Page 87

When I stand, my eyes sweep the tree line. Movement. Far back among the trees. A figure. Tall. Motionless. Watching the cottage.

I blink. It's gone. No branches moving. No retreating footsteps. Nothing.

"Carys."

She joins me at the doorway.

"What?"

"Did you see anyone?"

She scans the trees.

"No."

"I thought..."

I stop myself. Thought isn't evidence. Not yet.

We go back inside. The deadbolt clicks into place. The sound is strangely comforting. For about five seconds.

Then every light in the cottage dims. Not flickers. Dims. As though someone is slowly lowering a switch.

The temperature drops. Sayer wraps his arms around himself.

"It did that before."

"When?"

"The night before my parents disappeared."

The lights brighten again. Normal. Then every electronic device in the room powers on at once.

The television. The radio. My tablet. Carys's laptop. Three phones. The weather radio crackles with static. The television screen remains black. Then white letters slowly appear. Not on one device.

On all of them.

The same message.

STOP ASKING QUESTIONS.

Carys inhales sharply. Sayer takes an unconscious step backward. I move in front of both of them before I even realize I've done it.

The message lingers. Five seconds. Then every screen goes dark. The television shuts off.

The radio falls silent. The laptop reboots as though nothing happened.

No record. No notification. Nothing.

I look at Carys.

"Paper."

She nods immediately and writes the exact wording into the notebook. Good. Facts. Always facts.

No one speaks for nearly a minute. Finally, Carys breaks the silence.

"What if we're making it worse?"