Page 31 of Perfect Convergence

I’ve been trying to ignore it, but that feeling of being watched keeps creeping back. It’s as if, at any second, the darkness around us is going to swallow us whole.

If Oliver was doing okay, I’d probably be able to keep it at bay. But it’s like my fear is feeding off of his, and if I don’t find a distraction, I may end up in a puddle of panicked tears, too.

“What do you need, sweetheart?”

“Tell me where we’re headed. Are we going home?”

“No. We have to hide the cars first. There’s a cabin about forty minutes out. Well, less than that now. We’re meeting there.”

“Is it yours? The cabin?”

“Ah, no. But a friend is letting us use it. And the cars. We help each other out when we need it.”

“Is he... like you guys?”

“Yeah. Sort of.”

I slow at the next intersection. “Straight at the stop sign?”

“That’s right, sweetheart. You can do this.”

We go on like that for the next half hour, him distracting me and giving me directions. Oliver’s breathing evens out, and he stops shivering, but he stays quiet.

Eventually, I notice another vehicle approaching from behind us.

Panic spikes in my chest.

It’s a road. People drive on roads.

The thought doesn’t calm me at all.

“Rhett? There’s someone behind me.” I know it’s stupid, and I hate that I sound like a scared little kid, but Tyler’s face flashes in my mind, his eyes open and his chest blasted open and bloody.

What if there was someone else who saw the whole thing?

“It’s us, sweetheart. You’re safe. I promise.”

“It’s you?”

“Yep. And we’re at the cabin. See the orange mailbox on the right?”

“Yeah.”

“Turn into the driveway after it.”

It’s narrow, but at least it’s plowed. The driveway is surrounded by trees on each side, and I have to drive for a minute before the cabin comes into view, deep in the woods.

I slow to a stop and throw the car into park. Undoing my seatbelt, I turn to Oliver and take his face in my hands. “We made it. We’re all safe. Everyone’s okay, Oliver.”

The only response I get is a deep breath, which honestly is a relief to hear. For a while, his breaths were so short and shallow, I thought he might pass out.

I hear car doors slamming shut, and then the crunch of snow and ice. Oliver’s door opens, and then Elliot is leaning in, unbuckling his seatbelt and pulling him out of the vehicle.

My heart aches at the way Oliver clings to Elliot, and at the sob that rips through the night air. Rhett comes up behind Oliver, wrapping his arms around both him and Elliot, so Oliver is sandwiched between them.

“We’re okay,” Elliot says, smoothing his hand down Oliver’s arm. “We’re all safe.”

“I thought you were dead.” Oliver’s voice breaks.

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