Jack’s forehead creased, the lines of dried blood separated and lifted from his skin. He repeated “Jack’s disaster, Jack’s disaster, Jack’s disaster” until I got him onto his feet, out of the cemetery, and into the passenger seat.

Chapter 30

I was sixteen, sitting on the front step waiting for my best friend, Hannah, to pick me up. It was a relatively warm evening for May and the wind wasn’t blowing, so I didn’t bother with a jacket. Culminations of grey clouds lingered, unmoving, obscuring the moon. The tire swing tied to the oak tree in my front yard was fixed in place.

Through the quiet, I could hear her car approaching. The muffler of her father’s beat-up old Chevy sputtered and roared in warning. I watched as she pulled onto the shoulder, then I crossed the lawn, swung the door open, and lowered myself into the passenger seat.

“Hey.” I reached for my seat-belt buckle, clicking it in place.

Hannah’s left hand was draped over the steering wheel, pastel green nail polish chipped to bits, her nails bitten down to the skin. “It’s the perfect night, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s eerie.”

There weren’t many things to do in our small town, so we made our own fun. We headed down the coast.

“Do you think we’ll see her?” Hannah asked, cocking an eyebrow.

I smiled, hesitantly. “I don’t know. But if we do, I’m going to lose it.”

Darkness was descending as we followed the shoreline to the clearing by the pond. The water was calm and black, reaching for the shadowy headland across the harbour. I stared out the window, wondering what gathered below the surface. My grandfather told me never to play near the water at night. He said that was when the terrifying creatures of the underworld searched for souls to drag down.

“I heard that if you see her, she grabs you by the hair and pulls you into the lake.” I reached over and yanked Hannah’s hair as hard as I could.

“Stop! Stop!” she squealed, giggling. The car swerved into the other lane as her head bobbed. “Grace, let go. If I crash this car, Dad will kill me.”

I released her hair, and we continued to laugh like hyenas. When my laughter died down, Hannah would start again, then I would, too. My face felt tight, as though someone were stretching my skin back. For a second, I thought I may burst into tears, but then I chuckled again.

I wiped my eyes as Hannah slowed the car and came to a complete stop in the middle of the road. She turned off the ignition. When the engine died, it was utterly silent. I focused on my breath, irregular in anticipation.

“Ready?” she asked, her fingers on the headlight switch.

“Ready.”

She slowly flashed the lights, illuminating the strait of empty road and evergreens ahead. We counted along.

Click. “One.”

Click. “Two.”

Click. “Three.”

Hannah turned toward me; her blond hair shone red, reflecting the brake lights. “This is where she drowned her kids, right?”