He practically dragged Mel through the parking lot to his car. The moon was high in the sky, so bright that it looked like a floodlight. The air was damp with the promise of more rain. He could see a mass of clouds gathering on the horizon, black and fleecy, like a herd overtaking the sky.
“What is up with you?” Mel shook off his hand as they speed-walked.
“We’re not going for ice cream,” JD said, unlocking the car doors and motioning for Melissa to get in. He waited until the car was moving to tell her the truth. “I need you to do something for me. It’s going to sound crazy.”
She looked over at him from the passenger side of the car and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. The moonlight made her freckles dark against her pale skin. “This doesn’t sound good,” she said with a nervous laugh.
JD cleared his throat and clenched his hands around the smooth steering wheel. Outside, past the windshield, Ascension’s fields and farmhouses sped by.
“Mel, there’s something going on. Something you need to know about. And I need your help to stop it.”
She scowled at him, trying to gauge whether this was the setup to one of his elaborate practical jokes. “If you’re joking, I’m not in the mood,” she warned.
“Neither am I.” JD pulled onto Dillon’s Road, a long, winding route that bisected the town and would take him over to Silver Way—and the entrance to the Haunted Woods. “Listen, Em is in trouble. She needs us.”
“Em’s in trouble?” Melissa’s voice raised with concern.
He nodded. But before he could say anything more, his sister interjected. “Where are we going?” she asked sharply. They were almost there.
“We’re going into the woods,” he said. “The Haunted Woods.”
She shook her head violently. “No. No. I won’t go there,” she said.
He knew the feeling. His mouth was dry. He felt desperate, and guilty, too. But Melissa had to help him. It was the only way. “Melissa, it’s okay. It’s the last time we’ll go there. I promise.”
“No,” she repeated. “Absolutely not.”
“Melissa, we have to. It’s not an option.”
“Pull over,” she said. “Pull over or I’m getting out of the car.” When he looked over he saw that she was gripping the door handle.
“Calm down, Mel. I’m pulling over, okay?” He swerved onto the side of the road. His heart was beating against his ribs. They were surrounded by darkness and crickets and bullfrogs in the distance.
“I have to tell you something,” she said, not looking at him. There was a pause. Then she spoke again, though her voice was so soft that he could barely hear her. “It was them. When I saw someone at my window, it was them.”
“Who?” But he knew the answer.
The Furies.
“Ali,” Melissa said shakily. “She scares me. So do the others.”
“They scare me, too,” JD admitted. He turned to her, and reached out for her hand. “They terrify me, actually. And you know what I’m going to do tonight? I’m going to get rid of them. Once and for all.”
“What do you mean, once and for all?” Melissa asked, withdrawing her hand from his. “You can’t make people just disappear.”
JD sucked in a deep breath. “They’re not people,” he said.
“They’re not people?” Melissa echoed. “What does that even mean?” While he tried to think of a response, she said: “You’re freaking me out.”
The wind was whipping hard enough to shake the whole car. Still, JD didn’t know how to explain.
“They’re after Em. I think that’s why they were at our house that night.”
“Like they’re haunting Em?” she asked.
“Yes,” JD said. “That’s pretty much the only thing I’m sure of.”
“Drive,” she said, pointing down the road. “Just go. Before I change my mind.”
In what felt like seconds, Silver Way approached on their left. As he made the turn, he heard Melissa take several shallow breaths.
“It’s going to be okay,” he told her. “You have to trust me. I swear I won’t let anything happen to you.”
And he wouldn’t. He wasn’t going to take his eyes off her. The second he thought she was in real danger, he would snatch her away from the flames. Hopefully the psuedosacrifice would still work, as it had for Drea’s dad. A willingness to sacrifice an innocent . . . like that Bible story. ?Abraham.
The woods towered like a wall in front of them as JD parked the car. He got out and retrieved two backpacks and a can of gasoline from the trunk. Melissa eyed the supplies warily, hugging herself. The wind whipped her hair around her face. She looked so small.
“You have to trust me,” JD pleaded. “If not for me, then do it for Em.”
“Don’t try to make me feel guilty,” she said. “I’ve already agreed, haven’t I?”
That’s when he knew she was on board. He threw her the lighter of the two backpacks and clicked on his heavy-duty flashlight. “Follow me.”
She nodded. “I’m right behind you.”