Hide and Seeker

The voice belongs to Carla, who arrives with her twin brother, Quincy. Known for being a bully, Carla mocks Justin’s ears and taunts Lyric about his father being in jail.

Mrs. Murphy brings drinks but quickly refuses Lyric’s offer to get Zee, suggesting that they play a game while they wait. The kids propose options like freeze tag until Shae Davidson arrives and recommends hide-and-seek. Shae isn’t that close with Zee; she also hates to sweat, so her suggestion surprises them. 

Justin is unsettled when Shae’s eyes briefly turn black, but he explains the rules of the game—hiding outside only and using the big tree as a home base. During the first round, several players break the rules by revealing hiding spots.

Zee hurries outside, yelling at Shae that she can’t be there. He’s frantic and has long, glowing scratches on his arms. Justin tries to calm Zee, who chants a creepy rhyme: “Out of the darkness, no more light, now it comes to steal your life. On this day you’ve sealed your fate, by playing what it loves to hate. Once you’re tagged, then you’ll know. The mark appears, it’s your time to go” (24). Zee leaps off the porch toward Shae.

Startled by Zee’s outburst, the kids scatter. He shouts about needing to stop “it” and warns that they can’t let “it” win. Shae, Carla, and Quincy run away. Justin approaches Zee, who is momentarily apologetic and gentle. However, he unexpectedly lunges at Justin, chanting ominous rhymes. Lyric pulls Zee off Justin.

Justin, Nia, and Lyric are confused and alarmed by Zee’s erratic behavior. Mrs. Murphy rushes outside and embraces her son. She explains that Zee became angry when she mentioned the party, but she hoped that seeing his friends might help.

Zee continues with unsettling rhymes, including a counting chant about the number 400 releasing “it” from slumber. His cryptic warnings unnerve Justin, who worries that his friend might stay this way forever. Overwhelmed, Justin has a panic attack and bolts from the scene. As he runs through the neighborhood, a white blur speeds toward him.

Lyric pulls Justin back just as a white ice cream van nearly hits him. The driver, Hyde Miller, screeches to a stop. Nia scolds Hyde for driving recklessly, but Hyde claims that Justin should’ve looked both ways. Their argument grows heated until Hyde mentions picking up the ice cream cart from Zee’s house. When they tell him that they played hide-and-seek at the party, Hyde is strangely interested. Looking haunted, he drives off.

Justin, Lyric, and Nia try to analyze Zee’s behavior and his rhymes. The words are cryptic, and they decide that his behavior is due to Zee’s lack of sleep and possible trauma from his disappearance.

When Justin gets home, a gas company worker hands him an overdue bill. Since their mother’s death, he and his 19-year-old sister, Victoria, have struggled to make ends meet. Victoria juggles college and two jobs, but their financial burden is heavy.

In his room, Justin feels nostalgic over his puzzle boxes. He loved making puzzles with his mother and now always carries a puzzle piece in his pocket. Before he falls asleep, Justin hears an ominous voice telling him that a game of hide-and-seek will start tomorrow, when his fears will take over.

Justin jerks awake from a nightmare. Victoria is at work. He sees a news report saying that Shae Davidson went missing yesterday from a dance camp two hours away. Justin knows that’s impossible; Shae was at Zee’s party.

Nia and Quincy arrive at Justin’s house. They discuss the impossibility of Shae being in two places at once. Quincy is distraught because Carla is also missing, and he carries a backpack of supplies for Carla. Nia suggests that the police might question them and wonders if Shae could have a double. All three of them also heard the same words in a dark voice last night before they had nightmares. They speculate about kidnappers and strange coincidences.

Quincy recalls Carla getting a black mark on her wrist before disappearing—a mark that burned her skin. Justin recalls Zee chanting about a mark. Nia insists that they confront Zee for answers. When they arrive at his house, however, they find the place in chaos, with furniture overturned and plants shattered. Suddenly, a hand reaches out and pulls them inside.

Lyric pulls them into Zee’s house, explaining that Mrs. Murphy went out, so he’s been watching Zee. Lyric heard the same threatening voice and had nightmares the previous night. He insists that Justin lead the way to check on Zee.

Zee’s room is unrecognizable. The walls are covered in disturbing black images—grotesque monsters that Zee never painted before. Zee barely acknowledges them. He responds in short bursts and then starts drawing stick figures with their names, crossing them off one by one—Justin, Nia, Lyric, Carla, and Quincy. He also has the same black mark on his wrist as Carla.

Zee apologizes, saying that he had to leave the “bad place,” but then he frightens them further with chants about being taken to a land of fear. Panicked, they rush out and bolt the door, but Zee slams against it, almost breaking it.

The group dashes outside to process the situation. When they suggest telling the police, Lyric argues that they won’t be believed—he doesn’t trust the police, who wrongfully arrested his father. 

Quincy’s wrist burns as the dark mark appears on it. Justin realizes that Zee’s rhymes weren’t a threat but a warning. They decide to visit Rodrigo, Zee’s art camp roommate, hoping that he has answers since Zee vanished from camp.

Before they leave, Mrs. Murphy returns with groceries. The kids ask her if she invited Shae to the party, but she denies it. They wonder who or what was really at the party.