Chapter 17 #2
The line for security wasn’t long. Once we were through, we moved toward the home stands, and I caught sight of Mirae and Jene standing near the fence, talking to Len. His hairline was already glistening with sweat in the stadium lights even though the game hadn’t started yet.
He saw me first and waved us over.
“Glad you made it,” he said, holding out his hand to Sam. “After what happened, we thought the stands would be empty.”
I wasn’t sure how many people usually attended, but the stands were only a third full.
We chatted for another minute as the clock ran down, then chose our seats.
Mirae’s dad was in the stands, the condition of her attendance, and had picked up Jene.
“Does your mom know Sam came with you?” Mirae asked quietly once the game started.
“Yeah. She’s fine with him now.”
The three of us talked about school and future plans while also watching the game. Len was impressive, but I’d already known that. It was easy to forget the meeting I’d arranged until the half-time buzzer sounded. My nerves kicked into overtime.
Sam leaned in. “Startled?”
“No. I have to go to the bathroom. Stay here?”
Mirae and Jene said they’d go with me as he nodded.
I tried to keep calm as we made our way to the restroom. Goth girl wasn’t waiting outside like I’d thought she would be. I used the toilet with the others and lingered, thinking they might be the reason she wasn’t there.
“You all right, Clarity?” Mirae asked.
“Yeah, I just need a few minutes.”
“Okay. We’ll wait outside.”
“I’ll see you in the stands,” I said.
“Got it. Take your time.”
Once they left, I did too. Goth girl still wasn’t there, so I walked around the side of the building, away from the concessions, to wait.
“Does the timer start now or when you entered the bathroom?” a soft voice asked from the dark.
I walked toward it, deeper into the shadows. She was leaning against the fence, the silhouette of tree trunks behind her.
“Probably the minute my friends left, so you might want to get to the point. Why are my mom and I in danger, and what did you mean by it knows I saw something?”
Her eyes caught the light, reflecting subtly. More than a human’s could.
“You’re in danger because what killed the librarian is now looking for its next victim, and it knows you spotted something off about it. What did you see when you found the skin?”
I tried not to feel anything when I recalled that day.
“A pile of skin behind the checkout desk. There was a smear of blood on the surface, as if his skin had slid across it. Do you know what killed Mr. Clint?”
She huffed a humorless laugh. “You wouldn’t believe me.”
“I might. The news said his body was discovered days before we found his skin. I talked to him after he died. How?”
As my eyes adjusted to the dimness, I saw her look away.
“What was he like after the body was found?” she asked, her voice almost sad.
“Different. Odd. Colder. More abrupt, but nothing obvious at the time. Just hindsight now.”
“Yeah. That sounds right. Did he look sick, too?”
“He did. How do you know?”
“I’ve seen it before. I didn’t know what it was then. I still don’t, honestly. It’s—” She blew out a breath. “It’s not human or werewolf.”
“Urbat?” I asked.
Her gaze pinned me. “No. Not Urbat either. It doesn’t have a body. It’s like a ghost. A shadow. I don’t know what it is, but it’s killing people to wear them.”
“Why?” I asked, wondering if Sam knew that too.
“I don’t know. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. Is there anything you can remember about the librarian? Anything different that he said or did after he wasn’t himself that sticks out?”
“Actually, there is, but I don’t know that it’s really that weird, all things considered.”
“What?”
“As the head librarian, Mr. Clint read anything, especially new acquisitions. But his preferred genre was mysteries. After he started looking sick, he was reading Journey of Souls and The Physics of Consciousness. They didn’t look like new acquisitions, though.”
She frowned and looked lost in thought for a moment.
“Is there anything else you noticed?”
I thought for a second. “The last time I saw him, when I noticed the books, I mentioned he looked sick and should go see a doctor. He told me to mind my business, which wasn’t like him at all.
And the way he looked at me after wasn’t right.
He’d never made me uncomfortable or given me any creep vibe, but he did that day.
” A shudder ran through me as I remembered, and I quickly suppressed it.
“I left fast. Half a block away, I couldn’t shake the wrongness and looked back.
He was watching me through the doors. That was the day they found his body. ”
“What about the day you found his skin? Was the skin whole, or was it marked up in places?”
“I didn’t look that close,” I admitted. “Once I realized what it was, I turned away.”
“Yeah.”
“Can I ask you something?”
She nodded.
“Why are you looking for it?”
“It killed someone I knew. I’ve been tracking it so I can kill it.”
“Does that mean it’s still here?” I asked.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I don’t know enough about it yet to guess, but I won’t stop until I do.”
“Whatever’s doing the killing has been around a long time,” I said. “My mom remembered similar murders, going back as far as twenty years ago. How old are you?”
Another dry laugh escaped her. “I was born a few days before the first murder. It’s not me, human.”
“Clarity,” I said. “What’s your name?”
“Why?”
“Because I think we’re on the same team. I don’t want it to kill anyone else either.”
She considered me for a long moment.
“My name’s Ever.”
“I have a friend who knows more than either of us about what killed Mr. Clint. I think it’s not something he’s supposed to talk about, but he’s here if you want me to get him.”
She scoffed.
“I’m not dumb enough to fall for that. And I hope I know more than the werewolves because, if I don’t, that means they’re letting that thing kill people. There’s no other reason for not hunting it like I am.”
“Uh, it’s kind of hard to hunt something you can’t see, isn’t it?”
She tilted her head at me in a predatory way that gave me the oh-oh’s.
“What do you mean?” she asked.