“An empty threat.” It was Trae speaking to Helga, shining a flashlight right in her face. They were surrounded by a group of five or six, all with their own flashlights pointed toward the ground. “You do realize we’re Tangents—we weren’t programmed to be idiots.”

Helga raised her hands above her head. “Well, you’ve got us cornered, and there’s too much at stake. If you don’t believe me, then I’ll prove just how high those stakes are. And if you decide to jump the gun and blow us to bits, then the message has already been sent. You’ll all die. Forever.”

Michael couldn’t make out much about the people standing behind their leader. He could make out Janey, though, and judging by their size, there were other children in the group as well. One boy looked to be as young as eight or nine.

Several moments passed in silence as the bearded man thought.

“What do you think she’s talking about?” Sarah whispered. “What message? How could she kill them?”

“The true death,” Bryson answered. “Something’s going on that we don’t know about.”

“Obviously,” Michael replied. He didn’t mean to sound rude; he was in total agreement as to how clueless they were.

“Boo!”

A girl’s face had appeared on the other side of the window, and Michael nearly jumped out of his pants. Bryson yelled and fell backward, knocking Sarah to the floor. Michael froze. Those dark eyes and that pale face. She giggled hysterically, then vanished again. Michael sucked in a breath of air.

“Quiet!” Trae screamed outside. “Tina, get away from there. Now!”

“Sorry, boss.” There was another giggle; then Michael saw the girl run off into the woods. Bryson and Sarah came back to crouch next to Michael.

“I was just trying to protect you,” Bryson said to Sarah. “She could’ve had a gun, you know.”

Sarah rolled her eyes and settled back into her place at the window. Helga was still outside, and they didn’t want to miss any of what happened.

“I call your bluff,” Trae said. “You’re not going to surrender, and I don’t have any more time to waste.” He turned back to face his people. “Kill them,” he said in an eerily calm voice. “Every one of them. I’ve had enough of this.”

“Now!” Helga yelled.

Suddenly a woman standing next to Trae slumped over and collapsed to the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. She lay splayed out, arms and legs in an unnatural position. Her face was mostly hidden in shadow, but Michael could see her eyes had rolled back in her head, the whites shining in the dark.

Trae was at her side in an instant, feeling for her pulse. He didn’t need to say anything—his body language showed it all.

She was dead.

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