Opening
With police closing in, James Carson bolts with his wife and daughters, and three murdered women—Brecia, Meghan, and Skye—race to stop him. Over a frantic escape and a night in a remote cabin, the ghosts learn how to reach the living, and April awakens to the truth about the man beside her.
What Happens
Chapter 36: The Escape
The ghosts of Brecia Collier, Meghan, and Skye arrive at the Carson house just as James Carson panics—his minivan crammed, order forgotten. Inside sit his wife, April Carson, and their daughters, Emma and Kimmie Carson, already buckled and silent. The spirits realize Detective Domanska won’t make it in time.
Pooling their strength, the ghosts blast out the headlights and taillights. The engine still roars to life. James catches April with her phone, yanks it away, and dashes inside to ditch it. As he reverses, the ghosts slip into the van. If no one else can bear witness, they will.
Chapter 37: The Drive to Cascade
During the tense two-hour drive to a remote cabin, James grips the wheel and watches for sirens that never come. April finally asks the question: If he’s innocent, why are they running? She pleads for the detective’s exact words and begs for an explanation, the scene steeped in Deception and Duality.
James responds with clipped anger, blaming Nina and the Utah detective. When April mentions his estranged mother, Marjorie, and wonders about the origin of his scars, his hand leaves the wheel; April flinches like she expects a blow. At the dilapidated cabin, rust-red water sputters from the faucet—a grim omen of what waits in the dark.
Chapter 38: A Glimpse of the Afterlife
The wilderness rattles Meghan, who remembers where her body was dumped. She confides that she can’t watch James hurt this family and will “disappear for good.” Then she reveals what lies beyond: she has found her “Bubbie” within a living memory of baking challah—a gateway to an “expanding universe of connected consciousnesses,” a network of ancestors and peace that reframes Afterlife and Sisterhood.
James’s fury cuts in. He barks at April for a black backpack. April stands her ground, scolds him for scaring the girls, then fetches it from the van. Brecia recognizes April’s emergency kit. The ghosts’ newfound spiritual calm collides with the escalating danger in the cabin.
Chapter 39: The Tarp and the Shovel
James empties the pack: cash, survival gear. Brecia explains it’s a church-inspired “72-hour kit,” repurposed as a fugitive’s lifeline. James softens, cooks dinner, and apologizes—manipulation wrapped in domestic routine. After the girls sleep, April prays. Skye proposes a bold plan: meet April in her dreams.
Waiting, the ghosts watch James count rations. His face falls—food enough for a month, not the six he imagined. His mood darkens. He unfolds a tarp, sizing it against his body, then steps outside, hefts a shovel, tests its balance, and sets it down. Meghan collapses, sure he means to kill his family. The theme of Predation and Violence Against Women shifts from strangers to wife and children.
Chapter 40: The Awakening
Brecia lies beside sleeping April and whispers the truth: James murdered Brecia, and he will harm April and the girls. April bolts awake, hyperventilating, fixed on the quiet monster in her bed. The ghosts realize they can reach the living.
Regret crashes over Brecia, but Skye keeps her focused. April tiptoes to her daughters. Instead of fleeing, she slides to the floor, shaking and weeping as the truth unmoors her. She understands the danger. What she does next is unknown.
Character Development
The section exposes James’s unraveling, catalyzes April’s awakening, and transforms the ghosts from passive observers into active protectors.
- James Carson: His veneer of control shatters. He’s volatile, paranoid, and calculating—measuring tarps, weighing shovels, and recasting care as control.
- April Carson: She moves from denial to recognition. Her questions give way to a visceral, dream-triggered awakening that leaves her terrified but finally informed.
- Brecia, Meghan, and Skye: They evolve into a true sisterhood, consolidating power, sharing knowledge of the afterlife, and discovering they can influence the living through dreams.
Themes & Symbols
Predation intensifies as domestic space becomes a hunting ground. James reframes a family escape as safety while preparing tools of disposal. The cabin, isolated and decaying, concentrates his control and isolates his victims. Deception operates on every level: a road trip masquerades as an “adventure” for children; an apology doubles as manipulation; a survival kit morphs into a killer’s go-bag.
Meghan’s vision of the afterlife reframes death from emptiness into connection. This shared consciousness offers comfort and agency, anchoring the ghosts’ courage and purpose. Their bond is not only emotional solidarity but spiritual infrastructure—an antidote to James’s isolating violence.
Symbols:
- The rust-red water: A stain of violence foreshadowing bloodshed and decay within a place meant to shelter.
- The tarp and the shovel: Everyday tools recast as instruments of premeditated murder, echoing James’s methods and signaling his family is now a target.
- The “72-hour kit”: A perverted symbol of preparedness and care, now fueling escape and potential harm.
Key Quotes
“Disappear for good.” Meghan’s despair underscores the psychic cost of witnessing repeated violence. Her threat to leave heightens stakes and sets up the counter-revelation of a connected afterlife.
“Bubbie.” Anchoring the afterlife in a specific, loving relationship situates the supernatural within domestic memory, transforming death into continuity and comfort.
“Expanding universe of connected consciousnesses.” This phrase reframes the ghosts’ mission: they aren’t trapped; they’re tethered—to ancestry, to one another, and now to April—turning grief into power.
“72-hour kit.” A term of safety becomes a chilling emblem of duality, showing how care can be weaponized when placed in the wrong hands.
“Adventure.” Framing the flight for the children as fun exposes James’s manipulation and the split between image and reality that defines his violence.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
These chapters pivot the story from solving past crimes to preventing new ones. James, cornered and more dangerous, redirects his predation toward his family. The ghosts’ breakthrough—communicating through dreams—turns them into agents, not witnesses, and directly triggers April’s awakening. The novel’s tension spikes as survival eclipses justice: the central question becomes whether April and her daughters can live through the night—and whether the ghosts can help them do it.