Haunting-Adeline

Jay stays quiet, seeming to realize his standard feel-be er responses are
moot.
I was there.
And I did nothing to stop it.
I open my mouth, ready to go on another tangent when another call
comes through. I glance at the phone and a feral snarl takes over my face.
“I have to go,” I snap, hanging up the phone on Jay and immediately
answering the call.
“Daniel. So nice to hear from you,” I greet. Like a blanket being thrown
over a fire, my tone is cool and collected.
“Zack, sorry to call so unexpectedly. I wanted to ask something of you.”
I lean back in my chair, rolling my neck, the muscles cracking loudly. My
eyes never stray from the computer screen displaying the picture of the
li le boy who was killed in the last video.
I’ll never forget him, but gluing my eyes to his face reminds me that
there’s more out there in the same situa on. And right now, that reminder
is the only thing keeping me from going ballis c.
I need my wits. If I lose it now, I’ll ruin what I’ve been working so hard
for.
“What can I do for you?”
“Consider it a preliminary ini a on. We have our hearts set on what
we'll be having for dinner this Saturday, and it’s really special. We want to
make sure this goes off without a hitch, so Friday, we decided to have
ourselves an appe zer, if you will.”
My brows crease, and a pit of dread forms in my stomach, like the sky
opening up and releasing a torren al downpour on a drowning city.
“Without a hitch?” I repeat, my tone dropping.
“Don’t take it personally. Most men who are ini ated have been around
for years. We're all taking a gamble here, so my superiors thought it best
we have dinner beforehand.”
The Society is tes ng me. My mind is already racing with how I’m going
to prevent a child from dying in front of my face without killing them all.
“Is that so?” I say, my tone intrigued.
“All I ask is Friday night, you meet me at a dinner party I’m hos ng.”
Friday is two days from now.