Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Skylia drives home from the Hemlock Line in shock, clutching the cold iron rod, and finds Old Man Hemlock waiting on her porch. He reveals he felt the tear open and explains the Thinning is a cyclical event tied to the bleeding tree, which acts as a door between worlds. He tells her Brody was one of several guardians who maintain the tree as a seal, and that her mother Anne Koenig was marked and drawn back during the 2001 Thinning. Hemlock confirms Maya crossed to the other side but says the marked don't die there—they become part of the shadows. He warns Skylia that her sensitivity makes her visible to the shadows now that the tree is damaged, and teaches her that iron disrupts them but must be carried at all times. Skylia asks about closing the door permanently; Hemlock admits he doesn't know how but that the tree's wound must be sealed before the Thinning completes. When she presses him on why Brody said the marked are sacrificed, Hemlock admits the guardians killed marked people who tried to leave because the shadows follow them. He tells her the Thinning has happened six times since 1947 and each time a marked person is lost. Skylia notices a shadow pressed against her kitchen window and alerts Hemlock, who places his hand against the glass and recites words that push it back. He tells her the shadows are learning to follow her outside the woods and that she cannot stay home. He offers his house as temporary shelter. The chapter ends with Skylia agreeing to go with him and asking what happens if they can't seal the tree in time; Hemlock answers that the door stays open and Greythorne becomes the other side.