Julia nodded. "I am seeing black spots. Okay, then."

  She got up from the chair, phone in her hand.

  I stopped her. "Leave that thing here. You don't need any distractions. Imagine if you just doze off and some stupid salesman calls, huh?"

  "But…"

  "No buts here, little missy, leave the phone and I'll keep an eye on it. Believe me. If Sam calls, or anyone else for that matter, I will pick it up."

  She nodded. Her skin was gray from exhaustion. I was worried about her and how she was going to cope with this loss. She handed me the phone, then turned and went into the room. I closed my eyes for a few seconds as well, when Pete came out of the kitchen, looking at me quite puzzled.

  "Do you know anything about how to cook a chicken?"

  I laughed. "A little bit, yes."

  He looked relieved.

  "If you could…" I reached out my hand for his help.

  "Of course," he said, as he hurried to me, grabbed my hand and wrapped it around his shoulder, then helped me get on my feet. To my surprise, it didn't hurt as bad as I had feared it would and I could actually walk on my own into the kitchen. I grabbed a chair and sat down at the table.

  "All I have is this chicken," he said, holding the bird up in front of me.

  I looked at it and then laughed.

  "What?"

  "It's frozen, Pete."

  "So?"

  "It might take a little while before it's ready," I said diplomatically.

  Pete grumbled and put the chicken down on the table. "Well, it's the only thing I have that is big enough for this crowd. And I know you all like to eat."

  "Are you calling all of us fat, now?" I said with a smile.

  He didn't answer.

  "What else have you got?" I asked, as I got up and walked to the fridge.

  Chapter 74

  It was getting dark. In the swamps, it was always a little dark, except for the small rays of sunlight that shot down every now and then, telling Sam and Harry whether it was day or night. The swamps never used to be this dense and dark, Harry thought. It had grown thicker and wilder in the past few days, which he found odd, but then again, after what he had been through, nothing was very ordinary anymore.

  They had run for maybe half an hour to get away from the big plant that had taken Greg and then walked for about an hour or so. Harry had lost track of time and his Apple watch, that his mom had given him for Christmas, had died a day ago, so he couldn't keep track of time. In the meantime, Sam was still inconsolable.

  They stopped when they got so tired they could hardly move anymore. Sam threw himself in the grass and covered his face with his hands. Harry let him cry, but sat close enough to him so he would know he wasn't alone.

  "I'm so sorry, Sam," he said, trying his best. When you don't have kids of your own, it is hard to comfort somebody else's, even if you have known them all of their lives. The boy needed his mother right now. Harry wasn't even sure they would ever see her again. Harry had thought he knew the way out, but the swamps had changed so much that he couldn't really find his way around anymore. For a little while, he could, but then after they ran from that ugly thing (Harry insisted on calling it a thing because he didn't believe it was just a plant. No plant could do what that thing just did) he had lost track of where they were. Nothing looked the way he remembered it. Every now and then he would see something that he thought he recognized, but then he would lose it again. It was like the swamps were constantly changing around them.

  Sam stopped crying and sat up, still sniffling between breaths. Harry didn't know what to say to him to cheer him up because frankly there really wasn't much to be cheerful about right now.

  Harry closed his eyes and imagined Julia. Julia on the stage in her glitter dress that stopped right above the knees, showing her beautiful legs. Julia holding the microphone in her hand, close to her lips that he had dreamt of kissing so many times. She didn't have big lips, not like those Hollywood people, no. She was nothing like them. She was slightly chubby, compared to what was considered pretty in the magazines, she was short, and her eyes were a little too close together, but boy was she gorgeous. She was perfect.

  Why did you never do anything? What were you so afraid of?

  Harry opened his eyes again only to stare into almost complete darkness. He guessed that either the swamps had completely managed to block out all sunlight or the sun had set. He hoped and prayed for the latter.

  He felt Sam's hand in his and squeezed it. "Try and get some sleep," he whispered. "I'll stay awake and keep an eye out. You know how this place crawls with animals at night."

