Stolen Tongues

Several weeks go by, and Faye improves. They move into a condo outside the city and begin to feel hopeful.

One day, Nathan calls, telling Felix to let him speak “to the one who followed you home” (216). Felix hands the phone to Faye. When Nathan speaks, Faye vomits black bile all over the carpet. Faye staggers to the bathroom while Felix bolts outside, trying to calm down.

Nathan tells Felix that Tíwé’s body was found at the entrance to a cave. He was naked and mutilated; something took his skin, hair, and teeth. A friend’s grandfather told Nathan that the Impostors hunt and kill randomly, salvaging pieces of their victims’ bodies for their use. What they love most is conquering someone from “within,” and Nathan surmises that this is what the Impostor hopes for with Faye.

The gray stain on the carpet looks like a small man. It’s been over three weeks since Faye sleepwalked, but after a movie marathon one night, Felix finds her asleep, talking to someone and running her fingers over the stain on the rug. Felix wakes her and helps her to bed. On the way up, she spews black vomit again, all over the wall.