Nikki turned and helped Ryker with the mattress. They flung it behind them, crashing into the detritus that he’d scattered around the room. Buttons started barking from the burst of excitement.

“Come here, But-But,” Kate said. He wedged himself between her legs.

Ryker surprised her by reaching for her hand. His own was hot with fever. Again, she worried that even a hospital couldn’t help him now, hating herself more and more, no matter Andrew and Nikki’s assurances that she wasn’t responsible. She loved her brother more than anyone in her family. The thought of losing him brought a painful twist to her already taxed heart.

Andrew pulled the blinds so hard, they broke free from the brackets, clattering on the floor. He kicked them aside and slid the door open. The cool morning air exploded into the stuffy cottage. The scent of dew and pine contrasted sickeningly with the stench of blood and sweat that they’d grown used to over the past five hours. He stepped outside recklessly. The monster could have been waiting for just this moment. Kate held her breath, reluctantly leaving Ryker to join Nikki at the doorway.

“Is it out there?” Nikki said, sounding like a little girl asking about the boogeyman.

Andrew looked around. “No, not that I can see.”

Nikki swiped his rifle off the floor and brought it to him. “Just in case.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you see Ida and Henry?” Kate asked. The thought that help from the pair of nonagenarians might only be moments away upped her anxiety.

When Andrew headed for the stairs, she cried out, “Don’t! Stay close.”

He turned back to her, his expression grim but his eyes sparkling with optimism. “I won’t go far. They’re old. I’m not sure they’d be able to see or hear me from this distance.”

She could see the dock and the lake that was smooth as glass. She hated to admit he might be right. Henry and Ida might be healthy enough to go for a slow paddle every day, but their senses must have been dulled by time. At least in the light of day, they would be able to spot the creature if it came for them.

“Just be careful. Don’t get fixated on the lake. It could be anywhere.”

Knowing in her gut they were all safe as long as they stayed in the house, and that it wouldn’t dare even walk in an open door, she was also sure that Andrew had just waltzed into the lion’s den. With each step he took, she calculated how long it would take him to run back inside when the creature appeared.

It was close. She could feel it watching them. The hairs at the back of her neck prickled.