"...!!!!!"
A soft whimper broke the tense silence.
It came from the girl with the burn scar on her shoulder—Callie, if I remembered right. She had been doing her best to stay silent in the back, knees drawn up to her chest, lips pressed together.
But now… she was crying.
Not loud sobs.
Not yet.
Just this horrible, trembling sound, like a kettle just beginning to boil over. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, locked onto the skittering shadows that crept just beyond the repellent barrier.
"Callie," Nolan whispered sharply. "Stay with us. Look at me. Just breathe—"
But she didn't. She couldn't. Her fingers clenched her sleeves so tightly her knuckles had gone white, and her mouth parted with shallow gasps.
"Here it comes," Ethan whispered.
His voice wasn't cruel now.
It was gleeful.
He stepped closer, just outside the ring of protection, like a conductor ready to orchestrate a beautiful, bloody crescendo.
