Grim Read online

  “I’m the Girl in the Pink Mask,” I lamely say the first thing that pops into my mind.

  Her brow creases. “Huh?”

  “Nothing. Never mind.” I dismiss her with a flick of my wrist and make a mental note to come up with a way better alias. “Just go, okay? There’s one more guy still running around somewhere.”

  She stiffens as her gaze travels across the bodies on the floor then back to me. Then she turns toward the rest of the girls who are rushing out of the doorway and outside.

  “Oh, wait, I forgot one more thing.” Parting my lips, I breathe my breath of death out into the air, casting my inner power all over them and sentencing them to death.

  Nah, I’m just kidding. I just used my powers to lace the air with what I like to call the Breath of Forget. In just a few short seconds, they’ll forget they ever saw me and won’t be able to remember what happened to the guys lying on the floor. If only I had the ability to make them forget their time in this craphole. Unfortunately, as far as I know, my power is limited to only making people forget knowledge of me.

  “Take care of yourself,” I whisper as the breath reaches her and this dazed look passes across her face.

  Then I spin on my heels and gracefully race out of the room, digging out my phone to call a cab to come pick up the girls. Once that’s all good and taken care of, I put my phone away and focus on the hunt, using my sense of smell to track Zitty Zane’s every move, like a lion tracking its prey or a reaper tracking a soul that got away.

  When my stomach grumbles at the thought of souls, I quicken my pace, moving at an inhuman speed, my feet barely touching the ground. When I reach the end of the hallway, I follow the scent of Zitty Zane out the back door and into the field that surrounds the warehouse for miles. The pitch-black night stretches above me, moonlight trickling down and giving a path of light. Not that I need it. No, I have excellent night vision. In fact, I can actually see better at night than during the day.

  About a half mile across the field, I finally reach Zitty Zane. Not that I can see him. But I can smell him and hear his heavy breathing.

  “Oh, come on, Zitty Zane,” I call out, grinning as my gaze locks on a bush where I can sense he’s hiding. “Is this really how you want to do this? With you cowering behind a bush and hoping you can outwit me? Because, newsflash: you can’t outwit death. It’s very smart and clever, but I can smell the stench of your sweat, which FYI smells an awful lot like rotting death and I don’t think that’s normal. If I wasn’t going to take your soul away and put you into a catatonic state, I’d recommend you go to a doctor and get that checked out; make sure you don’t actually have some sort of weird body odor disease or something.”

  His breathing accelerates, his heart hammering in his chest, but he doesn’t budge.

  “Oh, fine, take away my fun. Again.” Dirt scuffs underneath my boots as I step toward him. “You know, you’re quite the party pooper. Not that I didn’t appreciate the short chase you just gave me, but your moves were pretty predictable.” I round the bush and a smile curls at my lips.

  He’s crouching down with his hands up in front of him. “Look, I surrender, okay? Just take me to the police and I’ll turn myself in.”

  “You mean, take you to the police so you can have your brother, who’s an officer, bail you out of this?” I crouch down. “No, we’re going to end this right now.” I reach for the collar of his shirt.

  He jerks away from me, trying to dive into the bushes, but I snag his sleeve.

  “Nope, I already said this ends now.” I drag him away from the bush, kicking and squealing.

  “Please,” he begs. “I won’t let my brother bail me out of this. I’ll take responsibility. I swear.”

  Letting go of his sleeve, I position my knee on his chest then lower myself toward him until my lips are merely inches away from his. “You’re right; you will take responsibility by giving up your soul.” I press my lips to his, sealing him with the fate of death.

  He screams for a brief moment, before darkness overtakes him and I drain him dry. Then the night grows silent, only the chill of death lingering in the air. Just like it was the night of my own death.

  Wiping my lips with the sleeve of my shirt, I drop his body to the ground then check the time.

  Crap, I’m way behind schedule. I still have to collect the bodies and bury them. Even with my superspeed and enhanced strength, it’s still going to take a while.

