“Years and years of doing it to other people, and finally someone is going to do it to you.” She walked up to him, close, not intimidated now, not scared anymore. Somewhere in her she had believed he would always be around to scare her at night, to torment her thoughts. But David was going to die one day. And now they both knew it. “Go as far away as you can, David,” she whispered. “Maybe you can outrun it. As long as you’re here, it will come true. I’ll make damn sure it will come true.”

He turned and stumbled a few steps before he ran out of the garden.

As soon as he disappeared, Sydney called out, “Bay! Bay, where are you?”

Bay came running from the side of the garden, nowhere near the tree. She ran into her mother’s arms. Sydney held her tight before they both went to Henry. Sydney went to her knees beside him.

“He’s going to be okay,” Evanelle said.

“You’ve got to stop being a lifesaver,” Sydney said tearily.

Henry smiled slightly. “You really think I’m going anywhere before you tell me what you were trying to make sure of in the kitchen?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. How could he love someone so bad for him? How could she love someone so good?

“I’ll go call the ambulance,” Evanelle said.

“Get the police out here too! Give them a description of him,” Tyler yelled after Evanelle, going for the gun and picking it up. “They might be able to catch that lunatic. What kind of car does he drive, Sydney?”

“He’s gone for good,” Sydney said. “Don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry? What is the matter with you people?” Tyler was looking at them, suddenly realizing they all, even Henry, knew something he didn’t. “Why did he go crazy like that? And how in the hell did an apple roll to a stop at his feet if Bay was all the way over there?”

“It’s the tree,” Claire said.

“What about the tree? Why am I the only one wigged out about this? Did you see what just happened here? Someone needs to get his license-plate number.” Tyler started to run out, but Claire grabbed his arm.

“Tyler, listen to me,” she said. “If you eat an apple from this tree you’ll see the biggest event in your life. I know it sounds impossible, but David probably did see how he was going to die. It chased him away. It chased our mother away. To some people, the worst thing to ever happen to them is the biggest thing to ever happen to them. He’s not coming back.”

“Oh, come on,” Tyler said. “I ate one of those apples and I didn’t go off screaming into the night.”

“You ate an apple?” Claire asked, aghast.