Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9

[Countdown. I minute.]

Lyra sat up on the sacks, eyes half-lidded, watching the Manor Lord through the door crack while her mind ran the

numbers.

0:

From here to the mist zone, get the door open, sprint across, snatch the thing. The whole sequence would take ten seconds

And by the time she grabbed it, the game would be over. Perfect timing.

Third floor, west wing.

Lina was flattened against the wall like a gecko, fingers jammed into the seams between the stones, sweat soaking through the back of her shirt.

The stone ledge under her feet was barely four inches wide. One slip and she’d plummet three stories straight down.

Crash!

Something massive shattered in the room on the other side of the wall. The whole building shuddered. Dust rained down. outside, some of it falling into her eyes, stinging until tears ran down her cheeks.

Lina bit down hard on her lip, terrified to make a sound.

She could hear them clearly. Those monsters, just inside the wall, tearing through everything in a frenzy. A scythe scraped along the stone with an ear-splitting screech, as if any second it would punch right through and take her head off with it.

Her arms were burning. Her legs were shaking so hard she could barely feel them anymore. All she could do was pray, the same words over and over inside her head.

God. Virgin Mary. Every saint she could name. Please, please save me. Watch over me.

On Southern Reach’s livestream, the chat had buried itself under a blizzard of white text.

DearGod: [Oh god, they’re right there in that room. Lina is just outside!)

StayAlive: [Hang on, Lina. Just a few more seconds.]

୮

GoSouthernReach: [You’re our last hope. Please, please make it out alive.]

Daru [Come on, Lina. You’re the pride of Southern Reach.]

OneDistrictLeft. [You’ve got this, Lina ]

Inside the Southern Reach Strategic Command Center, the air was thick enough to choke on.

The Wraiths are doing a sweep. Leveling everything”

‘How much longer can the walls hold?”

“Update from Draconia just came in-confirmed The Wraiths cannot break through walls

15

131 am

63.v

Which incans as long as they don’t teleport or phase through. Lina wins. We win

On the screen, Lina’s face was paper white, sweat and tears running together until she looked utterly wrecked.

Over on Draconia’s livestream every viewer’s heart was lodged in their throat too

Another DayAlive: [Are we actually about to win this? Thirty seconds left.]

NeverAteVeggies: [And Lyra is still just lying in that storage room. OMG, is she zoning out?]

BornToCuss: [25, 24, 23…]

LuckyKoi: [Am I crazy, or is she smiling?]

On the split screen, Lyra was indeed smiling. She stood up from the sacks and stretched, long and lazy.

“Break time’s over.”

She rolled her wrists and rotated her ankles, drawing a string of crisp little pops from the joints.

[Countdown: 10 seconds.]

Time to go grab the toy.

“Veilmist, on.”

Her figure vanished into thin air.

Lyra moved like a leopard mid-hunt-silent, predatory. She tore out of the storage room and sprinted straight for the

manor’s mist zone.

Every analyst in the command center was stunned by her sudden move.

“What is she doing?”

Why go invisible this close to the end?”

‘Her camera angle. She’s heading toward the Manor Lord.”

‘She’s insane. She’s going straight for the worst Wraith out there!”

Lana’s pupils contracted. She remembered that faceless thing with the gaping, fanged mouth.

Just standing there, the creature had radiated an overwhelming presence.

[Countdown 8 seconds.]

She was close now.

She could smell the foul stench rolling off the Manor Lord.

[Countdown. 7 seconds.]

She shipped around to its side. The compass was within arm’s reach.

[Countdown: 6 seconds ]

25

9:31 am

vysiewer on salivestream held their breath

Draconia’s chat had gone completely still, every pair of eyes locked on that Wraith

Even though they couldn’t see Lyra, they knew exactly where she was

[Countdown 5 seconds.]

Lyra extended her hand slowly Her fingertips were almost touching the compass.

Countdown 4 seconds]

The Manor Lord didn’t move.

[Countdown 3 seconds)

Her fingertips brushed the metal.

A frigid chill crawled up her fingers

[Countdown: 2 seconds |

Her five fingers closed around the compass.

[Countdown I second]

Now!

Lyra yanked hard, ripping the compass right out of the Manor Lord’s grip.

And in that same instant, the Manor Lord moved. It didn’t open its eyes because it didn’t have any. The fanged maw on its face split wide and let out a soundless roar straight toward where Lyra stood.

Something hammered through Lyra’s skull like a sledge. Her vision blacked out for a beat. The Veilmist shattered, and her body snapped back into visible space.

‘Look out” Lana cried.

Before the viewers could even react, the Manor Lord’s attack was already upon her. Tentacles erupted from its face-dozens of them-lashing toward Lyra like bolts of lightning. Too fast to dodge.

just when everyone thought it was over. Lyra vanished from the spot. Almost in the same heartbeat. The game’s mechanical

Voice rang out across Rose Manor.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify