“Yes. Does that sound like something y’all can do? ‘Cuz I’ll tell ya what. If y’all can’t do this, there ain’t no way you gonna battle this rain.”

“Well. We just weren’t expecting this is all.” Joseph shrugged his shoulders and continued to glance around the room as he considered the offer.

“Do this, and it will help you. Trust me,” she said with a questionable smirk and tone.

Joseph felt uneasy considering what she said, but the thought of getting one step closer to figuring out the rain piqued his interest.

“Alright,” he said hesitantly. “We’ll do this little job for you. What are you giving us in return?”

The strange woman smiled delightedly and said, “You’ll find out after the task is done. Just trust me. You won’t be disappointed.”

Everyone shook their heads reluctantly and accepted her task. Afterwards, the woman reached out her hand towards Joseph with an ominous smile.

“Let’s shake on it,” she said as she hovered her hand in front of Joseph’s apprehensive face.

He sat there for a second, shaking uncomfortably as his nerves and anxiety began to overtake him. He thought through many ways that this whole ordeal could go wrong, but before he knew it, he accepted her handshake.

The engagement felt strange and unusual. Immediately as he touched her hand, he felt a stark difference in temperature. Her hands were as cold as a lifeless corpse, and he even felt slight chills shutter through his body.

In that moment, the discomfort Joseph felt was radiating, stabbing through every crack in his skin. His heartbeat thumped quickly in his body, feeling as though it was pounding against his ribcage, ready to leap out of his cold, shivering chest.

She released his hand and continued to smile at him as her son unexpectedly appeared in the room.

He approached them suddenly and studied Joseph’s face as he appeared to be having an anxiety attack of some kind. However, the child did not look concerned and continued to stare blankly at their faces.

“Joseph. What’s wrong?” Holly asked, lightly rubbing his shoulder.

He seemed to snap back to reality and blinked his eyes rapidly. In a very quiet and disturbed voice, he croaked “I’m fine,” and shook his head rapidly.

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“Jason, who told you to come in here?” The woman asked and the boy quickly turned tail and ran out the room. “That boy is always sticking his nose in everything.”

“Okay. Where do you want us to go?” Joan asked, eager to get back to business.

“You can go anywhere you want to. I have a room for y’all to sleep in, but I bet you ain’t gonna be doin’ much sleepin’. Follow me, and I’ll show you the room right now.” She quickly stood to her feet and gestured for the group to follow her.

They all stood to their feet, but Joseph’s legs felt like Jell-O as they shook and quivered beneath him. Something very troublesome seemed to be on his mind.

The four followed the woman closely as she led them to a nearby guest room. “This is it,” she said as she showcased the room. There was one big king-sized mattress, several pillows, sheets, and a couch.

“Y’all can sleep here if you manage to do so. When you’re out looking ‘round the house, don’t break nothin’, and be weary of the attic. Don’t go up there unless you absolutely have to. Understand?”

“Yeah. We got it,” Joan said as she sat down comfortably on the couch.

“Good. I will be in my room with my kids. Don’t disturb me or them for nothin’. Got it? If you see Jason walking ‘round, ignore him. Don’t say nothin’ to him. He’s probably just sleep walkin’ and will find his way back.”

“Understood,” Marko said and nodded his head respectfully.

“Right then. I’ll leave y’all to it. If ya need somethin’ to eat, find it in the kitchen.” She closed the door and walked off, leaving them alone in the room together.

“I’ll call Enrique and let him know what’s going on,” Marko said as he reached into his pocket for his phone.

“Good idea,” Holly said as she plopped down on the bed. “This is crazy. That woman is kind of creepy and this whole scenario is just downright weird!” She exclaimed, throwing pillows into the air and catching them.

“You’re right. I don’t feel good about this at all,” Joseph said unnervingly as he sat down next to Holly on the bed.

“I don’t think any of us do,” Joan added. She still appeared very gloom and uncharacteristic as the prior events continued to weigh on her conscience.

“I just felt so—” Joseph paused as he muttered softly. “I felt so uneasy, just so uncomfortable when she looked at me, and shook my hand. Something felt so off about her and all of this, and now I’m wondering if we made the right choice.”

Joan and Holly stared at Joseph curiously, trying to understand him.

“What do you mean? What made you feel uncomfortable about her specifically?” Holly asked, rubbing his shoulder softly, calming his unsettled nerves.

“Uh. Well. The way she looked at me just felt odd like there was something more to her than she let on – like she knew more than she told us. And when I touched her hand, it felt cold. Not as cold as I felt in that fire, but it was still unnaturally cold, I think. Or maybe it wasn’t and I’m just paranoid.”

“Well I’m anemic and my hands are always really cold. Did her hands feel like mine?” Holly grabbed one of Joseph’s hands and waited.

“Almost. But her hands were even colder than that, and it made me feel chills, but maybe it was just the nerves I was already feeling. I think I’m overreacting.”

Holly shrugged her shoulders and let go of his hand and returned to rubbing his back and shoulders.

“Don’t worry so much, Joseph. Everything is going to be just fine!” She smiled brightly, almost lighting up the entire gloomy room.

“Thank you, Holly. You’ve got the best morale support in town,” Joseph said with a smile and raised his head.