Chapter One: September Thirty-Fifth

“A-Mo,” it whispered. “Turn around and look at me.” A hand shot from the stairwell and dragged him through the fire door. A young woman sealed its edges with tape and jammed an old coin into the handle. She wore a gray coat, her rain-wet face pale, but her motions had the ease of long rehearsal. She typed on her phone: *Don't speak. It calls in the voices of the forgotten. Answer, and it gets your face.* Fingernails scraped metal outside. Lin typed back, *Who forgot Uncle Chen?* *Everyone.* *Not you?* Her eyes lifted to his. “I remember everyone who did not exist before tonight.” Her name was Su Mi. A black notebook in her pocket contained three instructions: Do not answer a call from behind. Do not trust electronic calendars.