Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Shrugging, I pile up my plate with just about everything. Gemma is more selective. By the time we eat the food and help ourselves to more iced tea, it’s time for the event to begin.
Yawning, I flick my gaze down to my watch. “This is going to be boring, isn’t it?”
“Hush,” she admonishes, but her eyes are slightly hooded.
We’re both about to fall our asses asleep.
“Where is everyone?” I ask Dr. Skeller when he strides back into the room, a wide smile on his face.
“Should be here any minute,” he assures me. Then, to Gemma, he gives her a tender look. “Has your stalker bothered you anymore?”
She tenses at the mention of him. “Just the usual daily reminder that he’s around.”
Dr. Skeller nods in sympathy with pinched eyebrows. “Your father and Police Chief Tanaka will get to the bottom of it. I have faith in them.”
“Do you know Tanaka well?” Gemma asks, grimacing as she mentions his name. “Does he strike you as peculiar?”
Dr. Skeller frowns, studying her intently. “He does. Why? What are you thinking?”
“Nothing,” Gemma lies and then gulps down her tea. “Just a weird guy.”
“Hmm,” Dr. Skeller hums. “Perhaps keep an eye on him and don’t allow yourself to ever be alone with him.”
She nods emphatically. “Don’t worry. He creeps me out so bad.”
I yawn again. “What time will everyone be here? Do you have coffee? The caffeine in this tea isn’t cutting it.”
Dr. Skeller beams at me.
Talk about creepy.
I blink several times and realize they’ve been talking, but I totally nodded off. Gemma glowers at me like I’m embarrassing her. Hell, I’m embarrassing myself.
With the heel of my palm, I rub at one eye, trying to shake the tiredness out of my bones.
What the hell?
I feel loopy and tired as fuck.
Alarm bells start ringing, but my brain can’t seem to comprehend why. Gemma stands shakily and Dr. Skeller grabs her arm to keep her from falling.
“I, uh, need to use the restroom,” Gemma utters. “Can you point me in the right direction?”
Dr. Skeller shows her to the restroom and then strides back over to me. The room tilts from side to side and my stomach roils.
Am I getting sick?
I think I need to call my dads.
Something’s wrong.
I hear a loud thud come from the bathroom. Gemma. Without consideration, I burst to my feet. The room spins and then I stumble several steps, tripping over my feet that feel weighted down. Like an ancient tree that’s been hacked through with a chainsaw, I crash to the ground, smacking my cheek hard on the wood floor.
Numbness slides through my veins and the exhaustion washes over me like a warm wave, claiming me in spotty darkness.
Don’t go to sleep, Two.
Don’t.
Something’s really, really wrong.
Despite barely clinging to consciousness, I try to move my hand down to my pocket to retrieve my phone. I don’t get very far. My fingers twitch against the hardwood and a small, defeated grunt escapes me.
I’m roused by hands patting me down and then my phone is pulled from my pocket.
Yes, I need that.
Give it to me, please.
“You won’t be needing this,” the deep, sinister voice croons. He also manages to find my keys and gives them a jingling shake. “Or these. Just go to sleep. Let the medicine do its job. No need to fight it. This battle is over, young man, and you have lost.”
I know what this means.
I know I have to fight back.
And yet, blackness finishes cloaking me in her abysmal darkness.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Finally, nothing.
Gemma
I rub at my elbow, tears stinging my eyes.
“Ow,” I mutter. “What the hell?”
My body feels heavy and quickly becoming useless. What’s wrong with me? First, I nearly crashed through the wall after using the toilet, my elbow taking the brunt of the fall, and now I feel like I might pass out.
I need to go home.
After fumbling through washing my hands, I unlock the bathroom door and drag my sluggish body back toward the main room to tell Two. He’s no longer sitting where I left him and Dr. Skeller is gone.
Where did they go?
Outside?
I get turned around but manage to find a door that leads outside. Once I open it, I groan, realizing it’s a back door that faces the lake, not the one where the car is parked. Something flutters in the wind, catching my eye, and I glance down.
Yellow flowers dance happily in their beds.
They’re familiar.
I fixate on the flowers, fighting through the fog inside my head. Why are these flowers important to me?
I’m about to turn around and continue my search for Two when a memory niggles at me. Wait. These flowers look just like the ones…
No.
A chill skitters down my spine and a shot of adrenaline sends a fleeting moment of clarity in my mind.
Oh my God.
We have to get out of here.
I spin, ready to rush back into the cabin, when I run right smack into a broad chest. Hands grip my arms to keep my swaying body from collapsing. With trepidation, I tilt my head up, finding my eyes on Dr. Skeller and not my boyfriend.