CHAPTER TEN

I kick and thrash, but it's no use. My back hits the ground, my head smacking painfully against the wood. Hands are all over me, holding my arms and legs tight. A girl laughs, and in the sliver of moonlight coming through the window I see Heather.

She's not alone. There are half a dozen other girls with her, easy.

"Let me go!" I shout.

They laugh again, and Heather leans over me. "We caught you," she says.

"What are you doing?" I gasp. I jerk again, but it does nothing.

"Don't even bother fighting. You won't get away from us." Heather giggles.

One of the girls dances around in glee, the moonlight glinting off her star-shaped necklace.

“Like it?” she asks, touching the necklace.

My heart slams against my rib cage. "What are you going to do?" I ask.

The girls don't answer. Instead, they lift me off the floor and yank me toward the door.

With a grunt, I kick, but it's no use. They're stronger than I am.

"Let me go," I scream, trying to twist my arms free. "Help!"

The girls only giggle, the ones who aren't holding me bouncing their way down the hall. In the rooms we pass, I know other girls are sleeping. But if they hear my screams, they make no move to help me.

I kick my legs and manage to hit someone, but the girls have the advantage of numbers. In no time at all, we're through another door and outside in the unforgiving cold.

"We have to welcome you to Hawthorn the proper way," an Asian girl says. She’s wearing the same star necklace as the other girl.

I can't even get a full breath in. The proper way? What does she mean?

And then it sinks in. This is a hazing.

"Help!" I shout.

It's no use. We're already at the bridge, and if no one came to my aid inside they're sure as hell not going to out here.

They pull me up onto the bridge, where my bare feet land on the wood and Heather yanks me around to face her. "You're going to jump into the water. And then you're going to swim to shore."

A jolt of fear shoots through my heart.

"You're crazy," I spit out. "It's too cold. It'll kill me!"

"Not if you swim fast enough," one of the girls sing-songs.

The next thing I know, I'm being tossed over the side.

"No!" I scream as I tumble into the freezing water.

Its a million pinpricks against my skin, more like fire than ice. The shock pushes the air from my lungs, and for a few seconds I can't even move.

But then my desire to live kicks in, and I'm moving.

I'm a good swimmer, swim team three years in a row, but the water is deep, and I'm disoriented from the fall. Still, I keep kicking. Keep praying I'm going in the right direction.

Finally, I scramble to the surface and break through, coughing and gasping for air.

"Swim, bitch," one of the girls yells.

I don't need to be told twice. The water is freezing, and I have no desire to be here.

I strike out and swim toward shore, my arms and legs churning for all they're worth. But everything is still so cold. My muscles burn, and I'm sure I'll never make it.

It's like the water has a mind of its own. As soon as I think I'm going to win this battle, it gets another shot in. Everything is hazy, my lungs and muscles screaming for relief. I keep going, keep pushing.

My bare feet press into mud, and I half swim, half scramble my way to shore. The ground is cold but nothing like the river. Collapsing onto it, I press my cheek into the grass and rake in deep breaths.

"Look at that," Heather says from somewhere close by. "She actually did it."

"I thought she would die," one of the girls says.

"Is this too much?" someone else asks.

"Shut up, Kaylie," Heather snarls.

Hands grab the back of my soaking sweater, and I'm yanked to my feet. I shiver like a leaf, my teeth knocking together. Two girls are holding me up, but it's not like I have the strength to fight anyway.

"Good job." Heather crosses her arms. "Now let's see how you do with step two."

My heart leaps like a scared rabbit. Step two? What does she mean?

"Take your clothes off," Heather says. "And walk back to our room naked."

A girl giggles. "Just in time for breakfast."

Behind the girls, the sky is turning purple. It's almost dawn.

Which means everyone will be up, and everyone will see me walking into school naked.

Something turns in me, a change as quick as the snapping of a twig, and it's like the fear just dissipates. I've had enough of Heather and her cronies' bullshit.

"No." I lift my chin.

"Excuse me?" Heather's words drip with venom.

"I said, no."

One of the girls twists my arm, and energy surges through me. It's like nothing I've ever felt before, more powerful than any emotion or runner's high. Stepping back, I knock the girl onto the ground with a jab of my elbow.

The other girl holds tightly to me, but I take her arm and flip her over. She lands on her back with a cry.

There's a cacophony of shouts as Heather and the other girls descend on me, but the power vibrating in me is more than a dozen people could hold.

They try to pin me down, but it's like the more they attempt to touch me, the more powerful and energized I become. I wrench my arms free and punch a girl square in the face. She cries out, blood spurting from her nose.

I'm a tornado. I'm a tidal wave. A force of nature.

Hands grab for me, but I slip through them like water. I'm lightning fast, and I make quick work of the girls one by one, pushing them off and knocking them to the ground.

I'm not even thinking, just fighting. It's like someone else is in my body, someone else is moving my arms and legs, side-stepping attacks and striking back.

The girls are shouting and screaming and scrambling away. Their panic, sweeter than candy, makes me smile.

Heather is the last one, still standing her ground, still trying to grab me. I duck under her punch and grab her by the hair, yanking her down. She shrieks, and I climb on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

"Get off me!" she screams.

"Never." I press a knee into Heather's chest.

"I'll make you pay for this," Heather spits.

"I don't think so." I smile, leaning close. "You're done, Heather. Done."

In the bright orange sunrise I see her eyes widen with fear. "Let me go," she whimpers. "Please."

A hot desire for revenge pumps through me. Heather underestimated me, and now she gets to see what I'm made of.

I crack my knuckles, pleasure at what's to come tickling the back of my brain. One punch and she's done for. One punch and--

"Oh my God." I drop my hand.

What was I about to do? Was I really trying to... to kill her?

Scrambling off Heather, I stare at my hands. What just happened? How did I even do those things? I don't know the first thing about fighting!

Heather shakes and crawls backwards, trying to get away from me. She doesn't need to, though. They pushed me into the river, tried to make me walk into school naked, but I'm the monster.

Not knowing what else to do, I turn and run straight into the woods.