“Owen,” Levi’s voice came from somewhere outside his body, thin and far away through the ringing. “Owen, what did you —”
“They laugh at me.” Owen said quietly. “They always have. Not to my face. Behind my back. Nobody listens. I share things because I think they’ll help and nobody —” A sob cut through the words. “Nobody ever listens.”
“Owen, I’m listening. I hear you. Put the gun down.” Levi held his hands out as he stood, trying to calm the shaking.Owen was the first person the fog affected.
“You weren’t here.” Owen pointed the barrel at Levi’s chest. “You were off withhim. Everybody’s always off with somebody. Elliot told me to stop talking and nobody said anything and Maddie was crying and Zoe was busy and you were gone. I was sitting in this room with my book and nobody — nobody —”
His face crumpled. The rifle lowered an inch.
“I just wanted someone to listen,” Owen said. “I read these books, I learn these things and I share them because I think maybe — maybe if I know enough, if I have enough facts, someone will think I’m worth talking to. But nobody does...”
“Owen.” Levi’s hands stayed up, his eyes on the rifle. Asher was dead at his feet and four people were dead behind Owen andthe ranger’s words were still in his ears.Reach into them and pull them back.“I’m here. I’m listening. You made Maddie tea this morning. Chamomile. You were the first person to help. You boiled water and you brought it to her and she drank it. You did that.”
Owen let out a sob and the rifle lowered an inch.
“You told us about the fog patterns,” Levi said quickly. “That’s what you do, Owen. You find information that helps people. I heard you.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“The granite formations. The blockchain that wasn’t cryptocurrency,” Levi said, his voice cracking as he took a step forward. “You told us all of that because you wanted to help and I listened, Owen. I just don’t always have anything to say back, because…because I’m not as smart as you are. I don’t want to sound dumb.”
Owen pursed his lips, lowering the rifle another inch. “What’s my last name, Levi?”
Levi opened his mouth and nothing came out. He didn’t know. Owen was an NPC, the nerd, the one who had facts that sometimes came in handy…he had never thought to ask. He was just…Owen.
Owen watched Levi’s mouth open and close on nothing. His face didn’t crumble. It settled.
“Nobody is listening,” Owen whispered, letting out a shaky breath. “Nobody ever was.”
He raised the rifle.
Levi felt the impact, the air leaving his lungs, the heat ripping through his chest, but his last thought was not about the game or the fog or the rules. It was Asher’s hand near his shoe, the fingers not reaching for anything, and the sound of a heart monitor beeping three times in his ear, then stopping.
The darkness came.
21
Side Effects May Vary
Leviopenedhiseyesto dim light and the sound of a zipper, gasping, his hands grabbing at his chest.
The clock on the nightstand read 3:29 AM. Asher stood beside the bed, pulling on his jeans, his movements fast and tight.
“What are you doing?” Levi asked, one hand rubbing his chest where the skin still felt the echoes of the gunshot.
“Going to find Owen.”
He bolted up, the sheets falling to his waist as he tried to rapidly orient himself to the space and stop Asher from doing whatever he was planning to do. Outside the window the fog was there — grey, pressed against the glass, the shapes drifting in and out of view. “Asher, stop.”
“He’s three doors down. Or in the lounge. Wherever he reset,” Asher said through his teeth, pushing his hair back from his face. “I’m going to find him and I’m going to —”
Pull him back.
“Stop. Look at me.” Levi lunged forward from the bed, his hands reaching for Asher. He didn’t care that he was still naked.
Asher paused, his shoes in one hand, and he locked eyes with Levi, his lower lip quivering. His eyes were wrong…the brown and green both too bright and too wet. Levi had seen Asher angry, jealous, enraged...this wasn’t anger. It was raw and shaky and terrified. It was the same way he looked when they ended up in the empty space after the sanitarium…
“What happened to you?” Levi asked.