“Face what?Wendell, you have to be clear.”Jenna fought to stay calm, to extract coherent information from the agitated spirit.“Where is Piper?What danger is she in?”
Lightning struck a tree near the edge of the property, splitting it with a deafening crack.Wendell flinched, his grip on Jenna’s hands becoming painful.
“She’s wearing it now,” he said, his voice dropping to an urgent whisper.“The connection.The thread between them.”
“Wearing what?”Jenna pressed, struggling to make sense of his fractured warnings.
“The scarf.Your mother’s scarf.”Wendell’s face contorted with the effort to communicate clearly, as if fighting against the storm’s chaos.
Cold dread pooled in Jenna’s stomach.Unlike their previous dream encounter where Wendell had been lucid and articulate, he now seemed to struggle to maintain his coherence, as if the storm was affecting his ability to communicate.
“Wendell, I don’t understand,” Jenna said.
“Find the one who binds with colored thread,” he replied, his eyes losing focus.“She thinks she’s doing what’s right...cleansing the community.”He gripped Jenna’s arm.“The scarf is the key.Find the scarf, find the connection.”
Thunder boomed directly overhead, so loud it seemed to shake the very fabric of the dream.The wind picked up, howling around them, tearing at their clothes and hair.
“Wendell, I need more!”Jenna shouted over the storm.“A name!Where is Piper now?”
But the old farmer was looking past her again, his expression shifting from fear to resignation.“Too late,” he murmured.“She’s already gone to face it.You have to find her before—”
A vibration cut through the dream—not part of the storm, but something external.Persistent.Rhythmic.Pulling at the edges of Jenna’s consciousness.
“No!”Jenna cried, feeling the dream begin to dissolve around her.“Wendell, tell me where to find her!”
“The scarf,” he repeated, his voice fading as he and the farm began to shimmer and distort.“Your mother’s scarf.It was a gift from—”
The dream shattered completely as Jenna jerked awake, her heart pounding.The vibration continued—it was her cell phone buzzing against the wooden surface of her nightstand.The illuminated screen showed the caller: Mom.
Jenna snatched up the phone.She realized she was lying on top of her blankets, still wearing her jeans and shirt from the previous day.Then she remembered that was because she knew she’d have to get up in the wee hours and take over from Jake.
“Mom?”she answered her phone.
“Jenna.”Her mother’s voice was high and tight.“Piper’s gone.”
The words drove the last vestiges of sleep from Jenna’s mind.She sat bolt upright, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.
“What do you mean ‘gone’?”Jenna demanded, already reaching for the boots she’d kicked off before collapsing onto the covers.
“I woke up a few minutes ago—I thought I heard the front door.When I went to check on Piper, her bed was empty.”Her mother’s voice cracked with fear.“Her medication is still on her nightstand, but she’s not in the house.I’ve checked everywhere.The front door was unlocked.”
Jenna shoved her feet into the boots.“Did you see which way she went?Any idea where she might have been heading?”
“No.I called her name outside, but nothing.”A muffled sob.“God, Jenna, what if she’s having some kind of episode?”
Wendell’s warning echoed in Jenna’s mind.The scarf.Your mother’s scarf.Grasping at the only lead she had, Jenna asked, “Mom, this might sound strange, but I need you to check.Is there a scarf missing?One Piper might have taken?”
“What?Why would—”
"I can't explain right now."Jenna forced herself to take a deep breath."Just look at it and tell me if there's a scarf missing."
“I have several scarves.They’re all right here in the coat closet.”
“Please, Mom.Just check.It’s important.”
Through the phone, Jenna heard rustling sounds—hangers scraping against the metal rod, her mother’s impatient questions,
“Jenna, what’s this about?How would you know if—” A pause, then, “Yes, there is one missing.The blue and purple one.”
