Within These Walls

Life After Dark: 15 (WTW Sequel)

"That depends. Anything from Hermes yet?" Marcus asks me.

His obsidian eyes are dull and flat. I shake my head, trying to figure out what's going through his head.

"You think Hermes knew what was going to happen?" Janie asks. "It's not a coincidence that he sticks us out in the middle of nowhere and a couple of weeks later, someone Blanks."

"He probably did," Pablo says with a nod.

"I'm not sure I like seeing you playing nice, Pablo," Janie says, eyes narrowed.

He leers back. "That's not what you said last night."

"Guys, focus!" Jones hollers, practically hopping from one foot to the next.

"I think we should wait," I finally chime in. "Hermes wanted us here for a reason. Maybe he wanted to make sure we'd all flipped first."

"Except you," Pablo reminds me snidely.

I look at him dead in the eye. "I'm pretty sure he knows exactly what I am. Don't forget that I'm your only connection to him. And clearly we need him or someone else to tell us what the hell is going on. But maybe before he was willing to do that, he needed to make sure there was no chance the rest of his kind could infiltrate our group."

"You think he knew someone was going to blank?" Marcus asks.

"If he's the Source of our abilities, it stands to reason that he's got the ability to see the future like Pablo, only better," Janie answers.

"I don't think he could see the future," Willow says. "The Shroud can't be that powerful or we'd all be in serious trouble. What if Hermes brought us here because something about this place makes people blank sooner than later? Like, this place exposes us to the Shroud's influence more than anywhere else."

Janie blinks. "You've lost me."

"Think of it this way," Willow explains. "The closer you are to a Wi-Fi signal, the better the connection. I'm assuming their ability to mind control people gets stronger with proximity."

"Okay, hold the damn phone," Jones says, shaking his head vigorously. "You sound like you're saying we're close to the Shroud right now."

"It would explain why he insisted we stay here and wait."

Chills break out over me. That actually makes sense. My nightmares about being buried alive, the ones where I wake up shaking and sweating and having to remind myself to breathe, have been more intense than ever. There are new details: encompassing white light, bone-chilling cold that seems to reach deeper into me than winter ever did, a steady thrum that sounds like electricity in my ears. And the emotions. The helplessness, the feeling of suffocating to death a thousand times over.

If these dreams have anything to do with the Shroud, and they've been getting stronger, it must mean one thing.

They're here. Somewhere.

We decide to stay at the cabin. We all chip in and take the bodies out into the woods at the back of the house. It's one thing to hear about dead strangers on the news, and quite another to touch and feel them. Hold a foot, slide your hand under hips, feel the silky texture of hair on the back of arm. It takes everything in me not to drop my load and bolt.

The others head back into the cabin except for Marcus. He sits on the porch, an open can of beer on the floor beside him as he stares at the twilight sky. That distant look in his eyes has eclipsed his expression. I want to know where he's gone, but I hover awkwardly by the front door until he blinks and looks at me.