Chapter 19: The Ultimate Rule
The scream ripped itself out of my throat before I could stop it.
I staggered back, crashing into a table and sending a chair clattering to the floor. My chest tightened, my vision blurred. I was going to be sick.
The body hung like a grotesque piece of art in the center of the cafeteria. A girl, barely older than me. A feral. Her eyes were wide open in horror, her mouth still agape mid-scream. Her body was strung up naked, arms spread like wings, ribs cracked wide and pried open as if someone had tried to tear her heart out. Blood painted the walls and floors in thick streaks, fresh and warm. It dripped from her toes, pooling beneath her like a silent accusation.
I spun around and ran.
I didn’t stop to think. I couldn’t. My feet slammed against the hallway tiles, my breath coming out in ragged, panicked sobs. I didn’t even register the person I collided with until strong arms steadied me.
"Lorraine?" Adrian’s voice, laced with confusion and concern. "What the hell happened?"
But I couldn’t stop. I pushed past him, blind with terror and bile in my throat.
I burst into Astrid Voss’s office without knocking, nearly tearing the door off its hinges.
She looked up slowly, her gaze sharp and severe, her perfectly tailored crimson suit pristine, like she was carved from authority itself. She sat tall behind her desk, hands folded, eyes glowing faintly golden in annoyance.
"You better have a damn good reason for barging into my office like this," she said coldly.
Adrian appeared behind me, breathless from running after me.
Astrid scoffed, folding her arms. "Of course. You two again."