I was standing on the road on the outskirts of Sage Springs again, the town stretched out before me, the forest at my back. Something was different about the town, though at first I couldn't figure it out. The whole place was lit, bright lights glowing high into the night sky. But as I watched, the lights began to extinguish, at the furthest edge at first, but then creeping nearer and nearer, plummeting the town into darkness. A strange energy came from Sage Springs, an anti-energy, and I thought that if I got too close, it would somehow destroy me.

My heart beating hard, I turned my back to run away, planning on taking the road out of town, but the road was gone. In its place, numerous pine trees blocked my way, as if the forest had somehow closed in around me and swallowed the road.

I gasped and spun back around. I saw something I hadn't noticed before. One place was still illuminated in Sage Springs. The carnival. The Ferris wheel was brightly lit, the huge wheel turning slowly, though no patrons sat in the buckets to enjoy the ride. The horses on the carousel lifted and dipped as they rode round and round and round, their backs bare, their nostrils flared and eyes rolling. I heard the clang of the bell as an invisible force hit the strong man game, and drove it home.

Lifeless. Everything felt lifeless. Empty. From the carnival that functioned as though filled, to the town left in darkness, to the empty people I'd seen before in my dreams. The only place that seemed to contain any depth, any soul, was the forest surrounding me, preventing me from leaving town.

Iwoke in my dorm bed in a cold sweat and with the absolute, certain knowledge that something bad was going to happen in Sage Springs.

Sunlight poured in through the window, telling me it was time to get up. I could barely bring myself to think about cla.s.s, what with Brooke missing and something bad going down at the carnival.

Movement came from the other side of the room, and I bolted upright, clutching my bedclothes to my chest. My first thought was that Riley had followed me and was in my room again, but as soon as I twisted around, I saw a familiar sheet of blonde hair and a curvy figure, pulling her long legs into a pair of jeans.

"Brooke?"

She turned her head to look over her shoulder at me. "Yeah?"

My eyes almost fell out of my head. As well as finding her back here, something else had changed as well. All over Brooke's skin-the parts I could see anyway-her body was covered in symbols, intricately drawn onto her skin.

I sat up straighter and yanked off my blanket, swinging my legs out of bed to place my feet on the floor. In one swift movement, I was up and across the room. Brooke wore a light pink cardigan with her t-shirt, and I grabbed her, pulling at her clothing to try to find out if the markings were all over her body or not.

Brooke yanked away from me. "What the h.e.l.l are you doing? Are you nuts?"

"Go and look in the mirror," I said. "Then you'll see."

Her expression went from angry to scared as she hurried over to a small sink in the corner of our room and the mirror above it. She twisted her head from side to side, inspecting her face, the worry never leaving her expression. She lifted her face to her hand to gently tug at her skin, as if searching for wrinkles that were yet to materialize.

She turned back to me. "I don't know what you're talking about."

My heart sank. She couldn't see the symbols.

"Where have you been all night, Brooke?" I asked her. She hadn't yet mentioned the carnies or the ordeal she'd been through the previous night.

She frowned. "I've been asleep, in bed, right here."

"No, you haven't. You weren't here when I went to bed, and now you are."

"You're lying. Everything must have caught up on me, cause I came over really sleepy at the social so decided to take myself to bed. I didn't go anywhere else!"

"You were taken to the carnival, don't you remember?"

Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Are you on drugs, or something?"

She didn't remember. She didn't remember who had put the markings on her skin-markings it seemed she, and probably everyone else, couldn't see. I knew the carny people had something to do with this, but I didn't know what.

My roommate shook her head, and then turned her back on me and continued to get ready for cla.s.s.

I remembered the necklace I still had. I pulled open my bedside drawer and checked to make sure it remained where I'd placed it for safe keeping. The little silver chain was there, nestled at the back. I pulled it out, meaning to inspect the symbol again, but the minute I did so, the invisible marks on Brooke's skin began to glow.

I stared at the spectacle.

"Would you stop looking at me like that," she snapped. "You're freaking me out."

I forced my eyes away. "Sorry."

Magic was involved here. I just had no idea as to what gain.

I held back from saying anything more to Brooke. She was bound to start telling others about all the strange things I did, and once again, attention would be drawn to me. Besides, I had cla.s.s to get to.

Brooke didn't speak to me, or even make eye contact, though I couldn't help my own eyes being drawn back to all of the markings-circles with lines through them. A triangle with an extra line. Smaller circles joined together with more lines. A zigzag. An arrow. A circle with a dot in the middle.

I tried to compress them into my brain, planning to draw them as soon as Brooke left the room. I wanted more than anything to take out my smart phone and take a photograph of her, but I didn't think she'd exactly agree if I suddenly wanted to take some kind of best friend selfie.

