Page 7 of In Her Fears (Jenna Graves #8)

The full September moon hung impossibly large in the night sky, its silver light spilling across the modest backyard of the house Alexis Downey shared with Chloe Bennett.

Alexis adjusted the moon filter on their telescope, the metal cool despite the lingering summer warmth that clung to Trentville even after sunset.

The filter dimmed the moon’s overwhelming brightness, revealing the intricate pattern of craters and ancient lava flows that had fascinated her since childhood.

Beside her, Chloe took a sip from her beer bottle.

“There’s something about a full moon that makes me feel so small,” Alexis said, stepping back from the telescope to let Chloe look. “In a good way, though.”

Chloe bent to peer through the eyepiece, her dark hair falling forward. “Wow. I always forget how detailed it looks up close.” She adjusted her position slightly. “Is that the Sea of Tranquility?”

Alexis settled into one of the two lawn chairs they'd positioned on the patchy grass.

Her beer sat on the small table between them, condensation rolling down the bottle and pooling at its base.

"Did I ever tell you my dad took me to see a moon rock when I was eight?

Some traveling NASA exhibit. I was completely obsessed after that. "

“Only about a dozen times,” Chloe replied with a laugh, straightening up. Her scrubs from her hospital shift had been exchanged for worn pajama shorts and a faded university t-shirt. “But I don’t mind. I like how your face lights up when you talk about space stuff.”

Alexis smiled, watching as Chloe lowered herself into the other chair with an exaggerated groan. “Rough day?”

“Three traumas in the last two hours of my shift. Car accident on Route 16.” Chloe took another swig of beer. “Nothing fatal, thank God, but I’m dead on my feet. How was the café?”

"The usual Thursday chaos. Two tour buses stopped in around lunch, heading to some bluegrass festival in Cable County." Alexis stretched her legs out in front of her, crossing them at the ankles. "I swear, fifty people all ordered different complicated coffee drinks at once."

“Good tips, though?”

“Excellent tips. I put another two hundred in my Ryan Fund.”

Chloe snorted. “Your Ryan Fund? Is that what we’re calling it now?”

"Well, you know, if I'm going to move in with him, I need to contribute something. Even if his recording equipment does take up a lot of the living room, the place will be half mine. The least I can do is cover groceries for a while."

The familiar topic settled between them like a comfortable old blanket.

Alexis had been spending more and more nights at Ryan’s apartment over the past few months.

What had started as occasional sleepovers had gradually evolved until she now kept a toothbrush, several outfits, and even her favorite coffee mug at his place.

“So,” Chloe said, tilting her head to look at Alexis directly, “have you guys set a date yet? For the big move-in?”

Alexis picked at the label on her beer bottle. “Not exactly. But I’m thinking end of the month? If that’s okay with you. I don’t want to leave you hanging with rent.”

“It’s fine. Seriously.” Chloe waved a dismissive hand. “I actually talked to Sandy again today. She’s pretty much decided to take your room.”

“Really? That’s perfect.” Relief washed through Alexis. Sandy Shearer had been their friend since freshman year at Ozark State. She was reliable, clean, and most importantly, would fit seamlessly into the household rhythms they’d established. “When did she tell you?”

“She called during my lunch break. Said her lease is up October 1st, so the timing would work out.”

Alexis nodded, but a flicker of guilt still nagged at her. “I still feel bad, though. We’ve lived together for what, three years now?”

“And it’s been great,” Chloe said firmly. “But this is a good thing, Lex. Ryan’s crazy about you. And I’ve never seen you this happy.”

It was true. Ryan Kimball had stumbled into her life fourteen months ago when he’d ordered a complicated latte at the Sunflower Café, then left an enormous tip and his phone number.

Their first date had turned into a second, then a third, until suddenly Alexis found herself deeply in love with the laid-back musician with the gentle eyes and clever hands.

“I am happy,” she admitted, looking up at the moon again. “It’s just weird, you know? Big change.”

