Kristi climbed the porch steps and knocked on the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Daniel stood one step behind her, observing the front of the house.
There were no boards nailed over the windows. While the rest of the town looked like a construction site fueled by panic, Sara's house looked... normal.
The door opened, revealing Nathan.
"Kristi." His greeting was cordial, but cautious. "Is something wrong?"
"Hi, Nathan." Kristi smiled with that professional kindness. "We came to see how Sara is. She left the clinic pretty quickly."
Nathan nodded slowly, his gaze sliding to Daniel for a second longer than necessary.
"You can come in."
He stepped aside, making room.
As soon as they crossed the threshold, hurried footsteps echoed from upstairs. Sara appeared at the top of the staircase.
She had heard the noise. Coming down two steps, her eyes met Daniel's, and she froze for an instant.
She knew he had come for her.
"Do you need something?" Sara asked. Her voice sounded normal, carefully hiding her nervousness.
"We just came to check on you," Kristi replied, giving Sara a quick look before stepping closer.
"I'm fine," Sara said, coming down the rest of the stairs. "After I left the clinic, I didn't feel any discomfort."
"Good to hear that." Kristi felt relieved to have one less problem. They had no equipment there if something went wrong.
Daniel let Kristi handle the social part and casually walked across the living room, stopping in front of the front window. The glass was intact, but bare.
"I see you're not as desperate as the rest of the town to board up the windows," Daniel commented casually, turning to Nathan.
Nathan stiffened immediately. Of course he could not say he was not worried about safety when he knew it had been his sister who broke the clinic window.
"We're not worried because we're sleeping in the basement tonight," he finally replied, his voice more controlled than his body. "The sheriff came by earlier and left an extra talisman."
"Oh, of course. The good old basement," Daniel nodded, as if it were the most logical thing in the world. "That said, let's let the ladies talk. I need your help with something, Nathan. Where can we talk in private?"
The impact of the question was immediate.
Sara took an involuntary step forward, her mouth opening. "No. I mean..." She stopped, realizing she had reacted too strongly. "Why?"
"Guy stuff, Sara," Daniel said with a wink, ignoring the obvious apprehension on her face.
Kristi's eyes narrowed slightly, shifting between Sara and Daniel.
Nathan studied his sister for a long moment. He saw the poorly hidden panic, the uneven breathing, the way she looked at him as if silently begging him to refuse.
And that was exactly why he agreed.
He wanted to know. He needed to know why his sister was so afraid of Daniel's presence.
"We can talk in my room," he said, already heading for the stairs.
Daniel followed him.
As soon as they entered the bedroom and Nathan closed the door, Daniel's mask of cordiality slipped slightly, replaced by a businesslike expression.
"You know what your sister did last night, right?"
He needed to confirm it. Nathan's behavior at the meeting had already revealed ninety percent of the truth, but Daniel needed one hundred percent. If there was even a chance Nathan did not know, it would be the ideal scenario. He would be the first person Daniel needed to 'convince' to complete the mission.
Nathan turned sharply, his face pale. "I... I don't know what you're talking about."
The stutter gave him away.
From that reaction alone, he definitely knew.
"Look, cut the act," Daniel said, keeping a relaxed posture. Not threatening. "I'm not here to accuse her or hurt her. If I wanted that, I would've gone straight to the sheriff and told him she was the one who broke the clinic window. In fact, I can even help her. But first, I need the details."
Nathan fell silent, shoulders tense, processing the information. He looked at Daniel, searching for any sign of malice.
"And why would you help?" The question came loaded with distrust. "You don't even know us."
"Let's say I know she didn't do it out of malice," Daniel chose his words carefully. "She was manipulated. And I'll explain how I know that when we talk, the three of us together."
Seeing Nathan's divided expression, the conflict between protecting his sister and the relief of not carrying the secret alone, Daniel knew he had won.
"Now," Daniel continued, taking control of the situation, "we need to find a way to send Kristi away so we can talk together. We need a story. What do you do for work in town?"
"I work at the barn, taking care of the animals," Nathan said, still cautious, but with no choice but to believe.
Daniel thought for a few seconds. "Here's the plan."
He explained quickly. Nathan nodded as he followed the strategy.
A short while later, they returned to the living room. Kristi was talking to Sara, who responded on autopilot, her eyes fixed on the stairs, anxiously waiting for them to come back.
"All sorted out, Kristi," Daniel announced in his casual tone.
"What was all that mystery about?" Kristi raised an eyebrow. Her tone was playful, but curiosity lingered.
"It was nothing," Nathan said, following the script, though his hands were restless. "He just wants me to show him the barn. He wants to see if there's any difference between the animals here and the ones outside."
"But there isn't any difference," Kristi said, confused. "It's a cow, Daniel. It goes 'moo.'"
"He told me that." Daniel shrugged. "I just want to see it for myself. Scientific curiosity."
"I think it's time for us to go. The ceremony is about to start," he added, changing the subject.
Kristi agreed. As they said goodbye, Sara let out an audible sigh of relief when she saw them leaving.
