Chapter 16
They laid the objects on the slab one by one.
The order mattered, or at least Erica felt like it did.
Zach placed the penny first, setting it carefully near the center.
He nudged it once, then again, correcting himself, as if symmetry might offer protection.
Liv followed, hands trembling as she set Derek’s keys and her partially melted hair clip beside it.
The metal clinked against the wood, an ordinary sound that didn’t belong in this room anymore.
Beckie hesitated, then dropped her bracelet onto the slab. It landed with a dull thud, the warped metal catching the light.
Erica swallowed. “Are we ready?”
Beckie frowned. “We’re missing Chad’s.”
The room went quiet. Somewhere, a neighbor’s TV laughed at them faintly.
In the silence, Erica heard stupid domestic things: the fridge humming, the vent whispering, the distant elevator cable.
The building kept living like it hadn’t just witnessed a massacre in a tastefully staged condo.
The normalcy was a reminder of how alone they were in this.
Erica’s gaze slid to the far side of the living room, where the torn-off arm lay half under the couch, the Rolex still strapped around the wrist like nothing had happened to it.
The watch face was cracked now, dark with blood, the second hand frozen mid-tick.
Time had stopped for it, but not for them.
No one volunteered. Zach’s eyes stayed fixed on the slab. Liv stared at the floor, afraid that if she looked up she’d see Derek sitting there, alive, asking her what was taking so long. Beckie fiddled with her nails, peeling skin without seeming to notice.
Erica stood. “I’ll get it.”
Her shoes stuck slightly to the floor as she crossed the room. The sound made her flinch. Everything felt adhesive now, like the condo wanted to keep them.
She tried not to look at the rest of him, but her eyes betrayed her anyway. The violence of it still didn’t compute. Chad had been loud, annoying, and whole. Now, he was in five pieces.
Erica crouched and unclasped the Rolex. The steel bracelet peeled away with a soft, wet squelch. She pretended it was just sweat. The skin beneath it was already cooling. When she stood, her hands were steadier than she expected, even as her stomach rolled like it wanted out of her body.
She returned and placed the watch on the slab.
“Are we ready now?” she asked.
Liv nodded immediately, eyes red and unfocused. Zach nodded too.
Beckie gave a lazy salute. “Let’s wrap this up. I’d really like to not die in your living room.”
They sat around the coffee table, knees almost touching, the floor gritty beneath them. Blood had dried in uneven patches on their clothes and skin, flaking when anyone shifted. Bits of Chad clung in people’s hair, smeared across cheeks and sleeves.
Erica picked up the bell. It felt heavier than before, weighted with consequence. Her grip tightened, and for a moment, she hesitated. She hated the way every action now felt like a choice she couldn’t unmake. Then she rang it.
The sound was thin and shrill, cutting through the room like a blade. It rang once and vanished.
“Fingers,” she said.
They obeyed, and the instant their fingertips touched the wood, flames erupted. They weren’t roaring. They were controlled and clean. Small tongues of fire licked each object as though it were tasting them, not consuming them—at least not yet.
Liv flinched hard but kept her fingers down, a strangled sob tearing out of her. Zach exhaled slowly through his nose. Beckie yawned. Erica felt a swell of relief so intense it almost made her dizzy.
This is almost done, she thought. Joslyn wouldn’t let it hurt us.
“Now what?” Beckie asked.
Erica lifted her chin. “We invite you to seal the threshold.”
Zach shot her an uneasy look, but before he could speak, the room revolted.
Books tore free from shelves. Frames flipped off the walls. A lamp slid across the floor and shattered. Liv screamed as something heavy flew past her head, close enough to stir her hair.
“I think we did this wrong!” Beckie yelled, crouching low.
“Keep your hands on the board!” Erica shouted. “Don’t move!”
A chair lifted and slammed into the wall, cracking plaster. The lights flickered violently, plunging the room into strobes of shadow and brightness.
“It’s Joslyn!” Erica shouted, even as doubt passed through her. “She’s closing the door!”
Zach’s knuckles had gone white against the wood. A light bulb burst overhead, showering glass and filament. Beckie shrieked. None of it touched them. Every shard veered away at the last second.
Elias’s body jerked upward like it had been yanked by invisible wires, lifting him several feet off the floor. Liv screamed. Then the body dropped hard, the impact rattling the floor.
“Um,” Beckie said shakily, ducking as another object sailed past. “Can your sister hurry the fuck up?”
“Look!” Erica shouted, her eyes snapping to the wooden slab.
The flames were changing. Derek’s keys extinguished first. Then Chad’s Rolex. Liv’s hair clip followed, the fire shrinking and vanishing.
Objects flew, but still, none struck them. Everything swerved at the last second, skidding past like they were untouchable. The couch slid inches across the floor. The TV rattled on the wall.
Zach’s penny went dark. Only Erica’s and Beckie’s objects remained.
“Keep your fingers down!” Erica screamed as the room tore itself apart. “It’s almost over!”
The pounding on the door started then, heavy and urgent. The world outside remembered them.
“Police!” a voice shouted. “Open up!”
Liv screamed again.
“Hold on!” Erica cried. “Just a little longer!”
The pounding grew louder, causing the door to shudder in its frame.
“We will break this door down!” the voice yelled.
Zach’s eyes flicked to the slab. Another flame extinguished. Only one remained. The room was in full chaos now—objects spinning, slamming, crashing.
“Zach!” Erica yelled over the noise.
He leaned closer. “It’s going to work,” he shouted back, though his voice wavered.
“On three!” the man outside shouted. “One—”
The ceiling groaned. The walls vibrated.
“Two—”
Erica’s fingers burned against the wood. The final flame danced, stubborn and bright.
“Three—”
The power cut out. Darkness swallowed the room as the door splintered inward.
And in the sudden, breathless stillness—the final flame went out.