Fog Island: A terrifying thriller set in a modern-day cult

I almost run right into him.

He’s on his way to the barn. Why, I don’t know. To sneak up on us, maybe.

Home. I know I have to run home before someone sees me.

But now he’s there, and my brain short-circuits.

My first thought is to knock him out and stash him in the barn with Lily. But I get distracted by the horrified look he’s giving me, and I realize I’m standing there in nothing but my underwear.

‘Fredrik, what are you doing?’

I take off, running across the property as fast as my legs will carry me.

He follows. I hear his thudding steps behind me; I hear his panting breaths and cracking twigs and his stupid voice repeating my name.

But I’m faster and I fly across the yard and into the woods, across the paths. I know where I’m heading now, but I don’t know why. The cliff is calling my name; I feel an incredible power pulling and sucking at me.

His panting fades away with distance.

By the time I reach the heath, I can’t hear him any longer.

The full moon, the black sea, and the cliff are ahead of me, and he is somewhere behind me.

I run out onto the rock and hesitate for a moment. I turn around and watch him appear on the heath.

‘Fredrik!’ he shouts. He’s so loud that he startles an owl, which flaps up against the dark sky.

Then I see the flickering of the fire I’ve left behind. The barn is burning.

I get ready, then dive. My body cuts through the water like a knife.

And then I’m gone.

13 (#ulink_27bcc5f0-2f95-5ab2-8f92-996eb23ec996)

Spring came early. All the snow was washed away by rain in late March. A powerful area of high pressure settled just off the island and within a few days, the average temperature had risen from below freezing to thirteen Celsius. Everything came to life at once: birds, insects, and plants.

She was almost done with the library. Benjamin had outdone himself and brought all the books to her, thanks to innumerable ferry crossings, and now they were all arranged on the shelves, smelling terrific. The computer system had been installed and the furniture had arrived. It was five-thirty in the morning, and she was there for one final check. Everything had to be perfect before Oswald saw it.