Connie called to Jason, “There’s another door beside the mirror we came through. It leads to the hallway. There will be another mirror hanging out there. Point them to the stairs. I’ll take care of this mess.”

The mass of worms writhed, slowly forming a squirming column that stood nearly three feet high. The column began to slither across the floor, reaching out to Nina and Rufus, and Connie stepped in front of it, blocking its path.

Trembling, Jason sidled up beside Nina and Rufus. He had no clue how to shift their attention away from the horrific sight. “There’s got to be a way out of here,” Rufus said, scanning the nursery for another exit. Finally, he noticed the odd reflection in the mirror. “What the …?”

Startled, Jason waved his hands over his head. Nina gasped when she saw him. But they didn’t run or scream. Making sure to stay in their line of sight, Jason ran over to the door and gestured wildly at the exit. Moments later, the two were across the room, racing out into the hallway.

CHAPTER 17

LOU EXPECTED THE dark passage to lead them into a brighter space, but it only became gloomier. As the light darkened around her, so did Lou’s thoughts.

She remembered her nightmares. In one, a girl followed a long pink string throughout the tangle of hallways until she’d reached a greenhouse filled with walking corpses. In another, the wallpaper reached out with poisonous tendrils, trying to grab at a few other kids. In another, a girl was trapped in a room, fire spreading around her and the air filling with black smoke.

There was growling nearby. Lou grabbed Sadie’s shirt. When Sadie turned, her face was barely visible. “Did you hear that?” Sadie shook her head and kept walking. Cal didn’t even pause. And Lou felt even more certain that following him in this direction had been a big mistake.

The sound was different now. A deep vibration, like when she’d stand underneath the elevated tracks in Walnut Creek as the commuter trains passed overhead. “Maybe we should go back,” Lou whispered to the others, unable to control the waver in her voice. But Sadie and Cal moved even faster. So fast now that it seemed they were running. “Hey …” She tried to shout as quietly as she could. “Wait up. Don’t leave me!”

The rumbling came again, resounding like a low chord on a piano. Lou realized that it was a low chord on a piano. A few more notes tinkled sadly around it, an improvised riff that was somehow familiar to Lou. The music seemed to be coming from inside the walls. Lou reached out blindly, but it was as if the hallway had expanded and her fingertips met only air.