Page 23

REPULSIVE

There was no life in the Cursed One’s eyes. Spittle dangled from its savage mouth. Like a rabid dog, it sniffed and stalked and shrieked. It swiped at anyone who got too close.

Our families ran for the gate, but it was closed. A few of them tried to climb it. Fists and feet caught on spiky tips and broken glass. The Government had obviously designed the gate to be unscalable, like all their gates.

They were watching us right now, through those cameras. They could have opened the gate to let us out, but I knew they wouldn’t do that, not as long as the Cursed One was trapped in here. It didn’t matter that all these people were trapped in here too. The Government would never risk opening that gate. The Curse was too contagious. Too deadly.

“Is this some kind of test?” I asked Dante.

His gaze cut past me, drinking in the scene of total pandemonium that had broken loose all around us. “I don’t think so.”

A shrill shriek sang above the panicked chorus. It was one of the Program Managers. Ms. Pirana. The Cursed One had rushed past the mass of Apprentices, honing in on her and Ms. Featherdale, like it was drawn to them. It was closing in fast. The two women held to each other, shaking and sobbing.

I felt myself take a step toward them. Somehow, I’d managed to repel the Cursed Ones yesterday in the Forbidden Zone. For whatever reason, they were afraid of me. If I could just put myself between this Cursed One and everyone else…

Except everyone else was scattered all across the Garden. We were all in grave danger. Sure, Apprentices were immune to the Curse, but we weren’t immune to being torn to pieces by savage monsters.

I froze in place, trying to figure out what to do.

I didn’t have much time. Any second now, the Cursed One was going to bite someone.

I needed to distract it.

I sprang into action, lunging for a garden hose. I pulled the trigger and a jet stream of water exploded out of the head, smashing into the Cursed One. An enraged, primal roar erupted out of its pale, cracked lips. Then it dropped to all fours and bounded toward me like an angry monkey.

As it passed the big black SUV, the other doors swung open and three people jumped out. No, not people. There was no humanity left in their eyes. They all wore the same soulless, savage expression.

It wasn’t just one Cursed One who’d hitched a ride in that SUV. There werefourof them.

Everyone starting running around the Garden even faster. And screaming louder than ever before. The running and screaming only served to incite the Cursed Ones. The three new arrivals charged at the panicking people.

“Leave them alone!” I shouted.

The first Cursed One stopped.

Looked at me.

Looked at the hysterical people running around.

Then it sprinted away from me to join the other Cursed Ones in the hunt.

I hit it with another squirt from the hose, but it didn’t even seem to notice. I tried blasting the other three with water; they didn’t notice either. They were too focused on all the panicking people running around. And they were avoiding me just like the Cursed Ones yesterday in the Forbidden Zone.

If the Cursed Ones had a boogie monster—that thing they feared above all else—I guess I was it. But why? What was so repulsive about me?

I turned up the pressure on the hose and hit one of the Cursed Ones with an even stronger blast of water. It stumbled back. But that hardly slowed it down. A few seconds later, it was back on the hunt. And all the people running around screaming weren’t helping matters.

I grabbed a man’s arm as he sped past me. “Stop it,” I told him, keeping my voice quiet and level. “You need to be still and silent. You’re only making things worse.”

He bumped me hard with one of his shoulders, freeing himself. Then he went right back to running around in circles.

Mom was trying to calm people down, but no one was listening to her either.

I threw down the useless hose. It wasn’t helping at all.

“Haven’t you guys read the emergency guide on the Cursed Ones?”

No one answered me. I doubted they could even hear me over all their shouting.