Closing the house, Jason clasped the latch near the roofline. But when he peeked through the windows, the girls were not where he’d left them. Lou had disappeared. Had she returned to the closet from which he’d taken her? The girl with the braids was still looking tentatively around in the bedroom with the indigo wallpaper. She didn’t appear to notice his interference.

So I can’t move them around myself, he thought. They can’t hear me. And Lou probably thinks I’m a giant monster who wants to eat her up.

There must be another way.

The growling sound started up from in the house again, and Jason noticed a dark shape several rooms to the right of the one where Lou was hiding. It looked like a swirling mass of dark mist or smoke. Jason felt his face drain of blood, dizziness creeping in at the edges of his vision, but he couldn’t faint now. Lou needed him more than ever. He lunged to unlock the latch at the roofline, but his fingers slipped as he tried to turn it. When he finally got a grip, the latch would not budge.

The black mist continued to drag itself along the hallway. Was it looking for his sister? Jason clutched at the corners of the house and tried to lift it. It was too unwieldy, too heavy. Grasping the dollhouse under the eaves, Jason used all of his strength to shake the house, back and forth, back and forth.

The thing screeched and spat, losing its focus.

Yes! Jason thought. It’s working.

Unfortunately, the kids inside the dollhouse were screaming too.

Lou clutched at her knees as the closet rocked violently. Memories of the last earthquake back home rushed through her mind, and she covered her head with her hands. Were closets safe places? She couldn’t remember. But she did know that setting herself underneath a doorway was supposed to help.

She swung the closet door open to find another girl standing just on the other side. The girl wore denim overalls and her hair hung in two braids. Lou let out a yelp and nearly fell backward. Unfazed, the other girl grabbed her forearms and pulled Lou from the cramped space.

“I heard you shouting from down the hall,” said the girl with the braids. “We’ve got to get out. Follow me.” She took Lou’s hand and they raced across the room with the bleeding marble busts and out through another door into a long, dark hallway.

The shaking grew more violent, and the two girls tumbled to the floor. Lou clutched at the girl’s biceps and then clamped her eyes shut. “Please don’t leave me,” she whispered.

Eventually, the growling sound began to fade.

“I don’t plan on it,” said the girl, struggling to rise. Helping Lou to her feet, she added, “My name is Sadie. What’s yours?”