There is a rustling in the corner in front of Diane, towards the back of the room. Maybe a rat, Lauren thinks. Maybe.

Diane swivels the torch towards the sound and lands on a pair of feet lying upwards. She jumps backwards, jolting Lauren forward. By turning her head, Lauren can see the feet are large, male. Diane clutches Lauren’s arm tightly, as if to say Don’t. Diane has pulled her sleeve over her hand, and Lauren feels the bulk of the car keys pushing against her skin.

Diane flicks the torch around the room again, checking for signs of anyone else. She is breathing hard now. They stand stock-still, listening. The rustling sounds again, from the corner. When Diane moves the torch back, the feet are gone.

Diane nudges Lauren towards the sword on the wall. They are nearly there when Diane screams and almost falls, the torch light vaulting. Lauren springs back, grasping at the brick wall behind her. Someone, the owner of the feet, is crawling on the floor.

‘Get off me!’ Diane yells.

It dawns on Lauren that the person has a hold of Diane’s leg and is trying to pull her to the ground. There is a deep groaning sound. Something between strength and pain.

Lauren tries to take Diane’s arm, but misses in the dark. Diane is shuffling forward, trying to get closer to the wall. There is a thick rattle from above them and Lauren realizes Diane is trying to grab the Japanese sword from the wall. It is just beyond her grasp. Struggling and kicking against the man on the floor, she reaches again. Lauren tries to help, but she is too short. Finally, Diane manages to ease it off with her fingertips. It falls. Diane catches it. Lauren hears the whack of metal on bone, followed by another moan. Dropping the sword with a clang, Diane springs away, pushing Lauren ahead of her. They are running towards the staircase, the torch in Diane’s hand throwing a shaking light ahead of them. When she reaches the stairs, Lauren looks back to see if the man is following them. She hears a strange sound: a freezer rushing its way across the concrete all by itself, behind her, pinning him to the wall. Lauren’s body won’t move up the stairs as fast as she wants it to. She runs as carefully as she can in the thin beam out of the house.

Fear streams through her burning muscles as she runs back into the forest. Diane is close behind. They race in the direction they came from and eventually Lauren feels she can’t run any further. They both walk without speaking, in shock. Diane stops suddenly and doubles over, her hands on her knees, retching. She wipes her mouth with her sleeve.