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Back She's Gone Save as PDF
Chapters (95)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Video #1
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-One
  27. Twenty-Two
  28. Twenty-Three
  29. Twenty-Four
  30. Twenty-Five
  31. Twenty-Six
  32. Video #2
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-Three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. Thirty-Nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-One
  48. Forty-Two
  49. Forty-Three
  50. Forty-Four
  51. Forty-Five
  52. Forty-Six
  53. Forty-Seven
  54. Forty-Eight
  55. Forty-Nine
  56. Fifty
  57. Fifty-One
  58. Fifty-Two
  59. Fifty-Three
  60. Fifty-Four
  61. Fifty-Five
  62. Fifty-Six
  63. Fifty-Seven
  64. Fifty-Eight
  65. Fifty-Nine
  66. Sixty
  67. Sixty-One
  68. Sixty-Two
  69. Sixty-Three
  70. Sixty-Four
  71. Sixty-Five
  72. Video #3
  73. Sixty-Six
  74. Sixty-Seven
  75. Sixty-Eight
  76. Sixty-Nine
  77. Seventy
  78. Seventy-One
  79. Seventy-Two
  80. Seventy-Three
  81. Seventy-Four
  82. Seventy-Five
  83. Seventy-Six
  84. Seventy-Seven
  85. Seventy-Eight
  86. Seventy-Nine
  87. Eighty
  88. Eighty-One
  89. Eighty-Two
  90. Eighty-Three
  91. The Final Video
  92. Acknowledgments
  93. About the Author
  95. Back Cover

After the car drives off, the camera drops quickly, as though Daniel is lowering it. It’s like he put the camera down but didn’t stop recording. The sudden movement causes a swirling like on an amusement park ride. Everything on the screen blurs, the landscape sweeping by. It passes over a row of parked cars and then drops to the ground before it cuts away.

Just a rushing blur of images.

But why is that blur there when the rest of the movie was edited so precisely?

Was that an accident? A mistake?

Five times. Ten times. I watch that blurring sweep of the camera so many times I feel motion sick. But at the end of the cut, which I freeze over and over, I see nothing.

Nothing.

I turn off the movie and close my laptop, with no choice but to go back to reading for class. At least I saved the best for last. A novel for my AP English class. One I’ve always wanted to read.

Kindred by Octavia Butler.

The words refuse to make any sense. They don’t register because my head is somewhere else.

That movie. The weird, blurry cut.

Like Daniel wanted to show something on the ground but didn’t.

Still, if it was so important, he’d show it to the viewer? Wouldn’t he?

“No,” I say out loud.

If it’s important, and I mean really important, he’d put it at the end of the movie where it would have the most impact.

Maybe Daniel knew more about storytelling than I realized.

Maybe.

I’m off the bed, grabbing my keys.

Sixty-Seven

Lights burn inside the house, and two cars sit in the driveway.

As I wait after knocking, under the glowing porch light, I look back out to the yard. Where I last saw Daniel. We argued right there on the lawn when I told him we weren’t friends anymore.

My face flushes with shame.

The knob rattles and turns, and all of a sudden, I’m face-to-face with Daniel’s mom, Elizabeth. It’s been a few years.

She looks the same. She’s a tall woman, taller than me. She always seemed strong and capable, which makes sense since she’s an ER nurse. Her reddish hair is a little grayer, and she looks tired. Her eyes are red, her skin pale. She buried her only child just this morning, and if she’s mad at the world and wants someone to take it out on, that person is probably going to be me.

She stares at me for a long time, sadness on her face.

And then she says, “Oh, Hunter,” in the saddest voice ever, and she’s squeezing me tight. I start to cry. She’s crying, too.