Left alone in her apartment, Jessamine packed for what she anticipated as a hasty hike through darkened woods with little to no idea where they'd be going. She fetched an old backpack from her closet, and threw into it a few crumpled and possibly expired bags of chips and peanuts, a change of clothes, a flashlight so rusty and dusty it was a wonder it worked at all, and a few bottles of water. And finally, dumped in the contents of her purse.

She shrugged on thick leggings, a thick wool sweater, and good sneakers, assuming the forest would be cold at night. And also presuming she'd be overcome with violent shivers the second she got close to Louise's cabin again.

"No," she said to herself, proceeding to pace about her living room to test the comfort of her shoes. "No, this is insane. It's unreal. No, I shouldn't be doing this."

Since the moment Avery had dropped her off, her temperature had been vacillating between below zero to a volcano boiling with lava. She couldn't sit still, or shake off all the flashes of her nightmares, or quit panting and shaking and resisting the urge to run away and hide so that Avery wouldn't spot her and wouldn't make her do this.

But he wasn't making her, she knew deep down. She'd consented to this; to his help in retrieving her memories in return for him being able to use those memories to locate Amy. And now, Jessamine sensed that by finding Amy, she'd discover Landon and Angela's whereabouts, or at least find out what happened to them. She hadn't thought of them in so long, but in the end, knowing their fate might complete hers, might give her some closure, and might aid her in moving on with her life.

Yet it was all so senseless, so crazy; why was she so tethered to all these events? Why her? What was it about her that made this being, this entity—that was what Avery would have called it—stuff itself inside her and fuck with her recollections and bar her from seeing them, from understanding them?

What had happened after she'd found that house with the others?

She gritted her teeth as pain prickled across her forehead, stinging at her temples. "Shit."

It was as if her internal questions had provoked this thing into hurting her, into revealing the truths she'd been fearing yet had needed so direly. Its fingers were massaging her brain, and it dug its claws into the membrane, ripping through neurons and veins and unleashing hell into her head. It held her stomach in its hands, tickling it, loosening up all sorts of queasy sensations that made her stop pacing. And her heart—the creature within was squeezing it, as if to extract every last trace of life from her, and then to guzzle down all the juices fueling her.

She cried out when a set of flashes jarred through her. Those bloody bodied corridors sprang to life in her mind, and there was more growling, the sound so deafening it felt real, present, in her apartment. Followed by visions of that blue being clinging to her, somehow hauling her outside of the house, whispering "go now, you are safe."

Wait, so that thing was benevolent? It was what got me out of the house?

The flashes were intense, yet remained blurry in places, cutting off, as if there were parts missing. Yet each vision shattered through her, ripping her insides in the process. She could barely breathe, and worried she might have been bleeding on the inside, poisoned by a foreign entity who fed on her organs and controlled the things crawling about her mind.

Too weak to stand up, she collapsed to the floor, hitting the hardwood with a thump that, had she heard it happening to someone else, she'd have assumed they'd have broken a few bones and twisted a few limbs.

Her own limbs were writhing in pain, extremities curling, chills roaming up and down every bit of her as if to swallow her whole.

Through the plaguing flashes and the torment, she heard a knock on the door, but couldn't move to respond. She couldn't get up, coiled up on the floor, fighting her captor and its cruel means to torture her with recollections of her past; recollections she'd wanted access to, after all. It was only giving her what she and Avery wanted.

Fuck you, you evil thing—leave me alone!

Another knock—she opened her mouth to call out, but no noise came out. Her vocal chords were in this possessor's grip, and it was knotting them, ensuring Jessamine couldn't utter a single sound.

She tried breathing in and out, tried thinking of something else—but this being had other ideas, continuing to pour these visions over her like steaming lava, scorching her inside and out. As if it were saying "you asked for this, now figure it out!"

Everything was mish-mashed, a jumble of blue beings and shadows growling and bodies piled in front of a red door—the red door that had been calling her.

At some point, she heard something exploding, followed by heavy footsteps; had that been the door, kicked open? Blasted open? She'd left it unlocked, she'd thought. She might have imagined it, in her current state of horror and shock.

