Never to Sleep
Page 5

A boy appeared in the hall, right in front of me, inches from where Id been smacked by the door minutes earlier. I squealed and jumped back, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it echo in my ears. What the hell? I backed away, my gaze glued to the boy whod appeared out of nowhere, kneeling, head bowed like he was praying, hands flat on his own thighs.
Sophie, wait Luca came toward me, his focus shifting between me and the guy in the middle of the floor, like he was afraid to let either of us out of his sight. Me, and the guy who shouldnt exist. Who hadnt moved since hed materialized, right in front of us.
How hard had that door hit me?
You see him? I demanded, eyes wide, pulse racing so fast my vision was starting to blur. Its not just me? Maybe Kaylee wasnt faking crazy after all. Maybe it was hereditary, and I was losing my mind too.
I see him. Hes real. Luca backed toward me, the box still tucked under his left arm, his right hand held out at his side, like hed grab mine.
Then why arent you freaked-out? I couldnt drag my gaze away from the guy-who-shouldnt-be, still kneeling in black pants and a white button-up shirt like he was on his way to church. Or to wait tables. How did he get there? Why wasnt he moving?
Im good under pressure, Luca said, his voice soft and steady. When I say go, were both going to run. He knelt carefully and set the box down. Okay?
I nodded, but he couldnt see that, because he was still watching the boy, who hadnt moved. Who wasnt breathing. What the hell just happened? How are you so calm? I demanded.
Im faking it. Give me your hand.
I dont understand.
Sophie, Luca whispered fiercely, and I slid my hand into his just as the boy in the white shirt looked up. Slowly. Like he wasnt sure he wanted to see us any more than we wanted to see him. Which was probably why his eyes were closed. A strand of dark hair fell over his ear, and his hand twitched on his leg, his thumb scratching across the black cotton. He was older than Id thought at first. Too old for high school. The boy-who-couldnt-be-there was really a man-who-couldnt-be-there, but that fact barely even registered, because that wasnt the part of this that made no sense.
I was breathing too fast. My lungs were starting to burn, and the hallway looked hazy. Id passed out oncethe night my mom diedand thats what the world looked like right before I lost consciousness.
Ready? Luca whispered, and I nodded again, as the man in the white shirt stood. Then he opened his eyes.
And I screamed.
I screamed so loud my throat burned and my lungs ached.
Those werent eyes. They had no color. No irises and no pupils. They werent bluish, like the whites of normal eyes. They were bright white and blank. Empty. Like someone had scooped out his eyes and shoved miniature cue balls intohis head in their place.
The man who couldnt be there had eyes that couldnt be real, and I couldnt stop screaming, even when Luca squeezed my hand, wincing from the pitch of my scream, and tried to pull me away from the man without eyes.
Then the world went gray, and I screamed even harder. Fog rolled over the dingy tile floors, covering the impossible mans feet, lapping at my own calves. Something moved in the foga slithery, sliding thing I couldnt quite focus on. So I closed my eyes and the air changed around me, but I didnt stop screaming.
I couldnt, until I realized that my voice sounded different now. Less echoey, like the walls around me had changed and were bouncing the sound back at me differently now.
The shock of that realization choked the scream from my throat, and Lucas fingers slipped from my grasp. A warm hand cradled each side of my face, and my eyes flew open as I sucked in a deep, chest-rattling breath.
Luca stared back at me from inches away, his eyes bright but wide with fear, his forehead deeply lined.
What the hell happened? I whispered. I tried to look around, because the hall feltweird. Hell, it smelled weird. But he held my head in place and I could see nothing but him and I could feel nothing but his fingers, steady and strong, while my heart raced in panic. Where are we?
Sophie, listen to me very carefully, he whispered, and I was glad Id whispered too. Everything Id ever known before that moment seemed suddenly, terrifyingly, irrelevant, and the only thing I knew for sure was that I did not want to be heard here. Wherever here was.
I nodded, and his face blurred beneath the tears standing in my eyes.
We are going to turn around and head straight for the nearest exit. Do not let go of my hand, and do not look around. Dont make any noise. Dont run unless I tell you to. And dont touch anything. Understand?
No. I blinked and the tears rolled down my cheeks in hot trails I couldnt wipe, because I was afraid to move. I dont understand anything.
Ill explain as soon as we get out of here. Okay? His hands dropped from my face, and I nodded. Then I took my first look around. And immediately understood why hed told me not to.
How did we get here? I whispered.
I dont know, Luca said, and somehow, that made everything worse.
We were in a corridor, but it took me a second to realize that, because the walls were crawling with plant life. Literally. Dark green vinessome as thick as my thumbsquirmed over, under, and through themselves slowly, covering every single inch of walls I could hardly see through the tangles of heart-shaped leaves that bled to red on jagged edges. Thorns grew across from the leaves, an inch long and as sharp and thin as the sewing machine needles from my Life Sciences class. The thorns scraped other parts of the vines as they crept, leaving thin cuts that leaked a gooey, rank fluid.