We Cast a Shadow

The narrator is on his way to Appalachia to intercept Nigel. He’s taking a gun in case Nigel is being held hostage by sinister forces. As he closes in on Nigel’s location, a small mountain, he wishes he had a Plum, but then reminds himself that he hasn’t used substances for three years. At sunset, he sets off up the mountain. It starts raining, and the narrator hears soft voices in the distance: people playing the banjo, singing gospel music, and arguing. As the voices seem to get closer and closer, he begins running, slipping down a hill and losing his backpack of supplies in the process. He senses some kind of creature in the trees, following him as he runs. Seeing a small pond ahead, he dives into it and swims into an underwater cavern, where he sits for half the night, gun pointed at the water.

In the morning, the narrator escapes the cavern and walks until he comes upon a small commune where people of all races are working the land together. The narrator approaches a woman to ask her about Nigel. The woman, called Doc by the other commune members, informs him that their community is called New Rosewood.