“Is it on the porch?” he said, wondering if Kate had heard the creak of the wooden steps, if there was something (no…someone) standing still just on the other side of the blinds, waiting patiently.

“No,” she said. “But it’s close, and coming closer.”

“How do you know that?” Ryker said.

They all stared at the doors, not daring to move, to make any noise that would mask the approach of whatever was in those woods and making those hideous sounds.

“Wait, I hear it,” Nikki said.

Andrew and Ryker stepped toward the glass doors. The floor popped under their feet and Nikki gave a startled gasp.

Hand clasped over her mouth, she muttered, “Sorry.”

Andrew stopped a couple of feet from the doors and leaned as close as his crawling gooseflesh would allow.

He heard it.

The soft crunch of leaves.

Someone was walking out there, close to the fire pit from the sound of it, and they didn’t care who heard them. His heart beat in his throat as he tracked the footsteps, fading to the right, now circling past the bedroom.

“Stay right here,” he said to Ryker.

Kate’s face had gone blank. If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn she was hypnotized.

“Are you okay?” he said, touching her forehead. His hand came away hot and soaked. “How’s your chest?”

Being scared like this was dangerous for her. He was far more afraid of her having a heart attack out here, miles from the nearest hospital (and something in the woods separating them from the car) than he was of their returning stalker.

His wife’s breathing was slow and steady, which was at least one good sign.

“It’s fine,” she said, her voice far away, lost in a dream – or in this case, a waking nightmare.

“Nikki,” he said. His sister-in-law grabbed the washcloth and wiped Kate’s face and neck down.

Andrew skidded in his socks, nearly crashing into the front door. He rested his ear on the sturdy door, hands clenching and unclenching, waiting.

He didn’t have to wait long. The footsteps grew louder as whoever was outside passed by the front of the house. He followed their progression as they went by the kitchen, then around again to the back.

“He’s circling us,” he hushed across the cottage.

“I hear him,” Ryker answered. He looked like his bones wanted to leap from his skin.

They waited in silence for a minute or two, the footfalls sounding closer. Ryker pointed toward the bedroom. “He’s coming your way again.”

“What the fuck is he doing? And who the fuck is he?” Nikki said. She sat beside Kate, holding her hand.

“I don’t know,” Andrew said.

Nikki grew suspicious. “I thought you said it was an animal.”