Page 88 of Delinquents Turned Fugitives
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I shovedshadows out of my hands without thought, trying to choke the monster who was choking my Gray.
“Hale!” Malcolm yelled in surprise, as suddenly the entire warehouse became darker than a mine shaft after a cave in.
“Claude King!” I screamed his name, hatred burning up my throat.
“What the fuck?” Z’s tone was puzzled.
One of them grabbed a phone and tried to switch on the flashlight feature, but I quickly hurled shadows and pinched the electrical pulses swimming through the battery. "No light. It lets ghosts work."
"Fuck!" Z cried. "Claude's a ghost?"
"Catch up." Andros’ tone was smooth.
"Catch up? She just fucking said it."
"Shut up—" Malcolm hissed. His voice sounded the closest to me in the darkness, like he was just diagonally in front to my left. "Shakespeare, you got this." his voice wrapped around my ears like silk, calm and undisturbed. It was exactly what I needed.
Because I was freaking the fuck out.
We'd killed him. Not just once. We'd fucking annihilated Claude. And yet, here he was.
I had to shove down the bile that rose in my throat at the realization that my years of torture weren't over. Somehow, this asshole had figured out a way to circumvent death. And my dad wasn't even here to help me—tears pooled in my eyes.
Evan's voice was gruff and sounded like it came from the ground several feet away. "I've got him. Gray isn't twitching anymore. I think ... I hope he's okay."
Hope? What the hell did he mean hope?
I released my shadows and rushed forward toward Gray. He lay sprawled on the cement, his head cocked to one side, his eyes wide open. I wasn’t able to see his chest rise before Claude swooped at me again, flying through the air, with his hand open, ready to grab me.
I threw up another set of shadows. But this time, I tried to shove down the panic. This time, I tried to shove down the scared little girl and find the sneaky little one who'd played hide and sneak with Matthew. The goal of our game hadn't been to hide and be found, it had been to hide and then sneak up and scare the shit out of the other person. It was one of the few games growing up where my power had felt useful, where I'd excelled. It was one of the few games I'd been able to beat him at.
Breathing carefully to offset my frantic heart, I carefully moved my right hand in a straight line to one side. As I moved, I imagined the shadows billowing out like smoke but then creating a hollow center. I'd used to hide from Matthew this way--he'd called it my chocolate Easter egg trick. Because the shadows didn't hit me, and I could see my surroundings. But no one else could see in.
As soon as I'd created the hollow, I glanced back at Evan, who crouched over Gray. "Is he breathing?" I asked softly.
Evan nodded. "But it's wheezy. He could use some magic."
Z reached out and took my arm. "You have time for me to heal him?" he questioned. "Can you hold this up long enough?" He gestured at the shadows surrounding us.
I nodded. "I can do maybe ten, fifteen minutes. That's all."
Malcolm took a deep breath. "And Claude's still out there?"
I nodded, my stomach twisting. "I assume so."
"Shit. So we need an escape plan. What do we know about ghosts?"
"We know they're listening," Claude taunted from beyond my shadows and I froze, limbs locked.
I almost lost my grip on my magic.
But Andros was watching me closely and he took a step closer. "What is it, Hayley?"
"He can hear."
"Fuck a duck," Malcolm cursed. "Get out your phones. Text me what the hell you know. Let's pool knowledge."
