Chapter One: When the Sun Returned, I Didn't

When he aimed his phone flashlight at the ground, the rough stone remained blank, as though light passed through him without resistance. A woman in a red scarf stopped in the doorway. Her badge read ISABEL VEGA—CORONA PROJECT, SCIENTIFIC ADVISER. She watched his shoes, not his face. “At which second did you see it?” she asked in English. “See what?” “Your shadow leave.” A chill crawled up his back. He pulled off the headset. When he looked again, she had merged into the crowd descending the stairs. Her red scarf flashed once at the corner and vanished. His phone shut itself off. No button woke it. In the black glass he saw his reflection—and a human outline standing behind it. The outline slowly raised its right hand. Lu remained still.