Nora had a vision like Colin’s, and for some reason, she thinks something’s wrong with him because of it.

My thoughts spin as I return to my room. I barely have the energy to brush my teeth and change, and when I collapse onto my bed, I fall asleep instantly.

I know immediately that I’m dreaming, but I can’t make myself wake up. It’s like being trapped inside a vision; everything feels real.

I’m standing at the edge of the wood outside the house, still in my pajamas, my bare toes curling into the grass and soil. The Shield spreads out before me in a line, disappearing into the black sky above.

Silence fills the night, the kind of quiet that promises something big to come. There’s no wind, no rain, no rustling of leaves. Even the house is silent, its windows darker than I’ve ever seen.

I reach out to touch the Shield. The movement is both my own and not. I’m somehow myself and some outside presence floating above, watching. My fingers brush the barrier; it’s cold, so cold it zaps the heat from inside me.

It cracks beneath my touch. I recoil, my heart drumming against my chest. Movement to my side makes me turn, and I come face to face with Colin, a smile on his face. It looks wrong.

“Colin.” My breath comes out as mist. Suddenly I realize how dark it is. There are no stars, no moon. The only light comes from the glow of the Shield, and it’s waning quickly. The world is upside down, similar to the in-between I glimpse when I travel through the big oak tree.

“You should have known better,” Colin says quietly. It sounds nothing like him. His voice is low, nearly a growl. “How ignorant you all are.”

I want to step away from him, but my body won’t move. The part of me watching from above screams at myself to run, but my voice doesn’t reach. The light from the Shield is nearly gone now, and as the last of it fades away, Colin begins to laugh.

The brightness of his silver eyes is all I can see. But as his laughter rises, his pupils expand, the darkness overtaking his eyes until there’s nothing left.

Then the Shield shatters.

An inhuman wail pierces the night. I slam my hands over my ears, but it cuts through them, barreling into my head, into my body, into my soul. It fills me up, sucking every inch of warmth from inside me.

Faces swirl around me. Decomposing, skinless faces in different states of decay, trailed by white auras draped in shadows. The spirits flood out, shrieking like banshees. And underneath it all, I can hear Colin laughing.