“Why did you like that pendant so much anyway?” I asked, taking the knife from him and looking at the pendant.
“One day, while my unit was out patrolling, I saw this symbol carved in stone on one of the buildings. I stopped to look at it. An old beggar was sitting there. He asked me if I knew what the symbol was. He told me it was called the flower of life and that it represents all life—us, the spirit world, everything--our interconnectedness. After that, I started seeing it everywhere. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it here, in Hamletville, at the Wharf. Santa was really nice to remember I liked it.”
“Well, Santa is good at remembering important things.”
A strong wind blew, causing the back door in the gymnasium to pop wide open. Everyone paused, and the two men on guard checked it out.
“Clear. Only the wind,” Jensen called.
The mood returned to a happy one a moment later. Almost everyone was dancing now, the lights in the room casting long shadows on the walls.
“I have something for you as well. It’s a little late, but I wanted to give it to you myself.”
Jamie handed me a small package wrapped in a cloth. From inside I pulled out a plastic squirt gun. It was filled with water. I was puzzled.
Jamie laughed at my expression. “There’s holy water inside,” he explained. “I stopped by the church and filled it.”
I laughed out loud.
“I don’t know why Grandma Petrovich wanted you to have holy water, but your grandma understood things better than anyone I ever knew. I figured I’d back her up on this one.”
“Thank you,” I said with a chuckle, putting my head against his chest, wrapping my arms around him.
I felt him stiffen a little, but then he relaxed, pulling me tight against him.
I closed my eyes and listened to the beating of his heart. It was all I wanted to hear.
When I opened my eyes again, I thought I saw a strange face in the crowd. Just for a moment, a thin, pale, and angry looking male face appeared amongst us. I pulled back to look more closely, but where I thought I had seen something, I now saw nothing. Shadows of dancing couples moved across the walls, but amongst the shadows I saw more figures than were actually in the room. Frantically, I looked around at the dancing couples but saw nothing unusual. All around me were the same faces I had seen over the last five months. Again, I looked at the shadows on the wall. Fast, shadowy images intermixed with those of the townspeople. I turned and saw another face, a female, who I did not know amongst the crowd. She was similar in appearance to the man. I strained to get a better look, but she disappeared. I stepped back from Jamie and pulled my gun from its holster.
“What is it?” Jamie whispered in alarm.
I looked around the room, a gun in one hand, the other on the hilt of my sword. A second later, the wind blew the door open again. At that same moment, the generator failed. The lights dimmed with a fading buzz leaving only candle-light. Cold wind gusted through the place, blowing out the candles nearest the door. I left Jamie’s side. Grabbing a flashlight, I stood in the doorway and flashed the light on the parking lot outside.
Overhead, the moon was full. It cast long shadows. The bare trees made claw-like images on the snowy ground. I pulled my coat off the wall and went outside, Jamie following fast behind me.
I snapped the flashlight off and pulled out my sword. I stood still, my eyes adjusting to the moonlight. I scanned the horizon. Nothing.
“What is it?” Jamie whispered.
I looked back. Several people stood in the gymnasium door looking out.
I said nothing but walked to the small slope at the side of the school. From there I could see much of the town and the frozen lake below. Jamie walked wordlessly beside me.
I stood on the hill overlooking the town below and scanned the vista.
A second later, I saw it—them--something.
“There,” I whispered to Jamie. I pointed my sword in the direction of the lake where strange shadowy images appeared to flee across the frozen ice. “Do you see that?” I asked him.
He was silent.
I watched the shadows retreat until I saw nothing more.
“Did you see that?” I asked him again, thinking maybe Grandma Petrovich’s mushrooms had made me go half-crazy.
I looked up at the still-silent Jamie. The startled look on his face told me he had seen it too.
“Layla--” he began.
“I know.”
“What was it?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“Well, what did you see?”
Indeed, what did I see? I was not exactly certain, but when I looked up at Jamie one answer came clearly to mind: “Danger.”
We stood wordlessly for a long time. Fear had frozen me in place.
Reassured by the lack of gunfire, happy sounds resumed inside the gym. A short while later, we heard the crowd counting down to midnight. Then there was a raucous cheer. It was a new year. They broke into a round of Auld Lang Syne. It shook me from the terror that had seized my throat.
I looked up at Jamie. He had a confused expression on his face.