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“He’s not wrong,” Rae murmurs. “I didn’t think of that before.”

“I could lose my sponsors over this. I could lose my subscribers, and any faith that people have in my credibility.” Anger bubbles in my gut like molten lava, erupting into my throat and incinerating all the words.

I suck in my cheeks, biting the insides and stare at my aunt.

The betrayal is bitter on my tongue. Even more so because my own family member was at the heart of this.

And too many people in this town went along with it.

Trevor pulls me back, then shifts his weight forward like he wants to protect me from the world.

I glance at him, and a new thought pops into my head. “It affects Trevor too. As co-host, people could think this hoax was a scam to drive more business to the inn. Did any of you think about any possible consequences before forging ahead with this scheme?”

My breath gets caught in my lungs and my world shifts like the garden walls are closing in on me.

Anger pounds in my ears and my muscles twitch at the thought that this could potentially hurt Trevor.

Every cell in my body burns with frustration and the dousing chill of betrayal.

My skin feels too tight. I wrench my hand through my hair.

Hades dances around my legs. “I need to get out of here.”

With a terse command, Trevor calls the dogs to his side.

My keys digging into my palm, I hustle across the side yard to the street. I’m not sure where to go, only that if I don’t move, now , and blow off some of this energy, I’ll explode.

I unlock the car, open the back door, and Hades hops onto the seat.

Trevor stops me with a single touch to my back. “Where do you want to go?”

I scrub my hands over my face. “I don’t know.”

“Do you want company?”

I do… if it’s him. And I don’t… because I’ve never felt this messy and awful and frenzied, and the emotions are too siren-screaming loud for anyone else. “Is it okay if I say no?”

He nods. “Are you okay to drive? If not, I can drop you somewhere, and get out of your way.”

His concern is sweet and if the situation were reversed, I’d offer the same thing. “I’m good. I don’t want to see another Maplewoodian right now. Just want to get the hell out of this town.”

The touch of his hand falls away. Trevor wraps Bandit’s leash around his hand and walks them back a few steps.

I jump in the car, put it in drive, and go.

Eyes on the road, not looking at anyone on the street.

No waving. Nothing. I can’t shake the hurt that everyone I interacted with about those cryptids lied to my face, that their friends and relations probably knew the truth, and no one had a problem with it.

Houses and businesses give way to trees. I’m heading for the woods. Because, of course I am. Why break a pattern?

I park at the trailhead and open the door for Hades. He jumps out of the car. Instead of running ahead, he stays by my side. Together, we hike the path that’s so familiar to me. Trevor and I used to come here all the time as kids.

We walk deeper into the trees. Birds chirp, animals scurry, and the world looks as it did yesterday, but nothing feels the same.

All my life, I've had to prove myself. On the football field, proving that I deserved my opportunity to play and wasn’t gifted it simply because of my father.

And in this new career, proving that I wasn’t just into cryptid investigating on a whim or for a cash grab with the sponsors.

All the hours of logging stories, doing research, traveling, and investigating, the painstaking detail to produce something authentic.

Damn it, I paid my dues. And now, I could lose it all.

Others have faked evidence or faked creatures, and never recovered their reputation.

Beyond all that, the fact that Agnes lied, that she faked being so afraid, hurts more than anything else. It would have been less painful had she stabbed me in the heart. How can I ever trust her again?

I run my hand over the top of my head, tugging on my hair. What a fool I’ve been.

A large fallen log juts out into a clearing. Sitting on the rough bark, I hang my head, roll my shoulders, and welcome my dog to my side. Hades lays his head in my lap. The peacefulness of the forest seeps into me.

“I need to fix this. Take down the episode. Contact the sponsors and explain. Try to get out in front of it. Make a statement. And hope that’ll be enough. I don’t want Trevor hurt by this either.”

Hades looks at me, but doesn’t move.

Leaning back on my hands, I stare at the canopy of trees and the blue sky.

“Fuck! I’m so fucking pissed.” I punch the log with the heel of my hand and relish the sting.

