Candace

“No!” I shout as I’m ripped away from Hollis. Like anyone will hear me over the chaos the crowd has broken out into.

It’s worse than any other ritual—or maybe this is the only one I’ve been in the crowd during. Scents buffet me from every direction—flowers, trees, body odor, stale alcohol. Someone shoves me to one side, and another person pushes me right back. I try to fight, but I don’t even know what I’m fighting for. To reach Hollis? Last night was ...