  Sam's hand relaxed in his and he guessed the boy had fallen asleep, exhausted as he was. Then he wondered about the swamps and how he hadn't seen any animals for a very long time. Usually, the place was crawling with snakes, birds of all kinds, and gators. But he hadn't seen any. Maybe he had just been lucky. Maybe they too were hiding from the killer plants.

  Harry sighed and shook his head in disbelief. There was no explaining all that was going on around them, and to be frank, all the moaning and sighing from the trees scared the crap out of him. A whole lot more than he had ever been afraid of the sounds of animals rustling in the bushes or birds chirping.

  Sam was grunting in his sleep when Harry suddenly saw something strange. A light coming from Sam's pants, shining through his pocket.

  "Sam, Sam, wake up."

  Sam sounded confused. "What?"

  "What's that?" he said and pointed at the light.

  "That's my phone," he said. Sam pulled it out. "There is still a little battery left. Less than ten percent, though. I keep it shut off, but every now and then I check it to see if there is any reception. I’ve been trying to save the battery so we can call for help in case we get to a place with reception. I think I just didn't shut it off when I checked it just before I fell asleep."

  "That's very smart of you," Harry said. "To save the battery. It might come in handy, the closer we get to getting out. But you better turn it off now and go back to sleep."

  Chapter 75

  I made my famous ten-minute tortilla soup. Which basically is a soup made of anything you have on hand in your pantry. In this case, it was chicken stock, black beans, super sweet corn, brown basmati rice, diced tomatoes—juice and all, a can of diced chilies, a cup of salsa, and some taco seasoning mix. All topped off with cheddar cheese, jalapenos, and sour cream. Boom. Dinner for a flock.

  While it all cooked in the big pot, I sat down with a cup of much-needed coffee that Pete had made for me. He grabbed one for himself and sat across from me.

  "So, what's next?" I asked.

  "What do you mean?"

  I shrugged. "What should we do?"

  "I…I don't know. It's obvious the government wants to keep the world from knowing what is going on."

  "So, what do you think they'll do? There might still be people in Webster. They know what has happened. We know. How will they keep it a secret?"

  He shrugged, then sipped his coffee pensively. "I don't know. Probably lock us up somewhere or make the world believe we're nuts. It's what they did to me when I started talking about this, trying to warn them what I was seeing in the swamps. Ha, I even believed it myself at one point. It's useless, Patty. I say we get out of here, far away, all of us and keep our mouths shut. Yes, it'll happen again and again, but we can't save people who don't want to be saved, Patty."

  I shook my head. "You're unbelievable. What about the innocent people who want to be warned? What about the people of Webster? Don't you think they would have liked to know that their town was about to be swallowed by Mother Nature? Don't you think they deserve to be warned?"

  He sipped his coffee again. "I do. But it's hardly that simple. Just getting people to believe what you're saying…well, it's not as easy as it sounds. Believe me. I should know."

  I sighed and leaned back. He was right. He had tried this. Why were people so stubborn? We just kept destroying the planet and never ever stopped to think about what we were doing. And then when trouble hits, we just cover it up, make sure people don't find out. What did they expect? That it went away on its own? Just like that?

  "Why didn't you come?"

  Pete blew on his coffee and sipped it again. "Excuse me?"

  "That night."

  "What night? I’m not following you."

  I shook my head. "No. It doesn't matter. It's so long ago."

  Pete shrugged. "Okay."

  We sat in silence. I tried not to let it, but it bugged me. "No. It's not okay. I waited for you. It was important. And you never showed up."

  Pete stared at me intently. He seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "I’m really trying here, Patty, but I don't know what you're talking about. I really don't know."

  I was getting annoyed with him now. "The prom. We were supposed to go together. You never came."

  Pete shook his head. "What? You mean to tell me you don't know why I didn't come?"

  "No. I waited and waited and then Rob took me instead. He was my brother's best friend and so my brother called him and asked him to take me, so I wouldn't miss it. Rob had always liked me and we started to date after that."