Clearly wanting to get away from me, Brooke barely finished applying her makeup before she grabbed her stuff and left. The moment I was alone, I grabbed the notepad I always kept beside my bed for note-taking of dreams and other ideas, and started drawing. I spent too long trying to perfectly replicate the symbols I'd seen on her, knowing they would be important. I made myself late, barely having enough time to brush my teeth, throw on my clothes and yank my hair into a high ponytail.

I made it to my first cla.s.s, barely. I sat through the lecture, trying to keep my mind on what was being said, while my thoughts kept drifting to Brooke, Riley, and the other carnies. Something was going on, but I couldn't figure out what. Was it possible Brooke had gone willingly with the carnies, and she'd lied about not knowing where she was? No, I'd seen her being dragged away in my vision. My foresight was a pain in the a.s.s most of the time, but it wasn't often wrong. I felt like I should tell someone-the police, perhaps-but I knew I would only come out of the experience looking like a loon.

My dream bothered me as well. The emptiness of the town and the people residing in it. The menacing sense of the forest. The hint that the carnival was somehow caught up in it all. I couldn't tie it all together.

I'd brought the necklace with me, partly because I wanted to return it to its owner, but also because I figured it was connected to whatever the h.e.l.l was going on. I wanted to find Melissa, the girl who'd had the fit at the party, and use the necklace as an excuse to ask her some questions. But also, I didn't want to leave the jewelry in my room in case Riley or the other carnies came and took it.

Unconsciously, I'd been fingering the necklace, twiddling the chain from finger to finger.

A hand s.n.a.t.c.hed the piece of jewelry from mine, making me jump. "Hey!" I exclaimed.

I looked up to find Laurel in front of me.

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing with this?" she hissed.

I blinked in surprise at the anger written across her face. "I found it on the floor the other night. I think it belongs to the girl who had the fit."

"I know it does." She glared at me. "You're not supposed to have it."

"Why? What's so important about it?"

For the first time, I considered whether Laurel knew something about what was going on around here.

"It's none of your business, but you shouldn't be taking other people's stuff."

"I didn't," I said, starting to get irate myself now. Laurel was acting as though I'd stolen it. "I found the necklace on the floor. I planned on giving it back as soon as I saw her again."

Laurel's fingers closed around the pendant, hiding the circle and star from my view. The fury that had been so apparent seeped away from her now she was in possession of the necklace. "No need. I'll give it back to her."

"How come you know Melissa?"

"I just do. She's from Sage Springs."

Hmm, something they all seemed to have in common. Everything strange I'd been faced with since coming here, had all originated with people from the town. No, that wasn't true. None of the carnies were from town. They were outsiders, just like me.

Keeping my head down, my hands stuffed in my jean pockets, I headed toward the dining hall for lunch. My spirits were low, and I no longer cared if everyone was staring at me. Brooke, and probably her friends as well by now, hated me. Laurel had turned on me, probably because in her mind I was no more than a compulsive liar and possibly a thief. The whole town seemed to be hiding a giant secret, and I felt like I was the only person they were hiding it from.

I wondered again if coming here had been the right choice. I would never be like everyone else, no matter how hard I tried. At least with my parents, I'd been allowed to be myself.

Though I'd not eaten breakfast, food was the last thing on my mind, but I didn't know where else to go. Besides, my mom had bought me a meal plan, probably worried that I wouldn't eat if she didn't, and I felt bad not using the meals she'd paid for.

The thought of hunger made my mind turn to the events of last night, of standing with Riley in his home, touching the blood on his face. Heat blasted through me, coloring my cheeks and burning my insides. A sudden, desperate longing to be with him again filled me. Here I was surrounded by all the perfect people, the prom queens, and jocks, and cheerleaders, but I didn't want anything to do with them. With Riley, I sensed the darkness that so often coiled its way around me. I didn't feel like an outsider when I was with him. I felt like I was home.

Unexpected tears filled my eyes, and I blinked them away. How could I experience such a longing when I barely knew the guy?

A voice called to me, footsteps slapping on the ground from behind. I looked over my shoulder, wondering who had taken an interest in me. To my surprise, Dana was running toward me, her red hair flying. She came to a stop not far from me, her cheeks flushed, breathing a little harder than normal. I braced myself, expecting her to challenge me on something, but she smiled at me instead.

"Beth, I'm so glad I caught you! Flynn has a swim meet after cla.s.s today. Any chance you could go along and write it up? I'm going to send our photographer as well."

