Chapter 1
ONE
PAST
Pineview Falls
The woman took out a tube of lipstick from her pocket and uncapped it.
She smeared it across her lips and smacked them together.
The bus station was a lonesome, glass structure standing in the middle of the winding road lined with pine trees on either side; their tips resembled spikes piercing into the night sky dotted with glittering stars.
She was the only one sitting on the bench.
Her sharp eyes gazing around the darkness, always searching for danger, always plotting a way out.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted a bedraggled man with worn shoes, clumps of dirty hair, and stained, tattered clothes approach her.
The stench of urine and cigarettes wafted up her nose.
He collapsed onto the end of the bench and stared at her.
She ignored him, avoiding eye contact, pretended that this homeless man didn’t exist, just like the rest of society did every day.
They were alone on a spooky night. Halloween. But it didn’t scare her. Nothing scared her.
Bright lights appeared at the end of the road, growing larger. The outline of a bus crystallized against the darkness and the engine coughed as it arrived at the stop. The doors swung open with a creak, and a gangly boy with a long neck and acid-washed jeans and an oversized sweatshirt got off.
“Michael!” The woman beamed. “For a minute I thought you wouldn’t come.”
“It was hard to get away from my folks,” he said, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard. The woman realized just how young he was.
“Well, let’s have some fun.” She draped her arm over his shoulder. “Hope you did your math homework. I’ll be checking tomorrow.”
He grinned, his braces gleaming. “I wouldn’t have showed up if I hadn’t. I know how strict you are.”
“Work and fun go hand in hand.”
“Don’t you ever get scared?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at the homeless man, who was still sitting on the bench. “Alone at night like this.”
He was so innocent and caring. Just sixteen years old. A tiny tremor of guilt disturbed her calm demeanor for a fleeting second. “Nothing scares me, Michael.”
“You’re so cool.” Then his eyes darted ahead to the glimmering lights in the distance.
She followed his gaze to the pocket of magic—the Ferris wheel, like a luminous circle, towering lights flashing green, red, and blue, a swirl of neon and golden lights blinking in hypnotic patterns. A burst of fireworks flared in the sky, casting a glow on their faces.
“This is going to be the best night ever!” Michael exclaimed.
“Yes, it will be.” The woman’s voice softened around the edges.
Her pulse quickened as she shoved a hand in her pocket and wrapped it around the cold, unyielding metal grip of a gun.