I mull her words over, pushing past the chaos in my head to focus.

“You don’t think… she thinks there’s something between us, right?” Catherine makes a face. “No offense, but you’re not my type.”

“Same here.”

Just then, my phone rings.

I bring it to my ear.

“What?” I bark.

“Sir, we know where she was last seen.”

“Where?”

They give directions that lead to the garden.

Glancing every so often at my phone for guidance, I follow the path that Shanel took almost half an hour ago.

It leads me to a dead-end.

The shrieking in my head gets louder as I stare at the slight break in the foliage. Something about this place feels eerily familiar. Like a dream I can’t quite recall. Like a name on the tip of my tongue. It drives me mad with frustration.

I reach out.

Brush the leaves aside.

Step past the foliage into a clearing.

Up ahead, a large wooden shack stands with the door open.

“Shanel?” I call, stepping cautiously toward the rustic building.

The door creaks as I open it.

Inside is dim. Smelly. Full of cobwebs.

There’s a tall, metal doorway in the middle of the otherwise empty room.

The wailing in my head reaches a furious peak. The pain is about to split me in two. I cry out as my brain squeezes the life out of me. My legs lose all strength and I collapse to the ground.

Something happened here. Something I can’t remember.

It’s too intense.

Too much.

I crawl away from the strange metal doorway, my body slithering over the floor and dragging dust and bugs with me.

When I feel the sunlight on my face, I finally take a breath.

The chaos stops abruptly.

I flop on my back and stare at the sky. What the hell was that?

I’ve lived here all my life, but I don’t remember seeing a doorway that leads to nowhere.

What does it do? Why the hell is it hidden away in my backyard?