bed in the drawer of a small end table and right now he was just glad he hadn’t gone for it. That would not have turned out well for either of them.
His dad flicked on his bedside light. Glass shards glinted up at Daniel from the floor all around his bare feet.
Keeping the knife hidden, he stared at the broken glass.
A knife. Wh y do yo u have a knife?
His heart was hammering and he felt overcome by a caustic kind of fear.
Typically, his dad kept the flip-flops that he wore around the house beside his bed, and now he slipped them on and stood. “Don’t move. I don’t want you stepping on any of that glass. I’ll grab a broom and a dustpan.”
He disappeared into the hallway and Daniel dropped the knife behind the dresser where his father wouldn’t see it and where he could retrieve it in the morning.
What’s going on?
You’re starting to lose it.
You’re—
His dad returned, swept up the broken glass, and emptied it in the bathroom trash can.
“So you’re okay?” he asked.
“I’m good.”
“Get some sleep.” It didn’t seem like a command. It sounded like the words were spoken more out of concern than anything else.
“Okay.”
After climbing back into bed, Daniel closed his eyes but couldn’t sleep. His mind just kept replaying what had happened.
It’s getting worse.
You need to start taking that medication before it’s too late. Before yo u do something yo u’ll regret. Something that can’t be undone.
Although he wasn’t sure it would make much of a difference, he locked his bedroom door, located his backpacking tent in his closet, untied one of the ropes from the rainfly, looped one end around his ankle, and tied the other end to the bed frame.
He made sure the knot was secure enough so that he wouldn’t be able to untie it in his sleep. That way, if he did sleepwalk again, the rope would stop him from going into his dad’s room.
But in the end, none of that mattered because he hardly slept at all.
He just lay there thinking about waking up in his dad’s bedroom holding that knife, and hearing that voice in his head telling him that the knife was hungry for blood.
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
8:01 A.M.
After untying the rope from his ankle, Daniel stowed it with his camping gear.
He couldn’t get the whole deal with the knife out of his head.
Wh y on earth would yo u have done that? What could have led yo u to get that knife, to go into yo ur dad’s room like that? What were yo u going to do with it in there?
He waited until he heard the shower start in the bathroom before slipping into his dad’s bedroom, then he gently eased the dresser to the side and located the hunting knife.
The blade was designed specifically for cutting through muscle and flesh. It was the one he used to gut deer.
Nicole had never been too excited about him hunting, but without an adequate number of natural predators in the state, the deer population needed to be culled or problems with overpopulation—specifically disease—could decimate the herd.
She knew this, of course she did, and the last thing she wanted was for the deer to suffer, but still, she hadn’t warmed up to the idea of anyone shooting them—let alone her boyfriend.
The running water in the bathroom’s shower stopped.
Daniel slid the dresser back in place, returned to his bedroom, and replaced the knife in its sheath in his closet.
He was halfway through with breakfast when his dad joined him in the kitchen. “You’re up early for a Saturday.”
“I didn’t sleep so well.”
His dad went for some bagels and an apple. “Do you remember sleepwalking last night?”
“I remember waking up in yo ur bedroom.” He left it at that.
“You knocked over a picture. I was concerned you might step on the glass.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“I have to say, you startled me. You feeling alright?”
“Yeah. Sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“I’m a little tired, but I’m
His dad flicked on his bedside light. Glass shards glinted up at Daniel from the floor all around his bare feet.
Keeping the knife hidden, he stared at the broken glass.
A knife. Wh y do yo u have a knife?
His heart was hammering and he felt overcome by a caustic kind of fear.
Typically, his dad kept the flip-flops that he wore around the house beside his bed, and now he slipped them on and stood. “Don’t move. I don’t want you stepping on any of that glass. I’ll grab a broom and a dustpan.”
He disappeared into the hallway and Daniel dropped the knife behind the dresser where his father wouldn’t see it and where he could retrieve it in the morning.
What’s going on?
You’re starting to lose it.
You’re—
His dad returned, swept up the broken glass, and emptied it in the bathroom trash can.
“So you’re okay?” he asked.
“I’m good.”
“Get some sleep.” It didn’t seem like a command. It sounded like the words were spoken more out of concern than anything else.
“Okay.”
After climbing back into bed, Daniel closed his eyes but couldn’t sleep. His mind just kept replaying what had happened.
It’s getting worse.
You need to start taking that medication before it’s too late. Before yo u do something yo u’ll regret. Something that can’t be undone.
Although he wasn’t sure it would make much of a difference, he locked his bedroom door, located his backpacking tent in his closet, untied one of the ropes from the rainfly, looped one end around his ankle, and tied the other end to the bed frame.
He made sure the knot was secure enough so that he wouldn’t be able to untie it in his sleep. That way, if he did sleepwalk again, the rope would stop him from going into his dad’s room.
But in the end, none of that mattered because he hardly slept at all.
He just lay there thinking about waking up in his dad’s bedroom holding that knife, and hearing that voice in his head telling him that the knife was hungry for blood.
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
8:01 A.M.
After untying the rope from his ankle, Daniel stowed it with his camping gear.
He couldn’t get the whole deal with the knife out of his head.
Wh y on earth would yo u have done that? What could have led yo u to get that knife, to go into yo ur dad’s room like that? What were yo u going to do with it in there?
He waited until he heard the shower start in the bathroom before slipping into his dad’s bedroom, then he gently eased the dresser to the side and located the hunting knife.
The blade was designed specifically for cutting through muscle and flesh. It was the one he used to gut deer.
Nicole had never been too excited about him hunting, but without an adequate number of natural predators in the state, the deer population needed to be culled or problems with overpopulation—specifically disease—could decimate the herd.
She knew this, of course she did, and the last thing she wanted was for the deer to suffer, but still, she hadn’t warmed up to the idea of anyone shooting them—let alone her boyfriend.
The running water in the bathroom’s shower stopped.
Daniel slid the dresser back in place, returned to his bedroom, and replaced the knife in its sheath in his closet.
He was halfway through with breakfast when his dad joined him in the kitchen. “You’re up early for a Saturday.”
“I didn’t sleep so well.”
His dad went for some bagels and an apple. “Do you remember sleepwalking last night?”
“I remember waking up in yo ur bedroom.” He left it at that.
“You knocked over a picture. I was concerned you might step on the glass.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“I have to say, you startled me. You feeling alright?”
“Yeah. Sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“I’m a little tired, but I’m
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