Page 116 of The Executioners Three
Somehow they just erased the parts where Laina almost broke them in half and flames had come off her body.
Freddie soon learned that Bowman and Laina were no better when she was guided with them toward the water mill by a woman and man who could not have been more obviously federal agents than if they’d worn neon signs on their foreheads. In their matching bulletproof vests and dark jackets, the duo could have literally just walked off the set ofThe X-Files.
“I’m Agent Harris.” The woman flipped out a badge. She had dark skin, and her dark curls were tucked under a navy-blue cap. “And my partner is Agent Li.”
She notched her head toward the pale man at her side, who was currently frowning toward the stage.Heat least seemed to see what had happened to Dr. Born, even as literally no one else did. The three firemen clearing out debris passed by Dr. Born’s head without a second glance—repeatedly. And Ibrahim, Knowles, and the Prank Squad never once looked at the stage.
“We understand,” Harris continued, “you’ve been through a lot tonight, so we won’t keep you long. But we do need to get statements from you—and we also want to make sure you understand that what happened heretonight isn’t unusual. In fact, it’s more common than you’d think, and we have special resources to help people like you.”
Bowman shook her head, frowning. “I… have to be honest, Agents, I don’t know what you’re talking about right now. Why are we here?” She glanced at Laina. Then Freddie. “And what happened to us?”
Laina shivered so hard her emergency blanket crinkled. “Yeah, I don’t understand either. Was I sleepwalking again?” She too looked at Freddie.
But Freddie didn’t answer. After all, what could she say? It was probably better for the both of them if they never remembered what the heck they’d gone through—or what the heck they’d almost turned into.
The two agents seemed to agree. “Memory lapses aren’t unusual.” Li pulled a card from his jacket. “But if either of you need help—or if you find you simply want some answers, then here’s how you can contact us.”
“We’ve got stations all over the country,” Harris added. “And we have agents always manning the phones.”
Laina didn’t take the card; Bowman did. Her head kept wagging, though, and her brow stayed pinched as she examined it. “My nephew,” she said eventually. “Can I go to him now?”
“Good idea.” Harris nodded. “And when he wakes up, let him know we’re here for him too, if he needs us.”
An absent nod from Bowman as she palmed the card into her pocket. Then she laid one hand on Laina’s forearm and her other on Freddie’s shoulder. “Let me get you two home.”
“Um,” Freddie said. “If it’s okay, I’d rather leave with Divya.”
“Right, sure.” Bowman’s grip briefly tightened on Freddie’s shoulder while her eyes searched Freddie’s, as if confirming that Freddie really was as calm and unfazed as she seemed.
A wind whispered over them. A natural one that smelled like October and car fumes and broken pumpkins.
And eventually Bowman seemed to decide Freddiewasokay enough to be left behind, since she nodded once for Freddie. Then once for Laina. “Come on, Laina. Let’s get you out of here.” Together, emergency blankets crackling, they shuffled away.
Which meant Freddie could finally turn her full attention onto Agents Harris and Li—neither of whom looked surprised by Freddie’s choice to hang back.
“You,” said Harris once Laina and Bowman were out of earshot, “have the look of someone who remembers everything that happened here. So we’re going to need to rely on you for a full statement. Think you can manage that?”
“Yeah,” Freddie said. “I can manage.” Her voice was tired but surprisingly strong given all she’d just gone through. “Although…” Freddie glanced toward Dr. Born. There was still no one going near him. “Can no one see him hanging there?”
“They can.” Li’s expression folded into something thoughtful. “They just choose not to. It’s a common defense mechanism in situations like this. We see it all the time. The brain just shuts out anything it can’t explain.”
“Situations like this?” Freddie repeated.
“Unexplained phenomena,” Harris inserted. “That’s the official term for them.”
“So you’re telling me this was all real tonight? Blood oaths and murderous spirits and… andmagicbells?” Freddie wet her lips. To her surprise, she tasted blood and felt the heat of a fresh cut.
“Definitely looks to be real.” Harris gave an almost flippant shrug. “Most of the time, when we go to sites like this, nah. They aren’t real at all. But sometimes? Well, you’ve seen for yourself.”
Nothing happens in contradiction to nature,Freddie thought.Only in contradiction to what we know of it.
Freddie shivered, hugging her emergency blanket to her. Across the square, she could see the Prank Squad had finished giving their statements. Now they were being pushed into Ibrahim’s and Deputy Knowles’s squad cars, presumably to be taken home.
All except Divya, who kept flinging her hands in Freddie’s direction, as if she wouldn’t leave without her bestie, and howdareIbrahim suggest otherwise! Did he know that her mom cut hishair?
Freddie huffed a laugh—a sound filled partly with amusement for her friend, but mostly just frustration at these two agents standing beside her. “If you both know that sometimes these situations are real, why didn’t you intervene sooner? Like, I don’t know if you’ve noticed.” Freddie waved to the destroyed Village. “But things got pretty deadly, and we could havereallyused some help here sooner.”
Agent Li grimaced. “Yeah, that’s on us. We only just got a full idea ofthe case two hours ago, after a warrant finally came through that let us search Anne Ferris’s house. We were just starting to explore her attic when we got a call from Deputy Abadi.”
