Chapter 2

Time crawled.

The noon sun hammered down on the training field.

Two hours passed.

The freshmen in formation were shaking on their feet, sweat dripping from the brims of their caps and pattering onto the asphalt.

"Sir—"

A girl in the front row raised her hand.

She pointed at the gap under the metal door, her face bloodless.

"There's… there's something red running out from under there."

A ripple went through the ranks.

A few of the braver guys craned their necks to see.

From the rust-eaten seam at the bottom of the door, a thick, dark red fluid was slowly spreading outward.

On the scorching concrete, it was already drying at the edges into an ugly blackish-brown crust.

The freshmen began to crowd closer, murmurs rising.

Chloe pinched her nose and stepped back with a grimace, raising her voice.

"Oh my God, Emmy is being so childish!"

"She busted a bottle of red ink in there just to guilt-trip Eth into caving? Seriously?"

"What does she think this is, some Netflix drama? It's disgusting."

Chloe's words made the freshmen hesitate.

The tension eased, just a little. someone even muttered that I was taking things way too far.

Ethan's face darkened. He didn't explode — he just strode over to the shed, looked down at the dark puddle, and frowned.

"Emma, are you done yet?"

There was an edge of impatience in his voice now.

"Save the cheap sob story. You really think this is gonna make me go soft on you?"

No response from behind the door.

Ethan sneered and slammed his boot against the metal.

Clang!

The shock of it rang through the sheet metal.

From where I hovered, I saw the body — mine, propped against the inside of the door — lose its balance from the impact.

The stiffened frame tipped sideways, straight as a fallen log.

Thud.

My head cracked into the rusted rack behind the door with a sound that made your skin crawl.

The dull impact traveled clean through the wall.

Ethan heard it.

He didn't flinch. He laughed.

"Listen to that. Still got energy to throw things around."

He turned back to Chloe and the freshmen.

"Guess it's not hot enough in there yet. This princess complex isn't cured."

He pointed lazily at a couple of guys assigned to logistics.

"You. Go grab those old insulation tarps out of the supply room."

The boys froze, glancing at each other. Nobody moved.

"Did I stutter?"

Ethan's voice dropped a few degrees. His stare cut through them.

They didn't dare defy a cadet officer. Heads down, they jogged off toward the storage building.

A few minutes later they came back, arms full of thick, weather-stained tarps.

"Cover the vent up top."

Ethan pointed at the narrow louvered vent set high on the shed wall — the last opening on the entire structure.

The boys hesitated, then climbed onto a nearby stone block, dragged the heavy tarps over the vent, and cinched them down with rope.

The last thread of moving air was gone.

Inside the shed, the temperature kept climbing. The stink of blood grew heavier in the sealed space.

I flailed my translucent arms in midair, clawing at the tarps.

No matter how hard I pulled, my fingers slid straight through.

Outside, Ethan surveyed the smothered vent and dusted his hands off, pleased with himself.

He arched a brow at his audience like he was performing.

"Likes hiding out in the shade, does she?"

"Then let's give her some quiet. Time to grind the entitlement out of her."