The New Neighbor

them up and down, sighing. 'Boy oh boy oh boy.'

Pastor Quiller man's pickup appeared again, heading south on Deerfield, but it was going quite a bit faster than before until -

– it pulled over to the curb and screeched to a halt and Pastor Quillerman got out, hobbled around the pickup and stopped to look about him frantically at the mist because -

– it was swirling rapidly over the ground pulling away from houses and tree trunks and shrubbery and fences, pulling away quickly as if it were being sucked away, and -

– Pastor Quillerman staggered in a tight circle as he watched the mist rushing away around him, his eyes and mouth open wide with surprise and confusion as his head jerked around in a frightened, bird-like manner because – - the mist was rushing into Lorelle Dupree's house as if the house were a giant vacuum cleaner, and -

– Pastor Quiller man spun around and looked at their window, then hurried up the walk toward the front door, his limp making him zigzag all the way to the porch steps.

George rushed to the front door and opened it just as Pastor Quiller man stumbled through the doorway saying breathlessly, 'It was her… the mist… she was in it… she-she was the mist!' He leaned against the wall and pressed a hand to his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

'You okay?' George asked.

'Can I get you something?' Robby asked.

Jen appeared with three heavy-duty Maglite flashlights and handed one to George, one to Robby, and kept one for herself. With all three lights shining, George took Pastor Quillerman's elbow and led him into the living room. Once the pastor was on the sofa, Jen sat beside him, George across from him in the recliner, and Robby remained standing.

'I should have known,' Pastor Quiller man said, his voice dry and hoarse. He shook his head with frustration. 'I knew there was something wrong with that mist. Why didn't it occur to me?'

'No, Pastor Quiller man, I should have known,' Robby said. 'Ronald Prosky told me. I just… forgot, I guess, with everything else on my mind I -'

'Don't worry about it, son,' Quiller man said. 'It's too late now.'

'But she's been out there all this time, probably going from house to house. She came to me at the glass door in the dining room. She came out of that damned mist, I should've known.'

'She came to my bedroom window,' Jen said softly.

George nodded, saying, 'She came to me while I was trying to fix the hole in the bedroom wall.'

Quiller man said, 'She might have gotten into some of the other houses, but she couldn't get in here because of the names on the front door.' He looked around at the three of them quickly. 'The first thing we have to do is make sure she doesn't get into any more houses. We have to keep her from swaying these people. We need to…trap her somehow. With her out of the way, maybe we can talk some sense into everyone else on this street.'

'How?' George asked.

Quiller man closed his eyes and sighed hopelessly.

'What about the three names?' Robby asked. They all turned to him. 'I mean the three angels' names on the door. If they'll keep her out of here, maybe they'll keep her in over there.'

“But you said she burst out of here while Prosky was writing the names on the door,' George said. 'What would keep her from doing the same thing over there?'

Robby chewed on his lower lip a moment, then said, 'She rushed out of here before Prosky finished writing the names. He hadn’t completed the circle around them yet. Maybe if he had, she wouldn’t have been able to get out. I think I can do it fast enough – as long as it doesn't have to be done in charcoal. ' He gave Quiller man a questioning look.

“I'm not sure if it makes any difference,' the pastor said with a shrug. 'I was not familiar with that particular method.”

'I could use, um… well, a Magic Marker, maybe,' Robby said. 'We've got some around here somewhere.'

'Tool drawer in the kitchen,' Jen said, as she stood and headed into the kitchen, following the beam of her flashlight.

'Can you write that fast, Robby?' George asked.

'I can try.'

'You'll have to do more than try.'

'He will,' Pastor Quiller man said with calm certainty.

* * * *

The neighborhood was tomb silent. With the streetlights out of working order and all the windows dark, Deerfield was blacker than Robby had ever seen it before.

He had practiced writing the three angels' names and circling them with a Magic Marker several times on a yellow legal pad until the movements of his hand and wrist became automatic and fluid. Pastor Quiller man had said a prayer, and at his dad's insistence, Robby had gone out the back door and rounded the house cautiously, just in case someone had been watching the front door.

With a flashlight tucked beneath his arm and a Magic Marker in a pocket of his black jacket, Robby walked along the tall wooden fences that separated their yard from the next. When he reached the sidewalk, he walked a few yards north before crossing the street, then moved south toward Lorelle's house.

The reporter's car was still parked at the curb several yards past Lorelle's house but he couldn't see the woman or her cameraman. He hoped they wouldn’t see him.

His heart pounded in his throat and, in spite of the cold, he felt sweaty, as if he'd run a great distance. He rounded a corner of sharply trimmed shrubs and stepped onto Lorelle's lawn, stopping for a moment to stare at the front door. He couldn't see the door itself, only a vaguely rectangular opening that was darker than black. The door could be open for all he knew. Lorelle could be standing in that blackness watching… waiting for him… Lorelle or her dogs.

He realized he'd been holding his breath and let it out suddenly in a swirling vapor, then started across the lawn as -

* * * *

– Pastor Quillerman knelt on one knee by the sofa, praying, while George and Jen stood at the front window. The flashlights were out and the house was dark.

'I can't see him,' Jen said.

George pointed. 'There he is, on her lawn.'

Pastor Quillerman prayed quietly at the sofa, then stopped abruptly and remained silent for a long moment, until George and Jen turned toward his vague shape in the darkness.

'Where is Karen?' the pastor asked.

'She's in the guest bedr -' George froze. 'Oh, God,' he breathed, flicking the flashlight on and rushing out of the room and down the hall. Jen and Pastor Quillerman followed him. He pounded on the door several times and shouted, 'Karen! Karen, what're you doing? Are you awake?'

They listened silently, but there was no response.

George tried the doorknob, but it was locked. They pounded the door and called her again.

Nothing.

Swearing under his breath, George spun around and rushed into the master bedroom, leaving Jen and Pastor Quillerman in the dark hall.

* * * *

Robby walked carefully on the balls of his feet up the front steps of Lorelle Dupree's house, taking the Magic Marker from his jacket pocket. He took the cap off, put it in his pocket and stood before the door in complete