If it didn’t mean leaving Trevor, I would just throw my stuff in the car and go back to Philly right now.

The thought of living somewhere he isn’t… I can’t. I don’t want that .

Gradually, the silence sinks into my thoughts. I turn my head, scanning the trees. No birdsong. No crickets chirping. No leaves rustling.

Everything is very still. Unnaturally still. Just as it was the two times I glimpsed Mabel.

Hades lifts his head off my thigh. My skin prickling, I sit up all the way.

My dog stands in front of me, his body rigid, staring at a space in the trees. Amid the stagnant leaves of yellow, orange, red, and brown, shades of green shift. The limbs are tall, spindle thin, and leafy. Definitely not a pine. Definitely moving.

The hair on my arms stands up and all moisture in my mouth dries. My pulse quickens. Afraid I’ll miss something, I don’t blink. My eyes start to sting and feel gritty, but I still hold them open.

Leaving the shadowy protection of the forest, more of those green leaves shift into the path of a sunbeam.

Green skin not covered by leaves shimmers with an iridescence when it catches the sunlight, and the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen meet mine.

The hair on the rest of my body stands on end.

The air itself feels charged. But I’m not scared.

Standing at the edge of the trees, less than ten feet away, Mabel stares at me.

Unable to hold out any longer, I blink, then rub my eyes, and she’s still there.

Watchful. She looks exactly the same as she did when I was ten years old.

And seventeen. I know what I saw back then was real. And here she is again.

I swallow then clear my throat. “Hello, Mabel.”

I don’t think she’ll answer.

She cocks her head and continues watching me.

Hades backs up until he presses against my shins. His stance is still protective, and I don’t want him charging her. I slide my hand into his hair and take hold of his collar.

Mabel glances at Hades, then focuses back on me. Maybe it’s this moment of connection, or the awe I feel, but my throat thickens and tears prick the backs of my eyes.

I suck in a breath. “I saw you years ago. Though I’m guessing you let me see you.”

She inclines her head in a single nod.

Okay, wow. I’m interacting with Mabel. I can’t believe it. “Seeing you changed my life. It led me to people and places and interests I wouldn’t have found otherwise.”

The leaves around her face seem to gleam as though they’re shimmering with dew.

I think of myself as the upset ten-year-old, and the anxious seventeen-year-old. And now, angry and hurting at the age of forty-two.

“You were there when I needed reassurance. After seeing you, I felt things would be okay. And they were. Now, things are a mess, it feels like everything is upended, and I’m not sure if I can fix it.”

A breeze blows, ruffling my hair, sweeping over me like a cool caress. There’s something otherworldly about her. Something powerful. Maybe it’s the calmness in her gaze, the way she moves, or the way the forest hushes in fear or respect.

This is real, so were the other two times, and that matters, especially knowing the other cryptids were faked.

Mabel is where everything started for me. It’s fitting that she’s here now, if this is the end of my cryptid career.

But maybe, like before, her interacting with me is a good omen. I sure as hell hope so. She shifts forward, as silent as the trees. A rock tumbles from one of her hands and rolls across the forest floor, coming right at me. It stops a foot away. Jet black, oval, smooth, and shiny.

I’m staggered by the gift and wonder if she kept the multi-hued green stone I left for her all those years ago, right before I left Maplewood. I bought it from a vendor at the music festival because the colors reminded me of her leaves. “Thank you, Mabel.”

She inclines her head again and then glides backward, melting into the shadow of the trees.

I stand, staring at the spot where Mabel was until my vision blurs and I see spots, my heartbeat drumming in an erratic beat. With a shaky hand, I pick up the rock. It’s big enough to fill my palm.

Hades’s tail thump, thump, thumps against my shin. He jumps up, planting his front paws on my thigh, and licks my cheek. I guess he’s recovered from meeting Mabel. Meanwhile, my heart’s still pounding.

I’m still not sure what to do about the podcast. Or Agnes. My first inclination is to race back to Trevor and record a statement. Maybe that’s a starting point. Because I don’t just need to fix things for myself. I need to fix them for him too.