Two people appeared at her side, fuzzy in her vision, but she recognized them by scent—Avery's fresh musk, Jamie's pine and woods aroma that she'd remembered from being in the car with him. Their faces were too blurry to make out, but she thought they might have been frowning at her. Their mouths were moving, but her head felt like it was underwater and she couldn't make out what they were saying, at first.

Avery checked her pulse, and Jamie heaved her over to the couch, depositing her gently, like a princess in a deep slumber and in need of a wake-up kiss.

Avery sat on the edge of the coffee table, pinching the bridge of his nose. Jamie marched back and forth behind him, waving his hands in gestures of irritation.

Jessamine's ears popped, as if she'd come out of water, as if she'd come down from a ride in the sky and her hearing was finally returning.

"... but obviously, she can't go, dude," Jamie was saying, his voice heated, matching the animation of his steps, his arm movements. He was a big bulk of a giant, storming to and fro, and under other circumstances Jessamine would be afraid of him and his temper. But he was fighting for her, unlike Avery; he didn't want to put her at risk.

"She has to," said Avery, peering around at him, not noticing Jessamine coming to. "This—" he motioned towards her without looking at her, "—it's affecting her, and we can't get it out of her unless we take her to the house, man. And it just so happens she's our only way to recover Amy, so..."

"So why don't we wait until she's better, at least? Look at her, she's—" Jamie squinted at Jessamine, whose eyesight had slightly recovered, and she could better gauge his expression of worry. "You're not okay, are you?"

Jessamine winced, trying to shake her head. Again she tried to speak, but no sound came out.

Fuck; I can't even express myself. Why won't this thing let me talk?

Avery took notice of her and leaned forward, brushing the back of his hand over her dampened and hot forehead. He hissed when he retracted his hand, and his blue eyes grew bigger, wider, warped with concern.

"The problem is, she's our compass, Jamie."

Jamie approached and kneeled near Jessamine, watching her carefully. He was so massive, he barely fit in the space between the couch and the coffee table, yet he didn't seem to mind. A whiff of fresh air escaped from his plaid long-sleeved shirt, and he scrubbed his face as he turned to Avery.

"If you have to be so insistent, fine; but she should stay with Louise once she figures out the location. She can't come with us in this state, man." He glanced at Jessamine again and shook his head. "Better yet, we take her home, then go back ourselves."

Avery flinched. "No." He reached for Jessamine's hand, and though she wanted to hide it from him, wanted to voice that she agreed with Jamie, she was too frail to move fast enough to avoid Avery. He grabbed her, holding her limp hand in his. "I do have to be insistent, because you don't seem to get it, do you? There's something in her, dude. Something that's eating her up on the inside—can't you see it? Leaving her with Louise, taking her home, those won't help her. That thing belongs in that forest, in that house; so we have to deliver it there." He huffed, letting go of Jessamine's hand; his touch had been soft, comforting, and now she regretted wanting to resist him. "Besides, I don't want to take my eyes off her if at all possible."

They didn't waste much more time debating; Avery was the boss, and he'd won the argument, no matter Jamie's size and angry glares. Jamie scooped Jessamine into his arms, Avery found her bag near where she'd tumbled, fetched her keys from where they hung by the entrance, and out they went.

The air was eerily cool, despite how hot the day had been; Jessamine wouldn't complain, as the chill felt good on her overheated cheeks and calmed her down. Her possessor had stopped forcing flashes into her head, and her veins were no longer pulsating in an erratic rhythm that choked her breaths.

She was safe and nuzzled in Jamie's arms, yet sadly the sensation didn't last long, as he settled her in the backseat, half-lying, half-sitting, and buckled her in.

"Did you call her?" he asked, getting into the passenger spot as Avery turned on the engine.

"No time," said Avery, flipping around for a quick glimpse of Jessamine, crumpled but secured in the back, still a bit too dazed to speak. "Louise will have to handle her emotions. Jessamine needs her, now."

The vehicle took off, and Jessamine swayed in the backseat, fading in and out of consciousness. She was jerked side to side, though in truth she hadn't moved from her spot; it was the thing inside her flinging against her body's walls, as seeking to get out, or to garner her attention, to make her focus on it.

Another bout of nausea brewed in her gut, and she had no clue where she found the energy to keep her mouth shut. Her eyes were rolling to the back of her head, and the lights on the dashboard were blots of orange and red and green and worsening her migraine.

