Darkest Dawn by Katlyn Duncan Read Free Book Online Page B

from the toilet.
    I took a breath, opened the door, and bolted for the entrance of the locker room. I didn’t stop, even when some girl cried out when I knocked her purse to the floor.
    The hallway was cooler and I sucked in deep breaths when the dizziness returned with a vengeance. I stopped and leaned against the wall, terrified of what might happen next. I knew I shouldn’t be out in the open for fear of someone thinking I was Bri but my legs were solid blocks on the floor. A bead of sweat traveled across my hairline and dropped like an icicle on a hot day.
    The ceiling lights buzzed and crackled. I lifted my gaze to them. They were flickering wildly. The ceiling moved in a slow circle above my head. My mind put it together that this wasn’t right. Someone at the end of the hallway caught my attention. The person’s body blurred as I tried to focus on him or her. My eyelids drooped as I fought to stay conscious. My legs propelled me forward even though my head wanted everything around me to stop. As I neared the person it was as if I’d entered a carnival mirror room. In front of me was me. I cocked my head to the side and tried to focus on me.
    As much as my brain was fuzzy, I knew I wasn’t looking into a mirror. I’d found Bri. I didn’t need to wonder if she felt the same way as she staggered toward me. We were both jelly-legged yet pulled together by the same strange force. The lights continued to flicker and the buzzing intensified. Then as suddenly as the buzzing started, my hearing turned inward as if the world had swallowed all sound. I couldn’t take my gaze from her eyes. Both of them were dark green, matching my left eye.
    Mom’s face flashed before my eyes. The look of horror as she fought for control of the wheel. She turned in her seat and her face was my face. The face of the girl in front of me.
    I grounded myself in the present and reached for the girl, needing to touch her. I needed to know that this was real.
    And as our fingers brushed all sound returned forcefully. A crack like thunder shook the ground beneath us as I clasped her hand in mine. She returned the grip as something sharp hit my cheek. Her eyes bored into mine and at that distance I saw the faint outline of a contact lens in her left eye. I didn’t need to think about what color would lie under the lens because I knew it was blue. The only physical difference between me and this girl. A warmth spread through my body as if I’d been waiting for this moment my whole life. It was as if I was transported back to the day before Mom died, when the world was right and perfect.
    The girl gasped and ripped her hand from my grasp, her eyes blinking rapidly. I leaned toward her, wanting more of the feeling her touch gave me.
    “Who are you?” my voice said from her lips.
    “Sloane,” was all I could manage.
    Bri’s gaze touched every spot in the hallway before landing on me. I looked around us where the hallway was darker than it had been before. The bulbs above us had shattered, casting long shadows and shards of glass down the hallway. I touched my cheek. That’s what had hit me. My hand came away clean; it hadn’t broken the skin.
    She spoke through ragged breaths. “What’s going on?”
    I inhaled deeply for the first time since I’d seen her. “You know as much as I do.” Or maybe she knew more?
    Her head shook a few times before she spoke. “Where did you come from? And why—”
    “Do we look the same?” I finished.
    A group of voices carried down the hallway. Bri’s eyes widened before she grabbed my arm and pushed me through the closest door, which happened to be the boys’ bathroom. The lights in this room were on, leaving no mistake as to what we were seeing.
    She pushed past me and stood a few feet away from the mirror above a sink. I took my place next to her as we both stared at each other through the glass. Very subtle differences riddled our faces. Mostly because the corners of her lips were tight. I’d