I hadn't yet handed in my last a.s.signment about Flynn. "What about the report on what happened at the carnival?" I thought she'd wanted me to write that up next.

"Oh, don't worry about that now," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "Old news."

The last thing I needed right now was the distraction of another report, especially since I hadn't even finished the last one. I wondered why she hadn't called me up on my tardiness, and why she wanted me around Flynn again.

"Are you sure I'm the right person to be doing the sports reports?" I said, trying to worm my way out of it. "To be honest, I don't know much about swimming."

"Oh, don't worry. Flynn can fill you in on any of the details you don't understand. Just add your own little sparkle to the words."

Sparkle? I wasn't sure I had any sparkle.

"Honestly, I'm sure someone else would be better doing it."

"No, Elizabeth," she said, her face hardening. "I want it to be you."

I didn't know why she was so insistent on having me as the reporter for Flynn's swim meet, but since Dana was the only person speaking to me as though I was a regular human being-even though I wasn't-I didn't want to tell her no and make her mad at me. "Sure," I relented.

"Great." She paused and then said, "Hey, Beth, you're okay, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, after the event at the carnival and everything. Being away from home for the first time. I know how things can get to someone when they're feeling alone."

I wondered what she'd heard about me that made her ask, but the fact she was being nice made me want to cry. "I'm fine, honest," I managed, though my voice sounded choked.

Dana gave me another smile. "Well, I'll speak to you later then." And she turned and walked off, her red curls bouncing as she went.

Chapter.

13.

That evening, I arrived at Sage Springs' Olympic-sized, outdoor pool. Already the stands were filling with people. I searched the crowds, chewing on my thumbnail, trying to spot either Flynn, or someone with a camera strapped around their neck who might be the Sage Gazette's photographer.

Someone handed me a program, and I glanced down at it, trying not to be baffled by all the names and numbers. What the h.e.l.l are seed times?

"Elizabeth?"

A female voice came from behind me, and I turned to find the girl whose necklace I'd had until earlier that day standing there. My heart jumped, thinking she was going to start questioning me about what I'd been doing with her jewelry, but then I noticed the camera she held.

"I'm Melissa Wilder. I'm the photographer for the Sage Gazette. Dana said I'd see you here. I figured we should probably meet and make sure your story and my pictures worked together."

"Oh, sure," I stuttered. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too." She started to walk away, and I hesitated, unsure whether to follow, but she turned back and jerked her head in the direction she was going.

"There's a bench for reporters. We get prime seats. Perk of the job."

I smiled and followed, pretending this was something I already knew.

The place began to fill up, until almost every seat was taken. Another college had come in to compete against Sage Springs, and the two teams' supporters had naturally divided themselves between the two opposite parts of the stadium.

The swimmers began to file out of the changing room, some of them sitting on benches on the opposite side of the pool to where the reporters were, while others stood up, swinging their arms to warm up, or doing stretches.

My eyes automatically sought Flynn, but he was deep in conversation with another swimmer and paid no attention to me.

I focused on the program, trying to figure out which each of the columns of names and numbers meant. Wanting to appear busy, I took my notepad out of my bag and began jotting down my mental descriptions of the atmosphere and people.

Before I knew it, the swimmers were being announced. Guys lined up at the pool edge on the starter blocks.

"Take your marks ... Get set ..." and a whistle blew. In synchronized motion, the compet.i.tors dived into the water. Arms and legs thrashed, and they reached the end of the pool and flipped beneath the water, pushing back off the wall with their feet. All of the swimmers appeared to have reached the other side together to me, but the scores flashed up on the board, so someone must have been able to figure out who'd won.

For the next swim, Flynn's name was included in the announcement. He walked out into the pool area, swinging his arms and jumping up and down on the spot to warm up. He headed over to the pool and lined up with the other compet.i.tors, his toes curled around the edge of the starter block.

"Take your marks ... Get set ..." and the whistle blew once again. All the compet.i.tors dived in. The arena filled with the sound of people whistling and yelling their encouragement, but all of the noise faded into the background as I was mesmerized by Flynn's agility.

The water seemed to part before his fingers had even reached it, allowing him a clear path through. His powerful body cut through the water with barely a splash, keeping him an easy body's length ahead of all of his compet.i.tors. He literally appeared to be flying through the water, so streamline, his arms rising over his head to cut back through the water, his body undulating like a dolphin.

Excitement built in my stomach as he left the compet.i.tion behind. I found myself jumping, clapping and screaming with everyone else.

Flynn won by a full body's length.

Facing me, he placed his hands on the side of the pool, and in one smooth move, pulled himself out of the pool to standing. He wore only a pair of very small, very tight swimming shorts, leaving nothing to the imagination.