Dawn crept over the woods with the urgency of a foraging tortoise, meandering its way through the trees and hills at a fittingly sleepy pace. Logan was first to stand up and begin stretching away the stiffness of the hours spent against the tree, and, as he did so, he eyed the still forms of the other boys as they rested. He realized then that he still had his weapon tucked away, and that he could simply attack right now and use his wakeful advantage to overtake the other boys. He only had six shots in the weapon, meaning he would need four kill shots (or, at least, disabling shots) out of six possible ones. Even lining up the first against an immobile, sleeping foe, that didn't allow for much room for error on the other three… and Wade slept with the Protectionizer on his person. How would I stealthily deal with that?

Logan crept his way over to the place where Wade slept and looked to his hands, trying to see if the boy was currently clutching the small device. If not, there's actually a chance here…

Wade's eyes flicked open and settled on the standing form of Logan overhead. He looked around and scratched at himself with an empty hand. "Morning already?" he said, stretching with a groan. The other boys began to rise as well.

"Figured I'd wake you," Logan said. "Wanted to give us time to figure out our plan before we had to split."

The boys settled on their respective plans for establishing their alibis. Parker planned to visit the station, looking for his mother. Other police officers would be able to vouch for his location. Ronnie was to visit his grandmother again, a very trustworthy source. Wade and Shaun were to go to the Perpetumart and shop for snacks. That was one part they particularly liked, as they figured it would be even better to have one of the Trent parents vouch for their alibi. Even if Jackson Trent Senior wasn't at the store, at least Jackson's boss would be able to vouch for them, and hopefully get Michelle off their case. Logan had to linger near the vet's so he could be close enough to tend to the bikes, so his job was to set up at a coffee shop nearby and chat with the owner. That would hopefully establish that he'd had reason to be near the scene. Then, once he left the shop to move the bikes and the trap was sprung, he'd make his way to the police line and find Nora, ostensibly out of interest in the developing scene. She'd no doubt question him, where he'd be able to report on all the alibis of the other boys. A quick series of phone calls later, and they'd all be in the clear.

"Anyone have any questions?" Ronnie asked as the group arrived to the edge of the woods. Ahead, they would split up as they moved for their separate destinations.

"Yeah, I've got one," Wade said.

"Is it about the plan?" Ronnie asked.

"Nope," said Wade.

Ronnie shook his head in amused frustration. "Well, team, we've got work to do. Stick with the plan and we'll reconvene tonight. Be thinking of solutions for the time-traveling question in investigating Skinny's absence. How many should we send back, and with which of the artifacts? Let's debate it tonight and hopefully set off as soon as possible."

The group nodded their assent, while Logan and Parker shared a moment of knowing eye contact.

"Then let's split off here… see you guys tonight," Ronnie said.

The boys wandered their separate ways, spreading off for their various tasks. Both Logan and Parker set a mental timer for about five minutes, and, once it elapsed, they both turned around and began heading back to the edge of the woods. While Logan made his solitary walk back to the woods, he used his Empathizer to charge up batteries of purple-pink and of deep blues, even including one of a flickering red. He tucked them away and then reveled in the calm preparedness the extraction left in its wake.

As soon as Logan saw the other boy approaching, he summoned his best worried smile and waved him over. "Thanks for agreeing to chat," Logan said.

"Sure, man. What'd you want to talk about?"

"Well, it's the Ronnie stuff. It's silly, I know… I shouldn't be worried about this," he said. "But you can't really help what you're afraid of, right?"

"Well, if anyone can," Parker said, "I think you're the man."

Logan smiled wanly and pulled the empathizer from his pocket, the rear terminal showing a purple-pink battery he'd left in the device. Parker needed to see Logan was genuinely worried… it'd play better that way.

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"I know I could just pull the fear out, and, to an extent, I've been doing that," Logan said. "But sometimes I get thinking on stuff… fear, while unpleasant, isn't a bad thing, right? It keeps us away from dangerous spiders. It keeps us from walking up to tall ledges and from getting too cuddly with a venemous snake. Like, sometimes I feel like fear is our subconscious mind speaking up to keep us safe… ignoring that alarm bell is like muting the fire alarm. Most of the time it rings, it's a false alarm, but you don't want it quiet when the flames are real."

Parker nodded, waiting for his friend to get to his point.

