Our principal closed the service by giving a speech that brought us all to tears. Kate squeezed my hand as we got up from our seats and filed out of the rows of chairs to line up and pay our respects. An altar covered in framed photographs of the dead, flowers, and candles stood on the platform the speakers had presented from, and everyone in line passed by in a gloomy, teary procession. People left small gifts that had meaning between them and those that had been lost: friendship bracelets, a football, a ribbon that said “Daddy’s Little Girl,” and more photographs of the deceased and their friends and family. I decided then that I wanted to write letters to each of the families, to express my condolences for their losses. I left Landon’s rose in front of his picture and Kate took my hand and laid her cheek on my shoulder as we stopped to gaze at his picture. The three of us had been so close for nearly our entire lives, and it truly felt as if there was a hole in me now. I knew Kate had to feel the same. Losing Landon gave me so much sorrow, but I also felt an intense anger at the demonic who had done this to us. To all of us.

Kate and I went to meet up with Will, Marcus, and Ava afterward, who had accompanied us and kept a lookout. We rounded the bleachers where the students’ families sat, and a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the beams supporting the stands. I gaped in surprise when I recognized the red and puffy faces of Harper Knight, Josie Newport, and a couple of their friends. Harper released my arm roughly, glaring at me something vicious.

“What?” I asked, but I was more concerned with Josie’s appearance. She looked absolutely anguished, with fresh tears smeared across her cheeks and her usually perfect makeup and hair a total mess. “Are you okay?”

“We saw you,” Harper snarled, her face twisted in anger. “You know what really happened, don’t you?”

I stared, speechless. “I—”

Kate stepped between us, turning on her pit bull charm. “Hey. Back off. We have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“No, I think you do!” Harper shoved Kate and Kate would have swung her fist if I hadn’t caught it.

“Stop it!” Josie cried, and grabbed Harper’s shoulder. “Let’s just go.”

Harper ignored her. “Don’t lie to me, Ellie. We saw you with those monsters. We saw you with freaking swords. I’m not blind and I’m not the only one who saw! What did you do, you psycho? Did you kill those kids?”

I almost choked on the air in my lungs. “Oh my God! I lost one of my best friends too!”

“How dare you?” Kate demanded and shoved Harper in the chest, knocking her back. “What the hell is the matter with you?”

I started to walk away, feeling the tears stinging my eyes and nausea creeping up my throat. I already felt guilty enough for Landon’s death and the deaths of all the other people, but the last thing I could handle was being directly accused of killing them.

“We saw you, Ellie!” Harper yelled at my back. “You can’t deny it!”

I spun around and stomped right into her face. “You want to know what I was doing? I was trying to save you, bitch. You’d all be dead if I hadn’t been there! All of you!”

Kate took my arm. “Ell, don’t.”

I knew she was afraid of my blowing my cover, but I’d already lost my temper. “I don’t care anymore! Harper, you’re right. I do know what happened. Those monsters were real and I’m the only one who can kill them. That’s what those swords are for. I did everything I could that night. I fought. All I ever do is fight. And fighting you is not worth my time, so get out of my face.”

She gaped back at me, Josie whimpering beside her, their other friends silent. I spun and walked away as quickly as I could, Kate on my heels. Will appeared out of nowhere, pulling me into his arms to comfort me. Marcus stood behind him, watching the girls we’d just left with disgust, and Ava joined him, her own expression hard and angry.

Will lifted my chin to meet his gaze. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?”

I shrugged, exhausted and heartsick. “Yeah. Just someone giving me crap.”

He looked up suddenly and I was surprised to see Josie walking toward me, wiping her tears away with the thin sleeve of her shirt. Harper and the others were nowhere in sight.

“Ellie, I’m so sorry,” Josie sniffled. “I know I shouldn’t make excuses for her, but she’s angry and hurt. one of the kids who was killed was her new boyfriend. That doesn’t make it okay for her to lash out at you, though.”

I gave her a tiny, grateful smile. “I understand what it’s like to want someone to blame.”

Her eyes flickered to the ground and past my head, and she seemed hesitant. “Is what you said true? About those things that were in my house, killing people? I saw you with the swords too.” She looked at Will. “And you were there too. Do you really fight them?”

“You told her?” Will asked me, surprised.

“Yes,” I confessed. “They’re what killed my parents, Mr. Meyer, and those people at your party. I’m sorry I couldn’t save everyone. It’s impossible for me to, but I still try so hard.”

“Do you need any help?” she asked with genuine sweetness.

“I’ve got help,” I said. “Thank you. I’m about to leave, Josie. Tomorrow, actually. I have to find something very important that can help me stop something even worse than the monsters who killed our friends. If I don’t come back…if I never see you again…well, thank you for being kind, Josie. You’re a good person and you’ve always been nice to me.”