Subject #013 | ✓

Chapter 15

"You two lovebirds miss me?" A voice says from behind.

I jump so bad that I almost smack Alix in the face. Ugh. One of the worst things in movies for me are jump scares. I've never taken them well. It's startling on movie screens but even more frightening in real life. "Holy s--" I yelp, slipping off the slippery log and into the newly fallen snow.

A string of profanities flies out my mouth, muffled by Liz's laughter. Alix doesn't so much as flinch. He only grins when I fall off the log in surprise. Before the cold seeps into my jeans, I push myself off the ground, dusting my hands on my sweatshirt. My lips are pressed into the thin line of a scowl.

"Let's get to work, before I strangle both of you." I say, putting my hands on my hips.

~

It takes an hour to pack everything up and erase any traces that we'd been there. It takes another three before I see the small city looming in front of us once again. But this time, I'm looking at it with new eyes. And I see something that I never thought I'd ever see. Something that makes me want to shrink back into the trees. It doesn't take me very long to spot them. They're practically everywhere. In fact, we're only about two hundred feet away from the first one. A Wanted sign.

I bite my lip, hard, to keep myself from screaming bloody murder. There's one startling feature on each of the posters. My face. I feel Alix tense up behind me, as if he knows what my next move is. But if he knows, he doesn't do or say anything to prevent it.

Because by then, I'm already there, ripping the first paper I see off the wall, my eyes scanning over the words.

WANTED

JESSICA MARIE HOLLENS

AGE: 17

BIRTHDATE: DECEMBER 17TH, 1998

LAST SEEN: PAULY'S PAWN SHOP

COMMITTED OF DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY AND AIDING THIEF ALIX BLACK. IF FOUND, PLEASE CONTACT POLICE IMMEDIATELY.

REWARD FOR CAPTURE: $2,000

My eyes catch on my smiling face printed on the posters. That's the picture that was taken this year for school photos. The one Jax said was his favorite because it showed my dimples. $2,000? Just for aiding Alix. Oh, how much the police don't understand.

I crumple the paper in my fist, tears blinding my vision. No. I swipe fiercely at them. No. Words from the poster ring through my head. Committed of destruction of property... if found, please contact police immediately... $2,000...

"No!" I scream at the top of my lungs. I faintly hear footsteps thundering towards me, but I can't bring myself to care. "Stop! What do you want from me? Isn't this torture enough?" I yell, squeezing the piece of paper in my hand.

I'm not yelling at Alix. I'm not yelling at Liz. I'm yelling at the thing that caused my tornado of a few days. I'm screaming at it, whatever it is. This isn't all a coincidence. This is all happening for a reason. And the thing I can't understand is why.

~

I don't think I stopped screaming until Alix knocked me unconscious. I think I fought him, kicking at him and slapping him until he had no choice. I think Liz tried to hold me still, but I gave her a bloody nose. I think I heard the distinct shouting of policemen coming closer and closer until the darkness enveloped me.

I groan, and roll over on my side. My throat is sore from my screams. The first person I see is Liz, sharpening the end of a stick with a pocket knife. Her head perks up, and the look she sends my way could have been the expression of the devil himself. Sure enough, I see a little red smudged below her nose. That was me.