Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Hawkins Blood: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how eerily quiet a hospital can be. When I was younger, my mom worked long shifts as an E.R. nurse. She used to joke that saying it was slow was like asking for chaos to strike. Now, as I crept through the hushed halls of Greenfield Hospital, that superstition didn’t seem so far-fetched. Every footstep felt like a cannon blast.“Creepy much?” I muttered, trailing behind William and Alexandra down another hallway. Alexandra turned and gave me a sharp look, and I stuck my tongue out in response.Right as we were about to round a corner, William came to a sudden stop, forcing me to skid to a halt before crashing into him. Alexandra reacted faster, catching my arm before I lost my balance completely. I sucked in a breath, trying not to cough—it was like holding back a storm in my chest.“Goodnight, Dr. Ardolf,” came a woman’s voice.“See you tomorrow, Phoebe,” a man answered.“Get some rest,” Phoebe sa

Alexandra hovered over me like a mother hen until I finally laid down for a nap. I felt like a five-year-old needing to be tucked in and reassured. I think he could tell I was still stewing from the argument with William, so he didn’t push. He just asked if I needed more meds, and whether I’d be okay if he headed down to the local library to dig through the archives.I told him I was fine—which wasn’t a lie. The meds had taken the edge off the worst of my symptoms, but my body was clearly under siege. I had to hope it wasn’t pneumonia, not after being around those kids at Greenfield Hospital. I hadn’t been near them for long, but my immune system wasn’t exactly a fortress. Even brief exposure could be enough.Still, Alexandra stayed close until I dozed off. He camped out beside me with his laptop open, scanning whatever digital records he could access outside the library database.I don’t remember when I drifted off, but when I woke, my joints were stiff a

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate hospitals? Not just dislike—hate. Especially being the patient. Hooked up to wires, blinking screens, tubes and needles—like some lab experiment gone wrong.Growing up, hospitals were a second home. If I wasn’t there visiting my mom, I was the one being poked and prodded. My immune system was always a mess, like trying to hold water with a fishing net. I got real tired of it real fast.The first thing I heard when I came to in Greenfield Hospital was the beeping of the heart monitor. Slow and steady, and irritatingly high-pitched—though maybe that was just the headache. My skull felt like it had a blacksmith hammering away inside. Everything ached. My throat burned, my chest was tight, and my limbs felt like they’d been trampled.Opening my eyes was a mistake. The fluorescent lights above stabbed at me like knives. I groaned, throwing my arm over my face. Even that hurt. I hissed through my teeth. “Ugh, where’s th

There wasn’t a single line in the article that outright said the Millers were rich. But their house—yeah, it said plenty. Large, elegant, and well-kept despite its age. Records tucked under my arm noted it was built sometime in the 1950s. Even with the yellow police tape stretched across the front porch, I found myself gawking as Alexandra crouched at the front door, picking the lock like he’d done it a thousand times before.“How do people end up with this much money?” I muttered, not really expecting an answer.The lock gave way with a faint click, and Alexandra stood up.“I think Daniel was a lawyer,” he said.“Yeah. The article mentioned Emily worked in sales at a pretty successful firm downtown.”He huffed. “Guess selling stuff pays more than hunting monsters.”I pulled out a pocketknife and sliced through the tape across the door. The knob turned easily under my hand, and the door creaked open. Alexandra slipped inside behind me

“Well, that was a waste of time,” I muttered, swinging my bag onto my shoulder. The soft thuds of two car doors closing behind me signaled that Alexandra and William had joined me on the cracked sidewalk.William gave a grunt of agreement, flicking his eyebrows up and glancing over at Alexandra. “Grant Wood? Grandma Moses? What the hell were you talking about in there?”“Art History class,” Alexandra replied casually. “Great way to meet women.”I laughed out loud. “You must’ve been desperate if you thought taking an actual class would help your dating life.”William unlocked the door to the motel room and pushed it open, shaking his head. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”Walking into the room was like falling into a black-and-white time machine. The entire place was decked out in a retro disco theme—checkered floors, metallic finishes, even a chrome minibar and a mini disco ball twirling lazily in front of the window.The