On the steps I see something. A hulking figure three times as big as Mrs. Green stands in the rain. This figure is broad-shouldered. He gazes out at us, a cap hiding most of his face. Casually, the figure walks down the steps. Prowling across the lawn towards Jackson.

“He’s not real,” I whisper. “He can’t be real.”

Elliot looks up. “What? Who is it?” He swivels around, but his leg prevents him from turning all the way.

Outside the car Jackson doesn’t notice the hulking figure. All he sees is Beth with her skull split open, her arms and legs shredded. “Baby?” he says. “Come on, baby.”

I struggle to pry my leg free. Shards of metal dig into my flesh. Willing myself to be strong, I give my leg one hard tug. “Gnhaaaa…shit!”

Looking back out the window, I see the figure pick up a shovel by a clump of shrubs and move in on Jackson. He maneuvers the shovel so it’s like a baseball bat in front of him. When he’s ten feet away, I finally see the figure’s face. My blood runs cold. I’ve seen that face before. It’s the same as the mug shot I found online, only older. Beaten down.

Herman.

“Jackson!” I call at the top of my lungs. My mind reels. “Jackson!”

Herman’s close enough now for Elliot to see him too. He goes into a full on panic and calls out Jackson’s name, but Jackson’s not listening. He’s too busy scooping Beth’s limp body into his arms.

“Wake up. Baby. Open your eyes. Come on, baby.” Jackson cradles her. “I promise we’ll get out of here. Then it’s New York all the way. Big NYC. I promise. I promise.”

I yank at my leg. In the mud, Jackson tries to wipe the blood from Beth’s face. It streams from her skull like an endless spring. “No, no, no. Beth,” he says. “Talk to me…”

Beth doesn’t move. I’m convinced she’s dead, but then her head jolts. Her neck strains. Suddenly, her eyes open. For just a moment, she’s lucid.

Jackson startles. “Baby?”

She twitches. Once. Then again.

“Wait. Don’t do that. Don’t do that,” Jackson says. Blood gobs out of her mouth as Beth seizes, flopping in Jackson’s arms like a fish out of water. He holds her down, trying to stop what’s happening.

“Jackson!” Elliot and I call out to him from the car.

Herman’s closing in. Jackson’s head is bowed, focusing on Beth’s face. She twitches again, weakening, and then goes still in his arms.

Jackson lets out an anguished cry. He buries his head in her neck. Herman’s strides grow longer.

“Get away from him!” I say, pounding on the window.

Herman raises the shovel over his head, the steel handle pointed to the sky.