“Big, good change,” Chloe corrected. She yawned suddenly, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. “Sorry. I’m fading fast here.”

“Go to bed,” Alexis said. “I’ll probably stay out here for a while longer, then maybe head over to Ryan’s. He’s playing at the Centaur’s Den tonight, but he should be done by eleven.”

Chloe stood, stretching her arms overhead until her spine cracked audibly. “Wait, so who gets custody of Galileo?” she asked, patting the telescope affectionately.

“Galileo stays here,” Alexis said firmly. “He belongs with the house.”

“How diplomatic of you,” Chloe teased.

“But I want visitation rights. Clear nights, full moons, meteor showers—I get to come over and use him.”

“Reasonable terms.” Chloe nodded solemnly, though her eyes sparkled with amusement. “I think we can work this out like adults.”

“Plus, Ryan’s apartment is in the middle of downtown. Light pollution would ruin poor Galileo’s effectiveness.”

“Now you’re just making excuses,” Chloe laughed. “But fine, joint custody it is.”

Alexis held up her beer bottle in a mock toast. “To successful co-parenting.”

“And to you and Ryan,” Chloe added, clinking her nearly empty bottle against Alexis’s. “May you have grossly perfect domestic bliss.”

"Gross is right. We'll probably start wearing matching sweaters and posting a couple of workout videos."

“I will disown you,” Chloe warned, heading toward the back door. “Completely disown you.”

Alexis chuckled, watching as her roommate slipped inside the house.

The screen door closed with a soft thwack, followed by the more substantial sound of the inner door.

Through the kitchen window, she could see Chloe moving around, placing her empty bottle in the recycling bin, and turning off the main light.

Then the house fell into darkness, save for a small glow from upstairs where Chloe's bedroom was located.

Alone in the backyard, Alexis felt the night settle around her. The chirp of crickets and the occasional distant car provided a subtle soundtrack to her solitude. She returned to the telescope, adjusting it slightly to focus on different features of the lunar landscape.

There was something soothing about tracing the familiar contours of the moon’s surface, identifying craters and seas she’d learned to recognize years ago. It made her feel connected to something larger than herself, larger than Trentville with its small-town dynamics and secrets.

Time slipped by unnoticed as Alexis lost herself in observation. It wasn't until her phone buzzed with a text from Ryan—"Just finished first set. Miss you,"—that she realized it was nearly ten o'clock.

She texted back quickly—"Miss you too"—then stood as she began gathering their empty bottles, a sound carried across the quiet backyard—high-pitched, distant, but distinct.

“Help! Help me, please!”

Alexis froze, bottles clutched in her hands. It sounded like a child’s voice, a little girl. She turned slowly, trying to pinpoint the direction.

“Hello?” she called out. “Where are you?”

A moment of silence, then: “I’m stuck! Please help!”

The voice was coming from beyond their fence, somewhere past the narrow alley that ran behind their back yard. Alexis set the bottles down on the table and moved toward the fence, her heart rate picking up. What was a child doing out alone at this hour?

“Keep talking so I can find you,” she called, unlatching their back gate. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Lily,” came the frightened reply. “I’m under the house and I can’t get out!”

Alexis stepped into the alley, her eyes adjusting to the deeper shadows here where the moonlight was partially blocked by the houses on either side.

Across from her stood a small, unoccupied house that had been vacant since she and Chloe had moved into the neighborhood.

The FOR RENT sign in its window had faded to near illegibility from sun exposure.

“Lily? I’m coming. Keep talking to me.”

“I’m scared,” the voice whimpered. “My leg hurts. I think it’s broken.”

Alexis crossed the alley quickly, her eyes scanning the ground level of the house. There, near the side, was a small square door—the entrance to a crawlspace beneath the structure.

“Are you under the house? In the crawlspace?” she called, approaching the small door.

“Yes! Please hurry!” The voice sounded pained now, tearful.

