Chapter 54

An arctic chill raced up my back.

"Did a cattle truck just drive by?" Dad asked from inside the bathroom. Just to the right of the gaping door. "Have you closed the door yet, Leigh?"

I followed my leaping heart and crept toward their voices. The stink weakened my knees the closer I got. I'd smelled it too much lately.

Doom, doom, doom.

Was it Sarah? Because she was the only dead person who hadn't been captured or buried again. If she showed up here, then she must have something important to tell me. But the dread lowering over me, thick as night, told me it couldn't be her. I rushed for the door.

A black bird glided up to the metal railing outside on the walkway. Its neck looked near broken, making its head tilt to the side and swing back and forth whenever it moved. It stared with orange eyes. Blood continued to drip from my nose, blooming a red rose all over my white sleeve.