“All right.” Her voice was tiny. “I’ll try.”

“You’ll be fine,” Alice said, with more confidence than she felt. “You remember what to tell them?”

Soranna nodded. “To be ready to run in this direction when we see your distraction.”

“Right. I’ll start a minute or so after you get through.”

“Okay.” Soranna took a deep breath, stood up, and smiled shakily at Alice. “As you said, ‘Here goes nothing.’”

Alice smiled back, and Soranna started jogging across the turf. Watching from the meager protection of the shrubs, Alice found her stomach churning. What if she really doesn’t make it? Soranna would be out there in the middle of a flock of vicious monsters, and it would be Alice’s fault. That thought was so terrifying that Alice nearly spoke up to call the girl back, but it was too late—shouting loud enough to get Soranna’s attention would attract the creatures.

She’ll be fine. Alice, crouching, dug her fingers into the grass and gripped hard to keep her hands from trembling. She’ll be fine. She has to be.

Soranna made it within a dozen yards of the flock before the first bird-thing noticed her. One of its heads snapped around, peering in her direction with the air of a nearsighted codger looking for his glasses. It let out a perturbed squawk, and although the shoving match at the door continued, a few of the creatures walked in Soranna’s direction, both heads bobbing pigeon-like in an alternating rhythm.

The girl slowed as she approached them, and Alice’s heart flip-flopped. If she turned and fled now, it would be a disaster. The flock would stampede. Come on. You can do this! She was less than a hundred feet from the shack. Come on!

Soranna took a deep breath and held it, cheeks bulging. Then, just as the first bird-thing came near, she started to run. The creature gave her a tentative jab with its beak, and shrieked with surprise as its head passed right through her, her form rippling around it like thick mist. Soranna darted forward, walking right through the bird-thing, which stumbled backward in confusion. All the nearest creatures went berserk, descending on Soranna in a storm of ripping claws and slashing beaks. Unable to touch her, they ended up slamming into one another, and half the flock dissolved into an enormous melee. Soranna was forgotten as they shoved, pecked, and honked, sometimes so violently that a single creature ended up attacking one of its own heads with the other.