Page 36 of Death Wish

A strange wave of energy passed over my skin, raising the hairs on my arms. Something zipped up my spine, and like when I had used my light power, my temples throbbed.

But only for a second. As fast as it had raced through me, it was gone.

What the actual fuck was going on with me?

I glanced at Sean to find him staring, his eyes large saucers compared to the rest of his face. His entire body trembled.

“Oh shit,” I breathed.

He leapt back so far, he crashed into a leaning pile of books and boxes, toppling over with them as they fell.

“Wh-Who are you?” Face pale, he scrambled to stand again, but only knocked over another stack of his father’s stuff.

“No way. You can see me, too?” I threw my hands up in defeat. “Really? Really?” I shouted to the ceiling. Another living person could see me. This was getting ridiculous. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

When Sean finally stood again, he looked around the room wildly and reached for the closest object he could find. Obviously, it was a book. He hurled it at me.

I didn’t move—shouldn’t need to. But when the book smacked into my chest and pain radiated from where the surprisingly dense thing hit, I gasped in surprise. As if it hit something solid, it clattered on the floor in front of me.

I froze, not sure what I had just seen or even felt.

Sean was just staring at me, waiting for me to do something. Attack him. Something.

Instead, I examined my hand. It appeared like it always did to me. Without thinking, I reached out, and my hand collided with the rough surface of the two-by-fours covering the window.

Rough. Jagged.

Ow.Splintery.

I stared at my finger, now with a nice chunk of wood sticking out of the tip and a droplet of blood welling up.

Blood.

My blood.

Oh.

FUCK.

More gunshots exploded from outside, jarring me back into the chaos unfolding around us. A piercing howl resounded, followed by Angel’s ferocious barks.

I couldn’t just stay in here. I had to do something.

Wait. If I could bleed, maybe I could die. Again. Should I hop in and help, put myself at risk?

I shook my head, pushing away those thoughts. There was no time to debate this. I knew death. It didn’t scare me, and people were in danger.

“Do you have a gun?” I asked Sean.

He stayed planted in place, too stunned to move.

I groaned. “Sean—that’s your name, isn’t it? Sean?”

Not even a nod.

“Look, Sean, I don’t have time for this. I need to help Cole and your father.”

“Y-You appeared out of nowhere.” He gasped, his chest heaving. “Just materialized out of thin air!”

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