He released the air from his lungs slowly, letting it slip through his lips at a leisurely pace as though stalling for time. “What have they told you?”
“That everything is peachy.”
“Wow. Never took them for liars.”
I knew they had been sugarcoating the truth, but I didn’t know how much. I almost dreaded finding out. “What do you mean? What’s going on?”
Kenya sat back, watching us, summing up Glitch in her special, homicidal way.
“Things are bad, Lor,” he said, bowing his head. “Things are way worse.”
I straightened in alarm. “Worse how? I left. Things were supposed to get better.”
“They didn’t. It seems there are lots of ghosts or spirits or whatever wanting to jump ship before the war, before evil is unleashed upon the earth. Jared’s words.”
I felt Kenya tense beside me even though she still wore her best poker face.
“They’re doing what that spirit Noah did, the first kid who came to us. The spirits are searching out Jared. They want off this plane and they can’t get to another one, so by forcing Jared’s hand, they’re basically committing suicide. Jared has his hands full just trying to hold them all back. It’s causing all kinds of unrest. Lots of people have left town, including Ashlee and Sydnee. Their father packed them up and hightailed it outta Dodge.”
When I left Riley’s Switch, it looked like he and Ashlee would get together. I wanted to ask how that went, but now was certainly not the time. “I’m sorry, Glitch.”
“People just don’t know what to think. They’re panicking.”
I squeezed my lids together until the pressure caused stars to appear behind them. “Grandma and Granddad didn’t tell me.”
“I’m not surprised. They want you as far away from all that as they possibly can get you. Especially now with all the reporters.”
“Reporters?”
“Yeah, you know what happens when a haunted town is bombarded with strange occurrences and unexplainable events. They’re having a field day. Fox News and CNN even have a news crew there. They’re calling it the beginning of the end. We’re getting famous, but the town is falling apart. More and more refugees are showing up with possessed family members. The spirits possessing them want off that plane and the only way out is through Jared.”
“I can’t even imagine it,” I said, perplexed.
“And that’s not even the worst of it. People from all over the country have come to be taken when the time comes, believing the events point to the Rapture.”
“But this isn’t the Rapture,” I said. “This is a travesty brought on by one insane man.”
He grinned at me. “Preaching to the choir, babe. It’s been the hardest on your grandparents, but they are handling it all amazingly well even though the town has been really hard on them.”
I straightened. “What do you mean? Why?”
“They sent you away,” he said with a shrug. “Many members of the Order took that hard, like your grandparents betrayed them, sent their only hope away. Your grandparents have been harassed, ostracized, even attacked.”
My hands flew over my mouth. “Attacked? How? What happened?”
“Not physically attacked, but verbally. And the store has been vandalized. Their cars have been egged and keyed. Half the members of the Order have left town, and half of those remaining have taken it upon themselves to punish your grandparents. To let them know just how angry they are.”
“Oh, my God, that is so unfair, Glitch.”
He wrapped an arm around me. “I know. But through it all, they never gave up your location.”
“What is this, World War Two? Are they being interrogated by Nazis?”
He thought about it, then shrugged. “That’s a pretty fair comparison.”
A bone-crushing guilt rushed through me. I tried the number again, to no avail. “Why aren’t they answering my calls?” I asked, beginning to panic.
“I’m not sure. Maybe something happened.”
“My God, they went through all this because of me?” A sob wrenched out of my throat before I could stop it.
Glitch pulled me tighter. “Not because of you, Lor. For you. There’s a difference.”
“I have to go back.”
“That’s not why I came,” he rushed to assure me. “We aren’t mad. Well, Cameron is, but for his own reasons. Brooke and I just wanted to know you were okay, so we pooled our money and bought me a plane ticket. I won at rock-paper-scissors.”
I looked at him knowingly. “You always win at rock-paper-scissors.”
A captivating grin spread across his face. “Yeah, but she doesn’t know that. Or she’s in denial. Not sure which.”
I hugged him. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“That happens when girls are ripped out of my life. It’s weird.” When I did a half-sob, half-giggle thing, he said, “I missed you, too.”
“And I have to go back.”
“Lor, I just don’t think you should. I think your grandparents were right. You need to stay hidden.”
“No, you don’t understand.” I looked over at Kenya. “You were right. I had a vision. I had dozens of visions.” I squeezed Glitch’s hand. “Coming here was a mistake. We are all going to die. The world is going to end, Glitch. I’ve seen it.”