I jolt awake in Aiden’s bed, then slowly sit up, rubbing my eyes, blinking in confusion.

I have no idea what woke me up. Aiden’s bedroom is still and silent, nothing different from how it was when we went to bed. The world beyond the windows is shrouded in pitch-black darkness. It’s either very late, or very early.

My first thought is Aiden. I feel for him in the bedsheets with my clumsy, half-asleep hands.

My fingers find the warmth of his back, and I let out a relieved breath. He’s still asleep, rolled over on his side. I lean over to check on him, smoothing his chestnut hair out of his eyes.

His face is faintly troubled. His dark eyebrows are the tiniest bit furrowed, his jaw tensed. But he’s breathing slowly and deeply, so I don’t think he’s having a nightmare. Maybe just not getting very good sleep.

He definitely didn’t wake me up, so I’m really not sure what did. It can’t be anywhere close to dawn. What time is it, right now?

I roll over and unplug my phone so I can check. Then I sit up on my elbow, blinking hard. I have my usual notifications, but two unusual, unexpected ones stand out.

The first is a severe weather alert, informing me that a major storm is expected to hit the Ketterbridge area soon. The alert says that depending on the movements of the storm, the situation could be dangerous. Schools and government offices will be closed, which I guess means that Aiden won’t have to go into City Hall today.

The other standout notification is a missed call from Roger, from about two minutes ago. At 2:55 AM.

This is unsettling enough to vault me the rest of the way into full consciousness. I sit up and call Roger back, my heart suddenly hammering.

Aiden rolls over and cuddles his face into the side of my thigh, breathing out a little exhale.

“What’re you doin’, Keane?” he mumbles, his deep voice slurred with sleep.

Roger picks up his phone before I can say anything in answer.

“Jamie. Glad you called me back.” He sounds exhausted, but also very alert. “I’m really sorry to wake you up so late.”

“It’s totally fine,” I say quickly, trying not to sound too alarmed. “Are you okay, though?”

Aiden blinks his eyes open, looks up at me in confusion. I put my phone on speaker, so he can hear what’s going on.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Roger says, as Aiden sits up beside me. “Look - time is tight right now, so I’m just gonna cut to the chase.”

A sharp look passes between me and Aiden. We’re both all the way awake, now.

“Okay…?” I answer, lost.

“I know that Luc and I offered to help you and Aiden out, if you needed it in the future.” I can almost hear Roger wincing at the other end of the line. “So - I’m really sorry to be asking you guys for something, when it should be the other way around. I wouldn’t, except-”

“Roger,” Aiden cuts in, leaning over to speak into the phone. “Do you and Luca need our help?”

