Corey chewed his bacon as Xeke finished the story. Now he knew why the boys had insisted on a table off in the corner of the Lodge where no one could overhear them.

  When did I start thinking of them as “the boys?” Corey thought. It had been so long since he’d seen his own boys.

  “So we told her everything—sort of,” Xeke said. “If she was listening. But we wanted you to know the whole story, too.”

  Corey took a sip of coffee but said nothing. Ruddy and Xeke looked at each other.

  “The only reason we didn’t tell you earlier was because of the other Terry,” Ruddy said.

  Corey set his cup on the table and laced his fingers together. “So, let me get this straight. You thought you were going to hide a mental conversation from the most powerful mentalist any of us have ever met when the only reason you could have a mental conversation in the first place was through her powers?”

  “We had a wall,” Ruddy said.

  Xeke flinched. “No, he’s right. It was stupid. We’ve been over this. I fucked up.”

  “Yeah,” Corey said. “You both did.”

  “It wasn’t like it was our idea,” Ruddy said. “In a way, it was Teri’s idea.”

  Corey tilted his head. “Really.”

  “Yeah,” Ruddy said. “I mean, Terry is Teri, right? They’re the same person.”

  Probably not, Corey thought.

  “We wouldn’t have tried to hide anything if she didn’t want us to hide it, deep down,” Ruddy said.

  Xeke nodded. “He’s right. We couldn’t have hidden Terry from her without the help of her own powers. Especially not with the link.”

  Corey shook his head. “What’s done is done. I wish you’d come clean earlier, but let’s not dwell on it. I want to know more about this link. Are you sure it’s not some kind of new mentalist power?”

  “Not according to Teri,” Xeke said. “She couldn’t make it go away. It happened when she almost died. Maybe the other Terry did it. Whatever it is, it’s still there between me and Ruddy, but Teri has disappeared.”

  “It’s like part of my brain went away,” Ruddy said.

  Corey nodded. This was the puzzle piece he had been missing. Things made more sense now—including Eliza’s instructions. “These three are special,” she’d told him. “There’s no one else like them. They are the key to everything we’ve been working for.”

  A link like the one they’d described was unique. He thought back to how Teri had used Ruddy’s powers to wake up from her coma. Shared powers—that could change everything.

  He brought his mind back to the present. “Well, like I said, it’s done, and now that Teri knows the truth, I’m sure she’ll understand. All we can do now is let her know we’re here for her. She’ll need her friends more than ever.”

  “I thought she’d have come back by now,” Ruddy said.

  “Give her some time to process all this,” Corey said. “It’s a lot to take in. But we’re all on the same page now, including her.”

  Ruddy and Xeke exchanged a relieved look.

  Corey was glad they felt better. It made his job easier. But there was a lot they hadn’t considered. He was no expert on multiple personality disorder, but he’d read about it.

  What if this other Terry was one of many? He’d seen Teri’s scars, had sensed the old broken bones and past injuries. There was no telling where all that pain had gone … who it had created. What Ruddy and Xeke had done made her feel betrayed, and that was a powerful emotion. It explained her despondent behavior earlier, and her disappearance.

  She could be anywhere ... anyone.

  If that was the case, she might be lost to them forever. And that would mean that not only had he failed Eliza, he might have unleashed a monster on the world.

  Xeke dug into his breakfast. It was the first time he’d allowed himself to enjoy a meal since Teri vanished.

  Corey was right. Now that they’d come clean to Teri, it was only a matter of time. There was no way she was going to stay hidden.

  We’re here for you whenever you’re ready, Teri, he thought. He could feel Ruddy’s agreement, but he still couldn’t sense Teri’s presence at all.

  A cold breeze hit him as the door opened. A man in a dirty coat came in, stomping snow off his boots, oblivious to the mess he was making on the spotless floor.

  Xeke wrinkled his nose as the stench of body odor assailed him. The guy looked like he’d been in the woods for days.

  The filthy man’s gaze flitted over their table and around the room until he spotted Barbara, the hostess. He gestured and she came over. Xeke noticed she made a point of staying out of arm’s reach of the man.

  They spoke in low voices, but they were close enough to the table for Xeke to overhear the conversation. “Mr. Shephard,” she said. “Can I get you some breakfast?”

  “Nope. Already ate. Gotta get back out and check my traps. Just stopped in to see if anybody had heard of a girl gone missing.”

  Barbara frowned. “No, sir. I haven’t heard anything. Did something happen?”

  “Yeah. Found a body. Young girl, dark hair. Wolves got to ’er, so I can’t tell much what she looked like.

  Ruddy choked and coughed into his napkin. Xeke’s stomach went into freefall, and for a few seconds, the conversation was drowned out by the roaring in his ears.

