From the moment she got into the rental car, she realized just how nervous she really was about this meeting, and how much it meant to her. She wasn’t sure if she would be welcome there; after all, she didn’t even know the man. But what made her even more concerned was the simple fact that if she didn’t learn what she wanted to know about Jonathan from Mr. Pierce, she had nowhere else to turn. The only other thing to do would be to drive out to the plant herself, and she had heard from the nice silver-haired lady who ran the bed-and-breakfast that the roads out to the plant were “simply impossible.” She believed it, judging by the amount of snow on the ground, and the threat of more to come.

And if I did make it out there, what would I find? She tried not to think too much about that, but it was important to consider. What if Jonathan was gone? Or worse. How would she feel then? Everything was on her shoulders. She had been responsible for him, and she had let him go. Her instincts had been flat wrong.

She had dreamed about him last night. Even thinking about it now sent shivers down her spine. She’d been standing outside a house in the country, and she and Jonathan were about to go somewhere together, but she had forgotten something inside. Could you go get it for me, Jonathan? she asked. There are spiders over there on the lawn, and I don’t like spiders. There was a little pond between them, and she had to throw him the keys so he could get in the front door, but she didn’t want them to fall in the pond, so she threw them high into the air. But the keys landed in the water and sank out of sight. Oh no, she thought, we’ll never find them now; they’re lost forever.

Don’t worry, Jonathan said, his scarred mouth moving in slow-motion dream-speech, the lips curving into a smile. I can get in. She stepped around the pond and into the higher grass. The spiders were closer to her now. The sky had turned black and cold, and as she looked down, the grass at her feet became brambles and bushes. A spiderweb had become stuck to her, and a fat gray spider crawled up her arm. She shook it off in disgust and turned to leave, but the bushes had grown up behind her, and webs were all around her now, the spiders crawling up her legs.

Jonathan, she cried, help me! But he only stood above her on the hill, grinning. Don’t worry, he said again. I can get in.