"Daniel," Nathan said, stopping at the door. "Sara mentioned your motorhome is pretty luxurious. Mind if I take a look inside? I've never seen one from the inside."
Sara's eyes widened, ready to protest that she had never said that. Nathan fixed her with an intense, meaningful look.
"I'll be right back, Sara. Just a quick look."
She closed her mouth, swallowing the words. She had no choice but to agree with a weak nod.
"Sure," Daniel said, feigning surprise. "I'm dropping Kristi at the clinic now. You come with us, we take a quick drive, and I'll bring you right back. The Apocalypse Express is at your service."
The three of them got into the vehicle. The interior impressed Nathan, even as he tried not to show it. It was far too luxurious for a place like that.
The drive to the clinic was short. Kristi got out, waving before heading inside.
"Nice job back there," Daniel said, turning the wheel as he headed back toward the Myers' house.
When they returned, Sara was waiting for Nathan on the porch. Her eyes went straight to Daniel, then to her brother.
"Come in." Nathan gently grabbed her arm, pulling her inside before closing the door.
The three of them stood in the living room.
Sara looked from one to the other, panic visibly rising with her quickened breathing.
"Sara..." Nathan began, his voice softer than she had heard in days. "Daniel already knows."
She stepped back. "What?"
Nathan tried to calm her, holding her hands. "He knows it was you last night. He knows about the voices. And he says he's here to help."
Sara looked at Daniel as if he were one of the monsters pretending to be human. "How? How do you know?"
Daniel pulled out a chair and sat down facing them. It was time for the performance.
"Since I was a kid," Daniel began, lowering his voice into something more confidential, "I've had... dreams. Things that have happened or are going to happen. Sometimes they're riddles, other times they're clear."
"Last night, after the incident," he continued, maintaining steady eye contact, "I dreamed it was you. I saw shadows whispering in your ear, manipulating you. That's why I kept watching you at the diner this morning. I wouldn't jump to conclusions based on a dream alone. But your reaction... you looked at us like we were ghosts. Like you didn't expect us to be alive."
Sara covered her mouth with her hand. Nathan looked at Daniel with a mix of shock and hope.
"At the meeting," Daniel went on, "I kept observing. Your body language was screaming guilt. It confirmed what I had dreamed."
"It's true," Sara whispered, her voice breaking. "The voices... they started a month after we arrived here."
"At first, they were just whispers. They told me I needed to be ready. I thought I was going crazy, that it was just the place messing with my head. But a week ago... they started screaming. They got intense. And on the day you arrived with the Matthews... I already knew."
She looked at Daniel, eyes red.
"The voices warned me you were coming. They talked about a long time ago, when more than one car arrived at the same time and everyone died. Said it happened because of the people in the cars. They told me to break the window. Promised that if I obeyed, everyone would be fine. That we'd be able to leave this place."
"They promised everyone would be fine... but Gina died. Tobey died. I didn't want to do it. I don't know what came over me. It felt like it wasn't me."
Daniel nodded slowly. "And the seizure at the diner? That wasn't normal, was it?"
"They told me to kill the boy," she confessed. "Ethan."
Beside her, Nathan let out a strangled sound, gripping his sister's hand tightly. Horror was written all over his face.
"It felt like my thoughts got foggy again, just like the night before," Sara explained, her voice gaining a bit of steadiness. "But I resisted. With everything I had. I didn't want to cause anyone else's death. Gina and Tobey... that was already too much. Then I felt this horrible pressure in my head, like it was about to explode, and I blacked out."
She looked at Daniel with something that might have been hope.
"But when I woke up... I felt something different. The bad voices... they're not screaming anymore. It's like they're having trouble reaching me. I feel like I can block them completely when they try to speak."
"Block them?" Daniel tilted his head, interested. This was new.
"Yes. And... I started hearing different voices," she said hesitantly. "They told me the first ones were lies." She met Daniel's eyes. "I know it sounds crazy. Hearing voices is already bad enough. But hearing voices that argue with each other?"
Daniel leaned back in his chair, processing it.
Interesting. Her mental resistance had created a psychic barrier. Or maybe her fractured mind had built a defense mechanism, personifying her conscience as 'good voices.'
Either way, it made things easier.
"That's good, Sara," Daniel said, his voice calm and authoritative, stepping into the mentor role the situation demanded. "If what you're saying is true, the seizure created a barrier. You have a chance to fight now. To stop being controlled."
He paused, eyes fixed on her.
"What else did the good voices say?"
Sara frowned, trying to concentrate. "Not much else. I asked questions, tried to understand who they were, but they didn't answer."
Suddenly, she pressed a hand to her temple, squeezing her eyes shut.
Nathan grabbed her shoulders. "Sara? What's happening?"
She opened her eyes slowly. They were locked on Daniel, filled with doubt and a deep, unsettling curiosity.
"They said they have a message for you, Daniel."
He wasn't immediately worried. It could be some information about the memories that had been accessed earlier.
"What is it?"
"They're interested in you," Sara said, her voice echoing in the silent room. "They know you have powers."
At that moment, a chill ran down Daniel's spine, and only one thought surfaced in his mind.
Fuck.
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