She’d never talked about it again after that.
What does this have to do with me?asked Vivienne.
“With you? Well, first of all, take a look here.” Jesse jabbed a finger at a spot on the map. She leaned in closer to see. The line was thinner than the others, but it was there, the sharp point of a triangle closing just over New Haven, Connecticut.
“Sadowski’s something of a Watkins enthusiast,” said Jesse, fanning a hand over the map. “He’s been compiling a list of places where there’s been reports of supernatural activity. The unexplained, the strange, the terrifying. These are all the spots where he thinks the air is thin enough to move through.”
Vivienne studied a wide black crater Sadowski had scrawled across northern Maine. The markings looked entirely arbitrary, no discernible pattern to be seen.
This map makes no sense, she signed.
“Maybe.” He tapped the triangle again. “Maybe not. This is us, see? This is where the church is, right off the New Haven commuter line. We’re right on top of the intersection.”
They both glanced at the mirror. In the glass, Jesse stood alone at the table, one corner of the map curling up over his hand.
“For whatever it’s worth,” he said, “I think this place is heightening your connection to your … altered state.”
Her stomach churned.I have to show you something.
“Yeah?” He let go of the map, letting it curl in on itself with a papery snap. “Let’s see it.”
Slowly, she lifted up the edge of her shirt. There, on her torso, was a glossy strip of chitin. She’d woken to discover it earlier that morning, scabbed over her skin like a wound. Like she was transforming into an insect, a real-life version of the sad little salesman from Kafka’sTheMetamorphosis. It was too horrible to even think about. Too horrible to even look at.
Jesse didn’t appear to share her disgust. “Is that new?”
She nodded, tears pricking her eyes. She was suddenly grateful for her lack of a reflection. She didn’t want to see herself like this, monstrous and misshapen. Her insides leaking out.
“Well, this definitely backs up my theory,” he said. “Can I touch it?”
She nodded again. He sank to his knees in front of her, fishing through his med kit and prying loose a pair of gloves. The snap of latex made her jump. Gingerly, he began to poke at her midsection.
“Does this hurt?”
She shook her head.
“Is there any sensation at all? Can you feel me touching it?”
She shook her head again. It was like a piece of armor, embedded in her skin. A cyborg part, or else some sort of preternatural plate. Like whatever was inside her was slowly engulfing her from the inside out. There was a prick, and she gasped, rearing back. A blue-green substance wept from a shallow abrasion in the casing.
“Interesting,” said Jesse, setting a thin scalpel on the table and leaning in to press the tips of his fingers to the site. He held them up for inspection. “I’m no entomologist, but if I had to guess, I’d say this presents pretty closely to hemolymph.”
Her confusion must have registered on her face because he added, “Its analogous to human blood. Similar, but not the same. It’s found in arthropods. Invertebrates—cold-blooded animals.”
Cold-blooded. The word resonated awfully in her head. She’d never felt less human than this, reflectionless and alien, her body betraying her. She wobbled slightly, peering down at her middle. Already, the substance had begun to congeal, turning gray.
“It would explain the segmented appearance of the growth,” mused Jesse, rising to his feet. “This is good. Really good, actually.”
How is it good?she signed.I’m turning into a nightmare bug.
He grinned. For the first time since she’d cornered him with her proposal, he looked excited. “You ever seePredator? With Arnold Schwarzenegger?”
She blinked at him.
“I’ll take that as a no. There’s a famous line in the movie. ‘If it bleeds, we can kill it.’”
It took several seconds for understanding to sink it. She didn’t find it remotely comforting.It’s not very promising that you’re basing your medical diagnosis on an action movie.
“It’s a starting point, Vivienne,” he said wryly. “It’s better than nothing. I’ll take whatever advantage I can get. Rest up. No foods or liquids after midnight. Tomorrow morning, we cut you open and see what’s inside.”
