The Ghost Hunter by Lori Brighton
“What is it?” Trevor asked.
Someone pushed me aside and I spun around. A blur of people rushed by, blocking Savannah from view. Still, I merely stood there, jostled back and forth by curious students. I couldn’t think. I could barely remember to breathe.
“Oh my God,” I heard Emily cry, “is she dead?”
I killed her.
The foreign voice whispered through my head. A voice I didn’t recognize. I jerked my gaze upright. No one was looking at me… ten, fifteen faces pale in horror, focused on that body. But someone had said the words. I hadn’t imagined them, had I?
I killed her.
My heart jumped into my throat, my hands growing clammy. With a muffled cry, I spun around, studying the faces behind me. No one was smiling with accomplishment. No one looked guilty. More people were spilling from the diner, at least five kids were on their cell phones talking desperately to the police.
“Excuse me.” I pushed my way between the horrified group of gawking people.
I killed her.
I froze in the middle of the crush, a shiver-hot and cold-skimming my body. A male voice. Who? I turned, jerking my head this way and that. I had to find him. I must! I knew them all, some better than others, but this voice was unfamiliar. Who, here, would be capable of murder? The girl in front of me shifted, trying to get a better look. Behind her, near the parking lot, stood a stranger.
For one moment the entire world stilled. Nothing existed but that guy.
My heart thumped madly, almost painfully, against my rib cage. Dark hair, but I couldn’t see his eye color. Tall, average build, around my age. Dressed in jeans and a long, black coat. As if sensing my attention, he turned his head ever so slightly and his gaze met mine.
I sucked in a sharp breath and stepped behind Trevor like the coward I was. The world came roaring back into focus. Had the stranger killed Savannah? Had he thought the vile words? Sweat slid down my back, my breath coming out in rapid pants. Fear was bitter on my tongue. Unable to resist, I peeked around Trevor.
The boy was gone.
Lori Brighton, The Ghost Hunter