They were going downslope toward the town, and almost as soon as they emerged from the dense forest Diana saw a slender figure who appeared to have just started in the same direction.

“Hollis?”

TWO

With obvious relief, which was clear even though she was a mostly washed-out gray and eerily one-dimensional like everything else, Hollis stopped and turned to meet the newcomers. Her regular features, which became memorable if not unforgettable when animated, and her unusually striking blue eyes, which were always unforgettable, were clearly etched even without the color that filled them with life and interest.

It was, Diana thought, a quality peculiar to Hollis; the features of most in the gray time, even the guides, seemed more . . . smudged . . . than clearly etched. She made a mental note to mention that to Hollis when they got a moment to themselves. In the meantime, the other woman was, as usual, speaking.

“Thank the Universe. I thought I might be alone here, and this is not a fun place to be alone.” She reflected. “Or even with company. What the hell, Diana?”

“No idea. Yet. This is Daniel.” She gestured toward the child guide, almost absently, because she was frowning as a sudden and very troubling question occurred. “Did you get pulled in by accident this time, Hollis? Because of me? Because I opened a door?”

Before Diana could answer, Daniel did.

“You’re both needed,” he said.

Earnestly to Diana, Hollis said, “You know, that sort of relieves me. Because even though we were warned it would probably happen, so far we really haven’t had the problem of me being pulled here just because you’re here.” She turned her attention to the guide, adding severely, “But it’s awfully early. I think. Back home. So, why?”

The guide gave her an angelic smile and then continued down the slope, clearly expecting them to follow.

Doing so, Hollis muttered to her friend, “You know who they remind me of, these guides of yours?”

“Yes. Bishop.”

“Uh-huh. At his worst. Where are we?” She sounded nervous, and her gaze swept the area around them.

“Salem, according to Daniel.”

Hollis thought about that for a few steps, her gaze focusing ahead and below them at the town, which was becoming more obvious even if still only gray smudges in vague shapes. She tried to ignore her cold body and really cold feet. And how tired she already felt. “The Salem we know about from that case a couple of months ago?” Hollis read the case files and reports of other teams and investigations the way some people read biographies, just so she’d know.

“Apparently,” Diana answered.

“Gray and Geneva took care of that,” Hollis said aggrievedly. “And there was a major cleanup afterward. The file was closed.”

“Yeah, that’s what I heard. Maybe something new in the same town?”

“I think that would be a first. For us. The unit.”

Dryly, Diana said, “I haven’t been a member as long as you, but isn’t that sort of normal? I mean, new things?”