Page 32 of Not Quite Dead Yet

‘Scott, honestly,’ she tutted. ‘We need to take you to the doctor. You’re getting worse.’

‘I’m fine.’

And that was it. No other motion detected on Halloween, the day she’d died. And no sign of the killer hanging around before.

Jet looked over at her notebook. Crossed out theCookies???Nothing. A camera out front recording everyone who came and went, and it had given her nothing.

Jet sighed, blew out her lips. Reggie didn’t like the sound, grumbling to tell her so.

She’d have to sleep too, wouldn’t she? But sleeping felt like a waste of time, and she didn’t have time to waste.

On the Ring dashboard, Jet clicked out ofHistoryinto the live image the camera was recording now, right now. Thenighttime driveway. Jet’s powder-blue truck out of place against all that darkness, lit only by a sickly orange tinge from the porch lights. Nothing moved except the wind in the leaves.

Time ticked by, but the world didn’t show it, not from this view.

Past midnight and into a new day. The next day. One day closer to dying.

Dying.

She shouldn’t think about that.

She couldn’t help it.

Would they come for her again, the killer? To finish her off?

Jet studied the live footage, searched every corner for a sign.

Why bother?

Time and that little bone fragment would finish her off for them.

Her curse, their gift.

Her eyes felt strange, a ghostly sheen, like there was another layer she had to see through now. It was probably from staring at the screen too hard. Probably just tired.

Jet hesitated.

Brought up a new tab.

Google.

Symptoms of a brain aneurysm,she typed.

Pressed enter.

The page of results loaded.

‘No, don’t.’

Jet slammed the lid, shoved her laptop away.

She didn’t want to see that.

Her eyes were just tired, that was all.

Jet shuffled down, pulling the comforter up to her chin. She wanted to stare at the ceiling, to search for answers there, but there was too much pain to put any pressure on the backof her head, on her Frankenstein skull. She pressed the right side of her head into the pillow. She never slept this way, ever, facing her bathroom door instead of her window. But it was the only way that didn’t hurt.

Jet forced her eyes shut, because if they were tired, she must have been too.

---