Page 10 of Insidious Monsters
We’d become…friends. I caught his eye, and his smile evoked a warm, comforting feeling inside me.
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Uncle Fred asked.
“I’m mapping.” I wiped my mouth with a napkin. “Silent Hill Trail.”
“Be careful,” Uncle Fred said.
They knew about the gravestone and the rose and were understandably concerned.
My mapping had allowed me to clear a four-mile radius beyond the rift, taking me to a two-hour total stay on the other side, more than any rift walker had ever managed without damage. Tomorrow I’d be pushing to two and a half hours; who knew, I might make it to the other side of the forest I’d started trekking through.
“We’ll be at the office.” Nandi placed a hand on Archie’s shoulder. “We have a case to look into. The client’s coming in for a chat.”
“The missing person?” Quentin asked.
“Yeah.”
Our client, Betsy Carr, was a nomad—a human with no fixed abode. She moved from patch to patch doing odd jobs for people for a meal or a little cash. She lived out of her car by choice and there were many like her.
Nomads had enough money to rent a flat or even buy one, but they preferred to live life on the move, unpredictable and exciting. They had their own community and network and looked out for one another, and now one of them had gone missing.
I hadn’t understood how a nomad could be labeled as missing, considering they had no fixed abode, but Betsy explained that they used a set of signs and symbols to let their community know they were okay, and warn them of danger. The last known location for Marty had a specific symbol written on the wall. One that said danger.
“Make sure to get a list of symbols from her,” Uncle Fred said. “You can use them to scout the city for clues.”
“Already got it,” Nandi said.
“On to the important stuff,” Archie said. “When do we put up the Christmas decs?”
“It’s mid-November,” Nandi reminded him.
“So? It’s never too early for a little festive spirit.”
“First of December,” Uncle Fred said. “Not a day earlier.”
The conversation turned to a debate on the best time to put up a tree and turn on the lights. I tuned out, suddenly very aware of the chill racing through my body. A shiver skipped across my skin, leaving my scalp tight and sore. Blood rushed up to flood my face with a sudden intense heat.
“August? You okay?” Nandi asked.
“August? August?” Uncle Fred sounded panicked.
I looked across the table at Quentin. His features blurred and then the table rushed up to meet my face.
four
Iwoke, burning up from the inside, to the sound of angry voices.
“What was in it? What was in the drug?” Nandi demanded.
“I don’t know. I’m not a scientist,” Quentin said calmly.
“And yet you let them administer it to her?”
“It’s a buffer. It’s supposed to help.”
“Does it look like it’s fucking helping her?”
Why was I in bed? What happened? I’d been eating and then…Shit. I’d passed out. How late was it? How long had I been out?
