Jeb laughed cheerfully. “No, I don’t want you dead! That’s the whole point, kid. I’ve been getting them all used to seeing you around, getting them to accept the situation without realizing it. It’s like boiling a frog.”

My forehead creased at the eccentric comparison.

Jeb explained. “If you throw a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will hop right out. But if you put that frog in a pot of tepid water and slowly warm it, the frog doesn’t figure out what’s going on until it’s too late. Boiled frog. It’s just a matter of working by slow degrees.”

I thought about that for a second—remembered how the humans had ignored me at lunch today. Jeb had gotten them used to me. The realization made me feel strangely hopeful. Hope was a silly thing in my situation, but it seeped into me anyway, coloring my perceptions more brightly than before.

“Jeb?”

“Yeah?”

“Am I the frog or the water?”

He laughed. “I’ll leave that one for you to puzzle over. Self-examination is good for the soul.” He laughed again, louder this time, as he turned to leave. “No pun intended.”

“Wait—can I ask one more?”

“Sure. I’d say it’s your turn anyway, after all I’ve asked you.”

“Why are you my friend, Jeb?”

He pursed his lips for a second, considering his answer.

“You know I’m a curious man,” he began, and I nodded. “Well, I get to watch your souls a lot, but I never get to talk with ’em. I’ve had so many questions just piling up higher and higher.… Plus, I’ve always thought that if a person wants to, he can get along with just about anybody. I like putting my theories to the test. And see, here you are, one of the nicest gals I ever met. It’s real interesting to have a soul as a friend, and it makes me feel super special that I’ve managed it.”

He winked at me, bowed from the waist, and walked away.

Just because I now understood Jeb’s plan, it didn’t make things easier when he escalated it.

He never took the gun anywhere anymore. I didn’t know where it was, but I was grateful that Jamie wasn’t sleeping with it, at least. It made me a little nervous to have Jamie with me unprotected, but I decided he was actually in less danger without the gun. No one would feel the need to hurt him when he wasn’t a threat. Besides, no one came looking for me anymore.