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here?

here, and elsewhereyou are drawing attentiondid you think you could pass unnoticed forever?

not forever, said Jennifer,just long enough

i fear you were wrong

is it too late?

that remains to be seen

thank you for the warning, said Jennifer.

you don’t listen

i’m listening to you nowi’ll be more careful, i promise

listen better

i dont understand. i—

listen now

And then Jennifer heard it. In her defense, there was so much background noise in this world, so much distraction, that she had learned to tune it out in order to focus on her father. As a result, she sometimes missed things.

Like this.

it’s a child, said Jennifer.

try againi told you: you have to listen better

Jennifer did. She closed her eyes, concentrating only on one sense.

children, she said at last.i can’t tell how many, but one is closer than the rest

good, very good

i can’t make out what they’re sayingi don’t know the language

you don’t have to know it to understand its meaning

Now that she had isolated the sound, Jennifer picked up on the emotion behind it.

they’re crying out, calling to someone

and someone, said her mother,has heard

but what has it to do with me?

Jennifer’s mother looked beyond her to where the house stood concealed amid trees.

nothing this is for him alone, though he may regret his involvementwhat is coming for the children is very… pure

can i help him?

no, because something older and far more dangerous is coming for you

what must i do?