The black portraits directly under Julius the golden retriever shifted downward, knocking her off balance. Luna’s heart all but stopped as she lost her footing.

That fast, so fast.

She heard herself gasp, felt the protesting ache in her tired arms as Julius’s frame suddenly had to support her. Feet scrambling, trying to reach the closest frame, but she just couldn’t—

And then it was like she was astral projecting again. Watching herself fall straight down, down, down, in a blue dress, white pinafore, and thick gray scarf.

Just like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole to Wonderland.

FRIDAY, 2:15 P.M.

Francis seemed to know his way through the maze by heart. He didn’t hesitate or pause when they reached a fork in the path. He didn’t even have to look forward—for most of the walk, he kept his gaze on the pebbles under their feet while Nicole watched him. She kept waiting, expecting he would tell her to stop at any second.

“Are you still in school?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “College wasn’t for me.”

“Do you just work, then?”

“Yeah. I’m an electrician apprentice. Two years of trade and then I signed with a union. I also do some IT and security work on the side.”

“Do you like any of it?”

“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t.” He grinned. “If I have to sell my labor, it should be worthwhile, right?”

“That’s one way to look at it,” she said. “Family?”

“Mom. Sister.”

Nicole laughed. Since he knew the basics about her from her videos, it was only fair that she got to ask what she wanted to know about him. All his answers had been short and to the very abrupt point. “You don’t like talking about yourself, do you?”

“Not particularly,” he said, glancing at her. “But I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

Finally, at the center of the maze, they sat on a bench underneath a statue of a woman kneeling in quiet contemplation. “On a scale of one to ten this is hardly a twenty,” Nicole said, recalling their earlier conversation about the Scavengers Initiative while gazing at the sky. An airplane glided over their heads. “Minus the lethal bushes, it’s negative two at best.”

“Last time there were spiders, a paintball-gun firing squad, jumping out of windows, and Olive almost drowning,” Francis said.

“Really? That sounds horrible.”

“You asked why I don’t like Jewel. It started that night. She figured out what we were all afraid of and used it in the game. Even Ethan didn’t talk to her for a few weeks afterward.”

“Why are you here, then? Why make yourself go through her games twice?” There she was, openly staring again while he kept his face turned down and away. Avoiding her.