Page 49 of When the Woods Go Silent

CHAPTER TWENTY

RUBY

Even after my late night with Torrence, I don’t sleep in. My world is full of too many interesting things now to waste time sleeping.

Rose’s door is still closed, so I tug on my boots and a sweatshirt, aiming for an early walk to settle my energy a little. But when I reach the back door leading to the woods, I freeze.

It’s wide open.

Obviously, the alarm isn’t set.

I know I was the last one in - and I know I closed, locked, and alarmed the hell out of this building after listening to all of Rose’s stories of weird shenanigans.

Forgetting about my hike, I hurry to close the door and lock up again. There’s a bit of mud and some leaves on the inside mat, but the store is quiet. When I pull up the camera app on my phone, I don’t see anything currently triggered.

No... there.

The history room camera log is full of saved videos. I don’t even bother to watch them, rushing straight into the room. I skid to a stop in the doorway, mouth hanging open as I take it all in.

“Oh hell,” I grumble, frustration rising in my chest. I didn’t hear a storm last night, but the evidence is here.

A window is completely broken, although at least it was one of the old ones we haven’t replaced yet. Glass and pieces ofwood, branches and leaves - everywhere. Books fallen off the shelves, some of the pages even ripped away. Stooping down to look a little closer, I debate whether this looks like a break-in and theft.

But really, it just looks like a branch crashed through the window, and the wind did the rest. Bad luck, but not foul play.

Then again, there’s the back door. The wind couldn’t blow that open, not locked and alarmed. Something doesn’t add up between the two. I’m debating whether to bother the local cops again or check for missing books when I hear a scream.

Rose.

Racing up the stairs, I nearly collide with her in the doorway of her bedroom, where she’s wrapped in a sheet and staring wide-eyed back at her bed.

“What is it? Spider?” I spit out, my heart pounding. Rose hates bugs, and while spiders aren’t my favorite, I’m more than capable of smashing one for her.

“N-no,” she stutters, blinking down at me. Even barefoot, she’s got a few inches on me. “Ruby, I... I don’t understand.”

“Come here. Let me get you some coffee.” I coax her into the living room, wondering if maybe she just had a weird dream. She seems really out of it, moving like a zombie as I direct her to the couch. I quickly fix her a mug and curl up next to her.

“Tell me, Rosey.”

Her hands shake and a little coffee sloshes over the edge of the mug. She doesn’t even notice. “A... a dream. I thought it was a dream.”

“You had a bad dream?”

She shakes her head, cursing under her breath as more coffee drips onto the sheet she’s wearing toga-style. “It wasn’t. I think I was sleepwalking.”

“Fuck,” I whisper, my mind already flashing back to the open door. “You’ve never done that before, right?”

“Never. It was so fucking weird, Ru.” Rose seems to be coming back to herself more, even though I can tell she’s freaked out as fuck. I don’t blame her, either.

“Tell me,” I repeat, careful to keep my voice calm so she doesn’t get any more spooked.

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