Page 173 of Chalk Outline
Shit.
Am I hallucinating?
No.
No.
I need to find Reeve.
He needs me.
“Reeve!” My voice comes out in a raw gasp. I zigzag my way toward the tower when I spot an EpiPen on the ground. I pick up my pace. Just inches from it, I collapse onto the ground. With my arm extended, I reach out, stretching my fingers to their maximum.
Please.
Please just come to me.
“I’m here. It’s going to be okay,” says a soft, manly voice as my vision blurs completely. His shadow gradually approaches as blackness swallows me.
I flutter my eyelids open and wake up as if I had drowned and been brought back to life; a deep breath rushes into my lungs, and my body jerks upright.
“I think there’s more to these notes.”
“They could be a warning.”
“Maybe they are connected to the games Third Eye forced kids to play. The Halloween Killers have been doing it for years, and they work together.”
“This seems like the next level, not something they’ve already done.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know.”
Two familiar voices debate.
“So it’s still a game of survival,” one says decidedly.
“Like zombie apocalypse,” the other continues excitedly.
“Fuck no, I don’t want to be part of those games in the real world.”
There’s no time.
We have to find Reeve.
I know something is wrong.
I can feel it gripping my bones, pulling the muscles and tendons tightly around them.
I press my palms flat against the rag I’m sitting on and carefully lift myself up. Still dizzy, I try to find my balance as I stand.
“Listen to this note,” the softer voice between the two begins, “Four elements. Choose wisely. Do you want to be destructive or play kindly?”
My notes.
“Okay, so this person is a lunatic.”
“That’s not helping. Let’s get inside their heads.”
