Chapter 4

Mrs. Voss and Mr. Voss took Ethan on a three-day trip. They drove up to a church in the mountains and prayed for Ethan to make it safely past his 18th birthday. They knelt and prayed for him to get into a good college. Ethan knelt and prayed too, but his prayer was not for himself.

He pressed his palms together and closed his eyes. "Because of that prophecy, Caleb spent the last 18 years suffering. I don't care if I get into a good school. I just want him to be okay from now on."

When he finished, he held the blessed bracelet the church had given him gently in his palm. Then the cord snapped without warning.

Ethan's face changed instantly. "Mr. Voss, Mrs. Voss, I have a bad feeling. I think something really happened to Caleb."

Mrs. Voss had heard enough. "What could have happened to him? Can't you see what he's doing? He wants you to feel guilty. The more you worry, the more he wins."

Before she could say anything else, her phone rang. It was Mrs. Hayes from the apartment downstairs.

"What the hell is going on at your place? Do you know how bad the leak is? My ceiling is completely waterlogged! The paint's peeling off the walls!"

Mrs. Voss stood there, stunned. After she hung up, her face was livid.

"I swear to God... Caleb wants to tear the whole house apart and turn every neighbor against us before he's satisfied, is that how it is?"

They drove through the night. The moment they opened the front door, the air inside was wrong. It was way too cold.

Mrs. Voss and Mr. Voss looked at each other and froze where they stood.

Ethan was at the front. His face went sheet-white.

"Mrs. Voss..." His hand was shaking as he pointed at the freezer door.

"You said... you said the freezer wasn't on."

Mrs. Voss's eyes went wide. She followed his gaze.

The frame around the freezer door was coated in icicles. A pipe inside had burst from the cold. Water was seeping out from under the door, mixed with blood, pooling across the floor.

She threw herself at the door. It took several tries before she managed to wrench it open, and a blast of freezing air poured out.

When the fog cleared and she finally saw what was inside, something broke loose from deep in her throat. The scream that came out barely sounded human.

Ethan collapsed where he stood. I drifted there in the void and let out a quiet sigh.

She had finally found me, though it was far too late.