After Life Read online

  The atmosphere was alive with an air of possibility, of new beginnings and hope.

  When Asher left her at the entry to the building she needed, Zoe straightened her shoulders back, stood taller, and followed other students who had equally wide eyes and jittery excitement flowing through them.

  A lively hum drifted from the form room, down the long hall. It caressed nervous anticipation into Zoe’s flesh. Her pulse quickened, and her belly squeezed.

  Now was the moment—her chance at a new life.

  Smiling, she strode toward it.

  But as Zoe neared the doors of the form room, puffs of breath hung in the air as she breathed out. What was a comfortably warm temperature was now plummeting toward bitterly cold. A layer of goosebumps sprung up along her arms, and she shuddered.

  Opposing the ordinary hum of hundreds of voices was an out-of-place sound—a subtle, almost undetectable, drip, drip, drip.

  Cold water splashed her cheek.

  She jolted and glanced around to find who sprayed her. But no one was mocking or laughing. No one was even looking.

  Remember where you are, Zoe. You’re not at Somerset High School anymore. No one knows about you here.

  But it wasn’t other students taunting her that she genuinely worried about. The drop in temperature hinted at something else.

  She breathed deeply for calm and counted backward from ten just like her therapist told her to do. It had to be a leaky pipe from overhead, or accidental condensation flicked at her from a drink bottle.

  Nothing sinister.

  The lights overhead ticked and hummed as they flickered on and off, casting dim flutters of shadow and illumination over the hall.

  Shivers walked up her spine as cold crept down her throat.

  Zoe dared to peer over her shoulder and found the offender—something she didn’t ever want to see here. Her chest squeezed and heart rate galloped.

  Down the end of the hall was a girl staggering her way. But the girl wasn’t like any of the other students in the school.

  This girl was dead.

  Chapter 3

  The dead girl’s lips were blue and spider veins shadowed her pallid flesh. Water sluiced down her face. Her hair was wet, so too was her pale blue dress, dripping, dripping, dripping to pool in a puddle on the floor at her feet.

  A tremble rocked through Zoe. Hiding her gasp behind her palm, she whirled and marched away. The last thing she needed was this girl knowing she could see her.

  She hurried her pace and rushed through the form room doors. Students filled the room, sitting in multiple rows of tiered desk chairs.

  Do not look behind. Stare straight ahead. And calm the hell down.

  She did not need this on her first day. Her pulse was out of control. Adrenaline was racing through her veins, bringing a slight tremble to her hands.

  She closed her eyes while she sucked in another deep breath.

  You can do this. You have to calm down and get on with it.

  The more breaths she took, the more a vague sense of calm came over her. She intentionally controlled her pace and made herself look casually for a free seat. She didn’t need attention drawn to her: the crazy girl nearly having a heart attack by the entrance.

  A big, athletic guy with blond hair, a few rows up, smiled at Zoe and pointed to a spare seat beside him.

  “Thank God,” she mumbled under her breath and hurried toward him.

  He smiled as she shuffled past legs and feet to the free seat. “Thought you looked a bit worried.”

  Zoe settled into the seat beside him and sighed. “First-day jitters.”

  He pressed his palm to his chest. “I’m Daniel.”

  “Zoe,” she said.

  “And this is my friend Theron.”

  She looked over at his friend who winked as he smiled his hello. But as he moved, Zoe caught a flicker of colour at his feet.

  She flinched when she saw a small boy sitting on the ground.

  The boy stared up at her with irises that had faded to milky white. A coiled band in her belly tugged tight, and a little of her breath was stolen. What the hell is this place?

  Because Hampshire Co-Ed College was almost one-hundred-and-fifty years old, she had anticipated some ghostly activity, but this was getting out of control. She gathered herself quickly and returned Theron’s smile, though it was tense.

  His pale green eyes assessed her and then narrowed as he looked down at where the little boy was sitting cross-legged.

  He met her gaze again. “Everything okay?”

