Nick eased the barn door open and looked at the house; the interior lights were still burning but he saw no sign of activity. Alena was woozy and wobbly on her feet; Nick kept his arm around her to steady her as they walked. He closed the barn door behind them and looked to the left and right, estimating the shortest distance back to the truck. The way he had come was definitely longer—the shortest route would be to continue in the same direction around the house, past the final outbuilding and along the edge of a field of tall grass. He looked at Alena and pointed; when she nodded they took off, making their way as fast as Alena’s aching head would allow.

Fifty yards ahead they passed the final outbuilding—the one that Nick and Trygg didn’t have time to search. It was a long, narrow building surrounded by a tall chain-link fence. It looked somehow familiar to Nick, as though he had seen it before or one just like it. He tried to remember, and then it occurred to him.

It was a kennel.

He straightened a little and felt the wind blowing across his face. It was blowing from left to right; it was blowing toward the kennel.

“Hurry,” he said to Alena, no longer bothering to whisper.

“I can’t,” she groaned. “My head feels like it’s going to explode.”

“Try,” Nick said. “See that building?”

Alena glanced over at it and recognized it immediately; she looked down and watched the movement of the wind through her hair, then looked up at Nick: “Too late.”

All at once the kennel erupted with the sound of barking dogs, as if someone had just removed the MUTE on a television turned up to full volume. There were at least a dozen dogs, all howling and yowling and baying in furious protest at the scent of an intruder.

“Do we smell that bad?” Nick asked.

“It’s Trygg—she’s coming into season.”

“Terrific,” Nick said. “Right when we pass a fraternity house.”

The security light behind the house switched on again and the entire area lit up like a Friday night football field.

“Run!” Nick said. “We’ve got to make it to that tall grass before he spots us.”

“I can’t,” she said.

“We don’t have a choice.” They ran side by side with Nick’s arm still around her waist; he caught her when she stumbled and dragged her when her legs went limp. They reached the edge of the field just as they heard the door open behind them. They collapsed in the grass and lay panting; Alena hooked one arm around Trygg’s neck and pulled the dog down beside her. Nick twisted around and looked out through the tall grass; he could see Riddick standing in the center of the lawn and turning back and forth, searching for the source of the intrusion.