  I let out a loud sigh then reach down to pick up the guy. “Well, look on the bright side, Remi,” I mutter to myself. “At least you don’t have to worry about getting your beauty rest since you already look like death.”

  “Aw, well, isn’t this cute? It’s like she thinks she’s a hero or something.”

  The sound of the stranger’s voice sends a shiver up my spine.

  It’s been a year since I’ve felt the sensation of being startled, so it throws me off a bit. But I quickly recover and spin around, plastering a smile on my face.

  “Aw, well, isn’t this cute? Another soul for me to feed on.” I start my witty banter, only to falter as I get a good view of the culprit who snuck up on me. Or, should I say culprits? Four of them to be exact. And all of them are wearing hoods over their heads, their eyes black as night and glimmering with a hunger that looks an awful lot like mine when I’m starving for souls.

  A drop of nervousness twitches inside me, a foreign feeling I easily dropkick to the side.

  No need to be afraid, Remi. You’re a badass who just took down a bunch of guys without so much as breaking a sweat.

  Of course, I’m not sure if these figures looming in front of me are human. In fact, I’m pretty positive they’re not.

  “Aw, look, she’s trying to be tough.” One of them snickers in amusement.

  “Aw, look, one of them thinks they’re funny,” I quip, irritation simmering underneath my skin. “We’ll see if you’re still laughing after I throat-punch you.”

  His eyes flash this eerie shade of green, and then he inches toward me. Or, more like floats.

  But the guy—dude—in front sticks out his arm and holds him back. “Easy, L.E. We’re not starting a fight tonight. We have more important things to do than toy with her.”

  “Toy with me?” I question, crossing my arms. “Maybe you should go check out the warehouse before you start dismissing me as a threat.”

  “I don’t need to see the warehouse,” he drones on, sounding bored. “I already saw you fight. And trust me; you’re not a threat.”

  My jaw tightens as rage blazes through me. “Wanna bet?”

  “I don’t make bets I know I’ll win,” he says, flicking a piece of lint off his jacket.

  I curl my fingers into fists as I inch toward him. “Fuck the bet then. I’m going to show you just how threatening I am simply to entertain myself. Well, and to drink your soul.”

  He lets out a low, condescending laugh. “Go ahead. Try to eat my soul. My kinds’ souls are poison to yours, so you’ll just end up dying. Although, watching you die would make for an entertaining show.” He starts to back away, motioning for his minions to follow. “Oh yeah, and nice mask by the way. It’s super, super cute.” His tone is malicious, mocking, as if he thinks I’m a joke.

  I’ll show him who the joke is.

  A snarl purrs from my lips as I lunge forward, but one step and poof, he’s gone, his laughter echoing around me.

  My anger flares, along with my confusion.

  For the past year, I thought I was the only strange creature roaming around in this world. Now, come to find out, there’re at least four others with inhuman powers. But, what are they exactly? How did they vanish into thin air? And how did they know what I am?

  More importantly, why the hell were they here tonight?

  Nightmares Suck, But So Does Waking Up From Them and Having to Go to School.

  I’m walking through a dark park. It’s late, and I know I shouldn’t be out here all alone. This part of the city can be dangero
us. But there’s a party going on just outside the park that I have to make an appearance at. All my friends are going to be there. My boyfriend’s going to be there. I just wish I could’ve gotten a ride with one of them so I wasn’t trekking this journey alone. Unfortunately, Nina, my BFF, along with a couple of my other friends and Zane, my boyfriend, had to help set up the party and came out here super early. I could’ve just come with them, except I’m technically grounded and had to wait for my mom to fall asleep so I could sneak out.

  What really sucks is that she’s a night owl and didn’t fall asleep until eleven o’clock.

  It took me over a half an hour to get here so, by the time I reach the party, it’ll be nearing midnight, which means I’ll only have about an hour to hang out.

  Part of me didn’t want to come, but Nina and Zane bugged me enough about going that I finally caved.