  She mustered another nervous smile. “I thought I saw a spider. I hate spiders. Nice to meet you…um…” his name had completely escaped her.

  He grinned. “Theron.”

  She nodded, ignoring the heat rising along her collarbones and up to her cheeks.

  “Where are you from?” Theron asked.

  She rested her elbows on the desk and sat up straighter, making sure she didn’t look down. It took all her control to suppress the tremor in her voice. “From a town a couple of hours away from here. Somerset.”

  The guys nodded in unison, eyes showing recognition.

  “We’re from the opposite direction. Franklin Falls,” Daniel said.

  A loud noise came through the speaker system and Zoe flinched.

  A smiling lady dressed in a casual skirt and blouse stood at the podium. The form teacher.

  Theron leaned across Daniel and whispered quickly. “Hey, some of the seniors are meeting at the old shed behind the school tonight for a little get-together. You should come.”

  Zoe’s first reaction was to shake her head, but she stopped herself by straining her neck. The old Zoe would have refused. The new Zoe had to start doing what normal girls her age did.

  “That’ll be great, but I’m not sure how to…” After reading the strict dorm rules, she wasn’t certain if sneaking out was even possible. From the regulation booklet, which was required reading and needed both her parents’ signatures as well as her own, there would be security cameras, lights and staff lurking in every corner of the boys’ and girls’ dormitories.

  The school might be progressive in some areas, but when it came to boys and girls mixing after hours, they were as rigid as a Catholic nunnery.

  “You don’t board here for five years and not learn the escape routes. Write down your mobile number, and I’ll text you the deets,” Theron said.

  Zoe nodded, her stomach squirming with anticipation of breaking the rules, getting out and living a little but, mostly, being social with these two guys. She had to admit, sitting next to Theron was already making her stomach tighten and pull and her heart race a fraction faster.

  “About eight,” Daniel said.

  “I’ll try.”

  ◆◆◆

  Zoe sat on the end of her bed, mobile in hand. Theron had come through with the escape route like he said he would.

  But Zoe wasn’t certain now if she could go ahead with it. Her stomach was churning, and her throat had a tight, sickly feeling to it.

  Sure, coming here was all about starting a new life, and breaking the rules would certainly be new, but her body was hinting that she might not be ready for such a big leap.

  “Just do it!” Asher said, coming to stand in the open doorway of Zoe’s room.

  Zoe looked up and groaned. “I don’t think I should. Breaking the rules on the first day doesn’t sound like a clever plan.” Not after all the trouble she had convincing her parents to agree to this in the first place but especially because it meant so much for Zoe to stay.

  She couldn’t risk being expelled. She needed this new start more than anyone could ever understand.

  “Everyone sneaks out, and no one has been caught. You’ll see, the Rat Run is like Grand Central Station.”

  “Truly?”

  Asher nodded once and said with stern assurance, “Truly.”

  Zoe stood and blew out a long breath. “Okay. Fine. I can do this. You don’t want to come with me?”


  Asher smiled, shook her head. “Nope. I’m going to add some new content to my blog. I got a couple of new subscribers today.”

  Over breakfast, Asher had told Zoe about her website—exploring everything occult and paranormal. From looking at Asher, it wasn’t a shock to hear where her interests were.

  Imagine if Asher knew she was boarding with a girl whose entire life was one big paranormal freak show.

  “Well, I guess it’s just me about to break the cardinal rules.”

  Asher laughed. “No biggie. I promise.”

  Zoe tucked her phone in her pocket. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  Zoe didn’t know Asher enough yet to know exactly what her limits were, but she knew enough to assume that they were broad.

  ◆◆◆

  Zoe could see now why her escape route was called the Rat Run. The way out of the girls’ dormitory was via a series of thin darkened halls, stairwells and doors that led Zoe, unseen by staff or security cameras, down three levels to the basement laundry.

