Chapter Two: Number Fourteen in the Dream

Thirteen seconds later, emergency lights came on. The crowd was gone. The film strip had gained one frame: Lin with her head bowed and the tack embedded in her neck. Her real skin was unbroken. Her phone displayed a local alert: STRUGGLING SCREENWRITER LIN MO REPORTED MISSING. BELONGINGS FOUND AT 14 OAK STREET. In the news photograph, Xiaoman stood at an upstairs window beyond police tape. She shaped three words for the camera. YOUR TURN NOW.