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Agonizingly I step out of the bed and find myself at the fire again, hungry for warmth.

“Heard you had quite the adventure today,” Daisy’s playful tone greets me from behind.

“Daisy? Where the hell have you been?” Whirling around, I see her leaning against the bed frame. Where had she come from?

“Well…well…I see that you missed me,” she purrs, before bursting into laughter.

“Well yeah, I think you’re the only person not being fishy around this house,” I retort, wrapping my arms around my torso.

Daisy throws herself against the bed, then sits up on her elbows. There is a sense of deja vu as I stare into her eyes.

“I would say you’re fishy by the way you pulled off that stunt,” Daisy comments as she flattens herself against the bed.

“The whole day was interesting…” There’s a flash of the creature’s face. Our tumble into the waters. The water filled chamber. Everything after that is dark.

She abruptly sits up. “Really, how so?”

“Well…” Wincing, I fold my legs under me and lean against the cool stone of the hearth. “There was this man…the Sheriff, you know the one that’s been lingering in the driveway?”

“Oh yum, Sheriff Valen is delicious.” The gleam in her eyes makes me uncomfortable.

“I mean, I can see that. But, he got all weird…and then the interaction between him and Kieran—threw me off. Anyway, it was then or never. And obviously it didn’t work out.”

Every muscle in my body aches, so I unfurl my legs and stand. I wonder who it was that fished me from the water. And what did the creature want with me?

Daisy waves me off and changes the subject. “He’s probably just wary of a newcomer. Especially since you arrived in style. This is a small place. No one’s heard of you before.”

“Is that what he meant? Because he was staring at me too intently. And I couldn’t even say anything, it was like the words were stuck in my throat and my mind went blank. And then…get this Kieran shows up.”

Daisy scoffs. “The big bad doctor will do that.”

“Do what?” I ask, beginning to pick up the shopping bags.

“People respect Doctor Lazarus here but they also fear him. Remember when I told you his lab was here? There’s a reason why he’s hiding from the rest of the world.”

I toss the bags into closet, not caring about its strewn contents.

“Tania told me some story about the cove that’s hidden beneath the property.” I hobble over to the bed and plop myself beside her.

“Tania actually spoke to you? A few days ago she could barely look you in the eyes,” she scoffs.

“It was like she was an entirely different person when we left the house. I should have guessed she was Kieran’s mother. They’re both so…moody.”

Daisy looks away. “She originally owned this house but couldn’t afford it and had sold it away to a new family.”

“Did the family have a teenage daughter?” I ask, without thinking.

Daisy glances at her wrist. “I think so. But—I have to go Marisa. I’ll catch up with you later?”

“Wait—where do you disappear to?” She was like a ghost, only appearing when the idea of her crossed my mind. She pivots and seems to actually contemplate this. Her brow furrows, and her lips curve downwards. I want to lash out at the intentional vagueness of every person in this house. Instead, I wave her away.

“Go, it’s fine. Everyone wants to run away.”

She isn’t even wearing a watch.

Daisy leaves without another word and I remain laying on the bed. Another onset of fatigue beats at my bones and the shrill sound of an incoming headache amplifies the already uneasy feeling rising in my chest.

A hot shower is what I need to cure this. As I sit up, ready to remove my clothing, a stuttering scratch whispers against the door.