“Ha ha, very funny,” Danny replied.

“I’m serious! This is creepy!”

“The cable just went out. That’s-” Danny’s eyes rolled back in his head.

“The cable… cable’s out,” Danny mumbled. “But not just… it’s been… the cable’s been cut. Pulled out the wires, no phone.” Danny closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose. A trickle of blood ran down the furrow between his nose and upper lip.

“Your nose is bleeding,” Pete whispered.

Danny wiped the blood away with the back of his hand and looked around. Then he turned out the lights and television, darkening the room. Pete started to speak, but Danny shushed him.

“I have what you might call a talent,” Danny whispered. “Since I was little. You might say… I notice things. A man I knew, a cook at the hotel where my… where my father died had a name for it-”

“Dude, I’ve met your dad.”

“My stepdad. My real dad… died… when I was five. You’d never believe the whole story if I told you. Doesn’t matter anyway. We’re in danger, Pete.”