  Pete put his cup down hard. "You mean to tell me you never knew?"

  I shook my head.

  He slammed his fist into the table. The cups jumped and so did I. "Damn it, Patty. I was in an accident. My car went off the road outside of Bushnell that afternoon before the prom. Slammed right into the big tree by the city sign. I was lucky to survive, they said. I was in the hospital for three months. Still have the scar here on my forehead, see?" he said and moved a lock of hair so I could see the long scar across his scalp. "When I got out, you and Rob were gone. You had gotten married and were on your honeymoon, your parents told me. I was so devastated I left town and never came back. I hated you for it. And Rob. And this town. I couldn't believe you didn't even visit me in the hospital or that you weren’t willing to wait for me."

  I stared at him in shock. "But…but…Pete, I didn't know. I swear, I didn't know. No one told me. Why didn't your parents tell me? They should have called me or at least…something."

  "My parents hated you. No offense, but they were happy when you were out of the picture. Never liked your parents either. It wasn't personal. It was just the way they were. My parents were morons. Didn't understand what I saw in you. Never understood why I mourned you for the rest of my life, why I never found someone else. But I didn't. I tried, Lord knows I tried, but they simply weren't you. None of them even came close."

  I felt devastated. Was this really true? Had we missed out on a life together? "I…I…don't know what to say, Pete. I can't believe this. For all these years…I thought…I thought you had run away from me. I thought you didn't want me. And to think that I…"

  I looked at my coffee cup. "Do you have anything stronger than this?"

  Pete got up, found a bottle of vodka in the cabinet, and poured some into two glasses. I gulped mine down, my heart pounding in my chest. "All my life…everything was based…on a lie?"

  He signaled to see if I wanted more.

  "Keep 'em coming," I said.

  The soup was cooking and done by now, but I wasn't ready to face everyone again or to eat right now, so I let it cook for a little while longer.

  "So, my marriage to Rob…the years afterward could have been…it could have been so different. It could all have been different…If only I hadn't married Rob. I can't believe this. I thought you didn't want me, Pete."

  "But I did, Patty. I’ve wanted you for every day of my entire life, but you abandoned me, remember? You left me for someone else."

  "I didn't…I never wanted to marry Rob."

  "Why did you? Why did you marry him and why so soon after school was out?" Pete asked. "If only…if only you had waited a few more weeks, I would have been able to…"

  I grabbed his hand across the table.

  "I had to marry him. My parents made me. It was either that or…"

  "Or what?"

  "Or get rid of the baby. I was pregnant, Pete. With Julia. Out of wedlock. I couldn't have a baby out of wedlock; you know how things were around here back then. It would have ruined my life."

  Pete almost dropped his cup. "You were pregnant? But that means…?"

  He looked at the door, then back at me. He tried to talk, but no words came out. I said them for him.

  "Yes, Pete. That's exactly what it means."

  Chapter 76

  "Don't look."

  Billy grabbed Emily and pulled her away from the sight of the mayor's wife hung in the tree.

  "We have to get out of here."

  Emily cried. She didn't want to go with him and pulled away. "What about the girls?" she asked.

  "What girls?"

  "The twins? The mayor's twins? Mary and Margret?"

  Billy could vaguely remember something about a set of girls that looked eerily a lot alike from the night he went into the grass. He wouldn't be able to tell you how old they were or if they had long hair or short, but when his daughter mentioned them, he remembered.

  "We can't just leave them here, with both their parents gone," Emily continued.

  "But we have to get out of here, Emily. Fast. We can't save everyone else around here."

  "Daaad," she said in the way only a teenage daughter can. "We owe them. They took care of me while you were gone in there."

  Billy looked at the mayor's big house. The big tree standing next to it had its branches wrapped tightly around the house and its roots were piercing their way through the porch and probably also inside.

  A scream sounded from behind the house. Emily looked at Billy. "That was Mary," she said and started to run.

  "Come on."

