"Stop biting your nails."

I snapped my hand away from my mouth, curling my fingers into my palm. How did Liz know I was doing it? She wasn't even looking at me.

"Sorry," I said.

She tilted her head to the side, cracking her neck loudly. We sat on the bench behind the small, plastic dining table. Her leg was so close to mine, I could almost feel the contact. My entire body was on edge—all of my muscles tensed.

"I don't know if it's a good idea for Jake to be out there by himself," I said.

"He's a grown ass man, Alex." She turned to me. "He can take care of himself."

"I know." I glanced around the bus uneasily, gripping the worn vinyl of the seat. Everything was still the same as before, just tilted about ten degrees from normal. It was like I was in a pretend world—one that looked identical to the one I knew, except the force of gravity had been tugged a hair out of whack. The sense that something wasn't right—that something was watching us—clung to the back of my mind. I couldn't shake it.

"What are you worried is going to happen to him out there?" Liz leaned forward, running her hands down her designer ripped jeans. Her fingers almost brushed against my leg, but she shifted to avoid the contact. Instead, she rested one elbow on the table, holding her chin in her hand.

"I don't know. He could get attacked by bears, maybe. Wolves."

"Wolves?" Liz forced a laugh, and then she actually laughed. "Really, Alex?" She shoved my shoulder playfully. "You've been hanging out with Wolfpack too much." She paused for a second as she chuckled. "I swear, their drummer, Beck, actually thinks he's a werewolf. Every time we drink with them, he goes on and on to me about it."

I smirked at her. "He's just telling you that to make himself seem interesting because he wants to get in your pants."

Liz rolled her eyes.

"You know I'm right. Can't blame the guy, though. You're hot as hell, Liz."

Her face blushed pink, and she tried to hide the fact that she was smiling. She tugged her lips down over her teeth.

"Have you gotten with him yet?" I asked.

"No," she responded immediately. "I mean . . . what? This is a really awkward conversation, Alex."

"It's okay, I know. Take your time getting over me, Liz." I pretended to yawn. "I've been told I can be a tough act to follow. Beck should already know that, though, considering we open every show for them." I grinned at her.

"Oh my God." Liz put her hand to her forehead and covered her face. Her body shook as she held in a laugh. "That is one of the worst jokes you've ever told, Alex."

"But it still made you laugh."

Liz turned to me, her lips pressed together in a soft smile. "I'm going to make something to eat. Do you want anything?"

"I'm all right," I said. My head was still aching, killing any appetite I might have had.

Liz nodded and pushed herself to her feet.

I leaned back, my eyes getting heavy. As my energy dipped, a chill ran over me. I stood, trying to get my blood going again.

How long had Jake been outside? I turned around and peeled back the blinds, but the night was black as ink. I squinted out the window toward the road, but it was pointless. The dim light from the interior of the bus glared off the glass, and I couldn't see a thing.

The sound of a thousand tiny stones tumbling echoed through the bus.

I glanced over my shoulder. Liz was pouring a bowl of cereal.

Cold sweat slicked the back of my neck, and I shivered. I needed to put on warmer clothes. Taking off my denim jacket, I headed toward the aft end of the bus to get changed. I kneeled in front of my bunk and pulled out my duffel bag. After sifting through it, I finally found a clean T-shirt I'd gotten at a Taking Back Sunday concert. I threw it on and then pulled a black hoodie over my head.

As I stood, my head spun, and my vision went dark for a second. I clutched my temple and braced myself against the bunk.

I need to sleep. I need to sleep.

My eyelids blinked shut for second. Outside a gust of wind howled through the woods like a wolf whining in the distance. My eyes watered as I opened them. I couldn't keep them shut. I thought about Jake alone by the road in the dark, and a lump sat in my throat like a pill I couldn't swallow.

I should go outside and check on him.

I willed my legs to move, imagining the motion of walking. Down the aisle, through the door, and up the ditch. But my feet wouldn't budge. Instead, I stared at the bunk in front of me—motionless—thinking about sleep.

I need to sleep.

Whispers drifted from behind the divider—from the section of the bus where Reggie and Veronica slept.

