Erica asked, "What dream?"

    "I mean... Fermin passed out, too. But he woke up faster than all of us," Debra replied.

    She had been nning to ask why she didn''t see Fermin in the dream, but the whole thing had to do with rebirth. With everyone around, she didn''t want to bring up the topic.

    The power of the four gems was unbelievable, and rebirth sounded absurd. Besides, after everything happened, her gems were gone. The one in Jeffrey''s possession had disappeared, too.

    Maybe they vanished after running out of energy, or Fermin had taken them away.

    ording to Jordan, he had stepped away for a while to bring reinforcements. Fermin could''ve left during that time.

    Randy changed the subject. "Let''s not talk about this on such a happy day. Anyway, our biggest threat, Jeffrey, is dead. Juan has made it clear that he won''t target us anymore. From now on, we all live in peace and head toward a bright future."

    Erica snorted, "Thatst part doesn''t sound like something you''d say, does it?"

    "Anyway, you get the meaning." Randy picked up his fork and knife. "Let''s eat. I''m starving."

    Debra''s phone rang. She nced down at the screen and then stepped aside to take the call.

    Juan''s voice came through. "I heard you''re out of the hospital."

    "I am. How about you?"

    "I''m fine."

    "Everyone''s gathering today. Wanna join us for a drink?"

    "No, thanks. I''m calling to rify something with you."

    "What''s that?"

    "I didn''t tell you about my coboration with Andrew to avoid Jeffrey''s suspicion."

    "I understand."

    "And only a few of us know about rebirth. Theda and I were just hypnotized by Jeffrey and instilled with fragments of our past lives. We were not actually reborn."

    Debraeamed silent, and he added, "I don''t want to upset

    you should be wary of people el but

    around you. Things aren''t over yet."

    The words hit Debra like a cold wave. "What do you mean?"

    "Remember those masked people in the hunting game?" "They looked like cult members."

    "These people are still missing. From

    oo

    connhat I''ve found, Jeffrey is

    to them, but he''s not their

    leader."