Kelsey: Omg

Kelsey: That was crazy :D

Jenny: ya

Kelsey: I watched you jump

Jenny: you did???

Kelsey: Had to see it for myself

Kelsey: I'm hiding again don't worry :3

Kelsey: Gonna wait til his mom leaves and ride bus home

Kelsey: I think she's really mad

Kelsey: Tyler and mitch left

Kelsey: Its super quiet :/

Jenny: you ok?

Kelsey: Ya

Kelsey: Just hungry :P

Kelsey: Can you make food appear?

Jenny: not on chat plz

Kelsey: Oh sorry D:

Kelsey: I forgot

Jenny: and no

Jenny: cant sorry

Kelsey: Damn

Kelsey: You going home?

Jenny: ya

Jenny: got right on the bus

Kelsey: Bad signal too

Kelsey: I cant even watch anything >:[

Jenny: sorry

Kelsey: Entertain me! :D

Jenny: with what

Kelsey: I dunno

Kelsey: Hows you and quinn going?

Jenny: me and quinn???

Kelsey: You guys going out

Kelsey: Duh :3

Jenny: umm

Jenny: i dunno

Jenny: hes in cali

Kelsey: And?

Kelsey: You've been texting him right?

Jenny: no?

Kelsey: D: You gotta text him!

Jenny: ill just talk to him when he gets back

Kelsey: What if he meets some cool girl in California? D: D: D:

Jenny: what

Jenny: he went there for his family…

Kelsey: You never know

Jenny: whatever

Kelsey: You guys are so cute :3

Jenny: stop

Kelsey: never! :D

Jenny: hey kelsey

Kelsey: What's up?

Jenny: umm

Jenny: i keep hearing things

Kelsey: Like what? :O

Kelsey: Is this about you-know-what?

Jenny: it might be

Jenny: i thought i heard someone say awakened on the bus before

Jenny: and now i think i just heard it again

Kelsey: I dunno what that means

Jenny: its

Jenny: nevermind

Jenny: i shouldnt have said

Kelsey: Come on! D:

Kelsey: Jenny?

Jenny: sorry it was my stop

Jenny: walking toward my house now

Kelsey: Where do you live anyway :O

Jenny: cant say sorry

Kelsey: Not even for your beeeeeest frieeeeeeeeeend? :*(

Jenny: not allowed

Kelsey: Lame

Jenny: uhh

Kelsey: What?

Kelsey: Jenny?

Kelsey: You still there?

Kelsey: Hello???

Natalie had sent the message. More than once. She tried calling, too, but nothing happened. She tapped on the blank stretch of wall behind the old abandoned convenience store, but it wouldn't budge. She even kicked it a couple times, even though she had no idea why that might change anything.

What's going on…? They'd never failed to open the door for her before, no matter the time of day. If nothing else, the Laushires were really reliable on that. Natalie wondered sometimes if it was actually automatic when she sent the text message somehow, as if the magic were linked to her phone.

Probably not. She sat down against a tree trunk in the small park next to the store. She had a growing cascade of messages from Kelsey, wondering where she'd gone, but Natalie was too worried to answer those. She hopped onto the website, but no one was on. She messaged Cinza, Hailey, anyone, but didn't get an answer. Finally, frustrated and afraid, Natalie checked the news.

Oh my god.

They were all talking about it. About magic. Awakening. Rallsburg.

It wasn't a secret anymore.

Oh no.

Natalie sprang up, running back to the blank wall. "Let me in," she cried, pounding her fist on the bricks. "Please."

There was no answer. Natalie had been gone too long, and the Laushires were hiding again. Just like they had in Rallsburg at the end, when she'd been sent by Rachel to try and get people into their secret market to hide. She'd run into exactly the same thing — pounding her fists against an empty wall, while desperate people waited behind her for help that wasn't coming, until they had to run away again as soon as the monsters caught up.

Except this time, she didn't have Gwen with her, or Hailey and Jessica swooping over the town giving directions, or Rachel trying to solve the problem. She felt it sinking in slowly, steadily, like a storm brewing in her chest, terror erupting through her whole body.

Natalie was stuck on the outside again, in a city that had already shown her how much it was willing to hurt her, and she was alone.