Page 66 of Racing Hearts

Alek: I’m sorry I ruined a good night.

Alek: No, a great fucking night. Just text me back, pretty boy.

I debate responding, my fingers hovering over the keys before I sigh and put my phone away just as something hits me hard. I fly to the side, hitting the ground, my headphones falling off. The music turns into screams as I stare into Tommy’s worried, terrified eyes.

“Evan!” he snaps. “We were shouting at you.”

“What? Why?” I look past him as he crouches before me. My entire body turns cold as I freeze, the screams making sense now.

The tree I stopped under blows in the breeze, and hanging from its lowest branches, swaying like leaves in the wind, are two bodies hanging from their necks, right above where I was standing.

There’s a crack, the branch beginning to break, and Tommy shakes me. “Are you okay?”

I nod, climbing to my feet as we both turn to stare.

Nausea crawls up my throat, and I swallow bile. I’ve never seen a dead body before, and these—oh god. Their necks are bent at strange angles, their bones sticking through where dark brown rope is wrapped around them multiple times. It’s hard to make out their faces from here, and I’m grateful for that. Their skin is a weird color, and the birds and insects on them make me turn my head and gag.

My horror only grows as what I’m seeing sinks in.

Two people are hanging.

Dead.

“What’s going on? Oh my god!” Alice screams. I quickly grab her and turn her around, my hand over her eyes.

“Don’t look,” I tell her. “Has anyone called the police?”

“One of them did.” Tommy points at the crowd. I spy some people taking pictures, and my stomach rolls. Even in death, they can’t find peace from this world.

“Come on.” Holding Alice, I grab Tommy and lead them to the building to avoid the crowd and bodies. Alice is pale and shaking, so I grab us some coffee, my hands wrapped around the warm mug, but I can barely feel it.

Is this shock?

Alice’s hand shakes as she types out a message. I keep my arm around her as we sit in the cafeteria.

“They were dead,” Tommy whispers.

I nod, unsure what to say.

“Did they kill themselves?” he asks. “Why here? Why like that?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “Let’s wait for the police, okay? Alice, are you okay?”

Her head jerks up, her face pale, and she nods too rapidly. “I texted Alek.”

“That’s good.” I take her hand, and we all stare out of the window as sirens split the air and police descend upon the campus, alongside news crews.

We sit and watch it all, quiet and horrified.

Did they kill themselves?

It repeats in my head.

Everyone is being interviewed. There are so many cops, they make quick work of it, but they let Alice, Tommy, and me stick together.

“So that’s all you saw?” the older officer asks. He has to be in his mid-forties, with salt-and-pepper hair and kind eyes that have seen too much. His name tag reads “Winchester.” His partner, on the other hand, is younger, with short black hair and cold eyes. He writes everything down carefully.

“Yes, I pulled them inside after. I didn’t want Alice to see anymore,” I admit. “Are they . . . Did they kill themselves?”

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