Everyone, be very quiet,” Jessica whispered. The children just stared at her, their eyes wide and solemn. They stood together in the back corner of the small, dank room, awaiting her instructions: Three-year-old Lisa was still huddled behind Ron, her chosen protector, and Alanna had taken hold of the little blond boy’s hand, though he was wriggling in her grasp. Jessica swallowed. Why do I have to be the leader? It’s bad enough when I’m just in charge of myself.

She bent down to the children’s level, trying to summon some kind of leadership quality. Should have listened to Mom. Should have played a team sport. But no, I had to be the quiet girl in the corner chewing the eraser off her pencil.

Jessica studied the door again, then took a more serious tone. “Is there something out there?” Alanna and Ron exchanged a worried glance. “What’s outside? You can tell me,” Jessica pleaded.

“It comes in through the door,” Alanna said, not meeting Jessica’s eyes. “She …” The little girl broke off and covered her face, mumbling something unintelligible behind the mask of her hands.

“She? Who, the … woman who took you?” Jessica asked gently, trying to contain her impatience. Alanna shook her head vigorously, her face still hidden.

“We thought it was a toy. It wasn’t scary like everything else.” Ron searched for words, and Lisa tugged on his shirt and whispered something, too quietly for Jessica to make out. Ron nudged her. “Tell her.” Lisa looked up at Jessica with a suspicious expression on her grubby toddler’s face.

“She’s all mangled up,” the girl said, then turned away again, hiding her face in Ron’s shirt. He gave Jessica a distressed look.

“Who? Who’s all mangled up?” Jessica said slowly, searching her mind for what they might be talking about. “Was something broken? Did you break one of them?” she asked hopefully. The little kids all began to sniffle again, and she ground her teeth. “What is it?” Jessica nearly snapped, but none of them seemed to notice her tone.

“It’s not broken,” Ron said, his voice rising in panic, and then the floor shook with a resounding thud. Alanna grabbed Jessica around the waist, and Ron huddled closer, pulling Lisa with him. The little blond boy stayed where he was, frozen in place with a look of terror. There was another thud, this time louder, then the pounding continued over and over, coming closer. Jessica could hear it moving in the hall, reverberating deep in her chest as whatever it was came thundering toward the door outside. She heard wood cracking, and clutched the children’s shoulders as something struck the wall three times in quick succession, rocking them all back. There was a final, clattering noise that seemed to come from all around.