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Theta’s groan became a whimper. She sat up and worked her mouth, grimacing. “I taste like I’ve been licking ashtrays.”
“That’s because you smoke.”
Theta rolled her eyes. “Are you gonna start with that this morning? And by the way, I’d kill for a cigarette.”
“How are your hands?” Evie asked.
Theta removed the bandages from her palms. The skin was still red in places. “Better.”
“Well, that’s something at least.” Evie wanted to talk about the dream. She didn’t want to talk about the dream. There was a giant hole in her heart named Mabel, and another named Sam. There was only one of those she could do something about at the moment. “How’d you sleep?” she said, trying to redirect her mind away from sorrow.
Theta moved her stiff shoulder in little circles. “Like a pretzel in a cold oven.”
In the backseat, Isaiah was curled up under his coat. Theta tugged on his pants leg until he stirred. “Rise and shine, kid.”
Isaiah sat up, dazed. “I’m hungry.” He rubbed his stomach, which growled.
“We’ll eat after we rescue Sam,” Evie said. “Promise.”
Isaiah regarded Evie warily. “Do you have a plan?”
“I will have,” Evie answered, forcing a smile.
“That’s a no in Evie-speak,” Theta said to Isaiah.
“Isaiah, do you have any… feelings about what’s about to happen?” Evie asked hopefully.
Isaiah wanted to be helpful. He wanted to prove how important he was. He shut his eyes, concentrating. Sarah Beth, he thought. Sarah Beth, do you see anything? When there was no answer, he shook his head. “Sorry,” he said, disappointed.
“All right. We’ll go with Plan B.”
“What’s Plan B?” Theta asked.
“The one after Plan A,” Evie said. “First things first—we’ve got to hide this Tin Lizzie.”
Evie, Theta, and Isaiah covered Will’s Model T with branches. Now they were walking through the woods bordering Marlowe’s estate, willfully ignoring the bold-lettered signs that read NO TRESPASSING PRIVATE PROPERTY as birds tweeted in the branches above, sending out the first song of spring.
“How can anyone own the woods?” Evie grumbled. “Only the woods own the woods.”
“If you’re Jake Marlowe, you can own just about anything you like,” Theta said. “Can’t believe I’m out here with no smokes.”
“Is Memphis gonna be okay?” Isaiah asked. He’d been pretty quiet since they’d left the city.
“Sure he is, kid,” Theta answered.
“You’re worried,” Isaiah said.
“Yeah. I’m worried for all of us,” Theta said.
They came to a clearing ringed by tall pines that bordered a large pond gone rancid and overgrown with pine needles. There were no birds here at all. Evie and Theta leaped back, frightened by the sudden appearance of a frog. It was misshapen, its small body covered in sores and a nub where one of its legs should’ve been. Unable to hop, it stumbled about as if drunk. A few lackluster fish floated beneath the pond murk. One of them had four eyes, Evie noted.
“This is a bad place, isn’t it?” Isaiah said, his breath coming out in small wisps of cold.
“Is this it, Evil?” Theta asked.
“Yes,” Evie said. “It’s a very bad place, Isaiah.”
This was where it had all started, where Project Buffalo had turned deadly during the war. The Department of Paranormal had broken through to the dimension of the dead. Evie’s brother and his entire unit had been sucked up into Jake’s mechanical monstrosity to live out the same day of horror and pain forever. And he would continue that way until they were able to close the breach. If it was the las