But I can't close my eyes... if I close my eyes, then I see it—

As if hearing her internal ideas, the being shoved her eyelids closed, forcing her to watch more visions, intensifying them. These were less blurry, though they were repetitions of all she'd already seen on repeat—red door, shadowy arms swirling out from behind it, beckoning her closer. Bloody floors and walls, scratches along floor-boards and crown molding, towering staircases illuminated by glowing white orbs.

Then came that sight of the blue being with its silvery hair and its ominously human mouth. And this time, Jessamine had no trouble deciphering its words, clear as day, spoken in a tight, feminine tone.

"Go now, don't look back. Don't remember. You are safe."

It replayed, like a reel on a loop; over and over she saw the blue blob, reviewed it as it ushered her out, whispering warnings and promising her safety.

Her eyes opened, and her eyesight wasn't as foggy, but something wasn't right. Something was wriggling about in her belly, begging to breach through her. She folded in half, hanging her head between her knees, banging into the back of Jamie's seat.

She felt him whip around, his hand searching for her, as she was bent over and hidden behind his seat. "Hey, Jessamine, you okay?"

"Is it happening?" Avery's voice was tentative, and he directed the car through a rough turn that shook Jessamine into sitting back up. "Are you feeling sicker?"

Afraid to part her lips, Jessamine didn't know whether to shake her head or nod or shrug. She didn't know what she was feeling, and couldn't put together any coherent thoughts, and if she had managed, she still couldn't put them into words.

A new flash formed in her mind—several blue beings talking to one another, hovering near the giant staircase where she'd seen the white orbs. She saw their mouths moving, their bodies floating up and down as if nodding, agreeing; a few were shaking left to right, as if disagreeing.

"It's," Jessamine was shocked to hear her own voice coming out, "it's worse..."

Avery took another violent turn, and though disoriented, Jessamine knew that they were in the forest leading to Louise's house—she smelled it. Trees swinging in a gentle but cold breeze, a navy sky devoid of stars, a thick mist falling over her—she was in that woods again, standing before the house, sniffling at its scent of rot and decay.

"Fuck," she said, gagging, struggling to hold in her vomit. "It's showing me... more. Trying to... scare me?"

A sudden convulsion, almost in sync with what she'd said, toppled her over in the backseat. Her fingers twitched and her jaw clenched as she fought the onrush. It was only one shock of a shiver, starting from her scalp and navigating down to her toes.

Jamie nearly launched himself over to seize her wrist and prevent further damage, but the convulsion had already stopped.

"It... wants to freak me out?" She wasn't talking to Jamie or Avery; something told her to address it, the being occupying her body from the inside. To speak to it directly, assess its intentions, and wait for its reply... in the form of a shiver.

Sure enough, another turbulence came over her, this one deeper into her bones, making her teeth clatter. It ceased almost as quickly as it had began, leaving Jessamine breathless, gaping into the leather of the seat in front of her.

"Huh?"

She wasn't sure if Jamie had uttered that sound, or Avery, or even herself.

"Are you... answering me?" Again, she meant for her words to be for the being; and again, it responded to her with a heavy tremble that raised the hairs on her arms and created goosebumps along her legs. "Trying to terrify me?" A larger shiver rattled through her. "Stop me?" Another shiver, a cascade of chills now, more pronounced, coming close to shoving her off the seat.

Jamie was still holding her wrist, gawking at her, his gray eyes hardened like stone. "What's happening?"

"This thing..." She gulped, sensing her consciousness fading in and out again. "It's communicating with me."

"What's it saying?" Avery steered them left sharply, and the road beneath them became bumpy, gravelly—they were turning into Louise's lengthy driveway.

"That it... it doesn't want me to go back. It's... warning me, I think?" A few ripples down her spine gave her the confirmation. "Yeah, warning me."

She couldn't see Avery—couldn't see much of anything—but knew he was biting his lip, grimacing, fixated on the road but his thoughts racing.

"Well, it doesn't have a choice," he said at last, slowing the car down. "We need to find Amy and get that thing out of you, and for that... we need you to find the house. And be there with us when we drive or hike there."

The being inside didn't like that, and sent more shivers to spiral up and down Jessamine's legs and back, and she squeezed her eyes shut to endure the pain.

This thing will eat me up before it lets me get anywhere near those woods.

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