  Scurrying quietly and close to the walls, as per the directions in Theron’s message, had made her feel very much like a rat. And her short breaths and clanging heart had made her feel very much like a cat—a scaredy cat.

  She pushed through the tall creaky door. Staff were not on duty at this time of night, so the laundry was in darkness, but the outline of many big washing machines lining one wall and dryers on the opposite were visible.

  Zoe slipped into the room. It held the same scent the rest of building did—old timber and ancient dusty carpet—but had the soapy hint of laundry detergent.

  When the door shut behind her, it was difficult to see. She had to hold her hands out in front of her in case she banged into an unexpected object.

  Her breaths shuddered from her throat. Her pulse was fast. All this lights-off business was freaking her out. Horrible creatures hid in the shadows; she knew that more than many.

  But she was nearly free now. It would do no good turning back.

  Two doors were at the back of the laundry. The left door was the one she had to go through. She crept to the door, footfalls as slow and quiet as she could, and pushed on the handle.

  She burst through the doorway and stepped outside onto a darkened porch where the light bulb was always conveniently blown. She gulped at the cool air. It smelled like old moss, soil and a hint of distant lavender.

  But she wasn’t out of the woods just yet. She had to creep along the row of old maples, keeping to the back side of the trunks where the shadows were darkest.

  The moon hung overhead like a big bright bulb and made her feel exposed.

  A crunch sounded in the distance. Breathing.

  Zoe froze, held her breath. Was she busted? Could a teacher be waiting for her?

  Out of the darkness came two people. Zoe sighed with relief when she saw they were two girls her age. Other students. They smiled as they passed.

  Zoe kept on her path, faster now, wanting to get this over and done with. Her nerves couldn’t take much more.

  Sticks, rocks and fallen leaves crunched under her boots, too loud against the quiet backdrop.

  At the end of the row of maples was a football field. The floodlights, as tall as trees, were off, so the field was dark.

  Bordering the fields were shrubs, which were her signposts, leading her to a hip-high fence that she climbed over.

  Bushland stood before her. According to Theron’s instructions, there were three tracks worn into the forest floor. She had to take the middle track.

  She paced along, searching the ground. One track. The second. She scurried along it.

  She was grateful for the moon now, offering glimmers of light through the thick canopy of trees. Five minutes along the track, she was ready to turn back when the faint, distant sound of music could be heard. She moved faster, hoping all this was worth the risk.

  Further along, a large group of people had already gathered on a huge rectangle of cement covered with a ceiling held up by a series of metal beams—an abandoned workshop shed by the looks of it.

  The party was underway with loud laughs and cheers. Indistinct music billowed into the night. A chill lingered in the air and coated her arms. Zoe smiled, sank her hands into her jeans pockets and, quietly victorious, started toward the gathering.

  A few unfamiliar faces watched Zoe as she joined the crowd. She lowered her head and hid her eyes behind a curtain of long hair. But she reminded herself that the people here didn’t know her. They didn’t know anything about her.

  To them, she was just another student.

  The freedom of being in a new town with new faces, nestled within her tight muscles and loosened them; it chased away the anxiety of the Rat Run.

  She lifted her chin, flicked her hair behind her shoulders and smiled at the faces as she passed by. Many smiles were mirrored back. The sweet scent of alcohol floated on the breeze.

  Zoe was looking for only two faces—Daniel and Theron. She hoped she could remember what they looked like and that they’d remember her.

  Then her gaze found Theron’s. Her focus drifted around him for the dead boy, but he wasn’t there. Thank God. That would make tonight much easier.

  Theron appeared different from when she saw him earlier—good-different.

  Better.

  He was tall, broad, and had thick, muscled limbs. Sandy hair hung messily around his ears and neck. Her tummy fluttered as he smiled and waved her over.

  Surely she should have noticed this intensity of sexy earlier today, but, then again, she had been shaken by the spirit in the hall, then further frazzled by the dead-eyed boy.

  “Hi,” she said.