A silence, and then - “Yeah, I think we do.”

~~~~

“Oh, shit,” I say softly, when I turn my car onto the street where Roger told us to meet him.

It’s a tree-lined road in the middle of nowhere, but it’s crammed with police cars. Two ambulances are parked along the curb, doors open. People in uniform are everywhere, speaking hurriedly to each other or talking into radios. The lights from all the emergency vehicles illuminate the dark street, splashing blue and red light on the asphalt.

The road we’re driving along goes on a winding path up the nearby mountain, which is a hulking black shape in the predawn darkness. It’s much taller and bigger than the mountain where Aiden’s Tree grows, rising up to towering heights.

I can see a second cluster of red and blue lights further up the mountainside, but Roger told us to park here, at ground level.

I steal a glance at Aiden as I pull my car over to the side of the road. He’s in a warm jacket and his hiking boots, just like me. His snapback is pulled low over his eyes, which are glimmering with icy blue magic. He’s been listening the whole way here.

We’re just outside the bounds of Ketterbridge, so we didn’t bother to wake up the ghosts. They can’t come with us, anyways. But whoever’s in trouble must be from Ketterbridge, because Aiden can hear a soul trying to get his attention.

“It wasn’t enough to wake me up,” he says, his soft-spoken voice laced with frustration. “I should have fucking woken up.”

I reach over and give his knee a gentle squeeze. “If it wasn’t enough to wake you up, that means we still have time.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Aiden blows out a heavy sigh, blinks the magic out of his eyes, and turns his snapback around again. “Whoever it is, they’re not in life-threatening danger. Not yet, anyways. I’m barely picking it up at all, even right now.”

There’s a silence, and then he adds: “I do think it’s getting worse, though.”

My heart drops sharply, but I try not to let it show on my face. “C’mon, let’s find Roger.”

I expect us to get stopped when we get out of my car, but the people at work here seem too busy to be worried about us. There’s an overall sense of rushed activity, no one moving slow, no one standing still.

Weirdly enough, now that I’m looking around - I get the distinct impression that everyone is actively falling back. Packing their bags and equipment, climbing back up into their ambulances or cop cars.

The flashing red and blue glow falls over me and Aiden as we stand watching. I move closer to him, using his warm, steady presence to stay as calm as I can.

The storm is gathering around us. I can feel the electricity building in the air.

“Jamie!” someone calls. “Aiden!”

Through the crowd, I catch a glimpse of a familiar face. Roger lifts his bandaged hand, gives us a wave.

Aiden and I rush to get to him, weaving through the chaos.

Roger isn’t in uniform, just wearing warm clothes and heavy work boots. Luca is by his side, dressed the same way. He’s got his EMT bag slung over one slender shoulder.

They both have very serious expressions on their faces, but they also look relieved to see us.

Aiden and I come to a stop before them, pretty damn relieved, ourselves.

“Thank god you guys are okay!” I slap Roger’s arm, then turn to take a look at Luca. “God, we were so worried - I know you said you were alright on the phone, but still-”

“We’re fine, I promise,” Roger cuts in. He does look fine, just tired. So does Luca. “Can I explain on the way up?”

He nods at his car, which is parked a little further up the road from all the emergency trucks. We follow him to it, walking in swift silence. Aiden and I hop in the back, Luca in the front.

Roger runs an exhausted hand through his black curls as pulls us out onto the road. It looks like we’re heading directly up the mountain.

“What’s going on?” Aiden asks, speaking with quiet urgency.

“We’ve got a serious situation,” Luca answers, stowing his EMT bag by his feet.

Roger turns his head very slightly to speak over his shoulder, his eyes focused on the dark, tree-lined road.

“There was a three-man electrical crew doing work high up on the mountain,” he explains. “A rockslide occurred while they were performing some routine maintenance. Two of the team were knocked unconscious in the fallout, and one of them was injured. They had to come directly back down the mountain for immediate medical help, which left the third member of the team unaccounted for.”

Roger falls silent, focused on getting us around some emergency vehicles speeding down the road in the opposite direction. Luca picks up where he left off.

“The last crewman was separated from the other two when they all fell off of the structure they were working on. His name is Justin Hayes. He’s officially a missing person. Hasn’t come in on the radio, hasn’t issued a distress call, and no one can find him near the site. The working theory is that he was injured and disoriented, and he struck out in the wrong direction when he went looking for help.”

Aiden and I are listening in attentive silence. Roger glances up at us in the rearview.

“Luc and I were both assigned to one of the rescue crews deployed to find Hayes.” He lets out a heavy, frustrated breath. “We’ve been looking all fucking day and all fucking night. There’s no sign of him. They keep broadening the search perimeter, but still, we’ve got nothing.”

“Did you guys get the warning broadcast about the weather?” Luca asks, and then, when Aiden and I nod - “It’s no joke. They’re expecting a major storm system that’s going to spawn severe thunderstorms. Conditions won’t be safe enough for us to keep looking for Hayes.”

“All the rescue teams are being called back.” Roger points at the cars heading down the mountain. “And there’s no way to even deploy air rescue units, and - it could be a long storm. Which means a long time before we can resume the search.”

“Basically, we’re running out of time to find him.” Luca hesitates, then turns to look at Aiden, his light green eyes hopeful. “But we figured… if you could find Roger in the middle of a fire, maybe you can find Hayes in the middle of a storm?”

