Rick only managed to fall asleep when the sky was already beginning to lighten. He spent hours staring at the ceiling, listening to every sound of the night, overly attentive to noises he would have ignored before.
The fright still vibrated in his nerves. The paralysis. The unexplained cure.
But that wasn't what kept him awake.
It was the persistent feeling that he wasn't alone in the room.
At one point, he swore he saw something move near the door. He couldn't say what. Only that he remained sitting on the bed for several minutes afterward, his heart beating far too loudly in the absolute silence.
When he finally fell asleep, it was out of exhaustion.
The body gave in before the mind could keep fighting.
—
The Matthews family arrived at the diner in silence.
Jim opened the door and let Tabitha and Ethan step in first. They settled at a table near the window. The morning light filtered in softly.
Sara saw them as soon as they entered.
Their expressions didn't match an ordinary morning. There was tension there. Puffy eyes. Rigid postures.
The boy's presence made her hesitate.
Even with the control she felt now over the voices, she didn't know if it was permanent. She didn't know if something could change suddenly. And the last thing she needed was to be near Ethan if that happened.
Nathan, seated in the corner, noticed the tension in his sister. It wasn't his day to tend the animals, so he had stayed there, watchful. He looked at Sara with clear concern, but she simply nodded, forcing a half reassuring smile.
She took a deep breath.
Control. She had control now.
Sara approached with her notepad and wrote down their orders without making conversation. Just the necessary. Professional. Distant. Tabitha and Jim ordered toast and coffee. Ethan asked for pancakes.
Sara stepped away as soon as she finished.
After serving the food, she went back to the kitchen. The fact that she hadn't felt or heard anything made her sigh in relief.
Nathan gave an approving nod when he saw his sister's behavior.
The door opened and Boyd walked in.
With a single sweep of his gaze, the sheriff scanned the room, as he always did. After spotting the family, he approached.
The conversation was low, but not discreet enough to completely escape attentive ears.
"Have you made a decision?"
Jim exchanged a quick look with Tabitha before answering. "We're staying in town."
"And Julie?" Boyd asked, noticing the girl's absence.
"She's staying at Colony House for now."
Jim and Tabitha had decided on the way there. She had suggested they all move to Colony House, but he had been firm: Julie needed space, and that wasn't a good place for Ethan to live.
She accepted with reluctance.
Ethan resisted, insisting he wanted to live there too. Jim had to promise they could visit her every day before the boy gave in.
They finished eating in silence.
Boyd walked them to Frank's old house. He handed the key to Jim with a firm handshake.
"I'll bring wood later and help board up the windows this afternoon."
"Thank you, Sheriff."
Boyd said goodbye and headed toward the sheriff's office to check on other pending matters.
The family went inside.
They began unpacking their bags. Tabitha separated Julie's clothes with excessive care. She folded each piece as if that were a silent attempt to repair something that didn't have a simple fix.
Jim went to lock Meagan's old room, which still hadn't been cleaned, then returned to organize Ethan's belongings while the boy explored the rooms.
No one spoke much.
Each of them dealing with the new reality in their own way.
—
At lunchtime, Julie went up to the attic to call Daniel and Ellis, just like she had the day before.
"Lunch is ready."
Ellis appeared first at the opening, sweaty, with dust smeared across his face and hair. "Already? I thought it was still around nine."
"You lost track of time."
Daniel emerged right after. He immediately noticed something had changed in Julie's posture.
She didn't seem as defeated anymore. There was still weight in her eyes, but her stance was steadier. As if she had spent the entire morning reorganizing the internal pieces that the conversation with her parents had scattered.
Ellis climbed down first. Julie waited while Daniel finished untying the rope.
As they walked toward the main staircase, she commented,
"Donna gave me some tasks."
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Community service or occupational therapy?"
She let out a small nasal laugh. "Occupational therapy. Donna-style."
He nodded. Despite her rigid appearance, Donna protected Colony House like a lioness guarding her cubs.
"She doesn't like seeing anyone standing still and overthinking," Daniel said.
"That's exactly what she said."
"And what's the task?"
"Laundry with Fatima. There's an old laundry room in the back with some ancient machines. Oh, and they make their own soap."
"Of course they do." Daniel let out a short laugh. "Forced scout camp with a supernatural twist."
Julie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "If you have dirty clothes, I can wash them for you. I'll be there anyway."
"Really?" Daniel considered it. "Alright. But keep an eye on them. Since everything's shared, someone might end up taking clothes without saying anything."
She frowned, alertness flashing in her eyes. "Seriously?"
"Better safe than sorry."
[She's already washing your clothes. Soon she'll be cataloging your shirts by color and debating the best spin cycle for leather jackets.]
Daniel made a visible effort not to react. His lips pressed together by a millimeter.
[Relax. I'm just documenting the process. For posterity.]
Daniel rolled his eyes. "My posterity is grateful."
Julie looked noticeably more attentive after the warning. She would be careful with her things from now on. She didn't want to lose anything, especially here, where replacing anything was practically impossible.
They reached the kitchen. As always, no meat. Scrambled eggs, beans, and flour.
Daniel felt like cooking something decent in the motorhome, but he didn't want to waste time. He ate quickly, not paying attention to the taste.
Afterward, he went to the vehicle, grabbed a bag, put in the dirty clothes from his inventory, and handed it to Julie. He left the underwear out, of course.
When he returned to the attic, Ellis was already there. They worked at a steady pace for the next few hours.
Around two in the afternoon, they finally finished.
