“It’s blurry,” he admitted. “I’m sure it’ll come back to me one day. I’d rather focus on finding Holly than finding my memories.”
“I second that,” Johnny said.
“Hello?” a voice said.
All five went still.
“Which one of you said that?” Garret asked softly.
“Why would any of us choose that moment to say hello?” Loch whispered back.
“Are you there?” the voice came again.
A chill ran down Keller’s spine. “Did that sound like Holly to any of you?” he asked.
“Hello?”
It was definitely Holly.
“Holly!” Loch cried. “Where are you? We’ll come find you!”
“I’m not sure how to answer that,” she replied. She sounded as if she could be standing beside them, but there was nothing there. “I’m in Golden Oak.”
“Is Trevor with you?” Elise gasped.
“I’m here, Lise,” came a man’s voice that set Keller’s teeth on edge.
“Get away from Holly,” he snarled.
“It’s all right, Keller,” Holly’s voice soothed.
“It’s not fucking all right,” he snapped. “Golden Oak is gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?” she asked.
“Gone as in we can’t see it,” Johnny said.
“What?” Holly shrieked.
“Shh,” came Trevor’s voice. “Remember, you have to act natural.”
“It’s a little hard to act natural right now. People on the outside can’t see us!”
“Trevor, what’s going on?” Elise asked.
“This is going to sound crazy, but we can see all of you,” Trevor explained. “You’re standing in the middle of a park. There’s a swing set thirty feet to your left.”
They all looked to the left. Of course, they saw nothing except for trees, trees, and more trees.
“What do you see?” Trevor asked.
“All we see is the forest. We can’t see you at all.”
Keller tried in vain to wrap his head around the information being thrust at him. “This must be a weak spot in the forcefield.”
“Forcefield?” Elise exclaimed.
“Shield spell,” Holly clarified. “There’s been some debate about what to call this thing. We’re at the edge of it. We can’t take a step outside of the town.”
“How can we see you?” Loch pled.
“I’m not sure,” Holly replied. “I don’t know how any of this works, not that that’s a surprise to anyone.”
Keller couldn’t help but laugh. At least he wasn’t the only one who was totally clueless. This was so far out of the realm from what he thought was true, he might as well be on a different planet.
“At least we can figure this out together,” Johnny said. “Elise, do you think you can do…whatever it is you’re going to do.”
“You’re going to use magic, Elise?” the disembodied voice of Trevor asked.
“I’m going to try.”
“I heard you used a bootleg shifter spell.”
“Holly, you told him?” Elise exclaimed.
“I wanted him to know you weren’t dead or dying.”
“Fair enough.” Elise nodded. “Trevor, I’m doing okay. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I’m going to worry about you, Lise. That’s what being a big brother means.”
“You know what.” Keller stepped forward.
“Keller,” said Holly. “Let it go. I promise, I’ll explain everything when I come home. Just please trust me on this, okay?”
“He’s a murderer, Holly. He wants to bring the dark shifters back.”
“There’s a bit more to it than that,” Holly replied.
“What could possibly negate murder?” Keller snapped.
“Can we not do this now?” she pled. “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been being separated from you. Can we please use this time to be productive?”
Keller let out a sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I miss you terribly. I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“We all miss you,” Johnny said softly.
“We’ll figure it out.” Holly’s voice sounded strangled and choked. “Let’s just deal with the problem in front of us.”
“I can help with that,” Elise spoke up.
“Just don’t kill yourself in the process,” Trevor said.
“You know me, brother. No promises.” Elise motioned for Keller and the others to step back.
“You’re not going to blow up, right?” Johnny asked.
“Like I said, no promises.” Elise extended her arms in front of her and closed her eyes. Little sparks of electricity shot from her palms. The sparks grew in frequency and intensity until they shot out of her hands like beams. The beams rushed forward until they slammed against an invisible wall.
“I see it,” Loch said. “There is some kind of shield.”
“I’ve never felt magic like this before.” Elise winced.
“Lise, if it’s too much to take, you need to stop,” Trevor said.
“I’m close to breaching it, I think,” she grunted as she shoved more magic forward.
Keller watched, mouth agape, as a tear formed in the invisible wall. He didn’t understand it, not in the slightest. However, as the tear grew wider, Holly’s face came into view.
“Holly!” Loch cried.
Tears welled in Holly’s eyes.
“Can you see me?” she asked, her voice wobbly.
“We see you,” Keller called to her. His throat grew tight with an unexpected surge of emotion, but he pushed it down.
“I’m coming,” Holly assured him.
“Wait!” Elise barked. “I haven’t taken the shield down. I’ve only revealed a small sliver of what it’s hiding.”
“You mean…” Holly’s face fell. “You mean I can’t come through.”
“Not unless you want to know what it’s like to run into a wall face first.” Sweat broke out across Elise’s brow.
Keller stepped closer.
“How much time do we have?” he asked.
“Ten seconds, maybe?” Elise said through gritted teeth.
“Shit.” He looked into Holly’s eyes. “We’re going to figure this out. We’re going to bring you home, Holly. We always do.”
“I miss you,” Holly said. “I miss you all. Stay safe. Don’t do anything stupid, okay? Promise me.”
“You know we can’t promise that.” Loch laughed. “But, we’ll try.”
“We’ll keep working on it from here,” Holly said, glancing at Trevor,
