Page 132 of Ripe
The Earth pulses.
Once. Twice. Three times. A sound travels through the field. Not screaming. Not crying.
A sigh.
Thousands of voices releasing in one breath.
The corn bows. Every stalk around us bends inward toward me—toward us.
My skin goes cold. “What did we do?” I ask but he doesn’t answer. “Kai.”
His eyes find mine. “The Revel is complete.”
My stomach twists.
“So that’s good?”
“No.”
Of course it fucking isn’t.
I sit up fully. “What happens now?”
He looks at my wrist.
The red ribbon is changing. Dark spots spread across the satin. At first, I think it’s dirt. Then one blooms beneath the fabric. Wet. Red. Blood.
My blood.
I stare.
“I didn’t cut myself.”
He grabs my wrist. The blood keeps spreading. Slowly soaking the ribbon from beneath.
My heart starts pounding.
“Kai.”
He looks toward the center of the hollow. The dirt moves and something pushes upward.
A hand.
I scream and he pulls me behind him.
The hand breaks through the soil.
Female. Pale. Fingers caked with black Earth then a second hand appears. Then arms.
Someone is climbing out.
No. Not someone.
Her.
I know before I see her face.
The woman from my vision. The first Bride.
