The remains

Chapter 49

The phone pulsed in my hand. Thumbing SEND I read,

Run away little kitten. I’m going to chase u now. You remember the game. Flashlight tag. Cry, cry, cry.

I peered at the radiant display hoping that I would wake up from a dream. But this wasn’t a dream. It was the past relived. This was Whalen chasing Molly and me through the woods, again.

I closed the phone, shoved it in my pocket, looked up at the sky and saw only darkness and clouds illuminated by the distant flicker of lightning. I had to find a way to deal, get a grip.

I started by gripping the flashlight and aiming it dead ahead.