  “... about a mile out of town, halfway to the north ridge,” Shephard said. “Gonna check with the mayor next, but figured you’d have heard if one of the …” He glanced over at the table. “If one of the regular folks was missing.”

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “Excuse me,” Corey said

  Shephard glanced at them.

  “Mr. Shephard, these are the new guests,” Barbara said. She introduced them.

  “Pleased to meet ya’ll. I’m Tim Shephard. Welcome to Cloudcroft.”

  “I couldn’t help but overhear,” Corey said. “You found a young girl, you say?”

  Shephard looked at him. “Yeah. Somebody you know?”

  Corey shook his head. “We ran into some folks at a campsite on our way here. There was a young girl with them, dark-haired. I was wondering if it might be her.”

  “Corey, what are you …” Ruddy said.

  Xeke shushed him.

  “’Bout ye high?” Shephard held up a hand.

  “Maybe,” Corey said. “It’d be a shame. They were nice folks.”

  Ruddy glared at Xeke. Stop thinking it. It’s not her.

  Dammit, Ruddy. I’m trying to listen.

  “Maybe we can go take a look,” Corey said. “See if it’s her.”

  Shephard shook his head. “Not sure why you’d want to do that. It’s pretty grisly.”

  “I’ll take my chances,” Corey said.

  “Alright, I guess I can show you,” Shephard said. “I was gonna go up there tomorrow, maybe see about burying her.”

  “We don’t want to take up any of your time,” Corey said. “Just point us in the right direction and we’ll take care of it for you.”

  Shephard hesitated. “I better check in with Mayor Wiley first. If he’s alright with it, I guess I can bring ya’ll along.”

  Corey watched him leave the restaurant. “Let’s go, guys.”

  Ruddy pulled on his gloves. “I don’t understand why we’re doing this. Teri’s hiding here in town somewhere. We should be waiting for her here. What if she needs us?”

  “If she’s here, she’ll be fine until we get back,” Corey said. He pushed open the restaurant door. The cold air hit them as they walked out onto the street.

  “But we’re going to get in trouble wandering off into the woods without permission! We should wait until the mayor says it’s okay.”

  “I don’t need the mayor’s permission,” Corey said. “There’s a little girl out there in the cold. If there is a spark of life left in her there’s a chance I can save her. I’m going now. You don’t have to come along.”

  “I’m coming,” Xeke said.

  Ruddy followed them outside. “How are you going to find this girl? You don’t know where she is.”

  “About a mile out of town, halfway to the north ridge.” Corey pointed. “That way. We can find her.”

  “You’re going to stumble around in these woods all day long!” Ruddy said. “It was probably a deer or something anyway. That guy looked like a drunk.”

  Corey and Xeke picked up the pace. Xeke’s eyes were on the ground.

  Ruddy found himself scrambling to catch up.

  This is stupid, he said. Xeke didn’t answer.

  “We’re going to freeze to death.” Ruddy’s feet crunched in the snow of the mountain trail as they left town. Tim’s footprints were easy to follow.

  So stupid, Ruddy thought. He tramped along. His feet were already getting wet.

  “I don’t know what we’re doing here, but if this will make you guys feel better, I’ll go too.” Crunch crunch. “At least I’m not the one who’ll get frostbite.”

  Teri? Please show yourself so we know you’re okay, then you can disappear again if you want to.

  He strained to hear her answer. Birds sang in the trees around him as they walked.

  Xeke, Corey’s being crazy. Don’t listen to him. You can’t possibly believe this might be ...

  Just stop, Ruddy. This is hard enough.

  Come on! Ruddy said. Teri is like supergirl. Wolves couldn’t possibly take her out. She’d make friends with them, or melt their brains. It’s not possible.

  Xeke kept walking.

  She’s the main character in the game. You can’t kill the main character.

  They trudged on.

  They emerged into a clearing in a stand of aspen. The straight white trunks with their dark accents stood out from the snow. It was a beautiful scene, marred only by the torn corpse in the middle of the clearing.

  Corey knew it was Teri the second he saw her. There wasn’t much left of the body, but he recognized her clothes. A vulture was perched on top of the jacket he’d given her, tugging at a piece of flesh. One of her orange converse sneakers was half-buried in the snow nearby.

  He stared, barely able to breathe. Deep down, he’d known ever since Shephard brought the news, but knowing something was different from seeing it.

  “No,” Ruddy said. The despair in that one word was heartbreaking.

  They’re just kids, Corey thought. He fought back his own tears. Be strong.

  Xeke picked up the shoe. He stared at it like it was a snake. Ruddy moved up behind him. His eyes were fixed on the back of Xeke’s head.

