Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
TEN YEARS AGO
As Christian stepped into the woods, he still heard the party going. People talked. His sisters sang—on a recording, not in real life. They were all harmony and hand-claps and even a harmonica.
One day when he was old enough, he wanted to learn to play. He couldn’t wait.
He glanced behind him one more time, toward the grass where he’d let the lightning bug go. He couldn’t see it anymore.
So he took another step. Toward the woods. Toward the unknown.
Toward the glowworms.
The trees smelled different than the yard, kind of like the crawl space under the porch. He loved the smell. He loved everything about the woods, even though he wasn’t supposed to go into them alone. His parents were afraid he might get lost or something.
It was all so silly to him. As long as he could see people—see the lights—he should be okay. He wasn’t stupid.
“Hey, you need to hurry!” Glowworm Guy called from the shadows. “I’m afraid it’s going to stop glowing.”
Whose voice was that? It almost sounded familiar, but Christian couldn’t think of from where. And why couldn’t he see this person? He must be behind some bushes or something.
Was it Caleb from church? Had he come to the party after all?
Caleb liked games. Hide-and-seek and Twenty Questions were his favorites.
But Caleb’s voice didn’t quite sound like that—unless he was disguising it. Caleb wouldn’t do that. It would be weird if he did.
So who was it?
Christian took another step and paused.
Suddenly, the woods felt darker. A lot darker.
He glanced behind him. He could still see the lights of his house, but barely.
He hesitated.
Maybe he’d come too far. Maybe this was a bad idea. He was going to get in big trouble if his parents caught him out here.
But the glowworm . . . he really wanted to see it. He could just take a quick glance, right? What could that hurt?
A branch snapped nearby, and he jumped.
He wanted to laugh at himself, but he couldn’t.
Coming out here had been a bad idea. He should go back to the party before anyone noticed he was gone.
Before he could move, a hand closed over his mouth.
He froze with fear.
“Don’t be scared,” Glowworm Guy said. His voice sounded deeper now and not as much like someone his age. “This is all part of the fun.”
Christian’s heart pounded in his ears. He was being silly.
This was a game. This was fun.
Marlowe always told him he took things too seriously.
Maybe she was right.
But that didn’t make his fear go away.