“It’s sure not safe out there,” Nikki said, eyes on the kitchen window, the blinds and white curtains protecting her from seeing the glowing, jaundiced eyes if the beast happened to be on the front porch.

“You carry Katy,” Ryker said to Andrew. “I’ll go out first with the gun. We should find something for Nikki, any kind of weapon.”

“There’s an ax handle in the closet. It’s thick and sturdy.”

“You couldn’t spring for the whole fucking ax?” Nikki said. Andrew couldn’t tell whether she was serious or making a joke. The expression of bubbling terror hadn’t changed on her face.

Ryker got the ax handle and handed it to her. She banged it against the counter a couple of times as if to make sure it wasn’t made of brittle timber. A candle on the counter fell over on its saucer.

And still Kate slept. Andrew’s growing concern was fixed less and less on the unknown creature outside.

“Let me get the car keys,” Andrew said, fishing them from the cereal bowl on the pedestal by the door. He wished they had an honest-to-God flashlight. The one he’d bought in town had been cheap, the bulb burning out one night when he wanted to sit on the dock with a beer after Kate had gone to sleep. It was now in the trash can. Candles would be useless outside in the breeze, and the cellphone flashlights weren’t all that powerful. If Ryker was going to cover them while he got Kate in the car and started it up, Andrew would need as much light as he could get.

Andrew wrapped Kate in the sheet the way a mother would swaddle her baby. She didn’t so much as make a sound as he shifted her around and lifted her from the bed.

“You guys ready?”

“No,” Nikki said, both hands on the ax handle.

“You open the door, and I’ll see what we’re dealing with,” Ryker said to his wife. He turned on his phone’s light, but Andrew could see it was difficult juggling the phone and rifle. Nikki did the same with her phone, a cone of light illuminating her feet. Andrew’s hands were full, the key ring looped around his index finger.

They would have to move fast. He had no idea what they were rushing into, but he had a sinking feeling things weren’t suddenly going to go their way. He stood behind Ryker, shifting Kate in his arms to get a better grip. She looked so peaceful. In a way, he was glad she was someplace else at the moment. She’d experienced enough terror as it was. Sooner or later, her heart was going to send up the white flag. If what Kate had seen was truly out there, he wasn’t sure she could endure another encounter.