Page 90 of Conjure

A lump forms in my throat when memories flood back in. I strike a flame, watching it dance in the silence. My Zippo is the only item I have of my dad’s. If I ever lose it, I’ll be fucking devastated.

Gwen is waiting for a response, so I sigh and put the Zippo down, and then I rest my elbows on the table and drag my fingers through my hair. I pull on the strands, but the pain does nothing to calm me down. “We drove past Wilfred’s farm, and Camryn wanted to investigate. I couldn’t fucking stop her.” I jiggle my knee beneath the table, my fingers tangled in my short strands. “Wilfred walked in on us in his living room, and Camryn… She was…” I pull harder, feeling my eyes burn with unshed tears. “He touched her.”

Across from me, Gwen swipes at her wet cheeks.

“I beat him up, but he got away. It was bad.”

“What happened next?”

Shaking my head, I drop my hands to the table and meet her sorrowful gaze. “He attacked me, knocked me out and tied me up, and then he shot her.”

Outside, a car drives past, the sound muted. I can’t look Gwen in the eye, so I focus on a scratch on the table.

“He held the shotgun to my head, and Camryn was ready to…” I grimace as the pain behind my ribs spreads.

I can’t fucking breathe.

I curse and shoot up so fast that the chair topples over. Gwen barely flinches, watching me pace. I walk up to the window, peering at the houses across the road. One of the neighbors shoves a bag in the trash can, shaded by a tall tree, streaks of sunshine breaking through the canopy of leaves overhead.

A shiver runs through me as a gentle breeze sways the gnarly branches. “Something entered through the open window,” I mumble, watching the man walk back up the drive.

“What do you mean?”

I turn away from the view and lean back against the counter. “You know what I mean. Something is hunting us.”

Gwen watches me cross my ankles and curl my fingers around the counter’s edge before she rises to her feet and picks up the Zippo. She hands it to me and shuts the window. Then she lingers by my side, her arm brushing against mine as she whispers, “I’m scared.”

There are specks of blood on my Doc Martens. Swallowing past a growing lump in my throat, I shift my gaze to look at her.

She smiles weakly, her eyes swimming with tears, as she shakes her head and laughs beneath her breath. Straightening up, she hugs her arms around herself. “How do we defeat it?”

I watch her scuff the ground with her foot. Her red socks have a chocolate bar pattern, and her frayed jeans shorts are stained near the pocket. She smells of cherry and antiseptic.

I already miss the girl upstairs.

“How do we defeat it, Dom?” she repeats, her chin quivering. “Benny and Wilfred are dead, and Brittany is in hospital.” She sniffs, swiping at her eyes. “At least it attacked him instead of you guys.”

“I think Brittany was right,” I reply, crossing my arms and flicking the Zippo lid open. “It wants Camryn... Whateveritis. That’s why it protected her by killing Wilfred.” I flip it shut again.

Gwen’s chest inflates with a deep breath. “What does that mean?”

“Fuck if I know.” I shrug, uncrossing my ankles. “It feeds on strong emotions. Fear. Anger. Desire.”

“You think it needs to feed to grow stronger.”

“Maybe.” I wet my lips, considering all possibilities. “We need to do some research.”

“What research?”

That’s a good fucking question. How do we find out information about a…supernatural being? How do we defeat it? “We start with the missing family. Scour the local library for information.”

She nods, worrying her bottom lip while looking deep in thought. “Yeah, let’s start there.”

TWENTY-SIX

BRITTANY

“Your vitals look good,”the nurse tells me as she makes notes on the iPad. “I’ve given you more pain meds to help you sleep. They should kick in soon.” With a final smile, she squeezes my foot through the thin blanket. “Remember, the sooner you rest, the sooner you’ll be out of here.”