"What I'm getting at is this: after what Skinny told me, I'm worried about Ronnie. And today, he just came up with the perfect plan that splits most of us up invidually… Remember his skill on the chessboard? I sometimes feel like he's moving us all around like pieces on that board, playing some game we don't even see. Like he's gonna separate us, and then, well, I don't know. It feels silly, I know… but my subconscious is just throwing alarm bells left and right. You're not feeling any of it, are you? Like, just tell me I'm crazy here and I can rest easy."

Parker pursed his lips, remembering the fear he'd felt considering the boy when at Castle Rock. Those doubts—of course planted by Logan—were like a seed, and his mind was damp soil in which they could grow and take deeper root. Now, that fear had begun to manifest as a deeper and darker dread as his mind turned it over again and again, amplifying the worry each time. Logan saw the real worry now on the boy's face, and was immediately fascinated at the implications. Could negative emotions echo and amplify in the right kind of person? Does it do so in every person it's injected into? He made a mental note for further testing later on.

"I've felt it, too," Parker finally said. "Unease at Ronnie. I couldn't vocalize it before, but you're right. The chessmaster… he could manipulate us so easily if he wanted to."

"It feels vindicating to hear that," Logan said. "That I'm not the only one feeling this way."

"But, well, what do we do about it?"

"Here's the thing. He has us split up today. We need to know if he's a danger right now, or if I'm just overreacting. That's why I say you should go back in time right now to follow Skinny… see if Ronnie has anything to do with his disappearance. You trail him silently after he leaves my place, and then you can go crash in the shack for a couple days. You remember where it is, right?"

Parker nodded.

"Then, you come find me today and let me know what you found. If Ronnie's involved, we'll have all morning to stop him. Hell, at that point, maybe we even go to the police."

Parker nodded again, this time with some hesitation.

"It'll work out okay," Logan said. "Look, here's my plan."

Logan flashed back to the night of the murder, that horrid music again filling his ears. Buzz. Rattle. Patter. Click. Buzz. Rattle. Patter. Click. In the screaming ringing silence after the gunshot echo faded, he'd checked the clock. What time had it been? He could still see the display. 9:50, it had said.

Shaking himself back to the present, Logan continued. "Skinny came around my house about 10 p.m. and left around 10:30. My folks weren't in, as you know. Anyways, there's a clearing in the woods not too far from my house. Far enough for you to be able to arrive without the flash or noise spooking anyone, but still close enough to not put yourself out so far alone. I'm thinking you jump to land there at 10:15. That gives you ample time to creep towards my house, where you should be able to watch him leave. You stealthily follow him as he heads home. By his family's account, it doesn't seem likely he got home that night… you should be able to see what happened."

"Do you really think," Parker said, trailing off. He then found the courage again to continue his thought. "Do you really think a friend of ours could have hurt him like that?"

Huh, I guess that one's compassion. Buzz. Rattle. Patter. Click.

"I hope to hell he couldn't… but maybe the ring changed him somehow," Logan continued. "Like the One Ring twisting Sméagol."

"Like what?"

"Oh, it's a book thing. Not important. Look… are you onboard with the plan? I hate that we even have to have this conversation… but I just can't shake the feeling."

"Me neither, which is why I'm willing to do it. Where's this clearing you mentioned?"

* * *

As they walked to the clearing, Logan realized that he, armed with a gun, was alone with Parker. I could just shoot him right now and be done with it, he thought. Then he frowned. Based on what had happened the night Skinny had died, he knew that he wouldn't shoot Parker here and now. If he did, he risked creating a paradox. And so, Logan decided to shrug his shoulders and call his action timeline-forced. There was something somewhat liberating to the label… the powerlessness he'd been grappling with suddenly became a scapegoat to pin his choices to. It took out the agency from his darker actions, meaning he didn't even feel a stirring of guilt that he'd have had to pull from himself with the Empathizer. He wasn't making this choice… it had already been made, and he was simply moving through the motions.

They arrived to the clearing, a small circle of patchy grass with a lone tree stump near the center. Logan led them both to the stump, standing near it so that Parker did as well. "You dial for 10:15?" Logan asked. "The night of the 14th."

Parker nodded, double-checking the dial.

"You know the plan. After spending the 15th at the shack, come find me here on the 16th. Even if there's dire news, and Ronnie, well… you can't say anything sooner or you risk paradoxes. Understood?"

"Yes, understood."

"If it comes to it, I keep a fire ax in the cabin… you can use it for protection, if you need."

Parker again nodded. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"Agreed. Just… take care of yourself out there," Logan said, offering a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I know I will," Parker said. He hefted a stone from his pocket, tossing it briefly, before bringing it down against the watch face. And then, with a flash, he vanished from the morning of the 16th.