My discomfort level rises a few more notches. But as hard as this is to talk about, in a strange way, it’s also kind of cathartic. There are so few people who understand me. For some reason, I want him to be one of them.

“My obsessions are mostly about safety. Like, I think something along the lines of what if I left the door unlocked, then I think about all the catastrophic things that could happen if I did. Then I can’t focus on anything else until I do my compulsions to make sure I’ll be safe. And the more I give in to my compulsions, the stronger they get.”

I notice that I’m talking about my OCD in present tense and grit my teeth. I used to give in to my compulsions, and they used to get stronger as a result. But I broke that cycle. Things aren’t that bad anymore.

Except they are. How many doorways have I tapped in the last twenty-four hours? How many times did I check the dead bolt in the hideout?

I shake my head. I’m better. I’m better. I refuse to backslide. This is just a hiccup, just a momentary fumble.

“You know what the funny thing is?” I say to Elliott, my voice bitter with irony. “I think I’m as scared of my OCD getting bad again as I am of this damn fog making my fears actually come true. How messed up is that?”

The car fills with silence. Outside, the wind howls. The road dips into a low spot, and the car forges a path through the small stream that’s formed there.

Elliott doesn’t answer. He doesn’t give me some inane response like It’s all in your head—as if that should be calming rather than frustrating and terrifying—or It’s okay, everyone’s a little bit OCD, like the diagnosis is a personality quirk instead of a sometimes-debilitating mental disorder. Instead, he just stays quiet and gives me the chance to talk more, if I want to.

I don’t. I’m done talking. I just want to be out of this goddamned place and safe with Ty already.

After a while, Elliott speaks again. “About the fog. If you’re right about it being what enables the mind control, then I think it’s supposed to be a tool for the aliens, not a weapon to hurt us.”

I glance at him. “What do you mean?”