  “Come on, babe; you have to go,” Zane said. “We’ve barely seen each other since school started.”

  He was right. Ever since we started our junior year a couple of months ago, we’ve been so busy that we barely have time to hang out outside of school.

  “I agree,” Nina chimed in, putting her phone away. “I barely get to see you anymore. I miss my Rem-Rem time.”

  I frowned. I hated when she called me Rem-Rem, a nickname she gave me when we first met at the beginning of middle school. I’d told her then that I hated it, but that only seemed to make her want to use it more often. Therefore, I’d decided to let it slide because, while she refused to let the nickname go, she had also befriended me.

  Before middle school, I had a total of one friend, and she ended up going to a different school at the end of fifth grade.

  Nina is popular and people respect her, or, well, are afraid of her enough not to make fun of her or the people she hangs out with. So, I decided to sacrifice my loathing of the nickname in order to achieve social status.

  Five years later, we are still best friends and some of the most popular girls in school. We are both on the cheerleading team, and I am dating the quarterback, which yeah, I know it makes me sound like a high school cliché, but it’s the truth. And, for the most part, I love my life. Although, sometimes I feel like there is something missing. I just can never place what it is.

  As the wind picks up, I wrap my arms around myself, wishing I’d worn pants. But Nina and I picked out our outfits a couple of days ago and decided to wear dresses. It’s kind of our thing—picking out our outfits together and going with a similar style. Not that we look alike at all.

  Where Nina is all curves, tanned skin, the perfect height, and often referred to as gorgeous; I am tall, on the ganglier side, and often look pale and kind of freckly. Honestly, I sometimes wonder how I ever ended up with Zane, who is tall, muscular, with hair as golden as the sun, and looks like he belongs with Nina. Yet, he asked me out on a date, something Nina was slightly jealous about, although she’ll never admit it. But her joke about it proves she was.

  “Zane asked you out, huh?” She wavered with a contemplative look on her face.

  “What’s that look for?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about how Zane was flirting with me the other day. I really thought he was going to ask me out, but I guess Jason must’ve beat him to it.”

  Jason was Zane’s bestie and … “You never told me he asked you out.”

  “Must’ve slipped my mind.” She rubbed her lips together, contemplating. “I bet Zane was going to ask me out, but then he heard Jason did, so he decided to just ask you.”

  Just ask you. Like I wasn’t nearly as good as her.

  That wasn’t the first time she’d made a statement like that. Usually, I just brush them off, but that morning, I felt irritated. Of course I didn’t tell her that. She’d throw a tizzy fit if I did—Nina didn’t handle being called out on her bullshit very well.

  “I have to go to class early this morning and see if I can get some notes I missed from the other day,” I said instead. “I’ll catch you later, okay?”

  She dismissed me with a wave then ambled down the hallway toward where Jason, Zane, and a lot of the other football players were hanging out. Almost all of them noticed her approaching, including Zane, but I tried my best to ignore it. Honestly, I’m glad I did. Zane and I have been dating for almost a year now, and we’re known around school as the perfect couple.

  Perfect. My life is pretty perfect. Or, well, my life with my friends is. My home life is totally another story.

  Shaking my head, I shove those thoughts aside and quicken my pace, hurrying toward the trees.

  “Hey, you,” someone suddenly whispers, their voice so soft it nearly gets swept away in the wind.

  A chill spills down my spine, and I pick up my pace, throwing a glance over my shoulder. The park is empty, night blanketing the grass and trees.

  “It’s just the wind,” I mutter to myself, but I take longer strides while mentally chewing my ass out for wearing heels.

  The wind dances around me, the air growing colder, and goosebumps sprout across my skin.

  “Relax,” someone purrs. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  This time, I’m almost certain it’s not the wind.

  I break out into a sprint, racing toward the trees. If I can just get within hearing distance of the party, maybe I can scream for help. Or maybe I should just try now.

