The Gardener

by S.A. Bodeen

Mason's father isn't in the picture, and all he has from his dad is a video of his dad reading GoodNight Moon - no face, just his big hands (blue butterfly tattoo), and his torso as he reads. That's all he knows of his dad, and his mom's not talking. Mason's mom works at a nursing home, as does his best friend Jack. One night, while he waits for Jack to get off work so they can go to his family's cabin in the mountains, Mace "meets" the people on his mom's floor of the nursing home: 4 perfect looking and totally catatonic teenagers. While he waits, he watches the video of his Dad, and at the part "If you become a crocus in the garden, I'll be the gardener and come find you" one of the girls wakes up. When she freaks out and follows Mason out the door, he and Jack take her with them, beginning a thrilling, frightening journey to discover who, or what, she is.