He got out of bed, searching through the house for something else out of the ordinary or out of place, but everything was normal, everything was as it should be. He walked back into the bedroom to get dressed, saw the blackened squares on the bed and the surrounding floor, and he imagined that evil child placing them there, her slight shift blowing in the cold night breeze that passed through his perpetually open window, and he found himself becoming aroused.

Norton walked into the bathroom, looked at his unshaven face in the mirror, at his baggy eyes and wildly uncombed white hair. He was still erect, and he considered masturbating in the shower, but he resisted the temptation.

This couldn’t go on, he realized. The pressure was only going to escalate and sooner or later he was going to have to return to Oakdale. He did not know why, he did not know what would happen, but as frightening and intimidating as he found the prospect, it also offered the only relief he could see from this dark situation in which he found himself.

He shaved, combed his hair, dressed, then called the district office. No one was there yet, so he left a message on the answering machine, telling them he was sick and specifically asking for Gail Doig to be his substitute. Gail was an ex-student, and she’d subbed for him last year on the one day he’d been ill and had done an excellent job.

It was still early, only six-thirty, so he made himself breakfast—no toast—and ate it, reading the morning paper, before giving Hal a call.

His friend was already up, had been up for several hours. Norton hadn’t told Hal about his encounter with the girl, but he told him now and he described waking up with the burnt toast covering his bed.

He took a deep breath. “I have to go,” he said. “Back to Oakdale. Will you come with me?”

Hal sounded annoyed. “I told you I would, didn’t I?”

“It’s far. It’ll be almost a day’s drive, and I don’t know what’s going to happen when I get there or how long I’ll be staying—”

“Are you deaf? I told you I’m going with you.”

“What’s the bee in your bonnet?”

There was silence on the other end of the line.

“Hal?”

Norton heard his friend sigh even over the phone. “I felt Mariette’s presence in the house.”

“Did you see her?”

“No. It was like before. I could just tell that she was here.”

“You think it’s connected to what’s happening to me?”

“I don’t know,” Hal said tiredly. “Maybe it’s because we’re both going to die soon. Hell, I don’t know. But…” He trailed off.

“But?” Norton prompted.

“Her presence isn’t comforting like it was before. It’s… scary.”