  He pressed a hand to his chest and grinned mischievously. “Theron.”

  She laughed. “Yes. I remember your name.”

  “This time.”

  “Yes, this time.”

  “How’re you, Zoe?”

  She nodded. “Great. Now that I’m here.”

  His grin was wide. “Let me grab you a drink. You’ve got two choices: beer or beer?”

  Zoe didn’t drink. Never had. But there was a first for everything. Since arriving here, it all seemed to be a series of first times. “I guess I’m having a beer.”

  He returned a few moments later with a plastic cup filled with yellow keg beer. Zoe sipped from the cup and licked the bitter froth from her lips. Wasn’t the greatest thing she’d tasted, but it was drinkable.

  “No worries sneaking out?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Not that I’m aware of. I’m hoping my heart will make a full recovery, though, because that was nerve-wracking.”

  He laughed. “I found the first time scary too. By the tenth, it was second nature. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve snuck out now.” Green eyes met hers. “How do you like it here?”

  “I haven’t had a real chance to take a look yet. I only got here yesterday. But what I’ve seen of the school is pretty awesome.”

  Except for the drowned girl in the hall.

  And the dead-eyed boy.

  She hid a shudder and banished them both from her thoughts. Tonight was all about being a regular girl talking to an ordinary boy at a normal party. “Bit nervous about my classes.”

  “Just between me and you, you’re not the only one,” he said.

  Zoe shielded her mouth with her palm as she giggled. “You seem too big to be nervous about anything.”

  He tilted his head back and laughed. “I guess from your perspective all the way down there,” he said, standing on his tiptoes and peering down at her as though he was the tallest tree, and she was an ant on the grass. “But size has nothing to do with it.”

  A girl with long brown hair and red painted lips came up beside Theron and slid an arm around his waist. “I think size definitely matters.”

  “Mind out of the gutter,” he said.

  Zoe studied the girl and jolted when familiarity
struck her. As recognition grew and the dots connected, Zoe’s head lightened and an eerie hum sounded in her ears—fear.

  The girl’s eyes widened. She grinned. “Zoe?”

  Zoe forced an unsteady smile and nodded. “Rhianna, right?”

  “What are you doing here? You’re attending Hampshire Co-Ed?”

  Zoe nodded but couldn’t find another smile.

  She went to school with Rhianna back at Somerset, but Rhianna had transferred to another school in grade ten. Obviously, she transferred to Hampshire Co-Ed. Zoe couldn’t remember if it was before or after it all went horribly wrong. She hoped like hell it was before.

  Otherwise, her secrets might find themselves revealed.

  Theron looked between them. “You know each other?”

  Rhianna nodded. “From Somerset. Before my family moved to Franklin Falls.”

  “Must be nice to see a familiar face,” Theron said to Zoe.

  Zoe again strained a smile. “Yes. Great.”

  “You want me to get you another drink?” he asked Rhianna.

  “Yes, please.”

  He left the girls alone. Zoe’s heart was in her throat. Anxiety swept through her body. After only one day, her plans might be ruined. She really really needed to know if Rhianna knew about her past.

  And if she did know, how much?

  “What made you come to Hampshire Co-Ed?” Rhianna asked.

  Zoe shrugged. “It’s a great school, so I read, anyway. And I wanted a new start.” The last reason was bait. She held her breath, hoping it wouldn’t get hooked.

  “Totally understand. Especially after all that weird stuff that was going on with you back in Somerset.”

  Zoe’s stomach sunk like a great weight dropped. So Rhianna did know. “I really would like to keep all that in my past.”

  “Of course you do.”

  Theron marched back to them and handed Rhianna her beer. “This looks serious.”

  “Nope. Just girl talk,” Rhianna said, winking at Zoe. “Stuff guys have no business knowing.”

  Theron laughed. “Fine by me.”

  Zoe’s shoulders relaxed a little. She gulped her beer a little too deeply and sent a quiet wish into the night that Rhianna had her back.