Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow

by Rainbow Rowell

“Simon?” someone calls. I think it’s Baz, but he sounds wrong. Like he’s out of breath or in pain. “Baz? Are you okay?” “No, no . . . Simon!” Then I see Baz ahead of me, twenty feet or so, leaning against a tree. The Humdrum is above us now, sitting on a low branch, watching. Baz’s head hangs low. I rush forward. “Baz!” He lifts his face, and it’s wrong, too. Twisted. His eyes are dilated and black, and his mouth is full of white knives—his lips have retracted to make room for them. I should back away, but instead I squeeze between the trees to try to get to him. It’s Baz who backs away from me. “Something’s wrong,” he says. “I’m hungry.” “Baz, you’re always hungry.” “No. It’s different.” He shakes his head and shoulders like an animal. “I saw you in the forest,” he says. “Just now. But you were young—you looked like you did the very first time I saw you.” His words are slurred. Like he’s shoving them through his teeth. “I thought for a minute that you were dead. I thought it was a Visiting.” “It wasn’t me.” I take a step towards him. “You saw the Humdrum.” “You touched me,” he says. “I leaned down and you put your hand on my face.” “It isn’t me,” I say.