“You almost died today, Mr.Berger.Youwouldhave died if Dr.Leon hadn’t pulled you out of that tree well.When I said it’s the safest thing for everybody, that includes you.”
“But he’s killing people.He killed Gerald.He killed Tafton.He’s not going to stop now.And as soon as there’s a way out of here, he’s going to take it and disappear.”
“Who?”
“Whoever’s doing this!Stephen!I don’t fucking know!”
Vaughan looked at Tean.
“I understand,” Tean said.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”Jem asked.
“Lock this door,” Vaughan said to Tean.“Let me know if you need anything.”
He threw a last, considering glance at Jem, as though he might say more.And then he left.
24
It was a dream on the edge of waking, which meant some of it already had that foggy, slipping away feeling that came with dreams.The mall was hot and smelled like Auntie Anne’s pretzels, and there were so many people.Donnie and Evan were being bad, playing speed hands after Mrs.Carreno had told them to stop, and Rose kept pulling at her tights and telling everyone she was going to wet her pants.Jem kept trying to get a glimpse of the man in the chair.If he stood on tiptoes, he could see one of the elves—a pretty girl with blond hair and a green hat.He could see the sign, even though he didn’t know what it said.He could see the toy workshop.And if he stretched a little more, maybe he could see—
Sunlight.
The light dazzled Jem, and he had to blink a few times before he could make out the room.He was alone in bed.His face felt hot, and the ache in his hands and feet, although less than the night before, was still there.
And then he realized: sunlight.
The storm had stopped.
A little ping ran up his legs when he put weight on his feet, but he made it to the window without any problems.He pulled back the curtains.
The sky was clear.The snow had that high-halogen glow that left an afterimage when he turned his head.Every tree looked like it had been painted by hand, green-black against that bright whiteness, and he could see for miles.What felt like miles.
“Holy fuck,” he said.“We’re actually going to get the fuck out of here.”
He made his way to the bathroom.It didn’t hurt, not exactly, but he moved gingerly, afraid—a little—to trust his full weight to each step.His body ached too, now that he was up and moving.When he stopped in front of the mirror, he had a better idea why.His forehead, nose, and cheeks were red and shiny, like he’d gotten sunburned.And even where his skin hadn’t turned that bright red, pinpricks showed where snow and ice had stung hard enough to leave welts.
Not sure if a shower would be smart, Jem settled for a whore’s bath.Somehow, his toiletries were here, on the counter, so he put lotion on his face.He combed his hair.He felt better—like maybe, someday, he might be himself again—and he pulled on the robe again and padded out to the front room.
Tean was sitting on the couch, knees drawn up to his chest.He was holding his pocket-sized notebook against his legs.With one thumb, he had trapped something smaller against the page.
“Hey,” Jem said.He cleared his throat.“Storm’s over.”
“Hey.”Tean closed the notebook and got to his feet.“Are you feeling okay?Are you sure you should be up?”
“I’m okay,” Jem said.Then a grin slid across his face.“This isn’t our room, right?Like, I’m not going crazy?”
Tean laughed softly.“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry.I should have told you.After last night, we needed to get you into a room.Vaughan offered this one because it’s on the ground floor and it was close, easy to bring you in here.I asked him if we could stay because, well—”
“Someone tried to kill me, someone broke into our room, someone followed us up here from the valley.”Jem ticked the reasons off on his fingers.
Tean shrugged.“He said changing rooms was a good idea.”
Dropping onto the couch next to Tean, Jem said, “What’re you doing?”
Tean made a face.“Besides ignoring calls from my mom, my dad, and my siblings?”He didn’t wait for an answer, though, and he raised the notebook as though it were an answer.
“Oh,” Jem said.“Homework.”
