Almost Dead (Dead, #1) (19 page)

And
in a fraction of a second, the Shadowlands consumes all color once again.

“What are you doing in there?” Laney shouts.

“I was just…” Enjoying the view? Yeah, that sounds legit. “Nothing. I’m coming.”

Oh, my God. Chase’s kitchen is just as big, if not bigger, than Laney’s.
White cabinets, granite countertops, and one of those oversized, metal contraptions above the stove are all brand-spanking new. Or they appear to be, anyway. I poke my head through a door off to the side, which turns out to be a walk-in pantry. Do these people have money farms, where fields of money trees grow? Having this much to spend should be illegal.

“Found it,” says Laney. She
yanks a notepad from a drawer and slaps it onto the countertop. “Now I’m going to find Chase and show him I’m still around.” Sauntering toward the living room again, Laney has a smug expression on her face, a tight smirk at the corner of her lips.

“Hey, genius,” I say, keeping my feet rooted in place. “Do you even know what you’re going to write? Don’t tell me it’s going to be a little ‘Hi, how are you’ either.”

Laney pivots around on her heels, jaw clenched. “And what, exactly, are you trying to say,
Flora
? Let me guess…you have a better idea.”

“Actually, I do.”

Scoffing, she adds, “Oh, of course. I shouldn’t be surprised; you conveniently have the answers to all of life’s questions.”

I step forward a couple of feet. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’re a know-it-all who actually doesn’t know much about anything. You’re manipulative and, because of your kiss-my-ass attitude, nobody likes you. The truth is that you’re a nobody since you think you’re better than everyone else.”

“That’s the most hypocritical thing I’ve ever heard, especially
coming from
you
.” Laney huffs, her mouth hanging open a bit. “You’re a self-absorbed bitch who believes she’s prettier than, and superior to, everyone else. Money can buy you a lot of things, but it sure as hell can’t buy you a new personality, which you are in desperate need of. You stupid, selfish—”

Behind Laney, Chase opens the front door, keys in hand.
speys in haont size="+0">Oh, no. This can’t be good. It doesn’t help we can’t hear anything that happens in our world, either.<
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“I’m waiting
,” Laney states sarcastically.

I gesture toward the entryway. “
I’ll finish that sentence later, given that your boyfriend just left. You might want to stop him before he disappears, in case we don’t have another opportunity.”

She
scowls at me, and then at the front door. “How am I supposed to do that? I don’t have time to write the freaking message before he cranks his SUV and drives away.”

I may be losing my energy, but it hasn’t entirely
disappeared. Dashing past Laney, I summon what little power remains inside and bolt through the entrance. Chase hops into the driver’s seat and closes the door. I grit my teeth, peering at the landscape surrounding me. There
has
to be an object I can use to grab Chase’s attention.

“What do we do?
What do we do?
” Laney shrieks behind me.

“Uhhh,” I
falter, “I don’t really know. Just…just give me a second, okay?”

“Damn it, Flora! We don’t have a second.”

Chase’s SUV begins a gradual reversal out of the driveway. Laney paces back and forth, toward him and then the house. She grabs her blonde hair at the root, tugging. The plan for substituting Chase as our lifesaver has gone awry. What will we do if he drives off? Do I have enough energy to walk to Laney’s house? Probably not. Laney can continue, but I can’t.

And it seems she, without a doubt, has
persistence on her mind.

“What are you doing?” I call out to her. “That’s not going to work.” She stands in front of Chase’s vehicle, arms outstretched. Does she honestly believe she can stop him that way?

“It’ll work. Trust me.”

“Have you lost your damn mind? You’re attempting to
obstruct an SUV, Laney. An S-U-V.”

Glaring at me,
she retorts, “And who was awesome at learning how to walk through walls when it was necessary? When you weren’t looking, I practiced holding a book outdoors. I’ve. Got. This.”

Chase’s SUV lurches forward, but won’t go any further. Laney’s bent over at the waist, arms outstretched
, eyes tightly shut. She’s concentrating on her energy flow. I’ll be damned. Barbie did it. He can’t see her, though, so this event is probably blowing his mind. I can’t imagine my car suddenly stopping, unable to go any further. That’d be weird.

Chase’
s face is a cocktail of frustration and confusion; his brow is furrowed, and he’s checking out the instrumen thfy"t panel on the dash. Part of me wishes he could see Laney. But soon after, his tires spin against the pavement, smoke billowing around his vehicle. I bet that smells lovely.

The burnt-rubber fumes
evaporate around Chase’s truck, and he leans forward, against his steering wheel, staring at the hood. Laney freezes, her eyes enlarged like an anime character. Mouth forming an O, she gasps rather dramatically.

“
I think he can see me.” She removes her hands from the vehicle, and her sudden intake of breath is euphoric. “Chase…” she softly murmurs.

If my calculations are correct, Chase is looking directly at Laney. Is it possible they have the ability to bridge the gap between our world and the Shadowlands? Or maybe there are
rips in the lining of this dimension, like when I experienced the sunset earlier. Or like the wormholes scientists have talked about. One thing’s for certain: something’s not right about this place.

