Clever Creatures of the Night by Samantha Mabry

Author:Samantha Mabry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Published: 2024-01-09T17:57:59+00:00

FOUR

At this point, Case is caught in a time loop. She’s outside again, sitting at the picnic table. Troy is across from her, again with a pitcher of ice water and a half-full glass, again biting down softly on a toothpick. He’s gazing into the trees, seemingly lost in thought. Case is sitting across from him, taking sips from her glass of water, pretending she wouldn’t rather grab the pitcher and chug the whole thing.

Abby is in her lounge chair under the limbs of the oak. She’s wearing her cop sunglasses. Her legs are stretched out, crossed at the ankles. Her sneakers are in the grass, probably being swarmed by ants, and her can of bug spray is within reach.

It’s virtually the same scene as before, except for the sky. The haze has moved in fully, blocking out the direct sun, creating this weird filter that causes everything to be the color of a too-ripe peach. It isn’t cooler, necessarily. But it’s like a dome has been placed over this part of the world, and things are quieter and without wind. The shadows of the house and the trees don’t move. The air doesn’t move.

Case takes a breath and scans her body. This is another trick from all that therapy: slow your breathing, check in with yourself. Her head is pretty clear, but there’s a slight throbbing behind her right ear, and something like a tickle in the crease of her right arm. Is this the result of the air or stress or an insect bite, or is it the start of something truly agonizing? Case doesn’t know yet. She glances at the watch on Troy’s wrist and counts the hours. It’s just now four. She took a pill before nine. She shouldn’t really need another one yet, but her pain doesn’t come like clockwork.

When she’d made her way back to the house, Case had tried to keep quiet, assuming Troy and Abby were either still going at it or napping half-naked in each other’s arms.

But they weren’t. They were already out here. Sitting. Sitting silently in their respective places.

There’s no reason to sit out here. Unless you somehow think you are better than this weather. Unless you somehow think the ash in the sky amplifies your radiance as opposed to clogging up your organs.

The hawks are also here again, stuck in the same time loop, perched on opposite sides of the roof. They’re not facing each other, but Case can tell that each is very much aware of the other. They’re assessing each other out of the corner of their eyes. One of them ruffles its pebble-colored feathers just slightly, and then the other does the same. They’re playing macho head games.

Again, there’s a wasp, doing what wasps do. It’s hovering not above the table this time, but near a window off to the side of the house, tap-tapping against the glass pane as if it wants inside. It flies away, up to its nest, only to return a few moments later to resume its tapping.

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