Half Mad (Sequel to Half Bad)

Chapter 17

✖ Chapter 17 ✖

        IT DIDN'T TAKE long to notice that Jessie had not been introduced, thus putting my instincts forward and on alert. A part of me crushed inside, like I had nearly believed my brother had not meant to hurt me all these years and then the hopes were torn to shreds. But he looked as if he were speaking the truth, and Marcus said he was...

        I decided I couldn't trust Marcus, but I knew that much already. So I politely excused myself from the room, Raven and Rose both following me. I think Rose did because she could feel the sudden tension radiating off me, and Raven just happened to be my new puppy or something.

        My eyes scanned the busy village quickly, but to no avail did I see a familiar brown head like mine. I chewed the inside of my cheek, figuring asking Raven couldn't hurt. "Raven."

        "Hmm?"

        "Do you know where Jessie went?"

        "The boy that stole your face?" She hummed. "I don't remember him coming out of the forest."

        I pursed my lips but Rose was already halfway over to the wooded area we had emerged from. I was hoping more than I should that he had maybe gotten confused with all the people and just got some odd form of stage fright. Which, obviously, was unlikely but I tried to keep my hopes in a safe place. I didn't want to be too damaged when I found out my brother had been controlled yet again to make me believe he wasn't.

        How screwed up and confusing this had all became.

        Raven grabbed the hem of my shirt just as I started following Rose. I looked down to see her eyes held worry. "Is he the bad clone?"

        Not feeling up to explaining twins to the little girl, I just heaved a sigh. "Let's hope not" was all I managed to get out.

         And all I had time to.

        Rose had yelled my name in a panicked tone, one that was unnerving and horrifying and that I would probably never forget. It was enough for almost every towns person to look up and in her direction, and she was frantically clawing out of the trees, eyes huge and mortified.

        She stopped panting long enough to say shakily, "We have a problem."

***

        I didn't remember him trailing behind at any point during the time it took to follow Raven and the other kids. I'm still not sure how such a thing had happened with us so close and yet we hadn't heard a thing. But it was real.

        He was hanging from a tree with a noose pulled tight around his neck, his arms flashing deep gashes as if this were staged as some form of suicide. I hadn't hesitated it running over, lifting his knees and praying there was still a pulse, but my mind was reeling, almost beginning to throb at how spontaneous and eerie this was.

        "He's still breathing," I told Rose after clasping one of his wrists in my hand for a pulse. The other men who had followed us out here, all gaping in horror. "Help me get him down."

        Rose was the first to move, then a few villagers came up. I had told Raven to stay away, and yet there she was peering from around the trees, her eyes huge and jaw agape. I made a mental note to scold her later if her mother didn't beat me to it.

        "How did this happen?" Rose asked, her hands shaking. "He was behind us with Daniel the whole time, I thought."

        Before I could answer, Jane was elbowing her way through the mass of people. She informed everyone she was a nurse to get through, but took a moment to examine Jessie, her face blanched. She recovered quickly, snapping into actions and barking orders.