Andrew wiped Kate’s forehead, his hand coming up dripping with sweat. Her skin sizzled. He could only imagine what her fever was now. If something didn’t break soon, she would be in serious trouble. It was getting to the point where he didn’t care what was outside. If he needed to rush her to the hospital, he’d just have to take a chance.

The monster – Kate had called it a monster, hadn’t she? – bellowed as it unleashed volley after volley of heavy stones. Andrew trembled when he heard the window in the bedroom crack. It wasn’t followed by the sound of glass tinkling on the floor, so there was hope it hadn’t given way completely.

The power of Kate’s convulsions had finally started to dissipate, but she was far from being out of the woods. Her eyelids fluttered as her hands opened and balled into fists over and over.

“Is there anything else we can do?” Ryker said.

Andrew shook his head, white-knuckling the paperback.

Christ, when would the seizure end? He remembered one of her doctors telling him that any seizure over ten minutes required immediate medical attention.

How long had it been? Two minutes? Ten? Twenty?

He hadn’t thought to check the time when it started. The wild beast attacking the house hadn’t made his perception of time any sharper.

“Katy, please stop. Please, Katy,” Nikki sobbed. Andrew had never seen her upset before, much less broken like this. She was near hysterics, which wouldn’t do them any good.

When the rocks stopped, the silence was almost more disturbing.

Nikki and Ryker were able to let Kate go, her muscles still twitching but without the same power as before. Andrew removed the book from between her relaxing jaws, feeling terrible that it had left deep lines at the corners of her mouth. The pungent staleness wafting from her pores virtually smacked him in the face.

Andrew put Kate’s head in his lap. Her eyes were closed, but her breathing was steady. He kept repeating her name softly, hands caressing her face. He couldn’t tell whether she was asleep or had passed out. It seemed a narrow distinction, but he knew it was quite the opposite.

“Do you think it’s gone?” Nikki said. She was on her feet now, Ryker embracing her.

Andrew nodded at the blinds. Ryker caught his intention, keeping one hand around his wife while he used the other to shut the blinds.

“I don’t know,” Andrew said.

“Maybe it just ran out of rocks,” Nikki said, sniffling, getting herself under control.

“I want to know what the hell it is,” Ryker said.

“We all do,” Andrew said. Kate’s skin felt a bit cooler, her sweat beginning to dry.