  “It’s not her.” Ruddy’s voice was far away. “Can’t you see? It’s not her. It’s some hiker, caught in the cold. Poor girl.”

  “Ruddy.” Xeke held up the shoe. “It’s her.”

  “Goddammit! I’m going to kill that fucking vulture!” Ruddy said. He stomped toward the bird, and it took off. “Fucking disgusting birds.” He picked up a rock and took aim.

  “Ruddy,” Corey said. “Stop.”

  “Oh no, Teri,” Xeke whispered. “Why did you go off alone?”

  Ruddy dropped the rock and glared at Xeke. His face was covered with frozen tears and snot. “Because of us,” he said. “She went off alone because of us. It’s because of what we said. We killed her.”

  “Ruddy,” Corey said.

  He looked up at Corey and blinked.

  “I’m so sorry about Teri. This isn’t your fault.”

  “You’re right. It’s not our fault. It’s yours. You made her leave Penatuka!” Ruddy charged at him. “We’d all be safe if it wasn’t for you. You bastard!”

  The clumsy roundhouse punch he threw would have broken Corey’s jaw if it had connected, but Corey ducked and wrapped his arms around Ruddy.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered. He focused his power.

  Ruddy slumped down in the snow. His eyes glazed over, and his breathing steadied. Corey watched him for a moment, then turned to Xeke. He was still staring at the shoe in his hands.

  “What did you do to Ruddy?” Xeke said, without looking up.

  “It’s … think of it as a sedative,” Corey said. “I hate to do it, but he was going to hurt himself.”

  Xeke nodded. “We can’t leave Teri like this. We need to bury her.” He took a deep, ragged breath and closed his eyes.

  “Maybe we should do it by hand,” Corey said. “We don’t want anyone to hear us.”

  “I can keep it quiet,” Xeke said. “I’ll go slow. A little at a time. It feels right to do it that way, anyway.”

  Ruddy watched the world through a haze. He could still feel the pain, but it didn’t mean anything to him. Everything felt grey.

  Corey did something to me, didn’t he? he said.

  It was for the best, Xeke said.

  Ruddy didn’t have the will to argue, so he sat and watched as Xeke used his power to lift another mass of frozen dirt into the neat pile next to the hole he was digging.

  Why, Xeke? Ruddy said. Why did this have to happen?

  I don’t know, brother, Xeke said.

  The constant scrape-thump-scrape-thump noise of Xeke’s digging settled into a soothing rhythm. Ruddy closed his eyes and let the sound of it wash over him.

  I can’t believe I tried to punch Corey, he said. What’s wrong with me?

  You’re hurting. He understands.

  Scrape-thump. Scrape-thump.

  We can still talk to each other, even with Teri gone, Xeke said.

  Ruddy nodded. I think she left it for us. A gift.

  Scrape … Xeke sobbed and fumbled the dirt he was moving. It went crashing back into the hole.

  “Sorry,” Ruddy said.

  “Don’t be. You didn’t do anything.”

  Ruddy pushed himself to his feet. “Yeah, I did. I’ve been whining like a kid since we got here. It’s time I start acting like an adult.” He made his way over to where Corey was tending to Teri’s remains.

  “I’m sorry I tried to hit you. I’m all right now,” Ruddy said.

  Corey stood. “It’s okay. But I don’t think you should see this.”

  “I want to see her. One more time,” Ruddy said. “I need to say goodbye.”

  “This isn’t her anymore,” Corey said. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and put it over her face, then removed his coat and draped it over the body. “It’s just a shell. You don’t want to remember her like this.”

  “I won’t,” Ruddy said. “I remember how brave she was. She always said she was scared of everything, but she wasn’t. She was the bravest person I ever met. After all she went through, she still saved me. She didn’t have to.”

  Xeke walked over to join them. “It’s ready.”

  Ruddy nodded. The glassy sensation had faded, or maybe he was getting used to it.

  “I should get some rocks or something,” he said. “Build a…what do you call it? A cairn.”

  “I’ll help you,” Corey said.

  “No,” Ruddy said. “Please. You and Xeke have already … let me do this. For her.”

  He gathered up the rocks while Xeke lowered Teri’s remains into the grave and filled it in. Tears streamed down his face as he piled stones on top of her grave.

  I’m sorry it’s not more, Teri, he thought. I’m sorry for everything.

  Xeke’s hold on his emotions broke, and he began to cry. Ruddy put his arm around his friend and pulled him close.

  “We should get back before we freeze,” Corey said. Ruddy nodded. Corey looked back once as he led Xeke away from the grave. “Goodbye, Teri.”