He was pale and shaking. “Terrible, just terrible.”

He sounded horrified.

A few moments later Lump gave out with a snarl and a bark, then came charging up the stairs, Beth and Kyle right behind him.

“I saw the Bumble,” cried Missy. “He w-w-was…he was in the wall!”

Beth took Missy from Timmy’s arm and began stroking the back of her daughter’s head. “Shhh, hon, there-there, c’mon, it’s all right…c’mon, you just got a fright, that’s all. The Bumble scares you and you just imagined it.”

She might have just imagined it, but Lump had seen or sensed something that was making him crazy; his legs were locked in place, his lips curled back, eyes unblinking as he stared at the bottom of the steps and growled.

“Where’s Linus?” asked the Reverend, coming up beside me.

“He’s still down there.”

Ted Jackson joined us. He’d unstrapped the top of his holster and was touching the butt of his gun, ready to pull it. “Jesus Christ in a Chrysler, I about jumped out of my shorts.”

“Probably nothing,” said the Reverend. “The little girl got spooked, that’s all.”

I could tell from the tone of his voice that he didn’t believe it any more than I did.

Knight was standing now, holding his guitar like a child, his eyes closed, his face almost peaceful.

Morrison and the others were gone.

And from somewhere in the basement, something moved.

Something big.

“What the hell?” said Jackson, gripping his gun but not pulling it from the holster.

Timmy came up to the reverend and grabbed his arm, saying, “Terrible, just terrible,” over and over, getting louder and more excited.

“Timmy,” said the Reverend, gripping both of Timmy’s arms, “I need you to calm down, c’mon. There you go, deep breaths, all right. Good. Now…did you see something down there?”

Timmy nodded.

“Are you sure you actually saw something that was there, or was it—”

Timmy pointed at his eyes and shook his head: no, it wasn’t one of his visual hallucinations, he knew the difference, thank you very much. “Terrible…terrible…just terrible.”

Beth was rocking Missy back and forth, whispering comfort in her ear, kissing her cheek, while Kyle sat on the floor beside them, holding his little sister’s hand.

Whatever was in the basement moved again, and this time with enough force to shake the foundation of the building.

A few second later, Linus came barreling out on his hands, covered in sweat and shaking, his face even paler than Timmy’s had been.

“You’re gonna think I’m crazy,” he said as he took the stairs two at a time, “but I just saw goddamned Godzilla down there!” He hopped onto his cart and sped over to Missy, Beth, and Kyle.

Lump still stood at the top of the stairs, ready to attack.

“Okay, that’s it,” said Jackson, removing his weapon and clicking off the safety. “I’m going down there.”

“Not alone, you’re not,” said the Reverend.

Grant McCullers joined us. He was holding a wooden rolling pin. “Hey, it’s the most dangerous thing I could find in that kitchen.”