“Come on.” Her voice was a raspy whisper, too quiet for even her own ears to make out the words. “We’ve got to hide you somewhere.”

Kant had wanted her to keep Marsh through the night. She just couldn’t. Even if it meant the difference between life and death for her, she couldn’t put the beautiful animal ahead of her in the firing line.

Kant had said the dead things wouldn’t bother with animals as long as they weren’t in the way. That meant she just needed to find a secure, tucked-away room for Marsh. Somewhere he’d be safe. Somewhere he’d be found the following morning if Margot didn’t get through to dawn.

She chose the sewing room. Swiping piles of fabric off a shelf, she nudged them into the vague form of a bed and encouraged Marsh to lay down. Then she kissed the top of his head, whispering “Be safe” as she did and slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Her heart ran at a thousand miles a minute. Even when she rolled her feet, each time her sneakers touched down, she heard it echo in the back of her head. She bent, fumbling with one hand to undo the laces, then slipped them off and carried them in her good hand.

With socks muffling her steps, she crept back toward the living room. It seemed like the best place to wait. There were multiple exits, windows to watch the outside, and she would be near the door as a last resort. Kant and the others hadn’t mentioned leaving the house. Their advice had only circled around how to stay safe inside. That likely meant the outdoors was an even riskier prospect.

Every few steps, Margot paused, breath held as she strained to hear any trace of the encroaching figures. The world seemed quiet. She moved with agonizing care into the living room and placed her shoes on the floor near the television.

Then, back to her hands and knees, left arm pressed to her chest to douse the light, she crept back to the window.

The curtain was heavy under her shaking fingers. She lifted its corner in slow increments, her heart beating too fast, too loud. A sliver of the outside world came into view. A slice running across the porch and over the long grass leading down to the driveway. The figures she’d seen farther down the hill were gone now. Her eyes darted toward every small trace of motion, but they were only being drawn by a swaying patch of grass or a distant tree.

Her breath misted across the glass, blinding her for a second before the mist faded. Her ears strained, but the outside world felt perfectly silent. She couldn’t hear the wind. Or insects.