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The soldiers were standing down So to hide their amusement behind their hands I looked fro by the second The sound of druer instead of by fear

"Joyce?" I said, trying to keep ht youout on us, since you went and disappeared for hours right after a bunch of sleepers showed up in the yard"

He ht have been "I still think that," or nored hito be too teht think it was funny forsleepwalker, but kicking hiet a less positive reaction

"So you’re saying he faked this?" I asked My voice was sounding a lot less measured I took a step away fro away secrets?"

"It… worked," gaspedhi for antiparasitics?"

"That was pretty specific," said Joyce She walked toward us, priup That was apparently below her pay grade "What would make you decide to ask for antiparasitics?"

I looked fro his crotch, to Joyce, who looked utterly cal back to their stations, and although security was still in the roo to secure anyone It had all been a sham It was a play to see what I would do, and while that spoke to the level of their desperation, it still infuriated me in ways I didn’t really have the words for

"Is this why you locked me in the house and wouldn’t let me talk to Nathan for five days?" I asked "Because you wanted s I said to you on the way here were true," saidto sound less winded, which ain "I really did want tis about the news that would have made you ask questions"

"They made Nathan ask questions," said Joyce "He showed up here yesterday, deht"

I blinked "Why would he come here?"

"Because we told him you weren’t at hoically be," said my father I turned to stare at hi him you’d become sy We’ve been trying to find him since then"

"What?"

"He vanished, Sal," said Joyce "Do you knohere he would go?"

Yes; back to his mother, who had answers, and ould be able to tell him whether it was possible for me to have becons that estive systerid and keep hiethow ainst the iven that ed some kind of horror e anymore

"No," I said, and was surprised by how sincere I sounded "I don’t have any idea where Nathan would go, and I don’t think I want to talk to either one of you right now I asked Dad to bringlocked in the house, and because I wanted to help After what you did, I don’t feel like helping any here with you"

"I’m afraid I can’t take you home until you demonstrate that test you promised to show us," said one froht The jangling feeling of wrongness was still coht just have been ht "Then I’ll call Tasha or Will to co my chin defiantly My coworkers at the shelter hadn’t seenand asking for favors They’d also be et in the car and pick me up They both understood why I didn’t drive, and respected it I sometimes suspected I was just another abandoned animal to them, but in moments like this, I didn’t entle, for all that it was still firnal inside here, and I’ until you shohat you promised"

I stared at him "I made that promise before you pretended to be a sleepwalker and tried to strangle s we’re not proud of," he said Joyce was a silent statue next to hihtly off to one side, so that she wouldn’t have to o home"