  Reluctantly, Billy followed her. They ran to the back and spotted Mary in the window on the third floor, her sister right behind her. She waved her arms when she spotted Billy and Emily.

  "Help us. Please."

  The tree was groaning and moaning while wrapping itself around the house. Billy thought it sounded like it was chuckling too, but that might just have been his imagination. Slowly, it was enclosing the house in a tighter and tighter grip, the house creaking and crashing, the girls screaming.

  "You gotta jump," he yelled. "The roof is going to collapse."

  He looked at the bushes beneath the window and remembered hurting himself when he jumped out of that guy's house. (What was his name again? Something with a D, something ridiculous. Danger? No, it was different. Dubby? Something like that. No, that wasn't it. The Dawg? Yes. That's what he called himself.)

  Is it really important in this moment, Billy?

  Billy stared at the neatly cut bushes beneath the window. Was that what you would call a shrub? It didn't matter. They looked thick enough. If the girls were lucky, they could both land in those bushes and they would break the fall for them.

  "It's the only way," he said.

  The girls were crying but did as he told them. Mary crawled out first and—eyes closed—she jumped, rolled up into a cannonball, looking like she was jumping into a pool. She landed in the bush with a scream, while the house creaked and squeaked behind her. Emily hurried towards her and helped her get up. Now it was Margret's turn. She cried and hesitated while the house wobbled, parts of the roof falling behind her.

  "Jump, goddammit. You have to jump!" Billy yelled.

  "She’s terrified of heights," Mary said. "Can't even get her to go on a rollercoaster."

  "It's not that far," Billy said, anxious to get out of there, fast. "Just jump, will you?"

  "Close your eyes, Margret," Mary yelled. "You can do it."

  Margret did as her sister told her. She closed her eyes and, with a whimper, she plunged out the window and landed straight in the bush. Mary and Emily ran to her, but as they tried to pick her up, something was holding her back.

  "Help," Mary screamed desperately. "It's holding onto her. The bush is. Help."

  "Daaad," Emily screamed and Billy ran to them. He grabbed Margret's hand as well and they pulled, but the bush had a firm hold on her legs and they couldn't pull her out. Margret was screaming as the bush rustled and wrapped itself tighter around her, now covering her to her waist, pulling her forcefully. Mary was screaming as her sister slipped out of her hands and was sucked into the bush.

  "Margret!!!"

  "We gotta get out of here," Billy said, while the girls screamed. Margret's face disappeared into the bush and, seconds later, she was completely gone. "Now! As in faster than fast."

  "NOOO!" her sister screamed.

  Billy spotted what he assumed had to be the mayor's car, then grabbed Mary and lifted her into the air. She was screaming and fighting him, while Billy and Emily ran to the car and got in. He stuffed Mary in the back seat and found the keys that the mayor had so kindly left in the glove compartment, which most people did in remote parts like these. It was, after all, not the first time Billy had stolen a car from a place like this, but it was the first time he didn't fear getting caught.

  "Hurry, Dad," Emily said, half crying, half screaming from the back seat, where she was holding on to Mary. Their screaming hurt Billy's already thumping head.

  "I want to get away, Daddy; please, get us out of here," Emily cried, the sound of deep anxiety in her voice.

  "My pleasure," he said, thinking he would give anything for a drink right about now.

  Billy started the car while Emily found a bottle of lukewarm water in the back and handed it to him. It wasn't the beer he had been dreaming about, but it did the trick. Billy gulped down the entire thing.

  They drove onto the dirt road, leaving the house behind, trying not to watch in the rearview mirror as it was slowly being devoured. They didn't have to look to know. The sound told the story.

  "Drive faster, Dad, drive," Emily screamed.

  Billy floored the accelerator and, as they hit the big road and the asphalt, he turned the wheel and the tires screeched. He floored it towards the city limit sign. Right when he was about to pass it, thinking that he was more than happy that he was never going to see it again, he spotted someone on the side of the road, under a streetlamp. The car was stopped, hood open, smoke emerging from it. A person was waving at them.