"At last." Ellis let the plank drop with a sigh. Sweat ran down his forehead.
"Tell me about it." Daniel's hand was trembling. He was breathing fast, sweat dripping down his face.
Ellis watched him. "I told you to rest and finish tomorrow."
"What matters is that we're done." Daniel wiped his face with his forearm, relieved. "Now I can do something that doesn't involve a hammer."
Ellis let out a tired laugh. "Fair enough."
"Can you handle the rest? I need a shower."
"Go ahead."
Daniel took a quick shower in the motorhome, started the engine, and drove toward Sara and Nathan's house.
As he passed Frank's old house, he saw Jim and the sheriff boarding up the windows. They paused when he drove by and watched the vehicle. Daniel simply waved and continued on.
When he arrived, he knocked on the door, feeling the sheriff's gaze on his back. Sara opened it, followed by Nathan. Dark circles under their eyes, but an oddly calm posture.
"I was waiting for you. Come in." She stepped aside.
"Are you okay?"
Sara nodded. "Yes. It's been weeks since I've felt like this. I feel like I have control again."
"Good to hear." Daniel sat in the nearest chair, elbows on his knees, no ceremony. "So tell me."
Sara took a deep breath before starting. "Last night, I tried talking to the voices again. Nothing. Absolute silence." She paused. "But I woke up at three in the morning. They were there. They said they could only communicate because the others were busy."
Daniel rested his fingers against his mouth, thinking. "Who are 'the others'?
"They didn't explain. Just said that."
He gestured for her to continue.
"I asked several questions. Some they answered. Others they said they didn't know or couldn't say."
"And what did they say?"
Sara raised her hand and began counting on her fingers, as if she had mentally organized every piece of information to avoid losing any.
"First: the creatures that walk at night aren't the most dangerous. There are worse things deeper in the forest. But the barrier doesn't let them pass beyond the stone."
Daniel already knew that. Boyd had mentioned something about the stone and something that chased him and Kenny when they crossed the supposed boundary.
"Second." Sara continued, her voice tightening. "They told us to be careful. We're being watched by the crows we saw on the fallen tree. They follow us when we leave town. But they can't observe us if we're inside a house or structure protected by a talisman."
So those bastards have limitations.
It was useful information, but also potentially manipulated. If the voices wanted them to know that, there was a reason.
"And what are they? What are the creatures? Who's behind all of this?" Daniel asked the most important questions.
Sara hesitated. Her hand closed around her own arm, fingers tightening in the fabric of her sleeve.
"They just said they were once like us. Trapped here."
"And the creatures that walk at night too. But they became corrupted by power. They agreed to lose their humanity in exchange for immortality." Her voice faltered slightly. "But it turned out to be something different from what they expected."
"And how did they transform into that? Who's behind it?"
"They didn't say."
The chair creaked slightly as Daniel shifted. He turned his head toward the window for a second, not looking at anything in particular.
As expected, they didn't reveal the most important part. From what they said, these voices could be the souls of former residents who died and refused to join the malicious side. Or they could be something else pretending to help, gaining trust before manipulating.
He leaned more toward the second option.
Daniel didn't let his thoughts show. Better to pretend he believed in their goodwill.
"That's good news. We know more than we did before." He looked at Nathan as well, making sure to include both of them. "And it proves you're valuable, Sara. That you have a real connection to this place. The sheriff may find out about what you did, but he won't afford to lose someone with information. You're too important to discard."
They nodded, relieved by the validation.
"What do you think about talking to the priest? Telling him everything that happened."
Sara leaned back slightly, apprehension clear on her face. "I don't know... what if he thinks I'm crazy? Or worse?"
Nathan frowned, uncomfortable. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. He's close to the sheriff."
"Exactly." Daniel let the word hang before continuing, his tone firm but not pushy. "If we get the priest on our side first, it'll be easier to convince the sheriff afterward. It's strategy. We don't need to run straight to the sheriff with all this. We need someone who can act as an intermediary. Someone he trusts."
[Persuasion manual, classic technique: use a trusted intermediary to legitimize questionable information. Works in 80% of cases. The other 20% usually involve someone ending up in a wooden box.]
Nathan considered it. The logic was hard to refute, and they both knew it.
"He's right, Sara. We need support. And Father Khatri understands things other people don't. Spiritual things, you know? If anyone can listen without judgment, it's him."
Daniel wasn't surprised. In the original timeline, it had been Nathan who eventually told everything to the priest during confession because he couldn't carry the weight alone. He was just accelerating the process.
Sara looked at her brother for a long moment. The reluctance was still there, but giving in to Nathan was different from giving in to Daniel. She sighed.
"Okay." Her voice came out low. "We'll talk to him."
Daniel stood up. "Then let's go now. The sooner, the better."
The three of them left.
The street was quiet in the afternoon. Boyd was still helping Jim with the windows when the movement on the sidewalk caught his attention.
The hammer slowed in his hand.
He slowly lifted his head.
Daniel, Sara, and Nathan were crossing the street together toward the church. Sara with tense shoulders and lowered eyes. Nathan with that constant peripheral vigilance of someone expecting the worst. Daniel with his hands in his pockets, the relaxed posture of someone who owed no one an explanation.
The church door was slightly ajar.
Daniel pushed it open slowly. The creak echoed inside the empty interior.
Before the door closed completely, Boyd could still see the silhouettes of the three of them being swallowed by the dimness inside.
He remained still for a few seconds longer, his gaze fixed on the church entrance.
Then he returned to work.
But suspicion had been planted in his mind.
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