Page 78 of Snowman

"They'll be my last," I said. "I'm done after this. I almost hurt Bree..."

Erik turned sharply, his sunglasses slipping down his nose. "What the hell did you do?"

"I don't know," I said, my voice hollow. "I blacked out. Found the axe at the door. She said it wasn't the Snowman."

Erik exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe it was foreplay," he said, raising his hands and mimicking an exaggerated chopping motion.

"Not exactly her style."

"Good," he muttered, but the faint smile faded quickly. "Man, don't tell me there are fifty of you. I don't think I can handle that kind of crazy."

"Neither can I," I admitted.

He studied me for a moment before asking, "So, what's the plan? You're really gonna do it?"

I nodded, standing and brushing the snow off my pants. "Yeah. I'll burn them."

Erik stood too, slower like he was carrying a weight I couldn't see. "She wasn't a good mom," he said after a pause. "And I've never wanted to kill anyone before. But this time? I want to help."

I looked at him, then toward the car. "Let's go, then. The more, the merrier."

We started walking towards the car, the snow crunching under our boots in a steady rhythm. The air was cold enough to sting, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except what came next.

As the car rumbled to life and we pulled onto the icy road, I didn't look back at the farm. There was nothing left to see.

For a moment, I forgot about Bree. Forgot about everything. I let Snowman take over. I had to. If I didn't stay in that dark, ruthless place, I wouldn't have the nerve to do what needed to be done. Jan and Donna had to pay for what they did to my mother. No one else was going to make sure of that, justme.

We parked a block from Jan's house, but still from here, I could see through their front window. The lights inside were warm, Jan and Donna were dancing in the living room, their laughter was taunting me. My fists curled tight, nails digginginto my palms.The sight of them, the way they looked so happy, so normal, made my stomach turn.

Erick leaned over. "You ready?"

I blinked and forced myself to focus. "Yeah."

I reached for the plastic mask on the dashboard and slid it over my face. The cool, hard plastic pressed against it like a second skin. The railway mirror caught my reflection, blank, cold, like the person I was before had disappeared. It was what I needed.

Snowman.

"You really had to pick the red mask?" I asked, glancing at Erick. He was tugging on a red ski mask with a dragon sticker across the front.

"It's Julia's," he said, not looking at me. "It was this or the pink one with a unicorn."

I snorted, shaking my head. "You'd pull off pink better, it goes with your eyes."

"What, are you the fashion police now?" he muttered, grabbing the door handle. He stopped, and looked back at me.

"You good?"

"Yeah," I said again, softer this time.

The truth was, I didn't know.

But it didn't matter.

I had to be.

We crouched through the wooden area, circling to the back of the house. Erik moved like he'd done this a hundred times before, and I was right behind him. When we reached the back door, he pulled a thin screw from his pocket and worked the lock. The faint click was barely louder than the rustle of leaves behind us. He opened the door slowly, motioning for me to follow.

The inside of the house smelled like cinnamon and pine, holiday cheer that had no place in my life. We moved through the dark hallway, staying close to the walls. The sound ofChristmas music spilled out from the living room, along with bursts of laughter.

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