Page 39 of Silent Shadows

I’ve had this happen before with random people I’ve interviewed. Conversation flows so naturally that there’s an unspoken bond, even if you can’t name it.

I’m trying very hard not to think about it as I crouch in my bunk two hours later, aggressively shoving camera batteries into a backpack like I can organize my way out of the feeling.

Because at the end of the day, nothing happened.

We ate eggs.

We drank coffee.

I accidentally shared toast with a man who explores unsolved mysteries for a living.

That should not feel intimate.

And yet.

My phone buzzes beside me before I can spiral any further. I zip the backpack closed as I lean over to check my notifications.

Marissa

Alive?

I snort softly and type back.

Me

Debatable. Desert still hasn’t claimed me, though.

The typing bubble appears right away.

Marissa

Got a minute to talk?

I pause. Around me, the Mystery Machine hums with movement as we all prep for today’s mission. Jax is outside calibrating drone equipment while blasting music loud enough to shake the walls. Taylor’s on the couch arguing with Miles about whether “aura” should count as navigational input. Maya’s somehow managing all of it without visibly losing her mind.

And me? I’m just trying to do my first hike with this crew. I need a distraction and a connection to my reality. Immediately.

I take my backpack with me as I step outside, walking away from Jax’s music, and bring up Marissa’s number. She answers, and I hear keyboard clicking in the background on her end before she even speaks. “Okay, real talk. How’s it going?”

“You know that feeling,” I say slowly, “when you accidentally walk into a friend group that’s been bonded through shared trauma and inside jokes for years?”

Marissa laughs immediately. “Oh no.”

“Yeah. That.”

“Aw, Daisy.”

“No, it’s bizarre,” I insist, lowering my voice further as Maya walks past. “They all move around each other like… I don’t know. Like they’ve built a whole ecosystem out here.”

“And?”

“And I feel like an invasive species.”

Marissa considers this. “That’s got to be good for the show, right?”

“Or terrible for the show.”

“You’re there to disrupt things.”