Shaking his head
like he’s attempting to free his mind, Chase reaches toward his keys in the ignition. Oh, great. Here we go again. Should he leave, Laney and I are screwed. Or maybe it’s just me.

My legs
quiver, threatening to buckle underneath me. My stomach feels empty, like I’ve gone days
without eating. Well, I have, but whatever. And I’m just so tired. It appears that the connection between my physical self and my phantom self is chummier than I thought. Whatever happened to not sensing anything? Or was that only in regards to our emotions?

“Oh, my God. He’s leaving,” Laney exclaims. “Hurry, Flora! We have to go with him!” She motions for me to tag along, but I don’t have enough energy to get myself into that SUV
and hang on. I’ve done that with Derek and Mia, and it was pretty pointless, except for the fact that I found out one’s a chicken shit and the other has been sleeping with my ex.

“You go,” I tell her.

“Don’t be stupid. Get over here. Now!”

I might as well give it one last shot.
What’s the worst that can happen?

Chase begins his
exodus, and Laney doesn’t hesitate to hop inside his vehicle. Poking her head and arm out of the SUV, she shouts, “Come on!”

My legs pump into a sprint
as I reach for her outstretched hand. Fearful that Chase may increase his speed at any time, I push myself harder, making a final leap toward the backseat, and toward Laney. My efforts pay off; I land on the bench seating.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I lean my head back against the headrest. “This requires too much energy. If something happens and I drop out of this thing, don’
t leave the vicinity of this vehicle. Got it?” I open one eyelid, peering at Laney. She nods.

We make a few turns, until we’re on the
main highway bypassing the town. As I examine the surrounding houses and buildings, my mind attempts to place where, exactly, we are.
C’mon
.
Remember
. Images flash through my head—a smoky room, red bricks, neon lights, a band playing on stage. I remember. Gabe brought me here once during our short relationship. We’re in the downtown district, with rows of street-lined shops hugging one another and parallel parking spots.

I scan the store
s, in case my memory decides it wants to cooperate some more. Each building is made of brick and is painted a different color—dark blues, reds, and greens, mostly. Every little shop has a carved sign hanging above their door on curled, wrought-iron brackets. So far, I’ve counted three thrift stores, one café and bakery, four restaurants, and two bookstores.

“Where is he going?” Laney inquires, although I believe she’s thinking aloud rather than asking me.

A few turns later, Chase pulls his SUV into a lakeside parking spot. To our right are the campgrounds, where several RV’s are located. To our left is nothing but a large forest. And straight ahead? That’s the lake. There’s a barge in the distance, but other than that, there are no boats or people on the water.

“What are we doing here?” I ask, releasing my energy and falling onto the
blacktop.

Laney follows my lead and responds, “This is where…oh, my God…
”—she scrambles to her feet—“it’s where Chase and I shared our first kiss.” Her lips curve into a smile, and her eyes shine.

Laney steps forward about five feet, her eyes never leaving Chase.
He walks down to the water’s edge. The more I observe him, however, the more I realize he’s searching.
For Laney
, I think.
He’s searching for Laney
.

“He’s coming back,
” Laney squeaks. “He’s—Flora, get back inside!”

I haven’t moved from my spot on the pavement since Chase parked the car.

She crosses her arms and stomps her foot. “You can’t do this to me. I won’t let you.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“Flora, you
have
to come with me. I don’t always make the right decisions, and I really don’t want to screw this up.
Please
.”

There’s no pain in spirit form, only
limitations. Allowing my head to fall back, I close my eyes. Is it horrible that part of me wishes my physical body can be released from our world so I may leave the Shadowlands? At this point, I just want to move on. Maybe Laney has been right all along. Maybe I do want to occupy a place such as Lichburn.

Chase
hops into the vehicle yet again, and Laney panics.

“Flora,
please
!” I lie back, staring up at the unadorned, gray sky. “Don’t do this to me! I’ll carry you, just get in.” Her shouting intensifies when Chase puts the SUV into reverse. “Flora, get in! Please don’t do this! FLORA!”

My
strength is too thin, and ever-waning. Getting into that vehicle with Laney again may very well be the last thing I ever do. There will be no going back, because parading around town in Chase’s SUV will drain my soul. It’s too much. I should’ve been more cautious. I should’ve used my energy wisely, like Sara warned. I have nothing to show for my stupidity, other than broken crystal shards lying on the Tipps’ living room floor.

And if I’m being honest here, I’m still pissed at Mia and Gabe, at their betrayal. They hurt me more i
n a matter of seconds than my car tumbling over the side of Death’s Cliff and the ensuing journey I’ve endured. Although I highly doubt I’ll survive this trek, if I do, I’m not certain I can ever look those two in the eye again.

But it’s worth a shot, just to see their faces when I tell them
I know
everything
.

Bolting
upright, I grasp Laney’s hand, which juts out from one of the rear doors, and we’re back at square one. This time around, though, Laney interlocks her arm with mine, in an effort to ensure I don’t fall through the bottom of Chase’s vehicle. Then, we’re on our way.