Juliana believed in monsters. She believed in the one under her bed, the one in the closet, and the one under the stairs. Happily, she also had a mother who could knew how to handle monsters. “Juliana,” she said. “Give all of the monsters names, and then they can’t hurt you.” Juliana named the monster under the bed Mr. Scaredy-cat, the one in the closet Mr. Snagglepuss, and her sister,
Caves, shadows, and rings. In his 1955 article for his high school newspaper, The Spectrum, Hunter S. Thompson wrote that “Security” was “another word for rut.” From what I have seen in my 10 years of higher education and 3+ years of teaching anywhere from 11 year-olds to 65 year-olds, I have found the most common “rut” is not in the secure job, nor the secure, boring middle class life, but
←Chapter Thirty-three May 19, 1985: Isaak and I moved to Wyoming recently, away from Lucy and the Counsel’s reach. I have masked my absence from the core with feigned grief. I just want to raise my son away from those people…I went to Haven to see Margaret, and Victoria told me I need to minimize my contact with her, stick to birthdays and holidays–of which Otherworlders have four: Yule, Ostara,
←Chapter Thirty-Two March 4, 1983: They came and took her away. They took my little girl. I was so weak, and when I got up to stop them–I couldn’t stop the bleeding. I passed out. When I woke up, she was gone. Mother and Victoria told me Margaret is one of the children prophesied to be the hybrid. I screamed until they brought in Isaak. When he saw me crying, he began
←Chapter Twenty-Nine July 27, 1973: Third summer at Haven. Every time I come, I feel like I’m getting closer to something, and I want to know what. Derek tells me to be patient. I ask with what. He says, “Everything.” I told him I’m ready, and he said that he had to be sure this time. It’s a big change from last summer when he was telling me to be
←Chapter Twenty-Four June 12, 1915: I received word that Walker is dead and my mother is missing. Owen is devastated and has threatened to take on the Counsel himself. Derek, for once, has taken the more sensible approach. Since he will live the longest, he might be the only person to actually see justice served. My great-grandmother, Constance, is also dead, and Garrett beckons us to come to Colorado. He