"It's going to be okay," Reggie whispered, but he sounded distant. Muted. "We'll get out of here soon."

Veronica whimpered softly in response, but I heard no words. If she said anything at all, it was too hushed for me to hear it.

"Please, try to get some sleep," Reggie begged. His voice echoed through the night, like it was coming from outside the bus.

"Sleep . . ."

What the hell . . .

"Alex?" A hand gripped me by the shoulder.

I snapped my head around.

Liz was standing behind me. She frowned, her pierced eyebrows turned down in concern. "You okay?"

I pinched my eyes shut once before reopening them, clearing my vision. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Your hands are shaking." She reached out as if to calm me, but she froze before touching my hands.

My fingers curled into my palms as I fought off the shakes. I focused on my breathing.

Trees groaned and creaked outside, but the bus was silent. I listened for the voices on the other side of the divider again, but Reggie and Veronica had gone quiet. Nothing.

"Maybe you should try eating something," Liz suggested, pulling my attention back to her. "When was the last time you ate?"

I shook my head. "I'm all right. Just a bit tired, you know?"

She frowned. "You want to lie down? I can turn out the lights, and you can try to get some sleep if you want. I promise I won't tell Jake." She smiled faintly. "Besides, I've heard it's just a myth that you aren't supposed to sleep if you have a concussion."

I ran my hand back through my hair as my headache pounded behind my temples. All I wanted to do was close my eyes, but I knew it would be useless.

"I don't think I'd be able to sleep regardless," I replied. "I'll just stay up."

"Okay." She nodded and headed back towards the front of the bus, but she stopped when she reached the doorway. "You're still having nightmares, aren't you?"

I froze when she said it. I'd told her about my nightmares when we were together, but I'd always acted like they weren't significant. I hadn't wanted to burden her with something like that—something that wasn't even real. It surprised me that she remembered.

"I heard you screaming in your sleep again a few nights ago." She leaned against the doorway, looking at the floor as she spoke to avoid eye contact.

My breath caught in my throat as a chill rushed through me. I didn't know I screamed in my sleep. I didn't even remember the details of the nightmares. Or, at least not all of them. All I knew was waking up paralyzed with dread and terror—an enormous weight pressing down on my chest as the world slipped apart around me.

"How long have I screamed in my sleep?" My voice came out quieter than I'd intended.

"It's not every night, but you always have." She drummed her fingers lightly on the wall. "At least since I can remember."

I paused for a second. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She finally turned to face me. "Alex, I thought . . ." Her brow furrowed. "Wait, you didn't know?"

"No." I shook my head.

"I would have told you if I'd known." She bit her lower lip. "I didn't want to bring it up if it was something you were embarrassed about."

I frowned, trying to think. A part of me was desperate to know what the nightmares might mean. The memories always rushed away the moment I woke up.

"Have I . . ." I trailed off, unsure how to ask. "Do I ever scream words?"

Liz let out an audible sigh, and her gaze turned to her feet before she looked back to me. "I tried to wake you up once while you were screaming. You opened your eyes and yelled at me to get the fuck out of your head."

"Liz." I reached out to her, but she was too far away. I felt like I was falling. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's fine." She shrugged and blinked a few times. "You were dreaming. It just scared me when it happened. It was like it wasn't you—"

A sudden gust of wind rushed through the trees outside like a wave crashing over a beach, cutting off her sentence. The moan of limbs cracking echoed through the woods. Liz flinched and glanced behind herself before turning back to me.

"It's loud outside," she said, which was a weird way to phrase it, but I had been thinking the exact same thing.

I nodded and glanced toward the window. I imagined Jake sitting alone in the cold and the dark, staring down the road and waiting for a car to come by. I remembered the pickup truck we'd almost hit. Its headlights glared like the eyes of a devil as it drove toward us, right down the center of the road.

Who does something like that . . .  runs another vehicle off into a ditch and then doesn't even stop? It was like it was on a mission. Like it wanted this to happen.

I shuddered as I thought about it, and then the sound of wolves howling screamed through the night like a distant siren. This time, I was sure I wasn't just imagining things.

"I'm going to go check on Jake," I said. Before Liz could stop me, I headed for the door.