Alexis knelt by the door, suddenly wishing she'd brought her phone with her. She could use the flashlight or call for help if needed. But it was sitting back on the table next to the telescope. She hesitated, considering whether to go back for it.

“Are you still there?” The child’s voice rose in fear. “Please don’t leave me!”

“I’m right here,” Alexis assured her, making a quick decision. The child sounded genuinely hurt and frightened. Going back for her phone would waste precious minutes. “I’m going to open the door now, okay?”

She tugged at the small door, which resisted briefly before giving way with a groan of rusted hinges. The opening revealed absolute darkness, a void that seemed to swallow even the moonlight.

“Lily? Can you come toward me if I help guide you out?”

A sob echoed from the depths of the crawlspace. “I can’t! Something fell on me. My leg really hurts.”

“Okay, stay calm. I’m coming in to help you.” Alexis took a deep breath, fighting down a flicker of claustrophobia as she assessed the small entrance. She’d have to crawl on her hands and knees. “Keep talking so I can find you.”

“I’m over to the left of you. Please hurry.”

Alexis dropped to her hands and knees and began to crawl forward into the darkness. The ground beneath her palms was packed dirt, cool and slightly damp. The air inside smelled of earth and mildew, thick in her nostrils as she moved deeper into the confined space.

“I’m coming, Lily. Just keep talking.”

“It hurts,” the voice whimpered. “Please hurry.”

As Alexis crawled farther from the entrance, the darkness became absolute.

She could barely make out her own hands in front of her face.

The space was tight—just enough room for her to move on hands and knees with perhaps a foot of clearance above her head.

Cobwebs brushed against her face, making her skin crawl.

“I’m getting closer,” she said, trying to sound reassuring despite her own growing discomfort. “Are you right or left from where I am now?”

“Over here,” the voice called, sounding strangely different now. “Just a little more to your left.”

Alexis turned in the direction of the voice, unease beginning to prickle her nerves. Something felt wrong. The acoustics in the cramped space were playing tricks, surely, but the voice seemed to have shifted in quality somehow.

“Lily? How old are you, honey?” she asked, still moving forward but more cautiously now.

A pause. Too long.

“Eight,” the voice finally answered, but the pitch had changed, dropping ever so slightly.

Alexis froze. Ice spread through her veins as realization dawned. The voice that had sounded like a child’s from a distance was wrong up close—too controlled, too calculated. This was no child.

“I need to go get help,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady as she began to back up.

“No, you don’t.”

The voice dropped all pretense now, deepening into an adult’s register—still high for a man, but unmistakably male, with a cruel edge that made Alexis’s skin crawl.

Pure fear exploded in her chest. She scrambled to turn around in the tight space, desperate to crawl back toward the faint outline of light that marked the entrance. Her jeans caught on something sharp, tearing as she struggled to orient herself in the pitch darkness.

“Who are you?” she gasped, voice breaking in terror. “What do you want?”

No answer came except the sound of movement behind her—the shuffle of fabric against dirt.

Alexis lunged forward, scrambling toward where she thought the exit must be. Her hand struck something solid—a wooden beam, not the opening she sought. She was disoriented in the absolute darkness, panic making it impossible to remember which way she had come from.

Then strong hands seized her ankles, yanking her backward with shocking force. She screamed, the sound deafening in the confined space, and kicked out wildly. Her foot connected with something solid—a face or chest—and she heard a grunt of pain. The grip on her ankles loosened momentarily.

Alexis clawed at the dirt, dragging herself forward, desperate for escape. She opened her mouth to scream again, to call for help, for Chloe, for anyone.

The weight came down on her suddenly, a body pinning her to the ground. Her face pressed into the dirt, cutting off her cry for help. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. A hand tangled in her hair, wrenching her head back painfully.

“You shouldn’t have come alone,” the voice whispered, hot breath against her ear. “But I’m so glad you did.”