“You know how to protect us?”

“Nope, but as you know I’m kinda a bitch?—”

I said, “One second ago you were the nicest person in the world!”

“Third nicest. And I don’t know how to protect you, but as weallcan see, I’m totally necessary. I need to be there to call 911, because you, bestie, have no idea how to, apparently.”

I said, “See you tonight.”

9

LEXI

2004 - LAUREL RIDGE HOUSE

Iwas washing dishes from an early dinner. Dude was sitting beside me on the counter. “You know, you’re getting very insolent. Cooper hates cat butt on the kitchen counters; it’s bad enough you’re walking around here, but sitting...?”

Dude gave me an insolent look.

“Fine, I guess since he’s out of town, it’s fine. But no getting in the butter. I can see you eyeing it, you’re waiting for me to leave the room.”

Dude meowed, staring at the butter dish.

I put the lid back on it.

“No touching it. No pushing the top off. No eating butter.”

He stood up and batted my arm.

“I know, I love you too. You’re the best boy in the world.” He stared at me, that — I'm a good boy and slowly starving to death and you know you love me — look. I caved. Lid off, spoon in. I held it for him to lick.

I said, “I know I know, Dude, I am such a push-over, Cooper would agree if he was here.”

It was dusk, the light was dimming. Near the trees I thought I saw the first lightning bug of the season.

I smiled, peering out, thinking about how my mom would have said, “The first one, that’s good luck!”

But then I realized the wind was whipping up, spiraling around the ground. Dust rose from the ground up into the air — there was a roaring sound of a gusting wind.

Another storm?Holy shit, what was happening?

I got scared.

“I need the gun.” I turned and raced up the stairs again, taking two at a time, and yanked open the drawer, pulled the gun, and barreled back down the stairs.

I burst out the door onto the porch as a brutally ferocious wind gust slammed into me and sent me falling back against the wall. Holy smokes.

There was a loud thunderclap at the same time and a giant flash of light.

With my back to the house, I put my arm up to block the spraying rain, the splashing mud, the wind blustering around the porch, whipping my hair.

My heart was racing. I shook, certain there was something paranormal about this storm — it was too big, too intense, too sudden. It lasted for about the longest eight minutes of my life before it began to wane.

Thankfully,except out in the distance on the edge of my lawn were two forms. Definitely human. Two.

My eyes were on them as I crept forward, almost dark now, the ground wet from the brief yet torrential rain. I kept my gun ready, but for what? The two forms were unconscious.

I got about twenty feet away and one of the bodies moved.