Page 21 of The Executioners Three
Freddie agreed.
“Everyone grab your syrup,” Laina ordered, and without waiting to seeif people complied (of course they did—no one would dare disobey President Steward), she set off into the trees.
Where it was slow going. With the moon hidden behind clouds, there was almost no light to see by. And sure, Freddie understood why, from a stealth perspective, they hadn’t brought flashlights with them, but she wished they had at least broughtone.
The night’s breeze clattered through dead leaves. Cold and damp, as if winter were already on the way.
And for some reason, it made Freddie’s gut churn—not in a hamburger-hunger way, either. This was the clenching she’d felt on Wednesday night when she’d heard those screams. It was the boiling she’d felt yesterday in the woods before they’d discovered the body.
The others seemed to sense it too. No one spoke, but everyone kept checking over their shoulders. Again and again, sideways glances into the evergreens and maples. Except the only thing Freddie saw was darkness; the only thing she heard was their footsteps stamping over autumn leaves.
Until a screech ripped through the night.
Freddie jumped; Divya dropped her jug.
Then a thousand screeches laid claim to the forest, and the darkness around themmoved. A great upward explosion of shadows.
Birds,Freddie realized. Countless birds erupting from the branches and taking to the sky—and all of them cawing in a grating, mind-searing pitch.Crows,she amended, because it was definitely crows this time. And so much more intense than that morning had been, since she and the others were right in the middle of it.
Freddie had never seen anything like it, never heard anything like it. It took several minutes for all the squawking to fade…
Which in turn revealed a new sound: moaning.
Laina clutched at her face. “My head.”
Divya reached her first. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong, Laina?”
Then Cat was to her other side. “She gets really bad migraines. Laina, are you okay?”
But still, Laina only moaned: “My head, my head.”
“What do we do?” Kyle’s eyes bulged white in the darkness. “Should I call nine-one-one?”
“I will,” Luis said. He yanked out his Nokia. But before he could dial any numbers, Laina’s moans became a single long scream.
It shattered the forest, worse somehow than the crows. Like a single, targeted scalpel compared to a hundred loosed arrows.
Then Laina fell silent, and for several long seconds, no one spoke. Freddie’s heart bumped against her ribs. Her gut positivelyroiled,a volcano about to shoot free. Until at last, Cat whispered, “Luis, call nine-one-one, please.”
“No, no.” This was Laina. Her voice was a hoarse whisper. “No, I’m fine, guys. I’m fine now.”
A great exhale left everyone’s lungs. Luis shoved close to her face. “What’s my name?”
Laina recoiled. “Luis Mendez.”
“And how many fingers am I holding up?”
“Three, you ass. I’mfine.” Laina shook off Cat’s and Divya’s arms. “Stop looking at me like that. You know I get migraines.”
“Um, not ones that make you scream,” Cat pointed out. “I thought you were having a stroke or something.”
“It was just… the crows.” Laina rubbed at her temples, frowning. “Sometimes… noises trigger me.” For half a moment, her glower was replaced by confusion. The tiniest of frowns that passed in an instant—but Freddie noticed it.
And Freddienotedit.
“Let’s keep going, please,” Laina insisted. “I feel fine now, okay?”
No one argued, and Laina gave them no chance to anyway. She stomped off at top speed, forcing the Prank Squad to scamper after. Except Freddie, who hung back. And while part of her knew she was being silly…
