Into the Beyond Books 1-3

With Steph added to the group, they trudged on through the darkness, quickly passing beyond the farm property and back into densely packed forest on either side of the road. The trees provided some much needed cover from the unpleasant wind.

Lewis was the only one in the group not wearing a proper coat. His plain cloth hoodie was already soaked through and heavy with rain. The cold was weighing on him, though he did his best not to show it.

Josie mused briefly at how easily the older white boy had gotten four young girls to follow him away from camp in the dark of night. It was a terrible and not well-enough known statistic that indigenous women go missing and are killed at a much higher rate per capita than any other societal group. Josie wasn’t looking to become one of the numbers.

She sincerely doubted that Lewis had the capacity to human-traffic her, though, nor the wherewithal; he hadn’t even managed to dress himself properly for the weather. No, Lewis was not her worry.

The vampiric ghasts on the—other hand, along with whatever else was out there, could very easily end her life without raising any rippling societal concerns, apparently. Knowing that fact didn’t make Josie feel any less crummy about her current predicament. At best, having Steph with them with her blonde hair and blue eyes might just give them a shot at something beyond a quick forty second segment on the regional nightly news if they ended up going missing.

If they didn’t make it out, either the storm or the make-believe bobcat would be blamed for their disappearance. It would make a tragic and wholly forgettable story.

Josie glanced over at Rebecca. She was looking a little worse for wear. Her posture was slumped horribly and she was walking with an obvious limp. When Josie moved closer to her, she could hear Rebecca muttering to herself in an unintelligible murmur under her breath. She spoke quickly in what Josie could only assume was a mantra of some sort.

Her murmurs grew suddenly into a fully voiced word: “Thirsty,” she rasped. She immediately stumbled to her side and would have fallen over had Josie not been there to help steady her feet.

Channie came to her aid, retrieving one of the bottles of water from her backpack. Rebecca snatched the bottle from Channie with unexpected ferocity, discarding the cap to the ground as she twisted it open. She chugged the entire bottle down in one go.

Rebecca dropped the empty bottle and continued on forward, shuffling her feet as if in a daze. Josie and Channie looked at each other, silently sharing their concern. A distant scream rang out behind them, carried their direction by the wind. They remained on edge. There was nothing to do but to keep moving forward.

They hiked on for several more miles down the wooded road until Rebecca stumbled even worse, this time falling completely to the ground. She groaned as everyone came over to her side to help pick her back up. She wasn’t able to continue walking without assistance after that. Eventually Rebecca stopped moving her feet altogether and the other girls had to start taking turns helping Lewis drag her along down the road.

“We can’t keep this up for long,” complained Steph as she quickly became exhausted. “We need to find a safe place.”

She wasn’t wrong. They wouldn’t be able to make it all the way to the ferry dock without taking a break. They kept going, though, until another section of farm land opened up before them. They all headed for the nearest structure without the need for discussion. It was difficult to see in the darkness. It wasn’t until they reached the empty barn that they realized that it was in fact a barn rather than a farmhouse that they had landed upon.

Several more horrifying cries at their backs added fuel to their haste. The ghasts’ screams came from different directions, rising over the din of the storm. They were searching. Hunting. Lewis boosted Channie up to an unlatched window. She crawled in and was around the corner opening the door for everyone else a few moments later. The metal door squealed at its hinges as it swung open. Everyone piled inside and shut the door behind them.

The barn had a loft and stacks of hay in several piles. Various rakes and other tools hung on one wall between nail pegs. The window Channie climbed in through was the only window in the whole structure, and it faced south, away from the direction of camp and the ghasts.

They plopped Rebecca down on one of the hay piles. The girls stripped off their wet coats while Lewis went over to the window. He attempted to close it, but found that its housing was warped and the pane could only close to the same gap with which they had discovered it.

Channie and Josie approached Lewis to discuss their plan.

“We’ll need to get moving again before dawn in order to make it to the ferry in time,” said Channie.

Lewis nodded. “I guess this is as good of a place as any to hunker down for a couple hours,” he said.

Steph was hunched over Rebecca, inspecting her with her flashlight. Concern flecked Steph’s eyes as she took in the dark veins spiderwebbing across Rebecca’s face and neck. Her expression changed to disgust as a froth of spit bubbles dribbled out from Rebecca’s mouth. “I don’t think she’s alright…” said Steph.

Everyone grouped around Rebecca. Her eyes were squeezed shut tight. Her breaths came steady, but quick. Her face was very pale, still damp with rain and her hair was slicked to her forehead. No one knew what to do for her.

“Whatever’s happening, hopefully rest will help…” said Lewis.

Everyone spread out, trying to find comfy spots amongst the hay. Josie approached Lewis, seeking more answers from the mysterious boy. He was laid back on a pile with his arms behind his head, but he did not look relaxed. His face held a wary expression, but lit up as Josie came over. She sat down next to him and leaned onto her side, folding her legs together.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on now?” Josie asked.

Lewis’s eyes drifted towards Josie’s lips. They lingered there for a long moment. “Most people wouldn’t believe the truth,” he said as he remade eye contact with her. “But you aren’t like most people.” His gaze seemed to stare into her soul.

Josie’s heart fluttered.

“I’ve come back from about a year in the future,” he said with a straight face.

Josie narrowed her eyes.

“It’s true!” Lewis insisted. “We know and trust each other by then. You tell me about Adeona.”

Josie’s breath caught in her chest. She hadn’t spoken that name out loud since early on in therapy after her parents’ deaths. Her chest felt tight, her stomach flipping at the memory. It no longer surprised her that she’d woken from that particular nightmare that very morning. It was intuition, preemptively preparing her for the triggering day that was to unfold.

She’d always mostly known that Adeona was real—that her experiences with the creature hadn’t just been inside her head—but she’d never had such solid confirmation before. Silent tears streamed down her face unabated.

“I’m sorry,” said Lewis. “I know the memories are painful.”

She wasn’t crying because it was painful. She was simply overwhelmed. She continued to stare into Lewis’s eyes, searching his face for any sign of misgiving.

Lewis reached over with his fingertips and gently brushed the tears from Josie’s cheeks. They continued to gaze at one another until Lewis leaned in and planted a small, off-center peck on Josie’s lips. He withdrew slightly, gauging her response. Josie leaned forward, and kissed Lewis back, longer this time.

A rush of energy tingled through Josie’s body. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off her chest. She could finally breathe again. The heat of Lewis’s own breath filled Josie’s lungs as their lips met together in a desperate dance. Josie’s tears began flowing again at the familiarity Lewis exuded across every tender movement.

She couldn’t explain the feeling inside of her, bubbling up like carbonation in her lungs. She soaked up every exhilarating moment of it, her heart racing again, this time with desire.

Lewis wiped her tears away again. Josie latched onto him when he was done, laying the side of her head down on his shoulder. He squeezed back onto her just as snugly.

It was a comforting position despite his soggy hoodie. Josie finally allowed herself to rest for the first time that day. Despite all the danger that surrounded them, she somehow felt safe in Lewis’s arms. Their breathing slowed as they laid together, sharing warmth. Eventually Josie fell asleep lying against Lewis’s chest.

I looked away during the mushy stuff. Those two really can’t control themselves around each other, can they? It’s the potential of their spark which caught my eye so very long ago. You do know, I’ve been at this for way longer than most Parcae have the patience to hang around. It’s a tough job being a Fate. You all are very lucky I enjoy your realm so much. Without the unfettered love these kids have for each other to push them on through the hard times, the Agares would have managed to snip your realm from existence long ago. I hope it will be enough this time for their final attempt at salvation.

Keep vigilant,

-Mr. Gray