Seconds Before Sunrise (The Timely Death Trilogy) by Shannon A. Thompson Page B

He was preparing to yell at me.
    “You’re looking for me?” he asked.
    I ignored the accusation. “All I want to know is what happened,” I said, surprised by my hardened voice.
    My fath er didn’t react to the tone as I had hoped. He remained calm, and he pointed to my car. “Go home, Eric.”
    “I know more than any of you,” I growled, but my father walked toward me as i f he could shepherd me to my Charger. “She’s frequently dreaming.”
    He stopped. “What are you talking about?”
    I repeated myself. “She told me,” I said, “in class.”
    My father turned to Pierce, but his hands went into the air. “They’re in homeroom together,” he defended. “I can’t stop her from talking to him.”
    “You shouldn’t have talked back , Eric,” my father said.
    M y eyes shot to the ground. “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “She told me, and it means something, especially if lights are coming near her.”
    My father’s jaw locked as mine did, and Pierce put a hand on my father’s shoulders as if he needed to be held back. My father shrugged him off.
    “Why would she ta lk so openly?” he asked.
    I had to defend her. “She only told me.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “She didn’t say a word to her friends. She was too busy griping over—” I cringed. “Zac.”
    My father blinked. “Who’s Zac?”
    “Don’t ask,” Pierce interrupted.
    M y father turned back to me. “Did Jess say anything else?”
    “She ha s dreamt every night since school started.” My words didn’t seem real, but they were. She’d opened up to me more as a human this time around, and I wondered how strong her subconscious was.
    “You’re telling me Luthicer’s spe ll only worked for one month?” My father continued his interrogation, but I couldn’t answer. Only Jessica could. “Someone had to trigger something.”
    Pierce and my dad focused on me, and my anger sizzled like the Light. “I didn’t do anything.”
    “Eric.” My father didn’t believe me.
    I grabbed my hair with fists. “I’m trying to help, and you’re accusing me of being the problem.”
    “Because I don’t believe you.”
    “I’m leaving,” I muttered, yanking my car door open before getting inside.
    My dad grabbed the door. “ Calm down before you drive.”
    I pulled hard, and he moved his hand before the door squished his fingers. My foot laid on the clutch and gas, and I was gone, speeding away until the trees became blurs of midnight blue. I had to get away, far away.
    Eric. Pierce’s voice broke through the sound of my engine, and I shifted again. I wanted to see how far I had to go before the Dark couldn’t penetrate my thoughts.
    Don’t speed, he continued.
    Get out of my head, I said, blocking him.
    M y father’s voice echoed behind. You’re going to crash.
    I never crash, I replied, downshifting to take a corner. I was getting on that highway whether they liked it or not.
    His voice paused, but his presence floated around, and I knew he was sensing my actions. I saw the highway, sped up, and aimed for the on -ramp. My fingers drummed against the steering wheel as the car flew across the blackened pavement, curling up to my escape.
    You’re going to crash, my dad repeated quickly.
    I tightened my grip. I don’t crash.
    Slow down, he screamed, and my concentration shattered at the exact time my tires hit the on-ramp.
    My wheels skid ded, and the back of the car leapt. Air froze in my lungs, and a rush of sounds pounded against my ears. Pierce’s voice returned, accompanied by my father’s yelling and the brief squeal of the tires.
    Then , I was flying – floating upward toward the windshield, and I squeezed my eyes shut when the horizon began tilting dangerously. I felt myself transition away from my human form, and even with the car spinning I could feel the seatbelt against my chest. A sound ripped the air just before I lost consciousness.
    The smell of smoke broke through the blood dripping from my nose. I