  I part my lips. “Help—”

  Something strikes me in the back of the head and coldness engulfs me as I fall toward the ground, hitting the grass hard …

  Blurriness sweeps across my mind.

  Everything is blurry.

  Everything hurts.

  I moan as figures appear above me, laughter haunting the air.

  “Just like he said she would be,” someone whispers.

  Then I feel hands touch my body.

  Vomit burns in my throat as I dance in and out of consciousness …

  The stars in the night sky take over my vision as pain throbs throughout my body. Salty tears stain my cheeks and blood drips down my chest.

  It hurts to breathe.

  I don’t want to breathe anymore.

  A deep laugh pierces my ears. A laugh I swear I’ve heard before.

  “If you’d just relax, you’d enjoy this so much more,” a deep voice whispers in my ear.

  Pain tears through my body. So much pain.

  It hurts to breathe.

  Please let me stop breathing—

  “Remi!” Bang, bang, bang. “Wake up.”

  I crack one eye open, peering around the four black walls that make up my bedroom.

  I’m always a little out of it the day after a hunt, but this morning, I feel extra groggy. I blame it on eating five souls in one night, a record for me. I ended up feeling a bit bloated as I made my way home last night. Bloated, but still satisfied.

  Although, not well rested.

  That’s my own damn fault for a few different reasons. 1). I let my shadow of a conscience get the best of me and convinced myself to go back and make sure the girls got into the cab safely. It took the cab over an hour to get there, but the girls managed to get to their homes okay. More than likely, their parents took them down to the police station where the chief of police will pretend he had no clue what was happening in that warehouse. There will probably be something on the news about the girls escaping, though, unless the police try to play the hush, hush card.

  And 2). I didn’t fall asleep right away because I was overanalyzing what the hell those dudes could’ve been. I tried to research it online—what sort of creatures can make themselves evaporate into thin air—but I couldn’t find anything substantial. It’s driving me crazy not knowing. And kind of driving me crazy that my mind is stressing out over some guys. Not that I’m positive they were all male. It was too dark to see anything but their silhouettes so, for all I know, the two who didn’t speak could’ve been female.

  But, what are they? And why did they show up while
I was hunting?

  “Remi!” My mom bangs on my bedroom door again. “You need to get up now or you’re going to be late.” Her voice lowers to a mutter. “Again.”

  She doesn’t think I can hear her. Without my inhuman hearing, I probably couldn’t. I kind of wish I couldn’t. Since the night I died, she’s been muttering a lot of stuff under her breath that applies to me, mostly comments that reveal her disappointment in me.

  I guess, when I really think about it—what I am now as compared to what I used to be—I can’t blame her. I used to be so full of life, with a full soul. I was a girl who smiled and laughed a lot, who radiated sunshine instead of darkness like I do now.

  Sometimes, I wish I could go back and return to being that girl, but I’m not sure I can anymore, not after everything I’ve seen and felt. And honestly, the person—creature—I am now kind of wants to go back in time and bitch-smack some sense into the human version of me, and then vagina-punch myself for being such a high school cliché.

  Seriously, though? What the hell was I thinking? A cheerleader, popular, dating the quarterback and most popular guy in school? That was how I had chosen to live my life? I just don’t get it.

  Although, at some point in my life, I probably did understand it. But, at one point in my life, I didn’t spend my nights gorging on criminals’ souls then burying them alive in a graveyard I created. The only things I’ve ever made before that were pep rally posters and what I thought were the perfectly assembled outfits.

  Boring. I was so boring. I get bored now just thinking about who I used to be.

  “Remi.” My mom knocks on the door yet again. “Please just tell me if you’re up. I need to know so I can leave for work.”

  I open my other eye and internally grimace. “Yeah, I’m up.”

  “Okay.” She pauses, unspoken words hovering between us.

  My mother and I were never close in my old life, but we’re definitely more distant now. That’s mostly my fault. Every word I utter to her is basically a lie. Even when she asks me if I’ve eaten breakfast, my reply is a bunch of lies strung together.