Orin Wanderwood's Arc

Chapter 16 of 26

Kate pressed her ear to Lily's mouth and shook her head. Orin dropped to his knees beside his sister. Her chest was still. Outside, a long finger tapped the door once, testing. Then it dragged along the wood, moving to the shutter. The house was old and the shutters were thin. Orin could hear the creature counting the seams. "Breathe for her," Orin said. Kate tipped Lily's chin back and put her mouth over Lily's mouth. Orin left them and ran through the dark rooms. He knew this house the way he knew his own hands, even after ten years. He found the back door and threw the second bolt. He found the kitchen window and dragged the heavy table against it. In the front room, the shutters were already closed but the latch was rusted through. He pulled a chair over and wedged it under the crossbar. The tapping moved to the parlor window. A pale face pressed against the shutter slats. Long ears cut the moonlight above the frame. He saw the shape of her through the gaps, tall and thin, her hand flat on the wood. He knew her from the field. He knew her from the trail. She was not going to leave. Orin turned. The black cat was on the mantel, watching the window. The ghost girl stood in the middle of the room with her hands at her sides. On the sill inside the shutter, a pink butterfly opened and closed its wings. It should not have been in the house. It had been in the house all along, waiting. "Help me," Orin said to the girl. She looked at Lily on the floor. Then she walked through the wall toward the front step. Outside, the tall creature stopped tapping. Orin heard a small sound like a child's foot on stone. The creature moved off the porch to follow it. The ghost girl was drawing her away. He ran back to Kate. Kate lifted her mouth from Lily's and pressed on Lily's chest with the heel of her hand. "Come on," she said. "Come on." Orin took Lily's cold hand. He thought of the plum tree. He thought of his mother singing. He said his sister's name out loud, the way he had said it in the orchard. "Lily. Lily, wake up." Lily's chest jumped under Kate's palm. She coughed. She pulled in a thin, wet breath, and then another. Orin sat back on the floor. Kate was crying without sound. Outside, far off now, the tapping had moved to the tree line, following a ghost through the dark. The house was shut. His sister was breathing. On the sill, the pink butterfly closed its wings and stayed. Orin looked at the bolted door and understood the creature would come back before morning.