Monstrum by Ann Christopher

Author:Ann Christopher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blue Iris Press
Published: 2014-11-22T16:00:00+00:00

Everyone streams to the door. I take a step, but then, for no apparent reason, my knees lock into place, refusing to take me any farther. Pressure builds in my chest, crowding my lungs, and my airway suddenly gets hotter and tighter, shrinking to the size of a strand of spaghetti. Not now, I think frantically. Trying to be discreet about it, I press a hand to my throat and will this fledgling panic attack to pass before it really gets started.

At the door, An notices me lingering and calls over her shoulder. “Bria? You coming?”

I manage what I hope is a convincing smile. “Yep.”

“Well, let’s go,” An says, tapping her watch.

Rolling his eyes, Sammy throws out an arm, hooks her around the middle and steers her out the door. “Here’s a plan. How about you give her a second and mind your own business for once?”

Gray and Carter have also paused. I’m not sure whether Gray and I are still mad at each other, but he gives me a concerned look. “You okay?” he mouths.

I nod, glad we’re back on speaking terms.

He looks doubtful, but when Carter shoves him in the back to get him going again, he goes, sparing me one last glance.

With everyone gone, it’s safe for me to slump against the wall and take a couple of deep breaths.

“Bria.”

Oh, no. It’s Cortés, and here I am acting like some fragile Southern belle, wilting in the July heat and waiting for one of her beaux to bring her a glass of lemonade.

God, I’m an idiot.

I straighten and try to renew my smile.

“Yeah, okay, that won’t work,” Cortés says, frowning as he emerges from a dim corner in the back, where he was probably pacing. “A toddler has a better poker face than you do.”

I scowl.

He comes over, hitting me with that penetrating gaze of his and leaving me nowhere to hide. Now I know how an escaped convict feels, trying to dart between shadows and escape into the cover of the woods, only to be nailed with a million-watt searchlight from the guard tower.

It’s terrible and infuriating, but also something of a relief.

“What gives?” he asks quietly, with no evidence of mockery or amusement. “Scared to be in the same room with that thing?”

“Yes,” I admit. I suck in a shallow breath. “Got any taunts handy to get me unstuck?”

“Nope. I was hoping you had one for me this time.”

There’s something infinitely reassuring about knowing I’m not the only one caught in the grip of this mindless terror. My paralysis eases up a bit, and my muscles loosen enough for me to whisper a confession.

“I don’t want to see that thing.”

He nods, giving me the encouragement I need to continue.

“It’s like . . . once we see it, how are we supposed to un-see it? It’ll be lodged in our memories forever. We can’t go back to normal life after that.”

A hint of a smile warms his brown eyes as he reaches for my nape, grips a hank of my hair and gives me a gentle shake.

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