Page 41 of Black Hollow: Awakening

“Have mercy, I’m begging you,” Will groaned.

Norma snorted with laughter.

“Okay, so why are you calling, really?”

“Do you know what happened near your house last night?”

“Mmm… Besides an awesome party? Oh, wait. That was at my house, I forgot. Anyway, you took off pretty quick.”

“I’m talking about what Liam and Blake found in the forest,” Will added in a low voice.

Norma went silent for a moment.

“I didn’t know you were there for that.”

“I stumbled upon it by accident. Was she a girl from our school?”

“No, a uni student from New Wing. You probably didn’t know her.”

“Do you know who did it yet?”

“No. We’ll find out, it’s just a matter of time. Like I said, we handle problems in our community ourselves.”

“And what if it wasn’t one of us who did it, but… you know… a regular person?”

“Either way, we’ll handle it ourselves. If someone messes with us, they’re asking for trouble.”

“Can I help somehow?”

“I really appreciate the offer, but you’d be a bit of a hindrance at the moment,” Norma confessed, and Will immediately understood what she meant. “You’re still not quite in control.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“It’s a tough situation, but you know what? When we’re dealing with something smaller, I’ll let you know and you can come with us. So you can see how things work.”

“Thanks.”

“Ciao for now, Buzzy.”

“Buzzy?” Will repeated, snorting in disbelief.

“Well, yeah. ‘Cause everything around you goes bzz.”

Will rolled his eyes.

“I’m never calling you again.”

“You’re just jealous of my creativity!” Norma laughed. “See you Monday.”

“Bye.”

They hung up, but barely a minute later, Norma was calling him again.

“Any more ideas?” he asked, answering the call with a dramatic sigh.

“One, but it’s about something completely different,” Norma replied, sounding more serious than usual. “Until we figure out what’s going on, you shouldn’t really go out alone. I mean, going out during the day or to crowded places is fine, but you should probably avoid evening walks, okay?”

“Why?”