which had lit the carpet on fire. I stamped out the flame as best I could and snatched the Zippo up then thrust it forward, encouraging Josh and Chelsea to get behind me.
It didn’t work. The wraith slung me out of its way and tossed me into the wall so hard, it knocked me senseless. I forgot how to breathe as I rolled onto my back on the carpet, struggling to force air into my lungs.
I heard Chelsea’s scream, and it was a knife in my stomach. I turned to see the wraith wrap its claws around her waist and snatch her up off her feet. As soon as it had her, it turned its attention to Josh. He backtracked another step and whimpered as the monster closed in—so petrified, he didn’t even put up a fight when the wraith’s other set of claws encircled his throat.