We creep silently across the room, putting all our faith in Jack like he’s a guide dog for the blind. We make it to the corridor and skirt along, our backs to the damp stone walls. After a tense few minutes, we emerge into the main chamber with the piano, staircase, and grandfather clock.

A stream of weak moonlight comes through the hole in the ceiling. Jack’s only fifty paces away from the open door when he stops. His head darts up, picking up a sound that none of us can hear. Then he begins barking shrilly, as though instructing us to run, leave, get out.

Without a second’s hesitation, we race forward, heading straight for the door. At the same time, shadows lurch out of the corridor.

Crazies. At least ten of them.

They race toward us, their faces melted, their deformed hands stretching out for us. I’m ready for them. I start shooting before anyone else has even had a chance to draw their weapon. My first shot is so precise it only just skims past Ryan’s face before meeting its target.

Emmanuel screams and freezes on the spot. I have no choice but to grab him and start dragging him, making me unable to fire my weapon. I just pray the other three can cover me.

Ryan, Zeke, and Molly shoot their guns desperately at the crazies but none of the bullets find their destination. They’re panicking too much. Finally, Molly gets herself together and manages to shoot one of the crazies dead. He falls directly in my and Emmanuel’s path. Emmanuel trips over the corpse and goes flying across the slippery marble floor, right into another crazy. The deformed man snatches him up in his arms, ready to whisk him away. But there’s no way I’m going to let that happen. This whole thing is my fault. Emmanuel was safe before we turned up. I won’t let him die because of me.

I aim my gun up and blast the crazy right in the face.

Blood explodes all over the place and the crazy falls to the floor dead, releasing Emmanuel, who crumples into a heap, shivering, staring at the place where the crazy’s face used to be.

“GET UP!” I cry at him. “MOVE!”

He drags himself to his feet and runs toward where Jack is barking by the door, ready to lead the boy to safety.