“What is it?” said Coco.
“That scarecrow,” Ollie said, panting a little. “Is—does it look familiar?”
“Yes,” Brian whispered. “Because it’s wearing Phil’s clothes. Because that’s Phil’s hat and Phil’s hair and kind of Phil’s face—if it were sewn on. That’s Phil.”
“No,” said Coco. “Or that might not be Phil. It just looks like him. Weirdly.”
Brian started to cry. “That’s Phil,” he insisted. “That’s really Phil. Just like the scarecrows outside the cottage. Caleb and Jonathan. That’s what the smiling man does. He makes scarecrows. He’s going to make us all scarecrows!”
“No,” said Coco, looking scared. “That’s not it. That can’t be it. Why would he do that?”
Ollie said nothing. She agreed with Brian. The scarecrow was Phil done in thread and yarn, the height, the backward cap... everything. His hands ended in two garden forks.
She put a hand, a little uncertain, on Brian’s shaking shoulder. “I’m sure that we can find a way to fix it.”
Brian’s eyes were wet. “Fix it? That’s my best buddy. Even if he is annoying sometimes. And he’s a scarecrow. Ascarecrow. Maybe he’s dead. Maybe that’s not him anymore—”
Ollie grabbed Brian’s shoulders and spun him around so that he wasn’t facing the scarecrow. “He’s not dead,” Ollie said firmly. “We’re going to figure this out. Weare. Brian, if we panic, we’ll end up scarecrows too.” She had no doubt it was true.
Brian drew a shuddering breath. “Okay,” he said. “Okay.” To the Phil scarecrow he said, “Don’t worry, buddy. If you’re in there, we’re going to save you.”
“We’ll change him back, Brian,” said Coco with what Ollie thought was impressive sincerity, seeing that Phil had humiliated her in front of the whole school. “I know we will.”
“There has to be a way to fix it,” Ollie said. “Like Narnia in winter—that got fixed. OrSleeping Beauty, when the castle all woke up. That’s what we have to do.”
Brian wiped his eyes. “Okay,” he said again, straightening his shoulders. “But I’m only kissing Phil if I absolutely have to.”
Ollie and Coco stared at him and then the three laughed. Their laughter was feeble, but it helped. Ollieglanced again at the cornfield and its crowd of scarecrows. Were they moving, just out of sight? Getting ready for the night?
“That’s Jenna and Lily!” Coco whispered, pointing at two scarecrows just visible in the kitchen garden. The two scarecrows were holding hands, their mouths identical frightened Os.
“Let’s try the house first,” said Ollie after a long, grim look at the girls’ frozen faces. “Like my watch said.”
They went around the kitchen garden and passed behind the toolshed, whose splintery door hung crooked. They skirted the red barn. Everywhere scarecrows. In the garden, along the paths.
Ollie, Brian, and Coco recognized many of them. Others they didn’t. Some of the scarecrows wore old-fashioned hats and dresses. Others wore jeans, carried backpacks.
Coco was shaking her head. “No,” she said. “They can’t all be... people.”
Ollie and Brian didn’t say anything. “Come on,” said Ollie. “Let’s try the house.”
19
IN THE STRANGEshadow world, Linda Webster’s fresh-painted farmhouse was faded, old, and ugly. Its door hung a little open, making Ollie think of spiders’ webs.
If we were the flies.
But she marched forward anyway. Just as she got to the open door, with Brian and Coco too far back to hear, Ollie glanced down at her watch.UP, it said. Ollie looked up, but there was nothing there.
Despite herself, she whispered, “Mom? Is that you? Can you hear me?”
Silence. Only the rustling of corn.
Then the screen flickered.ALWAYS, it said.
Ollie closed her eyes, pressed the watch to her lips, felt herself shake. “I want to talk to you,” she said, softer still.
Silence.UP, the watch said again.
