Page 33 of Enter if you Dare: Part Two

“Go rake your dead people.”

“Love you too. Dinner’s at seven. Rue made us paella, and if you’re late, Cave gets your share.”

I wander off to the cemetery, but there isn’t much to do here. My zone always fares well because fake dead people are pre-scared and don’t do any damage. Mostly I have to rake and reset the props. One headstone is crooked where some hero has obviously tried to climb on it. My favorite part is when I sweep up everything guests have left behind when they’re running for their lives. This year’s Harvest Moon haul is laid out on the tomb I use for sorting—four phones, one shoe, a set of keys, a single glove filled with candy corn, and one engagement ring.

I take it all to the front office in case people call to find their stuff and leave it with Khodi. He tells me the man was just on the phone asking about the ring. He proposed to his girlfriend last night in the cemetery, and apparently I must have chosen that moment to scare the life out of them and he dropped it.

I’m sitting in the shade of the alleyway when the Jester finds me.

“Gravedigger, a favor.”

“Anything for a man who scares Vesper.”

“Can I borrow the hearse tonight? A prop run. Big, awkward load. Just to the mainland dock and back.”

“She’s all yours.” I dig the keys out of my pocket and toss them over. “Want a hand loading? I’m free after dinner, and I’m stronger than I look.”

“No, no. You’d ask questions about the prop and it’s a surprise.”

“Don’t mind the stereo—the cassette is stuck in there. If you get pulled over, the paperwork’s in the glove box. And please film the officer’s face if you do.”

“You are a lifesaver. I’ll have her back before you even know she is missing.” He spins the keys once around his finger, salutes me, and saunters off down the alleyway.

I get up and try to find something else to do, so I swing past the cornfield.

Cave is deep in the rows, resetting his snares and adjusting the extra scare rigging Cipher helped him with for the event. I tell him about my day, and he keeps working and tolerates me for about twenty minutes before he grabs me and pulls me into his chest, causing my knees to buckle.

It’s an effective way to shut me up.

He points to the path and I laugh. “I’m going, I’m going. But maybe grab me like that again soon.”

By the time I get back to the shed, it’s time to put Rue’s food in the oven like he said. Cipher and Valli come in not long after, so I shower and smile when I come back out. Cipher is at his workbench, and Valli is cross-legged on the rug with paperwork spread out around her, hair up in a messy bun, pen in her teeth. I stand back and stare; this is what home feels like.

“What’s that face for?” I ask Valli.

“Hmm? Nothing. Vendor log.” She frowns at the slip of paper in her hand. “Meal deliveries were billed to the residential area. There’s a house number on here that isn’t assigned to anyone.”

“Babe, the kitchen’s been feeding overtime crews and Rue’s system is a shoebox and vibes.”

She smiles when I call her babe. I think I like it, and she didn’t shut me down.

“Yeah.” She taps the slip against her knee. But she doesn’t put it back in the stack; instead, she puts it in a separate file. “Probably just a logging error.”

“Probably,” I agree.

Cave comes in around dusk, and as he is covered in dirt, he is directed straight into the shower by Valli. Cipher and I drag the table outside under the string lights I set up. It’s a nice night, and the fire plus the lights make the area look beautiful.

Cave carries Valli out, already on her chair. We all sit around the table and tell stories about things we saw at the Harvest Moon. Well, mainly I talk and everyone else laughs. Halfway through dinner, Leni video calls, and the phone gets propped against the salt so she can review our kidnapping.

“Four stars,” she says. “I have to deduct a point because no one filmed it for me, and I have never seen my sister scared. I think she might be a robot.”

“That’s not fair,” Valli says. “I am only scared of losing you, so you will never see it.”

“Change of conversation. I have decided that I’m cooking for Christmas. I thought I should inform you so that you can plan accordingly.”

We all vote yes before Valli can shut it down. I know she is afraid that Leni coming back will not be a good thing. She wanted her sister far away from everything so she could start a new life, but Leni wants Valli in her life. I think they will both love Christmas on Fear Island. It’s a magical day. A lot of our families come to visit, and we shut down for a week. No work, no chasing—just friends and family coming together.

I never thought I would love anything again in this life, having been warned that I love way too hard. I spent so long being careful with my hands and only trusting myself with a shovel, not wanting to hold on too tight. But I love these three harder than I have ever loved anything before, and they’re not breaking. It turns out you can hold on with everything you’ve got, so long as what you’re holding wants to hold you too.