Page 11 of (Mostly) Human Resources

“I know, but I like it here.”

“I don’t see what there is to like.” Carol’s words stung a little. “You spend all your time with those coworkers of yours. Don’t you want to meet a nice boy?”

Alexys screwed up her face.Of course I’d like to meet someone,Alexys thought. But that would mean telling someone other than Zach and Natalie about her nightmares, and admitting that much would mean also admitting it to her mother—which she wasn’t prepared to do.

Alexys fished around for something to say in her own defense. “It’s tough out there, I’m doing my best.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Carol breathed. “I know you are, I just worry because I love you, you know that.”

“I know, Mom.” Alexys flipped through the channels, settling at last on a favorite reality show. “And I like working for Entity. You know it makes me feel like I’m closer to Dad.”

“Uh huh,” Carol mused. “And that’s all well and good so long as you keep that behind of yours at your desk. I will not allow that place to take anybody else away from me.”

It didn’t matter that the official report confirmed that a Wampus Cat was responsible for Michael’s death. It also didn’t matter that it was a freak accident and that he’d put his life on the line every day for 15 years before he was killed. Carol would blame Entity for what happened until the world stopped spinning. She’dneverforgive them.

So when Alexys told her she too would be working for Entity, the two had stopped talking for the better part of a year. Even now, things weren’t quite the same as they had been before, but they were trying. Alexys wasreallytrying.

“Don’t worry, you know I’m not athletic enough for running after things that go bump in the night.”

“Good girl,” she said, rearranging the phone. Alexys caught a glimpse of a brown eye surrounded by well-earned crow’s feet. “Youknow, your brother is looking to get his own place, just down the road.”

Alexys tipped her head back in exasperation.

“Of course he is,” Alexys groaned.

Garrett was a mama’s boy and couldn’t stand to be more than a block away from home. He’d gone to a state school right after graduation and only managed to live on campus for one semester before moving back in with their mom. He’d been “moving out” for years. How the two of them managed to live together for so long without killing each other was beyond her, but she also understood that Carol wasn’t made for an empty nest.

“There will be room for you now, that is, if you wanted to come back. See how you feel about it.”

Alexys dropped the phone on the mattress. “Alright, Mama. I gotta go, it’s getting late.”

“Alright, honey. Make sure you lock up all your doors and windows. And make sure you’re getting enough rest!”

“I will, and I always am,” Alexys lied.

“I love you, Lexi Lou.”

“I love you too, Mama.”

Later that night, Alexys lay awake in bed. The TV blared in the background, and the overhead ceiling van whirred in that familiar rhythmic clicking. But she couldn’t get comfortable. The pillow was too warm, the sheet wouldn’t lay right, her legs were restless.

She needed to invest in a new mattress and one of those fancy sound machines. It was mentally added to the list of things to buy after she finally manifested a promotion.

Sighing in defeat, Alexys rolled over onto her back and gazed up at the ceiling. She spent hours tracing the shape of the ceiling fan’s blades with her eyes and begging for peaceful, restful sleep to take her—just thisonce. Most nights, if she drained herself enough, shecould slip into a fairly innocuous sleep. It was the only way she could really manage the nightmares. But tonight, it wasn’t working.

Finally deciding her mental pleas were futile, Alexys went to the bathroom to surrender herself to whatever melatonin supplement was in her medicine cabinet.

The bathroom was cramped and dimly lit—she made a mental note to add lightbulbs to her shopping list. Alexys opened the mirrored medicine cabinet, grabbed the melatonin, closed the door, and froze.

The bottle clattered into the sink and her cup of makeup brushes fell to the floor, but she didn’t flinch.

“No, no, no,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut. “You’re dreaming, that’s all, it’s just a dream.” She took a deep breath, then opened her eyes.

She gasped.

Written in streaky, dark letters was a message:Elliot Harman is dead.

Alexys stood perfectly still, her hands clenched into white-knuckled fists at her side. The letters began to wiggle and sway, as though she was looking at them through water. They rearranged themselves into new words, the message even more sinister.