Nothing changed even if everything shifted. He did approximately the same thing (nothing), got paid the same amount (nothing), but there was a looming feeling over the Haus that something was wrong.

There was death close by. He could feel it seeping from the very floor of the Haus. It bleed through the concrete and wood and socks to rush directly through his body.

He should really lay back down. He had controlled his own transformations for so long that they really were coming back worse. It was barely the afternoon and he could already feel his insides preparing for the night.

The missing girls lingered with him, though. He paced from the front to the back door in what he knew was aimless. It didn’t stop his legs from making the movement.

Luckily, no one was around to judge him for it. The Haus still ran on the skeleton crew. They were still testing the waters with Melisa and her kid. These two new women were supposed to be their next trial. The fact they weren’t showing up could be completely normal for all he knew about shelter etiquette. But, that didn’t rule out other possibilities—they were trapped, kidnapped, being tortured, spies.

So, yeah, he kept pacing even as his insides threatened to fling themselves out early. Until Wendy popped her head out of the rec room. “Alex? Has that been you walking back and forth all this time?”

He stopped, swayed a little on his feet as his body caught up with the fact that he was supposed to be still now.

Wendy pressed a hand onto his forehead. “You feel so clammy, dear. Why don’t you go lay down for a bit?”

All he could really say was “We were supposed to have two women coming in.”

“Oh, is that all you’re worried about? Dearie, you are such a worry wort.” She tutted again before shooing him away. “Go, go lay down. Take a nap.”

“I did that yesterday.” He strained to hear anything in the near silent Haus. “Mark and Tanner both working today? Maybe they should stagger their shifts—that way someone else can be here.”

“Alex,” Wendy said, “you can’t start getting paranoid about everything. It can’t be nearly as bad as the threats we had back when were in the Dells. If we survived there, we can survive anywhere.”

“I didn’t survive the Dells.” Even Alex knew that argument was week. Wendy tutted it away just like she tended to and pushed him to the stairs.

Melisa must have heard them talking, because she burst into the room. Her face immediately morphed into relief. “Oh thank God I found you. My bus is coming in a few minutes. Can you watch over Peter for a bit?” she asked. Peter’s hand waved through the air, slamming down onto Melisa’s chest until she cringed. The burst of energy felt like it directly translated into Alex until Alex was ready to start slapping stuff too.

“Oh dear,” Wendy said, “I’ll watch over him. Alex isn’t feeling well.”

Alex said, “Wendy, no offense, but you will have to murder me to stop me from taking Peter.” Alex scooped Peter from Melia. The boy already felt heavier after a couple of days at the shelter. Now that was the first thing that settled nicely in his chest all day.

“Thank you!” Melisa already started slamming her feet into shoes.

It barely made a noise, but Peter still made a happy gurgle. “You like that, little man?” Alex asked. He took the kid’s hands in his and slapped them together. His eyes widened. He shrieked as he hit his hands together again.

Melisa zipped up her jacket that just jumpstarted Peter even more. “You are going to regret teaching him that.”

“At least I don’t have super hearing.”

“Apologize to the ones that do please.”

“Never. Let them suffer.” Alex moved Peter’s chubby hand as he blabbed an approximation of a goodbye. Melisa gave a watery smile and pressed her fingers to her lips before placing them on her boy’s forehead. “Be good to Alex, okay, Peaty?”

“He’ll be an angel as long as you actually get that bus.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Hell might break loose. Guess we’ll see if it happens.”

She gave him another smile, something a little more true and a little less sad. “I’ll be back in a few hours. You know when his nap time is—“

He shooed her to the door. “I know. Seriously. Don’t miss your bus.” She almost said something else, but she stopped herself. She dug a few quarters out of the bus fund bowl. With one last look back, she braved a step outside.