Everything changed when we saw the first person. It was Judy Smithworth, a teacher whom I’d always loved dearly. A kind woman with bright eyes and curly blonde hair cut short as required. Her husband was a farmer. She stood not thirty paces before us, staring and stupefied. The boy was found.

The sight of her stunned me. Ropes of dense fog wrapped around her chest and neck, and the offshoots wove their way into her eyes, her ears, her mouth. She stood in a thin, shifting fog.

And she was clearly unaware of any of it. Unaware that she’d bound herself to fear, which blinded her to the kingdom of heaven, in which she was the light.

Her eyes were on Eli. “Grace?” she said.

I shifted my eyes to several others beyond her. The Martin family paused in a huddle of eight. Tyler Smith and his children watched from outside the general store. Margaret Holden stared from across the street. They were the same. All bound in the darkness, all staring at me and Eli walking through the center of town. At least half of them were covered in the rash that had first afflicted Evelyn, whispering among themselves. One of Tyler’s boys took off running.

A group of children rounded the corner to our right—the Pierce children among them, including Evelyn. Like the others, the children were clouded in a thin fog, though the cords of darkness weren’t as developed.

I stopped, reminded of just what awaited us when we encountered Rose, which would be soon. She was likely already hearing the news.

Eli looked back at me, eyes bright, unconcerned. “Remember who you are. You can only serve one master.” With that, he headed directly toward the children. They’d stopped and were staring, as were the adults. No one seemed to know what to do.

Rose would.

Stephen Pierce, the youngest in this group, pushed past the other children and smiled as Eli approached. I hurried to catch up to him, doing my best to still the nerves now buzzing on high alert.

“Hello,” Stephen said.

“Hello, Stephen,” Eli replied. The fog surrounding the boy retreated when Eli stopped not ten feet from him.

“Everyone’s been looking for you,” Stephen said. “Why have you been hiding?”

“I didn’t mean to be hiding,” Eli said. “I was just away exploring.”

Stephen’s small eyes lit with excitement and curiosity. “I’ve never been exploring.”

“I could take you if you want.”

Stephen beamed and nodded before another hand reached out, yanked him back, and stepped forward to block the boy from Eli’s gaze. Evelyn, her eyes filled with terror and anger. Her hands were concealed with gloves. Cords of darkness were wrapped around her arms, chest and neck. They didn’t retreat as Stephen’s had.

“Hello, Evelyn,” Eli said.

“Stay away from my brother,” Evelyn spat.

“I see you’ve been having some trouble with your skin.”