Page 60 of Into the Dark, We Go
"You’re the one yelling," Mitchell corrected, but obediently turned towards the car.
Nick crept up behind me, a smile tugging at his lips. "You’re fun when you’re angry."
"I’m not trying to be fun," I snapped. "I’m trying to do what we came here to do."
"I know, I’m sorry." He awkwardly patted my shoulder. "Hey, you’re shaking. Here."
He pulled off his hoodie and handed it to me. I considered refusing, but changed my mind. Why not? I was cold, uncomfortable, and exhausted. Without even thanking him, I took it and slipped it on. It smelled like Nick—a warm, earthy scent with faded hints of cedarwood and a subtle muskiness that clung to the fabric. Spice and summer storms.
Something about that unsettled me, a strange tightness in my stomach I couldn’t quite place. But I was too tired to overthink it.
It was just a hoodie.
"So, what happened?" Nick asked as we drove off.
I let out a long exhale and recounted. "We went to speak to Duane. I thought he might be more open with just me, or at least with me and June."
"You mean without us," Mitchell said bitterly.
June jumped to my defense. "Well, yeah, you kinda scare people a little, duh."
For the first time, she’d taken my side against her brother.
I recapped the events, feeling a surge of nausea as I recalled the state I’d found Duane in. As soon as we arrived at the hotel, I pulled out the stack of photos.
"He had it hidden," I explained. "We found it by accident. It looks like some of these are posters for missing people. And all the photos have dates on them."
With no large surface available, we spread the photos and printouts across the floor. I was so wiped out I nearly tipped over, but caught myself just in time.
"And you didn’t disclose this to the Sheriff?" Mitchell clarified, scanning the spread.
"Of course not," June said.
"Good." He frowned, picking at the collection.
"Lucas or Amanda aren’t there," I said. "We checked."
"Let’s put them in chronological order," Mitchell suggested.
For a few minutes, everyone fell silent as we arranged the photos and papers. Some years were missing, but for the most part, we managed to put them in order. The earliest date was September 17, 1984. The latest was a year before Lucas’s disappearance.
"I feel like we’re onto something, but I don’t know what that is," I said, hoping someone else would piece it together. All the dates were in the fall, mostly September, sometimes October. I buried my face in my palms and closed my eyes for a minute, hoping to refresh my mind without sleep.
"What are these dates?" June pointed to a selection.
"I’m not sure..." Mitchell replied.
I checked the time—7 a.m. The photo of Lucas and me still smiled back at me from my screen.
Nick, who had been on his phone for the past few minutes, suddenly announced, "These are Harvest Moons."
"What?"
"The Harvest Moon. Its date varies."
"And you think—" June started.
"Lucas and Amanda disappeared on Harvest Moons, too. I checked."
