The room shuddered, and a deafening shriek burst out from behind the wall. The crack spread from the wall to the floor boards, wrenching them apart beneath the cage. Sadie kicked at the wood until a wide gap appeared beneath the metal bars, even as a gust of air lifted her braids from her shoulders.

Lou was certain that the thing inside the wall was about to burst into the room and devour everyone. She pressed herself against the door, barely able to watch and too frightened to pull her friend to safety. “Sadie!”

Sadie reached through the gap and took the ukulele. She stared at the instrument as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just done. Marcus rushed over and grabbed her elbow, then towed her toward the door.

A massive wallop jolted the wall from the other side. The crack split open into a wider crevice, wide enough for Lou to make out something large and black moving around just inside it. When Marcus and Sadie reached the exit, Lou threw the door open, and they all tumbled into the hallway. A deafening cry trumpeted out from behind them—a mix of rage and panic.

Lou slammed the door shut and took off, running down the hallway after Marcus and the others.

Jason and Connie had stepped through the mirror into the dining room—gesturing for Rufus and Nina to follow from another mirror down the hall—when a chorus of screams erupted out through the glass portal.

One of the voices sounded like Lou.

Jason’s heart felt like it stopped. “What’s happening now?” he asked Connie. Had the worms in the nursery flooded the rest of the house? Or was it some new horror? She shook her head in confusion, then vanished. Reappearing a moment later, she said, “The group is right around the corner from here. There’s no sign of the creature. Something else must have scared them.”

Jason nearly went limp with relief.

Rufus waved to Jason’s reflection. “Which way?” he asked. Nina looked at herself in the mirror and tried to quickly fix her hair.

Connie pointed to an open doorway.

“This is where you were leading us?” Nina asked. “There are others here? They’re … friendly?”

Connie and Jason nodded emphatically.

Nina and Rufus glanced at each other before stepping through.

“Who are you?”

The voice had come from behind Lou. She turned, and nearly stumbled backward. Two kids were standing in the doorway to the kitchen, blocking the way out. The girl crossed her arms, trying to look tough, and the boy hunched his shoulders as if he were trying to disappear.

“Well?” asked the girl in the doorway. Her messy black hair fell in frizzy ringlets to her shoulders. Even though she looked intimidating, Lou figured that she didn’t look scary, which was a good thing.