I walk the halls of the old wooden home. Every door is adorned with decorative framing. The large paintings that hang on the walls are old. They feature beautiful forests, old cabins, and charming wild animals. I wander along until I reach the library.

Dr. Ward sits at the large wooden desk at the other end of the tower. The window behind the desk casts a soft white glow into the otherwise dark room lit only by a few candles. He doesn’t notice me enter, as his focus remains on the large book open on his desk. He takes notes in a small notebook beside it.

I use the moment to look around and admire the beautiful library. I would live in this tower if I could. Three stories of mysterious old books. I graze my hand over the leather spines stacked neatly beside one another. I close my eyes and take in the smell of the paper and glue.

“Autumn,” Dr. Ward says. “Good to see you're up and about.” He closes the book and places it in the cabinet behind him, then locks the cabinet door.

“Yeah,” I reply. “Just a little scratch.”

“That was no scratch.” He stands and leans against the desk. “Swap the bandages out tonight, got it?”

“I know.” I look around, struggling to find the right words.

“Is something else bothering you?” He asks.

Gee, where do I start? I got attacked by a monster, the police think you’re a killer, and you gave me a book that has me wondering if I’m the Grim Reaper.

“Do you know about Cedar Grove?” I ask. I'll start with a more mundane topic.

“Oh.” He thinks for a moment. “No real mystery there.” He walks over to an old map of Greenfield hanging on the wall. Much of the town isn’t on it yet, just the town hall, the school, and a collection of other buildings. “They built a highway.” He points to a thick line that sits near the edge of the map. “It skipped the town. So, no one visited and everyone else left.”

“But your family stayed?” I ask. It’s a hunch, but it would explain the W on the gate out front.

“My grandfather stayed,” He confirms.

I pause a moment, then look at him. His gray hair is slightly disheveled, like he's been running his fingers through it.

“Why were you in the woods that night?” I ask.

He lets out a small chuckle, but I can feel his anxiety. “It’s a good thing I was. You could have died out there in the cold. You should be more careful.”

“Right.” I narrow my eyes. “But what were you doing out there?”

He crosses his arms and studies me for a moment. His eyes narrow as he scans my face, as if he’s deciding whether I deserve an answer. Am I prying too much?

“Did you read the book I gave you?” He asks, finally.

“I did,” I say with slow curiosity, and silently note the weird subject change.

“Anything interesting in it?” Dr. Ward raises an eyebrow as if his question is more of a quiz than mere curiosity. The book’s reaper illustrations have kept my mind spinning for days, but there’s no way he’d know that. Right?

“Sure,” I begin, meandering around the library. “Old myths, spooky monsters…” I want to see if he knows something about reapers, but I can’t sound like I might actually believe in them. “Whoever wrote it really liked the Grim Reaper.” I search his eyes for any hint of recognition. He smirks a little.

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“Protectors of the veil,” He says. “Defenders of both the living and the dead. Omens of death.” He recites the words like a collection of phrases he’s heard many times before. He stands in front of the window, and shadow floods the library.

“Yeah.” I cautiously check my distance to the door. “Weird stuff.”

“Indeed,” he chuckles softly. “You’ve always had an interest in the weird and macabre. Have you ever seen anything you couldn’t explain? Shadows? Unseen voices? Ghosts?”

What the hell? There’s no way he could know that. It’s not like Dr. Ward has any interest in high school gossip.

“No,” I shudder. “My dad and I just used to watch scary movies together.”

“Autumn.” His voice deepens. “Can I trust you?”

“Yes.” My reply sounds more like a question.

“Then don’t lie to me.” The fuck? “I believe in ghosts.” His eyes darken under the shadow of his brows. No. His eyes are black. “I believe you do too.” The candles in the room suddenly extinguish all at once. “Don’t you?”

“Dr. Ward—” My back presses against the wall of books. Books which once offered an escape now seem to prevent it.

He slowly steps forward, then holds out his hand with his palm facing up. I can’t look away from his eyes—entirely black. Spiderwebs of thin black veins stretch around his cheeks. Just like mine.

“You know what you are, Autumn,” He says.

“No,” I whimper. Don’t say it. I am not an omen of death.

“You are a guardian of the veil.” His voice echoes through the room.

The only door in or out slams shut. Then, out of thin air, tiny particles of dust begin to glow around the room. The twinkling particles extend up to the top of the tower, shedding dim iridescent light into every corner. Suddenly, I’m surrounded by a sea of stars.

“Your father wanted to keep you from this life until you were ready,” Dr. Ward says softly. The lights gently spin around the circular room.

“My dad was—”

“Was a reaper,” he finishes my sentence. A sentence I can’t believe. “Much like myself.” My head is spinning with disbelief, doubt, fear, everything, all at once. My dad was a good guy. A dorky guy. He hunted deer and hogs. He liked to fish. He didn’t kill monsters and talk to the dead. He wasn’t weird like me.

“Much like you, Autumn.” Dr. Ward’s words mix my thoughts like a blender.

Then, all of the lights vanish. Dr. Ward’s eyes return to their normal, comforting state. The cool winter light blankets the room as if nothing has changed. But everything has changed.

“The creature that attacked you,” he begins.

“You were hunting it,” I finish his sentence. The words exit my mouth without a second thought.

As much as I hate it, this new truth makes sense. Of course Dr. Ward has looked after me after Dad passed. Of course he gave me a book about reapers. Of course he was in the woods. Dr. Ward is a mythical being who sees ghosts and hunts monsters—and so am I.

His eyes light with recognition and he offers a soft smile. “And I could use your help,” he says.

Images of the dark tangled trees of Thicket Grove flash in my mind. Mallory’s bloated corpse. The monster's rotten jaw snapping at me. The cold, crippling fear. All of it floods my memory.

I pull away from him. No way. Fuck this. “No,” I say. “I’m not going back into those woods.” I turn and walk toward the door.

“I can’t defeat it alone, Autumn.” He says. “More people will die if we don’t kill it.” His voice is now a shout.

I open the door and stop.

“Their blood is on my hands,” He continues. “But I can teach you, Autumn, and prevent more deaths.”

I walk out the door. My head is spinning with anger. Or maybe it’s fear. I don’t even know what to think, but I can’t breathe. My heart thumps in my chest at an unsteady pace. A wave of panic overtakes my body.

I burst out the front door of the mansion onto the front lawn. I wrap my arms around my waist and try to slow my breathing. As the panic calms I stand up straight and look out across the town.

I’ve seen this view more times than I can count. It’s always given me some level of peace. Now, as I look out into the dark tangled trees of Thicket Grove, I know something is looking back.