Realm Wraith Read Free Page B

routine for you.”
    “ Don’t fucking tell me to calm down! ” Rayne’s voice thundered, his eyes maddened, nostrils flaring as he lost control of his temper. It only lasted mere seconds, but once he realized he was screaming, a deep horror chilled his spine. He took a step back, aghast. He never raised his voice. He never got angry like that at all.
    In his deeply embroiled emotion, his gaze met with Hawkins’s round face, hidden behind his spectacles. Dead silence followed, and the short man’s face went pale as he looked into Rayne’s eyes, his own opening from narrow to nearly circular.
    “Well, sorry to have—all right, I’ll have that file—I’ll e-mail you the document,” Hawkins stammered, “And I’ll call the client right away. T-terribly sorry.”
    He rushed down the hall, as if he couldn’t get away from him fast enough. Rayne just stood there frozen, horrified that he’d lost his temper. Closing his eyes, he pushed those emotions deep inside him. He didn’t have time to be upset. There were more important things to deal with right now.
    Trying to keep his hand steady, he returned to his office for his briefcase and staggered into an empty hallway. Not a single soul passed him on his way to the elevator. Even the lobby was devoid of people, save for the receptionist, but her nose was in a magazine, and she didn’t even notice him walking by.
    The deep snow outside covered the streets and sidewalks, soaking the hem of Rayne’s pants within moments, but the cold didn’t bother him. Instead of taking note of his surroundings, he glanced down, and across the street at the bus stop, where he could see the approaching bus off in the distance. The sense of panic welled up again and he felt his legs break into a run, almost unbidden, in his desperation to catch that bus. Luck seemed to be in his favor as the light opposite of him turned green, leaving the way clear for him to cross the street.
    As he ran across, a sudden dreamlike sensation crept up upon him. Everything around him slowed to a creeping crawl, and reality suddenly didn’t feel so real anymore. The immense disorientation forced him to stop for just a moment, trying to get his bearings. A sudden screech broke through to his consciousness, and he turned his head to see a black car spiraling on a patch of ice, barreling towards him at unbelievable speed.
    There was no time to get out of the way, no time for Rayne to even think beyond impending doom as he stood right in the car’s path. He heard shrieking tires against pavement, and a crushing metal weight colliding with his body. He could practically hear his bones shattering before his vision went black, and all warmth left his body.
    It took several painful minutes for Rayne to force his eyes open again, but he didn’t feel that any time had passed. The fog once again permeated his mind and, for a moment, he remembered nothing, not who he was or how he got there. The feeling didn’t last long, as he began to remember his name, his past. Then he remembered his job, the presentation he had to give the next day. But, before he could even process that, he saw Levi’s face flashing into his memory, and with horror he realized how late he was. He jumped to his feet, and the world tumbled around him, like he’d been thrust into a blender. Nothing felt right to him at that moment, not even himself.
    “My God, call an ambulance!” a woman shrieked.
    Turning around, Rayne saw a woman rushing towards him. Other concerned passer-bys also hurried up to him, eyes filled with concern.
    “Don’t worry about me,” he said, forcing a smile. “I’m all right, just had a dizzy spell.”
    But the woman rushed right past him without a glance, as did everyone else. Rayne turned around to follow their movement as he saw a crowd gathered in front of a stopped car. There was a man, bleeding, fumbling for the driver’s side door holding him inside the car. Some people moved to assist him out, but