Chapter 2

Mom had been a vegetarian for 20 years. Whenever we ate out, she always ordered something meatless and never touched anything else.

Now, though, she was tearing into the steak like she couldn't get enough of it.

Dad noticed me staring and reached over to put some food on my plate. "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

Then I noticed something that made my blood run even colder.

Dad had been left-handed his entire life, yet he was using his right hand with effortless familiarity.

A chill crept over me as I watched my parents. Max, meanwhile, sat beside them without the slightest sign that anything was wrong.

If these people weren't really my parents, then Max and I were in serious danger.

After dinner, "Mom" and "Dad" suddenly suggested going to a family entertainment center and renting a private party suite. I was about to refuse, but Max immediately agreed.

With no other choice, I went with them.

Inside the private party room, colored lights flickered across their faces, making them look even more eerie and unnatural.

When my parents finally seemed to relax, I lightly nudged Max, who was busy eating from the fruit platter, intending to slip away with him.

Right then, I saw him stuffing handfuls of mango into his mouth.

Max was severely allergic to mangoes. The last time he accidentally ate a single bite, he nearly ended up in the ICU.

"What is it, Adam?"

He looked up at me, his eyes shining with a feverish excitement no eight-year-old should have had.

My hands trembled beneath the table, but I forced myself to stay calm. "Nothing. It's a little stuffy in here. I'm going outside for some air."

The moment the words left my mouth, I hurried out of the room and braced myself against the hallway wall, my heart pounding against my ribs.

This was too strange. Something was seriously wrong.

With shaking hands, I pulled out my phone. It took me several tries before I managed to call my best friend, Gabriel Tucker.

He answered before the third ring, sounding as casual as ever. "Hey. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

He sounded exactly like himself, with no trace of anything unusual.

"Gabriel, listen to me." I took a deep breath and lowered my voice. "What I'm about to tell you is going to sound completely insane, and you probably won't believe me. But you have to. I'm telling you the truth."

The seriousness in my voice startled him into silence.

I swallowed hard and told him everything, from the way my parents had acted after coming home to Max eating mangoes despite his allergy.

"Are you sure you're remembering everything correctly?" Gabriel asked cautiously. "Maybe your mom just decided to start eating meat again."

"That's impossible," I cut in, my voice shaking.

Gabriel finally realized I wasn't joking. His casual tone disappeared. "Find somewhere safe and hide. Don't go back into that room. I'm coming to get you. Stay alert and protect yourself."

After we hung up, some of the tension left my body, and I let out a long breath.

At least I could still trust Gabriel.

Just as I started to think I was safe for the moment, a cold chill crawled up my back.

I turned around and found "Mom", "Dad", and Max standing side by side at the far end of the hallway, staring directly at me.

Their faces were deathly pale, and their bodies were stiff and unnaturally still.

One of them spoke in a cold, flat voice.

"Who were you talking to?"