Chapter 7

Countless horrifying thoughts crawled into my head like poisonous snakes, gnawing away at my sanity.

"Alex? Alex! Are you listening to me?" Mom's voice boomed in my ear, yanking me back from the edge of a breakdown.

I jerked back to myself and gasped for breath, my whole body shaking.

"Mom, what is really going on?" My voice trembled, and I almost broke into tears.

"I can't give you a clear answer right now," Mom replied, her voice so calm that it was almost scary. Yet somehow, that calmness gave me a bit of strength.

"But there are a few…