Aiden and I stare at him, caught by surprise.

“We would just need you to tell us where he is,” Roger hastily explains. “Then Luca and I can go in and get him, before this turns into a body recovery instead of a rescue.”

I catch Aiden’s eye, and see that he’s got the same question on his mind that I do.

“Did you say you’ve all been called back?” he asks. “Like - everyone, including you two?”

Luca and Roger exchange a quick, meaningful glance.

“Ah... yeah.” Luca bites his lip. “We’re sorta going rogue, I guess. We would never normally do this, but if there’s a chance you guys can find him...”

“Is this guy someone you know?” I ask him. “Or someone you know, Roger?”

“No, it’s not that.” Roger taps his thumb on the steering wheel, gruffly clears his throat. “It’s just - I don’t fucking know. His girlfriend’s been at basecamp crying all day, and - look, I know it seems weird to go this far this for a stranger, but it just fucking sucks to lose someone you were supposed to save.”

“No, it’s not weird at all,” Aiden says quietly. “I know exactly what you mean.”

Roger’s eyes flit up to him in the rearview. He gives Aiden a grateful look, then drops his gaze back to the road.

“Well, your guy is still alive.” Aiden sits back in his seat, folds his arms over his chest. “Definitely in trouble, but his life isn’t in immediate danger. I’d know.”

Luca and Roger both twist sharply to look at Aiden, then turn to look at each other. Luca lets out a dazed laugh, his eyes very wide.

“Okay.” Roger runs a hand over his face, then shakes his head. “I guess I’m just - gonna believe that. Since you’re like, legit psychic, or something. What the fuck, what the fuck-”

“Holy shit, this is so cool,” Luca blurts out, breaking into an eager, excited smile. “What are you, Aiden?”

“I’m an archivist.”

“Oh, come the fuck on, man!” Roger groans. “Are you ever gonna tell us what the deal is?”

“No,” Aiden says firmly. “But Jamie and I are happy to help you guys find Hayes. Or - to do our best, anyway.”

Roger and Luca both freeze, then let out simultaneous, heavy breaths of relief. Luca reaches over and squeezes Roger’s wrist.

“One thing, though,” Aiden adds. “You said that we would pinpoint him, you guys would go in and get him. It doesn’t work like that.”

“It’s less like pinpointing, more like tracking,” I explain. “We can’t just give you coordinates, or whatever.”

“Shit,” Roger murmurs. “Don’t tell me-”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. If you need our help, Jamie and I are gonna have to come with you.”

Roger and Luca look at each other again, then lapse into some kind of half-silent, half-spoken conversation.

“Endangering civilians,” Roger murmurs, looking uneasily into Luca’s eyes.

“Two,” Luca points out. “Also, already breaking the rules.”

“And the storm.”

“Yeah,” Luca says softly, wincing, “But-”

Roger lets out a heavy sigh. “Girlfriend at the basecamp.”

“Right. Crying.”

“Ugh, fine,” Roger groans, tossing his head back. “But before you guys decide whether or not you want to come with us-”

“We’ve already decided,” Aiden informs him.

“No, listen to me.” Roger looks up and catches Aiden’s eyes in the rearview, then mine. “You guys need to understand that this could be dangerous. There’s a reason they’re pulling out all of the rescue teams. The storm is gonna be real fuckin’ serious, and we could get caught in it if we don’t find Hayes in time.”

“We understand that,” I tell him, “And we’re accepting the risk.”

Roger looks at us again, then quickly gets his eyes back on the road. He nods to himself, then runs an anxious hand over his tattooed neck.

“If anything, we’re all safer with Aiden there,” I pin on.

Roger touches his fingers to his bandaged hand.

“Yeah,” he says quietly. “I'm not gonna argue with that.”

When we reach the secondary base camp further up the mountain, Roger pulls over, parks his car. We all get out and take a look around.

It’s clear that the camp is being shut down already. People are packing it in, hurriedly shoving equipment into trucks. Worried faces keep glancing up at the sky, searching for signs of the approaching storm.

It must be some distance away. There’s no rain, no heavy wind, no twisting clouds in the sky. If anything, it’s unusually still out here. Almost no wind moves through the trees. Every leaf sits motionless.

The only noticeably odd thing about the weather is a serious drop in temperature. It’s fucking cold, even for an early spring night. Our breaths turn to mist on the air, where they’re tinted by the blue and red light.

I shiver and stuff my hands in my pockets, glad I wore my warmest flannel beneath my jacket. I can normally count on Aiden to keep me warm, but I wouldn’t ask him to right now. I’d rather he save it all for the rescue we’re about to attempt.

Despite the minimal signs of the approaching storm, everyone at the camp is in a rush to get going. No one pays attention to us as we melt into the shadows near the treeline.

Roger brought two backpacks from his car. He pulls one on, tosses the other one to Aiden. Luca shoulders his EMT bag, then dispenses flashlights to us.

“Don’t turn these on until we get out of sight,” he warns us, as we zip up our jackets against the cold.

Roger finishes checking his backpack, tosses his black curls out of his eyes, and looks around at our little group.

“Okay, so - what do we do?” He turns to Aiden, uncertain. “How does this work? Should we head back towards the worksite where he went missing, or can you just…?”

“It’s harder for me when the person isn’t in immediate danger,” Aiden says haltingly. He’s not used to talking about this stuff with anyone but me and the ghosts, and I can tell that he’s struggling to adjust. “I need to listen, and it might take me some time.”

“Then let’s start walking,” Luca suggests. “We’ll head towards the site, and Aiden - you, um. I guess you can start listening, as we get closer? Whatever that means?”

Aiden considers that, then nods.

As one, we all turn to face the dark depths of the forested mountain.

“Alright,” Roger says. “Let’s move out, team.”