The Serophim Breach (The Serophim Breach Series) by Tracy Serpa Page B

and day passes to snorkeling coves, anything that Trent got for cheap that could be sold to tourists for a profit. Kai did his best to ignore the fact that the money all went to the same place. He had managed to get Sarah the $275 dress she had found online, and chipped in for a limo as well.
    He closed the cereal box top again, and then left a sticky note that read:
    “Picked up for next week. —K”
    Tucking the box under his arm, he started back toward the front door. As he passed the kitchen table, the stench of regurgitated alcohol and food thickened, and he caught sight of a pile of vomit on the floor. Letting his breath out in a slow hiss, Kai tried to control the urge to retch as he moved carefully toward the front door. His eyes were now better adjusted to the dim interior, and he noticed dark spots in the vomit and spattered on the wall. The hair stood up on the back of his neck as he realized it was blood. There were a lot of possible explanations, and none of them were good: an overdose, a robbery, a murder . . . everything Kai could think of involved the authorities.
    He took two long strides to the front door, yanked it open, and rushed out onto the front lawn. In the truck, Brandon was sitting up and leaning slightly out of his window to look down the street. Following his gaze, Kai saw that the clouds had moved down from the hilltop quickly, diffusing the sunlight with the first tendrils of gray mist. The front door to the house slammed shut behind him, and they both jumped. Brandon swung around and squinted at Kai.
    He held up the cereal box for his brother to see. “Got it,” he said flatly.
    Brandon nodded. “Good. Let’s get the hell out of here,” he called back, looking down at the rearview mirror. Kai was still a few feet from the truck when an eerie cry lifted into the air, echoing from the next street over. The sound stopped Kai in his tracks, and Brandon swung around to look behind them, his eyes wide.
    “You hear that?” Brandon said quietly. “Someone keeps screaming. Then it gets quiet. It’s making my skin crawl.” He put his hand on the back of his neck to demonstrate, chuckling nervously. Kai watched his brother and listened for a long moment with his breath held. After a few seconds, he realized that it was almost completely silent in the neighborhood. The approaching storm was tangible in the atmosphere, making it feel heavy, pressurized; the only sound came from bits of trash scratching down the sidewalk, pushed by a temperamental breeze.
    When the scream came from behind Trent’s house, Kai felt as though an electric current passed through his body. One moment everything around them was quiet, almost anticipatory, and then the same shrill cry ripped through the air. It was as though the sound knocked the wind out of him, the sound of an animal caught in a trap—a wail of confusion, fear, panic, and wild pain. Kai turned to face the house just as Trent appeared at the side gate.
    His old friend’s eyes rolled in his head, and his shirt was covered in dark filth. He shivered like he had just stepped out of an ice bath, and the right side of his head, neck, and chest were covered in dark red blood; his right eyebrow and the skin around it had been ripped violently away, exposing the bone.
    Kai’s mind was empty for a moment. Dimly, he heard himself yell, “Trent?” but he neither felt the vibration of his voice in his throat nor understood why he had called his friend’s name. He took a few lurching steps away from the truck, putting his hands to his head. Something in his head told him he should call an ambulance just as the wounded man issued another howl of pain, but he was finding it difficult to move. Then Trent charged.
    He came sprinting across the lawn, face contorted in pain and rage, eyes locked on Kai. Kai retreated with faltering steps, and a quiet voice in his head wondered why he was reacting so slowly. As the distance between them closed, he saw that