I break into a run back toward the cottage. My mind desperately swings between two plans: get inside, lock the doors, and plug my phone in to call the police, or grab the boat keys, get off the island, and drive to town.

Before leaving the cover of the forest, I stop and scan the lawn for signs of anyone, my gaze skimming across the windows of the cottage as well—sick at the thought that I may see a dark silhouette pass by at any moment. But the cottage remains still and quiet, the lawn empty.

I decide to rush inside, get the boat keys, and get off the island altogether. The back door is closest, so I make a run for it. I grab my purse from the counter in the kitchen and keep moving into the living room, where I grab the boat keys from the key rack.

Without stopping, I go right out the front door and down the steps of the verandah. As soon as my feet hit the path to the dock, I start to feel a bit better. I can see the boat down there, waiting to take me to safety.

Only a few feet away from the lake, I hear a rustling in the bushes just behind me. Before I have a chance to turn and see what it is, an explosion of pain erupts across the back of my skull. White sparks flash behind my eyes, and then everything goes black.

MAY

June lies motionless on the couch, and a strange woman is tying her wrists together with a long piece of rope. June looks dead, but I know she’s not. I can feel her life and see the gentle rise of breath in her chest.

The woman is much older than she was the last time I saw her. The hair is now white, the skin wrinkled. It’s Willa—Ezra’s mother. I’d recognize those piercing green eyes anywhere. She mumbles to herself as she secures June’s ankles together. She’s wearing a white nightgown, but it’s stained brown and makes her look as though she’s been sleeping on a bed of dirt.

June, I scream, with as much force as I can muster. Willa looks up, a slash of confusion upsetting the determination on her face, but it passes and she returns to tightening the ropes.

June groans loudly, and Willa jumps back, startled. I push between the old woman and my sister, a wall of spirit separating the two. I don’t imagine it will do much, but it makes me feel better. June’s eyes flutter and then slowly open. She looks up at Willa, and I can see her struggling to make sense of things.