I’ve been in and out of it the past three days, but I’m awake now, catching up with the family while trying to get some food in my stomach. After the first night, Dayana and Floyd have been taking turns on who goes back with Dahlia when visiting hours are over to get some rest, but Dalma refused to leave the hospital, in case I woke up and needed her. And I do, but unless she’s mastered necromancy, there’s nothing she can do.

I’m caught up on everything I’ve missed.

First, Frankie was killed by his son. The kid who welcomed Valentino into the building. How he got his hands on a gun is beyond me, but he pulled that trigger twice to stop his father from killing his mother. Now it’s a big news story and an investigation is underway. The kid, Paz, told police how his mother looked like she was about to die even though Death-Cast hadn’t called her, so he wanted to save her life. It’s kind of hard to believe that’s going to protect him, especially since Death-Cast messed up big-time.

That’s the other huge piece of news.

Joaquin Rosa held a press conference where he shared Death-Cast’s opening numbers. They had a perfect score on predictions but failed in outreach to twelve Deckers—including Frankie. He said he will be haunted by those losses for the rest of his life and has done everything in his power to ensure that will never happen again. It looks like people are buying into it, especially since there have been no more fuckups while I’ve been recovering from surgery. The Death-Cast program is going to grow and grow, maybe even go global. This service might still scare some people, but I bet I could change anyone’s mind about the possibilities of knowing your fate by sharing Valentino’s story.

The End Days have some horrors, but if you commit to living, they can be beautiful too.

Dalma Young

4:44 p.m.

Death-Cast did not call Dalma Young because she isn’t dying today, but her game-changing idea has finally been born.

“I finally know what app I want to create,” Dalma says, alone with Orion in his hospital room.

“Oh yeah?” Orion asks quietly.

He sounds disinterested, but Dalma knows he’s simply not here mentally. This grief is different from a child losing his parents. Back then Orion was screaming all the time and was confused every time he woke up. Dalma could relate, but she doesn’t know what it’s like to lose a friend. Or a lover. But she now sees the power of finding people before it’s too late.