“When a girl leaves your world, everyone they leave behind moves on with their lives as if she never existed. No one knows if that can be undone. We don’t know if a new reality would be formed if she returned. Or if the reality stays the same as it was when she left it. To me, that would be the worst. Going home to a place where no one knew you.”

There are worse things, I thought. You could be a stranger to your loved ones in both worlds.

“At least I’ve got my dad,” James said. “There are others in my situation who don’t have anyone.”

A bunny hopped out of the forest, stood on its hind legs, and studied us. He twitched his nose, then hopped back to the trees.

“I should have brought a trap,” James said. Seeing the shocked expression on my face, he added, “A couple of days out here with no food, and you’ll see that bunny in a different light.”

“How many Fringers are there?” I asked, trying to get the image out of my mind.

“It’s hard to say since everyone’s always on the move,” James said. “But a small group of us have formed a co-op of sorts. We barter for things, and we watch out for one another. That’s how I know my dad’s all right. Someone’s bound to see that I’m not there. We all step up whenever there’s a need. Well, most of us. There are some who rarely come out of hiding. They live like hermits in the high country.”

I hadn’t imagined it yesterday when I thought I was being watched.

“Is that how you found me?” I asked.

“Yeah,” James said. “When I heard a girl was seen running into the forest, I knew it was you.”

“Why didn’t you come last night?” I asked.

“I wanted to let my dad know where I was going. Besides, what was the hurry? It’s not like you could actually go anywhere.”

For a second, I thought he was remarking on his own situation rather than mine. “Did all the Fringers leave their mates behind?”

“The boys did. Well, most of them. Some of the boys are on the Fringe because they want to be,” James said. “But some of the Fringers are girls.”

This threw me. “How is that possible? Aren’t all the girls here someone’s mate?”

“Believe it or not, you’re not the first girl to come here trying to get someone out. Granted, you’re the first to come alone. Most of the time, a friend or a sister of one of the mates will follow her into Judaculla. They don’t realize they’re leaving their world forever. When they get here, they’re trapped. The co-op usually picks them up before anyone inside Judaculla knows they’ve come.”

“Usually?” I asked.