“You,” Alex cut him off, panting. His heart pumped out a cocktail of relief and guilt, delight and anger. In the months since Prague he had heard nothing from him beyond a check in the mail for a new phone, then a birthday card with another check, and a DVD of an old movie. He had sensed the old man was deliberately avoiding him, much the way Alex had been avoiding speaking to his mum.

“Where have you been? You almost gave me a heart attack. Why didn’t you get in touch? Wait.” Alex frowned. “How long have you been following me?”

“Following you? I’ve not. I’ve only just got here. I went to your house, your mother mentioned where you were, so I thought I’d stroll over, see if I couldn’t catch you. Need to have a chat, Alex. Rather important. I saw you talking with that boy, and it didn’t seem polite to interrupt, but then you started running for some reas—” The old man stopped abruptly and looked off behind Alex.

“Ah, so, why ask? How long have I been following you, I mean.”

“Nothing, it’s just . . . nothing.”

“Alex. It’s me you’re talking to.”

“Just a feeling I’ve had. Like maybe someone was watching me. I can’t really explain it.”

The old man’s face clouded. He peered more urgently along the street. His eyes narrowed, then widened. Grabbing Alex by the collar, he pulled him roughly into the center of the road.

“Stand there.”

“Wha—”

No reply. The old man was moving in a curious, rapid crouch, circling Alex. As he went, he cast regular looks back. Alex followed his glance. Nothing. Although, the darkness seemed particularly dark along there. Puzzling at the scene, he realized what was different. After a certain point, the streetlights just seemed to stop. Beyond the last, nothing but black.

The footsteps started again. Louder.

“Those are the footsteps I heard,” Alex said.

“I can’t hear them, Alex.” As the old man completed his circle, Alex saw with alarm he had laid a thin, powdery white line around them. His grandfather straightened, studying his work. “Can you see if I’ve left any gaps?”

“Salt?” Alex heard his voice rise to a squeak. “Why do we need salt?” Back along the street, the farthest streetlamp winked out.

“Not sure.” The old man stared grimly into the darkness. “Never hurts to be prepared, though.” The footsteps were enormously loud.

“You can’t hear that?”

Another light snuffed out. The footsteps stopped.

“Behind me, Alex.”